Chapter 28

28

I t was still early in the night when Vanth and Elektra drove to the other side of the mage's district, which shared its border with the dragons. There was a joke that got around in Inferno about certain districts named after Dante Alighieri's structure of hell. The Dragon District was frequently called Greed, but never when any dragons were around.

Galen had a sense of humor that was questionable when he decided to call his club 'The Circle Eight' because it was where sorcerers were sent when they died. It was an upscale club that nobody seemed inclined to get rid of despite its reputation and that of its owner.

"What is it about this guy that's making you so edgy?" Elektra asked.

"I'm not edgy. I am just cautious because that's how smart people are around Galen. He's probably the only member of the mages guild who is more disreputable than I am," Vanth replied.

Elektra smiled. "Oh? Tell me more. I didn't think anyone was more disreputable than you."

"Galen was quite brilliant. I mean, he is quite brilliant. I suppose he just got too arrogant and ended up fucking up. He was a sorcerer that the mages were all proud of. They knew exactly what to do with him, as opposed to what to do with me. He decided that to be a true sorcerer, he was going to summon a demon to serve him," Vanth began and tried to remember all the details he knew that weren't just rumors. "Galen didn't decide to summon any demon. That would be too simple. He decided to go into the forbidden archives at the citadel and try to summon a demon who was a Lord. To say that he bit off more than he could chew is an understatement."

Elektra swore. "Oh, gods, who did he summon?"

"According to Galen, he wasn't trying to summon someone so big, but I don't know if I believe that because Galen was nothing if not ambitious. He ended up summoning Mammon by accident. If you don't know your Hebrew mythology, he is one of the seven princes of Hell and is in charge of wealth and greed. I don't know the full details of what happened that night, but apparently, he was possessed by the prince. The elders at the citadel won't release any of the information about that night, but Galen managed to exorcise Mammon on his own."

"Holy shit," Elektra whispered. Her hand was resting against her throat in shock, and Vanth wondered if he had done the right thing by telling her the story. Not many people knew it for a reason. The main one was that enterprising shitheads would try and get Galen to redo the magic. "So what happened?"

"Galen left the mages and disappeared for a while. When he resurfaced in Inferno, he opened up the club and has been there ever since. I'm only speculating here, but even though the demon prince may have been exorcised, he still had control of Galen's body for a night. And Galen hasn't really been the same since. I think the club is a way of feeding what Mammon left inside of him."

"Any idea what he did while he was away?" Elektra asked, her brow creasing into a frown.

Vanth shrugged. "Not sure, but when he came back, he started doing regular visits with an Irish Catholic priest here in the human quarter of the city."

"So he's not a sorcerer anymore?"

Vanth laughed. "That man couldn't stop being a sorcerer any more than he could stop being Irish. I think the priest is more like a therapist to help him deal with whatever it was that Mammon left inside of him. Or he could be an old family friend? I haven't been able to figure out which."

"And this man who isn't afraid to summon a prince of Hell owes you a favor? Should I be worried about what you actually did for him to earn it?" she asked, her gray eyes already filled with concern.

Vanth usually tried not to think about that night. "It's complicated, and I'm not sure I'm actually at liberty to tell anyone, even you. In fact, it's safer if you don't know. It's a really big favor, though, so fingers crossed Galen doesn't give me too much grief for calling it in."

They arrived at the club ten minutes later. It wasn't open yet, and there was already a line down around the corner. The building was black brick with a stylized logo of eight red and gold circles. Vanth drove around the back and parked in the loading bay.

"Now what?" Elektra asked, looking around at the dark alley.

Vanth spotted a security camera turn and focus on him. He stuck his middle finger up at it. "Now, we wait for someone to come and open the door for us. Also, try not to stare."

"At what?" Elektra asked.

The back door to the club opened, and a six-foot-eight creature with curving white horns stepped out. The male cambion was stunningly beautiful with black and silver hair, pale blue eyes, and pearlescent skin. His father had been an incubus, and his mother was a witch. Only in Inferno could such a child find a safe place to live.

"Hey, Harper, how have you been?" Vanth asked, smiling up at him.

"Better for seeing you, my naughty little necromancer. I do wish you wouldn't be so vulgar about getting our attention. You could just knock, you know?" Harper said, his voice like satin and sex. He looked Elektra over. "My, my, what did you do to get the attention of the Novas?"

Vanth smiled his fake, innocent smile. "Oh, you know me, Harper. I like to make friends everywhere I go. Speaking of which, is the boss in? I need to bend his ear before opening."

Harper opened the door and gestured for them to come inside. "Anything I should be worried about?"

"Not yet. We have it under control." Vanth didn't want word to get around that there could be an undead army raised in the city. He liked Harper but didn't trust the cambion to not accidentally open his pretty mouth and gossip to someone what he shouldn't. With any luck, no one would know about the threat on a large scale because they were going to stop it.

Harper led them through the kitchens and out into the dark club. It was filled with candles of red, gold, and black, with large chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. It was like horny Goths had designed the place, especially for orgies.

Galen ran a safe place for anyone to come and drink and party. Just because the atmosphere was dark and sexy and dangerous, that didn't mean that it was. He didn't tolerate patrons or staff members being handled or mistreated in any way, shape, or form, and he had more than one cambion on his staff to frighten the shit out of anyone who tried to break Galen's rules.

Vanth received a few nods from staff members that he knew, and Elektra got more than one curious look. She wasn't wearing any makeup or dazzling party gear, but she could make even jeans and his beat-up T-shirt look sexy as fuck.

Vanth really hoped Galen wasn't in the mood to flirt with her because he was in the mood to throat-punch anyone who looked at her too long. Maybe he was getting too obsessive and possessive. He wasn't sure if he liked this side of himself but couldn't seem to switch it off either.

They walked up a twisting flight of stairs where Galen had his office. Harper knocked on the door and then left them to fend for themselves.

"Come the fuck in, or fuck the fuck off," Galen's deep Irish brogue boomed through the wood of the door.

Vanth opened the door and held it out for Elektra. "Language, my dear fellow. We have ladies present."

Galen Murphy was a bear of a man in a bespoke suit. He was too broad and built for anything to fit him properly off the rack and look that damn good. He had a wizard's mane of dark brown hair that fell artfully around the base of his neck and deep indigo-blue eyes. You could never call him pretty because his features were too strong for that. He was pure power and carnal energy, and it all fused with an undercurrent of magic that made the hair rise on the back of your neck. He wouldn't have looked out of place with a magic staff in a castle, and the accent just made the image grow.

He had quite taken Vanth's breath away when they had first met, but Vanth had since learned that Galen's sex appeal had been honed like a weapon, just like everything else about Galen.

"I apologize, my dear. I thought it was only the rabble that I was dealing with tonight," Galen said, turning up the Irish accent to a panty-melting purr. He got out of his chair to kiss Elektra's hand. "I have not had the privilege of hosting a royal under my roof for a while. What on earth are you doing hanging about this miscreant?"

"He's helping me deal with a pesky necromancer problem. He seems to think that we need your help," Elektra replied with a smile.

Vanth knew what her flirting smile was like, and this one was different. Whatever effect Galen usually had didn't seem to be working on her. Vanth relaxed just a little. He wasn't sure if putting the two of them in the same room together while she was on her mating cycle was going to be a good idea. He had never felt insecure before, either, but then again, he had never cared for one of his hookups like he cared for Elektra. Maybe it was love, after all.

"Are you sure he isn't the necromancer problem? Because it's usually him." Galen let go of her hand and went back to his chair behind the desk. "What is this about, Vanth? I have a club to open in twenty minutes and things I need to do."

"Do you remember how you owe me a favor?"

Galen's smiling face went rigid. "I do. Are you calling it in at last?"

"All depends on whether or not you have the power to help me," Vanth replied. He quickly summarized the last few days and everything that happened in them. About halfway through, Galen poured some of the good whiskey that he kept in the drawer of his desk.

Vanth purposely kept some details from Galen, like the fact that Orcus was his father. He wanted to keep his demigod status a secret for as long as possible. His life was complicated enough.

"From what you're telling me, we're fucked, right?" Galen said once Vanth had finished speaking.

"Not if we can find them in time. That's where you come in," Vanth replied. "That sacrificial magic must be contained somewhere. Finding that kind of thing isn't my specialty, but I hope that it's yours. Do you think that you can use your wizard powers and find it for me?"

"All depends if you stop calling them wizard powers. I can look into it for you, but I can't make any promises. This Lazarus seems to have a following of magic users, and if they're all using shielding spells, it might take a while for me to crack," Galen replied. He drained his whiskey, and a flicker of vulnerability danced through his eyes. "Is this something that I really need to be afraid of? Do you think you can stop it, or should I be getting out of town?"

"If you can find Lazarus, then we will stop him. You have my word," Elektra said with cool confidence. They finished their whiskey and rose to leave.

"I will do the magic for you, and then we will be even. Deal?" Galen said.

Vanth nodded. "We will be even. At least until next time you have a mess for me to clean up."

Galen's most charming smile finally made an appearance. "Go home and rest, you two. You've got a big fight ahead of you, so be careful those love hearts in your eyes don't blind you too much."

Vanth chuckled. "Fuck you, sorcerer."

"I'd never have you," Galen shot back.

"Don't worry. I know who you are sweet on, and she will never have you either." Vanth saw the second his barb hit because Galen's eyes darkened.

"You don't know shit. Don't push your luck, Vanth," he said, and Vanth didn't.

He took Elektra's hand and got out of there. Despite loving to torment the sorcerer any chance he got, Vanth knew where the line was. He didn't have a death wish, and Galen was one of the few people in Inferno that he was genuinely afraid of pissing off.