Dead Man’s Party

I t’s been two days since I dropped the new student on the Prince, but I haven’t seen the payoff I would have expected. Based on his reputation both at school and in court, I would have thought I’d see Camponella in my office either whining or beat to a pulp by now. But I haven’t and it’s making it hard to focus on all the levers I need to pull to keep my end of the bargain.

Of course, Luca demanding I attend his ridiculous gathering on the other side of the Mouth took precious time I didn’t want to give up.

Looking around the room full of simpering demons, hybrids, and a smattering of other supernaturals, I see nothing that warrants my attendance. Face time can be important when you’ve been planning things for eons, but I have duties to attend to, unlike him. He’s an earth dwelling recruiter who’s living it up on the dime of our benefactors. For the fistful of years he’s been up here, he’s shown very little progress for the amount of resources he drains on a monthly basis. And his sons are even worse… seeing them with a lowly Fae that works for the Society made my stomach turn.

Even lesser Princes of Hell shouldn’t be slumming it with hybrids.

My real employers agree with that sentiment and they’d be very interested to know his progeny are gallivanting with scum. However, that would require me to put in significantly more effort than I deem Gemini’s downfall worthy of. I don’t want to replace him here; my school is the perfect location for my tasks. It would be considered a promotion, though, and I wouldn’t be able to turn it down without revealing my distaste for being topside. So the lazy ass vengeance demon will survive to live another day, I suppose.

I watch the newest Gemini heirs flirt and flaunt their relationship with the girl, noting their useless friend floating about as well. The Dark Fae is certainly seductive—she’s built like a more solid version of the human model from the fifties who wore lingerie all the time—but something about her is off. My instincts are rarely wrong, but I can’t put my finger on what makes her different from all the other hybrids at the party. She’s not even comparable with the Unseelie slinking around and that’s certainly in her heritage.

I should warn Luca, but I’m not eager to help the bastard, either.

“Lord Darkstar…”

Beccarus is dancing near me, gesturing for me to approach her. I dart my eyes to a shadowy corner, hoping the simpleton realizes I don’t want people to see us together. She works at the school, so it wouldn’t be unusual for her to attend as an assistant, but she’s not one for humanoid form. Gemini prefers no or half-shifted demons at his Earth events, so my sniveling toadie will stick out like a sore thumb. I don’t want the quorum meeting to begin with a lecture on how human and supe paparazzi sneak into these events.

We shouldn’t have to hide and his security should be far better—unless he allows it to maintain his celebrity mobster status.

Making my way over to the spot I indicated, I peer down at the lesser demon impatiently. This had better be good. Silvera joined me on this trip above because he’s good at cloaking his form, even if he loses his temper and shifts. “What is so important that you dare interrupt me at this event? We have a quorum, and the meeting will begin in the next hour.”

“I am sorry, Headmaster. However, the watchers we recruited have brought some news. I knew you’d want to hear it before you go into the meeting.” Beccarus ducks her head, obviously thinking I’m going to lash out despite what she said. I would, simply for the impertinence, but this is not the time or place to discipline my staff.

“Spit it out,” I snarl. “You’re wasting time.”

“Camponella survived the first day with a few bumps. However, our spies in the activities witnessed a few irregularities you should know. He accompanied Xerxes to the drama meeting and during, they discussed induction. Then, after the evening meal, he went to the Thieves Guild gathering. Kit stood up to Bastion, and the crow got elected to lead the Guild.”

That’s… not what I expected in the slightest.

“The boy might not have magic, but he has a spine,” I murmur as I consider the possibilities. “Perhaps we can use this. After all, the Prince is predictable; he’ll force Kit to take part in everything his caliphate does until he finds the activity where the human shines. Jasper is skilled at making certain to dominate every aspect of life at Discordia.”

Beccarus gives me a crooked, toothy grin. “If he makes the human join Magic Battles, we can use our allies to eliminate him. The bad feeling you have about him will be taken care of when he’s killed. Plus, if they induct him beforehand, it will harm the Prince’s power base.”

“Yes, it will.” Glancing around the room, I note Lola holding court with a group of easily swayed young demons. She’s the key to getting Luca to vote the way I want him to in the session. I need to approach her before it’s time to convene. “Beccarus, I must attend to things here. Find Silvera and apprise him of the news, then head back to the school. Whatever you’ve done to turn screws on students so they’ll comply, intensify with a reward they can’t resist. We need anyone we have on our side hungry for blood during Battles this week.”

The demon grins again, doing a small curtsey before she disappears in a puff of sulfur. I sigh as I walk away from the hidden alcove, moving through the crowd toward the redhead Luca married. They aren’t fated mates, but demons don’t find them as often as we used to. I don’t blame the blowhard for claiming a woman as ambitious and vicious as himself to help rule their empire here.

I blame him for being weak and lazy, but that’s not my call.

“The King and the families are not interested in coming to the table,” Luca says with a smirk. “We will have to take more definite action to force the negotiations. Perhaps aligning ourselves more fully with our new sponsor is best.”

Of course, he thinks we should get in deeper with the mysterious benefactor—Gemini is little more than a thug.

“I don’t believe that’s our only option,” I reply as I observe the others. The Geminis may have control over the West Coast, but the Midwest, Southern, and Eastern families don’t look convinced. We’d need their support here, plus unconditional support from traitors within the seven families below to fully commit. “And we do not know enough about the group to pursue additional partnership.”

“I think they’re makin’ a bigger play than y’all understand,” Cornelius Rhodes says in his lazy drawl. The bulky crossroads demon runs the Southern United States, and he’s sharp as a tack. His down-home demeanor purposefully conceals his intelligence—a fact that aids him in tricking most people into underestimating him. He’s a necessary ally in any decision. “I don’t cotton to being used for some hot-headed numbskull’s plot to take over the world. My people don’t care about the top-side unless it affects our allotment.”

That’s the rub with demons; they don’t give a damn unless it impacts their comfort.

“Dethroning the current monarchy would impact them,” Lola says sharply. “We’d re-negotiate terms with the Society and it would be from a position of power. Remember, our benefactor is working on both the supernatural and human realms with other partners.”

I shake my head at the same time as Phelps Brewster, the head of the Midwest sector. He’s similarly doubtful that any group can accomplish infiltration with supernaturals, humans, and demons. The landscape is too big and there are too many species to consider. “I don’t believe that for a second, Lola. You’re na?ve if you think anyone can manipulate that many groups at once successfully.”

“Not to mention it would start another ‘world war’ scenario,” Constance Braithwaite adds with a disapproving cluck of her forked tongue. The woman is a pit demon, and she seems to get uglier every time I see her. She’s forsaken Luca’s humanoid decree in our private quorum room and the results are not pleasant. “Disrupting the power structures of all the various species across the globe will only foment chaos. Someone like Lola might covet that outcome, but it won’t end well for business.”

Finally, someone making sense. It’s about time.

“Those of us with interests that require live humans, supernaturals, and the like will suffer far longer than those who feed off of atmospheric conditions,” Phelps agrees. “My folks need crises of faith, greed, lust, and all the rest to function. Hell, Luca, your woman would be okay, but you need living beings for vengeance, too.”

The onyx demon leans back in his chair, considering the input. “That’s true. But none of us are getting what we want or need at present. Perhaps we need to use what we can from this secret contributor and break ties once our realm is in play?”

“That would mean we have to figure out the prophecy,” I interrupt. “No one’s done it so far and it’s been millennia. Not even the fucking Fae know what the hell the damn thing means. There are parts scattered all over the globe, and we don’t have a full version to get scholars working on. The Society has parts, the Fae have parts, we have parts, and we believe somewhere, the humans have pieces. Those damn seers the supes and deities use won’t give anyone a clue—and they’re immortal, so we can’t torture it out of them.”

“Not to mention they have powerful magic directly from the Source,” Constance mutters. “If you screw with them, they find ways to re-weave your tapestry that no one wants to experience. I’ve seen it happen; I won’t be party to it.”

Suddenly, her horrendous appearance makes a lot more sense; even for a pit demon, she’s hideous.

“Well, this has been enlightening, but if we don’t have other business to discuss, I have things to handle at the university,” I say as I stand. I will not sit here and contemplate our navels all night. No one has anything usual to add and we can’t agree, so I want to get back to my minions to find out what they’ve arranged.

The door pops open, and every demon at the table whirls around to glare at the intruder. A smartly dressed succubus looks at us in fear for a moment, then clears her throat. “Apologies, my Lords and Ladies. Mr. Gemini, we have a situation you need to deal with.”

Luca stands, looking infuriated as he stomps over to the assistant. “I said no disruptions!”

“Y-Yes, my Lord. But… I believe this is too important to ignore.”

Hold on, I might be interested in staying if I get to see Gemini humiliated at his own altar.

“What could possibly be that urgent?” Lola sneers at the girl.

She swallows hard as she looks back and forth between her employers, dreading her duty to report the incident. “Your sons… just announced the Fae girl is their mate to the entire party. It’s chaos out there.”

The Geminis both look stricken and I have to stifle my laughter behind my hands. This is delicious . They were hoping to marry this set of twins off for political connections. If the sparkling hybrid out there truly is their fated mate, it will tarnish their image in all the circles we run in. It might even get him recalled if he’s not careful.

“Well… I suppose that is pretty urgent,” I say as I arch a brow at the other leaders of the movement. “Especially since the girl is not even partially demonic. Rotten luck, Gemini. The Fates definitely aren’t feeling kindly towards you and Lola today.”

His sneer as he stalks out is the best thing I’ve seen all day.

Perhaps I should come to these parties more often.