Capricorn's Midnight Clock: The Zodiac Book 10, page 29
The countdown hit forty seconds.
"I don't understand. What are you showing me? Can it wait? Let's get you back to the Underworld and healed up. We can talk about your Clock then."
His hands moved over the device with a practiced efficiency they shouldn't possess, not with the trembling. "Self-destruct mechanism." He drew a wheezing breath. "Inward collapse. Will contain the temporal distortions. Prevent cascade failure… That could… Could affect the entire region."
Thirty-five seconds.
I understood. "Is this the only way?"
Capricorn turned to me, seeking me out with those cloudy white eyes. Getting a good, clear look at Capricorn, I didn't recognize incubus, not visually. "It is."
"You're talking about killing yourself. There's got to be another way, Capricorn."
"Already dying." Then Capricorn smiled. A peaceful smile. Dare I say, he looked happy. "Time manipulation at this scale… Not survivable. But I can… Control how it… Ends. This is the way it must be… Lucifer."
I pulled back slightly, keeping contact with his shoulder. I knew what Capricorn meant. He'd lived every day since his wife's death with the guilt of what he'd helped create. This was his redemption moment.
A loud rustling came from behind me. Marijon pulled the tent flap open, and Sethel stepped inside. He'd obviously been running as he breathlessly acknowledged me. He took in the scene. The dying incubus, the ticking device, and the slight funnel of temporal distortions bending through the tent roofs flaps.
"Can we move him?"
Capricorn answered for me. "The device is key to my life. Move me… It destabilizes. Explosion instead of… Implosion. Everyone four miles… Around… Dies."
Twenty seconds.
Another impossible choice. One being made for me, in reality. One I couldn't deny, but one I wanted to fight. For Lucifer's sake, I was supposed to control the fate of demons. I didn't want to, but in moments like this, I wanted nothing more. But didn't I also have to respect Capricorn's wishes? If there were no alternative, my only choice was opening a Rift here in the tent and swiping him away. I'd have to get the rest of the army out. An impossible task if I didn't act now.
But one look in those cloudy eyes, at that aged face, at the peaceful, content expression Capricorn wore told me I couldn't. Capricorn had made the choice he needed to make for himself. If I were truly his Lord, I needed to act like it.
Raising my hand to the side of the tent, I opened a Rift. To Marijon, I said, "Get through that. It'll take you to Ralrek. Tell him to get everybody into the Underworld now." When she hesitated, looking like she wanted to drag me out of the tent, I screamed, "Now!"
She disappeared. Sethel followed closely. I kept the Rift open.
Fifteen seconds.
I cupped Capricorn's free hand. It wasn't cold, but it didn't hold the warmth of life either. "Thank you for everything, Capricorn. The refugees, the delay you gave us, this sacrifice—"
"Tell Bilba," he whispered, "that his healing research… It's the key. The connection between all Abilities… He's closer than he knows."
Ten seconds.
"I left instructions… In the chest… In my tent," Capricorn said, his voice growing weaker. "Seek them out."
Five seconds.
"Rule well, Lucifer." Capricorn's hand went limp inside my cupped hands.
I let go as the Clock counted down towards one, diving through the new Rift I'd opened just a moment earlier.
I didn't hear the implosion from the other side of the Rift, but looking back through the veil in time and space, I saw the brief hiccup of reality. It was wiped away with a fog of sand that didn't settle before I closed my window to the other around.
I stood up, brushing the sand of the Isle of Dread from my filthy clothes. Hundreds of yards down the stretch of beach, a crowd of traumatized mortals stood as close as their physical proximity would allow.
Work accomplished, but unsatisfying. We might have saved their lives, but had we made them better?
Mortals in the Underworld. What in the Heaven had I done? A battle between demons in the sands of Syria. How long before the Upperworld called me to task?
"Zeke!" Dialphio appeared at my side, her face drawn with worry. "Are you alright?"
I patted her hands clamped tightly around my arm. "Yes. I'm fine. Thank you. Capricorn… He's gone."
Her head dropped, her expression clear as if she expected nothing less. "I'm sorry."
"He made peace with everything. Without him, we wouldn't have defeated Beelzebub. We need to check the chest in his tent, though. He said he'd left something there. I suspect it has something to do with the Clock."
Dialphio busily brushed sand off my shirt. "Don't you worry yourself with that. I'll handle that."
"Thank you."
Still brushing, she said, "What are we going to do about them?"
"Get them back to Syria as soon as we figure out where they need to be."
"Bringing them here will cause you headaches, you know?"
I nodded. The potential violation of the treaty with the Upperworld was not the way I wanted to kick off my reign as Lucifer. Restarting a war between the immortal realms? Not exactly on my "to-do" list. I didn't have a choice, but would that matter?
"At least then maybe I'll have time to sit down with Cassie," I muttered more to myself than Dialphio.
She swatted me lightly. "Even as Lucifer, you can still be a brat." She moved in front of me, holding my shoulders with both hands. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine."
"Then I'm going to get to work. I'll start by looking at his chest."
"Let me know what you find, please."
"I will."
Dialphio set off to organize her help. The refugees would be taken care of, provided with food and water and basic medical care. They'd get a place to rest, even if that was the last thing they felt like doing. She'd make sure they got back to the Overworld if I didn't first.
I couldn't deal with any of that at the moment. I needed to walk. The beach had always been my retreat when problems struck. It would serve me well again.
I walked along the shore of the Acheron, losing a sense of time. Waves lapped at the sand in their eternal rhythm, indifferent to what we'd just done in the Overworld.
Sixty-six dead demons. Beelzebub was still alive and most likely reorganizing and rebuilding. Michael and Seraph were still out there. Still planning and plotting. Still torturing and abusing demons across the Underworld in secret. Publicly denouncing me and everything I stood for to turn entire Circles against the new Lucifer. A nascent rebellion. And now hundreds of mortals trapped in the Underworld, their presence a massive problem I'd never thought I'd have to entertain.
We'd saved lives today, but in the big picture, had we done more harm than good? Something I'd have to consider. Something that would consume my mind for days to come.
I walked on, alone.
Was this what leadership meant? An endless series of impossible choices, each with uniquely undesirable consequences?
Behind me, Sethel organized the medical response teams. His aged voice was calm and professional. I appreciated that as it faded into the distance.
Time and space were what I needed to come to terms with what we'd done and with what I still faced. The problem with being Lucifer, I realized, was that I'd never be afforded either. The mantle of leadership settled on me like a physical burden, heavier than battle armor. This was what my predecessor had meant about the loneliness of command. There's only room for one at the top. A fact that demanded the absence of friends.
As I took a seat on a driftwood log, looking out over the rippling waves, I wondered, not for the first time, how long I could do this before I lost touch with who I was.
32
UNDERWORLD, ISLE OF DREAD
A week was enough to prove to myself that I had no more clarity than I had immediately after the fight against Beelzebub's forces. I didn't feel any better about what we'd accomplished, but I didn't feel worse. The stasis was annoying. And the only good thing to come out of the past seven days was being led by my trusted advisor to take a necessary step I hadn't seen until he mentioned it.
That's how I found myself inside the longhouse on the Isle of Dread. Unlike my last appearance in this building, it felt smaller even though it was packed from wall to wall with interested demons. Maybe it was the weight of last week's losses or the knowledge of what I was about to share with the only demons I truly trusted in the Underworld.
Bilba sat to my right. The dark circles under his eyes were suggestive of the long week attending to his mother—a topic we hadn't gotten around to yet. With the course of my future laid out, I hoped I'd find time soon. Dialphio told me on the side that Bilba had been working throughout the entire week, either tending to the injured or training demons in finding their own Healing Ability. She said he never rested, though he might claim otherwise.
Ralrek positioned himself on my left. As he worked his jaw in thought, he exposed the gap created by his missing tooth. Sagittarius and Aquarius represented their respective networks, while Valyria spoke for the Forgotten Ones. I was pleased to see the surprising attendees. The harpy queen and what I assumed was her bodyguard contingent, or fifteen of her most trusted advisors. I learned that the Queen's name was Sythia. Getting them to agree to come to a meeting indoors was one of my greatest accomplishments.
"The only demons I trust are here," I began, my voice carrying clearly across the quiet longhouse. The statement wasn't completely accurate. I trusted Baphomet more each day. After all, it was he who'd given me this idea, encouraged me to take it as a solution. Still, it would be a long time before I trusted anyone on my grounds like I trusted the Exiles. "Everyone else, there are still question marks for me. I have to treat them like potential threats."
I paused. The room was so packed I couldn't pace. Not that I wanted to. Doing that would minimize the importance of the presence of those who stood beside me, and I wanted this community to know where I stood and where my friends did. When I wasn't on the Isle, they needed to know that these demons represented me.
Outside, the gentle breeze rustled through the Palmetto trees. With the sound, I had an unmistakable and unrelenting yearning to run out of the longhouse and through the forest. A home that I missed dearly.
But this wasn't my home anymore. It wouldn't be, no matter how much I wanted to spend out my life on this island… With Cassie.
I pinched my eyes closed at the thought of the angelic beauty. I needed to keep my concentration focused on the important work we were about to do in this building.
"Seraph controls at least three Circles now. Michael was building something in the shadows. Beelzebub's licking his wounds, but he'll be back. Trust me. And what about us?" I turned slowly, making sure I spent time on every corner of the longhouse. I wanted these demons to know that I saw them. "Compared to the forces of the Founders, where a handful of Exiles, Forgotten Ones, and harpies. A speck on a slightly larger speck of an island."
Sythia's feathers ruffled. "You make sounds like hopeless, Lucifer."
"It is hopeless," I replied, pausing again. I disliked manipulating demons with oratory tactics, but this was necessary. I needed them to hear every word I said today. We had such a slim margin for error that anything less was detrimental. "Unless we do something that's never been done. Unless we forge an alliance, not just for political convenience, but a true partnership. Of resources, intelligence, and military cooperation."
Another bite-size chunk for them to chew on.
The longhouse fell quiet except for Aquarius and Libra, both of whom furiously scribbled notes. Aquarius had been documenting everything since the battle, creating what she called "a record for posterity." I wasn't sure exactly what Libra was jotting down, but he always was, so I wasn't surprised.
Bilba's jaw hung open. He snapped it shut. "What exactly are you proposing?"
"Just what it sounds like. Shared resources. Integrated communication and command structure. A formal military alliance. When Seraph comes for innocent demons, and she will, we fight as one force. Not as separate groups hoping for the best. Not as a small contingent hanging back on the island while a portion of us stand for the Underworld."
"Not all are warriors, Lucifer," Valyria said. "What if we refuse?"
I spread my hands as if it were clear. "Then you refuse. I won't force anyone into this war. I won't be like the Founders, and I won't even be like my predecessor. But understand something. The war is coming to the Underworld. If we're ready for it doesn't matter. The only question is whether we face it united or divided. Those who sit on the sidelines do so not only at their own risk, but at everyone's. Those they love, especially. Now is not the time for selfishness or succumbing to fear."
Bilba cleared his throat quietly. I wasn't sure if anyone three feet away heard him. He stepped forward. His voice was quiet authority. If forced demons to listen. "We're not just fighting for territory, everyone. We're fighting to restore something the Founders took. From us. The unbroken thread that connects all magical potential. The ability for demons to grow, evolve. To become more than what we were born to be. And that's just the beginning of what is under threat.
He gestured toward the Forgotten Ones. "Look at what Ralrek's Forgotten Ones have accomplished." Heads turned to the side of the room dominated by that population. "Their Abilities are mutating. They're becoming something new. Something neither I nor Sethel understands. That's not an accident. That's what happens when demons are free to explore the potential instead of being confined into constructs built for us. This is just one way the Founders box us in. One example of how they control us and keep us powerless."
Sythia's head tilted. She snapped her eyes shut rapidly. Over and over. "And harpies? What benefit we gain from alliance with demons?"
"Respect," Bilba said calmly. It seemed to take the heat out of the crowd's reaction. "Full membership in whatever government emerges. No more being treated as lesser demons. Your kind will be an equal kind across the Underworld."
I watched as the harpy queen considered. Harpy eyes, along with almost everything to do with the species, were unique and interesting, if not slightly unsettling. Around her, the other harpies whispered in their rapid clicking language.
Sythia fluttered her wings once with a sharp snap. I turned away from her naked form. "Agreed. We maintain autonomy. Our land." I held in my sigh. "No demons tell harpies how to live."
"Agreed," I said with a firm head nod and appreciative smile.
Sythia didn't react at all, as if the Lord of the Underworld didn't impress her.
One by one, each subgroup, including all four tribes, voiced its commitment. Valyria spoke for the Forgotten Ones. Sagittarius, for the underground network of spies and logistics experts. Aquarius for the information network that doubled as a theater group. By the time we were finished, wed formalized something that felt far bigger than the sum of its parts. I wondered for an excited moment if the three Founders were ready for what we were building.
"There's one more thing," I said before I dismissed the congregation. "Capricorn left us a gift. Something we need to understand."
I nodded to Bilba. He produced a scroll from inside his satchel. He held it high so that even the demons in the back of the longhouse could see. "These are instructions. Detailed plans for building a new counter-device, along with locations where we can find the materials and how to activate it."
Without taking my eyes off the audience, I prompted, "And?"
"Lucifer deployed a reconnaissance team. They returned this morning."
Ralrek knew the answer, but he asked, "With the materials?"
A layup, mortals might say. I nodded. "Yes. It's something else. Michael's forces were there too, collecting fragments. There was a fight. We didn't suffer any fatalities or injuries, but we came close."
The atmosphere in the room grew tense. The implications were clear, even for those with only a casual understanding of what we'd been working on with Capricorn. Our problems were far from over. Michael might possess a weapon he could use against the island if he ever got access to it. All it took was my termination. A message that was clear to everyone.
Bilba opened the scroll, holding it by both ends and slowly turning so the demons in the audience could see. "As a sample. Capricorn was very thorough."
This was the first time I'd seen evidence of what we'd gained. I'd spent the week at my grounds in countless meetings as we prepared a response. Not only to Beelzebub, but those from Michael and Seraph as well. But now, seeing them in person, I felt something different. As Bilba turned in my direction, Creed vibrated.
I opened my eye, pushing my perception beyond the visible to examine the crystal fragments attached to the scroll Bilba held.
"Turn it back this way," I said firmly, even though Bilba didn't need to be led by the hand like that.
I allowed my eye to scan the fragments.
"This isn't about construction," I announced to my best friend and the audience. "They're sabotage instructions and ingredients. Capricorn built deliberate flaws into his original design. Subtle modifications that would cause a re-creation to fail catastrophically."
I almost wanted to laugh. Capricorn, that cheeky bastard, had made sure that he cleaned up his work before he left. I was just now understanding the depth of his planning.
In the silence, Sagittarius softened the edge of the tension in the room. "He was always thinking. Always ten steps ahead."
I chuckled. "His final gift. Now let's go celebrate him. What do you say?"
What could they say? I'm Lucifer.
Demons and harpies alike filed out of the longhouse. We shared hugs, handshakes, and even wing-fist taps to celebrate our new alliance. An hour later, we found ourselves at the Memorial the Exiles and Forgotten Ones had built for Capricorn. Even the harpies showed up. It was nice to see, especially after Baphomet told me that my predecessor's wishes were not to have a memorial, or even a gathering, if I defeated him and took the title. Because he'd lived for so long, he had no one left in the Underworld besides Baphomet who was close. Sort of a sad ending to a life, I guessed. Definitely not the way I wanted to go out. But though Capricorn had only lived on the Isle for a short time, he had made real connections. He'd made a difference, and the turnout proved it.
