Chapter 32 #2
“And it won’t put anyone we care about in danger?”
“No.”
Lily searched Suyin’s face for a moment with narrowed eyes, and then she nodded. “All right. I’m in.”
“Lil,” Iris hissed out of the corner of her mouth. “You sure?”
“Yes. She’s right. She did us a huge favor, and now she’s asking for help, and I think we should give it to her.”
“But what about Murmur?”
Lily shrugged and glanced at Suyin. “She said we won’t be in danger.”
Iris looked at Suyin.
“I swear,” Suyin said.
Iris blew out a breath. “Does it have to be right now?”
“Yes.” Every minute they waited was a minute closer to the window of opportunity closing. For all she knew, it had closed already.
“All right. I’m in too. But I’m telling Meph about it as soon as we’re done. I don’t like keeping secrets.”
“You can write a whole book about it if you want. I hope it’s a bestseller.”
“Fine. So what do you want us to do?”
Suyin took a breath. “I think it’s better if I show you.”
Bel stood in his office staring at the summoning seal still inscribed on the floor. He’d kept the door closed since leaving the room yesterday, and his brothers knew better than to snoop in his house behind closed doors.
No one but him knew it was here. No one but him knew what he was about to do.
He pulled Murmur’s now-crumpled letter from his pocket and tossed it onto the desk. “I swear to god I’ll kill you for this,” he growled at the paper, as if the writer himself could hear him.
And then he stepped into the seal.
The world spun and flipped over, and then Bel found himself standing … in chaos.
He was in a library, but that was the least of his concerns.
The room was black, save for the orange glow of fire that shone from the tall window across the room.
As if the world outside was on fire. Roaring could be heard in the distance, and there was a faint rumbling that felt vaguely like an earthquake approaching.
But again, that was the least of his concerns.
There was a complex sigil in the middle of the room, surrounded by a shitstorm of scattered paper and spilled blood. Some of it had been used to draw the sigil, and plenty more had pooled around the outside.
In the center of the design was a giant black-and-purple spinning vortex.
The portal.
Cursing inwardly, Bel took two steps toward it, intending to get this over with as quickly as possible, so he could return home and prepare for the aftermath. But he stopped abruptly.
He was in Hell for the first time since he’d escaped with his brothers. Mist, Meph, and Raum had all been back briefly since they’d escaped, but Bel hadn’t. He blew out a breath and felt some of the ever-present tension leave his shoulders.
The air was foul, the sky was red, and there was nearly constant war and violence, but … it did kinda feel good to be back. Just knowing he could lose control and burst into flames without the same consequences as on Earth was a relief.
It didn’t matter now anyway. He was about to shake things up in a major way. After today, all the shit he’d been worrying about for the past year was going to be the least of his concerns.
He took a breath and continued toward the spiraling vortex of doom. Let’s get this over with.
The three witches stood in Suyin’s living room, two of them with their mouths hanging open.
“Oh my god,” Lily breathed, staring at the enormous sigil, candles, herbs, cage of pigeons, and “sleeping” demon on the floor.
“What in the fuck?” Iris said. “Is that—”
“Murmur,” Lily gasped.
“Is he … asleep?”
“He’s dead,” Suyin said, and they both stared at her.
It was almost comical, the way their bugging eyes jumped between her and Murmur’s body.
“That’s impossible,” Iris said. “The only way to kill a demon is to cut off their head and burn the pieces with hellfire.”
“The only way to kill a soulless demon,” Suyin corrected.
“What does that mean?”
“A demon with a soul will die if their soul is separated from their body.” She gestured to Murmur.
“As evidenced.” To another, her unemotional demeanor might have seemed cold, but that numbness was the only reason she’d made it this far.
If she’d allowed so much as a glimmer of despair or grief to break through, she would’ve lost it.
“But—Oh my god.”
“Wait. Murmur has a soul?” Lily whispered.
She nodded.
“And how did he end up … like this?” Iris asked.
“It’s a long story.”
“We’re gonna need an explanation, Su.”
That was fair enough. And honestly, it would be good to get this off her chest. The shit she’d been carrying around for the last couple days was too much for one person to handle alone.
So she took a breath, and she told them everything. Murmur’s death had voided their blood vow, and she found she could talk freely. She even told them how he’d carved the death mark into her skin.
When she finished, the sisters looked like they’d seen a ghost. Or a dead necromancer about to be resurrected.
“Are you sure you want to bring him back?” Iris asked. “I mean … Fuck.”
Suyin knew exactly what she meant. “It’s fucked up what he did, but he also died to avoid killing me. I owe him this at least. When it’s over and he’s alive again, he’ll go back to Hell, and I’ll never see him again. But he sacrificed himself for me. I have to do this.”
“I can understand that,” Lily said, but Iris was still staring at the demon on the floor suspiciously.
“It’s just … I’m not sure I think it’s smart to bring him back,” Iris said. “He’s been causing trouble for Meph and his brothers since we first got mixed up with him.”
“I know you don’t trust him, but I owe him, Ris. It doesn’t matter what he’s done or what he still might do. I have to do this to get a clean slate so I can move on with my life. I’ll never be able to let this go if I don’t.”
“I’m in,” Lily said. “I’ll help you.”
“Lily.” Iris winced. “You’re always so quick to put your faith in people. I just don’t think it’s so simple this time.”
“It is. Yes, Murmur betrayed us, but he also helped us. We never would have been able to rescue Mist from Paimon’s lair if he hadn’t shown up.”
“But—”
“I believe in second chances,” Lily said. “And I also believe in forgiveness.” She gave her sister a pointed look. “I think you of all people should recognize the value of those things.”
There was a weighted silence.
And then Iris sighed. “You’re right, I do understand the value of forgiveness. I don’t like it, but I’m choosing to trust your judgment, Suyin.” She clapped her hands. “So? Where do we start?”
Suyin took a breath. “First, we chant. And then I have to kill a bunch of pigeons.”