I kept teling myself Vayl had lived nearly three hundred years now. And it would take me longer than that to know him wel . Stil , even though his broad back was turned to me I would bet my savings his eyes were the clear blue of a Nordic sailor. The kind who sees past the waves and beyond the horizon, which is why he’s stil on the ocean long after his neighbors have given up and taken factory jobs.
Though we made no noise as we came up behind him and the rest of the map readers, he didn’t even turn his head. Just said, “Sterling, would you check for activity below?”
As our warlock strode to the roof’s edge, Cole and I moved to take his place, al of us treading lightly around one of the weak spots near the roof’s center that we’d identified when we’d first come up. Vayl held the yo-yo light while Yousef explained through Kamal what he was seeing.
Yousef pointed a brown-stained finger at one of the squares. “These are empty now. And this one”—he joined a second finger to the first and tapped them against a large circle in the bottom corner that seemed to have been drawn with a bolder outline than the others and fil ed with squiggly red lines. “It was capped long ago.”
“Why?” Vayl asked.
“My great-grandfather used to tel the story of how one morning the men came to work to find al of the liquid in the vats boiling. They stood around, trying to decide what had happened, fearful that the tannery would be closed forever.
Then, one by one, the vats cracked, pouring out their contents onto the ground. Al except for this one.” Yousef peered closely at the map. “Yes, this is the one that had to be capped because the dyes thickened and began to spurt into the air at random times. Whoever was hit by even a drop was burned to the bone. Not just anyone could cap it, either. Only the men I told you about earlier—those who can open and close the doors to the world of the dead—were strong enough to come near.”
Vayl ran the light around the extra-black edge. At one section Cole said, “Stop. Go back. See that?” We were so quiet for a moment that we could hear each other take in a couple of extra breaths. Then Yousef said, “It is the holy sign.”
“It’s a bird,” said Cole.
Yousef shook his head. “The tail and the beak are singular—it is a dove.”
“He’s right,” I told Cole. “It’s one of the few symbols that can drain the mojo right out of a demon.”
“I didn’t know that. Why didn’t I know that?”
“Because until you started working with us, you never needed to, am I right?”
He paused to take a mental hike into his last career.
“You’re right. I dealt with some funky stuff, but never demons.”
Vayl nodded. “We al seem to have to face them eventual y. And when that happens, we learn that dove symbols carry with them great power. As Jasmine said, they can weaken a demon’s defenses. And they can lock any hel spawn out of a protected area.”
“Which would explain why Kyphas needs us to unlock the vat,” I said.
Cole spoke in a near monotone. “But that doesn’t explain what Roldan has to do with it.”
“No,” Vayl agreed. “But do not discount his hatred for me. I am the reason Helena slipped through his grasp. If the demon promised him revenge for that, he would agree to demon promised him revenge for that, he would agree to anything.”
“I’m a little busy at the moment,” I said. “But as soon as my schedule clears, I am so going to kick Roldan’s ass.”
“Not if I get to him first,” said Vayl.
“Nice words,” said Sterling. “But they won’t do you much good if those hel spawn grind you into assassin burgers in the meantime.” He was leaning one elbow against the roof’s edge, like he was about to pose for a picture.
“What’re they doing down there?” asked Cole.
Sterling said, “They’ve set up a defensive line. Probably because they know we have to come down within the next couple of hours.”
We joined him, let him point out Kyphas and her three active minions. We were stil assuming another two hung back to guard their retreat.
“It shouldn’t be that hard,” noted Cole. “If the door guards stay in place, our numbers are even. We can take them.”
“Have you ever fought kloricht before?”
“Oh, so that’s what they are.” He scratched his chin like he actual y had a mental index to thumb through before he could give us a truthful answer. “No. But I assume they have asses?”
Vayl’s lips twitched. “Yes.”
“Then they’re kickable.”
Vayl’s smile widened ever so slightly. For once it looked like he and Cole agreed, even though Vayl, at least, knew the kloricht were famous for their fighting ferocity.
Because if they kil ed enough of Lucifer’s enemies they could use the souls as a ladder to climb right out of the pit.
The standing theory on the Great Taker’s strange generosity was that he felt loyalty should be rewarded. And these pups were true. Most of them had been soldiers. The kind who’d fol owed orders to the letter. Even if that meant herding train cars ful of innocent Jews into the gas chamber.
I suddenly wondered where the kloricht went when they escaped hel . No way would they be al owed entry into paradise. So what was left to them? The Thin? Deep in my mind’s prison, Brude’s howling laughter confirmed my guess. He’d built the foundation of his army on Satan’s escapees.
I spoke up. “Yousef. How close are the kloricht to the vat we need to uncap?”
“Halfway across the tannery,” he said through Kamal, who’d started to bite his fingernails between sentences.
Sterling said, “Even with al our skil s combined, they’l be on us before we can move the lid and lift the tool to the top of whatever muck is stil inside the vat. Not to mention the danger we might stil be facing from the liquid itself. If it burned men fifty or sixty years ago it stil could today.”
“So we fight,” said Vayl. He gave me his slow smile. I felt my whole body respond.
Kamal sniffed. “Are you people actual y excited about this?”
Cole drew his sword. I knew the vibration that ran through him had nothing to do with fear as he and Sterling bumped fists for good luck. “It’s like asking a pro footbal player if he’s ready for the game, dude. This is what we do.” CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Since Sterling could provide air support and use the Party Line to update us on the demons’ movements, we decided to leave him on the roof. Alone. Because we stil needed Yousef to guide us to ground zero. And Kamal…
When we turned to leave him with the warlock he made a please-don’t-abandon-me sound. I stopped and looked up at Vayl, who asked, “How old are you, son?”
“Sixteen.”
Shit.
So his next question was for Sterling. “Can you protect him?”
Sterling’s hair seemed to whisper spel s of its own as it brushed against his col ar with the shaking of his head. “I can’t make any guarantees. The boy should leave.”
“Yeah, and if they grab him right outside the gate and use him as a bargaining tool?” asked Cole. “What are we gonna do then?”
“We wil leave the decision to him,” Vayl said firmly. “It is his life, after al .”
Kamal slapped his hand over his chest like Vayl had threatened to carve out a piece of it. “I want to go home,” he said.
Vayl nodded. “Of course. Sterling?” He turned to the warlock. “Do you have any sort of charm this boy can carry for extra protection?”