His eyes met Farideh’s. “Darling, you have to agree this is far over any of our heads. Archdevils and aboleths? What do you think to do against that?”
He was right, of course; she was not a match for an aboleth. Against Glasya’s plans, she would be no more an obstacle than a pebble in the road.
“Nothing,” she said. “But now we know better how to distract Rohini while we rescue Mehen.”
“And even if you get to him, darling, she has him dominated. He won’t come willingly. Better for you to think of him as dead.”
“What your orc couldn’t do?” she said bitterly. His eyes hardened. “We’re going back for Mehen.”
“Fine,” he said. “Break your own heart. Go see Mehen’s not coming back. But don’t try to stop Glasya’s plans. I beg you. You cannot stand against her. None of you can.”
“Can you?” Havilar asked.
“I’m not stupid enough to try,” he said. He scanned the street again. “What about the Ashmadai?” Farideh said.
Lorcan gave another of those hopeless sounding laughs. “Avoid them too.”
“They thought the Glasyans were after them. Is that Rohini’s doing?”
“Why are you trying to puzzle all of this out?” Lorcan cried. “There’s nothing to be gained by knowing what the plans of archdevils are. It’s only going to draw their eyes. We shouldn’t even be guessing at what Rohini is tasked with.”
“I’m trying to figure out what we should be doing before your fifty-eight half-sisters show up along with Rohini and her karshoji-possessed aboleths, and tear this city to the ground.” She fought the urge to threaten him with the rod again. “You’re the one who brought up Ashmadai before. You’re the one who claimed we were in the middle of a Hellish civil war. You’re the one demanding I get out of Neverwinter safely, so help me. Tell me what we’re dealing with.”
But Lorcan merely clamped his mouth shut and shook his head emphatically.
“Fine.” Farideh turned her back to him. “We need to get back to the hall and to Mehen. Without running into any more devils.”
“And we have to undo what Rohini’s done to Mehen,” Havilar added. She looked up at Lorcan. “Does he know how to do that?”
“We try things until they work,” Farideh answered. “Starting with Brin’s magic.”
“No,” Brin said. “I’m not strong enough … you need a more powerful priest than me.”
“Luckily this place is lousy with priests,” Havilar said. “Tam is somewhere here, isn’t he?”
Farideh pursed her lips. “He said to meet him outside the South Gate. We don’t have time to find him.”
“You have to,” Brin said. “Unless you have powerful potions up your sleeves?”
“A present from your lousy priest?” Lorcan muttered.
“What sort of potions?” Farideh asked. “A potion of vitality? Would that do it?”
“Well … yes,” Brin said. He squinted at her. “Where did you get a potion of vitality?”
“I don’t have one,” Farideh said. “But Yvon did. There’s one on the shelf of the shop.”
“The Ashmadai place?” Havilar said.
Lorcan snorted. “How terribly safe.”
Farideh ignored him. “It’ll be fine. They’re all dead, remember?”
“Not by a long shot.”
Farideh glared at Lorcan. “I’m sorry, I thought you didn’t want to puzzle this out. Have you got something to add?”
He regarded her a long moment, as if he did, as if he wanted to spell out what she was missing. But he turned resolutely to the window. “Don’t say you’re sorry when you’re not.”
“What do you mean they aren’t all dead?” Havilar demanded. “Farideh said we killed them all.”
Lorcan paused, as if he didn’t want to say. “The Ashmadai are as numerous as termites in Neverwinter. And now they’re angry. If Rohini left even one alive, scads of them are now looking for the two of you.”
Farideh cursed. Why did Lorcan always have to be right? Aboleths and cultists of Asmodeus, and devils serving Glasya-you’re being stubborn if you stay here, she thought. Nothing but stubborn.
“Fine,” Farideh said. “We need one to go get the potion and one to get Mehen out of the temple. Brin, you’re the one the Ashmadai haven’t seen. You break into the shop.” She looked at Havilar and bit her lip. The worst of her shock had subsided, but she was still looking drawn and nervous. Farideh couldn’t ask Havilar to come anywhere near Rohini, not if the succubus might possess her again.
“Can you go with him?” she asked. “He’ll need someone to guard him.”
Havilar nodded once. “And I’m fast,” she said, half to herself. “I can get there quick and be back to meet you-”
“No,” Farideh said. “We meet by the gate. If something happens, you can’t be caught.” She hesitated a moment and turned to Brin. “Keep up if you can, heal her if the bandage doesn’t hold. I’ll bring Mehen to you.”
Brin glanced up at Lorcan. “Is he going with you?”
“No,” Farideh said, just as Lorcan answered, “Yes.”
“No,” she said again, “you aren’t.”
“Rohini must have a portal to the Hells. She couldn’t travel back and forth without one. Since my … path, is clearly not working, I might as well come with you and find hers.” He smirked. “It’s just convenient.”
“Or we could kill you,” Havilar piped. “That would send you back.”
He glowered. “That doesn’t work on half-devils.”
“Havi, go,” Farideh said. “We don’t have much time. Brin, go with her. Keep your eyes open. If you run into Ashmadai-”
“Yes, Mehen,” Havilar said, sliding into her glaive’s harness. “We’ll be careful.”
Words caught in Farideh’s mouth-she wanted to warn Havilar, to snap at her for being flippant, to tell her she loved her dearly in case something happened. To say she was sorry for everything that had brought them here. There wasn’t time. She hugged her twin tight. “Be careful.”
“I’ll try,” Havilar said, squeezing her back. “You be careful, too. You don’t need me to tell you, worrywart, but do it anyway.” Farideh chuckled.
She made a point of hugging Brin as well, stiff and awkward as it felt. “Don’t let her fight any cultists,” she murmured. “Please.”
“I’ll try,” he said.
Havilar eyed Lorcan a moment before giving Farideh one last, significant look-a reminder that being careful extended to the cambion-and heading down the wall with Brin following.
You will see her again, she told herself. It made the lump in her throat harder to swallow. Farideh looked back over her shoulder at Lorcan, who was still giving her a petulant, puzzled sort of stare.
“What in all the planes were you doing in an Ashmadai safe-house?” he asked quietly.
“Finding a way out of this pact.”
His eyes tightened, and he folded his arms over his chest. “How clever of you. No better way to the peaks of the Hells than clinging to the god of sin’s most brutal followers.”
“Fortunately I have other options,” she said, ignoring the insult. “If you’re going to follow me, you ought to put your disguise back on.”
“You do make a much better tyrant than a killer.”
“Put it on, or don’t follow me,” she said. She turned from him, her anger getting the better of her. “Gods, I can’t believe all this time you could make yourself look human. It was just too much fun popping up and putting me in danger, wasn’t it?”
“You may have noticed earlier,” he said bitterly, “the spell causes a great deal of pain. I save it for emergencies. Like rescuing you.”
“You mean ‘trying to drag me out of where you couldn’t get me’?”
“You ripped me out of my disguise and into my proper skin. I think we’re even on that score.”
She spun on him. “I used the amulet to protect myself from you! You don’t get credit for that.”
“An enormous waste of its powers,” he said tightly. “I’d never hurt you like Rohini will.”
She couldn’t deny Rohini’s danger-but that didn’t mean Lorcan wasn’t dangerous himself. The amulet wouldn’t have done anything if he weren’t. She pulled herself straight and stared him down. “You hurt me enough.”