Trytian shrugged. “My old man does what he does and nobody is going to dissuade him, that I will tell you right now. He’s waited a long time for this moment, and he expects me to be in the thick of things with him, which means I have to head down there after we finish talking.” Another pause. “It also means I’m likely not to return, given the fury with which Shadow Wing can retaliate. But I am my father’s son, and I will march into battle with him.”
We stared at the daemon, and for the first time, I felt a measure of respect for him. He had been a pain in our ass for so long that I had gotten quite used to fielding the monkey wrenches he threw into the mix. But when I thought about it, I realized that he would—at the least—listen to reason.
“Are you sure?” Carter seemed to be thinking along the same lines I was. “This could be suicide.”
“Well, if I’m going to go out, then I might as well go out in a blaze of glory. We have to stop Shadow Wing—the more insane he gets, the more he’s going to try to unravel everything that holds the realms in their place. And while he may or may not be able to accomplish it, the last thing we need is for him to try.” And with that, Trytian stood and headed for the door.
Camille shifted in her seat, then jumped up and followed him. “Trytian . . .”
He turned, a look of surprise in his glittering eyes. “Yeah?”
She darted in, planting a quick kiss on his cheek. “For luck.”
He grunted softly, then pulled her to him and kissed her long and deep. Smoky and Morio glowered, but Trillian just let out a soft laugh. He knew his wife.
Camille pulled away as Trytian slapped her on the ass.
She smacked him lightly on the arm. “Get out of here. Go join the army. Just don’t die. We need daemons we can reason with in the Sub-Realms.”
He saluted the room, and then—before we could say another word—the door closed behind him.
“He’s going to his death.” Vanzir shook his head. “But I admire him for it. He’s right, though, there are those in the Demon Underground who wouldn’t take food from him if they were starving, but who will talk to me. I’ll head down there now and see what I can find out.”
The Demon Underground was an actual place. When I first heard of it, I had thought it was more like the Underground Railroad the humans had formed to secret slaves out of their bondage, but the Demon Underground was exactly what it sounded like. A network of tunnels that shot off from the Underground Seattle area led to a secret passage, which in turn descended into a vast labyrinth of caverns that made up the Demon Underground.
Ever since Shadow Wing had taken over, a number of demons and daemons had fled the Sub-Realms, coming Earthside however they could gain entrance—which wasn’t easy. But for those who managed it, they had taken up residence in the Demon Underground and mostly stayed there, minding their own business.
After Vanzir left, the rest of us just stared at one another, unsure of what to say. A Degath Squad on our tails, out for revenge. Shadow Wing was up to something with his faux Knights. Trytian’s father was about to wage war on the Demon Lord.
And we? We were poised on what was beginning to feel like a pivotal moment in history.
Camille’s phone rang. She frowned, then answered. A moment later, she moved off to one side. I decided to use the time to call Nerissa. She told me she was at home, waiting for us. She and Chase had managed to set up a watch over the Supe Community Hall, just in case some bright nitwit got it into his head to go back and bomb the place.
The others were nibbling on the remains of the tea cakes when Camille returned. “I just put in a call to Vanzir. He’ll have to make his trip to the Demon Underground later. Right now both he and I have been summoned out to Talamh Lonrach Oll.” She yawned, trying to stifle it but unable to mask how tired she was. “Hell, I don’t feel like going out there tonight but I can’t say no.”
“Do you know what Aeval wants?” Delilah caught my eye, as if she sensed something was wrong.
“No, but she was insistent that I get my ass out there. I’ll pick up Vanzir on the way. Morio, you’re to come with me. Smoky and Trillian, can you two catch a ride home with Delilah?”
The catch in her voice told me something was up. “Are you sure everything’s all right?”
Camille shook her head. “I don’t know. Aeval just said she has some important news for me, and that Vanzir also needs to be there. I am a little concerned, especially since she wants Morio out there with me. But we won’t find out what’s up by just standing here. Come on, I can’t keep her waiting. She said it won’t take all night, so we’ll be home as soon as we can.”
Both the Fae Queen of Shadow and Night and the Fae Queen of Light and Morning were scary-ass women. And Aeval and Titania had decided, on the suicide of our distant cousin Morgaine—who had been the Queen of Dusk and Twilight—that Camille would succeed her and take the throne. Also the first Earthside High Priestess of the Moon Mother, our sister had a long and arduous road ahead of her.