“Dust,” Herald said warningly, holding a hand against my chest.
Mammon cocked its head, the green of its eyes sparkling with young menace. “Oh? The thing of shadows is displeased, and it thinks to display its temper in such boorish ways. Disrespectful, it is, to Mammon.”
“You said you would bring his enchantment back,” I snarled. “You said you would make him whole again. You knew that’s what I meant.”
Mammon sighed, turning eyes up to the ceiling far, far above us. “For centuries the children of man have spun stories about the trickery of the devil, how Mammon’s kind is unreliable, full of deceit, evil. It is not demonkind’s fault that your brains are so full of worthless offal.” When Mammon looked at me again, I froze. There was a different quality to the demon’s eyes this time, not the droll amusement we’d seen when we first entered its domicile. It was something like glee.
“Mammon is no liar. The sword’s soul may yet return in time. The thing of shadows is brash, and hot-headed, but it may yet be of service to the princes of hell. For the moment, it suffices to state that Mammon has taken offense. You were initially perceived as an asset. Now, you are something of a liability.”
“Damn it,” Herald muttered under his breath.
“What’s happening?” I said, my grip around Vanitas going even tighter.
“It means that Mammon sees fit to charge a second, smaller price for services rendered. Perhaps even consider it punishment. A penalty. A price you will pay now.”
Panic sheared through my chest. “Look,” I stammered. “We can talk about this. I didn’t mean to – ”
“Mammon will find you again, thing of shadows.” The demon snapped its fingers. “For now, it is off to your next destination.”
Herald and I had no time to move. The floor opened up beneath us. Each of the portraits in the grand hallway laughed in Mammon’s voice as we fell, flailing and screaming, into a narrow pit of fire.
Chapter 22
But we didn’t burn. In fact, as soon as we plunged into the flames, the world spun on its axis, jostling our brains and bodies, only settling when the fires had cleared. We were – well, we were somewhere else.
It wasn’t one of the hells that belonged to the seven demon princes – though if Herald’s research was accurate, the number was actually far, far larger than seven. No, a demon wouldn’t live in a crystalline chamber, with walls reaching up to a sky so pure and blue, a sky swirling with perfect wisps of cloud.
Wait. I knew this place. We were in Amaterasu’s domicile.
The goddess clearly hadn’t noticed us. She was balancing a laptop across her knees, sitting cross-legged on an immense mountain of throw pillows. Her mouth dangled half open as she browsed her computer, which again was a fascinating reminder of how the earth’s entities had caught up with the times. More remarkable, however, was the onesie she was wearing, its hood in the shape of a fox’s head.
“Holy crap,” Herald muttered. “It’s her. Amaterasu. The goddess of the sun.”
“It really is,” I said. “Check out the kigurumi she’s wearing. Dude, I want pajamas like those. They look so comfy.”
Amaterasu giggled at something on her laptop, then stopped herself short, as if sensing that something was amiss. Her eyes slowly swiveled in our direction, and she screamed.
“You!”
“Me,” I said. I nudged my thumb at Herald. “Also him. I love your pajammers, by the way. So cute.”
The goddess threw off her hood and flushed bright red. “How did you get in here? What is the meaning of this?”
“Oh, Radiant Amaterasu,” Herald said, his voice uncharacteristically quavering with what I could only guess was meant to be reverence. “These unworthy ones were delivered here by dire, uncontrollable circumstances. We mean no harm or offense by our intrusion.”
Amaterasu rose abruptly to her feet. Her computer slipped off her lap and vanished in a puff of smoke.
“State your name and your purpose, sorcerer.”
“This one is named Herald Igarashi. I am an archivist and an alchemist for the Lorica.”
Amaterasu’s eyes narrowed as they fell on me. “And this one is Dustin Graves. The tainted one. The shadow beast.”
I raised a hand sheepishly. “Hi. Nice to see you again.”
The goddess scowled. She snapped her fingers, summoning a column of fire to swallow her pajamas. They disappeared in a flash, replaced by the massive, structured raiment I’d once seen her wear, a garment that was equal parts kimono and ceremonial armor. I swallowed thickly. I knew that she could move lightning-quick despite her armor’s bulk.
“That’s a waste of pajamas,” I said.