Myrddin sighed as though he’d expected better from me. “Am I? I don’t know about that. You seem to think the demons will invade and turn the whole place into another Hell plane.”
“Won’t they?” I asked, though I knew the answer to that question. No matter what they’d told Myrddin—even if they thought they were telling the truth—full-blooded demons ended up going one way. The worst way.
He chuckled in a manner that let me know he thought I was a naïve child. “Of course not. The demons I’m working with seek to enrich the Earth plane, not destroy it. For eternity Earth has been held back by Heaven’s rules and laws and expectations. Earth has been a son of Heaven and never truly allowed to stand on its own. Imagine what it will be like without the influence of a suffocating father standing over it every minute of the day.”
He was insane. I was pretty sure of that now. “So the demons are going to be what? The aggressive asshole big brother we’ve always longed for?”
“No, they’re going to teach humans how to care for themselves, how to enjoy their limited lives. They will teach them to live for today and not weep and cry about tomorrow,” Myrddin explained. “They will teach humans that Heaven’s rules are ridiculous, that it’s all right to be a physical being. Imagine a world where creatures like Mr. Roberts here aren’t treated like lessors because of his sexual preference.”
“I don’t think that was Heaven.” Neil sat back, setting his cup down again. “I think humans can do plenty of damage all on their own. From what I’ve met of celestial creatures they’re pretty cool.”
We’d met several, including Sarah’s husband, Felix. We’d been told that the force at the center of the universe was far more tolerant than humans gave him or her or it credit for. Love, tolerance, kindness, those were the tenants of the angels I’d met. And a couple of them had real potty mouths.
“Really?” Myrddin huffed the question. “And the one who tried to kill the Nex Apparatus a few years ago? Was he…cool?”
Neil shook his head. “Nah, he was an asshole, and he’s probably somewhere here on this plane or another starting over again. See, you took something different than I did from that story. I was actually there and I saw what happened. I saw celestial beings who could wipe us out with a single thought stand and allow one of their own to be subject to Earth’s laws for the simple fact that it was just and right. And when he died—even though he’d betrayed them all—they gave him compassion and allowed him to begin again. That’s the trouble with some immortals. You get this one life and when you screw it up, you don’t start over and try to get it right. You tend to double down. You’re mad at Daddy and want to show him how powerful you are.”
Myrddin’s jaw tightened, and I could easily see that had been a direct hit. “My father was an incubus.”
According to the legends, Myrddin was the product of a sex demon’s seduction of a pious woman. “I believe he’s referring to our spiritual father or mother, depending on your beliefs. But you don’t have any beliefs, do you? Not beyond your own power. Heaven’s done nothing for you, and the Earth plane’s been kind of a bust since your power is always tied to someone else. Why not give Hell a try? The problem is they’ll promise you everything. And it’s all a lie. You’re screaming into the void, wizard. What you want isn’t something Hell can give you. You want power? They’ll give you the illusion of it. You want to be some kind of guru for all of Earth? They’ll hand you the keys to the kingdom and they will take them back whenever they want to. Your best bet is to climb into that crystal coffin of yours to wait for another turn and do better next time because no one is truly immortal and those demons will prove it to you when you fail.”
“I have no intentions of failing, bitch.”
There he was. There was the real Myrddin, the one who lived beneath the courtesy and double-edged words. I always found it interesting that it was only women who could truly rankle this legendary male. “But whatever will you do without your book?”
Neil went still beside me. “Zoey…”
It was my turn to shrug because he already suspected me. Tiptoeing around the subject wouldn’t change his mind. It didn’t mean I couldn’t lie about it. If Lucifer was the father of lies, then Myrddin was at least a first cousin, so he deserved it. “I can tell him, Neil. I can tell him everything. I stole your book, asshole. I had a magical wallet. You know, the kind you can stuff anything into and it fits perfectly. It was a present from my father. You remember him? The one you killed. I had it on me when I fell through your trap. I did not bring the fucker back. I traded it to some witches on another plane. Got a good deal.”