Demon Thief (The Demonata 2)

seen a ghost.

We come to a room even larger than the rest. A huge spider-shaped throne in the center, made of webs. A chandelier overhead, again woven from webs, with naked flames flickering in place of candles or light bulbs. Objects from my world are strewn across the floor — pieces of clothing, a tennis ball, walking sticks, the skeleton of some large animal, toys, more chess sets, scattered bones. A portrait of Lord Loss on the wall behind the throne, painted in the style of Vincent van Gogh.

Lord Loss glides to the throne, over the legs that jut out of its base, up to the seat which is set in the body of the spider. He lowers himself onto it, so he can look down on us like a king upon his subjects. Cadaver sits on one of the legs to the left of the throne, playing with Art, holding him up on his knees, then letting him drop and catching him.

The demon master raises a hand to stop us about ten or twelve feet away from the throne. Smiles imperiously, then waves the hand at the room in general. “What do you think of my humble abode?”

“Not what I’d choose,” Beranabus says. He nods at some of the objects on the floor. “The remains of previous guests?”

“Mementos,” Lord Loss says. He gestures at a knife, which rises from the floor and floats into his mangled hand. It’s not like the knives in our kitchen at home — this is more of a small sword. Lord Loss turns it around a few times, smiling at Beranabus. “You should recognize this. It was yours once.”

Beranabus’s face is stone. “I’m not interested in the past or your mementos.”

Lord Loss shrugs and lets the knife drop. Art grabs for it, but Cadaver flicks it away before my brother can do any damage with the blade.

“Tell me what you are interested in,” Lord Loss says. “Tell me why you have come and risked my wrath. You know uninvited visitors are not welcome, that I am entitled to kill you all if I wish — and probably will.”

He waves at the walls. Looking up, I see the demons from outside sneaking into the room through windows that I hadn’t noticed before. They cling to the walls, growing in number by the second, completely surrounding us. Several block the doorway through which we entered.

“I’ve been in more promising situations,” Shark mutters wryly.

“Do you think we could blast through the walls?” Dervish asks. “They’re only webs.”

“Magical webs,” Sharmila corrects him. “Built to protect Lord Loss from all the demons of this universe. I would not bet on us being able to force a way through.”

Beranabus ignores the demons. He’s gazing calmly at Lord Loss. Points at Cadaver and says, “We want him.”

“The baby?” Lord Loss smiles, misinterpreting the gesture.

“No. The demon.”

Lord Loss frowns. He’d expected Beranabus to ask for Art. I had too. I want to yell at the magician and remind him of his promise. But that would be the wrong thing to do. We’re in a dangerous spot, the odds stacked against us. I have to trust Beranabus for now. Let him play it the way he wants. Only step in if I feel I absolutely have to.

“Cadaver isn’t one of your familiars,” Beranabus says. “You’re not bound to protect him. I know you’ve granted him shelter, but I ask you to revoke that privilege and let us take him. We have no quarrel with you. Give us Cadaver and we’ll leave at once, owing you a debt which we shall do our best to repay.”

“You would put yourself in debt to me?” Lord Loss says, eyes burning bright.

“Yes.”

“Tempting,” the demon master purrs. “Cadaver must be very important to you. But why? He is an average, unremarkable demon.” Lord Loss doesn’t know about our quest to find the Kah-Gash, so this makes no sense to him.

“Our reasons are private and should be of no concern to you,” Beranabus says. “just as it’s no concern of ours why you offered him sanctuary in the first place.”

“But that is no secret,” Lord Loss laughs. “I gave him shelter because he did a service for me. He brought me the child.” Lord Loss glances down at Art, then looks at me mockingly. I know in that instant that Lord Loss gave the order for my brother to be kidnapped. It was no accident that Cadaver took Art — the demon had been searching for him!

Beranabus sees this too. He starts to ask about it, then changes his mind. Perhaps he’s afraid that Lord Loss will realize he’s searching for the Kah-Gash. I don’t think the demon master would be so playful if he knew we were after a weapon which could destroy him and every other demon.

“So Cadaver did a service for you, and you rewarded him or promised to,” Beranabus says. “Does that make him one of your familiars?”

“No,” Lord Loss says, and Cadaver looks at him quickly, worried. “But it would be wrong of me to dismiss him. I cannot let you kill him, not until I pay him for his service and he takes his leave. And that could be quite some time — he is under no obligation to depart before he wishes.”

“What if we promised not to kill him?” Beranabus presses. “If we only made inquiries of him? I’m not saying we won’t harm him, but I’ll give my word that he won’t die.”

The hairs on Cadaver’s arms lengthen menacingly and he whines softly. (Again I find myself wondering how he makes any noise, since he doesn’t have a mouth.) He holds Art more tightly to his chest, issuing a warning.

“Do not be foolish, my swift-footed friend,” Lord Loss says without warmth. “If you harm the child, your torment will be eternal.” Cadaver scowls but relaxes his grip. Lord Loss faces Beranabus again, but only after staring at Nadia for a moment. Her lips haven’t stopped moving. Maybe he thinks her spell is something we’ve worked on, that she’s part of a trap.

“As tempting as it is, the favor is not enough,” Lord Loss says. “I would need a stronger reason to turn Cadaver over to you.”