Back | Next
Contents

Chapter 12

"This is the one," Kellubrae told Glibspet. He cupped his hands and drew them upward to meet again at the top. The air inside the ellipse he had limned shimmered, then congealed in the form of a woman.

She was unmistakably one of the Fallen. She had that combination of radiant beauty and dark aspect that characterized them, and yet there was an indefinable feeling of something subtly off-key about her too. And something familiar.

"Hey," Glibspet said, "I know that frail. She was the boss's mouthpiece, wasn't she?" Detective talk was fun.

"Averial," Venifar confirmed, "the original devil's advocate during the . . . Late Unpleasantness."

"Missing almost two years now," Grace said, "though, not actually missed until today. Lucifer wants her found."

Glibspet unwrapped another Twinkie and popped it into his mouth. Speaking through the filling (Damn, that stuff was good!), he asked, "Weh, whuy dosen' he wind her 'msef?" He swallowed and licked his lips appreciatively.

"Because she doesn't want to be found," Venifar said, "and there's only one place above or below where one of the Fallen could hide from him."

"North Carolina," Glibspet said.

"That's right," Kellubrae snapped his fingers and dismissed the image. "We've done what backtracking we can in Hell. We've ascertained that she came up right after the Unchaining, simply because she hasn't been anywhere in Hell since then. And that's the last the Fallen or any Hellborn saw her. She can't have left the state; we'd have felt her dissolution. She can't have repented; she would have shown up on the rosters. So she's still up here, shielded somehow and a priori working on something contrary to the interests of the Hierarchy."

Venifar said, "You're the only Hellborn who's shown a talent for finding out things within the constraints of the Unchaining. You will find her now, and quickly, or I guarantee your homecoming will be talked about around the Pit for millennia."

Glibspet raised an eyebrow. "You already played that song, remember?" he said. "Threaten me and I'm liable to go off and work for my other clients and put your little problem at the bottom of my priority list. Keep this in mind. This is my investigation, my terms, and my contract." It was also a fascinating situation. One of Hell's finest had slipped the noose and hidden on Earth for over two years before anyone realized she was gone. This little fact would wreak havoc within Hell's ordered legions if news of it got out . . . and news would almost certainly get out. Even more interesting would be the reaction if Fallen Averial escaped Lucifer's clutches entirely. She had, at one time, been big, big, big in the organization. Why, her continued absence would be almost as devastating for Lucifer as the defection of his second-in-command, Agonostis, had been two years earlier.

So the three Fallen in his office would be in serious shit if they failed to return Averial. Serious shit. A smart devil like him could make his fortune from an opportunity like this. Glibspet reached into his safe and pulled out one of his standard contracts. He added a few lines, crossed through a few others, wrote in a figure that in other circumstances would have been nothing short of highway robbery, and handed the contract to the unknown fallen angel he'd nicknamed Grace.

He waited while she read it. When he saw the fury in her eyes, he asked, "Well?"

The air around her darkened to match her skin. Glibspet smelled a hint of ozone and got a feeling like the calm right before a lightning strike. He didn't have any hair on his arms, but the hair in his nose stood on end. It was damned uncomfortable.

"What makes you think I would ever give myself to you?" Grace growled. "You're a second-level pustule on the ass of a canker, and you're not worthy to lick my instep!"

Glibspet crossed his arms. "I had in mind starting a little higher," he said. "You decided you would yank my chain with your not inconsiderable . . . assets. I decided I liked the assets I saw. I told you I see mostly working girls, and I figure if I pull this off, I ought to be able to afford the best. What's more, I'm betting you're in the market."

She dropped the contract on the floor and stalked towards him. "You're my meat, Globsnot. I am going to fry you in your own fat and—"

Suddenly her arms fell to her sides. She strained to take another step, but failed. Glibspet saw that both Venifar and Kellubrae were concentrating hard.

"Now, Linufel," Kellubrae said, "I'm sure it can't be that bad."

Linufel? That was her name. Glibspet grinned.

Venifar picked the contract up from the floor. He smoothed it out and looked it over. "Really," he said, "you're making an issue out of nothing. He just wants you for a month, and he's included a clause here saying he won't cause any damage sufficient to require repairing your manifestation. It seems quite reasonable, considering. The amount of money he wants up front strikes me as much more unreasonable." He smiled at Kellubrae.

"It's not your ass he wants," Linufel snarled. She glared from one Fallen to the other.

"No," Venifar agreed, "not in the immediate sense, but consider that in the long run it will be all our asses otherwise."

"Then why don't you agree to serve the little slimesucker's every desire for a month?"

Venifar smiled. "There aren't many advantages to being the team leader, but this is certainly one of them. You'll accept this portion of the contract, Linufel. I say so, and by your own vote, I have control over the details of the mission."

"Then you'll accept the terms of the contract."

Venifar scanned it again. "It seems in order," he said. "You will find Averial, and in return we agree to not work against you for the duration of the contract; to pay you one hundred million dollars and grant you the use of Linufel for a month." He reached through Glibspet's desktop and pulled out a fountain pen. "Now, Linufel, my lovely, Kellubrae and I are going to release you and then we are all going to sign this contract. You do understand?"

Linufel spat. "Oh, I understand all right."

"I'll take that as a 'yes,' " Venifar said. "Kellubrae?" Linufel finished the step she'd been taking, gave Glibspet a hard look, and walked back to the other two Fallen. She snatched the pen from Venifar, and scratched her sigil on the bottom of the paper. "Satisfied?" she snapped.

"Almost," Venifar said. He picked up the pen and added his sigil next to hers, as did Kellubrae.

"Great," Glibspet took the contract, folded it carefully and stored it in his safe. "Now the first thing I'll need is a good picture of the broad."

"You saw my seeming, Glippet," Kellubrae said. "What more do you need?"

Glibspet sighed. The Fallen just didn't have any feel for work in the mortal world. "It isn't like I can run off a thousand copies of your seeming on my copier. I can't hand a seeming out to people. I can't even pull it out of my pocket and show it around the corner drugstore without tipping people off that I'm not just one of the guys. Now can I? Look, Kelly," Glibspet said, "I need photos. I like eight-by-tens. If you can get any nudes, so much the better."

"What good would that do? She's not likely to be parading around North Carolina nude."

"No, but it will give me some inspiration," Glibspet said. "And you can make the first deposit to my account while you're at it."

"You haven't done anything yet," Venifar said.

"No, but I feel some heavy expenses coming on."

"Expenses?"

"Check the contract." Glibspet stood up. "I'm sorry you have to be leaving so soon, but I've got a lot to do."

Linufel had been silent since signing the contract. She spoke now. "Globsnot, where's your tail?"

Glibspet shrugged. "I worked out a way to demanifest it a long time ago. It just gets in the way up here. The chairs don't work with a tail, if you eat the food up here then you have to crap and tails get in the way sitting on toilets, and if I have to go undercover as a human, that damn sure doesn't work." He grinned. "It took me two months to get rid of it all. And not every second level could do it. Don't worry, doll. When it comes time for that, I'll have handles enough for you."

"I think you need a tail," she said. "All second level demons need a tail."

"Linufel . . ." Kellubrae warned.

"It can't be working against him to give him his tail back," she said. "It's only proper."

Glibspet was starting to get a bad feeling about this. "No, really—" he said.

Linufel put her hands together and pointed. Her fingers glowed briefly and Glibspet felt a sharp pain in his rear and heard his trousers rip.

Venifar and Kellubrae grabbed Linufel, and suddenly all three were gone.

Glibspet sank down weakly into his chair. And stood right back up again. Damn.

 

Back | Next
Framed