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  "Well, we need to arrange a meeting with Ash and Ling."

  "Your two warrior buddies?" Evie nodded. "Why?" Barry asked his tone hard, eyes flashing as though he suspected they'd thrown Evie under the bus.

  Sadly, she couldn't counter him. "Their testimony kinda gave the brotherhood enough reason to charge me. But it's not as bad as it seems. I have a feeling they did what they did in order to protect Castor."

  Barry frowned, "Fine. I’ll get that arranged as well. Just tell me how exactly is Castor involved in this?" he asked folding his arms as he looked over at the door probably wondering how far away the halfling was. Castor had been the one to contact Barry who told him where Evie was. Which was how Castor ended up in Hades in the first place.

  "By the way, I meant to ask why you told Castor where I'd gone. the fact that he even came after me is what's gotten him in trouble But he's taken the fifth, and now he's hanging out in a cell nearby."

  "Ah, that's the reason for all the whispering," Barry said slowly.

  "Yeah I don't want him to know I'm here. If he finds out then he's likely to freak out. he'll think there isn't any hope of saving me and then he may say something to incriminate himself. Which will make him an accomplice. As long as I am breathing, Castor remains out of danger and out of jail."

  Barry huffed. "Of course he's not strong enough to handle jail. Even I know that."

  Evie gave him a small smile. "We have another task on the list. You got any DeathTalker's in your little black book?"

  Barry appeared startled for a moment. Then replied slowly "I may have. I haven't had a need for one in a while but I bumped into a deathtalker when she just joined the sisterhood. I can give her a call, see if she can recommend someone if she can't do it herself."

  Evie nodded, relieved that even though Barry had started off reluctant, he was now focused and interested.

  Then he lifted a finger. "So in particular, why are we needing to bring a deathtalker on board?"

  "We will need to have a little hat with Marcellus. I've been told that the Irin wouldn't be partial to contacting Marcellus to obtain his version of the events so it's up to us to get him to spill the beans. Which of course we will have a witness for so his posthumous testimony will be part of the record of the case."

  "And if he tells the truth about what happened? That he had Patrick killed and that he'd gone to Hades to apprehend or to kill you, and that he'd been after the Seals for years now? Surely that will get you off?"

  "Maybe. But there is something else you need to know."

  "You mean those?" Barry waved vaguely in the direction of Evie's forearm.

  "Yes. I mean those."

  "Well? Don't' keep me in suspense," he said, glaring at Evie.

  "Okay, so you know how you said it should all be fine because the final piece of the set of Seals that was needed to allow the ascension to be completed, hadn't yet been found They were meant to be in safekeeping somewhere. Well, that final piece had been in my possession since I was six years old."

  Barry made a strange choking sound though he didn't say anything.

  Evie took a breath. "So when I went to Hades to return the Seals to their rightful owner, I kinda took a wrong turn and ended up flat on my back on a stone table, the ascension taking place literally without me being able to do a thing to stop it. I had all the seals on my body so when I passed the room, the table and the magic just called me. It was a magnetic pull that I had no choice but to obey. before I knew it I was screaming my head off as the Seals fixed themselves on my arm. And Hades wasn't too thrilled when he found out."

  "I'll bet. You just took his job without him even knowing. Bet he threw a fit."

  "Actually he was rather understanding about it. Of course, we did have a month after which the Seals would not be reversible. I thought I'd be able to return the things to Julian and be on my merry way but things didn't go according to that plan."

  "You couldn't undo it?"

  "Not if I wanted Julian to lose his position as Hades."

  "What's the big deal?"

  "Julian is mortal. The moment he's freed from the role of Hades, he will be mortal again. And he will age much faster than most people age."

  "making up for lost time," muttered Barry. "So you decided to rule together."

  "Pretty much. I'm just not sure what my responsibilities are."

  "So why did you come back here then instead of staying and figuring out your new responsibilities?"

  "Because there were a few other pieces of information I bumped into in Hades."

  "Cryptic," Barry said, scanning the room again. "Any chance of ordering room service?" he asked, eyebrow curving.

  Ignoring him, Evie said, "I've always been searching for my father. And I found him in Hades. And I bumped into someone in Hades who I believed was my father. The angel Gavriel." Barry's eyes went wide and this time he didn't butt in. Evie said, "I honestly would have been happy to know that Gavriel was the father I'd dreamed off my whole life but that wasn't the truth yes he took me to patrick and left me there. and yes, he was the one responsible for leaving the final seal with my guardian for safekeeping, but in the end it wasn't meant to be."

  "But I thought you just said you found your father in Hades. You're confusing me, Evie."

  Letting out an irritated breath, Evie sent the demon a sharp look. "I did find him. After Marcellus arrived and ended up as chimera chow, his assistant came looking for him. But when he arrived, he showed his true colors. He was the archangel Daniel, posing as Feinstein and playing Marcellus like a violin."

  "Was he looking for the Seals for himself?"e

  "Probably. Though I never got to figure it out. He didn't know who I was until Gavriel arrived to fight him. And that was a battle to witness. In the end, Daniel was sent to Tartarus, though not before he made it pretty clear that he was incapable of affection for his daughter. He barely reacted when he found out he was my father."

  Barry was incredibly silent at that revelation. And Evie couldn't blame him. Poor guy had a lot to digest. "So Daniel wanted the seals so he worked his way into the Irin, got Marcellus under his control, managed to push Patrick out of his position and then kill him in the end. But in the end he didn't get what he wanted."

  Evie pursed her lips. "Pretty much sums it up."

  Barry sighed and rubbed his head. "Seriously, I need a drink to get over all of this, Evie. Every time I meet with you I end up leaving shell-shocked."

  "Sorry?" Evie smiled at the demon and then sighed. "That brings me back to who I want the gargoyles to bring to me."

  Barry's eyebrows rose in unison. "No. Don't tell me Evangeline the Nephilim, Warrior of the Irin, fell in love with Hades, Ruler of the Underworld?"

  Evie waved a hand and laughed him off. "Don't be so dramatic. It's hardly love. He's pretty hot for a guy his age, but that's not the reason I want to get a message to him."

  "What other reason could there be?" Barry smirked.

  "so he can speak on my behalf, idiot."

  "ah, yes, of course, Hades, would probably be the best character witness as well as the best alibi a girl could want."

  "I don't want him here to give me an alibi. I want him to tell the brotherhood the truth about Marcellus and Daniel and to clear Patrick's name."

  Barry nodded slowly. "Well, those are pretty good reasons. We'd better get on with writing that message then."

  Evie swallowed. "Er, Barry?"

  "Yes, Evie?"' the demon went still as he stared at her face.

  she gave an innocent shrug. "I don't exactly have a bottle of invisible gargoyle ink lying around. Any chance you could procure some for me?"

  Barry put a hand to his forehead. "Oh hell's frickin bells."

  Chapter 18

  Evie studied the demon overlord’s shocked face and bit her lip. “What now, Barry?”

  He sighed, the sound weary and overly-patient as though dealing with a little kid. “Evie, you don’t know anything about gargoyle ink?”

&
nbsp; “No, Barry,” Evie replied with equal patience. “Which is the reason I am asking you, isn’t it?”

  He fell silent for a moment. “I can’t believe you know so little about who you are and what you're capable of,” he muttered almost to himself. “But then, I guess if Patrick didn’t know much, you didn’t have much of a chance did you?”

  His voice was soft and Evie only heard because her hearing was so good. But she didn’t respond with her instinctive need to defend her guardian. Mostly because it appeared that she had really missed out on learning the most important parts of her heritage and her powers.

  The sound of Barry clearing his throat broke into her thoughts and she blinked, watching as he nodded then said, “The gargoyle ink isn't all that well known but it isn't the hardest magic to create. The origin of the ink is like a fairy tale, usually some bullshit story about fae and secret lakes of mercury. But in actual fact, the source is within those descended from the angels."

  Barry paused and gave Evie a pointed stare. She replied, "Okay, so what's so special that's in all of us? Our powers? Our blood?" Barry's eyebrows waggled as if to say, "Obviously," and Evie smiled. "Fine. Keep going and explain the process. I'm assuming it has something to do with being drained of my blood."

  "Nothing as macabre as that but close enough."

  Evie glared at Barry. "As if your reassurances mean anything when you put it like that."

  He huffed. "You saying you squeamish about a little blood-letting? Thought you were a badass, stone-cold, killing machine?" he said smirking.

  But his words hit Evie deep and he must have seen the hurt in her eyes because he waved a hand and then reached out to grab her shoulder. "Hey I didn't mean it like that. I know you're still having issues with that stuff. Sorry."

  Evie shrugged, making sure to use the shoulder he wasn't holding. "It's okay. It's my burden to bear. those are my crimes for which I will need to atone. I can't take offense every time a random joke is made that reminds me of what I've done."

  Barry patted her shoulder. "I know it's hard. Many of us have been there so when I say I get it I really mean I get it."

  Evie glanced up, wanting to ask him what he meant but she knew that their time together would end soon. Someone would come to take him away as he'd already been with her for a while now.

  She hadn't kept track of the time either, which could mean she and her counsel likely had mere minutes left. She couldn't imagine that the Irin would be that generous when it came to someone they believed killed one of their own.

  Evie shook her head firmly. "No. I'm fine. Let's get on with this. I don't think we have much time left."

  The demon nodded, straightening to stand a little taller, as if about to tackle a big problem. "So, there is blood but it isn't all that much. And we already have the ink and the quill to begin with so this shouldn't take all that long."

  Evie frowned then looked in the direction of the demon's gaze. She'd made a few notes of the things that he needed to get done and then she set the quill and pad on the floor. the inkpot though was still sitting on the chair where the gargoyle had left it. She got up to fetch it, asking, "So, what happens if we use up all this ink for the gargoyle spell and then we need to make more notes?"

  Barry grunted. "That's not a problem. The ink is twofold. Once the ink is spelled, it remains ready for the final spell that renders it invisible. So you can write with it wherever and whenever you want, but the ink will only turn invisible when you speak the final spell."

  "So why couldn't the gargoyle have left me a pot of that ink in the first place?"

  "Because the writer must be the bleeder," Barry said his tone dry. Then he added, "Although you can always purchase gargoyle ink though that's generally not the over the counter kind of deal."

  "What kind of deal will that be then?" Evie asked, curious even though time was ticking.

  "The purchaser needs to contribute a portion of blood equal to the blood used by the angelic being to create the ink. And because there is a mixture of blood, the initial spell must be performed under a silver moon, in layman's terms a full solstice moon. But what we will do now is much quicker. most people just whip up a pot on the go as long as they have something to use as ink."

  Evie quirked an eyebrow. "Other than ink, what else can be used as ink?"

  Barry smirked again, eyes filled with laughter. "Any liquid that can be gathered into a quantity sufficient for writing out a letter. So, water of course, any drinks, even milk. Any kind of milk, if you get my drift."

  Evie rolled her eyes. "You can be so immature."

  Barry shrugged. "Well, there's also urine. And the other stuff."

  "What other stuff?" Evie asked eyes narrowed. Then she threw out her hands. "Never mind. I don't want to know.

  The demon laughed so loudly that Evie was a little worried that a guard would come running.

  She waved a hand at him. "Can we do this?"

  barry smothered his laughter and nodded. "Okay. Grab the quill and the pot and put in on the floor, given that we don't have a table to work with."

  Evie followed the demon's instructions and then looked up at him as she sat crouched in front of the writing tools.

  "Okay, now with the quill, stab yourself somewhere. You need to generate at least three drops of blood, and let them drop into the pot without spilling anything."

  "What happens if I spill some blood?"

  "Why do you always have to dwell on the negative?"

  "Barry? What happens?"

  He grunted. "The spell is nulled and you'd have to start with a new pot of ink."

  Ebie took a breath. "Just great." Then she rolled her shoulders. "Olay, fine let's get this done."

  Before the demon could speak Evie leaned over the pot and held her finger over the small mouth of the glass receptacle. She picked up the quill and used the sharp end to quickly slice through the skin, making the cut as deep as possible without really injuring herself.

  Almost immediately blood welled to the surface and formed a bright red droplet. Evie carefully turned her finger over and allowed gravity to guide the blood droplet into the pot. One down two to go. again she turned her finger over and pressed the flesh to generate a second droplet. She repeated the process but on the last drop Evie was forced to stop what she was doing.

  Boots clattered on the stone outside the door and she looked over at Barry. "What do I do now?'

  "I guess nothing. We're going to have to wait until I come back to tell you the rest of the spell."

  "But that means it will take so much longer to get the gargoyles to call Julian to meet us."

  "It's going to have to be the case, Evie. They're coming."

  The boots clattered closer now and Evie bit her lip. She pressed her finger harder now, drew the droplet and dropped it into the inkpot faster than was safe. ut thankfully, it slipped in without trouble and Evie let out a sigh of relief. "Now what?' She asked the demon who was standing there shaking his head. "What's the spell?"

  "You dont; say the words of the spell. The magic is inside you so it's a matter of thinking the spell rather than saying words."

  "Jeez Barry. That's harder than you think.” Evie was disappointed knowing it wasn’t likely that she’d be able to finish the spell. And just as she completed the thought, the key rattled in the lock.

  Stiffened, she remembered one thing. “Barry, how would I know to trust the gargoyle guard. He’s offering to help but can he be trusted?”

  Barry sighed. “You can do a blood oath spell. Blood to blood on a handshake. It’s not hard, just like making a promise then spitting in your hand and shaking on it.”

  “Thanks for the details, demon,” Evie muttered as the door opened on a crash.

  Chapter 19

  Two guards stormed into the cell, faces red though Evie wasn't sure who they were so pissed off with. They certainly didn't glare at her in anger. Nor did they appear to be furious with Barry. Then, without a word of warning, they grabbed a hold of him
and marched him out of the cell.

  "Evie, don't stress. I'll get everything sorted and I'll try to be back tomorrow, if not later today," he called out as the guards dragged him closer to the door. Thankfully he spoke the last of his words before he left the bubbled of silence, which meant Castor would not have heard his voice.

  The hallway echoed with the sound of metal armor clashing, boots thumping stone and the odd grumble and groan.

  Then a voice spoke from the doorway. "I'm afraid that the demon overlord is very much mistaken. He will not be back today or tomorrow. If the brotherhood has anything to say about it, then he will not be back at all."

  Evie's eyes widened as she stared at the master who stood before her, his dark cloak wrapping him in a shadow of nothing. He reached out to give her the standard warrior greeting, saying, "I'm Master Braxus. Greetings at last, Nephilim Evangeline."

  Evie had no choice but to walk over to him to return his greeting. She didn't want to consider that since he'd identified himself, she had a face to put to the person who'd shirked his duties and not taken care of her the way she deserved. She held his arm and tightened her grip a little as he did the same. The Master let Evie's hand go and strolled into the cell, hands now held loosely behind his back. He scanned the space the way a visitor would when walking through the halls of a museum, and to Evie, he appeared extremely idiotic. Especially the way he forced a serene smile on his face that set his caterpillar moustache shivering as though it were about to moult.

  But she held back her instant dislike and pretended to remain respectfully silent.

  He didn't take very long to speak though,

  "I have to express our great disappointment at this transgression," Braxus said, the serenity in his eyes turning to stone.

  Evie lifted her eyebrows. "Transgression? I'm afraid you will need to expand on that accusation Master Braxus. I'm unaware of what this transgression is."