Page 47

“That, too.But my body replenishes magic quickly, and summoning demons is not difficult.”

“Even now?”I asked, leaning over to start on his back.“With your other half missing?”

“I’m still Rosier’s son, and he is still a council member—presumably.At any rate, I didn’t get any arguments when I called for aid.”

“Maybe those things, the sprites, called him to verify?And he told them to help you, and then came running to find you himself?”

“Possibly,” Pritkin murmured, looking distracted.Maybe because my chest was in his face, I realized and rolled my eyes.Some things never change, demon or not.

“But you didn’t communicate with him?”I asked, just to be sure.Because if Rosier had been there to help, maybe he could have...

Well, I actually didn’t know what he could have done.He might have risked himself to save his son, and maybe even me, because Pritkin wouldn’t have gone without me.But everybody else would have been left out to dry, not to mention what he might have wanted from us in exchange for that rescue.

In hell, nothing was free.

“Neither did you,” Pritkin said dryly, which...fair.

“So you don’t think we should ask for his help?”I said.Because Pritkin’s dear old dad was a wild card if ever there was one, but he loved his son.I was sure of that if nothing else.And right now, we could use all the allies we could get.

“No,” it was flat.

“I get that he can be...problematic,” I said, standing him up so I could scrub his legs.And how had they gotten so dirty when they’d been encased in what were essentially scuba pants?“But if the Circle were strong enough to be in Vegas, they’d be in Vegas, not here.And not about to get hanged in Stratford!We might need to reconsider.”

“We also need to consider that the demon council has likely lost many members and much of their armies,” Pritkin reminded me.“They would want to put us to work in whatever nefarious schemes they’re cooking up, which would likely get one or both of us killed.I don’t trust them at the best of times, but especially not when their back is to the wall.”

“But we have common cause.They have more reason than anybody to want us to return to the past and change all this!”

But Pritkin was already shaking his head.“Some do.Others may have profited from the chaos and feel rather differently, possibly even enough to oppose us.”

“Opposeus?”

I must have sounded as outraged as I felt because he smiled slightly.“Chances for advancement are few in the hells, where those in charge do not frequently die and make way for the next generation.A shake-up like this gives opportunities as the gods hunt the most powerful.And those elevated as a result, while they may hate their enemies, aren’t likely to want to return to their chains.”

“Better chains than getting eaten!”

“If you believed that, you wouldn’t be here now,” he said dryly, “and the demon lords agree.They will fight to the last, but that doesn’t mean they won’t also fight each other whilst they do it.”

Great.

“But Adra—he’s the head of the council—”

Pritkin pulled me to my feet, even though I wasn’t finished yet.“And he knows exactly what you can do, which is why he was so friendly with you.Yes, I’m sorry, but it wasn’t your winning personality.”

“Funny.”

“Demons are drawn to power, and you have more of it than most—had,” he corrected before I could remind him.“And Rhea presumably inherited it after you.Do you think there is the slightest chance he hasn’t already reached out to her or sent an emissary offering alliance?”

And, okay, I started to get excited because no, I hadn’t thought of that.But it made sense, meaning that they might already be working together.Maybe we had more allies than we knew!Maybe—

“And do you think, if that had worked, the world would still look like this?”he added softly, deflating my balloon before it could get off the ground.

“She’d have helped him if she had access to the power,” I said.“Or, knowing her, she’d have used it herself.”

“But she hasn’t.”

I waited, but he didn’t say anything else.

“You think the gods did something, don’t you?”I asked.“Locked it down somehow, kept her from accessing it.And kept it from seeking me out because it must know I’m here by now.”