Belly of the Beast

Chapter 8

Vincent met Christoph right after dinner, making a dramatic exit off the balcony in his full gollum splendor. The fact that he hadn't been exposed was a credit to his stealth, but I also had to credit his supernatural cloaking abilities.

I arranged my butt in front of the television and watched Friends reruns to keep my mind off other junk. Like why I tried to burn Charlotte Black this morning. That stunt probably sealed my fate with the media. She was going to roast me. Would Vincent's playboy image get worked into the piece? The media could use his reputation to have a field day. Or maybe his status would save me. Of course, I could choose not to care.

I fell asleep with those troubling thoughts and woke to Vincent's hand on my cheek. "Baby, why don't you move to the bed?"

"What time is it?" I croaked. My throat felt as dry as the Sahara.

"A little after nine o'clock."

"Water, please."

Vincent strode into the kitchen while I stood and cracked the bones in my back with a satisfying stretch. When I felt the pinch of my stitches, I thought better of it.

"You still good?" he asked as he handed me the water.

"Yep. How did it go with Christoph? Did you learn anything new?"

"Yes and no. Everything he told me about the cube and the curse we already knew. Most importantly, that each curse is unique, which means each method ofremoval is unique. But we are still missing the method."

"What kinds of methods?"

"Rituals, mantras, sacrifice."

"Sacrifice? So, Christoph was right about the one who removes the curse being doomed to die with it?"

"It's not a guarantee but there's a reasonable probability. Hadria has her demons looking for an undisclosed resource to help her pull it off. Namely, Fredrik."

"So, as of right now, the only way to destroy the cube is to give it to Hadria?"

"Or some other queen."

"Would you consider doing that?"

"It's not up to me to decide what happens to the artifact. I just want to keep it away from you. But I'll share the information with the other magisters." Vincent sat and assumed his hunched position, bent over his legs with his elbows resting on his knees. This usually meant he wasn't done.

"I haven't divulged everything about the artifact to you," he went on, just as I'd predicted. "I didn't want to worry you, but you need to know about the source. The piece was forged with necromantic properties, specifically affecting demons. After death, the cube can be used to resurrect a demon into something mindless and easy to control. It was last believed to be in the hands of a man named Zenthophelius."

"Well, that's a mouthful. Sounds like a dark arts teacher at Hogwarts." I offered my stupid brand of levity, trying to lighten the mood, which had gone very dark.

"Lord Zeno of the Undead is the moniker he liked to use, but he was a necromancer, plain and simple. He lured demons away from their hives, killed them, then used the cube to resurrect them into his undead army. For almost two centuries this went on. Finally, he was defeated by a female demon, and the malevolent devices he used were spread to the four winds."

"So, zombie demons, huh? That doesn't sound pleasant."

"Not for demons, it wasn't. But Christoph did tell me something we didn't already know. The necromancer is rumored to have returned, ruling a few remaining minions. There have been sightings of his these undead demons in a handful of locations. Of course, hive queens are notorious for spreading rumors to keep their subjects subjugated."