into a neat pixie cut that framed my face.
“It suits you,” she said.
“Thanks,” I replied.
She nodded and walked out. I brushed my teeth, washed my face and took a moment to admire the new me in the mirror before something bad happened to me again. Of course, the new me came with a set of slash marks across my face courtesy of the Hob. The cuts plus the hair made me look a lot like an anime character.
Chloe and Beezle sat at the table in the kitchen. Both of them were shoveling pancakes and bacon in their mouths as fast as Samiel could make them.
“Are you preparing for an appearance on Man v. Food ?” I asked.
Chloe and Beezle both grunted at me and kept eating.
“Where’s Nathaniel?” I asked Samiel.
He said he wasn’t certain he would be welcome so he would eat downstairs, Samiel signed, shrugging.
“Well, if he thinks I’m going downstairs to soothe him out of his sulk, he’s got another think coming,” I said.
Samiel plated some pancakes and handed them to me. You’d better take this before it hits the table; otherwise one of them will devour it.
I sat down with my pile of pancakes and started eating. After a while, Beezle came up for air.
“I went online last night after you fell asleep.”
“And?”
“And it seems that all is not quiet on the faerie front. Certain factions in Titania and Oberon’s court believe they should not have sent the Hob after you.”
“Really? I’d have thought all the faeries were on the vengeance-for-Amarantha team.”
“There are some who believe that Amarantha brought her troubles on herself by involving the court in the affairs of angels. And now that the Hob is dead, those folks are saying that to pressure you further is an unnecessary risk.”
“It seems your reputation for complete and total destruction precedes you,” Chloe said.
“And they think it would be stupid to pick a fight with a child of Lucifer,” Beezle added.
“Why? Lucifer’s never bothered assisting me before.”
“But just because he hasn’t yet doesn’t mean that he won’t in the future. And nobody wants Lucifer angry with them. They know what he did to Amarantha.”
“Yet Titania and Oberon don’t share their trepidation,” I said thoughtfully. “Why?”
“They must think whatever power they’ve got can stand up to Lucifer,” Beezle said.
“Can it?”
“They are probably more or less as powerful as they seem, but I think it’s been millennia since Lucifer really bothered to exert himself.”
“So if he wanted to, he could squash them like bugs.”
“I think so. But it would be more like squashing a nuclear power plant.”
“If you kill something that old and that magical, there will be aftershocks,” I guessed.
“Right.”
“So what these factions are really worried about is being in the way when the explosion happens.”
“You can’t credit most faeries with concern for the greater good,” Beezle said.
“J.B. is pretty noble-minded,” I said.
“He’s only half-faerie, and he spent most of his childhood with his father. He’s more human than you are.”
“Thanks,” I said, chewing slowly and thinking about what Beezle said.
Titania and Oberon’s actions didn’t make sense. Even if they believed I owed them for Amarantha’s death, the matter should have been settled after I killed the Hob. They had to know that if the Morningstar got involved, it would be bad for everyone. It was almost as if they were…
“They’re picking a fight with Lucifer,” I said aloud. “But why ?”
“Remember what Jude told us when Wade was missing? All the courts are choosing sides for a future war.”
“Yeah, but Titania and Oberon are not just lining up on one side of the battlefield or the other. They’re actually trying to start the war.”
“What’s in it for them?” Chloe asked.
“I don’t know. They must think they’ll get the spoils. But this brings us back to what we were just talking about. Lucifer is more powerful
“It suits you,” she said.
“Thanks,” I replied.
She nodded and walked out. I brushed my teeth, washed my face and took a moment to admire the new me in the mirror before something bad happened to me again. Of course, the new me came with a set of slash marks across my face courtesy of the Hob. The cuts plus the hair made me look a lot like an anime character.
Chloe and Beezle sat at the table in the kitchen. Both of them were shoveling pancakes and bacon in their mouths as fast as Samiel could make them.
“Are you preparing for an appearance on Man v. Food ?” I asked.
Chloe and Beezle both grunted at me and kept eating.
“Where’s Nathaniel?” I asked Samiel.
He said he wasn’t certain he would be welcome so he would eat downstairs, Samiel signed, shrugging.
“Well, if he thinks I’m going downstairs to soothe him out of his sulk, he’s got another think coming,” I said.
Samiel plated some pancakes and handed them to me. You’d better take this before it hits the table; otherwise one of them will devour it.
I sat down with my pile of pancakes and started eating. After a while, Beezle came up for air.
“I went online last night after you fell asleep.”
“And?”
“And it seems that all is not quiet on the faerie front. Certain factions in Titania and Oberon’s court believe they should not have sent the Hob after you.”
“Really? I’d have thought all the faeries were on the vengeance-for-Amarantha team.”
“There are some who believe that Amarantha brought her troubles on herself by involving the court in the affairs of angels. And now that the Hob is dead, those folks are saying that to pressure you further is an unnecessary risk.”
“It seems your reputation for complete and total destruction precedes you,” Chloe said.
“And they think it would be stupid to pick a fight with a child of Lucifer,” Beezle added.
“Why? Lucifer’s never bothered assisting me before.”
“But just because he hasn’t yet doesn’t mean that he won’t in the future. And nobody wants Lucifer angry with them. They know what he did to Amarantha.”
“Yet Titania and Oberon don’t share their trepidation,” I said thoughtfully. “Why?”
“They must think whatever power they’ve got can stand up to Lucifer,” Beezle said.
“Can it?”
“They are probably more or less as powerful as they seem, but I think it’s been millennia since Lucifer really bothered to exert himself.”
“So if he wanted to, he could squash them like bugs.”
“I think so. But it would be more like squashing a nuclear power plant.”
“If you kill something that old and that magical, there will be aftershocks,” I guessed.
“Right.”
“So what these factions are really worried about is being in the way when the explosion happens.”
“You can’t credit most faeries with concern for the greater good,” Beezle said.
“J.B. is pretty noble-minded,” I said.
“He’s only half-faerie, and he spent most of his childhood with his father. He’s more human than you are.”
“Thanks,” I said, chewing slowly and thinking about what Beezle said.
Titania and Oberon’s actions didn’t make sense. Even if they believed I owed them for Amarantha’s death, the matter should have been settled after I killed the Hob. They had to know that if the Morningstar got involved, it would be bad for everyone. It was almost as if they were…
“They’re picking a fight with Lucifer,” I said aloud. “But why ?”
“Remember what Jude told us when Wade was missing? All the courts are choosing sides for a future war.”
“Yeah, but Titania and Oberon are not just lining up on one side of the battlefield or the other. They’re actually trying to start the war.”
“What’s in it for them?” Chloe asked.
“I don’t know. They must think they’ll get the spoils. But this brings us back to what we were just talking about. Lucifer is more powerful
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