Merihim bends to look at the ball in Ipos’s bleeding hand but doesn’t move to take it.
“Whatever this is, it reeks of unnatural power. You should let me take it and bury it deep in the Tabernacle vaults.”
Everyone is on a power trip here, the church included.
“Thanks but no thanks. It stays with me.”
“This isn’t something to be left lying around.”
“Which is why it stays with me and not buried somewhere I can’t see it.”
“And where will it end up if something happens to you?”
“I wouldn’t worry about it. If whoever knows how to work this gets ahold of it again, my guess is that we’ll all be dead by morning. Another good reason to keep me on the unkilled team.”
On the screen I’m poking at the psychic amplifier. I watch them closely. Neither has ever seen one before. Neither reacts to the Vigil logo either. At least I don’t have to worry about them working with whoever has the key.
“Either of you come up with any new information?”
Ipos nods and his church tattoos move like a flag promising salvation.
“I might have,” he says. “The soldiers who attacked you were from Wormwood’s legion. There are an unusual number of suicides and murders among his troops. Apparently it’s been going on for some time, but since the dead no longer disappear into Tartarus he can’t hide it anymore. My spies in other legions found that the same thing is starting to happen in other parts of the legion.”
Merihim says, “Red leggers have been caught delivering bogus potions to physicians and hospitals. The real ones end up on the black market.”
“Okay. Maybe bad drugs get them to kill themselves, but what do they have to do with killing me?”
Merihim shrugs.
“Well, no one likes you very much.”
On the screen I’m examining the weird weapon. Ipos watches closely, safe from slicing himself open.
He says, “General Semyazah controls the distribution of vital goods. That gives him access to you and to a lot of power. There’s a long list of generals who would like to replace him.”
Damn.
“We’re back to generals stabbing generals in the back? I thought that shit was over with when I killed Mason.”
“In peace or war, there are always men who want power for its own sake.”
Ipos has given up pretending to look at the peeper projection and has gone to my desk to fix the wobbly leg.
“You think Semyazah is letting his own trucks get ripped off?”
From under my desk Ipos says, “It’s possible. Being smart doesn’t exempt you from corruption.”
He hammers a wooden spacer under one of the desk legs. Between taps with a small hammer he says, “Of course it could be another general earning some extra money while making Semyazah look bad.”
“Why not just kill him? That seems to be a quick way to get promotions down here.”
Merihim shakes his head.
“Murdering Semyazah risks an all-out war among the
