Even The Vampires Get The Blues

'That is so,' Caspar said finally, a tiny muscle twitching in his eyebrow the only sign that he was less than pleased that I had such a good memory.

'You are Yan Luowang, the god of death?' Paen asked.

'It is one of my names.' Caspar made an odd sort of dismissive gesture with one hand. 'Not one that I have used for some time.'

'You're a god of death,' I said, stunned. 'A Chinese god of death. A real, honest-to-god god. Of death.'

'God of the fifth hell, if I remember correctly,' Paen said softly to me before frowning at Caspar. 'But you told me you were an alastor. How can you be both?'

Caspar's shrug was a thing of elegance. 'One does not reach heights of godhood without earning such a position. I rose through the ranks, naturally. I began as a mortal, became an alastor due to the intervention of a vengeful god, and eventually assumed the mantle of god of death. To be honest, it sounds much more impressive than it was.'

I had an epiphany at that point. I'd like to think it was my own razor-sharp brain putting facts together, but I suspect it was my elf side seeing beyond the obvious. 'You're also Oriens, aren't you? You're the demon lord who wants the statue.'

The muscle in his eyebrow twitched twice before he got it under control. 'How perspicacious of you. I see I underestimated you, my dear Miss Cosse.'

Paen rose slowly to his feet. Fury rose in him, hot and red, and I knew he was going to lunge at Caspar, intending to punish the demon lord for threatening his mother. I couldn't let him do that, of course—even if Caspar didn't seem like one hell of a badass power, he was. I grabbed Paen's arm and dug my feet in. He snarled an epithet into my head. I held firm. No, Paen. You can't. I know you want to stop him, but even if he looks human, he's not. He's a death god. You can't beat him up.

'Interesting,' Caspar said, watching Paen's struggle to contain his anger. 'But counterproductive. I can't help being who I am any more than you can, nor do we have the time to waste in trivial shows of anger.'

'Trivial!' Paen growled. I held on with both hands, murmuring soft words of reason into his head.

Caspar waved away Paen's objection as if it was a pesky fly. 'Time is running out. If you do not bring the statue to me before midnight tonight, I will be forced to take what payment I can for your father's debt.'

'You bas—'

I slapped my hand over Paen's mouth, oddly enough agreeing with what Caspar was saying. My darling, my sweet, sweet Paen, I would like nothing more than to see you rip him to shreds, but he's right. We don't have the time to waste hours arguing. We have to find that statue. Now.

We wouldn't be in this position if he hadn't invoked the debt! Paen snarled.

I know. And I agree. But there's nothing we can do now but find the statue and give it to him. So let's put aside the fact that Caspar is the source of all the trouble, and get the damned statue.

'I see you have reasoned with your lover,' Caspar said with another cold smile as I half shoved Paen back into the love seat. 'My estimation of you rises even more, Samantha.'

I whirled around and made the meanest eyes I could at him, letting him see in them the extent of my feelings. 'I swear to you by all that is holy in this world and the next, you will pay for all you have done. You have threatened the family of the man I love, and I will never forget nor forgive that.'

His smile dimmed a couple of notches.

I took a deep breath and slowly let it out. 'Am I correct in assuming that you still do not know where the statue is?'

'If I knew that, it would be in my possession this very moment,' he said dryly. 'Should I find it, I will naturally excuse the debt, but as I have had no luck finding it thus far, I am forced to rely upon one of you to bring it to me.'

'Who is Pilar?' I asked, sitting next to Paen, my hand possessively on his leg. The muscles of his thigh were tense and tight, as if he was poised to spring. 'Or rather, what is he?'

'Pilar?' Caspar looked surprised by the question, he looked truly surprised. 'Pilar is a minion, a kung, a water demon of low caste. He should not concern you.'

He doesn't know Pilar knows where the statue is. Do we tell him?

No. We need it to fulfill the debt. There's no guarantee that he will consider it met if he finds the statue first.

There's something we're missing here—he's a demon lord, god of death, and who knows what else. But he can't find one little statue?

A slow smile curled Paen's lips. I was glad he wasn't smiling it at me. Caspar's smile might have taken a few years off my life, but Paen's promised retribution at any cost. He's weakened. That's why he's appearing in mortal form—I'm a fool for not realizing that. The statue must be a source of power to him, and without it…

Before I could read the intention in Paen's mind, he was across the room, holding Caspar off the floor by his throat. 'You will pay.'

'You cannot harm me,' Caspar choked out, the power crackling around him as it built up. 'All you can do is guarantee your mother will suffer as your Beloved has. Now release me, Dark One, before I lose my temper.'

'Let him go, Paen. Let's just get this over with so we can do our job.'

Paen released Caspar. I stood next to him, a united front. 'Right. Why do you want this statue so badly?'

Caspar adjusted his tie and brushed out the suit jacket that had been slightly wrinkled when Paen grabbed him. 'It is my statue, as I have explained. I commissioned it. It was stolen from me and given to the emperor. All I seek is to have my property returned to me.'

'You told Sam the secrets of the origins of the immortal races were held within it. Is that true?'

'I did not lie to her,' Caspar said with an evasive air.

Are you thinking what I'm thinking? I asked Paen.

That it's too much of a coincidence that the statue should contain the same information as the Coda?

Yep. I'm thinking there's more there than meets the eye.

'Where is Pilar now?' Paen asked Caspar.

The latter frowned. 'Why do you wish to know about my minion? He is nothing, a weak kung, of no relevance.'

'He's also murdered my Beloved. I have a score to settle with him,' Paen said.

'And yet she still lives. Would you waste your time on something so immaterial as revenge?' Caspar asked, clearly surprised.

'We also think he might know something about the statue,' I said, stepping lightly over the truth. 'We'd like to talk to him. He might give us a clue.'

'Pilar? Hmm.' Caspar closed his eyes for a moment, the dark power aura around him suddenly snapping out feelers, as if he was sucking in power from the surroundings. Paen pulled me backward, out of reach of them. Caspar's eyes opened, anger visible in them. 'He does not answer my summons.'

I didn't look at Paen, but my fingers tightened around his. Pilar has double-crossed him.

So it would seem.

'Where is he now?' Paen asked again.

'I do not know,' Caspar admitted. 'He is a water demon, so he must go to ground near the water, but I do not know his location at the moment. I will, however, have a few things to say when I find him.'

'Let's get out of here,' I said to Paen, my senses going nuts in the power-charged room. 'I can scry Pilar's location.'

'You have twelve hours,' Caspar said as we brushed past him. 'I must have the statue by the first hour of deep night, or your mother's soul will be forfeit.'

Paen's arm shot out so fast, I almost didn't notice it. Caspar did, though. Paen's fist slamming into his nose drove the Chinese god of death backward into the wall, the impact of his body hitting it sending several delicate