“What’s going on, clown?” he said.
Hilario brushed past him. Went to the side door. The van had stopped rocking. He reached for the handle. Did he really want to go in there?
The sulfurous air of the fiery river Phlegethon clogged his nostrils and made him lightheaded. Or maybe it was the thought of confronting that traitorous witch.
What sort of plan did he have to deal with her? Besides speaking his mind and then dying a horrible, excruciating death?
Hmmmm….
What could he do?
He lowered his hand. Went around to the front of the van. Queezleyan was shuffling his deck of six sided cards. Probably was teaching Marco how to play Blork. And probably cheating at it, too.
Hilario squatted down on his mighty hams. His knees screamed for mercy. His mounds of blubber draped themselves over his legs. He found it hard to take a breath. He really needed to get in better shape.
Ha, ha.
Queezleyan looked up just as Hilario reached out to grab him. The little rat demon scrambled back. Hilario’s fingers brushed the beasts scaly skin.
The rat demon laughed and scampered backward.
Right into Marco. Who scooped the beast up by the scruff of its neck. He held the rat demon out at arm’s length as the thing writhed and cursed.
“Let me go, flesh bag!” Queezleyan shouted.
Hilario stepped up to the beast. Careful to stay out of range of those slashing claws. He waited for the rat demon to stop thrashing. When it finally did, he asked his question.
“How long have Lady Sapphire and Lord Igdibon been hooked up?” he said.
Queezleyan’s scaled face turned a paler shade. The little beast’s throat worked.
“Idgi-what? Who’s that?” he said.
In an entirely unconvincing voice.
Hilario pointed to the horizon and the twilight star. “There’s an Eye of Malachi over there,” he said, “And our ogre friends came through it. Isn’t that interesting?”
The rat demon’s eyes darted toward the horizon, then back to Hilario. “Yeah? So what?” it said.
Hilario sighed. Gave the van a glance. Larry sat with his face close to the windshield. He looked worried.
What was Larry’s piece of all this? What had the Sapphire Witch really wanted from him?
Hilario turned back to the rat demon.
“What does she get,” Hilario said, “If the dark lords break through to the normal world. What’s her cut if they take the city and establish a foothold there?”
Queezleyan’s throat worked. Its eyes darted to the van. Then back to Hilario.
“Don’t know what you’re talking about clown boy,” the rat demon said.
“I think you do,” Hilario said, “Do I need to open the cabinet again?”
The rat demon grinned. “You gonna go in there and get it, fat boy?”
Touché.
There wasn’t much else to threaten the little beast with. Throwing it in the river would be a refreshing dip for it. Queezleyan would simply go back to the demon realm and get new flesh from the Mother Demon.
But maybe there was something.
“You know what?” Hilario said.
“I know all kinds of things you don’t clown ass,” Queezleyan said, “You got something in mind?”
“I think Lady Sapphire would like to know what you’ve been saying about her,” Hilario said.
Queezleyan’s scaly brows furrowed.
“What?”
Hilario nodded. “Definitely,” he said, “She would want to know about the things you said while we were stuck in the Eye of Malachi. You remember that?”
“What are you talking about, clown?” the rat demon said, “I didn’t say nothing.”
“Oh, really?” Hilario said, “You deny you spoke at length about the intimate acts she and Lord Igdibon were performing?”
“That’s crap,” Queezleyan said, “I never told you nothing about her and Igdibon doing the nasty at his keep while Odom was off fighting…oh shit.”
Hilario nodded again. “That’s right. Odom is going to find out that you knew. Because I’m going to tell him just as soon as they come out.”
Queezleyan gulped. Its beady eyes darted left and right. “Hey, let’s be cool man,” the rat demon said, “No need to bring me into this, K?”
Hilario gave the rat demon a savage look. Which probably didn’t look all that savage under his smiley faced clown greasepaint. But maybe the creature would sense his intent.
“Then tell me what Lady Sapphire is getting,” he said, “What’s her cut? What are the dark lords offering her for letting them rape the normal world?”
Queezleyan shot a terrified look at the van. Then back to Hilario.
“Okay, man,” it said, “She gets her own realm. Out from under Mother Alexandrite. With as much normal world magic as she can take to defend it.”
Hilario took a deep breath. Somehow managed to not scream at the creature.
“Normal world magic isn’t any good in the unseen world,” he said.
Queezleyan gave him an incredulous look. “Are you nuts, clown?” the little beast asked, “You just used it to knock a horde of mounted ogres and bat-serpents out of the sky. Who wouldn’t want that kind of power?”
Hilario rocked back like he’d been struck in the face.
Who wouldn’t want that kind of power?
Oh dear. What had he done?
41
Light energy.
Powerful and pure. And limited in supply.
Hilario’s coven boss had told him about light energy. How it could only be found in the human children. And certain adult humans who retained a childlike sense of wonder. The humans didn’t seem to directly use it, though. It was simply a byproduct of their being alive.
His boss told him the wizard council had been trying to harvest the energy for millennia with little or no success.
That was why Hilario had been so surprised when he first entertained children at a party.
He’d decided to embark on a career as a clown because…one
