All That Lives Must Die - Eric Nylund [90]
“No,” Louis said, drawing out the o. “We are monarchs of the domains of Hell, the benevolent kings and queens over the countless souls who are drawn there to worship us. That gives us true power. Without land, we would be the lowest of the low.”
Eliot pondered this comparison of formidable Uncle Aaron or even Audrey to the “lowest of the low.”
And yet, he sensed no outright lie in Louis’s words.
But if true, why didn’t the Infernals overthrow the Immortals? Rule everyone? Why have a neutrality treaty at all?
And who ruled that blasted landscape and all those people who had rushed the gate in Uncle Kino’s Borderlands? None of them seemed “benevolently ruled.” Something wasn’t right with Louis’s picture.
“Do you have one of these domains in Hell?” Eliot asked.
Louis eased back. “Ah, well, regrettably there were setbacks to my personal portfolio when I was demoted to mortal status.” He set a long hand atop Eliot’s and patted it. “Worry not. I have plans in motion to reclaim what was once mine.
“But let us talk more of your problem,” Louis said. He twisted off his pinkie ring. It was a battered gold band with a clear crystal cabochon. He held it up to the light and squinted. “I believe I have met your Jezebel once before. Observe.”
A tiny figure appeared in the ring’s stone . . . which reflected and wavered in the water glasses on their table . . . then in the curves of the spoons and forks . . . and then along the inner curve of Eliot’s glasses.
Everywhere Eliot looked: there was Jezebel.
She stood with head lowered, wearing a black velvet cloak that highlighted her pale skin and platinum locks.
Eliot stopped breathing.
“I see the reason for your interest,” Louis whispered. “But there is another to focus your attentions upon.”
A second woman appeared in the ring. And as impossible as it seemed to Eliot, she was more beautiful than Jezebel, with copper red hair and feral eyes. She radiated power—waves of the stuff that made Eliot’s pulse quicken.
She was intoxicating and overwhelming.
“That creature,” Louis explained, “is Sealiah, Queen of the Poppy Realms and your poor unfortunate Jezebel’s mistress. She is the reason for her being at Paxington. A rather clumsy attempt to seduce you . . . one that I fear is working, however.”
“Yeah, I know,” Eliot sighed. “But there has to be a way to save Jezebel while not falling into the trap.” He gazed up at his father, every fiber of his being hoping Louis could help.
Louis tapped his pointed chin, thinking. “I admire you wanting it all. . . . I shall consider the situation and concoct something.”
Eliot nodded, truly grateful. He was completely out of his depth. Any advice would be welcome.
He tried to envision that family tree Miss Westin had drawn in class and where this Sealiah, Queen of Poppies fit. He couldn’t remember—although now that he reimagined it, there was something else that had nagged him about the Infernal family tree.
“I keep seeing this name come up in class,” Eliot said. “One Infernal who might or might not be dead? No one seems sure. Satan?”
Louis’s face went rigid. “Oh . . . him.” An eyebrow twitched in irritation. “Do you know people still confuse the two of us?”
“What happened? His name was scratched off the family tree, not erased like if he’d died.”
Louis shrugged. “He left. Said he grew tired of the endless bickering. Can you imagine?” He picked up a napkin and made a great show of wiping his hands. “Who can say if he lives or not? When a puppy goes missing for ten years, one assumes it was run over by a truck, no?”
Eliot remembered what Mr. Welmann had said: That the dead grew restless and moved on. If Satan were dead, where would he move on to? Did Infernals go to Hell if they died?
Louis tapped the table. “Remain focused on our relations in the here and now, my boy. The ones trying to stab you in the back, eh?”
Eliot nodded.
“For now,” Louis said, “watch your Jezebel, but keep your distance. Neither be cool nor solicit her attentions. And tell no one of my involvement. I fear your sister and mother would not understand what is clearly