AN/ Sorry this took so long to get to you. It was finished a month or two ago, but unfortunately there was a problem with my computer and I couldn't upload it to the site. And this was after I got Word for my new laptop, which was a hunk of junk as far as available programs was concerned. I won't ask for reviews, because I don't think I deserve them after taking so long... but it would be nice...

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In the library, where Malik had taken Beldon whilst refusing to tell him any more about the angelic version of Rael, the faerie had skimmed through the book far too rapidly to have read it – until, of course, it was remembered that he wasn’t human. Malik privately admitted that he was impressed by Beldon’s skilful and nonchalant glamours which had granted them all access to the library without being subject to the questions of the family.

“Pure posturing, I feel. Asmodeus writes like a strutting peacock, all image and no substance. Still, it shows he knows something of the bracelets, and that he is potentially dangerous.”

“How dangerous is potentially dangerous?”

“He’s not going to be too much trouble to deal with, so long as he is on his own. You can tell he doesn’t understand the bracelet’s nature. It’s if Lucifer gets directly involved that we ought to worry, as he is a malicious bastard when he wants something.”

“Isn’t the point that he’s a malicious bastard all the time?”

“Quite!” Beldon laughed softly, “But trust me, you don’t want to be the focus of his maliciousness.”

“Have you finished?”

“Almost.”

Reaching into his left sleeve, Beldon extracted a thin piece of silver wire that was long enough to invite questions as to how much could possibly fit into a sleeve. Whispering some strange, hissing syllables, he deftly twisted the wire into a runic shape, and after puncturing his index finger on the end of the wire he laid it on top of the book. The wire shape filled out and made what seemed to be a replica of the book, and this Beldon picked up and slipped into his coat pocket. With no more fuss than that, he turned back to the two Egyptians.

“So why did I have to make an oath of secrecy?”

“Come with me.”

 

Malik was highly gratified to pick up on Beldon’s sharply indrawn breath as they arrived at the park where the angel Rael had agreed to meet them. There he was, standing slightly uncomfortably and fully aware of two girls who were staring at him like he was the most beautiful thing they had ever seen. Beldon, funnily enough, appeared to be more thrown off by the fact that there was someone else commanding the attention he was used to, than he was by the very existence of the angel.

“I suppose this is who you were trying to protect by forcing that oath from me?” he asked wryly, folding his arms and studying the angel.

“Yes. Rael,” Malik called out, waving a hand at the faerie following in his footsteps, “this is Beldon, as you probably know. Beldon, this is the other half of Rael.”

“Pleasure to meet you. Why do you exist?” the faerie asked bluntly – although even Seth could understand that it was a curious question rather than an accusative statement.

“Velraen, it’s been a very long time, hasn’t it?” Rael smiled, forcing Beldon to pay attention to more than the mystery of his existence.

“Beldon, please. I have my own reasons for keeping that name under covers, and I thought you’d have the brains to realise that you oughtn’t use it,” Beldon replied with his usual backhanded compliment.

“But do you deny it’s been a while?” was the rejoinder.

“A few thousand years,” he shrugged. “More, if you’re referring to the fact I haven’t properly met you since you fell.”

Malik edged over to a nearby bench, followed absentmindedly by Beldon and Rael. It was situated just off the path in a nook that he supposed was intended for courting couples, and hence was perfect for them to converse undisturbed. The pair continued their conversation, seemingly ignorant of the move, and Seth stationed himself close by near the entrance to dissuade oblivous passers-by.

“True. I have a favour to ask,” the angel told him.

“Naturally. You always did, when we were young,” replied Beldon, highly aware of Malik’s eagerly listening ears.

“I’m afraid I can’t remember that. At least, not well - my memory isn’t what it used to be,” he confessed.

“I see. What do you want me for?”

“A summoning. Whilst Malik here is an expert, you’ve been doing this longer and you know more of the other side, as it were,” came the explanation.

“Who - or what - are we summoning?”

“Lucifer,” Rael stated.

“Apparently your demonic half has the self-preservation instinct,” Beldon told him, grinning as though he couldn’t believe his hearing. “Can you possibly imagine what the Prince of Hell would say if he were confronted with you? Or what he would say to being summoned full stop? In case it escaped your notice, he is not the most forgiving entity in existence!”

“He needs to understand what is going on with Asmodeus,” was the stubborn reply. Rael caught Beldon’s eyes with his own and pulled off a fairly impressive glare.

“I agree with Beldon – summoning him would be insane,” Malik felt obligated (because of his love of life) to point out. “It wouldn’t work.”

“He needs to know!”

Malik was stunned by the vehemence of Rael’s reply, and the pure anger that he so vividly displayed. Beldon, on the other hand, thrived off drama and matched him glare for glare. Seeing that both had reached an impasse and neither were willing to compromise, Malik felt it best to settle in for a long wait. Interfering seemed dangerous at this point, considering that the air was literally crackling with the build up tension of two inhuman beings. So it was a surprise to all three when it was Seth who spoke up and interrupted.

“Why don’t you summon Asmodeus?”

“I beg your pardon?” Beldon asked, breaking eye contact with Rael in favour of glancing over to the bodyguard.

“I understand that I know nothing of summoning, but I know this – we don’t have the gift of surprise,” Seth told them, slowly and steadily laying out his reasoning. “By telling Asmodeus that we are fully aware of his plans we might be able to dissuade him from reckless attack.”

“Or, we might be able to eke a bit of the truth from him, or perhaps even guide his movements if we do this correctly...” Beldon mused, clearly thinking aloud.

“Well done, Seth,” Malik said briskly. “Are we agreed?”

“I have no true objection,” Rael said, and Malik hurriedly cut off anything else he may have wanted to say.

“Then it’s settled. We shall attempt this –”

“Either tomorrow night or the night after – I shall be busy after that,” Beldon announced.

“Doing what?” Rael asked, still clearly unhappy with his loss.

“Important things, involving mirrors,” Beldon replied, content with the compromise and throwing the angel a meaningful look. Much to Malik’s surprise, the angel looked almost concerned for the faerie.

“Is that... wise?” he asked softly.

“Perhaps not, but it is necessary,” the faerie casually said, brushing off Rael’s apprehension.

“I see. Good luck.”

“I shan’t require it, but I am grateful for your kind thoughts nonetheless,” Beldon said automatically.

“That was a formulaic response if ever I heard one,” Malik interjected with a slight laugh.

“Sorry,” he replied, unexpectedly sounding vaguely sincere.

“It’ll be tomorrow night, seven o’clock, to meet here. Is that acceptable?” the Egyptian asked after a few moments.

There was general agreement to the arrangement, so with no real business left the angel performed a bobbing bow and took his leave, walking off into the park. Beldon watched him leave with an odd look on his face, one that was difficult for Malik to read. It wasn’t long, however, before the faerie turned back to Malik and made his own farewells, striding confidently off without a backward glance.

Malik stayed a while in the park, his eyes staring up at the sky. It wasn’t as green as England, or the parts of America he had seen, but it was home and greenery had never really been his “thing” anyway. Here there was a permanent scent of dust and the dryness of the desert, even though it was so buried underneath the stink of the city that the summoner could easily believe that it wasn’t there at all. Seth stood guard faithfully by the entrance to the private area, until Malik was ready to go home.

 

The Hall of Mirrors was a really bad name, Beldon mused as he walked across the border that marked the realm of the Seelie Court. Technically, he belonged to this one simply through the virtue of apathy towards the human race, and he certainly had never had the urge to kill any of them in gruesome fashions like those of the Unseelie Court. Nor was he stuck in one place like most of the solitaries, so it was a default setting rather than an active choice. But one very important benefit was access to the Hall of Mirrors.

Of course, the room was off-limits to all but the Queen, but those rules weren’t for the likes of him.

Thiswas intended solely as a quick infiltration before he installed himself in the Hall on a more permanent basis monitor everything. And he meant everything - from the enemies, to the allies, to people like the Queen who had enough clout to make a difference, but not enough predictability for him to tell which side they'd choose to join. It would be useful to both him and Rael to be fully aware of their movements, though naturally only he would completely appreciate the brilliance of his plans. And perhaps - just perhaps - that angel remnant.

Slipping silently past the guards and the myriad traps that littered the way there with ease born of practice, Beldon quickly found himself in the Hall. As was to be expected from the name, mirrors were everywhere – on the walls, the ceiling, and the floor. Cut unevenly, nevertheless they tesselated perfectly and left no gap. Thousands and thousands of reflections faced him, all of him and him alone, as he walked quietly to the centre. Whispering the activation spell on a single breath, he waited for them to change.

It was only a few moments before they started to cloud over, a brief respite from the reflections, before the onslaught began. Colours, shapes and sounds swept over him, buffeting him in their eagerness to be known. As always, it was hard for Beldon to keep his focus solely on what he wanted to know – every second the mirrors changed as choices were made and the myriad futures flourished and died. Fortunately, he was interested in the present instead of the future, and the mirrors reacted accordingly. By the time he had narrowed it down to Hell, he was comfortably in control, steadily applying more pressure on the wayward mirrors to concentrate it on Asmodeus and his plans. Beldon began to concentrate on what he was seeing and hearing more, instead of lightly skimming over the vast quantity of information and selecting the appropriate.

...glory to our leader, Lucifer...

...d’ya remember the forty sestertii you owed me? Well, interest and inflation means...

...I’m off to take a...

...and what have you been...

...yeah yeah, see you tomorrow...

...what are you talking about? I’ve fought for...

...there’s been a mistake!...

...I’ll have him tomorrow...

...shit, the ice’s coming fast...

...who cooked this crap?...

...how many today?...

...the bracelets...

...that was my doing. Stop taking the bloody credit for my doings ...

There! What about bracelets?

“...are the genuine bracelets worn by Aristotle herself as she danced for them Indian rajahs.”

“Don’t be feckin’ stupid, they’re plastic! Plus,you thick prat, Aristotle was a MALE Greek philosopher guy. ”

“They were very advanced, them Greeks. For mortals.”

Perhaps not.

...whilst you’re being an eejit, I’ll be off...

...can’t you go get the orders today?...

...attack Lucifer...

...wait for me!...

Lucifer? Listening in could be useful. More useful than that lead about the bracelets, hopefully, and it even sounded like Asmodeus’ voice.

“...from the shadows. He’s far too powerful to attack head on, and I don’t fancy proper civil war. So, we need a weapon that can kill him without having to meet him on the battlefield.”

“And that’s where the bracelets come in?”

“That’s where they come in. You see, they’re part of him, and could easily double his power if he got hold of them. If instead we acquired them, it could more than double my power and make me the undeniable Ruler of Hell.”

“Who was he who said ‘better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven?’”

“What does it matter?”

“I merely thought it was appropriate. My apologies. What of Rael?”

“What of him? He is powerless, and ignorant. Even if he did catch wind of my plans, he cannot win favour with Lucifer again.”

“I understand, my Lord. What would you have me do?”

“Do as you have been doing. Wait. Watch. Report back. I only told you of these plans so that you would better serve me, and cease bringing back useless gossip.”

“I understand, my Lord.”

Beldon released the spell for the mirrors, allowing the many realities to fade away. The conversation happened about a week or two ago, if he was any judge of the matter, and told him little that he didn’t already know. Still, it was good to have confirmation, and it would be interesting to send out feelers for who was being watched. Sighing, Beldon waited a moment for the dizziness to pass and left, careful to ensure his passage went unnoticed by any of those in the court.