Black London 05 - Soul Trade

she said. “I mean, as well as it ever does for us.”
    Jack stared out the train window, and Pete followed his gaze. The sky was gray and peaceful, as if the world heldits breath, above the spires and down into the deepest core of the earth, where the dead lay silent.
    A deception, but one she could let Jack live with, at least until the end of the train line.
    He drifted off after a time, leaving Pete alone with the memories of what she’d seen on the hill, under the black cairn.
    I’ll have him in the end, the Morrigan whispered in her ear, and Pete knew, deepdown in the place where she knew things beyond thought or reason, and discerned the veracity in the old gods’ words with her talent, that the Hag spoke the truth.
    And that she was going to have to figure out how to prove the Morrigan wrong.

 
    Epilogue
    That is not dead which can eternal lie,
    And with strange aeons even death may die
    — H. P. Lovecraft

 
    29.
    Victoria Station was the most welcome sight Pete had ever set eyes on. Full of people and movement, just normal people going about their day, the place was unbelieveably soothing. She had missed the crowds of her city, and the ebb and flow of the Black that, while not comfortable, was at least familiar.
    Jack was phoning Lawrence to meet them with Lily when Pete became aware of anotherpresence, like a shadow falling across her face.
    “Save the day again, did you?” Belial said. “You’re getting to be a proper little superhero, Petunia.”
    Jack started as he saw the demon standing between them all at once, his slim form slotting neatly into the space. “Fuck,” he said. “I hate it when you do that.”
    “Leave,” Pete said. “I told you we were done talking.”
    “Oh, what we talked aboutholds truer than ever,” said Belial. “But lovely as you are, Petunia, I never did get to the point of my little visit in Overton. That bit concerns your knight in shining hair bleach.”
    “You two talked? In Overton?” Jack’s eyes narrowed, and Pete couldn’t tell if he was angrier with Belial or her.
    “I was going to tell you,” she said. “But it did kick off just a bit right after I saw him.” Shejust thanked her lucky stars that Margaret was getting food at one of the cafes that lined the main concourse, and she didn’t have to see Belial in the flesh. No child needed that in their nightmares.
    Jack shot Belial the bird. “Fuck off,” he said, with only a hint of annoyance. Belial was terrifying, but he was also oddly irritating when he was right there, in your face, talking his usual lineof shit. Pete empathized with Jack’s urge to swat the demon off him like a chatty house fly.
    “Aren’t you even interested to hear what would bring me up from the comforts of Hell to speak with you? Because let’s face it, Jack, you’re not a font of witty conversation on your best day.”
    “No,” Jack grumbled, shutting his eyes again. “Or, fuck off.”
    Belial tsked and turned his gaze on Pete. “Howabout you, luv? You’re interested, aren’t you? You know that I know what I’m talking about.”
    “If we listen, will you leave us alone?” Pete sighed. Belial cracked his knuckles and grinned at them.
    “So it turns out being a Prince of Hell isn’t all torturing underlings with pliers and massages from nubile succubi,” said Belial. “Turns out, there’s a bit of a scuffle down in the Pit at the moment.”

    “What a shock,” Jack grumbled. “Treacherous cunts turning on one another. Amazing turn of events.”
    “Why should we care if somebody is marching with placards against you?” Pete asked Belial.
    “Because this particular treacherous cunt doesn’t just have his eye on Hell,” Belial said. “Ambitious little fucker wants the whole pie.”
    “Like any one demon could rule the Black,” Jack muttered. “Most ofyou can’t even manage to get off your arses and leave Hell.”
    “Not the Black,” Belial said, and for the first time his voice was a cold blade against Pete’s neck that sent an involuntary shudder through her. “The whole world. Daylight, dead side, probably even the in-between. All of it.” He stood and straightened his tie. “I’m not about to let him upset my apple cart. And having the crow-mageon my side would ensure that.”
    Jack snorted a laugh. “Yeah, me work with you voluntarily? What’d be in it for me?”
    Pete saw the irritation flick across Belial’s face, a weirdly human expression that made her slightly sick to