Finale

incredulously.
    “Here are my terms,” I said. “We’ll find your blackmailer, and we’ll deliver them to you. What we want in return is simple. Swear an oath to leave Patch
alone.” I slapped a pointy toothpick into Pepper’s fleshy palm. Since the bartender had frisked me, it was the best I could do. “A little blood and a few earnest words should do
the trick.” If I got him to swear an oath, he’d have to slink back to the archangels with his tail between his legs and confess failure. If he refused, it only gave more validity to my
theory.
    “Archangels don’t swear blood vows,” Pepper sneered.
    Getting warmer,
I thought.
    “Do they shove fallen angels they’ve got a beef with into hell?” Scott asked.
    Pepper looked at us as if we were insane. “What are you raving on about?”
    “How does it feel to be the archangels’ peon?” I asked.
    “What’d they offer you in return?” Scott demanded.
    “The archangels aren’t down here,” I said. “You’re on your own. Do you really want to go up against Patch alone?”
C’mon, Pepper,
I thought.
Tell me what I want to hear. That this contrived story of blackmail is an excuse to fulfill your assignment from a rogue group of archangels to get rid of Patch.
    Pepper’s expression of disbelief deepened, and I pounced on his silence. “You’re going to swear that oath right now, Pepper.”
    Scott and I closed in on him.
    “No oath!” Pepper squeaked. “But I’ll leave Patch alone—I promise!”
    “If only I could trust you to keep your word,” I returned. “Trouble is, I don’t think you’re a very honest guy. In fact, I think this whole blackmailing business is
a ruse.”
    Pepper’s eyes widened with understanding. He sputtered in disbelief, his face turning a throttled pink. “Let me see if I’ve got this. You think I’m after Patch for
blackmailing me?” he screeched at last.
    “Yeah,” Scott supplied. “Yeah, we do.”
    “That’s why he’s refused to meet me? Because he thinks I want to chain him in hell? I wasn’t threatening him!” Pepper squealed, his round face growing more flushed
by the moment. “I wanted to offer him a job! I’ve been trying to get that across all along!”
    Scott and I spoke at the same time. “A job?” We shared a hasty, skeptical glance.
    “You were telling the truth?” I asked Pepper. “You really have a job for Patch—and that’s all?”
    “Yes, yes, a job,” Pepper snarled. “What did you think? Crikey, what a mess. Nothing has gone as it should.”
    “What’s the job?” I quizzed him.
    “Like I’d tell you! If you’d helped me reach Patch in time, I wouldn’t be in a hot mess. This whole thing is your fault. My job offer is for Patch, and Patch
alone!”
    “Let me get this straight,” I said. “You don’t think Patch is blackmailing you?”
    “Why would I think that when I already know who’s blackmailing me?” he fired back, exasperated.
    “You know who the blackmailer is?” Scott repeated.
    Pepper shot me a look of disgust. “Get this Nephil out of my face. Do I know who’s blackmailing me?” he snorted impatiently. “Yes! I’m supposed to meet them
tonight. And you’ll never guess who it is.”
    “Who?” I asked.
    “Ha! It would be lovely if I could tell you, wouldn’t it? Trouble is, my blackmailer made me swear an oath not to reveal their identity. Don’t bother probing. My lips are
sealed, literally. They said they’d call with the location of the meeting twenty minutes before I have to be there. If I don’t cover up this mess soon, the archangels are going to sniff
me out,” he added, wringing his hands. I noted that his demeanor quickly switched to fearful at the mention of other archangels.
    I tried to remain unfazed. This wasn’t the move I’d expected him to make. I wondered if this was a tactic to throw us off his trail—or walk us into a trap. But the sweat
beading his brow and the desperate look in his eyes seemed genuine. He wanted this over as badly as we did.
    “My blackmailer wants me to enchant objects using the powers of heaven that all archangels possess.” Pepper dabbed his pink forehead with a handkerchief. “That’s why
they’re blackmailing me.”
    “What objects?” I asked.
    Pepper shook his head. “They’re going to bring them to the meeting. They said if I enchant them to their specifications, they’ll leave me alone. They don’t get it. Even
if I enchant the objects, the powers of heaven can