After flicking the last remnants of the hazelnuts onto the floor we just cleaned, Oliver tucked his arms behind his shoulders and settled further into his defiant slouch.

  Who turned up his obnoxiousness?

  His tail snapped against the stone floor three times. “Now that I have your attention—”

  “Let’s head back to Nora’s office, where the three of us can talk in private,” I declared, already storming toward the door. As I passed Oliver, I made sure to ignore him.

  That is not how you get my attention.

  While I was fairly certain he had something important to share, it was clear that I still needed to establish boundaries.

  Nora scurried to fall in behind me, matching me stomp for stomp.

  Relias, however, called after us just before my aura-infused palm struck the barred door. “A moment, Captain. Headmaster Nora…”

  I whirled around in surprise along with my BFF, only to see Relias rolling his eyes and shaking his head.

  “Your reaction, while in alignment with the uncouth behavior he displays… is exactly what he wants,” he explained with a tight jaw. “Admittedly, even knowing that does not make it easy to resist the instinct.”

  “What, he wants me to get pissed off?”

  There are better ways to spend your time!

  Relias cleared his throat. “He is gathering the associated animus, no doubt to compensate for whatever shady business he has undertaken recently.”

  I stared at Oliver, who had turned his head back too far to give me a somewhat snarky smirk. Before I snapped at him, however, I realized his form was a bit too dim and translucent.

  “Is Relias right?” I asked. “You wanted some animus?”

  Oliver’s grin faded. “And what if I did?”

  “Well, why didn’t you just ask?!” I stamped my foot.

  Oliver, with his head still fixed on me, spun the rest of his body around in the pew. “Animus is a byproduct of ill will, exuded by a mortal’s physical form. ‘Please get mad at me and give me your animus’ isn’t an efficient way to resource it. It’s much easier to elicit it by being an irritating stimulus.”

  “Why do I have to get mad at you? Why can’t I get mad for you?”

  Mad is mad, right?

  Oliver’s form rippled at the question. “It didn't consider it,” he eventually murmured.

  “Well, maybe next time you should. But I’m too annoyed now to give you the opportunity.” I pointed at the floor beneath him. “Now clean it up.”

  He blinked. “There’s hardly anything of substance there—”

  “If you make a mess, you clean it up. Even toddlers know that!”

  Oliver tried to object again. “I am without the proper means to do so—”

  Nora hurled a dirty rag at him. He caught it, but the quick movement made him flinch.

  Oliver stared first at Nora and then at me. With a loud sigh, he slowly sank to the floor, taking his time sweeping up the remnants of hazelnuts. “I may have underestimated your reaction…”

  “You wasted food! I even warned you about that earlier!”

  “Those nuts were rotten. You wouldn’t have wanted to eat them anyway.”

  “You expect me to believe—” I stopped, catching Nora’s evil grin. Even Relias looked a bit smug at the idea that I was yelling at Oliver. “Moving on. What did you want to discuss?”

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  Oliver stood up and threw himself back into the pew. “I have accounted for all the demons present in the area and secured their loyalty.”

  “How can you be so certain of this?” Relias demanded. “You…” he paused, taking a breath to steady himself. “Even one whisper to another lord—”

  “They’ve been assigned to my new sanctum here,” Oliver replied. “Our pact guarantees their silence.”

  Relias began to tremble. “You… your… what?!”

  “The Captain ordered me to be nice to them, so I complied, even though it cost me. Oh. But you may still sanctify this space in the name of your Goddess. For a nominal monthly fee.” Oliver smiled again, back to his fox-faced self. “I’m not one to limit the religious worship of my neighboring community just to comply with my standards.”

  Relias clenched his fists. “You do not own this space, nor any part of the underground research—”

  “Uhhh…” Nora mumbled, reaching into her cloak. “He does, on paper. That’s probably why they let me cheat so outrageously last night.”

  As Relias reviewed the document Nora handed him, Oliver shook out his hair. “Even if the paperwork doesn’t satisfy you, it satisfies everyone else here. Unless you’d like to challenge my authority? I assure you that it won’t be easy—even if you try to be subtle about it.”

  Perhaps some redirection here would be best.

  “Tarek seemed a little untrustworthy,” I noted. “No offense, but…”

  Oliver laughed. “Tarek is a brilliant opportunist. He made sure to act as awkwardly as possible, grabbing our attention within minutes of our arrival.”

  “He wanted to make a deal?”

  “Wouldn’t you? The Chosen One and the Demon King appear out of nowhere, practically hand-in-hand. It’s far more rational to work with them than try to curry favor with their distant enemy. He could have tried to escape, as most demons don’t want to belong to any lord, but I’d say he made the right choice in the moment.”

  Nora rubbed her temple. “Most demons don’t belong to any lord?”

  “Demons need a constant supply of animus to function. Only the more powerful ones, like myself, have efficient reservoirs. Why serve one of us fanatical lords who’ll risk your life in their petty wars? Banishment to a Sanctum might preserve you for a while, but only as a lord’s lackey. It’s much better to keep your head down and live among humans and hybrids, where you can feed off ambient animus without lifting a finger.” Oliver glanced at Relias, sniffed, and sighed. “You did know that, correct? The majority of Demonkind would rather avoid mortal disputes entirely.”

  “So basically, all the demons we’ve encountered are…” I started.

  “Sociopaths!” Nora finished.

  “I was going to say misrepresentative of the whole!”

  Nora shrugged. “Same thing. Mine’s just faster.”

  Oliver continued to stare at the tight-lipped sage. “You didn’t answer my question. Did you know that?”

  Relias glowered at him, his fingers flexing around the scroll in his hands, the parchment crackling slightly as he fought to keep his voice level. “How would I? How could I possibly know the distribution of demons when a purported majority actively conceals itself? You’re asking me to prove the presence of something that does not want to be accounted for!”

  “Then why is Chairo the only city encased in a holy crystal barrier? Why not implement such security measures elsewhere?”

  Relias drew in a slow breath, shoulders stiff. His gaze flicked toward Nora and me as if for reassurance. “We are not so close that I would disclose the specifics of a precious resource to you, demon. But you should be able to infer enough from my previous statement to recognize the value of my answer.”

  “But the answer is the same for both of us. The relative risk to the outlying lands remains low. My siblings and I only really care about maintaining the sanctity of our Wastelands—”

  “That is an extreme oversimplification of our eternal conflict!” Relias snapped, though he immediately lowered his gaze and swallowed whatever else he was about to say.

  “Oh, I know,” Oliver admitted with a grin. “But I’ve known you long enough to realize it takes time for you even to begin to consider anything that challenges your carefully constructed worldview. I believe this oversimplification is just another irritating stimulus that might push you toward the change you claim to desire.”

  He smoothed back a stray lock of hair with deliberate calm, but his eyes never left Relias. His gaze was watchful and measuring, with the faintest hint of cold amusement glinting behind his half-lidded eyes. “Since we’ll be traveling together, I’ll be sure to listen to all the arguments you come up with along the way.”

  “Oh no!” Nora suddenly gasped. “They’re squaring up for a debate session!”

  “Multiple, most likely…” I agreed, my temples already threatening to stage a mutiny.

  “A dialectic with a demon…” Relias said with a flinch. “How sideways this world continues to turn…”

  “Eventually it’ll turn upright again,” I said, willing the words to come true. “We, uh, just gotta hang on through the rotation.”

  “Mmm, it’ll take more than that,” Nora admitted. “Since we’re talking about secrets…”

  Oliver’s eyes darted to Nora in anticipation.

  Nora, however, ignored him, instead addressing Relias and me. “Are we going with the idea that Oliver was possessed? Or is there another explanation for his sudden reappearance in the Order of Gold?”

  Oliver frowned in disappointment. “Tch. I was under the impression it would be a self-admission. Something about what you really are?”

  “Nora is Nora,” I insisted. “She asked Euphridia to be a Fifth Circle Dark Mage, and through her effort, she even got promoted beyond that!”

  Oliver rubbed his chin, giving no indication he would ever accept that explanation. “The other mages are most likely falling over themselves to contact Master Landon first with their version of recent events, so you might as well adopt their explanation." He glanced at Nora. “Did you find Headmaster Jasper’s communication orb?”

  She nodded. “I have it, but I haven’t exactly figured out how to use it—”

  “Headmaster Jasper!” Master Landon boomed from within the depths of Nora’s cape. “Put all mages on notice. The Tower of Olethros has fallen, and the Order of Gold is nowhere to be found!”

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