Of course, having said all that, they didn’t make it home without incident.
“Helena! Camila!” Shanon, the landlord’s daughter, all but burst off the porch to greet them as they got within sight of the apartment. “Good afternoon!”
Moses wasn’t much further behind his older sister. “Good afternoon! Are you gonna be practicing today?”
Ah that’s right, Helena thought, normally Camila would practice her capoeira at this time. The jiang-shi woman preferred practicing with others but there were only so many groups in the Immigrant Realm.
“Sorry not today,” Camila said. “We’ve got a job so I can’t be using my movement up. Maybe later?”
“I’ll set up a mystic circle so you can practice tomorrow,” Helena said. She held up a hand to cut off Camila’s refusal. “You’ll need to be at your best. And I’ve refined the spell so it doesn’t eat up as much of my magic now.”
Camila narrowed her eyes for a moment, but nodded. “Okay. Be good to stretch every now and then.”
Shannon’s eyes turned to Acedia who was slouching behind Helena as much as possible. “So are you their patron Miss?”
“Yeah,” Acedia muttered.
Moses fiddled with the cross pendant he wore. “Are you a real demon, miss?”
Acedia snorted. “I guess so. I mean I’m not a fake demon.”
“She’s Acedia, a sin demon of suicidal depression,” Helena said.
“Not a good role model,” Camila added cheerfully. “I mean Helena’s a bad role model too, but she’s worse.”
Acedia hissed in annoyance, but didn’t refute anything. Shannon and Moses still seemed to be impressed though. Probably a good thing. It wouldn’t do to have them too casual around demons. At least not until they were older.
Still it didn’t last long. Having a witch and a jiang-shi in the apartment had pushed their sense of ‘normal’ to the limit. “Can you read us a story, Helena?” Shanon asked, holding out a well worn tome.
“Have you finished your chores?” Helena asked. “I don’t want your mother being angry at you because you skipped work.”
“We did the chores, and our homework,” Moses said. “We promise.”
“Alright, I can spare a few minutes,” Helena replied. She walked over to a bench on the side of the road with Shannon and Moses following along.
She turned to help Camila sit, but the jiang-shi woman motioned to Acedia. “Give me a hand?” The demon looked at Camila with narrowed eyes, but finally just sighed and helped Camila bend her knees, before flopping on the bench. Camila glanced over at Helena, but quickly turned to the book. “This a new one?”
Helena opened it. The book did look new. “Fairy Tales From Across the Globe” the title read. “Something your father got?”
“Yeah,” Moses replied. “He said we should learn about the other people in the Immigrant Realm.”
“A good idea,” Helena replied. “But let’s start close to your home. Brer Rabbit and the Briar Patch.” She hadn’t read this tale either.
She did her best to add inflection to her voice, to bring the story to life. She was quite certain from Acedia’s dismissive gaze she failed, but the kids didn’t seem to mind. It helped that the tale of the cunning rabbit was entertaining enough on its own. When she’d finished Camila read them the tale of the bamboo cutter, with the two children helping turn the pages.
When that story was finished Shannon looked over to Helena. “Did you ever meet Princess Kaguya?”
Helena laughed. “No. I’ve never gone to the moon. I’ve met some rabbits from the moon, but never visited. It’s hard to get there and there isn’t much to do. I’d have to bribe Chang’e, Tsukiyomi or Selene as well. Artemis doesn’t do everything her brother tells her, but she’d probably put an arrow in me if she noticed me just out of principle.”
“I’m surprised you’re still alive,” Acedia muttered.
Helena shrugged and changed the subject. “I have seen the jeweled Hourai branch though. It looks like this.” She cupped her hands and called forth light. Her illusions skills were weak but she was just trying to create a facsimile, not a perfect copy. The important part was the color and shape. The dull gold of the branch and the tiny glittering jewels of the flowers.
“Whoa,” Moses and Shannon both crowded around looking at the glittering branch. “It really does look like it’s made of jewels!”
Camila stared over it as well. “It’s kinda ugly though. Like the tree’s dead. And not the good kind of dead like me.”
“Avaritia would like it but I agree with you,” Acedia said.
Helena let the illusion shift, the jeweled flowers being replaced by leaves like carved emeralds. “This is what it looks like in the summer. The flowering form is more useful for magic. But I think this version is prettier.”
“Now you’re talking!” Camila nodded. “That actually compares to the forests back home.”
“Ah Helena, Camila. Good afternoon.” Helena looked up to see their landlord Mr Samuels walking up. The tall solidly built man still had sawdust on him, and was carrying a cup. He must have finished repairing something for one of the other residents. “And good afternoon to you as well Miss,” he said to Acedia. He looked at his kids. “You haven’t been bothering them too much have you kids?”
“No sir,” the kids chorused. “They were just reading to us.” Helena grinned and nodded to show they were telling the truth.
Mr Samuels smiled in return. “Thank you all.” His expression turned a little more serious. “Having any luck getting work, Helena?”
“Actually yes,” Helena replied. “I’m going to help Acedia here with a problem before it gets out of hand.”
“I hope it isn’t dangerous,” the man said.
Camila laughed weakly. “Might be a little.”
“Just a madman willing to kill a demon in the middle of the street,” Acedia muttered.
The two kids blanched at that, and Mr Samuels frowned. “I suppose that’s something that’s gotta get done, but Helena you seem to only find these dangerous jobs. That’s no way to make a living.”
“I know,” Helena muttered. “I know. It’s just I can’t really seem to get any jobs selling potions or small spells.”
“You could try advertising,” Camila snapped. Helena winced. Apparently Camila wasn’t happy about her lack of success there.
Mr Samuels nodded. “She has a good point. You also could use a store. No offense but a third floor apartment round here doesn’t get much business.” He gestured to a boarded up window. “That lot’s still open if you’re interested. Everyone thinks it’s cursed since the old owner ran afoul of Madam Robicroix. I bet that wouldn’t be a problem for you though.”
Helena looked over at the shop. It was a good idea. But she’d had so many problems paying rent, the thought of adding more debts to her monthly budget made her queasy. Then again with the money she’d just gotten… “I’ll think about it. Ask me again after this job’s over.”
“Fair enough.” Mr Samuels turned to his kids. “Shannon, Moses, say thanks to the ladies. I wanna show you two how to fix a sink.”
The two kids both grimaced, but they stood. “Thanks for reading with us,” Moses said.
“Next time we’ll read to you,” Shannon added before waving.
“Goodbye. Have fun,” Helena said as the duo followed their father off.
Camila hopped to her feet. “Guess we should head up too. We’ve got some plotting to do.”
Helena nodded and stood. “If nothing else I should put up some scrying spells to make sure no one sneaks up on us.”
They both waited as Acedia slowly forced herself up. The woman stretched her wings slowly before giving Helena a questioning look. “Why aren’t you training those two? They have talent.”
“Eh?” Camila looked between the two. “Wait, the kids can use magic?”
“Not yet.” Helena said quietly. “And until they do, I’m not going to teach them. Unlike me they can choose a life without magic. And they’ve seen enough to make the decision for themselves.” She turned towards the entrance to the apartment building. “Besides I only guessed they might have a talent because their father does. Not all of us can sense magic potential.”
Acedia sighed. “Oh good. Another power that has no use.”
“Hey, it’s not no use,” Camila said. “I bet you could-“
“Corrupt the innocent?” Acedia said. “Sow discord among those with the talent for magic? No thanks. It’s not fun.”
Camila gave the demon a stern look. “I was gonna say teach kids cool magic tricks. Or help magical kids with abusive parents.” Acedia just shook her head and followed them up the stairway. The creaking wood mixing with the sounds of traffic outside.
Helena unlocked the door then immediately headed to her kitchen. She grabbed a clove of garlic then broke it apart, throwing pieces to the four corners of the apartment. Hecate, grant me understanding, she prayed. And Hecate answered. Her mind opened up and she now knew there were no angels or demons at the crossroads around the apartment. “There. We should be safe for now.”
“Not that any self respecting angel would bother hunting me down,” Acedia muttered. The demon woman seemed drawn to the bed, and as soon as she reached it she collapsed into it.
Camila gave Acedia a look, but sighed and moved to the table. It seemed the demon had strained Camila’s patience for the day. Helena pulled out a chair and helped Camila sit before grabbing two mugs. “Coffee please,” Camila said.
Helena nodded and grabbed one of the packs Camila had bought soon after she moved in. Fortunately Camila was willing to accept the ‘instant’ coffee from the Big Apple. Unlike the flower and fruit, the highly processed ground powder wasn’t dangerous for her. Apparently the immortality ritual she’d done long ago didn’t consider it ‘real’ coffee. She still put the cup in front of Camila to stir, while she brewed her own tea.
“Hey, did you have any younger siblings?” Camila asked as Helena sat down.
“Hm?” Helena wondered why Camila had asked. “No. Some older cousins, but I’m an only child. I suppose Kseniya might be something like a younger sister to me, but I met her later.” She sipped the tea. “My mother followed my father on his journeys. So I don’t remember them much. I was raised by my Grandmother, and my school.” She hesitated before asking Camila, “And you?”
Camila took the question in stride. “My little sister didn’t make it. Mae just barely survived the birth. So no more kids for my family. Guess they kinda doted on me. Only reason I can think of why Pai let me learn capoeira.” The dark skinned woman stared into her coffee. There was still a lot of pain there.
“I was sure you’d have siblings,” Acedia muttered from the bed. “You act like Gula.”
Helena turned to look at the demon. Acedia hadn’t risen from the bed, but she was appraising them. “What was she like?” Helena asked.
“She was the best of us,” Acedia sighed. “She was always eating something of course. It was her nature. But she wanted to share. She used her nature to make people better. It was totally wrong for a demon… but it was the only thing that kept us alive in hell.”
Acedia’s wings twitched as she continued. “I think she changed some of us. Ira stopped threatening us. Invidia started helping by showing off. She’s still ruled by envy after all. Superbia is still going around trying to increase our stature in the demon world. But the rest of us… we’re just useless.” The demon drooped. “Me most of all.”
“Well, like, you’re helping them now with this angel problem,” Camila said.
“Yeah, by spending Invidia’s money,” Acedia muttered.
Helena finished her tea and set the cup aside. “Well if you manage to stand up and walk over here you can help more.”
Acedia peered at her but slowly pushed herself upright as Helena pulled out a map. “What do you mean?”
“I mean I’m going to perform a divination to find every angel in the city.” Helena grabbed a map she’d purchased a long time ago in the government district. “Angels can’t hide their nature. In fact even a true magician like myself can’t hide an angel’s aura without dipping into very obvious magic. I should be able to find every place an angel has been in the last week.”
“And how can I help?” Acedia asked.
Helena grimaced. “As I’ve said before I’m terrible with demons and angels. Your cosmology doesn’t make any sense. No offense. So I’ll need a drop of your blood to find anything angelic or demonic.”
Acedia’s wings twitched, the demon woman stood up. “I’m not a fallen angel, so I’m not actually related to the heavenly host.”
“It’s close enough from my perspective,” Helena said as she pulled out a pendulum and a marker. She handed the marker to Camila. “I’ll need your help too. I’ll be focusing on each aura I sense. You’ll need to mark the area. Don’t worry about being precise. The spell isn’t that accurate.”
“Good because my handwriting teacher’d fail me back to elementary school if she saw my writing now,” Camila said. “What about the underground? Isn’t that where most terrible people hide out?”
Helena nodded grimly. The underground was where most of the more monstrous mythical creatures lived, and since it was further from the police, most of the criminals as well. “This one will tell me if there are any angels in the underground. If there are, we’ll do a secondary divination. For now I want to rule out the obvious.”
“Well then hurry up and steal my blood,” Acedia said, holding her hand out.
It was a little strange having someone just hand over some blood, but Helena didn’t argue. She carefully pricked the demon’s finger with a practiced hand. Acedia didn’t even flinch until after she was done. “Thank you.” She turned her attention to the map and the pendulum.
Blood calls to blood. Like calls to like. She fed magic into the pendulum, letting the budding spell taste the blood on the needle and send it back to her. She felt lethargy and depression seep into her mind. A dreary annoyance that couldn’t be avoided. What was the point of this? There had to be a better way.
Helena forced herself to act anyway. Years of meddling with emotional spells had trained her for moments like this. But it wasn’t easy. She had to ‘wash’ her mental hands with another spell, bubbling the ruinous thoughts in runes of protection and health. So that was raw acedia? No wonder the demon had such difficulty functioning. She snuffed the emotion and moved past it, towards the essence of being a demon.
To her mind it appeared as a miasma as thick as molasses. The evils of the world condensed into humanoid form. All that wanted to corrupt and destroy. Not a pleasant core, but one Helena was familiar with. She was a master of curses and miasma.
Now the hard part. What was the opposite of miasma? What opposed sickness? In her home realm sickness was caused by imbalance. Balance didn’t have a form. It was a state. How could you find a state?
Perhaps that was the wrong way to look at it. If demons brought miasma to the world, then angels acted in reverse. They weren’t the state of balance, they were the elixirs and curatives that claimed to bring balance. Helena didn’t believe in the effectiveness of those cure alls. Most were cheap quackery. But she didn’t believe in the divine right of angels either, so that worked just fine.
Blood calls to blood. Like calls to like. Now that she understood what she was working with, she summoned her power fully into the pendulum and let it start swinging. The weight twisted and spun, pulled by both gravity and the magic. Helena felt it through the line, slowly decreasing the weight’s gravity as it was drawn to the magic. Finally the weight was circling in a small area. “There.” She waited for Camila to mark the point. The simple circle on the map cut its metaphysical connection to the circle and the pendulum started swinging again.
Five more times she repeated the process, Camila dutifully marking the points on the map each time. There was no more trace of angelic power, but the pendulum felt restless. Then she realized what it could be. “That’s right, I thought it might be a fallen angel as well.” She strengthened the ‘remedy’ to Acedia’s unholy power, letting the cure shift into a poison.
The pendulum finished its slow journey to the first spot. “Mark these ones differently please,” Helena said.
“Aren’t we gonna be checking them all anyway?” Camila said as she marked it with an X.
“We know this one or ones are different from the others,” Helena replied. “It’s best to keep that clear.”
Four Xes joined the Os on the map before the pendulum finally fell still, without anything more to discover. Helena carefully put it away before turning to the map. “Time to find out where the angels have tread recently.”
“Fallen or not,” Camila said with a harsh grin.
Camila pointed to the circle around the Immigrant Realm’s biggest mosque. “That’s Nezaiel. We can ignore that one. Though I might question him anyway.”
“Why isn’t he a suspect?” Camila asked.
“He’s chosen the path of nonviolence,” Helena said. “As a guide to humanity or something. In any case if he hasn’t fallen, he’s not our suspect.” Helena pointed at the marketplace. “This on the other hand is where the third murder occurred, so we know we can find our suspect.” Helena tapped the circle near Japantown. “Is that your apartment Acedia?”
“I think so. It’s somewhere there,” Acedia replied.
“Good.” Helena looked over the other circles and frowned. “This one here is Amaiel. I can’t count her out, but it seems unlikely.” She tapped the two other circles that sat in the area that most demons prefered to live. “These two seem more like other murder victims then the home of an angel. Unless they’re hiding near one of the murder sites we’re missing a spot.”
Camila did her shrug. “It’s possible. I mean murderers do dumb stuff like that all the time on crime shows. Either that or they’re hiding near another angel to confuse people like us.”
“Unlikely but I can’t rule it out,” Helena said. “Let’s look at the fallen angel.”
“Didn’t we already figure out it’s not them?” Camila asked.
Helena looked up at her friend. “Why do you say that?”
Camila tapped the marketplace. “We already know the murderer looks like an angel to you. Not a fallen angel. Whoever those Xes are, it’s not our killer.”
“You’re right,” Helena swore. “I’m as foolish as a satyr in his cups.”
“It’s still strange,” Acedia muttered. “What’s a fallen angel doing here? And why are they showing off?”
Helena considered the question. “All the appearances are in slums too. And nothing underground where a fallen angel would normally live.” She tapped on the map. “We should look at that if our other investigations don’t bear fruit.”
“Figure a fallen angel might be interested in helping us find the killer,” Camila said.
Acedia huffed. “Sure, if it doesn’t want to murder us.”
“I’ll have you soothe it with your incredible talents of diplomacy,” Helena replied as she carefully folded the map. “For now we have somewhere to start. Tomorrow morning we’ll be visiting the mosque.”