The weight of the conclave’s resolution didn’t really hit Helena until the morning after.
She’d been given free rein to slaughter hundreds to stop the incident. Seven magicians had sat down and given her power exceeded only by the Roman dictators. Even if she had no intention of using it, it was hers. She’d always known magicians had a terrifying power, but she’d never really understood what it meant politically. They were deciding the fates of people who didn’t know they existed, and might not ever meet them.
Maybe there was some reasoning behind most governments attempts to keep magic illegal.
She forced herself back to the present. Worrying about power she wasn’t going to use was a mistake. Especially with likely two cults on the move. She’d discussed the matter with Aoi after the conclave and they agreed this was the work of two different groups. While the spells were similar, those creating the fake angel were arrogant and confrontational. Those creating the fallen angel were more bloodthirsty, but they worked in places the authorities wouldn’t look.
A cup of tea was put in front of her bringing her mind back to the present. “Here,” Acedia said.
“Thanks,” Helena replied before taking a sip. She looked over to find Camila had taken over breakfast again. Probably for the best today, though Helena would have to get her act together quickly to save their budget. Fruits were cheaper when you could get imports from every realm in existence, but they weren’t as cheap as Camila seemed to think they were.
Camila hopped over to the seat next to Helena, and Helena helped the jiang-shi woman sit. “So what’s the plan for today? We’ve got two evil cults to hunt.”
“I’m honestly not sure,” Helena admitted. She’d considered checking the other murder sites, but Gold Rat Wizard Hsu would have done that already. He was better at searching in the underground. Maybe later. “If one of our leads doesn’t contact us, I may have to summon a fairy to help. I don’t want to do it, but I’m out of other options.”
“How are you going to get a fairy to help? They hate both angels and demons,” Acedia pointed out.
Helena sipped her tea before grabbing a fig. “Exactly. A chance to stop both would appeal to them. Besides I have a certain amount of fame because of my geas. So long as I avoid the court of Oberon and Titania I should get someone reasonable.” She grimaced. Sadly, reasonable and cheap weren’t the same. Hopefully the fairy would want something small.
“What leads do we have anyway?” Camila asked. “Like, there’s the angel who you wanted to talk to but probably hates us and…”
“And my friend in the Black Forest,” Helena said as she handed her friend a halved mango. “She dropped a letter into the box we’re using for mail, so we’ll see if that gets us anywhere.”
Acedia stared at the banana she’d grabbed. “Doesn’t seem likely.”
“It’s what we have,” Helena said. You used the tools you owned, not those you wanted.
“I suppose,” Acedia started eating as well.
It seemed the demon was changing. Or at least was at a different stage of depression. Was that Camila’s work? Or perhaps Aoi had said something. Either way it was something to keep an eye on. I was probably good for the demon, but any emotional changes could be dangerous.
Breakfast went quickly. After Helena had washed off the plates and left them on the bare counters to dry she reached into her hat and found the mailbox she’d set up with Countess Alexis. The note was a mere two pages, which was fairly compact for the noblewoman. Especially since the woman wrote in German. She made a mental note to thank her friend for being so timely.
Unfortunately it didn’t offer much to her. She sighed and folded the paper up. Acedia gave an annoying ‘told you so’ look. “Nothing?”
“She gave the excess truesilver to the Church as a tithe. Their assassin Grete is looking for missing silver from the deep mines, but if the kobolds didn’t see anything there wasn’t a theft.” There was no way anyone, human or divine, could slip past the kobolds in their home tunnels. The earth and flame spirits had all the wisdom and cunning of their respective elements.
“Wait, doesn’t that make the church here our most likely culprit?” Camila asked.
Helena grimaced. “The Catholic Church in the Black Forest is the New Roman Catholic Church, while the Universal Catholic Church is the most common here. I’ll send a note to the Gold Rat Wizard to bother some priests, but I doubt one of the smaller churches could have requisitioned that much Truesilver. The Inquisition would have grabbed it first.”
“Okaaay.” Camila was shaking her head. “Like, ignoring the whole Inquisition bit, why are there multiple Catholic Churches? Pretty sure we’re only supposed to have the one.”
Helena considered how best to explain it, but Acedia surprisingly beat her to the punch. “Who’s the pope?”
“Well it’s…” Camila paused. “Actually I don’t know. Might have switched while I was dead. But if you go to Rome-” Understanding crept into Camila’s eyes. “Oh. Right. Like, no one here can go to Rome.”
“Not your Rome,” Helena agreed with a grin. “There are at least five Romes in the Realms, three of which are Christian. All of which have a Pope. I don’t know the exact details, but there’s been a fight ever since. Sadly they all hate witches so I don’t really have a favorite.”
Camila pretended to faint as best as her stiff limbs allowed. “Vixe Maria. Even if I go back to church I’ll still be excommunicated. Can’t win.”
“Religion,” Acedia muttered.
A knock on the door interrupted further chat. Helena walked over and opened it to reveal Shannon and Moses. “Miss Helena, someone sent a message for you,” Moses said, offering a letter.
“Thank you.” The mosque’s stationary told her immediately who it was from. She opened the letter and read it. Short, simple, and somewhat insulting. “Well, it looks like we’re going to the cathedral anyway. Amaiel’s agreed to meet us there after the noon bell.”
“Hey, at least it’s after the bell,” Camila said. Bells stunned her, so skipping that was good.
Acedia looked at her. “It’s holy ground.”
Helena nodded. “And unlike Aoi’s shrine, we can’t get permission from the temple’s resident gods. Which means it’s going to hurt.”
Shannon grew wide eyed. “So the stories about demons bursting into flames at church are real?”
“Be a pretty weak demon,” Acedia muttered. “Weaker than me.”
“Or a strong priest,” Helena said. “But no. None of us are going to catch fire.”
Camila gave an exaggerated sigh. “Good. I don’t have that many outfits ya know. Suck if they got burned.”
The two children seemed to accept that and immediately began looking around her new store. Or the hollowed out mess that would be her store. “Wasn’t this place cursed?” Moses asked as he looked over the shop counter, fiddling with the hinges.
“I got rid of the lingering curses when I moved into my apartment,” Helena said. “A bonus to your parents for being willing to let me rent here.”
Shannon looked proud, but Moses still checked the corners warily. “The other kids still say it’s cursed.”
“Abandoned buildings all feel kinda weird,” Camila said. “Like even in Sao Luis there were creepy places, and there’s no ghosts out in the real world.”
“No ghosts? Where do people go when they die then?” Shannon protested.
Helena smiled. “Well that depends on what they believed and who they served in life. But Camila’s not entirely right. Ghosts in the outside world can’t affect the real world, but there are some there. I heard that from one of the last magicians to leave.”
“That’s got to be dull,” Acedia said. “Nothing to do for eternity.”
That sank the mood fast. It seemed any worry or hope Helena had about the demon changing her stripes was misguided. She quickly moved to change the subject. “Did you or your parents need anything else?”
“Dad said we should look to see how you were fixing up the shop, but it looks the same as it did before,” Shannon said.
“Yeah, I’m still planning,” Helena admitted. “I don’t have a huge budget. I’ll probably screen off most of the place until I’ve got more cash.”
Moses looked around the place. “But then how will you sell stuff? People won’t be able to see your supplies.”
Helena waved her finger at the boy and smiled. “I’m not selling things. I’m selling spells. I just need to convince them I can magic up a solution to the problem they want solved. A few light charms will do just as well as a shelf filled with books and skulls.”
“Pretty clever,” Camila said. “Guess you’ve been thinking about that too!”
Both the kids seemed impressed, so Helena didn’t shatter their dreams by admitting she’d just thought all this up on the spot. Honestly there wasn’t much she could do. She’d be dipping into the fourth month’s rent even with the screens and a new paint job. This was going to be a big headache.
But that was later. “First I have to finish Acedia’s job,” she said.
Camila’s eyes hardened. “Yeah. And fast too.”
“Good luck!” Shannon said with a wave.
“Yeah finish up and get the store running so we can visit and read to you,” Moses said.
Shannon pointed to Acedia. “You should read with us too!”
The demon’s wings flapped in surprise. “Uh, I guess?”
“Right! Well see you later!” The two kids rushed out the door as quickly as they’d burst in.
Camila grinned at Acedia. “Congrats! You made some friends!”
“I probably shouldn’t be around children,” Acedia muttered. The demon turned her eyes to Helena. “How can you stand living near them? Aren’t you terrified something might happen to them?”
Helena’s stomach squirmed. It had to be some demonic skill. There was no way Acedia could be that good at hitting weak spots normally. She was one of the least charismatic demons in existence. From the shock and worry passing over Camila’s face it had probably impacted her friend as well.
But this wasn’t the first time Helena had worried about the people around her. “I admit it worries me. I’ve forced myself to accept they aren’t somehow safer when I’m not here. Yes they might have been hurt when that fake angel attacked us. But what if that fake demon had decided their father was a good representative of diligence?” She shook her head. “I just have to hope I’m better than any trouble I bring. And that people know what will happen to anyone who hurts my friends.
“Besides it’s this or living in a cave and hoping nobody kills the shop owners I know,” Helena grimaced. “Being a magician is inherently dangerous.”
She tried not to think about the time the two kids had nearly died to a curse. Helena had kept them safe then, and saved a lot of other lives in the process. It was a fact. Even if her stomach didn’t agree.
Acedia didn’t seem convinced, but the demon didn’t argue. “Suppose. I don’t know anything about that.”
“Guess it’s like being a VIP. Except with less money,” Camila said.
Her eyes were serious as she continued. “Speaking of avoiding deaths, I know you aren’t gonna blow up the city, but what about that other guy? The Adena or whatever you called him.”
“I don’t think so?” Helena racked her memories. “I don’t know much about him. Nobody does. He’s probably younger than great aunt Circe, but I’m not even certain of that. He’s a master of scrying and shapeshifting, but that can’t be the limit of his skills.”
“That good at keeping secrets eh?” Camila seemed intrigued.
Helena nodded. “It helps that everyone who could talk about him is dead. And his branch of magic is so unique that most magicians can only guess at it. We only know he’s a master of shapeshifting because he uses it to show off. Anyone who can command as many forms as he does has to be very good. And he’s probably a master at scrying because no one can spy on him.”
“Well lets hope he turns into a dinosaur and eats the things if he finds them,” Camila said. “No big explosions.”
“All we can do,” Helena agreed. She looked at the angle of the sun. “We need to visit the cathedral soon anyway. I don’t want to arrive early, but if we’re late Amaiel is certain to leave.”
“If we’re early we can hide in an alley and have you do that silence thing,” Camila said. “Or I can suck it up and get to suffer being kinda dead again.”
Acedia slowly forced herself out of her chair. “Silence is probably better, because going to church is going to suck.”
Camila looked at the demon with apprehension. “It’s really that bad?”
Helena nodded as she collected her spell reagents. “Don’t worry though. Misery loves company, and you’re going to have plenty of it.”