“This is my fault. I knew something was up, I should have pushed.”

“We never should have let him go in the first place; I should have made him stay.”

“Well,” Nate said brightly. “It’s Charmian’s fault for being in love with him, Carmel’s for not pushing on the succubus issue, Lucas is in the wrong for letting Justin leave the house… anybody here not blaming themselves?”

Zac smirked. “I’m cool with it.”

“Smart ass,” Carmel said as she glared at him. “This is so not funny.”

“Maybe we could all stop the self-flagellation long enough to realise that as far as we were aware succubi were extinct and that even if you had pushed on the issue none of us could have predicted that she was one or that she’d explode into dust before being useful?” As ever, Nate was scribbling away in his notebook as he talked. “I’m rather more interested in that, it must take a lot of power to hex somebody in that manner.”

Lucas leaned back in his chair, a gloomy expression marring his chiselled features. “Which would further fit the theme of ‘fuck we really underestimated Anton.’ I hate to say it but we’re getting totally out of our depth here.”

“As much as I hate to say it you may be right.” Nate frowned at the information in front of him; it was all very pessimistic and not giving him much cause for hope. He was less concerned about the succubus than the manner of her death. They were designed to be less visible than your average demon so even immortals had a hard time identifying them – what was unusual and alarming was Anton being able to incinerate her at will. “Unfortunately Annabelle was the perfect cover. Travelling with an entourage meant she would by nature have introduced Justin to a number of people, any of whom could be Anton under a pseudonym.”

“How long do you think before Justin wakes up?” Zac asked.

Even with their cast iron stomachs, it had been difficult watching the cleansing. At first Justin had been making weak jokes about it being the ultimate STD, but that quickly subsided and was replaced by screaming. Carmel had purposely made it sound as if the mark could be simply washed off in order to reassure Justin, but the truth was the paste Nate made had to burn away the mark. It was the equivalent of having boiling water poured across your skin for an hour. It had of course made Charmian hysterical watching it, and it was actually an act of mercy when Lucas quietly and unexpectedly knocked Justin unconscious.

“Not long. I didn’t hit him that hard so I’m guessing his body’s still recovering from the paste or something. Nasty shit.”

“You know, I wasn’t sure whether Char was going to hit you or thank you for that.” Carmel’s voice was tinged with melancholy.

“Neither was I.”

“God.” Zac shuffled his feet against the floor, staring down at his sneakers as if they’d have an enlightening effect on the situation. “I know this has been bad before but I have never seen her lose control that much. I didn’t think we were gonna hold her. I hate to say it but she’s losing it.”

Carmel shrugged. “Can you blame her? We’re all sinking and she’s got more invested in this than anybody. And she’s seriously beating herself up for not listening to me.”

“Do I detect a hint of ‘I told you so,’ dear Mel?”

She shook her head. “That’s not what I mean, it’s not like I wanted to be right. She’s just beating herself up because ‘I did what I taught you not to and I was stupid and I saw what I wanted to see and oh God I’m a terrible person and yadda yadda.’ I think she just wanted so badly to believe Annabelle was legit and that she could keep her distance and it would save him that she’s got nothing left.”

“Well maybe we should all get off the dumb emotional stuff and back on strategy,” Zac suggested. “What we doing to find Anton?”

“That’s the one thing she did manage to do. She put Alex and his team on it.”

“Fucker…”

“Hey,” Lucas warned. “Alexander’s crew are the most efficient and military precise we got. They’re the best choice for search.”

“Shame they got no imagination in an actual fight.”

“Zac…”

“Alright, just saying.”

“We got no time to be petty any more,” Carmel told him softly. “Anton declared war and we didn’t even notice; we got to catch up.”

They were interrupted by a pale looking Charmian walking slowly into the room. She stood in front of the table, arms folded. It was odd to see her so subdued. Normally she was the model of quiet but authoritative confidence - she wasn’t obnoxious or ostentatious but she naturally commanded a room. Now it was as if she’d been deflated, her shoulders slumped in defeat.

“He woke up for a little but I convinced him to go back to sleep. Think he’s been through enough for one night.”

“The mixture has done its work?” Nate enquired.

She nodded. “Mark’s gone. I guess I owe you guys an apology for the crazed bitch incident.”

“S’okay boss. I’ll remember it next time you’re telling me off for being too quick to the finish.”

She offered a half hearted smile in appreciation of Zac’s efforts, but nothing was very funny any more. “I’ll get right to the point, we’re dying here. The poison’s out there, there are still murmurings in the ranks, Anton’s using magic we’ve never seen before, a species we thought died out nearly doomed our guy…”

“Yeah, how did that happen?” Carmel asked. “I thought we hunted them all down.”

“So did I.” Charmian’s face was twisted into a grim scowl. “But it only takes one to survive. When this is over we need to start doing a comprehensive search worldwide, I am not letting those bitches start building up numbers again.”

“And in the meantime?” Lucas didn’t even notice that he was twirling a pen in his hands. It was a nervous habit he’d picked up after the invention of the ballpoint pen. You couldn’t really do it with quills.

She took a deep breath, shoulders hunching up around her neck as she held it a few seconds longer than she needed to. “I’m calling Michael.”

They straightened in their seats, their mouths dropped open, and whatever nervous fidgeting they had been doing immediately ceased. The current was palpable as it ran through the room.

“You sure boss?” Lucas asked uneasily. “You said he’d be pissed if we called him and weren’t on top of things.”

“It’ll be worse if we wait until we’ve fucked it all up, which we are dangerously close to doing.”

Zac’s face took on a green tinge. The only thing in existence that still scared him was Michael. If Alexander was a hard ass who was too tough on his recruits, Michael was the kind of guy who made him look positively reasonable. He demanded nothing but excellence. Since Charmian usually offered it, in his gruff and nearly indiscernible way he doted on her (you could tell because when he was barking orders at her it was a few decibels lower than everybody else). Being told that his pet was failing was going to make him very angry and that never led to anything good.

“If you think that’s the wisest course, but I don’t need to tell you that his wrath will bring consequences,” Nate said mildly.

“And our continued incompetence will bring consequences, namely Justin dying, so if I have to give up being teacher’s star pupil so be it. You ready?”

“What, NOW?”

As if she hadn’t blindsided them enough, that took the cake. There was no time to compose themselves or come up with an approach, she was already muttering in the ancient tongue that would call their boss. His presence wasn’t guaranteed, those of lower ranks did not get to summon their superiors, but if Michael answered the call then they were all about to get their asses handed to them.

Instinctively Lucas scraped back his chair and dropped on one knee as he saw the blue-grey light start forming at the head of the table, yanking Zac down with him. Carmel didn’t need to be told that supplication was in order. Nate was the only one in the room not subject to Michael’s authority but even he took care to rise from his seat and bow his head in respect. Once the figure was fully formed Charmian knelt herself, keeping her eyes fixed firmly on the ground.

If ever there was a stereotype for an avenger, Michael was it. He was a hulk of a man, well over six feet and very broad in the chest and shoulders. Even beneath the traditional breastplate he wore the muscles were more than evident. Though times moved on he had always favoured the styling of the Ancient Greek and Roman armies, and kept mainly to it. His hair was long, brushing his shoulders and jet black, as were his eyes. His face was hard set, as if he were a living statue, features unyielding. Hollywood would have loved him, one second on screen and everybody would know he was playing the villain. He had the look.

“My children, this is a surprise. And Nathaniel.”

“Greetings, Michael. Peace be with you,” Nate said.

“And with you.”

“Forgive me, Lord,” Charmian began. Her voice betrayed a little of her struggle to keep collected. “I apologise for disturbing you but I have troubling news and felt it could wait no longer.”

“Why was it waiting before?”

To somebody who didn’t know him he might have sounded neutral, merely inquisitive. Everybody in the room however could hear the coiled snake in his tone. The fact that he had not yet invited them to even look at him, let alone get up, was not a good sign.

“We have been investigating unusual activity in the area.” Even as she spoke she was wondering how little she could get away with telling him. “Our enquiries have brought some troubling revelations but I knew you would not wish to be disturbed until we had a clearer picture.”

“And?”

She swallowed hard. “Anton is above ground and has been charged with corrupting celebrities in order to have them turn their followers. To this end the demons have been actively trying to distract us with strange behaviour in order to mask their true intent. They have been employing poison against avengers and last night we discovered that Anton had employed a succubus in order to target his victim.”

“A succubus?” Even Michael sounded surprised. His arms were tightly folded across his chest. “How is that so?”

“We cannot be sure.” Nathaniel stepped in for Charmian. “By all records we had they should have been extinct. What is more concerning is that Anton was somehow able to make her spontaneously combust before she could betray him.”

“Rise, children,” he said impatiently, tapping his fingers against his arm. Nervously they all stood, still keeping their heads bowed and not daring to look at him except for Charmian. “That would take great power and strongly suggests he has much to hide. What’s so important about this human that he’d go to the trouble?”

“He’s well respected and has a large fan base,” Nate explained. We believe the idea was to corrupt him until he would corrupt others even without demonic possession.”

“So leaving him out of our reach. Clever. Why are they employing poison?”

Lucas wasn’t sure how he dared to clear his throat and speak, but somehow he did. “It is something they have often attempted, my Lord, hoping to find a way to better disable us for a capture.” He tried not to flinch when Michael turned his gaze upon him.

“Something in your tone tells me they succeeded.”

“Yes my Lord.” It was difficult to get the words out, he was so afraid of the reaction. “I can report that I received some cuts to my back and ribs which took the course of a night to heal.”

“An entire night?”

“Yes my Lord.”

“And how did you sustain the injuries to begin with?”

Now he was scared. “I was engaged with Narjin and he was armed with Malachai’s cat o’ nine tails. I was expecting to defend against his usual methods and he caught me by surprise. My apologies, it was complacent.”

“I did not think Malachai would ever give up his prized possession, why was he carrying it?”

“I killed him the previous evening, my Lord.” 

“And did you also dispatch Narjin?”

“Yes, Lord.”

Michael gazed across at Lucas, eyes narrowed. “Well. I suppose if you had not been injured we might have been left to discover the efficacy of the poison with a less desirable end result. Narjin and Malachai are not easy kills.”

That was as close as the boss was ever going to get to a flattering remark. Zac would have laughed if he wasn’t so nervous – Lucas was almost blushing.

Charmian dared to raise her head just a little. That faint bit of praise might mean it wasn’t as catastrophic as she had feared. “My Lord, Nathaniel has kindly been researching the poison for us and looking for an antidote. We have so far managed to conceal the fact from the demons, but fear we cannot for much longer. With the presence of the succubus and the power Anton is obviously wielding we felt it best to advise you of the situation. I have Alexander’s team searching for him but he has proved unusually elusive.”

“Have you told anyone else?”

“None outside my team. We wanted to prevent the news from reaching the pit.” Naturally she wasn’t going to mention the fact that she thought it would be used as an excuse for a coup.

“And where is Anton’s target now?”

Every instinct in her body wanted to her to freeze, clam up. The last thing she wanted to do was discuss Justin with Michael, yet if she displayed any kind of emotion at all he would pounce on it. The man was eagle-eyed to say the least.

“We have secured the target and cleansed him of the mark he bore.” It was her best acting work ever, and she remained purposely vague on Justin’s location. She didn’t want him moved so soon after that trauma but first thing in the morning she was putting him somewhere else and getting Lucas to recreate the anti-demonic wards he had on his own house. “However with the lengths Anton has gone to we do not believe it will be his last attempt, which is why I felt it best to inform you Lord. We need your wisdom.”

There it was. They had flattered him, they had downplayed the failures as best they could, achieved a near compliment, tried to cushion the blow as much as possible. All there was left to do was wait for the reaction.

“Is there anything else?”

“No Lord.” That was a fib of epic proportions but she couldn’t tell him.

“Very well. I will consider this and then we will reconvene tomorrow. I’ll send word of my arrival.”

His exit was as quick and sharp as his entry. A collective breath they hadn’t realised they’d been holding was released and an assortment of sighs and exclamations all sounded at once.

“Fucking hell that’s one scary fucker,” Zac said shakily.

“That could have been worse, right?” Carmel’s hope was false but she tried to have it anyway.

“No. He’s pissed,” Lucas replied grimly. “I can feel it.”

“Really?” Nate asked. “He seemed remarkably reasonable.”

Charmian’s eyes met Lucas’s, nodding in sad agreement. “Exactly.”