Page 48 of Temple of Magic and Bone

Elektra tossed her pencil onto the table. "Good. I need a break."

"You say that now, but I have to warn you. This contact is probably one of the most arrogant and insufferable people you're ever going to meet."

Elektra's gray eyes sparkled. "I'm royalty. I know how to handle the insufferable."

Vanth knew she was right, but no one did insufferable like Galen Fucking Murphy.

28

It was still early in the night when Vanth and Elektra drove to the other side of the mage's district, which shared its border with the dragons. There was a joke that got around in Inferno about certain districts named after Dante Alighieri's structure of hell. The Dragon District was frequently called Greed, but never when any dragons were around.

Galen had a sense of humor that was questionable when he decided to call his club 'The Circle Eight' because it was where sorcerers were sent when they died. It was an upscale club that nobody seemed inclined to get rid of despite its reputation and that of its owner.

"What is it about this guy that's making you so edgy?" Elektra asked.

"I'm not edgy. I am just cautious because that's how smart people are around Galen. He's probably the only member of the mages guild who is more disreputable than I am," Vanth replied.

Elektra smiled. "Oh? Tell me more. I didn't think anyone was more disreputable than you."

"Galen was quite brilliant. I mean, heisquite brilliant. I suppose he just got too arrogant and ended up fucking up. Hewas a sorcerer that the mages were all proud of. They knew exactly what to do with him, as opposed to what to do with me. He decided that to be a true sorcerer, he was going to summon a demon to serve him," Vanth began and tried to remember all the details he knew that weren't just rumors. "Galen didn't decide to summon any demon. That would be too simple. He decided to go into the forbidden archives at the citadel and try to summon a demon who was a Lord. To say that he bit off more than he could chew is an understatement."

Elektra swore. "Oh, gods, who did he summon?"

"According to Galen, he wasn't trying to summon someone so big, but I don't know if I believe that because Galen was nothing if not ambitious. He ended up summoning Mammon by accident. If you don't know your Hebrew mythology, he is one of the seven princes of Hell and is in charge of wealth and greed. I don't know the full details of what happened that night, but apparently, he was possessed by the prince. The elders at the citadel won't release any of the information about that night, but Galen managed to exorcise Mammon on his own."

"Holy shit," Elektra whispered. Her hand was resting against her throat in shock, and Vanth wondered if he had done the right thing by telling her the story. Not many people knew it for a reason. The main one was that enterprising shitheads would try and get Galen to redo the magic. "So what happened?"

"Galen left the mages and disappeared for a while. When he resurfaced in Inferno, he opened up the club and has been there ever since. I'm only speculating here, but even though the demon prince may have been exorcised, he still had control of Galen's body for a night. And Galen hasn't really been the same since. I think the club is a way of feeding what Mammon left inside of him."

"Any idea what he did while he was away?" Elektra asked, her brow creasing into a frown.

Vanth shrugged. "Not sure, but when he came back, he started doing regular visits with an Irish Catholic priest here in the human quarter of the city."

"So he's not a sorcerer anymore?"

Vanth laughed. "That man couldn't stop being a sorcerer any more than he could stop being Irish. I think the priest is more like a therapist to help him deal with whatever it was that Mammon left inside of him. Or he could be an old family friend? I haven't been able to figure out which."

"And this man who isn't afraid to summon a prince of Hell owes you a favor? Should I be worried about what you actually did for him to earn it?" she asked, her gray eyes already filled with concern.

Vanth usually tried not to think about that night. "It's complicated, and I'm not sure I'm actually at liberty to tell anyone, even you. In fact, it's safer if you don't know. It's a really big favor, though, so fingers crossed Galen doesn't give me too much grief for calling it in."

They arrived at the club ten minutes later. It wasn't open yet, and there was already a line down around the corner. The building was black brick with a stylized logo of eight red and gold circles. Vanth drove around the back and parked in the loading bay.

"Now what?" Elektra asked, looking around at the dark alley.

Vanth spotted a security camera turn and focus on him. He stuck his middle finger up at it. "Now, we wait for someone to come and open the door for us. Also, try not to stare."

"At what?" Elektra asked.

The back door to the club opened, and a six-foot-eight creature with curving white horns stepped out. The male cambion was stunningly beautiful with black and silver hair, pale blue eyes, and pearlescent skin. His father had been anincubus, and his mother was a witch. Only in Inferno could such a child find a safe place to live.

"Hey, Harper, how have you been?" Vanth asked, smiling up at him.

"Better for seeing you, my naughty little necromancer. I do wish you wouldn't be so vulgar about getting our attention. You could just knock, you know?" Harper said, his voice like satin and sex. He looked Elektra over. "My, my, what did you do to get the attention of the Novas?"

Vanth smiled his fake, innocent smile. "Oh, you know me, Harper. I like to make friends everywhere I go. Speaking of which, is the boss in? I need to bend his ear before opening."

Harper opened the door and gestured for them to come inside. "Anything I should be worried about?"

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