Lances and Daggers

22. The Client

"You're as much a kid as I am," I said. "I'm seventeen."

He ignored my comment and continued, "I gave you the protective charm. I felt that it was my duty to protect you, since I brought you here. Day after day, I prayed you'd leave, but you stayed and even allied with Reinfried."

"The quest was important for me. And it still is."

Demetrius sighed, "I think I've explained everything. Are you satisfied now?"

"Yes, I'm sorry if I forced it out of you. I was just curious."

"Curiosity is a virtue," he smiled. "Now, it's time to discuss our next move. We will leave Marie here and—"

"Wait," I interrupted. "Can you tell me what happened while I was in the Maida? Faust was about to summon Belphegor, and the cult was celebrating. What happened after that?"

The room plunged into a heavy silence. Marie and Demetrius exchanged furtive looks, as if they had been debating whether they should answer my question. Their lips moved but without sound. Then Marie bit hers and looked down. It seemed that they had reached a conclusion.

"Yes, we should tell you what happened..." Demetrius finally said. He reshuffled his cards, then picked The Wheel of Fortune. After he flashed it, he continued, "Good things come first. We were all saved by Marie."

"Marie?" I looked at her in surprise. "I knew it! You beat Belphegor with your stick, right?"

"You shouldn't joke about serious stuff," she pouted and puffed out her cheeks.

I laughed a little.

Demetrius explained, "After you went to show Faust the grimoire, Marie remembered what she had seen in the Hall of the Mountain King. She panicked and told me everything. And she refused to stay home."

"I had to do something," she said. "Your life was in danger."

"We caught up with you near the ancient caverns," Demetrius continued. "I followed you into the underground tunnels, and Faust didn't detect me. I saved Reinfried from the trap, gave him a charm, and asked him to help me rescue you. But..."

"I was already gone."

"Yes, we were too late. But we retrieved your body before Faust disposed of it."

"I'm glad you chose to act, Marie," I said. "You saved my life."

"You're giving me too much credit," she smiled.

Demetrius started to reshuffle his tarot cards. He paused in the middle with a short wince of pain. A moment of hesitation passed. Then he finished the shuffling and picked a card. It was Death. The sight of the Grim Reaper erased our smiles, and he said, "But bad things followed."

"What happened?" I said.

"After we escaped with your body, Faust attacked Ashenbrook. The cultists went berserk, burning houses and offering sacrifices to Belphegor. The town is under the cult's control now."

"It's even worse than that," Reinfried said, raising his head a little. "The giant Aberration... Belphegor is on the loose again."

I hadn't imagined that the situation was so dreadful. Faust's wicked plans had been proceeding smoothly, especially after he had gotten rid of the town guards. No one could tell what his next move would be.

"But now that a Void Mage is on our side," Demetrius said, "we may have a chance to fight back."

"What's a Void Mage?" Marie interrupted.

"I'm talking about Lance. He returned to us because he has the ability to absorb demons. With Lance's power, Reinfried's Channeling, and my magic, we can stop Belphegor and defeat Faust. Then the cult will naturally collapse."