24.3

Standing at the door of outside an unfamiliar Lyrian residence, Dirk sobered quickly. He steeled himself to knock. He looked around the courtyard one more time, searching for some excuse to explain his presence here. He felt like a fool for coming here.

A light fog filled the cool, moist early-evening air. The only light came from a purple magical flame, burning a few feet away at the street corner. The street was totally abandoned.

Dirk found the silence disturbing. He remembered Lyr as noisy and crowded. Tonight, not a single soul stirred.

Charles glanced at him impatiently, "What are you waiting for, Christmas?" Seeing Dirk's discomfort, he reached up and rang the bell several times.

A slit in the door opened a few inches, spilling light into the dark courtyard. A second later, the sound of metal grinding from several locks unlatching filled the silence outside. Finally, the door opened.

Magnus stood in the doorway. Though Dirk had only seen the assassin briefly during the summer, the change in the assassin's appearance was unmistakable. The man's formerly dark eyes were now a pale, unnatural gray. His olive skin had faded to alabaster, though his cheeks glowed with a ruddy vitality. The man had an imposing, preternatural air of power about him now.

Dirk scowled slightly. He recognized that particular air of power. Something about it reminded him of Zyrdicia's magic.

Magnus's face betrayed his surprise for a moment at the unexpected visitors. He quickly composed himself and smiled cordially. "Good evening. Come to sing me a Yule carol?"

Charles smirked, "Yeah, right. Jingle bells, go to hell. I brought you a visitor."

Magnus stared for a long moment at Dirk, anger flickering in his dead eyes. His smile slowly faded into a sneer that revealed the tip of a long, sharp canine tooth. He nodded curtly, and opened the door just enough for his guests to pass.

As Dirk entered he had the distinct impression that the vampire stared at his jugular vein as he passed into the house. He shot a quick look at Charles, wondering if it were a trap.

Magnus led Dirk and Charles to a large salon. An enormous magical viewscreen covered an entire wall. The screen displayed the live action of a gory fight between two warriors in vivid detail. The sound of weapons clashing echoed in the room, quieter than it should have been in real life.

Charles pouted, "You can't be watching that shit already. The gladiator season doesn't start for three more weeks!"

"Pre-season qualifying matches in the sea colonies. The Magic Guild may be in turmoil, but at least they haven't fucked up my remote viewing reception yet," Magnus said calmly, his gaze fixed on Dirk with a predatory intensity.

"Man, you're, like, the only person I know in Lyr who still gets reception," Charles chirped. He reached for a small, glass wand on the coffee table. "I think the winter musical from the Mondia Provinces is on tonight. I gotta see that guy they cast in the lead--"

"Change the channel and I will break your fucking fingers," Magnus warned. "You'll never cut hair again." With impossible speed, the vampire reached for the wand and snatched it from Charles.

Dirk realized at that instant that the strange trace of Zyrdicia's magic he had sensed somehow in the assassin was no illusion. The vampire moved with the same superhuman speed when agitated. Dirk's uneasiness continued to grow. Trying to avoid staring at the vampire, he focussed his attention on the magical screen on the wall. The bloodshed would have been fascinating, were he not fearful that he was about to be ambushed.

At least as entertainment in Lyr went, this was at least something he could appreciate. "They're fighting to the death," he murmured.

"Um, yeah, that's like the one rule in this sport I know," Charles said, nodding. "They have to kill enough people to get to compete in the big games in Lyr. But these guys aren't very cute."

"Do they fight by choice?" Dirk wondered, his eyes still on the image of the death match.

"Some do it for the prize money," Magnus answered, his tone icy. "Some are slaves who do it for the chance at winning freedom. Some are captives who have no choice. Some are just vicious pricks looking to hurt someone in front of an audience. They're the ones I bet on."

"Well, I got to meet someone," Charles said diplomatically. "Straight boys watching gladiators is so not my style. I'll leave you all to talk." He turned, and left then.

"Why the hell are you here?" Magnus demanded, his eyes moving from the viewscreen to Dirk.

Dirk forced himself to maintain a calm expression. He answered in a perfectly civil, even tone, "Looking for my wife. Is she here?"

"She isn't here, and she wouldn't talk to you if she were."

On the viewscreen, one warrior delivered a blow to throat of the other. Blood spurted out in a torrent from the wound. The match ended to the sound of cheers from the audience.

Dirk sniffed the air. He could still smell the ephemeral scent of Zyrdicia's perfume lingering in the air. He glanced around the room, wondering whether the vampire might be lying.

Magnus noticed and said, "She's really not here. She left about fifteen minutes ago. We were watching the first round of fights together, but she left. I expect her back later - we always spend the holiday together."

Anger flickered in Dirk's eyes at Magnus' plans with Zyrdicia. He forced himself to check it, for now. He said, "I know Zyrdicia is again in contact with Azriok. I'm concerned for her welfare."

Magnus turned to stare at his visitor, sneering again. "You are concerned for her welfare?! What a crock of shit."

"How dare you!"

"She hates you!" Magnus spat. He knew all too well how much Dirk had hurt Zyrdicia. She had insisted that Magnus drain some of her blood earlier. It been just enough to leave her feeling disconnected from her body, and to induce sleep. Unfortunately for Magnus, her blood not only imbued him with some of her power, but also transferred all of her thoughts and emotions at that moment. He had experienced her anguish over Dirk first-hand, her thirst for Azriok, and her anxiety over her pregnancy. He assumed that the blood-letting was her way of telling him all of it. He knew that she didn't want to talk about it, and he hadn't said a word about it to her afterward. Staring at Dirk now, he could only hate the man as much as she did.

Magnus said, "You were never worthy of her. I would kill you myself if I thought she would forgive me for robbing her of the pleasure."

"She and I had a mere misunderstanding," Dirk replied defensively.

"Because of you, she's about to destroy the whole fucking cosmos."

"She's gone mad," Dirk murmured uncomfortably.

Magnus nodded and said, "You can take credit for that too."

"What exactly has she done?"

"She and Azriok have opened up some kind of door to Hell in your own backyard so that an army of demons can come through, destroy the world and kill everyone in some grand apocalypse. And you-she's got great plans for you. She has a scheme to repay you for deceiving her by torturing you for eternity."

"There would be no advantage to me in deceiving her," Dirk said sharply.

"But apparently there must have been some sport in it," Magnus challenged.

The two men stared at each other for what seemed like minutes. Seeing the flicker of judgment in Magnus' eyes, Dirk felt an unusual urge to defend his actions. He said angrily, "Do you think a single moment has gone by that I haven't wished that she were still at my side?"

"I doubt that you even recognize what you lost."

"You can't even begin to fathom the depths of what I recognize."

"I never expected that you would be stupid enough to do something like this. Instead of keeping her away from Azriok, you brought them closer together than they've ever been in my lifetime."

"I intend to get her back from that demon," Dirk said forcefully. He glowered at Magnus and added, "I'm sure you delight my present state of affairs with her. You think this will win her for you!"

"No, I really don't," Magnus sighed. "She isn't in love with me, and she never will be. But I get her trust and friendship instead, which I treasure. And I get the knowledge that if she gets through this, I'll be with her forever - long after you are dead, and whoever comes after you, and whoever comes after him."

Dirk stared balefully. Coming here had been a mistake.

Magnus demanded, "Are you proud of yourself for playing this game with her?"

Dirk shook his head and said, "If she meant nothing to me, I would permit Azriok drag her off to Hell and rejoice in being rid of her. I wouldn't have come here to speak to you, a wretched, talking corpse."

"Did you ever love her?"

"Yes," Dirk hissed venomously.

Magnus sank into an overstuffed armchair and stared at Dirk silently. A full minute ticked by as Magnus tried to comprehend the situation. "And telling her she's an unlovable monster was...?"

"A mistake," Dirk answered miserably. Each time he heard some fragment of that horrible conversation repeated from Zyrdicia's associates, he felt a little more ashamed. He mumbled, "That newspaper said that she was leaving me."

Magnus' eyes widened in shock then. "You believed shit in the Liar?! All this is over that?"

Dirk nodded curtly, his eyes fixed on the floor. He was growing tired of being mocked for having believed what he read. He said resentfully, "I told you it was a mere misunderstanding."

Magnus shook his head in disbelief and said, "You're as idiotic as she is! You deserve each other."

Dirk frowned, uncertain how to reply to the insult. Glancing at Magnus' face, he saw the anger vanish from Magnus' eyes, only to be replaced by something that looked like pity. His stomach turned in disgust. Dirk averted his eyes to avoid the dead man's gaze. His jaw set and his nostril's flared in an attempt to regain his dignity.

On the viewscreen, another fight started. Dirk focused his attention on that a moment. Without looking at Magnus, he said, "If your concern is for Zyrdicia and not for yourself, convince her to come back to me."

Magnus' eyes were already on the fight. He shook his head and said, "You've been incompetent dealing with her. You are a fucking disaster together."

"Disaster or no, she and I belong together. Whatever angry words we occasionally share cannot alter that. If she comes back to me, she will forget Azriok. I am the only one who can truly protect her from that demon."

Magnus turned and faced Dirk, searching his expression. "How exactly do you intend to protect her from Azriok?"

"She wants a child. Nothing would distract her more effectively from the demons."

"Huh?" Magnus sputtered, surprised. Trying to shield his shock at this unexpected topic, he muttered quickly, "Charles is more maternal than she is."

"All of you in Lyr never lessened the loneliness she carried for a century. I did. Bearing a child would root her to this world."

Magnus glanced at Dirk thoughtfully, trying to imagine it. He blurted out impatiently, "I convinced her to go to a Yule party in Geshna tomorrow night. Just show up. I'll see what I can do."

"Are you certain that she won't try to kill me again?"

"She didn't try last time. It was all she could do to not kill you, as pissed as she was. If she ever actually tries to kill you, you'll be dead." Magnus' eyes glimmered mischievously and he added, "She won't be in a violent mood tomorrow. She will be totally, utterly inebriated. It's a Yule tradition."

Dirk finally asked the question then that had been gnawing at the back of his mind from the moment Charles had suggested coming here. With perfect, frosty calm, he asked, "When she came here, did you lie with her?"

Magnus turned to stare at Dirk then. His gaze lingered on Dirk's face a moment. He said, "Earlier today, I held her for a while, and she slept for the first time in a long time. After a couple of hours the dreams started bothering her, so she got up. We turned the viewscreen on then and watched the fights for a while together."

"That isn't what I was asking."

"The answer to the other question is a resounding 'no,'" Magnus said adamantly. "She isn't interested in having sex with any man, ever again. She wants Charles to issue a press release to the Liar saying that the experience with you was so disappointing that she's asking Azriok to put the Edict back into effect."

Dirk scowled when he saw the mockery in Magnus' expression. The insulting implication was not lost on him.

Magnus added, "If you want someone to be jealous of, focus on Tristan Ildewynd."

Dirk's eyes narrowed suspiciously. This was not news to him. Dirk's skin crawled at the thought that she might see something in that young count. He demanded, "Why?"

"He serves Azriok in some capacity. Believe me when I say that you should kill him."

Dirk remembered Ildewynd's interest in Zyrdicia at their engagement party. He had never suspected the damned count of being a servant of the demon who tormented Zyrdicia. He regretted not killing the man when he had last seen him staring at Zyrdicia.

Magnus pursed his lips slightly, disliking the need for the next bit of information. "And speaking of meddling priests, I've had Portia followed around Lyr. My men saw her meet with a dozen people from old families that used to have ties to the Lyrian priesthood. I'm positive that the priests have sleeper cells that are crawling out of the woodwork all over the city. Something is up with them."

"You haven't told Zyrdicia?"

"She will rip the entire fucking city apart and kill thousands when she finds out. Lyr doesn't need to be destroyed this week. It took twenty years to rebuild after she did it the last time."

"She should be warned that they are conspiring against her."

"If they make a move, she'll destroy them - no one stands a chance against her. But I will have them all have them all killed quietly, before it ever comes to that. I've already arranged the guild contracts for the executions. I'm only telling you this now so that you keep any information about Zyrdicia away from Portia - and Portia's boy-toy who works for you. He funnels information straight to her. And while you here," Magnus said, walking over to a table stacked with papers. He picked up a large, creme-colored envelope, then handed it to Dirk. "Zyrdicia had this drawn up earlier tonight."

"What is it?"

"A divorce decree."

"You can't be serious!"

"Divorce in Lyr requires a signature of a Council member. She isn't allowed to sign for herself, so she wants me to do it."

"And did you?"

"Not yet - but I will. You should understand that divorce in Lyr is rare because marriage is itself rare. Divorce has certain unpleasant consequences."

"I couldn't care less about its consequences in Lyr."

"You should - it triggers a blood feud. As a non-citizen of Lyr, you will instantly have a million plat price on your head - redeemable by anyone in my Guild if you set foot in Lyr, or by any freelancer who finds you outside of Lyr. You will likely have a few dozen bounty hunters showing up in Karteia within the week. You will also face divestiture of all Lyrian trade rights, which means that the flow of food into Karteia will cease."

"How long can you delay it?" Dirk asked somberly.

"I can give you until tomorrow night. I doubt that she will allow me to delay beyond that. She wants it done quickly."