Chapter 600

"Honestly, sometimes I think I’m a pretty terrible warlock."

Evenson lay sprawled across a large bed in a dimly lit room, with the red- and blue-skinned Eredar twins lounging beside him.

"I summoned a bunch of demons because I naively thought they’d be useful," he continued. "Instead, not only do I have to feed them, house them, and deal with their nonsense, I’m apparently responsible for their love lives too. Now I’m giving relationship counseling."

"Don’t complain to us."

Salorrilas pulled a hand-rolled cigarette from a pack and offered it to him.

"That’s your problem. We’re not your therapists."

She held out the cigarette.

"Want one?"

Evenson eyed it. It was noticeably thicker than an ordinary cigarette.

"No thanks. I don’t smoke those things. Even after everything that’s happened to me, I still think they’re bad for you."

"I’ll take it."

Oljseis snatched the cigarette from his hand, stuck it between her lips, and immediately began smoking.

"You made this mess yourself. You should’ve trained your demons properly from the beginning."

"That isn’t entirely fair."

Evenson shifted backward, reclining against the headboard.

"When I first summoned them, I was young and inexperienced. Nobody exactly gave me a crash course in ruling with an iron fist. I read a few books on manipulation and ruthless leadership later, but by then I’d already established my relationship with them. Trying to suddenly act like some grand tyrant would’ve just been awkward."

"Which is why I said it’s your problem," Salorrilas replied, blowing a smoke ring. "You chose the path. Now you get to deal with the consequences."

She gave him an amused look.

"Although I’d say you’ve been pretty lucky. You’re still alive."

Evenson frowned.

"How does that follow?"

"Think back to the first time we met."

Oljseis reached over and traced a lazy circle across his chest with one finger.

"I remember."

Evenson’s eyes dropped to the finger against his chest.

"I remember every detail."

He was reasonably certain that if he said otherwise, that finger would become a weapon.

"Back then, we were both playing our own games," Salorrilas said. "We lied to each other. We deceived each other. Neither side trusted the other."

She smiled at the memory.

"And yet we still signed our first contract."

Her gaze shifted toward Evenson.

"Why do you think we agreed?"

"Hmm."

Evenson thought back.

"First, the contract was perfectly balanced. Second, I had all three Warlock artifacts, and you weren’t exactly eager to test whether you could take them from me."

"True."

Oljseis shrugged.

"The three artifacts put considerable pressure on us. But there was another reason."

She smiled.

"We thought you were going to die very soon."

Evenson blinked.

"What?"

"If you died, none of the promises we’d made would matter anymore."

He stared at them.

"Why did you think I’d die?"

"The moment we saw you, we could estimate your strength fairly accurately."

Salorrilas sounded almost apologetic.

"Don’t take it personally. Seeing through you back then was incredibly easy."

She pointed toward him.

"At the time, you were practically an ant to us."

She paused.

"These days..."

Oljseis considered him.

"More like a grasshopper."

"Wow."

Evenson’s eyebrows twitched.

"I knew there was a substantial difference between us, but that still hurts."

He sighed.

"Could you at least pick a less insulting animal?"

"Praying mantis?"

Oljseis smiled as though genuinely offering a compromise.

"Can’t I graduate from the insect category altogether?"

Evenson rolled his eyes.

"Anyway," Oljseis said, snuffing out her cigarette, "I remember something else about the first time we met."

She sat up.

"You had all five of your permanent demon pets following you around."

"And that’s when we realized something was seriously wrong," Salorrilas said.

She turned toward him.

"With your strength at the time, there was no way you should’ve survived long."

Evenson rubbed his chin.

"Wait. Maintaining five demons in the physical world constantly is really that dangerous?"

He thought about it.

"I never felt particularly strained."

He glanced at them.

"Was I secretly some kind of prodigy?"

"Don’t flatter yourself."

Oljseis tapped him sharply on the forehead.

"You’re not a prodigy. You’re an idiot."

Salorrilas nodded.

"She’s right. Demons aren’t exactly famous for their loyalty."

She folded her arms.

"At the level you were back then, keeping five demons manifested continuously should have gotten you killed within three months. We’ve seen it happen too many times."

"Those people were probably textbook warlocks."

Evenson’s expression stiffened.

"The sort who somehow get murdered by their own summoned demons despite having contracts."

He pointed at himself.

"I’m different."

"That part is true."

Oljseis sat up fully. The sheet slipped from her shoulders, revealing far more than Evenson had been prepared to see.

His eyes lingered a fraction too long.

Salorrilas, apparently unwilling to let her have all the fun, grabbed one of Evenson’s hands.

"The Legion-trained warlocks were usually taught to become powerful as quickly as possible. Their instructors didn’t particularly care whether the students survived."

She squeezed his hand lightly.

"You’re different from most warlocks. Your fundamentals are exceptionally solid. Very solid."

"But experience can’t be learned from a book."

"Demons and warlocks generally settle their bargains up front. The moment a summoned demon answers the call, it receives everything it was promised."

Salorrilas smiled faintly.

"So what does the demon want most after that?"

Evenson already had a bad feeling.

"To watch the summoner die."

"Exactly."

She glanced at him.

"Their ideal scenario is simple. You summon them, they get paid, and then you immediately drop dead. They regain their freedom and wait for the next contract."

Evenson’s body shivered.

"So my demons are basically hoping I die every second of every day."

He looked deeply offended.

"Being a warlock really is a profession built around betrayal."

"That’s why inexperienced warlocks generally keep only one demon manifested at a time," Salorrilas explained.

"It’s easier to control one. In an emergency, they may summon additional demons, but only temporarily. The more demons they keep active, the thinner their control becomes."

Oljseis nodded.

"And once their control slips, the demons may start making little adjustments of their own."

"Like arranging for their master to die."

"Exactly."

Evenson thought about his own household.

"You know... that actually explains a few things."

He remembered Hubbles stealing his money over and over despite repeated warnings.

"Maybe he’s been trying to bankrupt me. Or annoy me to death."

Both twins rolled their eyes.

"If you ever die," they said almost together, "it’ll be from being an idiot."

Then Salorrilas waved the concern away.

"Relax. Your demons aren’t plotting to kill you. If they were, you’d never have lasted this long."

"There are several possible reasons."

She counted them off casually.

"Maybe they like the way you treat them. Maybe this world is simply comfortable for them. Or maybe it’s because they all came from the Fel Scar."

Her expression became thoughtful.

"If you die, they may have no idea how long they’ll be stuck in that miserable place before someone summons them again."

Evenson sighed.

"So you’re saying I take good care of them."

"That’s another way of putting it."

Salorrilas nodded.

"And you’ve already made it through the most dangerous period."

Her voice turned more serious.

"Your power hasn’t increased quickly, but it has continued to grow. As your strength increases, so does your control over them. That leaves them less room for dangerous ideas."

She gave him a sidelong look.

"And if that plan of yours succeeds, then I doubt even we would want to leave."

"Because demons instinctively follow the strong."

Evenson’s eyes narrowed.

"So when you say ’if the plan succeeds,’ you’re saying you might still leave me right now?"

He looked between the twins with a faint smile.

"Who knows?"

Oljseis turned suddenly, draping one leg across Evenson’s chest.

"That depends on your skills."

Later, after matters that were none of anyone else’s business, the three of them dressed and left the room.

There was still work to do.

"I still can’t believe you had time to come see us."

Inside the elevator, Oljseis leaned against the wall as they descended.

"That little wildcat actually let you leave?"

"Don’t call Clea that."

Evenson rubbed his forehead.

"She went back to her family yesterday."

"Back to New York Sanctum," he clarified when they reached the subject.

After he’d finally calmed Sarah down, Clea had told him she needed to return to the New York Sanctum because of something urgent.

"Looks like her foster father is still trying to drag her back onto his precious ’proper path.’"

Evenson sounded thoroughly unimpressed.

Rumors had been spreading everywhere about the Ancient One taking on another apprentice. Plenty of people were waiting for their chance.

The Sorcerer Supreme had apparently already chosen someone in principle, but there was one problem: that person had too many ties to the mortal world. From the traditional perspective, someone so entangled in ordinary life was unlikely to abandon everything to devote themselves to magic.

Which meant everyone else still had a chance.

Besides, teaching one apprentice or two wasn’t exactly twice the work.

Naturally, Aurifan had been doing everything possible to put his foster daughter forward.

For one thing, he’d already regarded Clea as his successor.

For another, he absolutely did not want her staying around Evenson long enough to learn a collection of what he considered corrupt and irresponsible magic.

If the Ancient One hadn’t already arranged things, Aurifan might genuinely have resorted to drastic measures just to separate the two of them.

"Back onto the proper path?"

Oljseis snorted.

"Do you really think he can pull her back?"

"Probably not."

Evenson shrugged.

"Clea’s already gotten interested in my magic. She even learned quite a bit."

"Then she’s not coming back."

Salorrilas nodded.

"Once a warlock, always a warlock."

Evenson laughed under his breath.

"After learning fel magic, there really isn’t much of a career change available."

Oljseis smirked.

"At best, you become a demon hunter."

"Exactly."

Evenson thought about it.

"Although..."

Something about Clea’s training still bothered him.

"Most of what she asks me about is spatial summoning and binding magic. She hasn’t shown much interest in Destruction or Affliction."

He scratched his chin.

"Maybe the influence of Kamar-Taj is still too strong. At this rate, she’ll probably end up using those two fel blades to solve every problem by hitting it."

...