The Gates of Troy (Lopez Time Book 3) Read online

  “Troy? Did Baphomet return?” The enslaving jerk actually sounded concerned. Greater demons were really good with faking things like that. They could even mean them, if he’d heard correctly. For a time. They controlled and picked their emotions, almost all the time.

  It occurred to him that he could fake that kind of thing as well. Using magic.

  Instead of fighting emotions away, and simply seeking peace, there was no reason that he couldn’t control what he was feeling perfectly. As in, he could not just act happy but feel it again. It had been a while since that had happened. Not that he was pulling that one out at the moment. Everything he had was going into hiding his mind from a being that could crack his skull wide open from wherever he was, without even breaking a sweat.

  “Nothing like that. I had a bit of a run in with Riley, The Trickster?”

  “Oh? You still live though, so I take it that went well enough? Most of that kind aren’t actually harsh or evil. The easiest way to handle them for one such as you or I is to simply go along with them. That’s what I’ve always done, when approached by any of them. They used to be gods, you know. All of that sort. Are you planning on taking that course of action? Going along with his requests?”

  Troy laughed, not meaning it at all. It sounded close, so he decided to be proud of himself as far as his acting went.

  “Oh, I guess that is my game plan, when you get down to it. He told me that I need to handle this minor problem of escaped gods for us. On my own. I could lie about it but the idea is that you greater demons are too much for them, anymore. It would be close enough to trash the planet though, which isn’t what we need to be doing right now. I mean, I live here. I could move, but most people can’t. So, I’m going to have a buy in, in order to get the greater demons to back off. A billion dollars per head. Or that amount in trade. I don’t honestly care about that part but if I have to fight a dozen gods in order to shove them back into a little box, I want to be appreciated for my work, you know? So, you demons all give me loads of money and get out of my way, so I can do the work in a way that will benefit everyone.”

  He didn't stop breathing, even if it was really pretentious to say things like that out loud. Even thinking them was probably a sign that he was an idiot.

  Finias sighed. It didn't sound upset at least.

  “That’s decently interesting then. So, you wish a billion dollars from me for your labors? In advance, or when you finish the work?”

  “Half up front, though that isn’t what I called you for. The thing is that I don’t want to approach all of your people for this. I’m suddenly busy, you know? The trick here is that I want them to all leave the gods alone, unless personally attacked. Leave that to me. As… That doesn’t even sound stupid, does it? It’s worse than anything I’ve ever said out loud. I need to buy a short bus to drive around in. Get a soup helmet and possibly hire a minder. Gah.” He wasn’t certain if the demon would get what he was going on about but Finias chuckled, because of course he did.

  That was their thing, as a people. They knew stuff. Almost everything.

  “I don’t know. If The Trickster says that you’re capable of this, then you either are, or the world needs you to try, even if the cost to you would be too high for you to pay willingly. I… Don’t have enough data to tell you which it might be at this point. I do have faith in you, however, Troy. You were always far more than you seemed. It does sound rather refreshing, I have to say. Having a simple way to deal with this new event? Everyone has been running around, readying for the return of the old wars. The world nearly ended the last time we did this. Half our number died at the time. Slightly less than that but enough that it changed the balance of power in the world. We are more powerful now, as a group. We might be more than equal to the task, given that.”

  The being on the phone made a soft noise, then started back into speaking, as if they’d been talking the whole time.

  “You wish me to arrange for a deal between all of us? What kind of fee would I make off of that?” The voice wasn’t even smarmy. The guy was just asking him to start negotiating.

  Troy was tempted to say that the demon could have half of it but he stopped before the words leaked out. The demons bargained hard, for everything. That was in all the stories that he’d heard. Some of those had been from greater demons. Not just Zack, either. Darla and Keeley had spoken about things like that to him, more than once.

  “Ten percent of the take. You don’t get anything if I fail, of course, since we’d need to give it all back. That’s only fair. If I succeed, well, then it’s a good bit of cash or prizes just for setting it up.”

  “Thirty percent.” The words snapped out so fast that Troy wasn’t certain the being hadn’t manipulated time a bit to make it happen.

  Troy nodded.

  “Fifteen percent but I won’t ride on your shoulders, pretending you’re a pony, telling you how to get the job done. The real issue is getting them to calm down and to let me work. We all know that you folks can win this fight. That isn’t the problem. It’s the rest of it that I’m being called in on.” Forced in on came to mind.

  Told that the fate of the world was in his cold and pale hands. It was manipulative beyond all measure, if it wasn’t true. Then, that kind of thing was what Tricksters did for a living, as far as he could tell. How well that paid, he didn’t know.

  “Thirty percent but you can ride my shoulders as I call out giddy-up and gallop around for a full afternoon.”

  That was funny. Which was the point of it. It was meant to be charming, so that he’d forget that he’d once been a slave to the man.

  “Ten percent and I won’t hate you for enslaving me like you did. I still don’t know when you did it.”

  There was silence for a bit.

  “Twenty percent, and I’ll tell you all about that. It isn’t a bad story, to be honest. Only half as creepy as you might think. I wasn’t even your date to the prom.”

  “Fine. Twenty percent, for the tasks discussed and the true story of how that enslavement took place. Plus, a promise that you won’t do it again. To me, I mean. This isn’t worth protection for the whole world.”

  There was a hiss then.

  “Troy… Do you truly think I could take you against your will now? You’re an ancient being of great power. I’m not The Mistress of Souls, to simply grab people like you without their assistance. Not that I won’t add that in, if it makes you feel better. We can work with that. How long do you need me to set this up for? I’d recommend a decade. If it takes longer than that… Well, I imagine that everything will be more than clear by then.”

  That sounded about right to him. If he had to wrangle them all, one by one, it might take that long just to find them. Longer than that, possibly. Luckily, he was immortal. Ten years just gave him time to get the job done, if it got a little sticky.

  “Done, then.” Troy kept breathing, then focused, since he’d promised not to hate the man for enslaving him. That took a bit of magic to make happen but he did it.

  As soon as the new emotion clicked in his head, he spoke.

  “We’re having a party here next Saturday. A picnic and concert of sorts. To bring all the communities together? You’re invited. It’s in The Technician’s area, so that would need to be cleared with her but…”

  “But we’re on good terms. My daughters actually love me, as odd as that sounds. Enough that we can get together without violence. I’ll make sure to call and ask after that, since I’m invited otherwise. Now, that tale of how you were enslaved?”

  He kind of dreaded the idea but nodded.

  “Go.”

  “Do you recall a young lady named Samantha Wendos from when you were a senior in high school?”

  Troy nodded to himself, wishing he had papers on his desk to push around.

  “We kind of dated for a few weeks. She was there, then just was gone one day. She didn't say she was leaving.”

  It had been the night after the first time they’d done
anything of note. She’d come over while his parents were gone and…

  There was a soft laugh then, from the phone.

  “Exactly. Then she’d playfully asked you if you’d be her slave for a week if she gave you a blowjob. You said yes… Then I was able to take you over.”

  “Holy. Samantha was…”

  There was a laugh.

  “Incredibly good at giving head? Yes. I took you at that point, and then led you to Zack, when the time came. After that I instructed you to look out for him as best you could. I wanted to do more but that would have left a trace in the world. Really, even you being there impacted things. If Xenses was a bit more stable he would have found you both inside a week or two. Only his insanity protected you from him. The short answer there is that I enslaved you using a trick, in order to protect my grandson from his father. Forgive me?”

  Troy took a breath then.

  “I said I wouldn’t hate you for doing it, if you told me the truth. So, I guess so. I try not to hold grudges. Um, I remember Samantha… That was the first time I ever did anything like that with a girl, so, it’s kind of important to me… That was fake? A false memory, or one I was ordered to put in place?” That made the most sense to him.

  “What? No. I pay off, when I make bargains. Don’t feel bad about it. I mean, I was looking fairly attractive at the time.”

  “Fine, I guess. Um… Well, I need to work some things out. Let me get with Tarsus? He managed this once. It won’t work again, of course but maybe I can figure out the basic idea of what to do. Otherwise I’ll have to figure out something new and I doubt that’s going to work very well.” He was fine as far as learning new things, and creative for a vampire but that wasn’t the same thing as being a greater demon.

  “Don’t sell yourself short, Troy. You already have a name. The Officer… I’ve heard worse. A bit boring but better than The Mind Raper. Even The Snowflake was meant with less love than The Officer was presented with. Speaking of love, I heard from a little bird that you have several paramours suddenly? Barbara the Vampire and The Queen Dragon, Avery Rome? That’s exciting. Both are fine choices. Unless you intend to collect both? That would be rather a coup, if you could pull that off. I think you might, not that I get an opinion on the matter. You should at least consider them both. Neither is the wrong choice.”

  The idea wasn’t wrong but Troy nearly snapped at the man. It was one thing not to hate him for a specific event. A totally different one to take greater demon dating advice.

  Worse, all of it was probably about manipulating him to a certain end. Say, getting him not to do anything, knowing he was being pushed in that direction. Or, possibly getting him to do the opposite, just because he knew that Finias would know that he knew and so on.

  Troy killed all that away, while trying to keep his mental shield in place. Then, as that nearly slipped, he laughed.

  “Wait… you were trying to distract me, to get me to lose control of my shield?” It was probably more complex than that but there was a laugh. It was warm and pleasant.

  “Caught on to my clever ways then, have you? You’re doing well that way but I do rather like to know who I’m dealing with. That can change, moment to moment. Take it as a sign that I’m impressed with what you are doing? Enough that I’m seeking to find which god or demon you are. Let me put out some feelers to the others on our shared project? I’ll leave Tarsus to you. Just a word of warning, Troy… he’s more dangerous than you’d think but you have to deal with him as an adult. If you do less, he won’t respect you. If he doesn’t respect you, then you will be used. Even if you don’t notice it. He plays most of us that way, at least part of the time. He invented half the rules that greater demons live by. Keep that in mind.”

  “Got it. I’ll let you get to your part. Nice working with you.” He was just saying that but if the demon could pull off getting the others to calm down a bit, it would be worth the price.

  “You as well, Troy. You were always my favorite.”

  That wouldn’t be true but he didn't whine about it.

  When he got off the phone, he looked up, because someone was walking in. Actually, there were two someones. One was the new kid in their supernatural division. Maria Santos. She was small, human and cute enough in a fit, slightly butch, looking way. A thing that he noticed, now that his sex drive was back.

  The other was Denise Tran. This time she was clearly sucking in energy from the universe in all directions, constantly. To the point where everything was slowly collapsing in toward her, if looked at in a certain way. Meaning it was a greater demon, at the very least. Probably Ann, The Rotted, who had been playing at being Detective Tran the whole time that Troy had known the woman. Unless another of her kind had taken the job over from her for some reason. That could happen, from time to time.

  Troy waved at her.

  “Hey… Did you take Tran’s place, or…” The idea that she’d murdered the woman was possible. If so, there was very little that could be done with it.

  She giggled then. It sounded off for her, though correct for The Rotted. Enough that he nearly thought she might be some other greater demon. Ann had kept up her Tran role perfectly for weeks. There was no reason for her to show her hand at the moment. Another demon might do that, to throw him off.

  “No. I was always Denise. I just had to fake some paperwork and memories. It took a bit of effort, but anything worth doing is worth doing well. You should feel loved, you know. I don’t dress up like this for just anyone.” She waved at her slightly chubby, short form. She looked to be about fifty but was well preserved for that age. Cute even, in a way. Not Troy’s type but he could see hitting that, if the mood was right.

  He played along, with a wink.

  “I do feel loved. Anyway, Maria, this is Denise Tran. Who is also Ann, The Rotted. The greater demon. She does interesting work with animating the dead. Anyway, Ann… there’s a buy-in for handling those pesky gods that got loose. I have that part. Get with Finias on it.” He was about to explain the whole thing but didn’t have to.

  The Rotted, who was kind of his self-appointed mentor, just nodded.

  “Good. I was hoping that someone would see about getting that done. You aren’t too mad at me then?”

  The other woman, who was sharing his desk, since they were the junior people in the department and they only had room for two desks in the room, looked at the Detective.

  “For the sexual harassment you were just doing? Telling your coworker that you loved him?” She didn't sound playful about it.

  Ann snorted. It was a very Denise thing to do.

  “Nope. Not that one, Sweetie Buns. The other day a god came by and I took off into the lines, instead of staying to fight. Yes, Troy asked me too, but some people might get their knickers in a twist over that kind of thing.”

  Troy rolled his eyes then but smiled.

  “Not me. That was the smart move. I… Really, I should have taken off, too. That it didn't end in death for all of us… Well, I’m counting that as luck, right now. Maybe some kind of professional courtesy. Still, that doesn’t get us out of work or anything. I do need to get a call off to The Librarian. Also, I’m planning to have The Children of Baphomet killed. We can’t do it legally but they released a danger into the world that… I can’t even explain it.” That was for Maria. Who was, like Troy, an officer. One that had taken the same oaths and everything.

  They were sworn to protect lives and uphold the law.

  Surprisingly, she nodded.

  “I got an update from the Chief, who had one from a source of his. That… We can’t do it publicly but we might need to do that. They knew what they were doing, the whole time. How do we get that done? Mages… I can’t really beat that, in a fight.”

  Ann curled her lips up in a rictus. It was freaking insane looking.

  “We can handle that part, newb. You and I, I mean. That and the picnic. Troy, you need to keep up on that as well but make sure to focus on stopping the invasion that�
��s happening. Or that will be. It will take a bit for the old ones to get their bearings, I bet. Get to that, unless either of you have anything new that I don’t know about?”

  She sounded like she was in charge. Which was literally true. Technically they could have gotten her fired, since she’d faked all her credentials but then they wouldn’t have a greater demon on their side, working with them each day.

  “Nothing yet, on my side. Santos?” He looked at the small, brown eyed woman, and waited.

  Expecting her to have a problem with Ann, over what had been said. He could control her mind, if it was needed to smooth things over but didn't want to, if possible. That was better than her having an accident and being murdered by The Rotted. Then probably being brought back, as a zombie. One that could fake being Maria well enough to fool anyone watching. Except for the vampires, mages, shifters and greater demons.

  There was just a flip of the head then, denying that anything was going to be needed at all for the human woman. So far.

  “Nothing really. I had a call from Raintree the other day, about paperwork on that student who died. Clemance Foley. I just sent that over to them. It wasn’t classified or anything.” She looked at them both, as if that might have been the wrong move.

  After all, Troy had mentioned in his report who they thought had Clem killed. The boy had been his. Controlled by him, to stop selling drugs. There had been a bit about working his life around and doing well in school. If it would have worked, Troy didn't really know. The boy hadn’t had time for anything in particular to help him at all.

  There was a woman as well, that he needed to check on. His old neighbor. Kathy Hoader.

  That wasn’t a thing to do at work though.

  “Sounds about right. Good enough then.”

  After that, they all got to work. It was difficult, since he had to stand the whole time. Really, he didn't have to, since it was his desk they were sharing. The trick there was that he could stand for several days and it wouldn’t bother him. Maria was just a regular human still though. That would get old for her and be a hardship.