(Kirby) is that why you did it? Because I’m agreeable around hot women?
(Kirby) evil
(Kirby) you really are the antichrist
I held out my phone. “See what I’m saying? Pairing them with Ella was irresponsible.”
“They seem like they’re having a grand old time,” he said.
“Who’s the Egyptian underworld deity?” My fingers twitched, aching to shake Azrames by the biceps. I held it together to the best of my abilities. “Taweret ferries people to the underworld, right? Could they be meeting the hippo goddess? Please say yes.”
Azrames considered the pantheon. “I wonder if they’re meeting with Osiris. Maybe Anubis? I wouldn’t put either past Ella. She can be very persuasive.”
“I hate it,” I said, shuddering at the thought of my oldest friend around such important immortals. “I hate that Kirby’s there when we don’t even know what end-of-the-world prophecies we’re setting into motion. They shouldn’t be in the middle of this.”
Azrames gave me a long-suffering look. “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could cherry-pick our soldiers, their qualities, their availabilities? Next time you start an inter-realm war, manufacture your army ahead of time. But for this battle, we’ll make do with what we have. Speaking of: You have two troops at your disposal. What’s the word, general?”
I looked between him and Silas for a hint of comedy, but there was none.
“I’m still invisible, and we should still be able to execute our plans, unless the angels hunting us are more punctual than I care to imagine. We don’t have a ton of time to spare, but as long as we don’t fuck up, we should be okay.”
Neither man appeared thrilled with my hems and haws.
My feet chilled against the marble as I stepped away from them, further triangulating our positions. My hair tickled my shoulders as I shook my head. “I can’t give promises, so don’t put them on me. You both do war and murder for a living.”
“Okay.” Silas planted a heavy hand on my island. “That’s not an accurate representation of either of our job descriptions. But we’re not asking you how to fight, or how to plot. You want us to act out some elaborate scheme? Give us the script. You’re the writer.”
I sucked in a breath.
Az extended his hand over the back of the sofa. “You have a few hours to work on it, and then we need whatever’s left to learn our lines. And some time to discuss choreography.”
“I’m not a playwright!”
“You’re going to have to be,” Silas said. He turned his back on me as he fetched three mugs from my cabinet. I hadn’t seen him grab one of the last remaining whiskey bottles, but he poured a generous shot into the glasses before plopping a stick of cinnamon into each of them. I hadn’t even realized my pantry contained cinnamon. In lieu of a lemon slice, he frowned down at my bottled lemon juice, then shrugged.
It was a lot before lunchtime, but then again, this was the end of the world.
I accepted the hot toddy, as did Azrames. “To making our final hours count,” I said grimly.
Silas raised his mug. “To the most important play in the history of gods and men.”
“Here, here,” Azrames toasted.
***
The entire state of Nevada was built on the surface of the sun.
“I hate Las Vegas,” I muttered.
“Be quiet, or we’ll make you be quiet,” Silas hissed.
“You make her.” Azrames shoved his hands into his pockets as we rounded the corner from an alley off the stripand I lifted my hand for a cab. “I’m fine walking around with a crazy woman. I’ll kill anyone who gives her a hard time.”
“Team Demon.” I flashed a cheeky, close-eyed grin, tossing my hair over my shoulder.
“Awesome,” Silas said. “Can’t wait to further your agenda and turn the world against angels.” He sank into the shade around the corner.
The final six hours ticked over our heads. The time change gave us longer to prepare, but that wasn’t necessarily a good thing. I reached unconsciously for the bag of venom in my pocket, knowing my supplies were running thin. I hoped they would outlast Silas’s countdown, or else we’d both be in serious trouble.
