“Wait, what?” Kiyo’s eyes widened yet further, her grogginess from Wizard’s Desolation banished by overwhelming surprise. “How?”

“You can’t expect me to believe that,” said Maggie, sounding more skeptical than shocked. “Devils tend to have horns and bright red skin. Did yours come out in the wash?”

“Are you familiar with the concept of a ‘disguise,’ my dear?” It was like saying my true name aloud felt like a spell, bringing my inner self to the surface. “Human magic has barely scratched the surface of what we devils can do. Making a couple of horns disappear is child’s play.”

She tightened her grip, earning a surprised squeak from Kiyo. “You’ll have to do better than that.”

I tapped my lips with my forefinger. “How about the fact that I’ve been speaking High Demonic for a minute? Surely you noticed my speech is out of sync. Apparently the translator can really handle any language.”

“I was too busy killing demons to bother learning how they speak,” she rebutted. “You could be speaking Swahili for all I know.”

“I suppose with the way I’ve used you today, I can’t blame you for being skeptical.” I felt an urge to start pacing, but I didn’t want to give her an excuse to ventilate Kiyo. I would have to be extremely delicate, which meant that it was time to start telling Maggie exactly what she wanted to hear. “Let me tell you a little story. In the halls of Pandemonium, the Dark Lord of the Grim Horde, may he rule until the sun dims, heard tell of humans who actually took the war against us seriously. We trusted the Anti-Demonic League to be satisfied with managing the decline of humanity as we picked you off island by island. This Holy Brotherhood of Mankind was made of sterner stuff.”

Kiyo tried to speak up, but Maggie clamped her free hand over her mouth. “Go on.”

“Since I was half human, I was chosen to infiltrate your little social club and derail it. I took on the name Soren Marlowe, since we had his papers handy after the war in England. We figured that there were bound to be Brothers among the survivors of England I could connect with.” I cackled, figuring that a good taunt would sell the deception to Maggie. “We had no idea how right we were. I thought I was going to have to go searching for the Brotherhood, but how were we to know you were boning your students? I suppose I should be grateful; you saved me months of digging.”

“Why are you telling me this now,” demanded Maggie, before adding, “assuming I believe you.”

I locked eyes with her, refusing to blink. “I’ve already won. My mission was to sabotage the Holy Brotherhood, to bleed off their numbers and destroy their reputation. We wanted to keep you decidedly fringe; not to destroy you, but to discredit you utterly. Taking down the Nagoya Tower and killing Headmaster Tachibana in the process was simply a bonus.” I let out an exaggerated sigh as I massaged my temples. “I had expected to get away, naturally, but I knew the job was dangerous when I took it.”

Maggie bit her lip as she digested the nonsense I had fed her, while tears flowed from the silenced Kiyo’s eyes. I could see the gears turning in her head as my months of lies and dissembling fell into place. At least she believed me, though frankly, her opinion didn’t account for much.

“How do I know you aren’t just a demonkin with a quick tongue?” demanded Maggie.

“Think of the spells I’ve shown you. If ordinary demonkin were privy to that sort of magic, they’d have already overthrown the League in the Dark Lord’s name.”

“We always wondered what the Horde thought of us,” murmured Maggie.

“And now you know,” I said, letting the smug grin cross my face. I could tell I had chosen my words well; if I had told her Fera’s honest opinion of the Brotherhood, I don’t think she would have swallowed the lie so readily. It would have violated her sense of her place in the world.

“You see, there’s no reason to kill young Ms. Jones. Who cares if she knows you were Holy Sister Shrike? You can literally tell them a devil made you do it. I’ll even take blame for the Taiwan Incident and the attack on the Serving Wizards’ House, if it helps.”

Maggie’s expression brightened. “I’ll be a hero for catching you.”

“Exactly. Everybody wins; the Brotherhood gets more ammo, the Horde sews division, you get your fame, and we all keep our heads.” I held out my hand to her. “So, what do you say? Is it a deal?” I twisted my face in a baleful grimace. “Because if it isn’t, and you so much as put a bruise on Kiyo, you won’t leave this roof alive.”

Maggie weighed her options, the tension as oppressive as the late summer heat. Finally, she looked down at Kiyo. “There are a set of fabricata handcuffs in my pocket. Get them out and put them on him.”

I felt the color drain from my face. I had expected her to take some sort of precaution, but those restraints would stop me in my tracks. I forced myself back into my swaggering, demonic mode. It wouldn’t do to show weakness. Besides, saving Kiyo was the most important part.

“I won’t,” said Kiyo, shaking her head.

I gave my eyes an exaggerated roll. “My dear, please don’t throw your life away,” I said. I had spent a lot of blood and sweat to avoid that outcome, after all. “It will all be fine.”

“Go on, Ms. Jones,” said Maggie in her syrupy teacher voice.

She released Kiyo, the shorter girl’s mouth working as she tried to find the words to express herself. She failed, and followed Maggie’s orders. The Holy Sister followed closely behind, the point of her sword ready to run the drained Kiyo through if need be.

As Kiyo tightened the clasps, I raised an eyebrow. “You had a set in reserve and you didn’t use them before? It could have stopped Kiyo and rest from getting free.”

“I always leave something in reserve,” said Maggie.

“At least you’re consistent.” A tingle ran through my body as the runes came to life, ready to inflict blinding pain on me if I tried to so much as whisper with magical intent. I studied the runes, trying to suss out their meaning.

Kiyo interrupted my train of thought. “It’s true, isn’t it? Everything you just said.”

“No sense in lying at this point,” I replied. “I’m afraid your Magpie was always a mask.”

Her dark eyes narrowed. “Did you ever love me, or was that another lie?”

“Kiyo, I… It doesn’t matter now. That’s all over. You’d best forget about me.”

She stepped forward on unsteady legs, poking me in the chest. “No, you don’t get to pull that! For once, I want to hear the words! I’ve earned that, one way or the other.”

“Go on, Malthus,” said Maggie, poking the tip of Kiyo’s sword into her back. “I want to hear this too.”

The gentle nudge sent the unsteady Kiyo forward. I caught her, though it was a challenge with my wrists bound together. “Yes,” I whispered in her ear. “I love you, far too much to let you go down with me.”

Fresh tears flowed down her pale cheeks. “What do you-”

I gently pushed her away from Maggie and I, towards the stairs. “Back off! Can you believe this girl? She’s so damned clingy.” I looked down my nose at her, looking like the quintessential nobledevil. “Don’t think too much of yourself, Ms. Jones; you were just a convenient lay that I developed a certain fondness for. Now get a move on.” I locked eyes with Maggie. “It’s time for the adults to talk.”

Kiyo’s betrayed look still haunts me to this day, but my harsh words had the desired effect.

Her lips twisted into a little smirk, the light dawning behind her tired eyes. “I understand. Goodbye, Malthus.” After some halting steps, she made her way down the stairs and out of sight.

Maggie sniffed the air as she stepped behind me. “You know, I’ve never been this close to one of your kind before. I should have known from the stench.”

“How droll.” I kept my eyes down, pretending to look defeated. Instead, I continued to read the runes, and I was delighted by what I saw. Or rather, what I didn’t see.

She shoved me roughly, nearly bowling me from my feet. “Get a move on, Malthus.” She must have been feeling confident; a glance showed me she was pointing the sword down.

I shuffled forward slowly, pretending the fight had been snuffed out of me. Honestly, I didn’t have to try very hard. There was a part of me that wanted to live up to my end of the bargain. After all, Kiyo was safe. They all were, to varying degrees. What was the harm in surrender at this point? Why go on?

The faces of Haru, Paul, and Rei passed through my mind. No, I corrected myself. ‘They’ weren’t all safe. Did the woman who led them to their deaths deserve to go on? No!

Shackled as I was, I had nothing to fear. Shuffling off Soren Marlowe and Brother Mockingbird left only the devil Malthus, and he didn’t have to give a damn what anybody thought of him. My secret was out, meaning Maggie had no leverage over me. I was already dead. What the Hell was she going to do to me that the League wouldn’t do a thousand times worse?

Besides, by the creed of Our Father Below, I had a duty to vengeance.

I pretended to stumble forwards. Maggie reflexively reached out to steady me, a rare act of kindness on her part. I repaid it in proper demonic fashion by driving the back of my head back into her already broken nose. I spun about, holding my bound arms out straight, clubbing her in the side of the head. The sharp, metallic edge of the handcuffs dug into her temple, sending her to the asphalt as her sword clattered away. I nearly went down with her, as my quaking knees objected to my sudden movement.

Spite kept me on my feet. I was burnt by acid, handcuffed, and slowly bleeding out from a dozen cuts, but I wasn’t going to meet Our Father Below before she did! I lashed out with my foot, catching Maggie in the stomach where I’d slashed through her armor before. A few pathetic sparks of magic marked the impact, but the ruined fabricata gave no protection.

“I don’t know why I trusted you,” she spat, rolling onto her feet before I could line up another kick.

“Frankly, I’m a bit shocked as well.”

“You idiot! Why attack me now? You realize I can cast, and you can’t, right? Those shackles will make childbirth feel like a splinter by comparison.” She held up her hands, signaling with swirling, unfinished runes again.

“I’m motivated and I have literally nothing to lose,” I said, taking a challenging step forward. “Can you put me down before I get over to you? You’re barely standing. I don’t need my hands free to stomp your pretty little neck.”

“Maybe not. But,” she said, pivoting to face the thicket, “what do you think a Magic Bolt would do if it ruptured those batteries?”

There wasn’t much blood left to drain from my face, but drain it did.

“I’m glad you paid some attention in class. Now be a good little devil and back off.” Maggie smirked. “You can fib all you like, but I know how sweet you are on your little girl. She was moving awfully slowly down those steps. Not that it would matter; I estimate the blast would take the top ten floors of the tower with us.”

I straightened up, noticing what lay behind her before she did. “You wouldn’t,” I said, my tone flat.

“Of course, I would,” she said. “What a lousy devil! You’re still trying to play the hero.”

“This isn’t about the Enemy’s concept of heroism. What nonsense. No, this is simple, clear-cut revenge.”

“The Enemy?”

I supposed I never had said His nickname to a human before. “You call Him… well, you don’t want to get His attention by calling out to Him by name.”

“What, you can’t say God?” She threw back her fiery hair with a laugh. “Who knew devils had taboos?” I flinched at the curse, but I took another step forward. “Stop right there, or I’ll blow the whole Tower!”

“I already said you wouldn’t,” I replied, taking another step forward. “Do you know why? It’s because you know Our Father Below and Hell are verifiably real.”

“Well, yes,” she said, lowering her arms slightly. “What does that have to do with anything?”

I kept walking forward. “If you off yourself, do you know the sheer weight of the sins that will send you down to meet him? All of the lies, murder, fornication, abuse, betrayal, theft, and a thousand petty crimes even I don’t know about? It has to be immense.”

“As if you’re any better,” she snapped, taking another step back.

“I never claimed to be. Devils simply know their own.” Another step, more ground given as she went right where I wanted her. “That’s why you aren’t going to cast that spell. No matter what you say, you fear death more than anything.” Another step, and she didn’t cast the spell. A smirk creased my lips. I do so love being right. “It’s why you always have a wall of idiots and toadies around you, and why you had an escape plan that threw the Holy Brotherhood under the bus. While you think there’s a chance you can walk away, you’ll hold out until the last moment, you sniveling coward. Well?” I patted my chest with my bound hands. “Still backing away? Are you afraid of a trapped devil on his last legs? What a pathetic Holy Sister.”

She staggered as though I had struck her, before she spun around, her face contorted into an almost bestial snarl. “Magic Bolt!”

She had telegraphed the spell, but I wasn’t in any shape to fully dodge. It wasn’t an especially large Magic Bolt, perhaps the size of a baseball. It still hurt plenty as it clipped my right ear, burning off its tip, and the overwhelming stench of lavender was joined with burnt hair.

Oh, well. That was going to be the least of my worries. Runes whirled around my hands as I clenched my teeth. It wouldn’t do to bite my tongue off. Spots danced before my eyes as every nerve in my body shrieked in unison.

“You can’t cast with those shackles on,” she said, not fully believing her words.

I let fly with one of Tachibana’s silent Fireballs.

My aim was true, catching her straight in the face. The disguise mask protected her eyes, but her hair lit up instantly. She cried out in pain and surprise, staggering back as she tried to put the blaze out. Her path took her across the pit I’d dug early with my Rough Spout, just where I’d maneuvered her. She jackknifed, her face slamming into the asphalt as she scrambled to not fall down the hole.

I finally let out my agonized scream as I stepped forward. “Y-you should have used demonic bonds,” I said. “Those actually shock you. Damage you. Humans are too soft; you only make them cause intense pain.” I was struck by an intense headache, telling me I was finally in Wizard’s Desolation. I wanted nothing more than to lay down and go to sleep.

“Later, Malthus,” I murmured. “You still have work to do.” I squatted down, picking up Kiyo’s abandoned short sword.

“M-Malthus?” Maggie clung to the roof, her face swollen by the repeated blows and blistered by my Fireball. She was soaking wet, telling me she had managed to douse the flames with a spell. Had she not cast another spell because she was empty, or because she had to hold herself in place to avoid spearing herself on the rebar below? I couldn’t tell from my angle.

“It was all bunk, you know,” I said. “The Brotherhood isn’t even a pimple on the Dark Lord’s ass. There was no mission.”

“Then why are you here?” she demanded. “Just to torment me?”

“That was only a bonus,” I ground my heel into her hand. “I was banished. You aren’t the only one with ungrateful leaders. I helped them take England, and the court tossed me aside like garbage. I was here by accident. If you had simply left me alone, you could have felled a dozen towers for all I cared.”

“Please, have mercy,” she begged.

“Mercy? From a devil?” It hurt to breathe, and it hurt more to laugh so hard. “You hit your head harder than I thought, my dear.”

Tears streamed down her teeth as she sobbed piteously. “Please, I’ll do whatever you ask, please, just don’t! I promise I’ll keep your secret, Malthus.”

“Yes, the dead don’t tend to talk much.”

She switched from fear to anger in a flash. “It isn’t fair! It wasn’t my fault! It was Alan, it was the devils, it was the League, it was-”

I ground my heel in further, cutting her off with a pained gasp. I sneered at her in disgust. “Don’t disgrace yourself, Sister Shrike. Haru and Rei died singing your praises. Be worthy of them, at least!”

“You can’t do this to me,” she sobbed. “Not after everything we’ve been through together. You’re too sentimental.”

“It’s never ‘I can’t,’” I said with phony cheer, raising the sword. “It’s ‘I can’t yet.’”