Ithnaa

I appeared with Sora in their room and immediately tried to teleport back to Bryce. My body flickered as the spell ran up against the wards she had in place, and I didn’t move. I tried one more time, but again, nothing happened.

Sora slammed their fist into the wall as they cursed. Then they did it again, and again, and again. Each time with unnatural speed, and each time leaving more and more blood behind. I rushed behind them and pulled them away from the wall. “It’s alright, my love. Thea was just banished, and Bryce has one of my tokens with her. I’ll rescue her as soon as I can. Everything is going to be fine.”

They fought against me for a moment before turning around and pulling me into their arms. “I choked. Mother should be dead right now, but I fucking choked… and I don’t understand why.”

“She raised you. Of course, you would hesitate to kill her. It’s a sign you still have a soul.”

They pushed themself away from me to glare. “You take that back.”

“Sorry. You’re a heartless killing machine who’s only good for murder and sex.”

“Much better. Thank you.” They pulled me close again and rested their head on my shoulder. “You’re sure about Bryce and Thea? They’re okay?”

“Thea is,” I confirmed, but hesitated before adding. “Bryce will be, but it won’t be easy for her. Mother already took her back to the compound, but I’m not going to try to retrieve her until after she’s resurrected.”

Sora pushed me away again. “Resurrected? She’s dead?”

“Mother killed her after I left, but we both know she won’t let her off that easily. She’s going to resurrect her, and when she does, I’m going to go get her myself.”

“You mean after I left.”

“This isn’t your fault, Sora. You aren’t responsible for how she reacts to not being allowed to hurt you.”

“You can’t seriously tell me that Bryce wouldn’t still be alive if she hadn’t met me.”

“Bryce is going to be fine. I’ll make sure of it.”

“You’re damn right she will be.” Sora crossed their arms and glared at me. “Because you’re going to take me to Mother. Right now.”

“No, I won’t. If you try to trade yourself for Bryce, then Mother is just going to kill her in front of you as a punishment. Let me handle this.”

“Get out.”

“Sora, please, just trust me.”

Their icy demeanor melted just the barest amount as they shook their head. “I’m serious, Ithnaa. Get out of here before I say or do something that I end up hating myself for later. We’ll talk, okay? Just give me some space.” I stepped forward and pulled them into a kiss, which they reciprocated before pushing me away. “Now, get out of here.”

“I’ll tell Samira what happened.”

“She was watching through my implants. She already knows.”

“Alright, come get me when you’re ready to talk.”

“I will.” They forced a smile up at me. “Don’t go far, okay?”

“I’ll be nearby.” I left them in their room and nearly tripped over Samira, who was sitting in the hallway just outside the door. “I’m sorry, sweetie. Are you okay?”

She looked up at me in disbelief. “Was that a joke?”

“No, it wasn’t, but it was kind of a silly question. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” She answered, before going back to staring at the wall. I sat across from her so that I didn’t have to speak down to her. “Is what you said about the captain true? She’s dead?”

“She is, but only until Mother brings her back. Then I’m going to go get her myself.”

“She’s not going to let you leave if you do.”

“That’s possible, but I plan on being careful.”

“Yeah, that’s what the captain said.” Samira pushed herself off the ground and gestured for me to follow her. “Come on, Sanya had an idea she wants to talk to someone about, and you’re the closest thing we have to a captain right now.”

“Oh, right, the satyr. I completely forgot about her.” I teleported behind Samira and followed her the rest of the way to the living area where Sanya was impatiently waiting on a couch.

“Tell Ithnaa your idea,” Samira said before she fell backwards onto the couch.

“I want to summon Aurora.”

“Do you know how to do that?” I asked and the little satyr nodded, but she didn’t look confident. “Is there a but?”

“I don’t have enough mana.”

“That’s not a problem. If you make the circle, then I can provide the mana. What about Thea and the other two?”

“I don’t actually know them well enough to make a circle, but I bet Aurora could. There’s just one other issue.”

“What’s that?” I raised an eyebrow at her.

“I’m not going to help you get the other three back unless you promise to teleport me and Aurora to Akresh when I’m done.”

“And if Aurora doesn’t want to go with you?”

“Then you’ll just have to help convince her, but it doesn’t matter because she made a promise, and there’s no way she’ll back out on it.”

“Alright. If you agree to create summoning circles for Thea, and all of her siblings, then I promise to teleport you and Aurora to Akresh.”

“Nice try, but Thea has way too many siblings for that. I’ll agree to make summoning circles for four people, including Aurora. But only so long as I can get enough information about them to do it.”

“Deal. I’ll take you to Bryce’s experimentation room.”

“Sounds like fun, but after that, we should probably get the circles written out. I want to get Aurora back as soon as possible.”

~~~~~

“Okay, but how was I supposed to know that’s what you meant? I’ve never been in here before,” Sanya continued to complain as she wrote out the circle. “And you have to admit that those two definitely have some freaky toys hidden around this ship somewhere.”

“Thea keeps them in her closet behind a false wall,” Sora said as the door to the observation room opened and they stepped inside. “Although they’re honestly pretty vanilla. Trust me, it’s not worth the risk of Bryce finding out just to sneak a peek.”

“How are you feeling?” I asked as they approached. Their response was to wrap their arms around my waist and pull me into a kiss. “That wasn’t poisoned, was it?”

“It wasn’t, but I wouldn’t tell you if it was.”

“I can’t wait for the day you get fed up with me. It’s going to be such a romantic death.”

“Did you tell her about the mage’s bane?” Samira asked from across the room.

“Mage’s bane?”

“We had some on hand in case I needed to kill you.”

“Okay, now that sounds more painful than romantic.”

“It was Bryce’s idea?” They asked it like it was a question and I arched an eyebrow. “I promise that when I kill you, it will be incredibly romantic. Candles, rose petals, the works. Besides, I already used the mage’s bane to kill an elemental lord for choking me a little too hard.”

“I’ll keep that in mind for next time.”

“You better.”

“Oh, gag.” Samira rolled her eyes. “Seriously, the way you two flirt isn’t normal.”

“I think it’s cute,” Sanya said from where she was sitting cross-legged watching us. “I love your love. It’s super romantic.”

“Did you finish the circle?” I asked, and she nodded.

“Yep! It should be good to go. Although, I’ve never actually tried to summon a devil before, so don’t blame me if it doesn’t work.”

“Why would you volunteer if you’ve never done this before?” Samira asked.

“I wanted to be helpful?”

“It’s fine.” I kissed Sora again before moving them aside and stepping forward. “If it doesn’t work, then I know a warlock who I mostly trust to handle this. What do you want me to do?”

Sanya stood up and stepped aside before pointing towards one edge of the circle. “Stand there, and just kind of like push mana into it. All the technical stuff should have already been taken care of, so you don’t have to worry too much.”

“Well, here goes nothing.” I did as she said, and was surprised by the amount of mana the circle pulled from me. It flared a few minutes later, and Leila was panting on the ground in the center of the room.

“Dear gods, what was that?”

“Oops?” Sanya took a step back as the ex-celestial stood on unsteady legs.

“Oops? You nearly turned me inside out with that summoning. What were you thinking?”

“That I knew how to make summoning circles?”

“Clearly you don’t.” Leila looked around the room as she took a moment to catch her breath. “Where are Bryce and Thea?”

“Bryce is dead. We’re waiting for Mother to resurrect her before I go get her.”

She shook her head. “Don’t wait. Suriel can handle the resurrection. There’s no reason to give Mother a chance to hurt her.”

“Alright, but I still can't go until Mother leaves the body alone. Otherwise, it'll be too risky.”

“Why did you ask about Thea?” Sora stepped forward with their arms crossed. “Wasn’t she with you?”

“No, she was summoned almost immediately after we were banished. I just assumed that it was a precaution Bryce built into her contract.”

“Is something like that possible?” I had never heard of anybody connecting a banishment clause to a contract, but I was far from an expert.

“No idea, but it seems like something she would have thought to do.”

“What about Aurora?” Sanya asked, and Leila gave her a confused look.

“What about her?”

“Where is she? The circle was supposed to summon her, not you.”

“She’s back at Lilith’s compound with Suriel. Please don’t tell me you were planning on summoning all of us this way.”

“Maybe…”

“I’ll contact my warlock friend,” I interjected. “He owes me several favors, and would be ecstatic if I used one of them on something as safe as this.”

“But what about our deal?”

“Let’s revise it. I promise to teleport you and Aurora to Akresh, but only if you promise to never make another summoning circle again.”

“Deal!” Sanya outstretched a hand, and I shook it before teleporting myself directly to Bash’s office. The eight foot tall ogre screamed like a child and pushed himself away from his desk as I appeared.

~~~~~

The spell finished, and a bright light filled the room, but nothing seemed to happen. Bash had made quick work of summoning Suriel and Aurora, but this was the third time in a row that he failed to bring Thea back.

“I’m sorry, Lord Ithnaa. I can’t seem to get a lock. Is there perhaps something that belonged to her? It could help the spell locate your missing devil.”

“What if you tried to summon Esme instead?” Sora asked, and I frowned at them.

“I’m not sure if she would qualify as belonging to Thea.”

“No, but she does have a soul stone that does.”

Bash nodded slowly. “That would certainly do it. Although, it’s likely overkill, and if this Esme isn’t expecting to be summoned, then it could get violent.”

“You could message her first,” Samira pointed out. “But be careful if you do. The last time the captain sent Esme a message, she almost killed her for it.”

“Right.” Bash nodded before turning back towards the rest of the ship. “Maybe an old sock or something? It really doesn’t have to be much.”

“Why are you testing the defenses of my realm, mortal?” The walls of the ship reverberated with the sound of a commanding voice.

“Chorus?” Suriel looked up towards the ceiling. “Why do you have Thea?”

“Suriel.” A fully nude incubus appeared in the room with us, and gods below, he was gorgeous. He was smiling warmly towards the devil standing next to his sisters.

“Hello, beautiful. You busy tonight?” Sora didn’t even hesitate to step up and run a hand down his bicep. Chorus delicately caught the hand and slid it to his lips.

He kissed it before looking up at them with a sly grin. “You know, I still have the scar from the time Kai used that line on me. It brings back fond memories.”

“Well, invite her along. She can join us.”

“Ha! I like you. Who do you follow, and why isn’t it me?”

“Chorus, why is Thea in your realm?” Leila’s question seemed to dump a bucket of cold water onto the god. He straightened up and turned towards her.

“I brought her there so that she could speak with her girlfriend.”

“No freaking way,” Aurora laughed. “How did Bryce end up in your afterlife? There are like a million better options for her.”

“I'll have you know that Bryce and I got rather close when she visited my temple in Hades. It wouldn’t have been unreasonable for her to choose my afterlife.”

“But she didn’t, did she?” Leila asked and Chorus shook his head after a moment of hesitation. “Then why was she there?”

“Reiki brought her there to say goodbye to Thea one last time before taking her to Tess’s afterlife.”

“Oh, that’s…” Aurora trailed off, and Leila finished the thought for her.

“A problem, but it’s not ours to solve. How is Thea handling it?”

“Not well. If you need her in the next couple of centuries, then, well, probably don’t.”

“Why does it matter which afterlife the captain chose?” Samira asked, and Aurora was the one to answer.

“Tess doesn’t allow resurrections from her afterlife. If Bryce is there, then we can’t bring her back.”

“What are we supposed to do, then?” Samira looked around the room and I stepped forward.

“Chorus, can you take me to Thea?”

“No.” Sora stepped to stand between me and the god. “Ithnaa, you have things to take care of here. Let me talk to Thea alone. Please.”

“I understand." I nodded before addressing the god. "Can you take Sora to see her?”

“I can, but taking a mortal to my afterlife can be problematic if they aren’t one of my followers. Any chance you’re looking to convert?”

“I’m fairly happy with where I am, thank you.” Sora gave him a sad smile. “Although, if you wanted to try to convince me, then I might be more open to it when my best friend isn’t hurting.”

“I'm sorry. That was insensitive of me. If you’re ready to go, then I can take you to her.” Chorus held out a hand, and when Sora took it, they both vanished.