Chapter 60:
– Harry –
Harry Sitri,
A debt is owed, and one of your promised favors is being called upon.
You will receive escort and details at the main entrance of Hogwarts shortly.
Bring your sword arm, your manners, and preferably fewer women than usual.
Rossweisse will meet you there.
Do not be late.
Odin.
I set the parchment down on the library table and stared at it.
"Harry?" Hermione's voice was quiet beside me. She'd been reading over my shoulder, of course, because Hermione couldn't help herself when there was new information to be processed. "Is it really from Odin? The actual Odin?"
"The actual one," I said with a sigh.
She pressed her lips together. "I have so many questions…"
"You'll get to ask them later," I said, and folded the letter back and put it in my pocket as evidence. "Right now I have to go meet Rossweisse at the front gates. Haven't seen her in a while."
The raven on the table cawed once as if reminding me it was still there and still waiting for some kind of acknowledgment.
I glanced at the bird. Its single yellow eye glittered with something far too clever for a normal animal. I bowed my head to it the way Sona taught me was appropriate in etiquette.
Kind of weird I was doing it for a bird, but that was my life.
The raven gave a satisfied little ruffle of its feathers, took two hopping steps to the edge of the table, and then vanished mid-leap, dissolving into a scatter of black smoke that drifted up through the library ceiling.
Madam Pince made an outraged noise from the front desk about smoke damage to her ceiling beams.
I started gathering Hermione's books into a neat stack so she could pack them into her enchanted bag. "Unbelievable," she muttered.
"What is?"
She gestured vaguely at the empty space where the raven had been. "I had finally, finally gotten you alone for more than ten minutes. No Lyra. No Lyna. No mother of yours bursting through a wall in a magical girl outfit. Not a single Veela trying to climb into your lap. Just you and me and books and coffee and an actual date that I had been looking forward to for three days."
I winded. "Hermione, I'm sorry."
"Three days I planned this! I made notes. I brought the good coffee I ordered from the post. I wore the bra you like!"
I perked up at that last one. "Which one?"
She playfully punched my arm. "The blue one with the lace, you absolute menace, do not pretend you don't know."
I do know. I definitely know. Damn you, Odin!
She slumped back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest, which had the unfortunate effect of pushing said breasts up against the front of her jumper in a way that confirmed she had, in fact, worn the blue one with the lace.
I dragged my eyes up to her face with significant effort. She caught me doing it. Her mouth twitched in spite of herself. "And now," she continued, "Odin. Odin. The literal All-Father is sending his birds into our library to interrupt our date so you can run off and do god errands for him."
I let out a sigh and stared into her eyes. "To be fair, I owe him two favors…."
"I am aware that you owe him two favors. I can still be annoyed..."
I stood up from my chair, walked around the corner of the table, and pulled hers back from the desk in one smooth motion. She let out a small surprised noise as the chair legs scraped over the floor. I didn't give her time to recover. I took her by both wrists, drew her up onto her feet, and pulled her flush against my chest in the same motion.
"Harry." Her voice had dropped about an octave already. "What are you?"
I kissed her.
I cupped the back of her neck with one hand and slid the other low on her hip and I kissed her until I felt her stop being indignant and start being something else entirely. Her mouth opened against mine on a soft gasp. I tasted the coffee she'd brought from home and the chocolate biscuit she'd been nibbling on. Her hands came up to grip the front of my robes, fingers curling tight in the fabric, holding on.
"Mmnh," she said against my mouth, and the sound of her saying it nearly made me forget about Odin and ravens and weekend errands entirely.
I pulled back about an inch. Just enough to see her face. Her eyes were half closed and her cheeks were flushed and her lips were parted and shiny.
"I am sorry," I said, quiet, against her mouth. "About the date. About the interruption. About every interruption, actually, because we both know it's not the first one."
"Harry."
"I'm going to make it up to you. When I get back. Just the two of us, your choice of restaurant, anywhere in the world, your choice of what comes after."
"My choice of what comes after," she repeated, slowly, like she was rolling the words around to make sure she'd heard them right. She made a small considering noise in the back of her throat. Her fingers were still curled into the front of my robes. She had not, I noticed with some satisfaction, made any move to push me away.
She kissed me one more time, slow and deliberate, and then stepped back out of my arms. She straightened her jumper. She tucked a loose curl behind her ear. She picked up her enchanted bag and slung it over her shoulder and turned to face me with an expression of perfect, prim innocence that absolutely did not match the flush still sitting high on her cheeks. "Shall we go meet your Valkyrie sister in law, then?" she asked.
We left the library together. Madam Pince watched us go with deep suspicion, presumably already drafting whatever rumor she was going to feed the seventh-year Ravenclaws about what the Sitri boy and the Granger girl had been doing in her library.
I didn't particularly care.
The two girls who'd been giggling over their books an aisle over had gone bright red and very quiet, which suggested they'd seen at least the back half of the kiss. That rumor was going to be all over Gryffindor by curfew.
While we were walking, I cast a Patronus charm and sent it down the Hallways to my Queen so she would know to meet us outside.
Lilja was already waiting when we pushed the doors open and stepped out into the cold mid-morning air.
She'd thrown a long charcoal coat over her school robes, and she'd done up her hair into a quick braid that fell over one shoulder. Her green eyes caught mine immediately. She was leaning against the stone railing at the top of the front steps, arms crossed, mouth pulled into a flat line that I had learned meant she was deeply, personally offended by something. "That cantankerous old goat!" she cursed, by way of greeting.
"Good morning to you too…"
"Odin is calling in a favor? Already? It hasn't even been six weeks!"
"That's what the letter said…" I told her.
"He's the laziest god on nine realms, Harry. I have personally watched that man take an entire afternoon to decide whether or not he wanted a sandwich. He once pushed back a council session on the proper response to a frost giant invasion because his beard itched. He owes correspondence to the Egyptian pantheon dating back to the late seventeen hundreds." She uncrossed her arms and threw both of them up in the air. "And now he's spry as a spring lamb when it comes to making me reschedule my entire Saturday! Of course he is."
I grinned at her. "Lilja."
She titled her head. "What?"
"I love when you get like this." I smiled happily. "All hot and bothered."
"Don't try to soften me up. It won't work." She huffed at me and pushed off the railing and came down the steps to meet us.
Hermione had been very quiet through all of this. "Our date got interrupted," Hermione cut in.
"Oh no," Lilja said. "I'm so sorry!" Lilja sighed through her nose. "This is going to be a nightmare," she said. "I had the entire weekend scheduled for Harry and our harem sisters. I had everyone slotted in. And now, because some one-eyed bag of cobwebs decided to actually do his job for ten minutes of his eternal existence, I have to go back and redo all of it." She raked a hand down her face. "And they are going to complain. They are all going to complain, Harry. Every single one of them. Do you know how many horny sluts I have to wrangle on a daily basis to keep this castle from descending into open warfare over your dick!?"
I coughed and just looked at her aghast.
Lilja was not sorry. She had said what she said.
Hermione's chin came up. "Excuse me," Hermione said pointedly. "Horny sluts? Was that aimed at me, by any chance? Because if it was, Lilja, my dear, my sweet Queen, I would gently invite you to find a mirror." Hermione held a hand out, palm up, gesturing to all of Lilja's general everything. "I think you'll find a horny slut in there yourself."
"I will have you know," Lilja said, drawing herself up to her full height with the kind of regal indignation that only a woman who had once cut off "Stray-Morts" head could pull off, "that I am a very dignified slut."
I looked very intently at the a nearby rock. It was a nice rock. A very good rock to stare at as a distraction so I could avoid being part of this travesty of a conversation between two of the women I loved most in the whole world.
There was a long beat. Lilja stared at Hermione. Hermione stared back at Lilja with the kind of bookish, prim defiance that had once made Snape actually leave a Potions classroom early to go drink in his office. The tension stretched out for about two seconds.
Then Lilja's mouth twitched. Then it twitched harder. Then she snorted, a real, undignified, very un-Valkyrie-like snort, and Hermione's composure cracked half a heartbeat after, and the two of them dissolved into laughter on the front steps of Hogwarts. Lilja braced one hand on the railing and laughed until her shoulders shook. Hermione leaned forward with her hand pressed to her mouth, eyes squeezed shut, trying and failing to hold it in.
I stood between the two of them and watched, and felt some piece of tension I hadn't realized I was holding ease out of my shoulders.
"Alright," Lilja said at last, wiping at the corner of her eye with the side of her thumb. "Alright. Fine. I am also a horny slut. The point stands."
"The point very much stands," Hermione agreed.
"But I am still going to have to reschedule everyone! Asia is going to be extra sad because she had her first date with Harry tonight! She wanted, and I quote: 'some nice cuddles with Harry while they watch a Disney movie….'"
Hermioned cooed at that. "That's adorable and also a travesty."
Lilja was in agreement. "It sure is!" Lilja looked genuinely aggrieved now. "Do you know how difficult it was to fit everyone in this week? Ginny just joined the peerage, Asia needs cuddle time with Harry not just Jasmine, Fleur and Gabrielle become unbearable if they go too long without 'tag teaming' him, Narcissa pretends she is above scheduling but is absolutely not, Tonks keeps acting casual and then pouting when she gets skipped, Sona needs privacy because she still gets embarrassed, Rias needs proper courtship time because she is a fiancée, Akeno keeps attaching herself to Rias's appointments, and Serafall just appears whenever she wants because apparently locks, wards, and basic decency are suggestions. And that's not even everyone!" Lilja gave me a playful glare, mouthing the words 'man whore',
You know what? Fair…
Hermione had drifted in toward Lilja during all of this, and now she leaned in and pressed her shoulder companionably against my Queen's arm. Lilja, without looking down, slid one arm around Hermione's waist and pulled her into a half-hug that Hermione melted into with a sigh.
In the distance, just past the line of the courtyard wall, the air started to shimmer with a soft golden light.
Rossweisse was here.
A rush of wind swept up the front steps before any of us saw her.
Then the sky above the Hogwarts grounds flashed white.
A winged horse came gliding down like something out of an old painting, all powerful muscle, snow-bright hide, and massive feathered wings beating slow and steady against the cold air. Its hooves touched down on the stone drive with a sharp crack, wings spreading wide for balance before folding back against its sides in a ripple of white feathers.
And on its back sat Rossweisse.
She looked beautiful. Her silver-white hair streamed down her back in a long shining curtain, catching what little light the clouds allowed. Her armor fit her like it had been shaped around every elegant line of her body, polished white-silver metal hugging her chest, waist, and hips so closely it somehow managed to look both battle-ready and distractingly feminine. Even climbing down from a divine flying horse, she moved with that same composed grace she always had, like a woman trying very hard to be perfectly professional while the universe kept insisting on making her look like every lonely man's favorite fantasy.
Rossweisse swung one leg over the saddle and hopped down lightly to the ground. The moment her boots touched stone, she looked up toward us. Her face softened. "Lilja."
Lilja lit up. She hurried down the steps so fast her skirts flared around her legs, and before Rossweisse could even fully brace herself, Lilja threw her arms around her and hugged her tight. "Rossie!" Lilja said, laughing as she squeezed her. "It's so good to see you again."
Rossweisse let out a startled little breath, then smiled and wrapped her arms around her sister in return. "It is good to see you too."
Lilja pulled back just enough to look at her properly, both hands still on Rossweisse's arms. "I missed you over the break."
Rossweisse's expression went soft in a way it almost never did around anyone but Lilja. "I missed you too. I would have loved to see you in Japan. Sadly I had to work," she grumbled. "At least we're together again, sister."
Lilja's smile wilted into a pout. "Though these are rather sucky circumstances."
Rossweisse sighed at once, the fondness still there but now drowned under exhausted irritation. "Agreed. I had an entire weekend planned out for myself, and now Odin is sending me on even more overtime without pay."
Hermione, still at my side, spoke in that casually devastating way she had when she dropped something outrageous into a conversation like it was perfectly normal. "Sounds like you need a new boss."
Rossweisse blinked like she had never even considered such a thing possible. She turned slowly toward Hermione.
Hermione gave her a pleasant little smile.
Rossweisse blinked again. Rossweisse looked between the three of us with mounting confusion. "A new... boss?"
Hermione nodded, utterly composed. "Yes. Preferably one who pays you and does not ruin your weekends."
Rossweisse stared at her as though she had just been handed a forbidden text containing dangerous secrets.
"That," Lilja said brightly, "is Hermione."
Hermione finally stepped forward, leaving my side long enough to offer Rossweisse her hand. "Speaking of which, hello. I'm Hermione Granger."
Rossweisse straightened automatically, still looking faintly shell-shocked. She took Hermione's hand with cautious politeness. "It is a pleasure to meet you."
Hermione tilted her head and her smile turned just a little playful. "So," she said, "you're the woman my boyfriend is sneaking away with this weekend, hmm?"
Rossweisse froze. Her fingers tightened around Hermione's hand. Her pale cheeks bloomed pink in an instant, then deepened toward red so quickly it was almost impressive. She was clearly not expecting Hermione to start teasing her out of nowhere.
Hermione's expression remained warm and teasing, not cruel, which only seemed to make Rossweisse more flustered. "I mean," Hermione continued lightly, "I feel I should at least meet the woman involved if my date has been interrupted so he can run off with her doing who knows what kind of dangerous or scandalous things..."
Rossweisse made a tiny, strangled sound.
Lilja lost the battle and burst out laughing.
I did too.
Rossweisse looked horrified. "It is not like that!"
Hermione's brows rose. "No?"
"No," Rossweisse said quickly, then hesitated. "I mean... Lord Harry is... we are... Odin ordered us to be together all weekend… just the two of us…" She stopped again, color climbing all the way to the tips of her ears. "That sounded worse out loud."
She is adorable. She is so painfully, disastrously adorable.
Hermione's smile softened. "I'm just teasing. Sorry."
Rossweisse let out a breath of relief so visible it might as well have been a spell.
Then Hermione added, "Mostly…"
Rossweisse looked like she might actually die where she stood.
Lilja stepped in beside her sister, still grinning like a menace, and slipped an arm around her shoulders. "Do not worry. Hermione only bites when she is in the mood. I've seen the marks on Harry's neck, and sometimes other places…"
Hermione made an offended little noise. "Lilja!"
Rossweisse looked between them both, clearly trying to determine whether she had entered a conversation or wandered into another trap.
I stepped down the stairs toward them and gave Rossweisse what I hoped was a reassuring smile. "Sorry," I said. "You've just arrived in the middle of... whatever this is."
Rossweisse looked at me, still blushing. "Yes. I have noticed. I'm used to my little sister being a menace, but it seems I must watch out for her friends now as well."
…A few minutes later, after Roseweisse spent some time catching up with Lilja, it was unfortunately time for the two of us to go.
There was only a slight problem. Rossweisse's pegasus hated me off the rip. I knew this because the moment I stepped closer, the beautiful white bastard pinned both ears flat against its skull and gave me a look that somehow contained three thousand years of judgment.
I stopped with one boot on the bottom step. "Is it supposed to look at me like that?"
Rossweisse glanced back from where she was adjusting the saddle straps. "Like what?"
"Like it knows my sins…."
Lilja snorted behind me.
Hermione muttered, "It probably does. Everyone in the castle certainly does…"
The pegasus tossed its mane and stamped one polished hoof against the stone hard enough to crack frost across the ground. Its wings flexed, long white feathers rippling in the wind. It really was a gorgeous creature, all noble lines and divine arrogance, which made its obvious dislike of me feel personal.
Rossweisse sighed and patted its neck. "Be polite! We have a mission from the Allfather."
The horse huffed.
She mounted first with practiced ease, one hand on the saddle, one boot in the stirrup, her body lifting cleanly into place. The armor hugged her so tightly that the movement did absolutely nothing for my concentration. Silver-white hair spilled down her back, and the plates at her waist shifted just enough to emphasize how narrow it was.
Hermione coughed beside me.
I looked at her and she gave me the look that told me she knew exactly what I had just been thinking about.
Lilja snorted playfully, wrapping her arm around Hermione again as they saw me off on my latest adventure. I seemed to go on a lot of those for a student…
I climbed up behind Rossweisse before either of them could make it worse.
The saddle was not really built like a normal saddle. It was longer, with a second raised section behind the rider, almost like whoever designed it knew that divine messengers would occasionally be forced to transport dangerously distracted half-devils. I settled in behind Rossweisse, trying to leave a polite amount of space.
Rossweisse glanced back over her shoulder. "You need to hold on tightly."
I slid my arms around Rossweisse's waist.
She squeaked. Rossweisse went rigid in my arms.
I froze. "Is this alright?"
"Yes," she said far too quickly. "Yes, that is... necessary. For safety…"
And then I could have sworn I heard her making some 'hehehe' noises in front of me. Or it could have been the horse farting…
Her waist was narrow and firm beneath my arms, the armor cool against my forearms. The moment I pulled in closer, her back pressed against my chest and the rest of her pressed back into me too. Including her very firm, very perky ass.
Directly against my cock.
Rossweisse inhaled sharply. I tried to shift back half an inch. The pegasus chose that exact moment to lunge forward. My arms tightened around her automatically. Rossweisse made another small sound, this one bitten off behind her lips, and the horse spread its wings.
Then we were airborne.
The ground dropped away in a rush. The front steps, Hermione, Lilja, the massive doors of Hogwarts, all of it fell beneath us as the pegasus beat its wings and climbed into the sky. Wind slammed into my face. Rossweisse leaned forward with the motion, and I moved with her, chest pressed to her back, thighs braced against the horse's sides.
It reminded me a little of flying with Ginny. Not the horse, obviously. Ginny would have laughed herself sick if I compared her broom to a divine pegasus. But the closeness was the same. The press of a warm body against mine. The need to move together or be thrown off balance. The rush of air and height and speed turning every sensation brighter.
Except Ginny usually did it on purpose when she pressed back against me.
Rossweisse, judging by the way her ears had turned pink, was pretending very hard that nothing was happening. "Hold on tightly," she called over her shoulder.
"I am."
"Tighter than that."
"I'm not sure that's wise…"
She glanced back just enough for me to see her flustered glare. "Harry. This horse uses magic to fly."
"I had guessed."
"It can cross dimensions!"
That got my attention.
Rossweisse continued, voice strained by the wind. "If you fall during a crossing, you may not fall back to Earth. You could end up in a boundary layer, a dead realm, or the Dimensional Gap."
My arms locked around her.
Rossweisse squeaked again.
"Sorry," I said with a nervous laugh.
"No," she said breathlessly. "That is the correct reaction."
The Dimensional Gap. Right. Former home of Ophis. Current home of Great Red. Endless nothing full of things that make Satans nervous. Falling into that would be bad.
The pegasus climbed higher.
Hogwarts shrank below us. The lake became a dark mirror. The Forbidden Forest spread like a black-green wound across the grounds. The repaired stadium was a pale oval near the edge of the wards, its new pylons glowing faintly even through the cloud cover.
Then we hit the clouds. Cold mist swallowed us whole. For a moment, there was nothing but white. The pegasus did not slow. Its wings beat once, twice, then the air changed. It was not just colder or warmer. It changed in texture. Pressure crawled over my skin. My demonic senses twisted, searching for anchors and finding too many at once. The world seemed to fold around us like wet parchment. Rossweisse's hair lifted despite the wind, floating for a second as if gravity had become a suggestion.
The pegasus gave one powerful beat of its wings. The clouds tore open. Purple light poured over us.
I looked up and felt my breath catch.
The sky was wrong. Or not wrong, but just much different than on Earth's surface. Above us were now vast stretches of violet and deep indigo curved overhead like the ceiling of an endless cavern, lit by distant glows that were not stars. The air tasted different too, rich with demonic energy.
The Underworld. Home. The thought hit me hard enough to surprise me.
I had not grown up here. I had only known the Underworld for months. London was where my childhood lived. Hogwarts was where my current chaos had decided to roost. But the moment that purple sky opened above me, something deep in my blood eased.
Then I looked below. The land was not the Sitri territory I was familiar with. Jagged black cliffs cut across the horizon. Far below, a sprawling fortress city clung to the bones of the landscape, all dark towers, harsh angles, and bridges suspended over glowing chasms. I saw banners snapping in the wind, not the elegant blue of Sitri or the crimson of Gremory, but darker colors marked with symbols I did not recognize.
The magic in the air felt different here. Less welcoming.
My arms tightened slightly around Rossweisse. She glanced back. "You recognize where we are?"
"Underworld," I said. "But not the devil's side of it…"
"No. We are entering Grigori-controlled territory."
I stared at the fortress below.
My grandmother Selene's voice echoed in memory, calm and elegant over tea in Sitri Manor. "Do not wander into Fallen Angel territory without escort, Harry. Not because you are weak, darling, but because everyone there assumes every visitor is either a spy, an assassin, or a fool. They are usually correct."
"I was warned never to come here," I called over her shoulder.
Rossweisse gave a soft, humorless laugh. She shifted slightly in the saddle, then immediately stopped when the movement pressed her back harder against me. Her voice came out a little higher. "The Fallen Angels should be expecting us, so we should not be attacked." She looked over her shoulder. Her smile was tight. "Probably."
I sighed.
The pegasus dipped lower with its wings angling as we descended toward the fortress city. The air grew heavier with wards. I felt them brush against my skin like invisible fingers testing my blood, my magic, my devil wings folded beneath glamour and fabric.
Somewhere below, horns sounded.
Rossweisse stiffened. I looked past her shoulder. Black-winged figures rose from the towers. Not dozens, but enough. Fallen Angels in dark armor, spears of light forming in their hands as they fanned out beneath the purple sky.
Rossweisse muttered something angry in Norse. I understood it of course, I just politely pretended not too.
"That did not sound like a good welcome," I pointed out.
She drew herself straighter in the saddle, professional composure sliding back over her like armor. "It may simply be standard procedure."
The Fallen Angels angled toward us.
Their light spears brightened.
Rossweisse sighed. "Or," she said, "they may have forgotten we were invited…"
I rested my chin near her shoulder and looked at the incoming patrol. "Rossweisse?"
"Yes?"
"Is this the part where I should keep holding on tight?"
Her blush returned despite everything. "Yes," she said. "Very tight."
The pegasus screamed and folded its wings.
Then we dropped like a white comet toward Fallen Angel territory.
My stomach lurched hard enough that, for half a second, I understood why Sirius had vomited after the portkey back from China. The purple sky snapped upward, the jagged towers below rushed closer, and the Fallen Angel patrol spread beneath us like black-winged hornets with glowing spears.
I held onto Rossweisse tighter.
That was necessary. Completely necessary. Absolutely required for survival. It also meant my arms were locked around her narrow waist, my chest was pressed to her back, and every inch of her ridiculously perfect body was fitted against mine while we fell through the air on a divine flying horse. Her armor was cool under my hands, smooth and hard where it plated her ribs, but I could still feel the strength beneath it. Not softness exactly, though she had plenty of that in all the distracting places. It was tight muscle and battle-trained control, the body of a woman who could probably crush stone between her thighs and then apologize because she had damaged public property.
Focus. Light spears first. The silver haired Valkyrie's incredible ass second.
That became a lot harder when the pegasus angled downward even more sharply and Rossweisse's perky ass pressed back against me. She went stiff. I went very still. Neither of us said anything.
Below us, the Fallen Angels threw their arms up.
Light spears shot into the sky. Dozens of them. They tore upward in blazing white-gold streaks, humming with holy energy that made the devil blood in my veins prickle. Some were narrow and fast, others thicker, heavier, meant to explode on impact. The whole sky beneath us became a killing field of burning light.
"Rossweisse," I said, trying very hard not to sound nervous, "incoming."
"I noticed." Her voice was not afraid. Not even slightly. If anything, she sounded irritated.
That was when I remembered something I had not fully appreciated before. Not since the invasion of Hogwarts.
Rossweisse was only a year older than Lilja. Barely a few months older than me. She blushed when Hermione teased her, and looked like she might combust if anyone complimented her too directly. But she was also the strongest Valkyrie in Asgard. The strongest. Ultimate Class, easily. Maybe higher when she stopped worrying about overtime forms and actually unleashed herself.
I am riding behind a one-woman artillery battery.
Rossweisse lifted one hand from the reins. The air changed. Runes flashed around us in rings of blue-white light. Not one circle. Dozens of them manifested. Massive spell formulas unfolded in the sky like shining mechanical flowers, each layer spinning in a different direction, each line of Norse script locking into place with terrifying casting speed. The circles hung around the diving pegasus, above us, beneath us, to either side, forming a vast constellation of calculated violence.
Hermione would have lost her mind.
Rossweisse's white hair streamed around my face as she looked down at the incoming patrol. Then she brought her hand down. The sky answered. Bolts of compressed silver magic rained from the circles in a storm.
Each blast hit with a crack like the underworld was snapping its fingers. The first Fallen Angel took a bolt to the chest and folded around it, screaming as he was hurled backward through the air. The second tried to dodge and was clipped across one wing, spinning away in a shower of black feathers. Three more vanished beneath a cage of runic chains that slammed them together like billiard balls before flinging them toward a tower roof.
Rossweisse did not kill them. They would all recover…probably. That somehow made it more impressive. Wings were stunned but not severed. Armor shattered but vital spots remained untouched. Light spears detonated mid-air before reaching us. Fallen Angels screamed, cursed, and dropped from the sky in smoking spirals, alive but very loudly regretting their life choices.
One tried to flank us from the right. Rossweisse flicked two fingers. A spell circle appeared directly in front of his face. The Fallen Angel hit it nose-first and bounced backward so hard his helmet flew off.
I barked out a laugh.
The pegasus screamed, wings snapping open for half a heartbeat to twist us between three incoming spears. Rossweisse moved with it perfectly. Her back shifted against my chest, her hips braced, every part of her balanced and controlled while magic continued to pour from the formulas around us.
Another wave of Fallen Angels rose from the walls.
Rossweisse sighed again. "Honestly," she muttered. "I filled out the entry request correctly. Why are they attacking us!?"
"You filled out paperwork for this?" I asked loudly into her ear. I had to speak up because of all the wind from how fast we were flying.
"I filled out three copies! I'm a very good secretary!" she declared proudly. She snapped her fingers. Eight more spell circles bloomed beneath the new wave. Her green eyes started to grow brighter as she channeled more magic power.
Gravity inverted around us. The Fallen Angels yelped as they were suddenly yanked upward, slammed into one another, then blasted apart by concussive silver bursts.
And that was the last of them…
Her horse started to slow down now that the fighting was over. I couldn't help but whistle in appreciation. She was a powerhouse.
That was a solid thirty Fallen Angels taken down in under a minute. All of them were still alive, but disabled, and probably reconsidering their union benefits.
The pegasus leveled out, gliding smoothly over the fortress walls as if nothing dramatic had happened at all.
Rossweisse lowered her hand and sniffed. "That should discourage further misunderstandings."
I opened my mouth. No clever thought arrived. Just the truth, pure and stupid. "That was sexy as fuck." I couldn't help but blurt out honestly behind her. My hands tightened on her waist, which was unnecessary because we were about to land.
Rossweisse squeaked. Her shoulders shot up toward her ears, and the glow vanished from her eyes. The same woman who had just swatted thirty armed Fallen Angels out of the sky like flies went scarlet from the back of her neck to the tips of her ears. "H-Harry!"
She couldn't see my face, but I was grinning. "What? It was!"
"You cannot say things like that while I am steering!" Her waist flexed under my arms. She made another tiny sound and gripped the reins harder. Rossweisse took a deep breath, visibly gathering the torn remains of her professional dignity. "We are here on official business," she said. "You will behave. Don't act like you do in my dreams!"
"..."
…Wait? What did she just say?
I didn't get to ask because we were landing.
The pegasus' hooves struck black stone with a ringing crack that echoed up the fortress walls. Wind blasted outward from its wings, snapping Grigori banners, scattering loose feathers, and sending the nearest Fallen Angels stumbling backward in undignified little hops. A few of them were still smoking from Rossweisse's spell barrage. One man was face-down in a decorative shrub, groaning into the leaves.
The fortress courtyard was enormous. Dark stone, silver inlays, black iron balconies, wards layered so densely across the walls that my senses buzzed when I looked at them too long. The sky overhead was the deep purple of the Underworld, but the air felt different here than in Sitri territory. Charged with the prickling residue of holy light and old sins.
I loosened my arms from around Rossweisse's waist. She immediately inhaled, like she had forgotten to breathe for the last thirty seconds. Her face was still pink.
I swung one leg over the saddle and hopped down beside the pegasus. The moment my boots touched the courtyard, every Fallen Angel within sight looked at me. Some glared. Some looked curious. Some looked at me lustfully. A few looked like they were trying to work out whether I was worth throwing another light spear at.
Rossweisse dismounted a second later, landing with smooth Valkyrie grace beside me. Her white hair settled down her back, her armor gleaming, her expression rapidly shifting from flustered to professionally irritated.
Then slow clapping drifted across the courtyard.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
A man stood at the top of a short flight of black stone steps leading into the fortress proper.
Azazel. I recognized him immediately from Serafall's lessons, Sona's warnings, and several very unflattering descriptions from my grandmother Selene. The Governor General of the Fallen Angels looked nothing like I had expected and exactly like I should have expected. Tall, dark-haired, gold bangs falling across his face, scruffy goatee, sharp eyes, and the sort of grin that belonged on a man who had either ruined three governments before breakfast or invented a new sex toy and wanted peer review.
Black wings rested folded behind him. A lot of them. Enough that every instinct in my body marked him as dangerous.
He grinned wider and kept clapping. "Well," Azazel said, voice full of amusement, "that was a good show."
One of the Fallen Angels in the shrub groaned louder.
Azazel glanced at him. "And educational! Maybe that will get my lazy fatass subordinates to stop sitting around all day and actually start training."
The Fallen Angel in the shrub tried to say something.
Rossweisse snapped her fingers. A tiny silver spell circle appeared above his head and dropped a bucket of cold water on him.
Azazel's grin brightened. "You can't hate on the classics…"
I looked at the groaning bodies scattered across the courtyard, then back at him. "Oh," I said, hopeful despite myself. "Was that the task you had for us? Beating up your soldiers? Are we done already? Can we go home now?"
Azazel laughed. "Heh. Nice try, Sitri brat."
Rossweisse stepped forward, her boots clicking sharply against the stone until she was right in front of him. "Governor General Azazel!"
He grinned at her. "Hey there, Valkyrie Rossweisse."
"I sent in three forms for entry today," she said tightly. Her finger jabbed in his direction. "Three! Each one was properly sealed, time-stamped, and approved by your administrative office!" She even mimicked all this with her hands while declaring everything.
Azazel tilted his head. "...Really?"
Rossweisse's eye twitched. "YES!"
"Huh," Azazel said. His face became the face of a man lying so obviously that it looped around into performance art. "They must have gotten lost."
Rossweisse stared at him.
Azazel spread his hands. "Terrible shame. Administrative errors happen though. It's no big deal. All's well that ends well."
Rossweisse looked like she was about to summon forty-seven spell circles and explain paperwork compliance through interpretive artillery.
I respect her so much right now. I also want to step slightly to the side before she invents a new category of workplace violence.
I cleared my throat. "Maybe we can just get to the reason we're here in the first place?"
Azazel looked at me. Then at Rossweisse.Then back at me. His grin turned lazy. "Eh. That's no fun. Let's have a drink first."
Rossweisse perked up instantly. It was subtle, but only because she was trying to be dignified. Her shoulders lifted. Her eyes brightened. The irritation did not vanish, but it was suddenly joined by intense professional interest. "That," she said, "is acceptable."
I turned my head very slowly to look at her. Rossweisse avoided my eyes.
Right. Another important fact about Lilja's beautiful older sister. Powerful competent Valkyrie, ultimate-class, criminally underpaid, emotionally starved, and absolutely has a drinking problem.
Azazel noticed my expression and snorted. "Don't look at her like that, kid. Some of us survive divine management through healthy coping mechanisms. Such as getting shit faced on the regular."
Roseweisse nodded way too fast in agreement to that. And then she avoided meeting my eyes as she fidgeted in her armor. I was going to have to tell Lilja later. I think her sister needed an intervention...
Azazel took a few more steps toward us, hands in his pockets. Fallen Angels along the courtyard straightened as he passed, though a few tried to hide fresh bruises and smoking armor. He ignored all of them.
Up close, his power was easier to feel. Kokabiel's presence had been arrogance wrapped in holy violence. Azazel felt deeper. Older. Annoyingly relaxed, like a sword left on a table with the assumption that everyone nearby was smart enough not to touch it.
His eyes flicked over me with open curiosity. "So," he said, "you're Serafall's miracle brat?"
"I prefer Harry."
"I'm sure you do."
"And you're the man whose subordinate tried to murder half my school?" I asked him straight up.
The courtyard went very quiet. Several Fallen Angels suddenly became fascinated by the stones beneath their boots.
Azazel's grin thinned, but it did not vanish. "Hehe, you've got your mother's backbone. That's exactly what I'm looking for."
…A couple minutes later I was sitting on a fancy leather chair in Azazel's office. An office that honestly reminded me of my mum's way too much.
Where her office was covered in posters of magical girls in extremely risque positions, or just straight up in the process of being molested by tentacles—Azazel's office was covered in posters of famous bikini models, or in some cases, just straight up pictures that looked like they were taken out of a Playboy magazine and blown up large.
A few feet away from me was a picture of a famous actress that I vaguely recognized had her legs apart—full spread eagle. And it was signed.
Azazel and Roseweisse were both sipping on glasses filled with 1000 dollar brandy. I chose not to partake. It was honestly kind of weird that the teenage son of Serafall Leviathan was the responsible one in this situation, but here we are.
"Alright then," Azazel said, placing his empty glass down on his desk. "I needed your help because my best Sacred Gear squad, my famous Slash Dog team, has gone missing on their latest assignment."
I stared at him blankly. Slash-what-now? "I don't know who that is…"
Azazel touched his chin. "Oh right, my intel about you did say you were new to the supernatural world…"
I pointedly ignored the fact the leader of the Fallen Angels had intel on me. I did however file that information away. I'm sure mum would enjoy hunting down whatever spy we had in the Sitri territory leaking info about me.
He continued nonchalantly. He clapped his hands together. "Anyways, I'm sure the Valkyrie here, drinking all my booze, knows who they are and can tell you."
We both glanced over at Roseweisse. She had already drunk three glasses and was in the middle of pouring her forth. And she was filling it all the way to the brim. I wasn't much of a drinker, but even I knew that wasn't classy. I reached over and snatched it from her.
Roseweisse's lower lip trembled for just a second as I handed the glass over to Azazel who just laughed. Her eyes stared wistfully as he slammed the glass all the way back and drained it.
"Hnnnnnn…" she made a noise of sadness.
The first step is admitting you have a problem…
I cleared my throat. "Roseweisse? Do you know who he is talking about?"
Roseweisse snapped back to attention. She nodded. "Yes, Tobio Ikuse and his team are quite famous in certain circles. I can fill you in on them when we head out to find them." She turned to Azazel. "Where did they go missing?"
Azazel grinned, and suddenly I got the feeling I wasn't going to like his answer.
"They went missing in Italy, near Rome actually. That's obviously why I needed outside help since I can't send any Fallen to look for them. That's the heart of the Vatican you know!" he declared innocently.
"And yet, you want to send me, a half-devil and the son of a freaking Maou?" I narrowed my eyes at him.
He shamelessly shrugged his shoulders. His hand moved. He looked like he was gonna pour himself another glass, but instead decided to hide the bottle Roseweisse's eyes kept flickering to. "Ahem… I'm sure you can handle it, I've heard good things about you, Harry Sitri. Try and bring back my kids alive. Oh, and try not to knock up Lavinia while you're at it. …I've also heard rumors that you're in the process of collecting a harem that might one day even give me a run for my money. Please don't add her to it because the Grigori kind of needs her."
Nani the fuck!?
I sputtered in his general direction. As if I could compare to the most legendary womanizer in supernatural history! I actually cared about all the women I slept with. "And I don't even know who this Lavinia is!" I almost shouted.
Azazel grinned. "Trust me kid, you'll know her when you see her. Good luck, and try not to start a war with the church."
XXX
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