looking at them. ‘Good.’ He gestured behind him towards the spirit of the city. ‘ Semias, this is Michael. Michael’s visiting from the Asian Heavens, he’s the son of the spirit of their western heavens. I want you take him to see the gravity engine.’
‘He just vowed never to leave the building,’ Semias said.
The King gestured with frustration. ‘He can leave it to go to the engine!’
‘Very well,’ Semias said. ‘Michael, was it? Come with me.’ He held his thin, pale hand out to Michael.
Michael took his hand and heard the Demon King say, ‘Wait, what?’ as the mansion disappeared.
The room around them changed to a vast hall, fifty metres high and three times that long, nearly filled by an enormous shining brass cube. Michael’s mouth fell open; they were standing on a walkway halfway up the building that circled the hall and gave a good view of the cube. Lights sparkled and sank around the structure, and the glass-tiled floor around it rippled in expanding circles. He sent his sense out to check where they were and found himself deep underground. No tunnels led into the room; it was only reachable by teleportation.
He jerked back as Semias moved right up into his face to challenge him, the spirit’s expression rigid with anger.
‘What the hell is going on here, young man?’ the spirit said. ‘Why are there Asian demons here , what are those two poor women doing here, and more than anything what the hell are you doing here?’
Michael opened and closed his mouth a few times then pulled himself together. ‘I was hoping you could tell me that. Why are you working with them?’
‘I’m not. They’re forcing me to c ooperate.’ The spirit sagged and turned to face the machine, leaning on the railing. ‘I need answers.’
Michael leaned on the railing next to him. ‘So do I, sir.’
‘How did you travel up here? Our world is blocked off and nobody should be able to enter.’
‘ The Asian Demon King brought me. I have no idea how he did it. The gateway was a cathedral in Rotterdam.’
Semias banged his hand on the brass railing. ‘This should not have happened!’ He turned to Michael and jabbed a finger in his face. ‘If you’re the son of one of the Asian spirits, you shouldn’t be working with him.’
‘I’m not. I came to investigate, and discovered that he’s holding my mother and fiancée.’
‘And he threatened to torture them if you don’t cooperate.’ Semias sagged and leaned back on the railing. ‘Do you know what he wants?’
‘Mostly he wants control of the Asian Heavens. It looks like he’s already invaded the European ones. Why didn’t the Shen here stop him?’
‘Shen?’
‘God? Spirits?’ Michael shook his head. ‘It’s what we call ourselves in Asia.’
‘Calling them Sidhe would be close enough. They’re gone. It’s just me here, guarding the empty Heavens.’
‘So why didn’t you stop them? They’re demons and they should not be here!’
‘You think I didn’t try?’ Semias said, his voice fierce with anger. ‘I have no idea how they made it up here. When they came to my city I blocked them, I closed my gates and made my walls slippery and unclimbable – and that bastard took a huge mechanical battering ram to me. He broke the glass and framework on my eastern gates …’ He dropped his head and shook it. ‘Do you have any idea much it hurts if I’m dismantled without any preparation or proper care? It was agony. Torture. I fought them, but they broke into me.’ He raised his head and glared at Michael again. ‘And when you took a piece out of the palace’s ceiling it gave me a massive headache.’
‘Sorry ,’ Michael said. ‘But we need to find a way to stop them. How many demons are here in the European Heavens? Are there more than a hundred?’
‘ Three thousand.’
‘Holy shit .’
‘ But that’s just the big ones. There are six thousand small ones as well.’
Michael was speechless.
‘You’re a Sidhe
‘He just vowed never to leave the building,’ Semias said.
The King gestured with frustration. ‘He can leave it to go to the engine!’
‘Very well,’ Semias said. ‘Michael, was it? Come with me.’ He held his thin, pale hand out to Michael.
Michael took his hand and heard the Demon King say, ‘Wait, what?’ as the mansion disappeared.
The room around them changed to a vast hall, fifty metres high and three times that long, nearly filled by an enormous shining brass cube. Michael’s mouth fell open; they were standing on a walkway halfway up the building that circled the hall and gave a good view of the cube. Lights sparkled and sank around the structure, and the glass-tiled floor around it rippled in expanding circles. He sent his sense out to check where they were and found himself deep underground. No tunnels led into the room; it was only reachable by teleportation.
He jerked back as Semias moved right up into his face to challenge him, the spirit’s expression rigid with anger.
‘What the hell is going on here, young man?’ the spirit said. ‘Why are there Asian demons here , what are those two poor women doing here, and more than anything what the hell are you doing here?’
Michael opened and closed his mouth a few times then pulled himself together. ‘I was hoping you could tell me that. Why are you working with them?’
‘I’m not. They’re forcing me to c ooperate.’ The spirit sagged and turned to face the machine, leaning on the railing. ‘I need answers.’
Michael leaned on the railing next to him. ‘So do I, sir.’
‘How did you travel up here? Our world is blocked off and nobody should be able to enter.’
‘ The Asian Demon King brought me. I have no idea how he did it. The gateway was a cathedral in Rotterdam.’
Semias banged his hand on the brass railing. ‘This should not have happened!’ He turned to Michael and jabbed a finger in his face. ‘If you’re the son of one of the Asian spirits, you shouldn’t be working with him.’
‘I’m not. I came to investigate, and discovered that he’s holding my mother and fiancée.’
‘And he threatened to torture them if you don’t cooperate.’ Semias sagged and leaned back on the railing. ‘Do you know what he wants?’
‘Mostly he wants control of the Asian Heavens. It looks like he’s already invaded the European ones. Why didn’t the Shen here stop him?’
‘Shen?’
‘God? Spirits?’ Michael shook his head. ‘It’s what we call ourselves in Asia.’
‘Calling them Sidhe would be close enough. They’re gone. It’s just me here, guarding the empty Heavens.’
‘So why didn’t you stop them? They’re demons and they should not be here!’
‘You think I didn’t try?’ Semias said, his voice fierce with anger. ‘I have no idea how they made it up here. When they came to my city I blocked them, I closed my gates and made my walls slippery and unclimbable – and that bastard took a huge mechanical battering ram to me. He broke the glass and framework on my eastern gates …’ He dropped his head and shook it. ‘Do you have any idea much it hurts if I’m dismantled without any preparation or proper care? It was agony. Torture. I fought them, but they broke into me.’ He raised his head and glared at Michael again. ‘And when you took a piece out of the palace’s ceiling it gave me a massive headache.’
‘Sorry ,’ Michael said. ‘But we need to find a way to stop them. How many demons are here in the European Heavens? Are there more than a hundred?’
‘ Three thousand.’
‘Holy shit .’
‘ But that’s just the big ones. There are six thousand small ones as well.’
Michael was speechless.
‘You’re a Sidhe
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