Nod was locked in a fixed orbit around a supermassive black hole. The radiation it exuded burned half the planet and left the other side frozen. The loci’s ship had to enter Nod’s atmosphere from the dark side to avoid being burned. Hormiz had strapped himself against the wall since the artificial gravity stopped spinning.

The only habitable area on Nod was underground at the equator between hot and cold, beneath fiery skies. So the loci’s ship flew into a tunnel and had to run on emergency power for a while before it entered Lilith’s City. This was the center of all life on the planet, beneath an expansive underground dome that went on for days. The burning line of fire was far above them, casting a warm glow over everything.

Finally, the loci’s ship landed on Lilith’s yard, where she was waiting to escort Samaal to his new bright box. Without starlight, the loci’s ship would enter hibernation soon; and without the lights to contain Samaal’s power, he could destroy everything. So Lilith would personally handle the transfer using the Bone Gauntlet.

Hormiz unstrapped himself from the wall and waited until the ship rotated his room to the exit. But he waited a long time. Lilith wanted to transport Samaal first. When he finally leaped out of the damnable ship and breathed in fresh Nod air again, Lilith had already escorted Samaal to his new cell and was waiting in the Grand Dais to receive Hormiz.

First, Hormiz washed himself in his bathroom. His time in the ship had not been easy or enjoyable. Loci made very little waste and had simple systems for recycling it. Water was tightly rationed on the ship, so Hormiz hadn’t bathed since he left Nod. That felt like a long time ago. But it was the anxiety of being alone in space with only a bunch of bugs, plants, and his prisoner that Hormiz wanted to wash away. He chose his natural form and dressed appropriately. Then he presented himself to Lilith. Cainkin attendants opened the doors as Hormiz walked up the stairs to the Grand Dais. There was no ceiling, only a long table, and thousands of cainkin flying overhead; thousands more roosted like famished gargoyles along the rooftops.

She stood beneath stone arches, composing the cainkin flying overhead. With a twist of her wrist, dozens of dark-winged demons danced on the breeze. Lilith’s wings were wrapped around her body like a black, shimmering dress. Her bare grey arms were directing the cainkin. A sparkling crown rested on two elegant horns. She looked magnificent. Composing the cainkin was an art on Nod, or a pastime, that only Lilith and Hormiz played. Most cainkin were nearly thoughtless and highly suggestible.

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With a flourish of her arms, Lilith dispersed the cainkin and turned to receive Hormiz.

He knelt. “Queen Mother, I brought you the traitor Samaal. Many loci lives were lost. Fewer than twenty survive. We remain ready to strike again at your command,” he said passionately.

Lilith’s voice was velvety and threatening. “You were supposed to retrieve the Ivory Blade; instead you bring a broken traitor. But you did well to break him. With your intelligence, I found the Ikon. His name is Ezekiel, and he will come to us.”

Hormiz’s heart started pounding in fear and excitement. Ezekiel. His parents’ favorite. He hated him already. He was coming here? Might they be friends?

“You did well, Hormiz,” Lilith declared proudly. Her wings unfurled magnificently, revealing silk panties and full, naked breasts. She stepped forward to give Hormiz his reward, slipping her nipple between his lips, and said, “Drink, and be full.”

Her wings enveloped Hormiz like warm blankets, and he fed.

Hormiz felt safe. He felt rejuvenated. He felt loved. Lilith’s fingers caressed his face and she asked, “Does anything trouble you, my child?”

Hormiz finished his meal, put his chin on her chest, his arms around her waist, and said, “As you predicted, the traitor pled ignorant of my existence. He pretends to care about me and tries to trick me into letting him escape. I don’t believe him, of course. But he is my father, and I might like to visit him again one day. Could you see it in your heart to show him mercy?”

Lilith moved her other breast into Hormiz’s lips. He drank deeply.

She sighed and said, “You were ordered not to reveal yourself to Samaal. I understand accidents happen, but this softness worries me. You’re such a sensitive boy. You still need me to make the hard choices. Samaal is too dangerous to be left alive. But he will be given the chance to repent. He is our bait, after all. And let his fate be a lesson to you, my love. I feed you and I raised you to where you are. Your loyalty belongs to me. Everything around you and within you belongs to me, your Queen Mother. Don’t ever disappoint me.”

Lilith sighed. “That’s enough,” she stumbled back and wrapped her wings around her. She looked paler than usual. “You must be tired after such a challenging endeavor. Rest in your own bed. Welcome home, Hormiz. In two bell chimes, we will meet again.”

Hormiz rose and exited the Grand Dais the way he’d come.

For some reason, Hormiz felt unsettled as he walked to his sleeping quarters. It wasn’t his place to question the Queen Mother. He was loyal. He followed orders. He went to bed and counted the troops to fall asleep.