Magic was real. Or at least whatever counted as magic in this weird world. I had balked at destiny and becoming something greater just from believing it, but time and time again, reality just had to show me up. In latching onto our little group, Rodney had been something else made manifest, a part of the puzzle. Perhaps he was always meant to be - but I didn’t like the taste of that reasoning. I liked to think there was something we could control, even if it wasn’t generating new power granted by things beyond our understanding.

“You what?” My mouth hung open as the light illuminating his eyes slowly faded.

“Yeah,” was his only response.

The demon spluttered and tried to writhe against the sword that was keeping him in place. “Bullshit!”

Rodney leaned down, his mouth beside the head of the restrained demon. He whispered something, and the yellow eye widened, any skepticism melting away into fear and acceptance.

“Okay! Okay! I’ll tell you everything.”

The Blank stood back up and furrowed his brow, seemingly wrangling with whatever had just happened.

“They have a weird texture to them, huh?” I gave him a nod. Wish I had the true name; my current collection could use some company now that two of the three were inert. “Alright, best tell us all you know then, if you enjoy existing.”

[It is probably not very enjoyable at this present time.]

“And we can make it a lot worse,” Pearl added, pressing the sword against his throat and drawing blood.

“I said I’d talk! Shit! But you have to let me go after.”

Although he was not in the right position to argue for allowances, I felt for him. “We will set you free; you have my word.”

He gulped and then winced from the pain as the sharp sword dug into his skin. There wasn’t much certainty in his face that I would do as I had said, but he also didn’t have much option.

“Watcher is working with some demons that are trying to open up portals to the mortal plane.”

My right eye twitched. “Why?” They had been there when I had broken one but hadn't intervened.

“I don’t know - something… something about wanting to break patrons free of their shackles?” The blue demon squirmed as his single eye darted around, looking for escape.

I rubbed my temples. That made sense on some level. A lot of patrons would probably love to be free of their pacts and Hunters - but to actually work with the Mid demons to achieve it? At the cost of the mortal plane? It seemed beyond comprehension, as well as short-sighted. How deep into it was Gunther? Surely he would be all the way; there was no chance his patron could be off in Hell on his own.

“Is he the only patron working with them?” My hand wrapped around the handle of the revolver.

“As far as I know - the group is called Eternal Night, but I don’t know their members.”

Cliche and not fun. Pretty much spelled out what we thought their plans would be. Almost felt anticlimactic. We needed to find those portals still - at least the Org seemed to be on the side of disabling those, even if they were also on the side of poisoning me. It was beginning to seem that there was plenty of danger all around, and my trust was slowly creeping closer to those in this room only. Well, except for our information bag here.

“Any other questions from the room?” I gestured to everyone as I withdrew my revolver.

[I have one.]

After a few seconds of silence, I prompted him. “Go on.”

[No, never mind. It wasn’t a question.]

“Okay.” Ever the killer of my momentum. I shot a glance at Pearl, and she returned a brief smirk. “In that case, we are done here - if you could do the honors?”

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

She nodded and grabbed a hold of his leg. In the brief moment before they vanished, I gave a wry grin and waved to him. Pink illuminated the room, and they were gone.

“How long does a true name affect a demon before you kill them?” I holstered the revolver.

[Too long. Not long enough.]

I raised my arms in frustration at Rodney, but he remained focused, confusion on his face as his brow furrowed. Then, it seemed to vanish, and he came to - as if he had been in a trance. “Well,” he shook his head, “that was new.”

A flash of pink once more, and Pearl returned, her sword now sheathed at her side.

“You kill him?” I asked, part of me knowing the answer already.

“Yep.” She clicked her fingers and switched to an oversized hooded top and leggings. “Now I’m going to go have a bath.”

“Pearl,” I called for her as she was halfway through the dining-room door. “Thank you.”

She turned and gave me a wink and a smile before heading upstairs.

“So the true name thing might have worn off by the time Pearl did the act?” I folded my arms, somewhat disappointed.

“No,” Rodney shook his head. “I held it.”

[You held it? What do you mean, the Rodney?]

“Like how Eric was holding the revolver to his head, as I spoke his true name, I kind of just… held it in place - kept the threat constant…”

“Even when he went back to Hell?” My brow was furrowed, but I was impressed.

“I felt some relief, like the pressure was taken away. That could have just been the connection breaking after the teleport, though.” He looked confused and twice as tired as he had earlier.

[How does the name feel now?]

He tilted his head and raised an eyebrow at me.

“For me, true names feel like slugs in a wet bowl. The ones for demons I have killed are inert and do not move.” I realized now how completely strange and gross that sounded.

“When I had it… it was like a tuning fork, I guess? Like a bar of metal that hummed and vibrated. I can still picture it… but now it’s inert, too.”

I raised my hand for a high five. “Celebrations are in order then - you just killed your first demon.”

He awkwardly returned the gesture. “I feel like Pearl did most of the hard work.”

With a shrug, I looked down at the table. Although the demon had been taken away, he was thoughtless enough to leave all his sweat and grime. The damp poker cards sat sadly huddled together for comfort. Traumatized. It was probably time to retire them; they had worn out their use.

[You were able to withdraw a true name, the Rodney.]

“I needed both your help, though. I don’t know whether that’s because I’m not… powerful enough,” he shot us a grimace, “or if there’s some connection we have?”

“Gross right? But other than being best buds, we also have a lot going on. Wight isn’t a normal patron; I have my own power and that of the big rat. There’s probably some odd interaction there that is boosting you.”

He worked his jaw as if there was still something that needed a good chew.

There were definitely more questions bubbling through my spent mind as well, but clearly, I was in dire need of chalking this up to a win - and settling for the knowledge that we knew about Gunther and his betrayal.

[The Pearl is certainly proficient.]

“I have a feeling she doesn’t let on how powerful and competent she is.” I nodded, agreeing with the little bird demon who had his arms crossed. “Sometimes she knows more than she lets on, but is guiding us rather than doing it all herself.”

“You think?” Rodney tilted his head, looking up at the approximate location of where she might be upstairs.

“I hope,” I grinned, “because I have no fucking clue what is going on between one near-fatal event to the next.”

[We best clean the table down.]

With a sigh, I relented to doing the sensible suggestion of my patron. Although it was unlike him to care about our surroundings, ever since Pearl had roped him into doing some chores, he had been a little more mindful. Whether that was mimicry, fear of chastisement, or a concerted effort to be more thoughtful, I wasn’t sure. It didn’t matter at the end of the day - which this clearly was.

A final salute sent the ruined cards off as I dropped them into the trash in the kitchen. They had made a dream come true, if only to show me that the luster of my imagination smoothed over the bumps in cold reality. As dreams are wont to do.

I returned to the dining room to see Rodney finishing wiping down the table. It looked good as… well; it had a few extra scuffs now. But who out of us didn’t? Each of us was completely spent, and I couldn’t resist a huge yawn.

Footsteps from the stairs revealed Pearl in a fluffy blue dressing gown, a white towel wrapped around her head. She gave us a glum smile to see the three of us in the remnants of our suits that were creased and untucked now. Our hair a mess, and dark circles around our tired eyes.

“I appreciate the cleaning, guys. I think we should get some rest.” She gave Rodney a nod. “Spare room is ready for you. I’ve put wards around the house - any change in occupants and I’ll be up and in my armor almost instantly.”

That was pretty comforting. Not the most secure of locations, but as good as we would get. I trusted Pearl to spring into action quick enough to defend us. We would have to make sure all doors were closed, so the Watcher couldn’t have easy access to each of us.

[I will stand guard. I do not require sleep. Plus the Rodney is taking my room.]

He looked up at the Blank, who gave a sheepish grin in return.

“Sounds good - anyone shows up then… True Possession me? You’ll have better reactions than my half-asleep brain.” It still felt imperfect, but most people didn’t have such deadly intruder alarms.

Most people didn’t need them.