82. Of bars, allies and a little bit of chaos

Surprisingly he didn't strike which put into a dilemma. Now I actually had to think about if I wanted to attack him instead of just burning the shit out of him without a moment's pause. I just wanted to get in unrecognised and, once I had the ring, I hoped I'd be able to smooth out any problems I created along the way. On second thought, that wasn't much of a plan without even considering that I only had a vague idea about where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do afterwards. Alright, a talk it was. We could get back to bashing our heads in quickly enough, anyways.

I spread out my wings and came to an abrupt halt, a couple of meters away from him. Chaleb was a big boy, his current incarnation came from one of the technologically advanced, humanoid races. They had meddle with his body in the stereotypical mad scientist with a gruesome laboratory fashion when he had first displayed a part of his heritage. As a knight he had easily pulled through and, as far as I knew, there was still a tear in space surrounded by dust from back when he had finally escaped. He had never bothered with changing his appearance afterwards, though. He was a towering mountain of flesh, easily reaching 3 meters in hight. Puckered scars crisscrossed his nearly black skin and an additional set of powerful arms jutted out from beneath the original pair. His eyes were gone, replaced by bright blue gems that shimmered with their own light from underneath a heavy hood that covered up most of his face, except for two curved horns, pitch black and curved, that protected his temples and ran downwards along his neck.

In contrast to the other knights of hell he didn't wear armour but a long, flowing robe with arcane symbols stitched onto it. His axe was ancient. It was one of the primordial weapons, the first thing he had made himself back in the day and somehow he had managed to retrieve it again and again with every new life. It was a thing of destruction, honest in design but the way the light curved away from the greyish material of the blade told neigh of its inherent power. Behind him, energy was still flowing through the arch and sparks dance all over the portal.

When he spoke his voice took me by surprise, as if I hadn't heard it before, rich and deep, a voice one would expect a singer to have, or even Father Christmas, but not the ugly warrior in front of me:

"Lucifer? What are you doing here? Hell isn't the safest place for an angle without the backing of heaven, you know?" He swung his axe leisurely and continued: "there are quite a few demon who would trade a horn or two for the chance to cut a piece of flesh out of you." His words were quite but filled with a palpable menace when he added: "tell me why I wouldn't call for them right now."

"Because you haven't already. Stop the act, we both know you're not stupid enough to try and face me on your own so there is a reason why the cavalry isn't rushing through the portal right now. And frankly, it's kind of insulting after everything we've been through together. What do you want?" He stared at me for a moment and the blue light from his eyes made me twitch involuntarily. The tension broke when he laughed softly and sheathed his axe, the huge weapon vanishing in a shower of sparks. He snapped his fingers and the portal winked out of existence, darkness fell on the chamber and I had to send a trickle of energy into my eyes.

"Quite right, on both accounts, even though I wouldn't call you stabbing me a shared history. Why don't we have a little chat, somewhere more private? There are quite a few things I'd like to ask you. You could possibly even convince me to help you out." I sighed, the entrance to hell had closed and I didn't have much to lose, well, he might lure me into an ambush but he had just willingly given up his best chance so I wasn't overly worried.

"Sure, where do you want to go?"

"There's this lovely little place… never mind, you'll see soon enough." One of his hands vanished into his robe and reappeared with a small, black diamond clutched between his fingers. He crushed it effortlessly and the dust rose into the air, forming another gateway. I couldn't peer through its pitch black surface but Chaleb strutted through without hesitation. Half of him was already gone when he looked over his shoulder and added: "you should retract your wings. We're going to a mortal bar." Then he was gone. Smiling slightly I did as he asked and followed him. It had been a while since I had had the chance to taste a good brew.

I appeared in small cubicle which contained nothing but a door and a toilet. Rather expensive lamps along the ceiling emitted a faint light and the open door led into a modern restroom with sinks, hand driers and huge mirrors. Chaleb stood in front of one, washing his hands. As I looked on, his robe and second set of arms vanished, hidden beneath a coating of magic. He turned into a tall, dark human with faint scars across his face, clad in a tuxedo. I joined him at the sink and dismissed my armour. A white suit with a red tie took its place, I didn't have to change my appearance in any other way, I could easily pass for a human, albeit one who had had a couple of plastic surgeries. I saw him raise an eyebrow in the mirror when he asked: "still going with that colour? I heard she dumped you, permanently this time." I shrugged.

"Doesn't mean my feelings for her have changed. I could strangle her at the moment but she's the one for me, even if she doesn't see it that way anymore." A nasty grin split his lips.

"And how would you know? It's not like you have a comparison, heck, you don't even have any other friends by now. When did the last one die? A couple of centuries ago?" I focused on the fittings and the warm water that rushed over my hands. Early digital age, I'd guess, or something more advanced with a soft spot for retro design. Had he taken me to earth? Nah, I hadn't even told Aurora how much time I had spent there.

"As if I'd tell you. When you mentioned a bar I thought I'd be getting a drink and if I'm going to listen to your blabbering I'll need it. Or would you prefer trading insults? Not that I can hope to compete with your experience, you've probably already heard everything I could come up with more than once."

"Ooh, touchy. Exile doesn't agree with you?" He was moving away and headed through a wooden door so he couldn't hear my murmured "fuck you". When the door opened, a wave of warm air reached my nose, carrying the smell of alcohol, tabac and other smokeable substances. Quiet music I couldn't place but associated with comfortable chairs and an open fire flowed over me. I really hoped the booze would make up for the company.

I followed him through a short corridor, lined with colourful polymers and a plush carpet that muffled our steps. One other door, metal this time and presumably the exit, was set into the wall to our left. Faint vibrations reached me through the floor and made me rethink my first estimation. It felt like a space station and when Chaleb moved out of the way that turned out to be true.

In front of me a circular lounge area spread out, filled with clouds of smoke and a dim, yellowish light. A merry fire blazed underneath an intricate mantlepiece on the opposite side of the room. Thick carpets in blue and red covered the ground and comfortable looking armchairs were put together in groups of twos and fours. To the left a single stair led to a closed, velvet curtain and to the right a massive wooden bar with an impressive array of bottles dominated the scene. Around and behind the mantlepiece large windows showed the deep black of space with a myriad of stars blinking through the reinforced glass, while a reddish nebula I didn't recognise was ablaze with light and slowly turned through cycles of complex shapes. The music was coming from cleverly hidden speakers along the ceiling, carefully placed into the wooden panelling as to not draw attention.

The patrons were mostly human but I also spotted a pair of ursa, enormous, bear like beings whose savage exterior hid their truly gentle nature. Unfortunately that didn't help me in figuring out where I was. The ursa were a space faring people, their thick, greyish fur and their even thicker hides allowed them to survive in the vacuum for quite a while without any protection. Combined with their age, some were rumoured to be over a thousand solar years old, their patience and their knack for understanding machinery they had become one of the most sought after races for mechanics onboard any ship and were found nearly everywhere throughout known space. I didn't even know where their home planet was, if I was honest, and I had already met quite a few.

The only real surprise was a hooded individual, lingering alone in one of the chairs closest to the fire. He seemed somewhat strange and when I sent a trickle of energy into my eyes, his greenish aura without a single spark of life force immediately stood out. I hadn't expected to meet one of the undead here. Grinning I imagined what kind of ruckus would ensue if I were to unmask him, or rather it.

The rest were all humans of one variety or the other, even though most of them were genetically modified. I saw tails, insect-like eyes, a variety of skin colours from a deep blue to a lovely shade of red that reminded me of Aurora's hair. A couple that gazed at each other amorously in a corner even had a set of feathery wings on their back. I assumed they had some biomechanics as well, otherwise they would hardly have been able to fly with their normal- sized and proportioned bodies. Behind the counter an androgynous droid acted as the barkeeper, his many arms swirling around his torso, mixing drinks, cleaning glasses and rearranging the booze.

His crimson eyes zoomed in on us the moment we entered. After a second he bowed his head minimally towards Chaleb and focused on his work again. Discreet as he might have been, a couple of patrons still turned their heads and their gazes lingered on us. One of them even stood up and approached us with a wide smile on his face, right hand extended.

I was honestly baffled when Chaleb shook with him heartily and the other man even pulled him into a hug without having his head removed. Who would have thought. The newcomer was small and wiry with a wrinkled face. His mouse brown hair receded behind his temples but was without a hint of grey. He was probably in his late 50s. Intelligent and dark eyes blinked behind wired glasses and he wore a rather plain, black suit with a matching top hat. His voice though, was smooth if a little high when he quietly talked with Chaleb.

"Boss, welcome back. It's good to see you again."

"It's good to be back, Khan. Unfortunately I can't stay long. We'll be headed to the back room. Could you kindly send a server along and make sure we aren't disturbed?"

"Can do. You'll have your privacy. Do you have the time for a chat later on? Something has come up that might be worth your attention."

"I'll see what I can do. If I don't, you'll have my full backing whatever you decide to do." Khan nodded in acknowledgement, smiled at me and returned to his seat.

"Am I keeping you from something? You know, if half of those bottles are as good as they most definitely are expensive I won't mind waiting a little, boss. A head start might be just the thing I need to get through the evening."

Chaleb stared at me for a full five seconds and we were already gathering attention when he inclined his head: "fine, through the curtain. Just order anything you like, I'll be with you shortly." To say I was surprised would be an understatement. Whatever it was it had to be incredibly important, considering he left me alone after dragging me here. Damn it, I felt like an asshole standing there while he went about his business. If my outlandish scheme was going to be even close to successful he and the other immortals would soon be much to occupied to meddle with the mortal realms. Well, for an omelet you had to crack some eggs.

I strode through the curtain, glad of some privacy. Behind was a large, circular alcove, apparently added as an extension to the existing lounge. The walls consisted of some kind of see-through polymer or glass and the vast expanse of space that stretched away in every direction made me feel like I had stepped through a bulkhead into nothingness. The floor was covered with a black carpet and a set of armchairs was arranged around a small table in a way that'd allow every occupant an unimpeded view of the stars. Sighing I dropped into one and relished in the quiet for a moment. I didn't know how long it had been since last I had taken the time to simply breathe.

It couldn't have been more than a handful of seconds before a small, sphere shaped robot rolled in. With a whirring sound it projected a menu into the air, listening a number of different beverages. Since I didn't know a single one I randomly chose something expensive by tapping the projection and the droid rolled off only to return half a minute later. He brought a deep blue bottle, a bucket full of ice cubes and two glasses on a tray which he deposited in front of me.

He quickly scurried off afterwards and I gingerly uncorked the bottle. A strong smell of gasoline intertwined with hints of leather, peat and the faintest traces of vanilla tickled my nose. Smiling brightly I filled both glasses to the brink, downed one and started sipping on the other. Comfortably reclining in my chair I thought that whiskey always tasted the same, no matter where or when you were. I gazed at the corners of the nebula I could just barely make out through the windows on my right and savoured the burning sensation in my throat. The beauty before my eyes made me wonder… the universe didn't care and it would move on, no matter what my brethren did. Was I even better than them when I was consciously trying to alter its course? Was Aurora right, had I really been blinded by my own believes?

That line of thought wasn't going to help in the least. With an effort I pulled myself back to reality and finished the second glass. Just when I had refilled both of them, Chaleb waltzed in like he owned the place, which might as well be the truth, considering how he had been treated. He fell into the chair to my right heavily and reached for one of them. I was already marshalling my wits for a mental spar, I wasn't going to give up my advanced supply line without a fight, when the look on his face made the words wither in my mouth. Even the illusionary mask he used had gone pale and beads of sweat ran over his brow. He seemed frightened and that was enough to shut me up.

He downed his drink in one and quietly poured himself another which was gone just as fast. So much for my head start. We sat there in silence while I was getting more curious by the second, but I'd be damned if I was going to ask what was going on. I somehow doubted that it was mere coincidence that he had brought me here just in time for whatever shenanigans were happening. He'd speak up soon enough. I wasn't disappointed. He put a hand inside his tuxedo and with my second sight I saw him extract a pouch from his robe. He carefully nestled with the strings and said:

"This makes everything much more straightforward. But before we get into why I wanted to chat, have a look and tell me what you think." He had finally opened the pouch and threw a small, golden object on the table. It was a horn, a demons horn from the looks of it. At first I was simply baffled why Chaleb would even have one but then I saw the flicker of energy at its base, silvery blue, just like my wings.