Heretics book 3 - The Apocryphile Press

THE KINGDOM :: 207
“Let’s assume for the moment that he did not forget it,”
Larch said, taking a methodical approach to the problem.
“Champagne?” asked Parsons.
“I’ll pass just now,” Larch waved his hand. “What could
have gone wrong?”
“Could be a time thing,” Charybdis suggested. “It could
be that the reversal is coming, but Randy was not specific
about the timing of it.”
“Magical names only, if you please!” bellowed Turpelo.
“Sorry....”
“Yes,” Larch spoke deliberately, thinking it through.
“That is certainly possible. Very sloppy magick on Benedict’s
part, and it would be just like a demon to fuck with us that
way. It’s not as if they like to be bound to our will.”
Turpelo sniffed at a bagel chip. “I have never known a
demon not to make things as difficult for a magician as possible.
That is why we must be precise and comprehensive in
our instructions.”
“All right,” said Larch. “What about the other possibility?
What if Benedict did everything right? What could have
gone wrong?”
“The demon cannot simply disobey,” Turpelo opined.
“They are bound to obedience.”
“So it may be that Articiphus was not unwilling to effect
the reversal of souls, but unable.”
“It is conceivable,” agreed Turpelo, holding out a glass for
some champagne. Charybdis filled it.
“What could have interrupted the operation?” Larch wondered
aloud.
“It could be the order was countermanded from higher up
the demonic lowerarchy.”
“Possible,” Larch agreed, “but unlikely.”
“It could be that the angel is resisting the operation,”
Parsons suggested. “Who knows how powerful that angel
is?”