THREE
"You're crazy," said Peter. "I hated him. I wanted him dead. I wanted to kill him myself. You have no idea what you're talking about."
"Don't I?" Baldasor questioned. "As I said, you are very much like him. As he grew up I came to understand things about humans that most demons are not cognizant of. Take your name for instance."
"What about my name?" Peter questioned.
"It is not the name you were born with," said Baldasor. "You told me yourself you changed it to Coleson. Cole's son. Is that not an indication of your admiration for him?"
"No. I did it to remind myself how much I hated him."
"Is that what you tell yourself? If that were true then why choose a name that identifies you as his son? Why not a name that would be more appropriate for someone out seeking vengeance?"
"Like what?" Peter asked. "Avenger?"
"You could have chosen something more appropriate," said Baldasor. "Like Coleslayer. It's certainly more descriptive of someone out for revenge then a name that brags about who your father is. And your supposed desire for vengeance. You claimed you wanted to kill him. Yet when you had the opportunity you balked."
"I swore never to have innocent blood on my hands," said Peter. "Paige was inadvertently injured. It was either kill Cole or save Paige. I chose not to have her blood on my head."
"Which is not in keeping with someone truly out for vengeance. Believe me, I know about vengeance. I am a demon. And when you are seeking vengeance for a wrong you don't care about anything else. Even the blood of an innocent. All that matters to you is getting the revenge you seek."
"It's not always like that. I wanted justice for my mother. The only justice that was appropriate was Cole's death. But not at the price of another life."
"Ah," said Baldasor, "but justice is not vengeance. Justice is an honorable concept. You're a lawyer. Interesting you should choose that particular line of work. And not just a lawyer. A criminal attorney. Extremely similar to your father."
"I wanted to help people."
"You can do that any number of ways. You could have been a policeman. Or a social worker. You could even have been doctor. But you chose to be a lawyer. The same profession your father was in. Another indication that secretly you admired him."
"You're insane," said Peter. "I hated him. Why would I try to emulate him?"
"You can hate someone and still admire them," said Baldasor. "You don't admire who they are. But you admire their efficiency. And Belthazor was very efficient. It doesn't mean you hate them any less. But secretly you desire to be as efficient as he was."
"To be an efficient demon?" Peter questioned. "You're crazy."
"Am I?" questioned Baldasor. "In your entire life you've had plenty of opportunity to track him down and kill him. Yet you went about your life as if nothing had happened. Not the actions of a person truly seeking justice or vengeance."
Peter looked at Baldasor. He did admire Cole's efficiency. As much as he had hated him, he had to admit that Cole was very efficient. With everything Peter had learned about Cole that was the one thing that always came to the forefront. Most demons aspired to be like the great Belthazor.
"So what?" Peter said. "Maybe I did admire his efficiency. I didn't admire what he did but I had to admire his efficiency in completing his assignments. That doesn't mean I didn't want him any less dead."
"Boy, you are so confused," said Baldasor. "You don't even realize how confused you are."
"Stop calling me that. I'm nearly fifty years old."
"And I am over four hundred. To me you are nothing more than a boy."
"I'm not confused," said Peter. "I know exactly what I wanted."
"Do you?" Baldasor asked. "Then why in nearly fifty years were you not able to kill your intended prey? I am a mercenary. I make my living hunting down and killing my targets. I do know a little something about it. And I know that if you were really serious about killing Belthazor you would have found a way."
"So you think I wanted to be like him?" Peter asked. "You couldn't be more wrong."
"No, I don't think you wanted to be like him," said Baldasor. "He was proud of being a demon. And you've made it quite clear that you have no desire to follow in those footsteps. But I think you had something else in mind, albeit it might have been subconscious."
"And just what that might be?" Peter asked.
"To know the father you never knew," said Baldasor. "To find out why he did what he did. If you had anything to do with it."
"What makes you think that?" Peter asked.
"Because you are mostly human," said Baldasor. "In over four hundred years I have learned a thing or two about humans. And I've learned that most human orphans are understandably curious about their parents. I think it's a natural reaction to growing up without a parent."
"And that's what you think is going on here?"
"You have confirmed that yourself."
"How do you figure that?"
"You haven't denied it. If I were wrong you would have immediately denied it. Even now you sit there without a denial on your lips. And look at your body language. You sit in your chair, leaning forward, with your arms at your side. An indication that you are eager to hear what I have to say. Despite what you may tell even yourself."
"You seem to know a lot about human actions and reactions," said Peter, deliberately sitting back in the chair.
"The first rule in hunting someone is to know your prey," said Baldasor. "I've spent a great deal of time learning about human behavior. Sometimes the best approach to a victim is to become their friend."
"And I guess you're very good at that," said Peter.
"Actually, I am," said Baldasor. "But Belthazor was the true master at that."
"I know he joined the Brotherhood. He was very proud of that. He wore it like some badge of honor."
"It is a badge of honor. You don't ask to join them. They invite you to join them. Only the best demons are ever given that invitation. It is one of the greatest honors in the underworld."
"Demons with honor?" Peter questioned. "That isn't exactly typical."
"The Brotherhood are not typical demons. And Belthazor was one of the best."
Peter looked at Baldasor. This demon seemed to know him better than even most humans did. A demon he had known only a couple of hours. Baldasor had guessed things that Peter had never voiced to anyone. And it was very possible that he might have information that Peter had sought his entire life.
"Are you interested?" Baldasor questioned. "About the man that was your father?"
"Like you said," said Peter, "it is human nature to be curious about your parents. It doesn't mean I'm going to change my mind about him. But I guess you might be able to answer a couple of questions I might have."
"Of course," said Baldasor. "Like how could Belthazor understand things like honor and loyalty when he was a demon?"
"He had no sense of honor or loyalty," said Peter. "The way he treated my mother proves that."
"You couldn't be more wrong. Honor and loyalty are probably what best described my brother."
"How can you say that? He betrayed everyone he ever dealt with."
"Not everyone," said Baldasor. "How much do you really know about your father?"
"Not really that much," said Peter. "Mostly what I've been able to garner from other demons."
"Which means," said Baldasor, "you probably have no idea regarding his initiation into the Brotherhood. It is not something that most demons would be aware of."
"I just figured there was some kind of ritual or something," said Peter.
"There is," said Baldasor. "But there is much more involved than that. And Belthazor's initiation was quite impressive."
"How?' Peter asked.
"It involved a special assignment that no one thought any demon could accomplish," Baldasor said. "Belthazor surprised everyone, including the Brotherhood."
"So what happened?" Peter asked, genuinely intrigued by what Baldasor was saying.
Baldasor smiled and settled himself into a chair. He knew this was going to take some time to explain.