EIGHTEEN
Baldasor stretched and shifted in the chair. He looked at Peter, attempting to gauge the young man's reaction to the tale he had recounted.
"Belthazor was willing to die rather than betray the Brotherhood or the Circle," Baldasor said. "You claim your father did not understand loyalty or honor. I would beg to differ with you. He not only understood these concepts but applied them vigorously in his life."
"It doesn't change what he did to my mother."
"I never said it did. Nothing will ever change the fact that your mother was a means to an end. Nor is anything ever likely to change the way you feel about that. I was simply trying to point out that there were many aspects to my brother that you are unaware of. You choose to see him in one dimension, simply as a demon. Someone who cared for no one and nothing but himself. My only purpose in sharing this story with you was to show that you are mistaken in that belief."
"If the story is true," said Peter.
"What reason would I have to lie?" asked Baldasor.
Peter didn't say anything. Cole was dead. Lies would serve no purpose. The story only strengthened Peter's resolve to be more human than demon. And the idea that Cole actually understood loyalty and honor could only cast his sins against his mother in a worse light. In all likelihood every word Baldasor had said was true.
"I can see you have no answer," said Baldasor. "As I said before, your hatred of your father may be genuine, maybe even warranted under the circumstances. But know this, it is not an insult when I say you are much like him. And regardless of your feelings, I believe there is a small part of you that realizes this. That tiny part of you that actually admires him. Not for the things he did, but for the traits and abilities he demonstrated. For the way he accomplished his goals. And subconsciously you do strive to be like him in many ways. Allowing the best of him to live on in you."
"You sound like you admired him," said Peter. "Like you still do."
"I do. Like I said, he was a true demon in the purest sense of the word to me. And he was a member of the Brotherhood of the Thorn."
"But why would you still admire him?" Peter asked. "Once Belthazor was stripped from him Cole Turner would have been fully human. Your 'brother' would have been killed leaving only a human in his place. As a demon, how can you hold such high regard for a mortal?"
"It's true that Cole Turner was human," said Baldasor. "But he was half of what my brother was. When Belthazor was vanquished, Cole simply lost a portion of himself, not who he was. It's not unlike loosing a limb. It doesn't change who or what he was. Besides, he was a member of the Brotherhood. And that never changes. Once a brother always a brother."
"Even though the demon part of him was gone?" Peter asked.
"Yes. Cole Turner and Belthazor were different sides of the same coin, so to speak. To honor one is to honor both. I didn't agree with his decision to change. But he and I often disagreed. He approached changing sides with the same courage and determination he had always shown. He was still my brother. And he earned the respect others gave him."
Peter just looked at Baldasor. His uncle still respected Cole and was defending him. Peter had never believed a demon could exhibit honor and loyalty simply because they were demons. They were evil.
But if he, a full demon, could display those qualities, perhaps Cole had possessed them as well. Peter had always thought of them as human characteristics, but his father was half human. Even the most evil humans in history had displayed honor and loyalty to those closest to them. Was it possible that, his treatment of Peter's mother notwithstanding, Cole actually did possess honor and loyalty? If even only to his own kind. And that it could well have been translated into other areas of his life.
"What about his betrayal?" Peter asked. "When he vanquished Raynor? Isn't that a betrayal of the Brotherhood; killing another brother?"
"Not in this case. Many in the Brotherhood felt Raynor was wrong in what he did. Using the soul of Belthazor's' father to try and bring him back to the fold, as it were. But Raynor was the leader of the Brotherhood. Raynor did not understand that Belthazor had changed."
"I don't understand."
"In order for a demon to be loyal to the Brotherhood," Baldasor explained, "they must first be loyal to themselves. Raynor did not understand how fully Cole had changed. He felt that by forcing him to commit acts of evil it would cause him to forsake his witch and return to the Brotherhood.
"But Cole had changed more than Raynor would believe. He wasn't just trying to be good. He was good. That's who he was. By trying to force him to commit acts of evil, Raynor was forcing him to go against who he was. In my opinion, and the opinion of many of the Brotherhood, Cole did the only thing he could do. He remained loyal to himself. That meant he had to vanquish Raynor."
Peter still held his silence. He'd wanted to learn something about the father he had barely known. A man, no a demon, that he had hated as long as he could remember. He still hated Cole, even now that he was gone. But the things Baldasor had told him didn't fit with the ideas that he had harbored about his father his entire life.
And honesty compelled him to admit that Baldasor was right about one thing. Deny it as he might, there were things he did secretly admire about Cole. Just as he would admire the skill of an opposing attorney even when he disliked that attorney. Perhaps there were other truths in his uncle's tale as well. That thought unsettled him a bit. The small tightening in his chest that he recognized as a sense of loss was more than Peter was ready to deal with right now. He cleared his throat uncomfortably.
"You've given me a lot to think about. I do have one question. If the Brotherhood markings are given to initiates when they pass their test, why was I born with them? My markings are virtually identical to Belthazor's. Yet I've never gone through the ritual."
"I can't be a hundred percent certain. The only thing that makes sense is that it was because my brother was half-human. The elixir that sets the markings was designed for full demons, since none but full demons had ever joined the Brotherhood. That magic must have interacted with Belthazor's human half causing some form of genetic trait to be passed onto you."
"Magic can do unpredictable things sometimes," said Peter.
"This is true. I hope you understand your father a little better because of our chat. It might also help you to understand him better if you can remember one more thing. Your struggle to reconcile your heritage and find your place in the world was his struggle as well. People and, yes, demons are rarely as cut and dried as you've made my brother out to be. Shades of gray color both worlds and in each you'll find both the enviable and the disgusting. Often in the same person."
"I'm beginning to see that," said Peter. "I've enjoyed the chat and maybe we can do it again sometime. I'm sure you can tell me other things about my father that I don't know. I'm still glad he's gone. But as you said, I barely knew him. Good or bad, I think maybe I'd like to know more about him."
"That can wait for another day," Baldasor said with a smile. "Right now I have a mark to find. One you interfered with earlier. And like it or not I am still a demon. With a distinguished record. I wouldn't want it to be tarnished now."
"I don't suppose I could change your mind?"
"Not likely, nephew."
"Well, you know I have to do my best to stop you. Even if you are my uncle."
"I shall look forward to the challenge."
With that the demon shimmered out of Peter's apartment. Peter wasn't worried for the moment. It would take time for Baldasor to locate his prey. And if he worked fast, he might be able to find the human first.
Had he been looking in a mirror, Peter might have found the smile on his face eerily familiar. He thought quickly, trying to remember everything he could about Baldasors' prey. Then, his grin widening, Peter rapidly dialed the phone number of a private investigator he used quite often.
The End
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