Meanwhile...

     As soon as Kole and Shera left for the bank, Tibias looked around at the remaining members in the office. Right after Kole left, Royal instantly scuttled from his seat and plopped down behind Kole's desk. He started swinging around on the swiveling armchair. Keera was busying herself with the computer on her desk and ignoring the rest of the world. Tibias frowned. Why Kole would choose these idiots as subordinates he would never know. Matao had almost a dozen employees, each highly trained in combat and subtlety. Both of Kole's subordinates were as subtle as an exploding building. Speaking of Matao...Tibias shuddered a little bit. Poor Matao. He might have been an arrogant asshole, but he did not deserve to die. He replayed the image of what he just saw through his head. Matao's throat was being crushed by some unknown entity. He was trying to scream something at the entity, but his face was turning purple, from a combination of rage and lack of air. He struggled a bit before there was a hideous cracking sound and he rumpled to the ground.

     Royal interrupted Tibias's contemplation. “So, who exactly was the caducas of this time?”

     After mustering up all the nonchalance he could, spoke in a cold, Kole-like voice.“Matao, believe it or not.”

     Keera's head flew upward and Royal stopped swiveling in the chair so suddenly that he nearly lost his balance. “What?!” Keera exclaimed, her wings ruffling a bit. “Matao is the best reaper on the council! He could probably have even beaten Kole! How could he lose to anything!”

     Royal made a nervous laugh. “Serves him right, that racist asshole.”

     Keera turned to glare at her coworker. “Can't you see that we have a big problem? If Matao is dead, that means that one third of the reapers are gone. His subordinates will probably be in mourning; and that means it's up to us to take care of most of the world's supernatural crime!” Keera got up and started pacing back and forth. She was wearing a skirt and her legs were visible. Her legs, Tibias noted, were quite long and exquisite. Tibias pushed that thought out of his mind immediately. Keera continued. “And since it was most likely Mammon that killed him, that means that He is more powerful than the reapers! What can we do about this?!”

     “Relax, dear.” Replied Tibias. He couldn't deal with an upset Keera right now. Although, she was right. This was probably the most dangerous thing that the council had to deal with since the dragon raid years ago, before the council was even public. They needed to solve this problem posthaste. “ We are doing everything we can. The council has been informed, and Kole and Shera are after the demon. They should be able to handle themselves if they are confronted by it, or at least be able to escape, since they are smart and know their limitations, unlike Matao. Now, in the meantime, while the reapers are going after the demon. I say we find out the source of the book.”

     Royal picked the book up off of Kole's desk and examined it. “And how are we going to do that? All we have is the name and this weird latin phrase on it.”

     “Deus Ignegena.” Keera replied. “I searched for it online and discovered that it means 'God Born of Fire,' but got nothing beyond that.”

     Tibias suppressed a laugh. He couldn't believe that they couldn't figure out what the next step was. “All books must have a publisher.”

     “And?” Royal interjected.

     “And,” Keera continued, figuring out where he was going with this. “if we can find the publisher, we would be able to find the author, or more information on this Deus Ignegena.”

     “Exactly, Ms. Trean.” Tibias went into the office closet and retrieved his longcoat.

     “But the book doesn't list a publisher or anything like that on here.” Royal protested. We wouldn't even know where to look.”

     Tibias sighed. That bloody stupid git. “Listen, Royal, there are only so many publishing companies in the world that can legally sell legitimate occult books that have the capability of translating a book like this into common English, and there happens to be one in Boston. It has been fully certified by the council and has been known for other controvertial publishing issues.”

     “Wait, you don't mean...” Keera began.

     “Yes,” Tibias answered. “We are going to pay a visit to Spinetap Publishings.”

     “Isn't that the same company who's president has demonic servants?” Keera asked.

     “Yes, unfortunately.”

     “Oh joy.” Keera replied

     “So then, shall we pay them a visit?” Tibias asked.

     “We?” Royal asked. “Hold on a second, you're coming with us?”

     “Of course.” Tibias responded. “You don't expect me to leave this delicate task solely to a bunch of nitwits?”

     “Does that mean you're capable of leaving this office?” Royal joked. “I've only seen you leave this place to go home or to the council.”

     “Yes Mr. Holigan, believe it or not, I can go on assignments too.” Tibias started rummaging around in his desk drawer looking for something.

     Keera spoke up. “Are you sure you are up to this? If things go bad, you could get hurt.”

     Tibias found what he was looking for. It flashed gold quickly before he put it into his front coat pocket. 

     “Ms. Trean, I thank you for the concern, but I believe I am more than capable of handling myself.”

     “Won't Kole mind that you're going to borrow us?” Royal asked.

     “Hogwash. I'll just leave a note for him if they return before us.” Tibias reached down for his notepad and quickly scrawled a note for Kole describing their whereabouts. He placed it on his desk “Alright team, let's move out.” With that, he opened the door and started marching towards the slums, with his two reluctant teammates in tow.