Azzie started to tell her how she could help him, but Babriel frowned and said, “What I need, dear person, is a quantity of the herb gutsia, which is used by mortals for the acquiring of courage.”
“I knew you wanted it for a mortal,” the supply clerk said. “I can tell at a glance that there’s no lack of courage in thy makeup.”
“It is dear of thee to say so,” Babriel said. “Praise the Lord!”
“Praise Her!” said the clerk.
“What?” Azzie said. “I had always been led to believe – ”
“We use ‘He’ and ‘She’ interchangeably when speaking of the Supreme Principle of Good.”
“Sometimes we even call her ‘It,’ ” the clerk said. “Not that we believe that She is an It, but we try to show no prejudice.”
“Can’t you make up your minds?” Azzie asked.
“It makes no difference,” she told him. “Supreme Good is beyond sexuality.”
“That’s not what we’re taught,” Azzie said. “According to our experts, sexuality is the highest expression of evil, especially when it’s good.
“As it could be between you and me, babe,” Azzie ended, his voice going husky and a disturbing odor of musk emanating from him.
The clerk frowned and patted her hair and turned to Babriel. “Canst thou not restrain this ill-visaged specter of evil who leers at me with unveiled meaning?”
“Oh, hey,” Babriel said, “that’s just Azzie. He’s a demon, you know. They’re supposed to act that way-irreverent and sexual. Poor soul, he knows no better. But not even demons are utterly beyond redemption.”
“Praise the Lord!” the clerk said.
“Aye, praise Him,” Babriel said.
Azzie said, “Hey, look, can we dispense with the hosannas and get on with the stuff I need? You two can go courting on your own time.”
“What a hateful thing to say!” the clerk said, blushing and looking away. “I’ll check on the gutsia. Wait right here.”
She vanished in a beguiling manner.
“You’ve got cuter supply clerks than we have,” Azzie said.
“That’s because under the rule of the Good all creatures are equal. Perhaps, since we have to wait, I could explain to you some of the more basic points of our doctrine.”
“Don’t bother,” Azzie said. “I’m going to take a nap.”
“Is it so easy for you to do that?”
“Evil is known for its eternal vigilance,” Azzie said. “Except when it gets fed up.”
He closed his eyes. Soon the even rhythm of his breathing gave evidence that he was either sleeping or doing a good job of faking it.
Left to his own devices, Babriel said a longish prayer for the salvation and regeneration of all beings, even demons. By the time he had finished, the clerk was back.
“I have the extract of gutsia,” she said, handing Babriel a small flask in which colors of red, violet, yellow, and blue could be seen coruscating softly.
“Great,” said Babriel. “We thank you. You have been most unfailingly courteous, helpful, kind-”
“Let’s get on with it,” Azzie said. “Thanks a lot, babe. If you ever want to change your luck – ”
The supply clerk vanished in a cloud of indignation.
Azzie went to the kitchen to give Frike instructions in how to mix the gutsia with Charming’s cream of leek soup. Grateful as he was to Babriel for procuring it for him, he was deeply suspicious. Why had the angel been so helpful? Pure generosity didn’t seem a sufficient motive. Were angels capable of double-dealing? What was Babriel up to?
Chapter 2
Azzie administered the gutsia that evening, and Charming showed a remarkable improvement. Over the next few days, his fencing skill and aggressiveness picked up. He was no longer interested in his dolls.
All in all, it seemed a good time to Azzie to bring up the subject of his quest.
“I’ve been meaning to speak to you again about your future,” Azzie said one quiet afternoon when he and Prince Charming were together in the big common room of the castle.
“Yes, Uncle?”
“You remember the things I told you about the Napping Princess?” he asked. “It’s about time to head off in her direction.”
“I wouldn’t mind hanging around court,” Charming said.