The Devils Chapter 7: The Start of a Bad Joke – Summary and Analysis
⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.
Summary
Balthazar Sham Ivam Draxi, a self-styled necromancer, sulks in the cramped quarters of the Chapel of the Holy Expediency. He loathes his companions: the aged vampire Baron Rikard, a twitching elf, the panicked Brother Diaz, and the grim jailer Jakob of Thorn. Cardinals Zizka and Bock arrive with the ten-year-old Pope Benedicta I, who treats the binding ceremony as a game. She draws a simple red line on each prisoner’s wrist and recites an improvised binding spell that forces them to escort Princess Alexia Pyrogennetos to Troy and see her enthroned as Empress of the East. The Pope then leaves for lunch. Balthazar, contemptuous of the childish ritual, attempts to defy the binding and is violently sick, proving the enchantment is far more potent than it appeared.
Key Events
- Balthazar bitterly catalogues the discomforts of his imprisonment and the mediocrity of his fellow inmates.
- Cardinals Zizka and Bock usher in Pope Benedicta I, a child whose election caused schism.
- The Pope cuts short the ceremony, painting a line on each prisoner’s wrist and making up the binding words on the spot.
- The binding commands the group to take Princess Alexia to Troy and obey Brother Diaz.
- Balthazar tries to break the binding and is immediately doubled over by vomiting.
- The elf remarks that the binding “works better than you’d think,” revealing its hidden force.
Character Development
- Balthazar: His arrogance is punctured. He considers himself Europe’s top necromancer but is reduced to a humiliated slave. His attempt to escape and the violent reaction of the binding force him to acknowledge a power beyond his own.
- Pope Benedicta I: A childish, bored ruler who wields immense magical authority without ceremony. Her casual handling of the binding underscores her raw—and frightening—capability.
- Cardinal Bock: Improvises the binding’s wording while polishing her circefix, suggesting either great confidence or dangerous recklessness.
- Baron Rikard: A bored, ancient vampire who offers dry commentary but seems resigned to his fate.
- The elf: Speaks only once, but her laconic remark establishes her as observant and knowing.
- Princess Alexia: Briefly glimpsed as a “sulking milksop”; her role is the passive object of the quest.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
- Bindings and Freedom: The physical binding line is a symbol of the characters’ loss of autonomy. Balthazar’s vomit illustrates how even a clumsy-looking spell can enslave a proud magician.
- Performance vs. Reality: The Pope’s binding is a shoddy performance (blotchy line, ad-libbed words), yet its effect is real and painful. Balthazar’s self-given titles (“Terror of Damietta”) contrast with his actual helplessness.
- The Absurdity of the Quest: Gallivanting to install an unglamorous princess on a distant throne feels like the start of a bad joke, reflecting the novel’s dark humour.
- Contrast Between Reputation and Competence: Both Balthazar and the Pope appear less formidable than their reputations, yet the binding proves the Pope’s power is genuine.
Why This Chapter Matters
This chapter officially launches the main plot: the journey to Troy. It introduces the dysfunctional team of outcasts who will be the story’s protagonists, establishes the binding mechanism that compels them to cooperate, and reveals the child pope as a deceptively powerful figure. Balthazar’s humiliating failure to defy the binding sets up his character arc from arrogant loner to reluctant team player.
Study Questions and Answers
1. Why does Balthazar believe he can break the Pope’s binding so easily? He sees the binding as a child’s finger-painting—a single, uneven line with no runes or complex geometry. His pride in his own occult knowledge makes him underestimate the raw power of the Pope, whom he dismisses as an unpromising child.
2. What does Cardinal Bock’s improvised wording reveal about the Church’s leadership? Bock makes up the binding’s verbal component on the spot, polishing her circefix as she does so. This suggests either that the binding’s power lies in the Pope’s innate magic rather than the words, or that the Church’s highest officials are dangerously casual about binding creatures with demonic affiliations. Either way, it undermines Balthazar’s respect for the institution.
3. How does the chapter’s final physical reaction (Balthazar’s vomiting) serve the story? It provides immediate proof that the binding is real and powerful, despite its shoddy appearance. It also humiliates Balthazar in front of the group he despises, forcing him to accept that he cannot escape through magic alone—a crucial step toward his eventual character change.