by L. L. McNeil
Seila shrugged. ‘Gates don’t bother me.’
Tej and Damon frowned. ‘How’s that?’
Seila allowed herself a small smile and concentrated. Her wings materialised, revealed like her Sieken Blade. She fluttered her feathers. ‘I don’t need a car to get around. Not when I can fly.’
‘Okay, what?’ Tej said. ‘This is getting proper strange, now.’
Damon, to his credit, took her wings in his stride.
Seila supposed that was because he and Amber already had a little knowledge of the Kouzlo, and the many forms those people took.
Damon said, ‘Don’t worry, Tej. I’ll go too. But maybe don’t give that bracelet to Amber. Wait until I’m back. Just in case.’
Tej scowled. ‘Not you, too?’
Damon raised his hands in defense. ‘I’m just saying, is all. There’s something weird going on. You can see that. Even if it has nothing to do with demons, don’t you find it weird that the shop you bought it from is just empty?’
Tej shrugged. ‘Owner might be sick. Might have a family emergency and had to leave.’
‘With no sign? No notice? No-one here to run his business for him?’
Tej huffed. ‘I got no-one to run my business for me if I get sick! Remember when I had flu last year? Shop didn’t open for two weeks!’
Seila stepped away from them as their conversation grew more heated.
‘I’m waiting for you.’
She shivered at the voice. Although she was nowhere near Tej’s workshop, she could still hear echoes of the demon in her mind.
She watched the two argue and sighed. Sometimes she wished others could hear it, too. Maybe then, she’d be less alone.
‘Amber narrowly escaped a demon last night. Seila reckons there’s something demonic about the bracelet. Maybe just...don’t?’
‘What is it, then? You don’t want me to date Amber?’ Tej pointed a finger accusingly at Damon’s chest.
‘Wow, where’d that come from?’ Damon replied. ‘When did I ever say that?’
‘You don’t need to. Every time I ever got close, you step in. Shove me aside.’
‘I’m looking after my sister! And you!’
‘I ain’t gonna hurt her, am I? I’m your best friend! I know what happened with her. I was there, I remember it all. And I ain’t scared, Damon.’
The owl hooted again and Seila whirled around to stare at it. ‘There it is!’
‘What?’ Damon roared, heated from his argument as he followed Seila’s gaze. ‘Oh. Yeah. You’re right. It is an owl.’
Seila watched as it preened itself and hooted again. She narrowed her eyes. ‘What are you doing out in the middle of the day?’
As if it heard her question, the owl leapt into the air and flapped its wings. It circled them once, then flew off with a final hoot.
Her mind whirred after it left. The only demon that had been different to all the others she’d ever fought had been the one who’d taken everything from her. If the Kouzlo knew anything about him—or demons like him, though Seila didn’t think that was as likely—she needed to know.
If there were Kouzlo at Caramond House, then surely they’d know what was going on with the demons here. Why their numbers were so great. And whether the stranger’s warning that demons were going to destroy their world was true.
Even if she ended up leaving Fernhampton, it would be silly to ignore the opportunity to learn more while she had the chance. Everything seemed to revolve around the estate.
The secret to her soul could be there, just waiting for her to pluck it.
‘I’m going to Caramond House.’
‘Yes, we’ll go together. Just need to drop grumpy off,’ Damon said.
‘I’m not grumpy!’ Tej yelled. He stormed off, past the bins and along the alley back to the main street. ‘I’ll get a cab back, don’t bother yourself.’
‘Tej! Don’t be like that! Mathilda’s better than any crummy taxi!’ Damon hurried after him.
Seila sighed. She didn’t want to babysit these two, and they clearly had other things on their mind than the imminent destruction of their world by demons. ‘I’m going now.’
‘What? Seila, wait!’ Damon looked over his shoulder, but could do nothing when she took to the air.
‘You’ll take too long, and time is running out,’ Seila called back.
‘It’s five minutes away!’ Damon replied. ‘Can’t you hang on?’
She glanced around, but couldn’t see any sign of the owl that had flown off. ‘Not really. You know where Caramond House is? I’ll meet you there.’
‘Wait!’
But she didn’t hear whether or not he said anything else. She wasn’t going to hang back now, not when the chance to escape the endless hunt was within her grasp. She’d reclaim her soul, rediscover who she was, her life before. And she’d get her revenge on the demon who’d stolen so many years of her life. Who’d denied her a future because it amused him.
She was too focused on what she needed to do next to concern herself with the others.
Leaving Damon and Tej to sort themselves out, she flew higher, the better to remain unseen by people on the street, and headed in the rough direction she’d seen the owl fly in.
Damon, Tej, and Amber, were all close to one another. That much was clear. They’d grown up together, formed strong bonds, and cared about one another. Whatever their history was, they were stronger together.
Events of the previous night rolled around in her mind. Amber had picked up a Soul Eater demon from somewhere. That in itself wasn’t unusual. Soul Eaters were opportunists and would go for anyone they had half a chance of pouncing on.
But Amber had been in Tej’s car when she’d first seen them. Had the Soul Eater come from Tej’s car? Or something Tej carried? He’d said he’d bought the bracelet only yesterday. It was possible he still had it in his car when he went to pick up Amber.
Had he unwittingly set the Soul Eater on Amber? Had it been transported in that bracelet?
Seila thought it over. Demons were not intelligent creatures that could plan out their attacks. They were parasites and predators, opportunists and scavengers. They picked off stragglers or swarmed a more powerful opponent.
This spoke of some higher power, one she couldn’t fathom. Perhaps a bigger demonic influence meant her soul was closer than she thought?
‘I am waiting for you. Come to me.’
‘Shut up,’ she hissed.
Was it really possible the bracelet had carried a demon? Considering all the strange things that were going on, she couldn’t rule it out.
She wondered what else the bracelet could do. If the bracelet really had set the Leech upon Amber, then who was to say what other powers it had? What if it could set an army of demons on Fernhampton, or even London? If true, then there was a good chance that all the residents of Fernhampton would end up as soulless husks at best, or the entire dimension would be taken over—per the stranger’s warning—at worst.
Seila would much rather Amber never saw the bracelet, let alone wore it. Regardless of what Damon or Tej thought, it was evil.
Fernhampton thinned as Seila flew towards the outskirts. Winding, narrow country lanes replaced the straight roads, and terraced houses gave way to bigger gardens, fields, and sprawling farms. She studied the landscape, tried to pick out Caramond House, and wondered what it looked like.
Gliding on warm air currents, she crossed the northern edge of Fernhampton, waiting for something to catch her eye below. Red kites circled far above her, a few screeched in their high, keening call, but gave her plenty of distance.
She wondered how many demons lived in Fernhampton, hidden, waiting for their opportunity to strike an unsuspecting person. How many people had died here, to demons, over the years? How many more it would have been without Elementals like Amber and Damon’s mother keeping the demons at bay?
How many more could be hunted down if Damon and Amber stepped up to embrace their powers, if Amber didn’t
hide it, and if Damon learned more? Ignorance and fear always held people back. If Damon came to Caramond House, she supposed it was possible he would learn more, as the stranger had implied. Then he’d be less irritating.
It wasn’t long before she saw a large building set some distance back from the nearest road. Seila swooped towards it, maintaining her altitude, ever wary.
A lake glittered underneath the bright morning sun, and dense trees grew at its edge. Seila hovered and took in the view. A tall brick wall surrounded the lake and grounds, only broken at the front by a tall, cast iron gate. Two stone dragon statues sat atop pillars either side of the gate, guarding the entrance to the grounds, their tails coiling down to the path underneath.
There were small buildings, more of a hut, really, one on each side of the gate. Sentries stood by their huts in dark clothing, the dragon statues looming over them. She supposed that was the security that Damon had mentioned.
A long, wide gravel drive led from the gate and through the highly-manicured lawns, past the lakefront, where it stopped opposite a veritable castle.
Seila dropped low for a better look. No. It wasn’t a castle. But it seemed far too big to have the word “house” in its name. It had to have a hundred rooms, and sprawled across three clear wings with a tall tower on the east side. Ivy climbed the front of the building, thick and trailing, but the plants had been well trimmed and added to the building’s splendor. Forests of flowers spiralled along the grounds in beautiful, sweeping lines, adding their pungent scent to the air. Bees rumbled along between the buds, occasionally darting to the numerous water fountains for a drink before returning to their work.
She thought it looked more like a monastery than a house.
Seila quickly flew up and over the gate, and goosebumps rose on her skin.
She shivered, hovering in mid-air. Ever wary, Seila drew her sword, but she couldn’t see anything. It was as though she’d passed under an invisible waterfall, and experienced only the lightest touch of water. More a tickle than a touch, but Seila still felt it.
She turned around, flew back over the gate, and felt the same faint touch.
There was definitely something going on with Caramond House. But she couldn’t see what it was, couldn’t even really feel it. She knew it was there, whatever “it” was. As far as she could tell, it wasn’t malicious. She wasn’t hurt, bruised, or bleeding. It was simply as if she’d been touched by the lightest feather as she passed over the boundary to the grounds.
She spent a long while hovering, eyes fixed on the building and grounds below, in case anything rose to meet her.
Only when she was convinced beyond all doubt that there was nothing waiting in the shadows to pounce did she fly back over the grounds. Now she knew to expect the touch, it didn’t worry her as much as it had done the first time. She shivered again and scratched the back of her neck.
She wondered if there’d be the same peculiar sensation if she landed within the grounds of Caramond House.
It was just something else to add to her ever-growing list of questions.
Demon hunting was simple enough. Follow the voices, find the demons, slay them. Rinse and repeat. Seila wasn’t sure she had the energy—or patience—for a long investigation.
She dropped in altitude, scanning the grounds for the best place to touch down. Eventually she decided on a good spot, and came in to land gently underneath the willow trees near the lake’s far side. The trailing leaves would give her some cover while she observed her surroundings and made sure there weren’t any traps waiting for her.
After all, her only lead was a barn owl she’d seen a couple of times and a powerful magic-user who could teleport and spoke in riddles. For all she knew, she was walking right into the heart of a demon’s trap.
If a demon could somehow put its energy into a piece of jewellery, or transport another demon, it wasn’t unreasonable to think one could send a creature in its control to lure her and the others into its waiting jaws.
To be on the safe side, she kept hold of her Sieken Blade, though she pointed the tip at the ground.
Everything seemed quiet. Still. Like nothing had walked here in years.
Seila found it strange that the demon’s voice faded now she was inside the grounds, as though someone had pressed a mute button. If this was the lair of other demon hunters, then they had to be powerful to have that kind of effect.
There was no other explanation that Seila could think of.
She crouched low, making herself as small as possible under the trees. The breeze ruffled the leaves, set the short grass to dancing. Definitely no demons here.
But that wasn’t to say others wouldn’t attack her.
There was no owl hooting to show her the way, this time. No stranger to guide her, either.
As far as she could tell, Seila was alone on the grounds of Caramond House.
6
Seila circled the manor twice more from the air and once on foot before she was satisfied there were no traps waiting to spring on her. For an estate as large as this one, she’d expected to see groundskeepers, gardners, or general staff. But there was no-one. It appeared to be completely abandoned.
Caramond House consisted of one main building, with several outbuildings dotted around the grounds. The main building was split over three floors, boasted an enormous tower, an expansive orangery along its southern edge, and walled flower gardens complete with hedge maze and marble fountains. It exuded wealth.
Two tall, well-trimmed topiary pyramids sat either side of the main door, their green leaves thick and vibrant. A black cat rubbed itself against the pot on the left and meowed at Seila as she approached, watching her with bright blue eyes.
‘Hello?’ Seila said, uncertain.
The cat yawned and stretched, extending its claws into the gravel drive and stirring up the pebbles.
Seila waited in case it said or did anything—after her morning, anything was possible—and when it sat down to lick one of its front paws, she decided it was simply a normal cat and not an all-powerful door guardian whom she needed to appease before she could enter.
Still, she kept her grip on her sword and approached the door. When she rapped the wood with her knuckles, it swung open with a creak to reveal a wide entrance hall.
Seila glanced over her shoulder again, but the driveway was devoid of cars, much like the grounds had been of life. Except for the cat. With nothing to lose, she hid her wings and stepped into Caramond House.
The floor of the house appeared to be marble, though a thick grey rug had been spread across the length of it. The rug masked her footsteps, which Seila appreciated. Wooden walls in a deep mahogany added an air of exorbitant luxury to the place, and a wide oak staircase peeled off to her left, with doors lining right-hand wall of the entrance. A large mirror hung on the wall between two of the doors, bouncing light around and making the entranceway seem even larger than it was.
Still, there was no-one there.
Curious, but on alert, Seila walked through the door at the far end of the hall and found herself on an oak floor that matched the wall panelling and high ceiling beams. Windows lined the corridor, affording her fantastic views of the grounds and the lake beyond. Paintings had been hung on the walls, and a rich red velvet covered cabinets that were dotted between them.
Seila paused for a moment to watch and listen for any change in her surroundings. As far as she could tell, silence still reigned supreme. She still couldn’t hear the demonic voice from Tej’s bracelet anymore, which was a sweet relief. She knew it was probably still there, just hidden by whatever powered this place.
Demonic voices didn’t just stop.
As she was about to continue onwards, she heard faint piano music drifting through the corridor towards her. Perhaps there was someone home after all.
Seila continued to explore the ground floor of the manor, following the piano music as she did so. While she wanted to peer into every room and go up every flight of stairs,
she didn’t want to get lost. And following the music seemed to make the most sense.
When she was about to open another door, the black cat from before shot past her and into the room first, its tail high, meowing loudly all the while.
The piano music abruptly stopped. ‘Hello, Soto.’
Seila tensed, one hand still on the doorknob. A woman had spoken. Had greeted the cat.
Taking a breath and with her Sieken Blade still in her dominant hand, Seila pushed the door open wide and stepped into the grand hall. In her peripheral vision, she saw several large potted plants, heard water flowing from fountains, and felt the sunlight through the vast windows.
But her attention was locked on the woman in front of her.
The woman all but commanded attention.
She stood as tall and elegant as a swan beside the grand piano, and more beautiful than anything Seila ever seen before. Her golden hair cascaded down to her waist, her porcelain skin was smooth and unblemished, her lips pale pink like roses.
And she watched Seila with soft green eyes.
‘Hello, Seila. Welcome to my home. My name is Fallow Caramond.’
The barn owl sat on her left shoulder, and the black cat purred at her feet.
Seila took several moments to process the information. Fallow spoke with a slight French accent, and she had such an easy grace that Seila might have believed she was royalty. Considering the stranger from the jewellers had known she was a Phantom, Seila shouldn’t have been surprised that Fallow greeted her by name.
But it still unnerved her.
Seila studied Fallow, her eyes travelling up and down, looking for any concealed threat. The woman wore a pale silk dress in green and blue that skimmed the floor, and had gold embroidery of countless flowers snaking along the arms and bodice. She also wore a gold ring on the pinky finger of her left hand. It had a crest on it but Seila wasn’t close enough to see the details.
Something flickered across Fallow, a tiny pulse of energy that Seila could barely detect.
There was a warmth in the room, too, that didn’t come from the sun. Like water, it washed over the floor, the walls, the very air she breathed. Seila realised suddenly that Fallow felt like the waterfall she’d flown through when entering the grounds. That light, feather touch that had given her goosebumps.
