by Kyra Quinn
Aster clapped. “Great, set us up with him.”
Cirisa shook her head. “It’s not that simple. He only comes in few nights each year. I have no idea how to contact him.”
“If he’s a demon, I can summon him,” Aster said. “I only need a name.”
“Andras. If anyone can help you, it’s him. But he won’t do it for free.”
Aster’s smile didn’t falter. “They never do. Thank you, Cirisa. You do not understand how much help you have been. If I might ask for one last favor, do you happen to have anything personal of his? I am confident you’ve taken him back to your dressing room for a snack or two.”
“What?” Cirisa’s eyes widened as she pressed a hand to her chest. “Of course not! I would never — wait. Wait, there might be something. Excuse me for one moment.” Cirisa lifted her gown and scurried away, her movements graceful even in her rush.
“See what I meant? Perfect.” Aster watched her leave with a wistful sigh. “It’s a pity she prefers to feed off men. I would let her drain me dry.”
“Gross.” I wrinkled my nose. “So wait, how come none of those men inside died?”
“Because Cirisa always has a full house. With so many people to feed from, it’s easy to take a little snack off the top of each one and leave plenty for next time.”
I swallowed back fear as I asked myself if her low body count made the situation any better. Did the men who came to see her know what she had in store for them? How many nights did they visit her at the club before they collapsed? And why didn’t Aster appear bothered by any of it?
When Cirisa returned, she clutched a silk handkerchief the color of blood between her hands. Her eyes darted between Aster and I as she pressed the cloth into her hands. “Be careful, Aster. You are strong, but the Marquise is too.”
Aster reached her free hand forward to caress the side of Cirisa’s face. “You worry too much, love. Trust me. Everything will be fine.”
As we walked out of the theater and back into the darkness, I couldn’t help wondering how Aster made such empty promises. We had no guarantees of success, but Aster marched with her head high as if nothing in the world could touch her. I felt nowhere near as brave. The burlesque show played through my head the entire walk home, Cirisa’s sculpted body burned into my memory.
* * *
Remiel and Viktor waited on the front stairs of Aster‘s building for our return. The darkness of night above our heads lifted. The early tangerine sun kissed the sky pink with blush. Viktor leaned against the metal railing with a pipe between his lips. He tilted his head back and exhaled rings of smoke up to the clouds. Remiel paced the sidewalk in front of him, his shoulders square.
“It’s about time.” Viktor snarked as we approached. “I take it you girls had fun?”
I rolled my eyes. “A blast. Pity you missed it.”
Aster shot me a bemused glare as she pushed the front door open and ushered us inside. “We did well. We got the information we came for, and a side of sex appeal. Lili is worn out from the journey.”
Remiel froze. “Does this mean you know what to do next?”
“I do, but I can’t imagine you will like it.” Aster pulled the handkerchief out from the top of her chest. “I need to use this to summon someone even less trustworthy than Osius.”
Viktor bared his teeth. “Who does that belong to?”
Aster tilted her chin. “And here I thought you broke your sniffer.”
“Have you gone mad?” Viktor slammed his fist against the concrete next to him, his face flushed. “After all the work we’ve put into lying low and staying off the monster radar, you want to summon one to the same house we have a god trapped inside?”
Aster’s eyes narrowed as her hands flew to her hips. “Do either of you have friends who can sneak us into the Shadowrealm? No? Neither do I. That leaves this as our only option. Besides, who else did you expect to help us? An angel?”
“We are nowhere near desperate enough to make deals with demons,” Remiel said. “Or stupid enough.”
“Are we not? As Viktor mentioned, the bonds holding Osius won’t last forever. The only creatures with the ability to travel between here and the Shadowrealm are demons and Shadowfey.”
Viktor shook his head. “There has to be another way. I will never agree to team up with some deplorable demon. We’ll check your book again, or find another book—”
“There is no other book. No one goes to the Shadowrealm to visit. The only way we can find the veil and enter is with their help.”
“Then we refuse to go in,” Remiel said, his voice short. “Anyone with an ounce of common sense can see this is a trap. I would wager Osius doesn’t know where the scythe is any better than anyone else. He does not want us to go to the Shadowrealm and return with his stolen weapon. He wants us to fail. If Zanox finishes us that is one less thing on their plates to deal with.”
“We will not lose.” Aster puffed her chest, her tone as strong and confident as it’d been at the burlesque show. I watched with a mix of awe and terror as she positioned herself toe-to-toe with Remiel and craned her neck to look him in the eye. Her voice sent shivers down my back. “If you have so little faith in your own team, perhaps you shouldn’t be on it.”
Remiel scoffed. “I should have expected you to twist my words. Is this why you were dismissed from your coven? Did they tire of your refusal to think things through as well?”
Before anyone could stop her, Aster’s arm swung back and struck Remiel. Her nostrils flared as her eyes burned a hole through his face. Her lips curled as she snarled. A primal noise climbed from her throat as her hand impacted the side of his jaw.
Viktor was on Aster within seconds. He pinned Aster against the side of the building with a hand around her neck. Round yellow eyes replaced the brilliant copper shade I found comforting. Pointed fangs dropped in place of his teeth.
“Viktor, stop it!” I ran towards them. “Put her down!”
Viktor snarled, his eyes hungry as he stared at the flutter of her pulse in her neck. I tried to grab his arm, but it had no effect. He shook his arm and threw me to the ground as drool poured from his open mouth. My head slammed against the pavement. Pain shot through my skull and down my body, my vision blurred.
I groaned as I tried to force myself up from the ground. “Remiel, what’s wrong with him? Make him stop.”
“I can’t.” For the first time since we met, Remiel’s voice sounded small. “This is why Viktor prefers not to shift. Once he gives into the primal part of his brain, the Viktor we know is gone. It is anyone’s guess how long it will take him to return to consciousness.”
“He’ll kill her!” Tears burned my eyes as my heart threatened to burst from my ribs. “Remiel, do something, please!”
But Remiel didn’t lift a finger to help her. He shrugged and glanced down the empty road. “He might. But it might not be the worst thing. We made a mistake in teaming up with a blood mage.”
“Remiel, if you don’t make him stop I will make you suffer five times whatever Aster does. I’ve asked you to stop him. Now I demand it.” I stomped my foot against the ground, the concrete rumbling beneath my foot.
Remiel rolled his eyes and placed two fingers into his mouth. A sharp, long whistle rang through the air, the sound piercing. My hands flew to cover my ears as Viktor dropped Aster. He yelped as he crumpled to his knees. His face twisted in pain.
Aster gasped as her feet hit the floor, her eyes wide. She staggered as she leaned against the wall for balance. Most of her neck had turned red, Viktor’s hand-print and the outline of his fingers pale.
“What is wrong with you?” She rubbed her throat.
Viktor stomped over to Remiel’s side. His normal teeth had returned, but his eyes remained round and yellow. “I will never align with the murderous maggot you wish to summon. You aren’t the only one with powers, witch bitch.”
“I am confident you are familiar with fealty oaths?” Remiel asked, his tone light. “As it w
ould happen, Viktor swore his to me.”
Aster’s brows furrowed together. “Those traditions are outdated. The shifters in Carramar did away with them decades ago. What’s the point in swearing fealty to a king with control over a legion of human soldiers he prefers to your kind?”
“My oath will never be to a king.” Viktor spat. “I will serve by Remiel’s side until my day comes to join my ancestors in the void.”
“We will not stand by while you spring your trap. You might possess the Sight, but Viktor has talents of his own.”
“You hide your scent well,” Viktor said. “I assume you have experience in avoiding detection, but the moment Remiel told me about your stave I knew. You’re not only a blood mage, are you?”
Cirisa’s remark from the theater floated to the top of my mind. My voice shook. “Aster, what do they mean? What have you not told us?”
Aster’s eyes flickered between me and the others, her expression conflicted. After a tense minute of silence, she threw her arms in the air and groaned. “Fine. There’s a reason my soul is a little more tarnished than the rest. I do not see what that matters.”
Remiel shook his head. “You lied to us.”
“Never. I may have left a detail or two out, but I’m not the first in this party to do that, am I?”
I cleared my throat. “Excuse me? Would someone please fill me in on whatever I’ve missed?”
“Tell her,” Remiel said. “I want to see how you try to spin this in your favor.”
Aster flipped Remiel off and rubbed her forehead. She kept her eyes glued to the ground as she said, “You’re an angel/demon hybrid. You didn’t ask for it and had no control over how it happened, but you were born with the duality in your bloodstream, correct?”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“I had no choice.” She glared at Remiel. “It isn’t as if I hand-pick my demon daddy at birth. I didn’t even know what I was until I turned sixteen.”
I blinked as the world around me came to a screeching halt. “Demon? You’re a demon?”
“No. Not even close enough for an invitation to holidays. My coven went through an...experimental phase. They wanted to give mages the power to fight back against the demons and angels. They tried different spells, first-born sacrifices, any bizarre ritual they could thought might boost their magic.”
“Including taking demons to bed?” Viktor’s nose crinkled.
“So it would seem.” Aster held her arms out at her sides. “It hasn’t happened in years. The experiment turned out to be a massive failure. My powers are no stronger than any other mage who honed her skills. The only change the researchers found turned out to be more complicated emotions and weaker decision-making skills.”
“And the ability to summon the dead,” Remiel added. “You should have told us. How are we supposed to trust this is not a trap now? You could plan to summon your demon pals to attack Osius. How do we know you didn’t use us?”
Aster scoffed. “Are you serious? What is there to use you for? The riveting conversation? As a half-breed, I am no more welcome in Astryae by any population than Lili or the shifter. Gods, even you are probably more well-received. I may have omitted a small detail when I realized you were an angel, but I’ve told you nothing but the truth. There is no trap here; I need this as much as she does.”
“This has gone far enough.” Remiel’s jaw tightened. “There will be no communications with demons. We will figure out another way, no matter how long it takes.”
“No.” My voice came out a dry rasp. I shook my head, my chest tight. “Aster is right. If we want to get into the Shadowrealm, we need someone who lives there to invite us in. We need this Andras guy.”
“Andras?” Remiel hissed the name as if it were poison on the tip of his tongue. “Andras is not any demon. He’s one of the three Marquises of the Shadowrealm.”
Viktor’s face paled. The yellow returned to his eyes as a primal snarl tore from his throat. “The only interest I have in Andras is ripping his spinal cord out through his mouth.”
Aster smirked, unphased by Viktor’s sudden violence. “I can’t let you do that. If he helps us, our odds of survival increase tenfold. He’s the only demon who can get us through the veil.”
“Absolutely not. If you are determined to summon death to your door, the rest of us will take our leave.”
I shook my head. “I need to stay. Osius won’t help me if I don’t lift a finger to retrieve the scythe.”
“Did you not listen? There. Is. No. Scythe.”
“We have to assume there is until we have proof otherwise.” I tilted my chin the way I’d seen Aster do so many times before, my feet firm. “You can leave. I won’t stop you. But I think it’s a mistake.”
Remiel’s face softened as his anger melted into sadness. “The only mistake here tonight is yours. I hope you do not pay for it with your life. Come, Viktor. Let us leave them to their dubious date with the shadows.”
Viktor hesitated, his body tense. He snarled at Aster, his teeth still sharp. His chest shook with each breath. Remiel grabbed his arm, but Viktor didn’t move. His eyes remained locked on Aster.
“Come, friend.” Remiel gave his arm a tug. Viktor growled, but his feet moved after a moment. Remiel steered him away from us and out of the flat with one last icy glare over his shoulder.
I stood in the doorway until they disappeared. A heavy sigh escaped my lips. Remiel and Viktor had gotten me this far. The rest I’d have to handle on my own.
* * *
Without Remiel and Viktor lurking around, the silence of Aster’s house made my skin crawl. I stood a few steps behind Aster as she prepared the altar, my breath shallow. Aster assured me she had enchanted the room Osius was in to prevent noise from trickling in, but we had no way of testing how well the spell worked. We’d have to pray the god detected nothing amiss.
My chest ached as I thought of Viktor’s face as he and Remiel walked away. How could they abandon us? Every few minutes I glanced towards the door, a small part of me hopeful they might return.
But the door remained closed even as Aster lit the candles. “We lucked out. I had just enough blackthorn sage left.”
It seemed like a trivial detail to celebrate. I rubbed the tip of my shoe against the floor. “At least something today went right, I suppose.”
Aster frowned. “Don’t think like that. I am disappointed with Viktor and Remiel, too. But they made their choice.”
“I guess.” A heavy sigh escaped my lips. “This will be harder without their help.”
“Not by much. The boys provided good muscle, but their constant bickering and complaints slowed our progress. Now we can finish this unhindered.”
I chewed my thumb. No matter how many doubts I had about our ability to succeed without the others, we had no choice but to try. We’d come too far to turn back.
“What happens now?” I asked, my voice hoarse.
“Lady luck has smiled on us for once. We’d be shit out of luck if Cirisa hadn’t given us a personal item from the demon. I must replenish my stock when this is over, but I had enough base ingredients left for one last summoning spell.”
Aster snatched the handkerchief from the table. She hummed under her breath as she dipped the corner into the flame of one candle. Fire ate its way up the side of the cloth with haste. Aster dropped the scarf into the bowl. She closed her eyes and whispered under her breath, the words foreign and guttural. Her speech grew more rapid and frantic as her volume rose. Her hands gripped the side of the table as her eyes rolled back in her head. My blood turned to ice as a sharp crack of thunder split the air.
“Can I help you?”
The voice behind me sounded like the sort of sound a parent would play to induce nightmares. A slow chill crawled up my spine as goosebumps prickled my arms. My heart skipped.
“Good day. You must be Andras,” Aster said as her eyes snapped open. “Welcome.”
“If you know who I am, you know I
don’t like disturbances. Who are you? What do you want?”
A sinister smile crept onto Aster’s lips. “What everyone wants from you, Andras. We want to make a deal.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
The Devil You Know
Within five minutes of meeting Andras I understood why Remiel warned us against him. To call him creepy would have been an understatement. Despite Aster’s trap rendering him immobile, his presence made my skin crawl. Andras towered at least a foot over me. A charcoal suit hugged his broad shoulders. Thick horns stuck out on either side of his head, his flesh the color of smoke. He kept his midnight wings pinned against the back of his suit as his crimson eyes searched Aster and I for weaknesses to exploit. I’d seen nothing like him, yet something about the creature’s voice stood out as oddly familiar.
“Aster Morelli.” The demon’s nose wrinkled as he all but hissed her name. “I’ve heard plenty about you, mage. Come to barter away the rest of your soul so young?”
Aster flashed a cold smile. “Not this time.”
Andras sneered. “With so little left, I don’t imagine you’d get much for it. What do you want?”
Aster didn’t miss a beat. She stood toe to toe with Andras and tilted her chin to look him in the eyes. “Word on the street is you are the demon to talk to about getting into the Shadowrealm.”
A sound of disbelief escaped the demon’s cracked lips. “Getting i—what? Is this one of those strange human things where you say the opposite of what you mean for humor?”
Aster shook her head. “I assure you, there is no amusement in this situation. We need safe passage into the Shadowrealm and back. We’ve been commissioned to complete a job for someone.”
“Someone who sends you to the world of shadows on his behalf?” Andras stroked his chin. “I think you need to find better employment.”
“Can you help us or not?” Aster demanded, her tone sharp.
“Not. Your first assumption was correct: I can help you get into Shadow City. But I can’t be held responsible for anyone’s well-being, and I make no promises you’ll return.”
