Shadow Magic: Year 3

by Alexa B. James

  He slowly tugs up my underwear before unwrapping his fingers from around my face. I can feel an ache in my jaw from how hard he was holding on to keep me quiet.

  “What… The fuck… Was that?” Dirk asks after a long silence, drawing my attention back to the scene outside the closet. He’s lying on Asher’s back while Asher lies facedown on the bed.

  “I—I don’t know,” Asher says.

  Dirk pushes up on his fists, pulling out of Asher and jumping up, turning away before Asher can see the monstrosity that was just shoved up his ass. No judgment or anything, considering I just had an entire hand up my twat, but everyone should get a say in what’s inside them, and I’m pretty damn sure Asher would have objected if he’d seen Dirk’s dick.

  Dirk pulls on his pants before wheeling around to Asher. “What did you do to me?” he demands.

  Oh, shit. He better not go after my friend. That was all me. But considering how crazy it made me, and I’m the one who possesses it, I don’t blame the guy for being suspicious.

  “Nothing,” Asher says, scrambling around to a seated position on the bed. He looks down at the black stain on the blanket before staring up at Dirk with wide eyes. “I have a lot of—”

  “Guess the cat’s out of the bag,” Dirk says. “Or the cum’s out of the demon, if you will.” He smiles a little, snagging his shirt from where they tossed it.

  Ryker moves subtly behind me, and I realize he’s reaching for his weapon. I wrap a hand around his arm to steady him.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” Asher asks, sounding genuinely hurt.

  “I was going to,” Dirk says, sitting on the bed beside him. “I wanted to. But Bella… Well, she’s sort of been blackmailing me.”

  “What? How?” Asher asks.

  “She was going to out me as a demon,” Dirk says. “That’s why I had to pretend to be into her. I told you it wasn’t real between us. We only ever hooked up a few times, and it was before I even met you or knew how amazing you were.” He reaches out to stroke Asher’s hair off his forehead.

  Damn it. It’s going to be really hard to kill this guy if he’s being nice to my friend.

  “But… Why would you care?” Asher asks. “Why would you want to come to the Academy in the first place?”

  “I didn’t,” Dirk says. “I only did it for Bella. She wanted a guy of her station to parade around and make some other guy jealous. If I didn’t, she said she’d tell the Society of Supernaturals about me. And let’s just say, they’re not a big fan of demons.”

  “So… You’re a good demon?” Asher asks, sounding so hopeful it breaks my heart.

  “Of course,” Dirk says, leaning in to brush a kiss across Asher’s cheek. “You know me, Asher. I love you. Why would I lie to you?”

  Well, I can think of about a hundred reasons, but Asher seems too lovestruck to think of one. He kisses Dirk’s mouth, smiling up at him. “That’s a relief,” he says with a little laugh.

  “Now, don’t lie to me,” Dirk says, tipping Asher’s chin up. “You used some of your friend’s magic on me tonight. I know you did. I felt it. I nearly lost all control. You’re lucky I didn’t, Asher. That’s a dangerous thing to do to a demon. We have… Urges. Ones you wouldn’t understand. And I know you didn’t know that’s what I was, but I have to know, why would you do that? You know I want to fuck you. You don’t have to drug me.”

  “I… I didn’t mean to,” Asher says, his face reddening. He picks up his shirt, his hands shaking, and pulls it on.

  “Was it so I wouldn’t notice your necromancer friend watching?” Dirk asks, plucking the piece of clothing from the ‘lamp’ standing near the window.

  Elowen shrieks, and the illusion around her shimmers away. Asher scrambles to pull on his pants, his face going red to the tips of his ears.

  Dirk grins at Elowen. “You know, if you wanted to watch, you could have just asked—or joined. Asher knows I like all sex organs equally.”

  Elowen pales, and I wince at his wording, as if he’s describing organ meats he’s got on the menu or something. He might be fooling Asher, but I’m not convinced. I don’t know if he’s ever going to use the code words now, and I’m content to stay here and see if he gives away any more information. Hopefully Elowen will ask about Topher, even if Asher’s forgotten him.

  “What about you?” Dirk asks Elowen. “I hear you’re pretty adventurous yourself.”

  “W-what?” she stutters.

  “Well, you’re no stranger to demon dick,” Dirk says. “Surely you weren’t just here to gawk. Unless watching is your thing…”

  “No,” she says quickly. “I…I… I didn’t look! I closed my eyes the whole time, I swear.”

  Dirk chuckles. “You know, I’m glad you found out,” he says to Asher. “Now I don’t have to hide it from you anymore. It’ll make everything so much better—and not just the fucking.”

  “I should go,” Elowen says, biting her lip and edging toward the door.

  “Not so fast,” Dirk purrs, reaching out to take her wrist in his hand. He pulls her down on the edge of the bed with him and Asher. “We’re all in this together now. All three of us. Wouldn’t you like that, Elowen? I’ve seen how you look at Asher. I know he’s not just a friend—not to you, anyway.”

  “What?” Elowen squeaks, going even redder than Asher. Dirk may be a demon, but he’s not stupid. I’ve noticed the same thing about Elowen. She may know Asher’s incapable of loving her the way she loves him, but I know she still carries a flame for him somewhere hidden away inside her heart.

  “I have great power, Elowen,” Dirk says. “I may look ordinary, but you two know better. I’m the strongest man on this campus.” He flashes a grin at Asher. “Even stronger than that buff sorcerer you like to drool over when you think I’m not looking.”

  “I’m just looking,” Asher protests.

  “I know,” Dirk says, squeezing Asher’s knee. “I’m giving you a hard time. I know I keep you more than satisfied. But think about it. Me and you, together. Not just in here, but out there. Out in the open, like it was on Halloween. We can have that all the time. Coffee dates. Holding hands in public. Being official.”

  Asher nods, looking dreamy. “What about Bella?”

  Dirk frowns. “Yeah, we’ll have to get rid of Bella, but we can do that easily enough with the three of our powers combined. You’ll be a powerful wizard one day, Asher, but even now you’re strong enough. And with a necromancer on our side, we can do even more. We can combine light and dark magic, use them together, working toward one goal.”

  “I’ve always wanted to use my dark magic for good,” Elowen admits.

  “And you have so much potential,” Dirk says, laying his free hand on her knee. “Have you risen the dead yet?”

  “N-no,” she says. “I’ve assembled a fairy from parts, but Jade brought her to life.”

  “But you could do that,” Dirk says. “You can give life, too, Elowen. Wouldn’t you like that?”

  She nods and pulls Fionola out of her pocket, and the little fairy flaps her wings grumpily. “See? This is Fionola.”

  “Just think,” Dirk says. “The three of us, the unstoppable power trio of the Academy. No one will know why you’re growing so strong, but we’ll know. It’ll be our little secret.”

  He takes the little fairy and stares at it a second, then closes his hand, crushing the delicate creature. I hear a tiny squeak, and the crunching of bones. Elowen gasps, her mouth opening and closing like a fish, looking like she’s about to burst into tears. This time, I’m the one who strains forward, but Ryker grips my shoulder. I feel a buzz on my hip and reach for Cleo. She’s ready to taste some demon flesh.

  “Don’t be sad,” Dirk says, depositing the bone shards into Elowen’s palms. “You can practice on this, see? Her death won’t be in vain. She’s something you really care about. Something you want back very much. That’s the key to your first resurrection. Passion.” His slithery gaze rakes over my friend, but she doesn’t even n
otice.

  “Do you think I could… Bring Topher back?” she whispers.

  Dirk freezes for just a second before a smile spreads over his face. “Of course,” he says. “Summoning a demon’s a little different than raising the dead, but I can teach you that. With your magic, you’re more than capable of it.”

  Oh, hell no. I’m so not on board for my friends raising an army of demons for this creep.

  I throw open the closet door, Cleo clutched in my hand. “Get your fucking hands off my friends, asshole.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Dirk leaps from the bed, his eyes wide and nostrils flaring. Elowen gives a little shriek of surprise, which is a nice touch even if she didn’t plan it. Asher scrambles up, a look of panic crossing his face like he’s not sure what to do.

  I know what to do. I lash out at Dirk with the whip, and a satisfying crack tells me I hit my mark. Power surges inside me like a tsunami from the charge Ryker gave me and from my ability to keep it inside. Dirk’s eyes darken, and the faint scent of brimstone fills the room as Cleo’s barbs cut into him and blood begins to ooze from his body. I yank forward with my surging new strength, sending Dirk flying across the room and crashing into the wall. Damn. Apparently, holding in about ten orgasms makes me freakishly strong.

  Ryker leaps across the room and drops out of the sky like an owl towards a mouse, his blade pointed downward and directly over Dirk’s head. The freshmen lets out a snarl, body twisting in grotesque, inhuman ways to avoid the blade. The door to the hall bursts open as our other friends realize the fight is on. Rocco, Darius, and Thorn enter, weapons in hand. Ryker yanks his blade from the floor where the end lodged, but he doesn’t have time to lift it for another swing before Dirk punches him, sending his body smashing through the closet door in a splintering crash.

  I dive in, lifting Cleo and sinking her blade deep into Dirk’s chest. The power inside me is swirling higher and higher, and I know I’ve landed the killing blow.

  Instead of slowly fading away, Dirk’s body arches up as if electrified, pushing deeper onto the blade. His eyes roll back in his head until all I can see is white, which is quickly overtaken by pitch black. A long, black tongue whips from his mouth, lashing at the air.

  “Demon shield!” Darius shouts, spreading his arms wide. “Demon shield!”

  A shimmering curtain of magic shoots from his hands and over the room, all the way into the closet where Ryker is dragging himself up and picking jagged slats of the closet door from his body.

  A squelching, ripping sound fills the air, and Dirk’s body falls in a crumpled heap on the floor, letting my sword slide free. But in his place stands a being much more terrifying, emerging from his shredded body like a demonic butterfly emerging from a cocoon. It stands tall, at least eight feet, with brick-red skin and two leathery wings spreading wide from its back. Twisted black horns protrude from its head, and its eyes burn with the red glow of hellfire.

  Ho. Ly. Fuck. That is what a demon looks like without a human body?

  “This being is extremely powerful to be able to manifest its true form in our world,” Darius says, his voice an urgent rush.

  “You really shouldn’t have done that,” the demon hisses before a smile slithers across his face. “Now I’m going to have to find a new human form to inhabit. Any volunteers?”

  “You killed Topher, didn’t you?” I demand.

  “With pleasure,” the demon says, his grin terrifyingly wide. His long, black tongue lashes his lips as if remembering the slaughter makes his mouth water.

  “Why?” Elowen gasps.

  “He figured out who I was,” the demon growls. “I couldn’t have that. He made such a tasty snack, though. How could I regret it?”

  Before he can say more, Elowen leaps forward, throwing a ball of magic at the demon. He catches it in his gaping jaws, swallowing it before letting out a spine-chilling laugh. Rocco blasts out of the corner, attacking with his own weapon, diverting the demon’s attention from her. Ryker darts in from the other side, swiping in tandem with Rocco. The two brothers attack in perfect sync, one stepping forward as the other pulls back, an endless barrage of attacks that would be a marvel to see if we had time to stand back and watch.

  The demon throws out both clawed hands and hurls the brothers away, and I duck just in time to avoid Rocco’s body as it flies past. He and Ryker hit the wall hard on opposite sides of the room, both covered in scrapes and cuts from the brief seconds they’ve been fighting.

  Nobody treats my men that way.

  With a growl, I dive in, Cleo slashing for the demon’s heart again. This time, he’s ready, snarling and slashing. I’m locked in a blur of claws and metal, Cleo and I managing to catch his razor-sharp nails before they’re dug into my skull. He manages only to nick my arms with his claws before I thrust at his neck. He darts his head aside, and Cleo slices open his cheek. Black blood oozes from the wound.

  “Jade, duck!” Darius’ voice drops me to the ground as a blast of white-hot energy crashes into the demon’s body. Thorn grabs me and pulls me from underneath the small fire raging across the demon’s body. The demon growls, his wings snapping forward to smother the flames even while his eyes burn with their own insidious heat. I watch in horror as the flames seem to be sucked into his skin, absorbed like water into the thirsty earth.

  “Think you can fight fire with fire, Headmaster?” the demon snarls. His voice has changed dramatically from Dirk’s. It’s like someone put rocks in a blender and left it to run overnight, with a sharp, wheezing laugh that sends shivers down my spine. “I expected a little more from such a revered member of magical society.”

  As hot as the room is getting, Darius’ voice still clings to me like ice. “Speak your name, creature of the underworld. Why have you broken the treaties of Man and Monster?”

  The demon lets a peal of spine-tingling laughter, snapping his wings and blowing smoke in our faces. “You’re no demon master,” he grinds out. “I have no master but Mistress Lilith and Master Lucifer himself.”

  I don’t know much about hellish hierarchies, but I’m guessing that’s about the highest level demon there is.

  “You’re here because Lilith is too lazy to do her own dirty work?” I ask. “I’m guessing if you work for her, you’re here for me. Well, here I am. Come and get me, lizard dick.”

  Pillars of black fire shoot out from the palm of his hand, threatening to burn everyone in the room. I jump in front of my men, a myriad of ethereal plants bursting from the ground to take the hit of smoke. I let out a pained gasp as the tongues of flame dig into my shoulder like a clawed hand. They yank me forward, pulling me through the plants and away from safety, into the fires of hell itself. He grips me to him, his skin singeing my hands when I crash into him.

  “It is time to go home to our master.” His black tongue snakes around my ear as he whispers into it. “No one can save you from your fate. The Spirit World waits for its Priestess.”

  Hell to the no. I summon all my strength and tear myself free of his grip. There’s a rumbling underneath our feet as the wooden floor breaks and snaps apart, sending splintering shards every which way. Instead of the mouth to hell opening, a metric ton of squirming, thorny vines bursts through, pinning the demon against the wall as an arm grabs me around my waist and pulls me back to my allies.

  Thorn raises both hands, using his magic to control the thorny brambles, which move us backward and to hold off the demon at the same time.

  Not for long. A fireball hurls from the demon’s hand.

  Darius throws up a shimmering shield, straining as the ball of flame explodes around us. “We have dark magic,” he says quickly. “We can only defend ourselves. If we attack, he will absorb it and become stronger, taking it from us at the same time at best. At worst, he’ll turn us to his side.”

  “How long can we hold him off?” Thorn asks, twisting the vines to block an attack from the demon.

  “Jade and Asher, you have light magic,” Darius sa
ys. “You’re the only ones who can attack him.”

  Rocco and Ryker are quick to lend a hand, drawing up their own power to strengthen the shield as the demon opens his mouth and spews fire like a freaking dragon. The plant life I summoned goes up in a tower of fire, blown to smithereens by one breath.

  How am I supposed to fight this guy again?

  “We’ll cover you,” Darius says to me. “You and Asher need to work together, and we’ll make sure you’re able to do that. Ready? Move!”

  As one, we dip out of the shield, weapons at the ready. The demon bursts through the charred pile of brambles.

  “You had your chance, asshole,” I shout, tasting smoke and magic intermingling in the air. “Now go back to hell where you belong.”

  I lift Cleo, her barbed whip slicing across his body. The demon lets out an inhuman shriek, his body covered in bleeding pinpricks. “I will not run. My Mistress’s will be done!”

  He blasts us with fire again, but this time, I hold up my hands, and the fire smashes into an invisible wall. Only when it meets fire does my magic appear as a shimmering, iridescent wall of gentle blue. The fire shoots off it in all directions until the walls burst into flame.

  “Hit it with your magic,” Darius orders.

  I begin to hurl magic at it, and each time I get a hit, it sizzles off the demon’s skin like grease on a hot skillet. It shrieks with each hit, but it keeps coming, slashing at us with claws and wings.

  Ryker and Rocco lunge forward to take the blows, trying to get back into their in-and-out rhythm once again. It works for mere seconds before the demon catches on, grabbing Ryker’s sword by the blade and using the momentum to throw him into Rocco. The Steele brothers crash to the ground, Rocco scrambling to cover his brother as the monster lunges through the air, claws outstretched and aiming for his eyes.

  Thorn dives under it, twisting onto his back and swinging his blade with both hands. He slices into the demon’s torso, but it manages to throw him and the Steele brothers across the room and spin back to me. Asher and I work in tandem, his nun-chucks spinning and my blade flashing. Soon the walls have been reduced to a pile of rubble while the roof barely hangs on by a nail, but the demon still stands.