by Jessica Gunn
“They’re not,” Kian said. “Fresh requirems.”
“I was asking about you.” The guard grunted.
Shit. How were they supposed to know about bringing weapons or not? It seemed like suicide to walk in without them—and magik, for what it was worth.
I looked up long enough to watch Brian glare at the guard.
“Look,” Brian said. “Yeah, we’re humans. But we’re close to the Trade. If they get to walk in with weapons, so do we. Except we don’t intend to use them.”
The guard regarded him with an arched eyebrow, then coughed a laugh. “You human types are always so uptight.” He nodded to his partner. “Open it up.”
The demon did so, turning to lift a hand to a crank on the wall. Like some sort of medieval torture chamber, the demon grabbed the hand-crank with both hands and turned it. A squealing sounded as the door creaked open, groaning against its own weight—or, possibly, underuse.
You human types are always so uptight.
Shit. Just another way we’d given ourselves away: demons didn’t need to—or probably ever did—come here on foot. They used teleportante to bring them to the center of the city.
Head down. Stay ready.
The door shuddered to a stop and both demons stepped aside to let us pass.
“You’re permitted to stay only long enough to trade,” the guard at the door said. “Any longer than that, and the city guard will find and remove you, your future access to the city revoked—I don’t care how many Ember witches you find.” His gaze narrowed in on Will in a way that had me ready to punch his lights out, Landshaft be damned.
“Understood,” Brian said.
As Brian went to step through the doorway and officially into the city’s territory, the guard held out his hand, stopping him.
“Not so fast,” he said, shaking his head as if we were the most annoying part of his week. The guard lifted his hand and a bright yellow fire appeared. Not ether, but actual colored flames.
Shit. Definitely an Old One. Only they had magik like that, powerful enough to transform over time. I’d only heard of a few examples, because only handfuls of demons ever lived long enough to become Old Ones.
The other guard grabbed Brian’s shoulders and held him in place as the first demon brought his flame-covered hand closer to Brian’s face. His partner forced his head down, barring Brian’s neck.
I wanted to shout, to call out for them to stop, but bit my tongue until a coppery taste filled my mouth. This was Brian’s plan. He’d supposedly calculated this all out. Whatever happened from here on out was on him.
But instead of burning Brian’s skin, the yellow flame in the demon’s hand became a brand, taking the shape of an old-fashioned scale like the Libra astrological sign. The demon pressed it into the back of Brian’s neck, where it took on a purple color, shimmering in his skin like water filled with glitter and paint.
The demon backed away and his partner let go of Brian. “This is good for twelve hours. See to it that you’re long gone from Landshaft before it runs out.”
Brian lifted a hand to rub at the brand but stopped himself halfway. “Will do.”
Locator magik. It must be. But I’d never seen it done in a brand like that before—only vague marks and dark magik manifesting itself in a human by turning their veins black.
Brian walked on through, pulling Will and me along with him. Kian followed, but his footsteps stopped at the gate. I also paused, turning to watch as Kian barred his own neck, his jaw locked so tight, I swore it might shatter completely. I didn’t need to be a mind reader to understand his thoughts. His pinched face, heaving chest, and the redness seeping up and over his ears to his cheeks were enough to know how frustrated and angry he was at being branded by Talon for a second time—even if it was temporary.
Kian hissed as the mark burned him, then followed us through the front gate and into the demon city of Landshaft.
It was hard to know if we were the first Hunters who had made it inside the city—unlikely, given the length of time it had been around. But hopefully we’d be the first to all make it back alive.
Or at all.
Chapter 24
The weight of the city was what I noticed first. Like the outer wall protecting the city’s outskirts held in the enormous heft of demonic auras. Even with Hydron’s aura sickness pills, the dark magik pulled on my body, slowing my movements and causing a black shadow to creep in along my consciousness.
Sadness and defeat knocked on my mind’s door, begging to be let in, the emotions derivative of the pain and loss building inside these walls. The captured Hunters and imprisoned witches of Landshaft. It was as if their pleas had jumped from their souls to mine.
Then there was the other feeling coursing around us, unseen on the air but felt in the wind that blew my hair around my face, caressing my arms, and entering my lungs as I inhaled, my breath quickening with every muddy step into the city’s center.
Power. Raw, unfiltered dark power. Demon magik so concentrated here that you could feel it with every millimeter of your skin.
I shuddered. Despite the buildings looking as though they hailed from medieval Europe itself, lights dotted the streets in the form of lampposts made from twisting, dark-colored metal. Cobblestone lined the walkways and streets alike, although the main roads were only one car-width wide—though I didn’t see a single vehicle anywhere. In a “city” this small, I guessed there wasn’t really a need for them. A wood fire, or several of them, burned nearby, though no smoke rose from any of the brick and wood buildings.
For a city of demons, one I’d always associated with the dark dealings of Talon, the drug trade, and magik-user trafficking, Landshaft looked fairly… normal. You know, for a place with medieval Europe décor. That aside, Landshaft could easily be a section of any major city, citizens and all.
If the citizens of other major cities had burgundy eyes and magik, that is.
Several groups of demons passed us as Brian led the way down a main thoroughfare. I tried not to make eye contact with any of them. Shops lined the cobblestone path, with wares of every type from weapons to armor, magik items to food. Bars had been dotted in between the shops, with at least one inn at the close end of the upcoming intersection.
Despite the fact that Brian and Kian were obviously human, none of the demons stopped us. The purple brands on the backs of their necks shone for all the world to see, a marker of a guest in a demon’s den. No doubt these demons would wait until we’d overstayed our welcome, then they’d attack.
Brian led us to the intersection before any of us spoke a word. “Talon’s Drum is just around the corner.”
For a moment, Kian paused beside me. He let his hand brush against mine. I locked eyes with him and nodded.
I’m fine. Keep going.
So we did. We turned left at the intersection and walked out onto another cobblestone road set between buildings that rose several stories into the nighttime sky. Above them—above all of the city, it seemed—a dome glimmered with the faintest hint of ether-based magik. Sort of like the wall surrounding Hunter’s Guild, but bigger.
We were trapped in here, inside the city. I was fairly sure we could teleportante out at any time, but I’d never personally tried to teleportante while under a requirem. I supposed we’d be risking testing that if Will and I got separated.
Claustrophobia kicked in as we made our way toward a bar at the end of the street. Squatting between two much taller structures that looked almost like office buildings—you know, if demons had corporate offices—was Talon’s Drum. The pub was one story tall and maybe a hundred feet in width. Lanterns hung on the outside beneath an awning, lighting a patio area made from dark wood. Firelight from the inside danced in the windows, illuminating a demon guard at the door—another in red and violet leather armor—and tables and a full house of patrons inside.
I wondered if Talon’s soldiers had always acted as the guards around here, or if that had been a byproduct of Jerrick
taking over for Lady Azar.
We kicked up dirt along the cobblestone road, trailing closer to the entrance, above which hung a sign bearing a set of scales. The center stem of it was made from a cobra standing on end, and each scale was holding a pint of beer.
Classy.
“Here we go,” Brian announced to no one in particular as he climbed the four steps up onto the patio and made his way to the guard out front. Will and I followed behind him, still chained together by a length of links that wouldn’t allow us to get far if we ran.
Surprisingly, the guard paid us no mind beyond looking at Brian and Kian’s necks. Upon seeing the glowing purple brand, he lifted an eyebrow and inclined his head toward the front door to Talon’s Drum. Brian nodded back at him, an acknowledgement, then continued on inside.
Will was still in front of me, and Kian behind. He climbed the patio stairs and got right behind me as we filed through the one-person-wide doorway.
“Watch yourself,” he whispered in my ear. He clamped a hand down on my shoulder, his fingers digging into my skin. To onlookers, he was being possessive of his bounty. But I knew better. Only I could feel the shaking in his fingers.
I nodded imperceptibly.
The moment we crossed the doorway, sound and scents bombarded me, as if there had been an actual magik barrier soundproofing Talon’s Drum. Cheers and the sounds of pint glasses clinking together filled the dimly-lit room. All around us, deals were being made. Demons and, yes, even some humans sat around raised wooden bar tables scattered around the space, their magik-user bounties chained close by. The bounties’ empty eyes were downcast, watching the dark stone floor of Talon’s Drum.
A great fire roared to the side of the pub, lit inside a giant brick fireplace and added to by fire-elemental demons idly flicking grape-sized fireballs into the flames from their fingertips. A bar lined the opposite side, with three demonic bartenders and bottles of liquor both familiar and new. The smell of meat cooking permeated from an unseen kitchen, the mix of it and the view making me think of some weird southern barbecue restaurant, but with a demonic bent.
At tables without magik-users in the process of being traded were instead baskets of vials or piles of tablets. The drug trade, Talon’s specialty. With a shiver that coursed through every part of me, I recognized a few vials of Veynix’s infamous mutated platypus venom. I swallowed thickly. Was that a new batch from Mason, or remnants of a demonic legend left behind?
A muscular shoulder knocked into mine, sending me off balance. I teetered, slipping sideways and pulling Will along with me.
Kian caught my side and righted me. “What the fuck?”
I looked in the direction of the near-attack. A demon decked out in a black leather ensemble that made him look like he’d raided a biker clothing store before coming here sneered at me. He rubbed the bottom of his nose with an outstretched finger, pint glass still in hand.
“Tell your cattle to keep their eyes on the ground,” he spat.
“Cattle?” The word was out faster than I could stop it.
The demon lifted a hand and slapped me across the face with the back of it. Hot pain flushed across my cheekbone. I’d be lucky if it didn’t bruise. Demons were much stronger than the average human.
“That’s enough,” Brian said. “She’s mine.”
I bit my tongue to keep from arguing. As soon as we’d walked through the gate, we’d entered the demons’ world—bullshit and all.
The demon scoffed. “Then keep her under control. Humans shouldn’t even be allowed to trade here.” He began walking away. Under his breath, he said, “Ember witches or not.”
Exactly how many Ember witches were being traded in Talon’s Drum these days? I glanced at Brian, hoping he had the same question in mind to ask or listen for an answer to, but instead found him glaring. I shot one back, quick and pointed, before looking at the ground.
Fine. We’ll play by these fucked-up rules.
Brian led Kian and their “cattle” to a table, knocking the center of the chain that linked Will and me to a nearby post. How convenient.
“I hate this place,” Kian muttered, half-covering his mouth with his hand by resting his chin on the other.
“Me too,” Brian said.
“Now what?”
Brian’s expression faltered. “I assume someone will approach or—”
“You don’t know.” Kian bit out his words, angry and frustrated.
“Not entirely,” Brian said, leveling him with a look. “No one outside of this city does.”
Kian’s shoulders rose as he pulled in a deep breath. The glowing brand on his shoulder shone bright in this darkened space. Brian’s did too. Like beacons proclaiming their rookie trader statuses for all to see. The brands would almost be as bright as Will’s Ember witch aura would be to anyone able to see it.
It took a colossal amount of effort to not break my staring contest with the ground and case the inside of Talon’s Drum again. This sort of waiting never sat well with me, knowing Will and I were just fodder for someone else’s pleasure or master plan. If we got separated, Will would likely be handed off to Mason or his lackeys for use in the anti-Neuian program. And me… well, I guess that depended on if anyone in here recognized me.
We spent at least two hours like this, sitting in a tensed silence waiting for something—anything—to happen. Kian and Brian had ordered drinks at some point to kill time. The waitress had laughed when Brian handed her United States dollars.
“Boy, you two sure are fresh in the city, aren’t you?” she asked, her bright red eyes laughing at them.
“Something like that.” Brian gave her a sheepish smile some might have misconstrued as flirting. But I’d known Brian long enough, had fought demons alongside him long enough, to see through the act. This was his most favorite demon-attracting method. Get them to follow you out of a bar, thinking they have you to snack on and kill, then the rest of your team ambushed them.
Okay. Maybe it was one of my favorite cons too. Too bad it wasn’t likely to work here.
Some amount of time later, Kian let his metal pint glass hit the wooden table a little too hard to be an accident. “Okay. This isn’t working.”
“Time,” was all Brian said.
Kian’s eyes narrowed. “He’s probably too busy to be scrounging around here for more witches to turn, Brian. We need a new plan.”
“Quiet,” Brian hissed. Several demons at the next table over glanced our way. “Are you trying to get us killed?”
Kian plastered on a solidly fake smile, even managing to work a little irritated hate into his eyes for one hell of an expression. “No more than you.”
I watched as one of the demons turned to his friend and whispered something. Then they both got up, their hands inching toward the daggers holstered at their waists. Despite every instinct telling me to call them out or move to block their impending attack, I dropped my gaze to the ground to keep in line with the captive act.
“Head’s up,” I said, just loud enough for Kian to hear.
“Think you might have gotten lost,” one of the demons said. His boots appeared in my vision. The heat from his body crept over mine.
If this was the guy who bought me instead of Mason picking up the bait, I was going to throw Brian into the next eternity.
“Just waiting on someone, friend,” Brian said without missing a beat.
“Anything we can help you with?” asked the demon.
Brian shifted in his seat, presumably turning toward them. “Not unless you’re willing to pay more than my buyer for the Ember witch.”
A second set of boots appeared on the edges of my vision, farther away but still too close all the same. “We actually had another offer in mind. The girl, what does she do?” His voice was way deeper, like the bass of an acapella group.
“She’s an earth-elemental,” Brian said. “Are you in the market for those? She’s not very powerful. I was hoping for a direct trade into Autumn Fire stock.”
> Excuse me?
“I don’t know, Kane,” one of the demons said to the other. “She looks sort of familiar.”
Kane, the deep voice demon guy, reached out and lifted my chin with the tip of his finger. I wanted to resist but couldn’t have even if I’d tried. Just his finger was strong enough to force me. “I know what you mean.”
I locked eyes with the demon but couldn’t curb the fierce glare I shot his way. The last demon to touch me like this had been—
“Veynix’s pet,” Kane said, his eyes widening. He let go of me, but it was more of a push of shock and disgust. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Kane’s friend took a step away from us and glanced around. Relief washed over his features when he realized no one was watching us anymore now that we’d appeared to enter a negotiation of sorts. “I don’t want to know how you came across this one, but you won’t be selling her here. Not to us.”
“Or anyone in Talon’s Drum,” Kane said. His wide, red eyes roamed over me as though he were doing so with a microscope. “Heard you finally offed the bastard.”
I kept my mouth shut. I had no plans to be backhanded again by a demon while in chains.
“So the story goes,” Brian said for me.
Kian had been quiet this entire time—somehow. If I believed in higher powers, I’d have thanked them for making it so.
“Speak,” Kane said to me.
Lifting my chin, I said, “For what he did, Veynix had it coming.”
“Yet you still ended up in Landshaft anyway,” he said, not surprised in the least. “All humans will in the end.”
“Not fucking likely.”
Anger flashed across the demon’s eyes. He grabbed hold of the chain linking me to Will and ripped it from the post. “I’ll take you direct to Talon, then. I’m sure Whitmore would appreciate the delivery.”
This time, Kian did turn around. He had a fire in his eyes that seemed almost as real as when he’d been poisoned beneath Midnight three months ago. Though his expression was hard and determined, his leg was bouncing. He was nervous. Scared.
