“I—I—”
“GO! Get out of here and save yourselves!”
She heard the slap of feet and the clatter of debris as Richard ran to do as commanded—she hoped.
“You know, this is rather foolhardy, even for you,” a meowing voice observed by her feet.
She didn’t dare look down, but tears sprang to her eyes at the sound of her faithful companion. “You should go, Kip. There’s no sense in you dying too. Tell Sebastian”—she choked, but forced the words out, barely holding onto her concentration—“tell Sebastian I love him.”
“I’m a cat, not a messenger boy. Tell him yourself. Sheesh.”
“But—”
A gray blur flashed past her, its fur shining with a silver glow and its white-tipped tail whipping back and forth as it dashed toward the giant demon drawing back its arm for another swing.
“KIP! NO!” Lily screamed, spell forgotten. She stumbled forward, reaching futilely for her closest friend in the world, but her boot caught on a splintered board lying in the aisle and she fell heavily to her hands and knees, palms stinging from the impact. By the time she looked up, it was too late. The gray form had leaped at the greater demon, sinking silver fangs into a massive scaled fist as it swung toward the doorframe.
Lily’s brain stuttered to a halt. Wait a minute. Silver fangs? Sir Kipling’s teeth were bone white, not purest silver that shone brightly like the moon on a clear winter’s night. She had only ever met one creature that glowed in such a manner: the fae fox Yuki, messenger to queen Thiriel.
The demon’s howl of pain interrupted the confused scramble in her brain, and she watched as the creature whipped its fist back and forth and flung its attacker off, sending the poor thing crashing into a shelving unit. But the silver fox hopped back up on its feet and shook out its coat as if nothing at all had happened.
Nice to see you again, o’ radiant one. You’d best stay back for this, I think the big one is a tad vexed.
“Yuki!” Lily exclaimed, even as the fox raced back toward the doorway, dodging the demon’s swing then leaping up on its fist and using its massive, gorilla-like arm as a ladder. The fox bounded atop the demon’s back and sank his teeth into the base of its scaly neck, just behind its massive horns.
The demon’s roar of agony reverberated through the room, intermingling with a rising cry of many voices, beautiful and terrible, singing out in deadly unison.
“Tor melihi! Ah’juum ah’juum!”
Blurs of color flashed past Lily’s vision as she knelt on the floor, frozen in shock. Gold, silver, green, purple, blue, pink, red—a cloud of tiny, shining lights that swarmed into the corridor accompanied by a rolling, undulating chorus of ear-splitting squeaks. Then larger forms began flowing around her, jumping over her in a rush. Over a dozen lithe fae, clothed in shining silver armor and glowing brightly with green magic, charged the greater demon. The first three to arrive lashed out with silver swords, one in each hand. The blades scored deep wounds in the monster’s trunk-like legs while the green magic they left behind boiled and burnt the demon’s black blood. The creature screamed and fell to its knees, where a fourth fae warrior deftly slit its throat in one sweeping stroke as he leapt over his quarry.
With a boom that shook the whole room, the demon crashed to the floor, black ooze pouring and bubbling from its neck. Even as the fae warriors leapt over or around it, the body began to shrivel and dissolve, sending up foul clouds of black smoke that quickly dissipated, yet left the potent stench of rotting eggs in Lily’s nostrils.
“Lily! What are you doing? Get out of here!” a familiar voice called out from behind her, and she felt a strong hand grab her upper arm, hauling her to her feet.
“S-Sebastian?” Lily gaped.
“There’s no time. Get back to the portal, you’ve done your part. Go!” He pushed her toward the back of the room, and she got a brief glimpse of his face, grim and hard and full of purpose. A warrior’s face. A face she’d never thought she’d see again.
“B-but I needed to tell you…” Lily floundered, scraped and bloody fingers curling convulsively around his hand and holding on in a death grip as he attempted to pull away. He turned back, gaze finding hers and softening a fraction, eyes questioning. Though her tired mind balked, she forced her lips to open and form the words she’d almost lost the chance to say. “I needed to tell you—before I died…I wanted you to know…I love you,” she finished in a whisper.
Shock spread across his face, and a light rekindled in his eyes, the light of joy and mischief that was the old Sebastian she’d been missing. He opened his mouth to speak, but the undulating howls of the fae warriors and the scream of demons cut him off. He hesitated for a breathless moment, clearly torn. Then, with a strangled cry, he jerked her toward him, crashing their bodies together as he took her lips in a fierce, desperate kiss.
Time froze. For the briefest moment, the world around them vanished and all she could feel was the crushing fire of Sebastian’s kiss. Its heat shot through her like a lightning bolt, setting every nerve on fire with piercing joy.
Then it was over and he sprang away, dashing off to join the battle.
Lily stood, lips throbbing and senses overwhelmed, watching as he followed the charging fae, ebony staff in hand, the gem at its crown glowing with a piercing green light so bright it hurt to look at. He paused at the doorway and looked back one last time. It was too far away to tell for sure, but she thought he looked sorrowful. Or maybe that tilt of his brow was simply worry about the coming battle. Either way, he quickly turned and leapt over the black, steaming puddle that was all that remained of the greater demon, and thrust his staff at the nearest group of imps. They shrieked as the gem’s magic pulsed, vaporizing them where they stood.
Strong arms surrounded her, catching her as she swayed and scooping her up in a protective hold.
“Come on, Miss Singer, let’s get you somewhere safe.”
Her head spun as her body finally gave itself permission to collapse, strength spent. The man—it had to be Richard, because she smelled the familiar scent of sandalwood beneath the sulfuric stench that filled the room—turned and headed away from the fighting, navigating around overturned boxes and broken crates. Lily idly watched over his shoulder, mind in a daze, as the cloud of pixies, the fae warriors, Yuki, Sir Kipling, and Sebastian fought and dodged, clawed and cut. The throng of demons in the corridor outnumbered them at least seven to one, yet with the greater demon’s fall, they began to scatter like frightened sheep. Some larger ones stood their ground, snarling and attacking. But most tried desperately to flee down the corridor and escape the righteous fury of the fae with their shining green magic that scythed through demon bodies like they were stalks of wheat. Sir Kipling, despite his vocal dislike of the magical fox, seemed to be working in tandem with the canine. They leapt and bit, sometimes tag-teaming, sometimes attacking in unison, their coordinated front keeping the fleeing demons from escaping into the storage room.
Of course, all did not go in favor of the fae. Some demons were heedless of danger, charging with fanged mouths open wide in hunger. Lily saw pixies swatted out of the air or caught in scaled fists and stuffed into dripping maws full of teeth. One fae warrior’s chest was pierced clean through by the massive claws of a demon that looked vaguely like a scorpion. Crystalline liquid, shining iridescent with green magic, leaked from the wound as his head slumped forward and his swords clattered to the ground. Another warrior’s arm was mauled by a pack of squat demons driven to a mindless frenzy after the first of their number was slaughtered. Yet most of the fae remained unscathed as they danced in a whirlwind of silver death, too quick for the demons to injure. Soon, the only creatures who had stayed to fight had been cut down and were either dissolving into black puddles or had already crumbled to dust.
The last thing Lily saw was Sebastian, one arm slashed and bloody, yelling orders as the remaining fae took off after the fleeing demons. Then her head lolled back on Richard’s shoulder and the d
arkness at the edge of her vision closed around her, sending her away somewhere the pain and fear couldn’t follow.
When she came to, she was confused to feel the chill bite of winter air on her cheek. A pair of strong arms still carried her, and she struggled to raise her head and peer at her surroundings. When she tried, however, the arms tightened around her, and a voice hushed her.
“Just relax. You’re safe.”
“W-wherewegoin,” she mumbled, still trying to see. They were definitely outside, moving past dark shapes that looked like bare bushes dimly outlined in the glow of distant streetlights. A high brick wall encircled their immediate surroundings, and it seemed like they were headed for a wrought iron gate, one half slightly ajar.
“Wheres m-madambarringt’n,” she tried again, mind attempting to untangle the last thing that had happened. She remembered her mentor was hurt and weak. She needed to go back and help. And Roger, he was around somewhere. He had stolen something, something powerful. They needed to find him and get it back.
“Ms. Barrington is fine. Now stop struggling. I promise, I’m taking you somewhere safe.”
“Nuh, gottagoback,” Lily insisted, trying to extricate herself from the man’s hold so she could stand on her own two feet.
His grip only tightened further as he turned sideways to slip through the gap in the gate. Lily reached out with her right hand and grabbed a piece of the decorative iron in an attempt to halt their progress, wanting to return to the museum even as her groggy brain tried to remember why she had left.
“Let go, Lily.” With a jerk, the person carrying her broke her hold and pulled her away. She flailed, reaching for the gate once again, and a curling leaf of iron caught under her silver charm bracelet. A harder tug pulled her away completely, and the bracelet snapped, falling to the ground with a tinkle of metal.
“Nooo,” Lily moaned, struggling harder, though her limbs felt heavy and weak.
“Darn it, Lily, will you just—” The voice broke off with a heated swear as her flailing arms hit something soft and fleshy in the darkness. “That was my nose! Don’t make me do this, Lily, I’m warning you.”
She barely even heard him, her brain too focused on trying to find ground to put her feet on, despite how dizzy she felt. Where was Sebastian? Where was Sir Kipling? She needed to get back to them. But suddenly there was a pressure on either side of her neck, and her dizziness got worse. Blood pounded in her head and black spots obscured her vision.
“W-what’re you doing?” she gasped, panic spiking through her as she pulled desperately at the muscular arm around her neck.
“I’m sorry, Lily. So very sorry. But I have no choice. You’ll be safe. They promised me you’d be safe…”
His voice faded as the darkness grew and once again swallowed her whole. She passed out, and knew no more.
Epilogue
Sebastian was exhausted, blood-splattered, and sick to his stomach on the sulfuric stench of demon. His not-yet-healed ribs ached, though a touch of fae magic from Thiriel had enabled him to ignore his injuries during the battle. Every cell in his body cried out for rest, but he ignored the feeling.
Their work was not yet done.
The demons had been routed, but there had been too many of them to kill, and not enough warriors to properly corral the stragglers. The foul creatures had scattered, many escaping into the labyrinthine corridors of the sub floors, no doubt making their way up into the museum above and out into the wide world. Initially, he and the fae warriors had gone after the demons, but their pursuit had become so split up and disorganized that Sebastian had called them all back to regroup. They needed a coordinated plan, and more fae. Even now there could be demons ambushing innocent bystanders on the street, or breaking into houses and attacking children as they lay peacefully in their beds. Nobody could rest yet, not until every demon had been tracked down and destroyed.
The fae hadn’t even been able to close the rift on their own. Words of great power had been painted in blood on the walls and floor, names of specific demons and complicated invocations of demonic magic, sealed with one very special name. His name.
Afnergu’alak.
It was a name Sebastian had not heard for over a decade, and never wanted to hear or see again. It seemed to follow him, somehow, and he only wanted to be rid of it. The fae warriors had summoned their queen to dispatch the circle and close the rift. Only Thiriel’s magic was strong enough, her authority higher than that of the demon prince whose name had been invoked to keep it open. Sebastian had avoided her while she cleansed the corridor, heading back into the storage room and toward the portal to check on the others. But halfway to the far wall, he was met by a sooty, dirty, and anxiously meowing Sir Kipling.
“Hey Kip,” Sebastian greeted him, tone heavy with weariness. “You come through okay?” The cat looked to be unharmed, but something was off. He didn’t do his usual affectionate rub on Sebastian’s ankle, fluffy tail held high. Instead, he rose on his hind legs, bracing his paws on Sebastian’s thigh and gazing up into his face with wide yellow eyes. He kept meowing, clearly and distinctly, as if trying to get this “stupid human” to understand something important.
“What is it, Kip? What’s the matter? Are you hurt?” Sebastian crouched down, running his hands along Sir Kipling’s body, but found no blood or injury. He rocked back on his heels, stumped.
The pussy cat is saying that his mistress is missing. Yuki, shining faintly silver, appeared by Sebastian’s side, sitting primly with ears perked and head cocked.
“What?” Sebastian asked, his tired brain slow to comprehend.
The radiant one? The noble lady? The female whom you desire? I can smell it in your pheromones. Quite a stinky human, you are.
“Wait—Lily? What’s wrong? What happened to her?”
The fox did a canine’s best approximation of a shrug. I do not know. The pussy cat simply says she is gone. He cannot find her.
“What do you mean you can’t find her? Did you check through the portal in the Basement? Isn’t she with Aunt B.?”
Sir Kipling responded with a series of short meows and growls, obviously frustrated.
No, stupid witch, of course I checked there. I checked everywhere. She is gone, Yuki translated, then added, Those are the cat’s words, not mine.
“But…she can’t just…be gone. Maybe she went up to the museum to check things out, make sure the exhibits were safe, maybe call the police. Though, I really hope she didn’t actually call the police. Speaking of police…” Sebastian straightened and looked around. “Where’s Mr. Doofusface?” A sudden dread blossomed in his stomach, and he whirled, looking this way and that, then broke into a jog as he ran down each row of shelving, searching for Lily, for Richard, for anyone.
The cat says he has already checked. They are both gone.
When Sebastian ignored Yuki’s mental statement, the fox huffed a laugh.
You are not very smart for the prophesied one. Are you sure my queen did not choose you simply as a practical joke?
“Shut up,” Sebastian muttered, not slowing. He spent the next five minutes checking the storage room from top to bottom, then stepped through the portal and searched the Basement. His aunt was where he’d left her, collapsed in one of the chintz chairs, her exhausted face drawn. She was fast asleep, and Lily was nowhere to be found. Next, he went back to the storage room and sidled past Thiriel and her warriors. They gave him odd looks, but he muttered something about checking the floors above for demon taint and ran until he found the stairs. Halfway up, he nearly collided with a slender, mustached old man dressed in a tweed suit.
“Goodness gracious, I do apologize, young man. Who are you and what are you doing down here? This is a restricted area.”
“Were you the one who called my—I mean, Madam Barrington about the, um, disturbance in the sub-basement?”
“Why, yes I was. But how would you know?”
“I’m her nephew, and I just finished helping, er, some friends get
rid of all those demons who were trying to break into your warded area,” he replied grimly. “The good news is, the demons are gone. The bad news is, they wrecked up your storage room pretty bad.”
The old man gasped in horror, both hands going to his mouth. “Heaven preserve us, how will we cover up this incident? I shall have to call the rest of the caretakers, and there will be illusions to cast—oh, was anyone hurt? How is Madam Barrington?”
“She’s completely worn out, but okay as far as I can tell. My friend, Lily Singer, is missing, though. Has anyone come up here?”
“I don’t know. I’ve spent the last hour keeping the night guards away, I’ve been clear on the other side of the museum.”
Sebastian cursed under his breath. “Look, Madam Barrington came by way of a portal in Atlanta, do you know about that?”
“Why, yes. It is only to be used in extreme emergencies, but of course she could never have driven here in time to—”
“Sure, whatever,” Sebastian cut him off. “Madam Barrington is resting in the Basement. I need you to go down there and take care of her. I don’t think she’s hurt, but she may need to go to the hospital to be checked. Oh, and I’m pretty sure your wards got busted up, so they’ll need to be fixed, too. Can you do all that? I need to go look for my friend.”
The man drew himself up. “Why, of course. I have been the head conservator of this museum for over twenty years. I am nothing if not reliable.”
“Glad to hear it,” Sebastian grunted, then dodged around him, taking the stairs two at a time until he reached the door to the first floor.
“The guards are back on patrol, young man,” the conservator yelled up the stairs after him. “They will question you if they find you wandering about the museum.”
“Great,” Sebastian muttered under his breath. Yuki, he thought, reaching out with his mind. Tell Thiriel she’s got a visitor. She’ll need to glamour the whole corridor until she’s done with the cleanup.
Love, Lies, and Hocus Pocus- Betrayal Page 26
