“Basically. We came to an understanding.”
I had the demon’s true name, and from that, I could find his dimension. And then…
Get my demon power back. Save my friends. It sounded easier when I recited the list in my head. Not so much in reality, knowing Nikolas and the others were held captive in another realm. The celestials weren’t a unified force, either. We had no army on this side. Nothing but scattered, desperate forces, half of whom didn’t truly believe there was any war at all.
It might be too late for Haven City, but I’d defend it to my last breath.
“So you know where to go?” she asked.
“I know the demon’s name. That’s enough.”
BANG. A hammering noise came from the front door, which trembled in its frame.
“Shit,” Rachel said. “It’s Javos.”
“Oh no.”
We both ran from the room, too late. The door flew aside as he tore it from its hinges, shoving his way through into the hall. I’d forgotten how terrifying he was. And I had no access to music of any sort. What I did have was my new celestial power, but even that faltered at the sight of his blazing orange aura. My new aura vision made it a little difficult to ignore the tremors that indicated his magic was seconds from breaking free.
“Do you have an explanation as to why you failed to deliver the vampires as promised to Madame White?” he asked.
“Hold it,” I said to him. “In case you haven’t noticed, Nikolas has disappeared, and Pandemonium is attacking Babylon as we speak. Just pick a side and make this easier for everyone, okay?”
His aura trembled again as he turned on me. “My choice is to defend my people, against the celestials if necessary. They are the biggest threat to the warlocks at the moment. And they will act on Madame White’s command.”
“Only a dozen fanatics,” I countered. “I tried to tell them, believe me. Even killed the impostor inspector—did you know Abyss’s people are going around shapeshifting into others? Also, Azurial’s ghost is possessing Fiona. So you’re gonna have to come up with a better excuse than that. There are a dozen better enemies for you to target. Like the demons trying to unleash Armageddon on this city, for instance.”
“You mock me for the last time, Devi.” The whole house trembled under his power, his dark orange aura burning like the surface of the sun.
“I don’t want to kill you, Javos,” I said sharply. “This realm needs defenders, even reluctant ones.”
“Those vampires will not leave the house alive. I won’t risk my people on this.”
“The Grade Four celestials are looking for their leader, who I left tied up at the guild,” I said. “I wouldn’t worry about them.”
He stilled. “You did what?”
“I did say I had the case in hand.” I smiled. “So if you don’t mind, I’m off to get my demonic magic back, so I can use it to save your ungrateful neck, and everyone else in this realm. Yeah, that includes the celestials, too. But the demons will come. No matter what I do. So be careful.”
“Don’t lecture me,” he snapped. “If you go into the demon realms, you won’t come back.”
“I went to Purgatory and got away in one piece,” I said. “One question, though—which demon sired you?”
“What?”
“Just a question. Because I have a feeling they took Nikolas off the playing field because he was too powerful. They might do the same for you… or your demon parent might claim you.”
His face went a furious purple. “You, Devi, are no warlock.”
“Nope.” My hand glowed. “But whoever said I had to be? I’m off.”
“Where are you going?”
“To meet my maker.”
And then it would be time to get Nikolas back from the demons. No matter what.
Chapter 21
The pentagram glowed. My heart pounded in anticipation. Finally, finally, I was on my way to find the one whose rogue demon mark had sealed my fate and controlled my life. It’s in my control now. And I know your name.
I raised my hand as I stepped into the pentagram. “I summon you, Altheare, otherwise known as Lythocrax.”
Fire came first. Molten orange crested the horizon, gilding the dark ground with bright stripes in stark contrast to the lifeless landscape. Whoa. That was fast. The scene around me had changed in a split second, turning into the demon realm where I’d been marked in exchange for asking for the arch-demon’s help. The demons had scourged this place and burned the remains to ashes. No life remained here… but there was little doubt the arch-demon had heard my call.
The world trembled. An aura shifted across my vision, along with the shadow of a great winged beast descending. The dark shadow brought a gust of warm air that seared my skin, filled my nostrils with the scent of brimstone, and a roar that drowned my ears in noise. A rumbling crash, an earthquake and tornado rolled into one. The winged figure that dropped out of the sky was like an exclamation, a shout the world could hear at full volume.
Primal terror gripped me in a vice. All sense and reason fled in its wake, and the impulse urged me to curl into a ball and wait for the storm to pass.
Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all.
Focus, Devi. You knew it’d be overwhelming.
The beast descended. Ash-coloured wings extended from its shoulders, and its vaguely humanoid shape was otherwise the colour of molten lava. He was midnight sky, burning sunshine, a tornado, a snowstorm, a torrent of nature contained within an aura hardly visible to my own eyes. Too much. Even for demons. Power radiated from its very being, a demand that I kneel and worship it, or perish.
I refused. Digging my heels into the ground, I planted myself in front of that embodiment of divine and infernal power, and gave it my mightiest glare.
“YOU.” The voice rumbled through me, the echo of power unimaginable.
“Me,” I said. “Surprise.”
“You’re not allowed here,” boomed the arch-demon.
“I don’t make the rules, and it sounds like you don’t either,” I said. “Otherwise you wouldn’t have marked me in the first place. I summoned you. You’d better believe I can banish you again. And I know your true name.”
“The one who gave you that knowledge will pay with their life.”
“Too bad I won’t tell you. You might think you’re all powerful and all knowing, but you’re not. I see through you. Deep down, you’re nothing at all. The Divinities make the rules, and when you fell, you gave up your divine magic. But mine remains intact.”
The arch-demon’s aura surged, ashy darkness blotting out the sky, but he didn’t move to attack me. Maybe he believed I really would use his name against him.
“What do you want, mortal?” he snarled. “If you like, I can offer you a different kind of deal to your angels.”
“Now you’re asking me for a deal? No thanks. I had enough of demonic bargains when you got me marked. You put me on a platter for the celestials to kill.”
“It’s not my concern if your own people saw you as a danger and took matters into their own hands to deal with you.”
“You sure seemed concerned when I started using the power you marked me with to do things you didn’t like.”
A hiss escaped him.
“Sorry, didn’t catch that,” I said. “Maybe you should think before you commit to your decisions rather than trying to backtrack. Because I’m not going to forget what you did. You let me believe I killed my best friend, Altheare.”
He let out another low hissing noise. Not in anger alone, but pain. Somehow… using the name hurt him.
“You have something of mine, which you took from me without my permission,” I told him. “Give me my demon mark back.”
“Did I not gift you with life, the power of the heavens?”
“You’re not the same person you were back then. Besides, you don’t own me. Either give my power back or I’ll keep going right to the leaders of heaven. I’ve already spoken to one of their ang
els. I have their power, Altheare.”
He took a step back, his aura surging. “Don’t speak that name, mortal.”
“Would you prefer ‘Lythocrax’? Too bad. You can’t force me to respect you of my own free will, and you can’t order me to sit out the battle because it suits you. Ruling in hell’s working out well for you, is it? Or would you rather be in heaven?”
The demon roared. Earth trembled, the sky boiled—and yet none of it touched me. Somehow, my use of his name insulated me against harm.
I rolled my eyes. “Nice little display. Maybe throw in some fireworks at the end for that extra special touch. Give me the power back.” I raised my demon marked hand. “That’s all I ask for. If I ruin your plans, then you shouldn’t have marked me to begin with. Or you know, you could try showing up to the battlefield in person.”
He spoke through gritted teeth—“The Divinities take your soul, celestial. Let them burn you.”
Fire flared across my vision, then it was replaced with Nikolas’s living room. My demon mark tingled, awakening. I hope.
Rachel screamed. “Devi! Holy mother of all demons, I thought you were dead.”
“He didn’t kill you.” Javos didn’t sound either relieved or disappointed, just neutral. No more than I’d have expected of him.
“Nope,” I said. “I had it covered. Any new events I should be aware of over here?”
“It looks like your celestials have taken back their base,” Javos growled.
“There isn’t much left of it. Which ones?”
“The Grade Fours,” Rachel put in. “You were gone—at least an hour.”
“What? Seriously?” I blinked, frowning at the ashy remains of the pentagram’s centre. “It was only a couple of minutes for me, if that. What happened to the celestials?”
“They went to join their leader at the base,” she said, bouncing on the balls of her feet. “Did you actually get into hell?”
So the other Grade Fours had found their leader. I wasn’t worried about them anyway. They could be dealt with after the war, assuming any of them survived. Serve them right for blindly accepting orders that screwed the rest of us over.
“You used the demon’s name,” Javos said, still watching me curiously. “How did you know to do that in the first place?”
“I didn’t. I inferred from something Zadok said that the one sure-fire way to summon a demon is to use their name. Their true name. So when I had the chance to get it, I figured it couldn’t hurt.” I looked at Javos. “I suppose I have a name, too? A demon one? And nobody knows it?”
He paused before saying, “You’re a blank slate, Devi. If you haven’t claimed a name, they can’t use it against you.”
“But—” Zadok had seemed certain. Had it all been an act? He hadn’t thought they’d summon me at all? Or had he been hinting that I was the one who had to go to them? Who knew. Demons, warlocks and demigods of any level were bloody incomprehensible. Maybe he’d been helping me, maybe he’d been screwing with me. It didn’t matter.
The demon Abyss and her minions were my true enemies. Now I truly carried the power of heaven and hell, but she had me beaten by experience, not to mention knowledge. I might have recovered my powers, but I’d lost all the magic I’d borrowed through the mark.
Including…
Crap. Oh no.
“What is it?” asked Rachel, as I lifted my hand, turning it over.
“One second.” I took a step back, activating my demon mark and calling the fire to my hand.
No fire appeared.
“The bastard.” I lowered my hand. “The thieving bastard.” Of course the arch-demon would have got the last word in by swiping the power Themedes had given me, and my infernal fire along with it. No wonder he’d been so quick to comply.
“You need more of my power?” asked Rachel.
“Possibly, but he took the infernal power I’ve been using all this time.” I swore under my breath. “It’s okay. Maybe I can steal more from Emarial.”
Javos turned to me. “You’re planning to leave. To find them on Pandemonium.”
“Listen, I know you care about nobody except yourself, but this war is coming to Haven City whether you like it or not. I’m going after my friends, and then I’m going straight to Abyss to end it. Deal with it. And don’t kill the vampires. We need them.”
“The vampires will turn, in the end,” Javos said.
“They haven’t fully turned yet. And I was supposed to be claimed, but I told the person behind it that isn’t happening. So are you coming to Pandemonium or not?”
“Certainly not,” he said. He jerked his head at Rachel. “I assume you’re going with her.”
“I assume you’re not going to stop me.” She looked at him defiantly. “Because you know deep down this is all your fault. If you’d let Devi use the bloody demonglass from the start, we might have known the enemy’s plan before they came after this realm, just like they did to my home.”
A flash of some emotion crossed Javos’s face, but he didn’t move to strike her. Weird. Wait—might he have a soft spot for Rachel? He’d sort of adopted her, but I’d honestly thought he had no feelings towards anyone at all, family or not. Then again, I didn’t understand demons. They were far more complex than I’d thought.
I looked down, regarding the demonglass fragments. I had weapons. I also had full aura vision without the need for a potion. What I didn’t have was time to stall.
“I intend to contact the other warlocks,” he ground out. “Our allies are scattered, unreliable, and most look out for their own interests alone. The Wingless Warlock might answer my call, but if you expect my people to make a showing like the Castors’ army on Babylon, you’ll be disappointed.”
“I’m going to find Nikolas,” I told Javos, stepping close to the demonglass again. “Try not to let the city fall to pieces while I’m gone.”
I took one final step, and let the demonglass pull me through.
Empty air replaced the carpet. Dizziness swept through me as the blood rushed to my head, my hands scrambling to grab onto anything solid. Below, the pentagram glowed red. Above, the torrent of light pierced Babylon’s skies. Shit. I’d fallen through the open portal—and this time, I had no regenerative magic at all.
No. I can’t die like this.
A pair of clawed hands caught me. I spun upside-down, gasping when the spinning stopped. One of Zadok’s bat demons had fished me out of the portal. Except I’d ended up on the wrong realm. The portal had screwed up all the demonglass, apparently. Even Zadok’s tower reflected the swirling lights and nothing more. Dammit. I need to get to Pandemonium.
The bat demon placed me on the side of the broken bridge. “Thanks,” I said. Apparently, it’d figured I wanted to be on the side of the bridge closest to the castle.
I ran for the wooden door, my feet pounding against stone. Inside, the corridors were empty, even the ruins of the demonglass one. Inspector Angler was probably fighting, or doing whatever he thought he was supposed to do in this war. He didn’t think he had any choice in the matter at all.
Too bad for him.
I went downstairs, my footsteps echoing. Please let someone be alive in here. I needed allies. Desperately.
As I’d suspected, the warlocks had gathered in the entrance hall. The doors were barred, though the warlocks surely knew that with the castle half destroyed, the enemy would be able to find them no matter what.
“It’s the celestial!” someone shouted, and all heads turned to face me.
“You wanted someone to lead your army?” I asked. “Allow me. I’m going to kill the person responsible for that portal, arch-demon or none. Why are you hiding?” Not all of them were injured, though they were clearly shaken.
“We do not set ourselves against the arch-demons,” said the warlock who’d welcomed me to the castle what felt like forever ago. “You know nothing about us. If they want our realm, then we will stay here.”
“Okay, then imagine I’m the shad
ow arch-demon telling you to go and fight him. Would that make you change your mind? Or would you prefer I steal your magic and use it against the enemy? I can do both, even.”
Light flared from my left hand, striking inches from his feet. He swore and jumped back into his neighbour.
“Pull yourselves together!” I snapped. “You’re letting yourselves get invaded. Would your leader really tell you to lie down and take it? I don’t think so. Nikolas is alive, and in the enemy’s hands.”
“If he’s alive, he’s already lost,” said a familiar voice.
Shadows folded away from the corner, revealing Zadok. Several people gasped, presumably unaware he’d been hiding there. His features were drawn, ravaged with exhaustion. From the amount of blood on his hands and his torn clothes, he’d regenerated after suffering life-threatening injuries.
“Nice,” I said. “Way to hide like a coward.”
“What you’re proposing is a fool’s errand. This realm is poised to fall.” He spoke matter-of-factly, but his aura surged with dark energy. Rage pulsed from his very being. Something had happened to push him out of the fighting… and I had the feeling it involved a certain fire demigod. Sure enough, those were burn marks on his arms, open and weeping blood.
“Way to be a downer.” I took a step closer to him, out of hearing range of the others, and dropped my voice. “If you want to keep that weakness of yours under wraps, I’d suggest you listen to me.”
“What weakness?” he snarled.
“You know which. Azurial knows. And I’ll tell them all. Everyone in this room.”
“You lie,” he said. “Azurial is dead.”
“You know demigods don’t die easily,” I said. “It’s your choice. I’ll even let you lead part of the army, if you like. I’m more concerned with getting Nikolas back onto the battlefield. It’s your choice. Who knows, you might redeem yourself enough that Nikolas doesn’t kill you for stealing his army.”
With every word, his eyes widened. “Nikolas wouldn’t have wanted this realm to fall into ruin.”
“There you have it,” I said. “Point proven. Either you tarnish his name or you admit you wanted to claim his army for your own.”
Celestial Ashes: The Celestial Marked Series: Book Three Page 19
