Blood and Treasure: An Urban Fantasy Novel (The Half-Demon Warlock Book 3)

by J. A. Cipriano

27

  I rushed out of the room, screaming at the top of my lungs.

  “It’s not time, Marissa!” I said, using her given name in the hopes it might make her a little more open to my plight. A moving shadow was flitting back and forth throughout the destroyed common room. Renee was in its center, her body crackling with blinding white energy and her eyes following the shadow as it moved back and forth overhead.

  I rushed toward her. She was still hurt, still cut and bruised. It seemed her healing abilities either didn’t apply to herself or weren’t too effective when it came to dealing with a Tantibus. Either way, I wasn’t going to let Marissa hurt her again, regardless of the face she decided to wear tonight.

  “It most certainly is,” she answered, still using Isa’s voice. “I mean, it is here anyway. Back in my stomping grounds, it’s barely nine. But since your dad seems to have set things up out here, I’m not taking any chances.”

  “Stay beside me,” I said to Renee, looking over at her. A rush of primal territorial angst filled me. I wanted to keep her safe. I needed to. It was as essential as breathing.

  “I was going to tell you the same thing,” she answered, her bright eyes basically pouring energy.

  Gary was at my feet, so I looked down to him. “Get to that door, Gary. My son is through that door,” I said, looking over at the room I’d just left.

  He nodded. “Then nothing else will be,” he said. As he went running to take his place as a guard, my heart filled with pride. There was no reason for either of us to believe Gary could do what he suggested and take out the Tantibus. At best, he could slow her down and maybe give Luc and Essie enough of a warning to try and get away. He knew as much, but Gary was the kind of imp to do it anyway. He was a hero, and he was my best friend.

  I felt Scott beside me, just like back in my apartment when Bandhal and the rain queen almost made human toast of all of us. It had taken the sacrifice of a life to get us out of that, and I was still feeling the consequences. Would this be the same thing? Would I have to give my life to make this right and, if so, was that even something I would be justified in doing anymore?

  When I threw myself through the portal to Hell seven years ago, I didn’t know I had a son. Now I did, and my loyalties had to lie with him.

  No. I shook my head. I was thinking like a loser, and I couldn’t. I needed to win, for everyone’s sake.

  “You got enough energy to keep her away from us for a few minutes?” I asked, motioning to Scott and the alluding to the fact that he’d just found himself in ownership of half the power possessed by the Astra coven.

  “Between Renee and I? We should have more than enough,” he answered as the shadow grew over us. Marissa was expanding, like some sort of impenetrable fog.

  “No,” I answered. “I need Renee. I have a plan.”

  “Then I’ll help,” a cold and disgustingly familiar voice sounded. Looking over, I saw Abram hobbling toward us, his cane slapping against the floor.

  “Really?” I balked, looking over at Scott. “You scattered the entire coven around like they’re the freaking Color Kids on Rainbow Brite, and somehow you forget the Crypt Keeper here?”

  “The spell was complicated. I couldn’t focus on the room I was in, which was also the room he was in,” Scott answered. “And bonus points for the Rainbow Brite reference. Nicely done.”

  “Fine,” I answered, looking over at Abram. “You help him keep this nightmare valley girl at bay.”

  “I’m from Palisades!” Marissa shrieked from above me. Good to see her priorities were on the up and up.

  “Whatever,” I muttered, looking at Renee and motioning for her to follow me. As she and I ran toward the end of the room, the part which had taken the brunt of the blast the first time Marissa attacked, Abram grabbed my hand.

  “It’s not just your father,” he said to me, his voice tense and determined. “The dimension you were in, where you were trapped.”

  “Hell,” I said flatly.

  “It’s a prison dimension of my own creation. All the worst the world has to offer exist in that place. If the door is allowed to be open, then there will be no end to the destruction they’ll cause.”

  “That’s what all of this about, isn’t it?” I asked, pulling away from him. “You put the souls of the worst people in the world in a place, and then when you found out my girlfriend was the key, you did everything in your power to make sure she was never used.”

  “Renee is special,” he answered. “And yes, if abused, her death could be devastating to all of us.”

  “She’s not going to die,” I sneered at him. “And if you do what I ask, neither will you.”

  I turned away from him and grabbed Renee’s hand and took her to the base of the blown up staircase.

  “Can you take me up to the Inner Sanctum?” I asked, squeezing her hand.

  “It’s destroyed, Roy. She demolished all of it,” she answered, shaking her head.

  “I don’t want to have a picnic up there, baby. I just need us to get there. I have an idea, a way to fix all of this.”

  Looking over, I saw what Scott and Abram had in mind when it came to keeping Marissa at bay. Bright bursts of golden light exploded in various places throughout the ceiling. The Tantibus had taken the shape of darkness, after all, and what better way to fight darkness than with light?

  I nodded as I caught sight of my brother. His power was raging, just as my son’s probably was at this very moment.

  With any luck, all of this would be over in moments.

  “Take my hands,” Renee said, extending the hand I wasn’t already holding. “And hold on tight. I’m a little faster than you might remember me being.”

  The instant I took her hand, a light surrounded us. Though I couldn’t see anything, I could feel the momentum as we darted upward, moving through the air and settling in seconds. When the light dissipated, I found we were in a pretty smashed up version of the Inner Sanctum. Renee wasn’t playing around when she said Marissa did a number on this place. It had been nearly ripped in half. Even the throne was in pieces. Luckily, all I needed was a piece.

  “Come with me,” I said, still holding her hands and moving toward the throne. As we ran through the Sanctum, I saw the rest of Cer. The poor dog who I now knew to be Cerberus, the three headed dog who guarded the gates of Hades, lay bloodied and dead in front of the throne. Cer had defended her with his last breath. No wonder Gary had been such a fan.

  “When I saw this throne, it was glowing. Am I to assume it was glowing with the power of the Greek gods?”

  “That’s my understanding,” Renee answered. “In truth, I don’t spend a lot of time in this room. Mostly it’s just for official business.”

  “All the Greek gods?” I asked, ignoring what she said and settling in front of the throne.

  “Yes,” she answered. “There’s a piece of all of their energy here. It’s what settles me, tethers me to this plane and allows them to exist here as well,” she said. “Or something.”

  “Even Hypnos?” I asked, grabbing a piece of the shattered throne.

  “Who?” she asked.

  “Hypnos. He’s the god of sleep. Son of Night. Brother of Death. He’s like your great, great, great uncle, I think.”

  “Sure,” she answered. “I’m sure he’s in there somewhere.”

  “Good,” I said, thrusting the piece of throne into her chest. She scooped it up. “Focus on him while I blast you with energy.”

  “Excuse me?” she said, her eyes narrowing.

  “He’s your blood, and you have a piece of his energy right here. That means you can access his abilities with a little bit of mystical help from your favorite half demon.” I smiled like this wasn’t my most insane plan ever.

  “I need Luc?” she asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

  “Shut up. You know I was talking about myself,” I answered, shaking my head. “The point is, if you can access the power of the god of sleep, and I can access your powers and focus it
into a spell, then we can-”

  “Put that Tantibus bitch into a coma she’ll never wake up from,” Renee cried excitedly. “Roy, you’re a genius!”

  “I knew you were more than a pretty face,” I said. Leaning in, I kissed her square on the lips. It was the first kiss we’d shared since my return. I wished it could have been different, could have been slower and calmer. But I wasn’t sure we were going to make it out of this, and if I died, I wanted it to be with the taste of her in my mouth. “Can you do that for me, Renee? Can you focus on Hypnos?”

  “I’m a goddess, sweetheart.” She smiled at me. “What do you think?”

  I grinned, and she pulled me in, kissing me again.

  “One more for good luck,” she whispered, and just like that, I was on top of the world.

  Stepping back, I let my power pool at my hands. Bright blue energy shone against the blinding white Renee was producing. Of course, mine barely held a candle to hers, but I did what I could.

  Her eyes closed, and I waited until I saw a spark of recognition on her face.

  “There you are,” she muttered as her eyes sprang back open. “Now!”

  Throwing my hands forward, I sent a torrent of energy toward Renee. She flinched as it hit her, but there was no need. This wasn’t an offensive spell. This was crafted to move through her, to access what she was doing and piggyback off it.

  I felt the energy as the link was forged. It was old and immense, different than anything I’d ever felt before. I was closer to Renee now. I felt what she felt. I knew what she knew, and without even trying, I finally understood what she had been going through. As the power ran through me, I felt something else happening. The torment Marissa placed on me, the way I felt raw and defeated, melted away in the warmth of my girlfriend’s energy.

  I was whole. I was okay. I was me again, and I had her. We could make it through anything.

  A loud pounding, like thunder which had somehow infiltrated my heart, shook my body and knocked me away from Renee.

  The spreading darkness that had been Marissa appeared in front of me. Scurrying backward, I grabbed Renee’s hand, but it was too late. Her face was tight and rigid. Her eyes were black and vacant. She was in one of the Tantibus’ trances. She was being confronted with her worst nightmare, and there was nothing I do to help her…nothing but finish my spell.

  I turned toward the darkness and internally gave shape to the power I’d grabbed from Renee. Hypnos would put this bitch on her ass and keep my father locked up tighter than a confiscated joint in small town sheriff’s office.

  The shadow took shape, once again looking like Isa as Marissa stood before me.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, her voice lilting upward. “This feels weird. What are you doing to me?”

  She stumbled backward, shaking her head hard.

  “No!” she screamed. “You can’t do this! This is the same as killing me! Do you understand that? If this doesn’t end tonight, it’ll never stop! It has to end!”

  A rush of energy shot out from her body. It knocked me backward, and I hit hard against the floor.

  Marissa turned into a shadow again and then reappeared in front of me as Isa. Her eyes were bright and swirling with dark, shadow-like power.

  “I told you if you got in my way, I’d kill you! I warned you!” she cried, insanity filling her words. “I warned you!”

  Power swirled around her, and I had no doubt she’d be able to end me with a wave of her hand, but she wouldn’t have the chance. One more second and this would all be over.

  I twisted my hands, ready to finish the spell and end this nightmare.

  “I told you I would-” Her voice stopped short. A bright red light appeared at her center, and she began to scream. Her entire body shook as the red light ate her up, withered her away like a flame consuming paper. Her body disintegrated, burning away into nothing. Behind her, standing with a team’s worth of energy vibrating from him and a smile on his face was my twelve-year-old son.

  “I did it, father,” Luc said pridefully. “I saved you.”

  28

  “Shut up,” I said, pacing back and forth with my hands running through my hair like the world was coming to an end, because…well it kind of was. “Just shut up and let me think. There has to be a way out of this. There has to be something we can do.”

  Marissa had died, killed by the enormous power of my twelve-year-old son, and with her death, the door to my father’s prison was open. There was nothing to stop him from crossing over now, nothing to keep him in the Hell dimension I’d just learned Abram had created to keep him and other magical miscreants the Astra Coven decided were too dangerous to allow to move on like normal souls captive.

  “If the door is open, then we need to be prepared,” Abram said, leaning against his cane and stroking his wrinkled chin. “If even half of the creatures we’ve locked in there manage to come across, the world as we know it will cease to exist.”

  My eyes moved over to my son. He’d known he had done wrong the instant it was over. My face was enough to tell him something was wrong, but how could he have known? For all he knew, he was saving the old man’s life, and even though he kind of brought about the apocalypse doing it, the idea he’d risked his life to save mine filled me with pride.

  “Maybe he should go somewhere else,” I said softly to Essie. “He doesn’t need to hear this.”

  “Yes I do!” he said. Looking up at me, I saw his eyes were red again. So much for progress, it seemed. “I did this. The least I can do is stay here and listen to what I’ve done.”

  “You didn’t do anything,” I answered, moving toward him. “This is my fault. I shouldn’t have kept you in the dark. I should have told you what was going on.”

  “No,” Scott answered, balling his hands into fists at his sides. “This is on me. Luc should have never had the power to take out that psycho in the first place.” He swallowed hard and looked at my son. “I shouldn’t have tapped into you to cast the compass curse. Can you forgive me, Luc?”

  “Don’t, Uncle Scott!” he said, standing up and huffing loudly. “Don’t treat me like some kid! I know what I did was wrong, and I know what’s about to happen is my fault! You don’t have to try to make me feel better.” He blinked back tears. “I don’t deserve it.”

  The earth began to crack under him, small tremors shooting out from the place he stood. It was a result of the sheer amount of energy rolling around inside of him.

  “Luc. Calm down,” Essie said, though she didn’t move toward him. “The last thing we need is for this entire place to come down on top of us.”

  “Yeah,” he muttered, sitting back down and putting his head in his hands. “I wouldn’t want to cause even more trouble.”

  “Luc,” I started, my heart breaking as I looked him over.

  “Leave him be,” Essie said and placed a hand on our son’s back. She looked up at me and the message in her stare told me she was much better qualified to deal with this than I was.

  I nodded and took a deep breath. Turning, I walked out the door and slumped against the wall right outside the door, sliding to the floor below.

  What was I going to do? After all of this, after all my trying and fighting and sacrificing, it was all over. My father was coming back and there was nothing I could do to stop him. It seemed strange to me, seemed ridiculous. One mistake, one woman looking at one man and letting her inhibitions go the way of the dodo started all of this.

  If she was here now, maybe she’d know what to do. If my mother was around, maybe she could put a stop to all of this.

  I closed my eyes and searched for her. Her soul used to be right here, hanging around my neck, close to my heart. Even after that, she came to me, saving me from the black hole and pushing me toward destiny. So it only made sense that she would be here now, ready to give me some of her patented advice.

  She wasn’t though. No matter how much I calmed my mind, no matter how much I slowed my heart and made room for her
, she wouldn’t come. Maybe she really had gotten lost in the ether, or maybe she’d just given up on me after all. God knows I couldn’t blame her if she had.

  “That’s not going to help,” Gary said. Looking up, I saw him standing in front of me, tapping a misshapen foot at me expectantly.

  “I don’t think anything’s going to help, buddy,” I answered, patting the floor beside me and suggesting he sit down. He shook his oblong head at me.

  “Come on, bro. You’re better than that. I don’t know what happened to you in that damn hell place, but this ain’t you, my man. We don’t give up when things get bad. I mean, we get drunk, sure, but we don’t give up.”

  “This isn’t the same, buddy,” I said, pursing my lips. “This is the worst it’s ever been.”

  “The hell it is,” he scoffed. “How about that time we were stuck in a phone booth with Fat Ralph after Mexican night in Phoenix?”

  I chuckled hard despite myself. “Stop it. This is serious.”

  “Then you need to act like it.” He glared at me. “You’ve got a little kid in there who’s blaming himself for all of this, and it doesn’t matter how many times you tell him it isn’t his fault or there was nothing he could do about it. The truth is, if this happens, he’s going to think it’s on him. You know how I know that, Roy boy?”

  “How?” I asked almost regretfully.

  “Because it’s what you would do,” he answered. “And he ain’t just your son because he’s got your ugly nose.”

  “My nose is awesome,” I answered.

  “Keep telling yourself that.” He smirked. “Get your ass up, go back in that room, and do what we always do.”

  “And what’s that?” I asked, looking over at Gary.

  He jabbed me with a pointed finger as if to hasten my movement.

  “We figure it out, Roy boy. We figure it the fuck out.”

  29

  Figuring it out turned out to be more complicated than not. Luckily for us, my own time displaced situation was proof enough that days moved differently in the Abram created pocket dimension my father had just scored a get out of jail free card from. It was a good thing too because, if not for that, dear old dad would have already come rushing through some portal with his horrible band of misfit followers in tow.