by Linsey Hall
“What is it?” My skin chilled as I waited for his response.
“With so many of the evilest demons out of the Underworld, the magical power balance is off, causing instability in the walls that separate the different realms. The Underworld is made of heavens and hells and neutral places. All of the religions are represented there, and they all make up part of the whole. The good magic from the heavens is balanced by the dark magic of the hells. Without the dark magic provided by the evilest demons…”
He searched for the right words, but I was too impatient. Worry was a beast clawing inside me.
“What’s going to happen?” I demanded.
“Without enough evil to keep the Underworld as the Underworld, it may flip and become entirely a heaven. The barriers between the good places and the bad places will break down without the proper balance of magic to fuel them. Suddenly, there’ll be bad demons in the heavens and neutral places. And since there is nowhere for the evil demons to go when they die—or even the evil humans—they’ll just regenerate on Earth.”
“And we’d never get rid of them,” I said, my heart sinking.
“And we’d screw up the Underworld,” Nix said.
“Oh, bloody hell,” Claire said.
That was an understatement.
My mind raced. “How long do we have before the magical imbalance in the Underworld goes haywire?”
Roarke drew in a breath, debating. “A few days, maybe? It’s nearly impossible to say.”
“So we have to fix this fast,” Aidan said. “Kill as many of the demons as we can to send them back to the Underworld, where their dark magic will restore the balance.”
“Which means we need an army.” I met Roarke’s gaze. “Will the Order of the Magica help us?”
“Of course. But they don’t have an army. Fifty mercenaries, tops. Maybe seventy-five if they bring some out of retirement. Then there are about fifty police scattered across the all-magical cities.”
There was no standing supernatural army. Our culture just didn’t work like that. We weren’t big enough for one, and we had enough problems to worry about without starting stupid wars with each other. There were the police to keep civil law in the cities, and a crew of mercenaries and bounty hunters who kept the wayward demons under control.
“I can recruit the Alpha Council,” Aidan said. “They will be able to send fighters from among the shifters.”
“We can get the League of FireSouls,” Nix said.
“And the hellhounds,” I added.
“I can recruit the Swamp Supes in the Everglades,” Cade said.
“The ones who lived in that village on stilts?” I asked.
“Yeah.” He nodded. “They’re there because they don’t want to be law-abiding citizens, but they also aren’t demons or even particularly bad people. They’ll fight for this.”
Emile raised a hand. Ralph and Rufus stood at attention. “I know some monsters I can recruit. I can use my gift to explain to them what’s going on. I think they’d join. Demons like to use them as beasts of burden, and they won’t be keen on that.”
I nodded gratefully. “Okay, with the Ice Fae, the Order’s mercenaries and police, the Alpha Council, the League, the hellhounds, the Swamp Supes, and the monsters, we might have a chance.”
“That can’t be more than five hundred, though, can it?” Nix asked.
“We’ll have to see. We can ask other supernaturals to fight, but not everyone is a warrior.” A lot of supernaturals were peaceful, with gifts that didn’t relate to fighting at all. “Mordaca and Aerdeca might come through with some folks from Darklane.”
“Good,” Cass said. “Then we need to decide where to attack them.”
“Their groups are shifting around too much,” Roarke said. “It’d be better to get them all in one place. A setup where we have the upper hand. That way, our numbers won’t be as much of an issue.”
“So we need to draw them to us,” Aidan said. “But how?”
A light bulb went off in my head, bright and strong. “I have an idea. It’s crazy, but it could work.”
Chapter Ten
As it turned out, we didn’t even have to visit the League of FireSouls to get their help. As soon as I’d shared my battle plan, Cass, Nix, and I sent a letter with Pond Flower, explaining the situation to the league and asking them to meet us at the battle location. There was no safer way to transport a letter than by hellhound.
The answer had returned almost immediately—an emphatic yes. Even Flora was going to come, though she was still pissed we’d escaped her freezing charm. Relief had made my shoulders sag. Not only did we have their desperately needed help, it also meant Cass, Nix, and I wouldn’t have to go recruit help the next day.
I spent the night with Roarke, though by unspoken agreement, we didn’t talk about the day to come. All of our friends would be off enlisting aid—and we’d only succeed if everyone we asked agreed to risk their lives for us in the battle the following day.
After the night with Roarke, while everyone was off recruiting help, I met Nix and Cass at P & P. As usual, Pond Flower followed along. Connor was quick with the coffee as well as the potions. We grabbed a quick bite, then bought three invisibility potions.
Out on the sidewalk, the morning was cold and clear. Oregon was beautiful on days like this.
“Ready?” Cass asked.
“Like a cat’s ready for tuna.” I called upon my dragon sense, feeding it my desire to find the Shadows.
We thought they’d show up at the battle—how could they resist, if we’d gathered all their demons in one place?—but since I was the only one capable of killing them, it’d be best if three didn’t attack me at once. That was a recipe for a disastrous death. So we planned to go to them, trying to kill at least one, if not more.
Finally, my dragon sense tugged. “Germany.”
Cass’s brows rose. “You think they’re in that castle where they kept Draka’s egg?”
“We’re too far away to tell exactly, but I’d bet on it. It was heavily fortified and almost impenetrable. They’d have to let us in—or screw up royally—to allow outsiders to breach the defenses.”
“We can make them screw up,” Nix said.
At my side, Pond Flower gave a low woof. I glanced down at her, an idea forming in my mind. “I think I know just how to do that.”
“How?” Nix asked. “I’d rather plot here and be ready to go as soon as we get there.”
“Pond Flower here will be a distraction. The demons’ magic and weapons can’t hurt her when she surrounds herself with her protective flame. So she’ll set up a racket outside the gate, howling to high heaven. When they come out of the building to stop her, we sneak in through the open gate.” I held up the vial of invisibility potion that Connor had given me. “We knew these would come in handy, right?”
They grinned. I looked down at Pond Flower. “You in?”
She gave a low woof. I nodded gratefully.
“I like it,” Nix said. “You find the Shadow you want to kill, we’ll keep his demon guards off your tail.”
“Good plan.” Cass held out her hands. “Let’s get a move on. I’ll take us to the forest about two hundred yards away from the castle. Close to that cave you stayed in with Roarke.”
Nix gave a dramatic swoon. “Such a romantic first vacation.”
I laughed, punched her lightly in the arm, then grabbed Cass’s hand. Nix did the same, and Pond Flower pressed herself against my side.
Cass used her teleportation magic to take us through the ether. We arrived in Germany a moment later. Snow drifted down lightly from the sky. That was good. It could only help our cause, giving us just a bit more camouflage.
“I think we should take the potions now.” I uncorked mine.
The others nodded, downing theirs quickly. Almost immediately, they disappeared. I drank the little vial, shuddering at the horrible muddy taste, and waited for the icy magic to flow through my veins. It did, quickly, and soon I
could see Cass and Nix.
“Ready?”
They nodded.
“Then let’s go.” I hurried through the forest, following my dragon sense.
The gray exterior wall loomed out of the distance, and we headed for the heavy gate. I turned to Pond Flower and whispered, “Hide and howl, okay? Be super annoying.”
She gave an understanding jerk of her head, then turned and ran into the trees. We crept up to the very edge of the gate, which was a massive iron and wooden affair that would lift vertically into the castle wall when a lever was pulled. We pressed our backs to the stone. I used my gift over ice to call down more snow, enough to cover our tracks and make it hard to see much of anything at all.
As if on cue, Pond Flower set up a racket, howling like a banshee possessed. There was a scuffle from inside the castle walls.
“Wot the bloody ‘ell is that racket?” growled a low voice.
“Some kinda mutt.” A little wooden door in the gate creaked open. I could just barely make out part of a demon’s head as he stuck it through. “I can’t see it.”
“Shoot it.” The demand was grumpy.
I scowled. Jerk.
“I said I can’t see it!”
A fist hit flesh. Demons were dumb.
“Well, if you won’t shoot it, I will,” said the grumpy voice.
Good luck with that.
Another head poked out the little window. I could only see the tips of the demon’s horns, which were charred black. Finally, he grumbled, “Damn it, you’re right.”
“Maybe it’ll shut up,” said the other demon.
As if she’d heard the words, Pond Flower howled again, giving it an extra dose of something shrieky. It needed to be louder though—something that forced them out of the cabin.
I remembered the Whispa demon I’d killed last week in the bar in Darklane while I’d been collecting powers. That creepy, eyeless bastard had possessed the ability to make or muffle sound. I called on that power, directing toward Pond Flower and envisioning her howls becoming louder and louder.
It worked. Her howls were now so annoying and so loud that it was painful. I flew my hands up to cover my ears, and Nix and Cass did the same. It was the worst noise ever.
The demons definitely agreed, because they groaned.
“Shut that beast up!” a low, sonorous voice drifted across the castle walls.
I shuddered. That was a Shadow, no doubt about it. And he did not like Pond Flower.
And the demons didn’t like disobeying the Shadow. They rushed to open the gate. From the sound of it, they stumbled over each other and fought to be the one to crank the lever.
Finally, the heavy iron door creaked open, the sound of rusty metal chains shrieking. Pond Flower kept up her racket, but the noise sounded like it was getting farther away. She’d probably led them from the castle, and if they got too close, she could always pull her disappearing trick.
I knew she could take care of herself, especially against two particularly dumb demons, but I knocked on my head anyway.
As the gate rose, I called upon a bit more snow, creating a heavy storm right over the castle. The gate reached its zenith, and the demons hurried through. Immediately, the gate creaked and began lowering. We slipped inside. I was careful to use my ice magic to cover our tracks with snow.
The courtyard looked as I’d remembered it. Large and barren, with demons on the ramparts high above. Fortunately, they were all watching their brethren fail to hunt a hellhound.
Since it was important to get where we would leave no hastily covered tracks in the snow, we raced to the main building where we’d been before. I checked to make sure all the demons’ backs were turned—which they were—and cracked open the door so we could slip inside.
As before, the foyer was large and empty. I sagged against the wall, finally breathing properly for the first time since we’d approached the castle. Nix and Cass leaned next to me, panting.
“Give me a moment,” I whispered, calling upon my dragon sense.
My deirfiúr’s magic swelled as they used their own dragon senses.
After a moment, mine tugged in two directions. “Shit. Two of them are somewhere in the labyrinth, I think.”
Nix shook her head. “Not interested in going that direction.”
“Yeah, we barely made it out last time,” Cass said.
“Agreed. Even if we could make it through, we don’t have a ton of time. We can’t risk getting caught before the battle.” I pointed left toward a long hall. “The other Shadow is that way. High up, I think. In a tower.”
“Of course he’s lurking in a tower,” Nix muttered.
“The only other logical option is the dungeons,” Cass said with a low laugh. “Bad guys never hang out in normal rooms watching TV.”
“True enough. Let’s go.” I hurried through the empty foyer toward the hallway. It was a warmer space, with wooden floors and silk paneled walls. Upon further inspection, the silk was tattered and moldy and the floors had lost all their sheen, but it was better than the cold stone foyer. That place reminded me of how my parent’s castle used to be. Yikes.
We passed by several rooms on silent feet. We were so used to creeping quietly that I didn’t even need to use the Whispa demon power to muffle our footsteps. Though we saw no demons, I occasionally felt creepy magical signatures. They were here, guards lurking in corners and behind closed doors. Minions who wouldn’t leave their masters’ sides.
We reached the base of a wide tower. Spiral stone stairs wound upward. They were wider than most I’d seen—at least five feet across—and it was impossible to tell how many floors up they went. I recalled some fairly large towers, so it could be quite high.
“This way.” I crept up the tower stairs, careful to keep my footsteps silent and my ears alert for guards.
We reached a small landing. There might have once been a room here, but now it was empty. We continued onto the next flight of stairs, continuing ever upward. It stayed silent, and the higher we got, the fewer the windows. It was shadowy and dark, very fitting for the Shadow’s lair.
I focused on the magic that hung heavy in the air. It prickled against my skin, a familiar warning. There was a protective charm here. My heart raced. Something was happening. But what?
Stones in the walls began to shift, scraping against each other.
“Watch the walls!” I whispered.
“Could be murder holes,” Nix said.
We’d seen the horrible things back at the castle in England, ages ago. They’d shot arrows at us, which was totally unwelcome.
But then, the castle had thought the same about us.
As soon as Nix had spoken the words, the stone by my ear emitted the faintest scraping sound. I ducked, moving on instinct. The low shriek of metal sounded over my head. I looked up. A sharp metal spear had shot out of the wall, right where my temple would have been.
I shuddered. “That’s a new kind of murder hole.”
Nix and Del crouched low, freezing. As long as we stayed still, we wouldn’t set off any more of the iron spikes. But that wouldn’t get us very far. We needed a way up.
I shifted into my Phantom form, letting the icy magic flow though me. Once I was fully transparent, I reached up to touch the metal spike. It was cold and solid beneath my touch. Shocked, I pressed my palm hard against it. But nothing happened. My hand didn’t drift through as it should have while I was a Phantom.
“It looks like they may have been expecting you,” Cass whispered.
Nix whistled low. “However they enchanted that, it’s a strong magic if it could pierce your Phantom form.”
“No kidding.” But they were one of the very few types of supernaturals that could hurt me while I was in a Phantom, so it made sense they possessed magic that could do the same. And of course they’d want to protect themselves. They were my number one targets after all the horrible shit they’d done.
Nix’s magic swelled, the scent of flowers filling the stair
well. I turned, and she thrust two heavy iron shields at me. “Protect yourself with these.”
I hefted them. They were so heavy they made my arms ache, but the spears wouldn’t be able to pierce iron this thick. When the metal collided, it’d be loud as hell, though.
We’d need the Whispa demon’s power to muffle the sound. No way I wanted demon guards chasing us up these stairs. I called upon it, letting it fill me. It was a difficult power to use and I couldn’t be entirely sure that I was doing it correctly, but I envisioned the stairwell becoming completely silent no matter what happened.
“Thanks.” The muscles in my arms trembled as I lifted the shields to protect my head and torso and hurried up the stairs.
My deirfiúr followed on silent feet. The stones shifted as I ran, but it was fairly quiet. The first spear that struck my shield threw me against the opposite wall. The force was enormous. My shoulder sang with pain where it’d crashed into the stone wall, but I righted myself.
At least the sound was just a dull clang instead of a loud one. Behind me, there was another dull thud, and another. The spears were hitting Nix and Cass’s shields as well.
We struggled up the stairs, fighting our way past the battering rams of steel spikes that threw us about. But we were lucky—we made it to the top without being skewered. Bruised, sure. But skewered, no.
I considered it a win.
“That was rough.” Nix panted as we hurried across the landing to the next winding flight of stairs. The magic changed here, the signature more of a slimy burn than the prickle that I was used to.
“This is different,” I murmured.
“Yeah.” Cass lowered her shield. “I don’t think it’s going to be spikes.”
“No, they’d want to keep us on our toes.” But I held on to my shield as I crept up the stairs, my senses alert for any change in the magic that might signal what was coming at us.
This time when the stones shifted, it happened below our feet. The stairs right in front of me fell away.
“Shit!” I leapt to the next step.
Nix jumped up behind me, dropping her shields with a clang. In my shock, I’d lost control of the Whispa demon’s control over sound. Everything was happening so fast that I didn’t have time to pick it back up again.
