Demons (Eirik Book 1)

by Ednah Walters

  My mother was insane. Completely and utterly insane.

  The girl lowered the blanket and glared at me. “What’s wrong with you?”

  I stopped pacing. “What?”

  “Why would you talk to her like that?”

  “I can talk to her any way I like. I’ve tried everything.” I stopped and scowled. “Why am I explaining myself to you? I’m in this predicament because of you.” I engaged strength runes, marched to the door, and rammed it with my fist. It didn’t budge. It was probably protected by magic. Prickly sensations flooded my arm as blood returned to it. “Go. Let them catch you and drag you screaming to Torture Island for all I care. No food. No water. Damn, I’m an idiot.”

  “I agree,” the girl said calmly and slid to the edge of the bed. “Only an idiot would antagonize the person keeping him a prisoner. Only an idiot would act like he is some kind of god who could not get hurt by a powerful Witch. Only a complete and utter idiot would not know that only badass Witches carry staffs these days, which means she can channel her powers and eff you upside down in a snap.” She stood and straightened her top. The look she leveled me with was filled with both pity and annoyance. “Hmm, maybe this is how I’m supposed to help you. Un-idiotize you by schooling you in the ways of Witches and magic. You see, I’m a powerful Witch too.”

  I’d never wanted to grab someone and shake the crap out of them as much as I wanted to do it to her. “I cannot believe I was trying to protect you, a snarky scaredy-cat masquerading as a Witch. You were shaking and muttering loud enough to wake up the dead.”

  “That scaredy-cat was saying a cloaking spell to hide us from your evil mother, jackass, but I couldn’t focus because of your showboating,” she shot back. “Plus, you were flattening me against the slab of rock you call a bed.”

  Jackass? I started toward her and stopped when her eyes widened. She was a snarky little thing and getting mad at her was pointless. A soul casting spells was intriguing. I scrubbed my face and looked around my cell.

  If only I had that gift, I would spell my way out of this realm. “Some powerful Witch. You suck at spells.”

  “I know,” she said dejectedly, shoulders drooping. “I’m a work-in-progress when it comes to spells. What did you do to make her do this to you?”

  “I lived and loved and had a perfect life without her evil presence in it.”

  The girl frowned and bit her lower lip. “What do you mean?”

  “Exactly what I said.” My eyes lingered on her lips. She really had the sexiest lips I’d ever seen on a girl. I shook my head. She was distracting me again. I had Cora to win back. Cora should be my focus. “And for your information, I only taunted her because she was walking toward the bed and would have seen you. In other words, I saved your ass.” When she frowned, I added, “Want me to explain it in simpler terms? I just gave up food, water, and light for you. A little gratitude would be nice.”

  Her eyes grew big and shiny, and I groaned. My life was screwed enough without adding a weeping fugitive soul to complicate it.

  “Don’t you dare cry. I swear if you do…” I’d have to hold her and comfort her because I couldn’t stand to see girls cry. I needed to stay focused on dealing with my mother and finding a way to get Viggo out of here, not comfort weeping souls. “Just go.”

  “I, too, live and love, and I have a perfect life without her evil presence in it,” she whispered, her eyes clinging to mine. “This is not a coincidence. This is why I’m here. Why I must help you.”

  Like hell. Of all the souls headed for Corpse Strand, I had to get a nut job. She had probably cast a wrong spell and killed people. The island housed criminals, thugs, and murderers. This one looked like someone’s adorable little sister.

  “You don’t need to do anything, Kewpie. I’m good. I’ve had all the help I need from you. Leave and never come back.”

  “But…”

  “No buts. Just go before they find you. You don’t want me worrying about you with all the crap I have to deal with, do you?”

  She shook her head and moved closer to where I stood, walking slowly as though she knew I was wary of her. “My cousin and Hayden are probably going nuts waiting for me to go back—or they’re embarrassed to death. Trancing in front of the Windfall High football team is something I’m never going to live down.”

  She wasn’t making sense, but I didn’t want her to explain. I wanted her gone.

  “I’m sure the team will survive. Go. Join your cousin and Hayden.” She smiled and the damn dimples winked at me. She must have been something when she was alive. And now she was dead. I didn’t know how this place worked, but if she could find her people and not end up on Corpse Strand, then more power to her. “Don’t ever come back here. It’s not safe.”

  “Is your hand okay?”

  I looked down at the hand I’d rammed at the door. There was blood around my knuckles, but the bruises were already healed. “My hand is okay. What’s your name?”

  “Celestia,” she said. “Celestia Devereaux.”

  “Go to your resting place, Celestia. I’ll be just fine.”

  “Yes, you will. With my help. I never give up on anyone once I make up my mind to help them. No matter what you’ve done, you don’t deserve this. I’ll be back.”

  She disappeared the same way the other souls had three days ago. Floated and melted away. I exhaled. “No matter what you’ve done,” she’d said. That was the problem. I hadn’t done anything, except stop my mother from hurting those I loved. She would have continued to send reapers to find me. At least Raine and Cora were now safe. My life, on the other hand, was totally screwed.

  ~*~

  CELESTIA

  The cold bit into my skin before I opened my eyes. Shivering, I rubbed my arms and tried to get my bearings. This wasn’t the football field at Windfall High. Heck, this wasn’t anywhere I’d ever been.

  The snow was everywhere. It was on the floor, the walls, and even the roof. The snow on the floor was compacted as though someone had flattened it, yet there were no boot prints or shovel marks. Even the walls looked like someone had carefully maintained them. I was inside a tunnel of some kind, but a tunnel to where?

  What had that prisoner said? “Magic may not work the normal way in this place.” Maybe I was still in his country.

  “Go to your resting place,” he’d said.

  No one I knew spoke like that. Maybe resting place meant home where he was from, but the meaning got lost in translation. His accent was definitely American, but he could be originally from a country where they didn’t speak English as a first language. His mother also spoke with an American accent. I closed my eyes, visualized the bleachers, and tried to project back into my body.

  Growls came from my left and my eyes flew open.

  Damn, I was still inside the tunnel. I tried to astral project again and again, but it didn’t work. Getting frustrated, I tried for the man’s dungeon. He might rant and rave, but at least he had a roof over his head and his room wasn’t as cold as this place. I wouldn’t last out here.

  Closing my eyes tight, I let his face fill my head. Please, take me back to him. Please. The sounds came again, and my eyes flew open, my heart skipping. This time, the growl had sounded closer.

  I looked around for a weapon. Nothing but compacted snow. I went in the opposite direction from the sound, shivering, my skin covered with goose bumps. The tunnel widened. If I died in the astral plane, I’d die in real life too, Grams had warned me. “Of course, no Witch has ever died in the astral plane,” she would often add. Until me. I was going to die of hypothermia if the growler didn’t get me first.

  “Stop it with the morbid thoughts! Energy cannot be destroyed. It can only be transformed.” Like that guy had told his mother, hearing one’s voice kept one sane. Mine was doing exactly that. “Sir Isaac Newton had better be right. After all, science is magic with weird math equations and wacky theories supposedly explaining it. People’s attempts to understand magic are nuts.” />
  I angled my head and listened. I couldn’t hear the growls anymore, but I kept walking and the tunnel kept widening. I reached what appeared to be the entrance. It was worse than inside. There were mist and mountains covered with snow rising above it. There were no trees or bushes.

  I looked down. No bottom either. I couldn’t just step forward without knowing what I was stepping on. The mist was so dense I couldn’t see anything below the entrance. Chances were the tunnel was somewhere up the side of a mountain. One misstep, and I’d plunge to my death.

  I was so going to die here. I just knew it. I’d be the first known Witch to die in the astral plane. I could just see my obituary. Beloved Daughter of Windfall Police Chief Died While Trancing.

  “Stop it! Stay proactive.”

  Shivering, I closed my eyes and tried to project back to my body again. After what seemed like forever, I tried for the man’s dungeon. Tears filled my eyes when that failed, too. I fought them. Crying would not improve my situation. My teeth were already chattering. I wasn’t sure whether I was still near the castle where the guy was being kept prisoner or whether I’d moved to a different plane.

  What was wrong with me? I must have landed in Stupid Land. I was no longer in an energy form. I hadn’t been since I appeared in this land. I was solid. Human. The tunnel also looked man-made, which meant there might be other humans around.

  “Help!” I called out. “Can someone hear me?”

  My voice echoed around the mountains, and I swore I heard snow get dislodged somewhere in the mist and tumble downhill. It was a long drop.

  “HELP! Somebody! HELP!”

  I screamed and screamed until my voice grew hoarse. Where was I? Somewhere where it was freaking cold in spring. Alaska? Europe? Greenland. Spring in Alaska brought regular sunlight, which could chase the mist away. I looked at my watch, surprised to see it working. Four-thirty. Usually my watch acted weird in the astral plane. This was proof I was in the earthly plane. Not that it mattered anymore. I just wanted to go home.

  If it was four-thirty and New Orleans was three hours ahead of Alaska, the sun should be blazing right about now. I looked up and sighed. There was nothing in the sky. Wherever I was, the sun had probably set, taking its warmth with it.

  My body shook so hard I thought my knees would give out. The wind had picked up and it bit right through my clothing. Carefully, I made my way back inside the tunnel. My ankle boots had traction, but still the ground was slippery. To fall and break something now would only add insult to injury. My socks were too thin though, so I knew they would not protect my toes for long. Toes, fingers, noses, and ears were first to fall off. My skirt and top also offered me zero protection against the chill. Not that it mattered. The cold had already crawled under my skin, and my fingers were beginning to go numb.

  I peered into the tunnel. I was going to have to take my chances in there with the growling thing. I kept trying to project to my body as I walked. The tunnel started to curve and I stopped. I was far enough from the entrance that the wind was no longer an issue.

  I crouched low and tried to keep warm, but every few seconds, my entire body shook and my teeth rattled. At this rate, I’d be an icicle in an hour.

  Convinced I was doing something wrong, I tried projecting to other places—the police station, the shop, Hayden’s place, Zack’s, Uncle Ben’s car dealership, the hospital where my aunt Genevieve worked.

  Zero success. Nada. Nil.

  I thought of using a spell to create fire, but I didn’t dare chance it. With my luck, I might end up burning my clothes. Besides, where would I create the fire? On the snow? There were no twigs or rocks to heat up. I was likely to melt the snow in the cave and drown.

  Gah, when did I become so negative?

  My eyes flew open, and I angled my head. Someone was singing.

  I stood and listened. Sounded like a woman. The singing came from deep inside the tunnel. Where in the world did people still live in caves? Because of the snow, I’d narrowed it to somewhere north. I didn’t know there were any cave dwellers left in the world, but you just never know. Or maybe this tunnel led to a village of cave dwellers.

  Feeling hopeful, I inched farther inside, my knees knocking with fear and cold. There was just so far the light from the entrance could reach, so I wasn’t surprised when the tunnel grew darker and darker. At least, it was wide and clear of debris. But it slanted slightly upward. I was debating whether to stop and go back or continue when I saw wet snow on the ground. Someone put it there. I looked up. There was a crack on the roof of the tunnel. Maybe it came from up there. But once again, I had enough light to see where I was going.

  There were more and more patches of wet and black ice. Melted snow. The farther I went, the more fresh snow I saw. Then more black ice. Those gave way to the wet tunnel floor. The tunnel grew wider, and the humming got louder.

  I turned a corner, and I saw flames flickering on the wall. The humming was directly ahead. I crept forward and peered into what looked like a cave. It was big and dry and right smack in the middle a fire was burning.

  The humming came from my right, but I couldn’t see the person doing it. Instead, I saw an opening, probably leading to a side tunnel. I was so desperate for warmth I stopped caring. Let them kill me. I rushed forward and stuck my hands toward the fire, tears of relief filling my eyes.

  I wasn’t sure how long I sat there before I noticed the silence. Whoever had been humming had stopped. Sure the person would enter the cave any second and chase me away, I scooted so the fire was between the opening and me. It was so dark all I saw were the rocks outlining the entrance. The darkness beyond it swallowed the light. It had magic written all over it. Dark masses without shape or form often meant bad news in the magical world, so I wasn’t too thrilled to see this one.

  When the humming resumed, it came from deep inside the darkness, and it was faint. I began to relax. I even sat down on the ground and turned away from the dark entrance to warm my back. But the fear of what might crawl from the lightless void kept me glancing over my shoulder every few seconds. The fact that the thing had lit a fire and let me use it might be a good sign, though.

  The singing continued, but the sound remained faint. When my back was completely toasty, I faced the fire and took a thorough inventory of the rest of the cave.

  There were no signs that someone lived in it. No clothes, cooking pots, or food. Even though large chunks of wood fed the fire, the flames didn’t appear to consume them. It was magical.

  “Thanks for letting me warm myself,” I called out, and the singing stopped. “Now I need to go home and get help for someone who desperately needs it.” I was probably crazy for thinking this person would give a damn. “Could you tell me how to get out of here?”

  Silence.

  “Please. He is going to starve or freeze to death if I don’t help him.” The singer started again. It wasn’t coming closer, which meant no help was coming from her. Great. “That’s okay. I guess you’ve done enough for me.”

  Refusing to give up, I closed my eyes and went back to trying to astral project. There was a difference this time. I couldn’t put a finger on it.

  Then I heard, “She’s coming around.”

  It was Hayden.

  CHAPTER 4. IMMORTALS

  CELESTE

  I lifted my eyelids, but everything was out of focus. It was like seeing through foggy glasses. The faces grew clearer until I was staring at Hayden and Tammy. I started to sit up.

  “Not so fast, dear.” Tammy firmly pressed on my chest and secured my back to the bed. “Let your inner self settle.” She closed her eyes and swept the air above my body with her hands. She was checking my aura.

  I looked around at the familiar yellow curtains and green walls and sighed with relief. I was in my bedroom, and from the lights, it was nighttime. Piles of blankets were on top of me, and I was sweating. I pushed them aside. Tammy touched my forehead.

  “She’s no longer cold,” she said.
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br />   “You scared the crap out of us,” Hayden said.

  Me too. “What time is it?” I asked.

  “Eight-thirty,” Dad said, entering the room with Aunt Genevieve, Zack’s mother. They didn’t look happy. “How are you feeling?” he asked.

  Five hours had passed since I’d gone into a trance? I sure hadn’t spent it in that man’s dungeon. The cave must have warped time, but how? No, it didn’t matter now. I was home.

  “I’m okay. Really,” I said. Tammy was still checking my aura.

  “Not after being out for hours,” Dad said. “Where did you go?”

  “Not yet, Richard,” Aunt Genevieve said firmly. “I’m checking her vitals first. Excuse me,” she added, concern mixed with annoyance in her voice. She looked pointedly at Tammy. “You can finish when I’m done.” Tammy didn’t argue. My aunt pressed her fingers to my wrist and checked her watch.

  Aunt Genevieve was Mom’s younger sister. She had grown up surrounded by magic, but the Witch gene had completely skipped her. She didn’t fully understand the power of magic, but she respected it. I always thought her attitude had influenced Zack and made him reluctant to embrace his gift. I never discussed magic with her and we rarely talked about Mom, but she was the one Dad had called when there was a medical emergency or whenever I had women issues, including the talk when I hit puberty.

  “I’m okay, Aunt Genevieve,” I reassured her.

  “Hmm-mm.” She inserted the thermometer in my ear. “You, my foolhardy niece, were not here when your temperature dropped.” She checked the reading, threw away the tip, and pocketed the thermometer, then pulled out a flashlight. “Your skin grew icy and your lips turned blue. Look at me.” She moved her hand and flashed the light into my eye. After a few repeats, she moved to the other eye. She glanced at Tammy. “I don’t know where she went, but next time you see signs of hypothermia, call an ambulance.” She stood and gave them a sweeping glance. “Okay?”