A Demon Does It Better

by Linda Wisdom

  Lili resisted the urge to look over her shoulder. “Yes, I’m sure we will.” She spun on her heels and walked away, refusing to look back to see if he was still there. It didn’t matter. She could feel the molten touch of his gaze with every step she took.

  “Who was that?” Deisphe pounced before she barely reclaimed her chair.

  “Someone I saw in Inderman a few days ago,” Lili said, taking a quick look this time and seeing the spot at the bar was now vacant. She felt a tug of emptiness in her stomach.

  What did you think he’d do? Come over here? Ask you to dance? Suggest we meet for dinner some evening? Introduce himself to the others as a maniacal escapee from the hospital?

  “Why can’t I meet hot guys like that?” Deisphe moaned, signaling to the waitress for another round of drinks. “There are way too many macho cubs out there who don’t understand a female’s needs one bit. The last one I dated thought females were good for nothing more than spitting out litters. Good thing my Alpha doesn’t agree with that mind-set.”

  “You know, we haven’t met a decent guy here in the past six months,” Fiona pointed out, picking up her glass now filled with a liquid the color of butterscotch. “We might have to look for a new club.”

  Deisphe laughed. “Or lower our standards.”

  “The last thing I need in my life is a man,” Lili stated, laughing as her new friends did their best to argue she was very wrong, even if the women admitted they hadn’t gone out on a decent date in months.

  For the balance of the evening, Lili smiled and knew she said the right things, since no one looked at her strangely. She even accepted a few dance invitations, including one from a vampire who showed too much interest in her neck. A tiny snap of flame that caught his attention and didn’t harm him kept his fangs where they belonged. Even then her attention still wandered around the club, looking for the face she knew she wouldn’t find.

  By the time she left the club, she felt the bubbles from her drinks coursing through her veins and was more lighthearted than she’d felt in a while.

  But she had also learned something new about Sera.

  Fiona may have thought that the witch left willingly, but Lili refused to see it that way. No, she was positive her friend didn’t leave of her own accord. She meant to find out just what happened.

  ***

  Burning pain. His veins were on fire, and Jared opened his mouth to release his agony in sound, but he found his mouth covered. The bindings were so tight that dark blood dripped onto the floor. He breathed heavily through his nose, trying to rise above the throbbing.

  “I am sorry it has to be done this way, but what we are doing will help.” The voice in his ear was like glass digging into open wounds. “Your pain enriches your blood, you see.”

  Fuck “we”! You’re the one doing it, and I’m just the victim.

  Jared opened his eyes wide and glared at his tormenter, who bestowed a bland smile on him as he drew his blood. A second later, he lost consciousness.

  ***

  The soft whoosh of flame coming from her living room prodded Lili awake.

  “Isn’t it a little early for company?” Cleo said unnecessarily, standing up on her pillow. She lifted her head, sniffed the air, then stretched.

  “Friend or foe?” asked Lili, although she doubted just anyone could break into her cottage. Not with the wards she had in place. She pressed her hands against her aching forehead. “No headache,” she said. “No, just the head falling off,” she whispered to herself, desperate for a headache powder.

  The rich scent of Chanel No. 5 floated into the room, a less-than-subtle warning of just who had invaded Lili’s private space.

  “I know you’re awake, Lilianna. Come join me.” The memorable contralto voice had Lili mouthing a variety of curses in ancient Greek. “And no profanity, if you please.”

  Lili stumbled out of bed and reached for her robe. She wrapped herself in the aquamarine fleece and tied it closed, even though she couldn’t detect a chill in the air. No surprise there. Her visitor wouldn’t have allowed it. She left her bedroom and headed for the living room. Candles were scattered throughout the room, lending a warm and cozy atmosphere for her uninvited visitor.

  Eurydice sat in an easy chair, her tall figure elegant in a green tweed Chanel suit and her hair coiled in a neat French twist. With her pearl-and-diamond earrings and accompanying necklace, she looked more like a society matron preparing to chair one of her many Councils than a witch whose age was unknown and whose power fairly radiated around her.

  Lili had long suspected that the witch headmistress had been good friends with Coco Chanel. Her wardrobe of the eternally classic styles she wore when she entered the mundane world was proof of that.

  A silver teapot and elegant china teacups were arranged on the coffee table along with a silver serving tray holding a variety of tiny cakes and sandwiches and an engraved silver bowl filled with caviar and toast points.

  “Thank you, but I’m not really hungry at this hour. Besides, I have a morning shift,” she said, feeling her stomach lurch just from looking at the repast. She really had to find out what was in those drinks she had!

  “Your schedule has been changed so you do not return to the hospital until the following day.” Eurydice picked up the teapot and filled the cups, handing one to her. “That way you will have plenty of time to recover from your night out. Drink this. I am sure it will help your headache.”

  Lili shouldn’t feel surprise that her visitor knew about her hangover. She doubted there was anything that the elder witch couldn’t do if she had a mind to. She took a deep breath. “I haven’t been there long enough to give you any kind of report,” she said, accepting the cup, savoring the warmth against her hands as she curled up on the nearby couch.

  “That’s all right. I thought we could chat.” The Head Witch smiled at her former pupil. She lifted her cup and sipped the contents. Her emerald ring, which mirrored her vivid green eyes, winked in the candlelight as the stone sparked power of its own.

  Lili didn’t know very much about Eurydice, but one thing she did know was that the powerful witch didn’t chat. Not at—she glanced at the clock on the mantel—three sixteen in the morning.

  Why is she really here? Her senses weren’t telling her anything. Not that she expected much. The elder knew how to keep secrets.

  Cleo sauntered into the room and hopped up onto the couch.

  “Cleopatra.” Eurydice inclined her head at the feline.

  Who needs a thousand-pound gorilla in the room when you’ve got two magickal divas?

  “Ooh, Almas,” Cleo purred, spying what was known as the most expensive caviar in the world. She flowed off the couch and headed to her new BFF.

  “Don’t let her have any,” Lili said, ignoring the cat’s snarl of outrage. “She has enough delusions of grandeur as it is.”

  Eurydice ignored her former witchling student and allowed the feline a taste. “An occasional indulgence should be allowed.” She speared Lili with a sharp green gaze. “Such as my allowing you to play amateur investigator in something that could prove to be dangerous. Yes, I know.” She held up an elegant hand to forestall Lili’s arguments. “While Margit is an accomplished protector, she still couldn’t provide enough training in that short period of time. I am aware that she even tried to talk you out of this stunt.”

  Lili’s jaw worked furiously as she fought to keep her temper under control. “It’s not a stunt. Sera came here, and she’s missing. I want to know what happened to her.” The young witch knew she was losing her perspective. It was easy to do when she worried about the fate of her good friend. “We spoke every day, either by wallmail or by phone. Then one day, there was nothing. I even called the hospital, and they only said she didn’t work there any longer.”

  She ignored the memory of Deisphe telling her nurse turnover there was high. Sera wouldn’t have left without telling Lili. It was as if she’d gone into the ether, never to return. Lili’s stomach
clenched at the idea of her friend being well and truly gone. “Something’s wrong, Eurydice, and I need to find out what it is. Crying Souls isn’t the institution I remember from years ago. It’s as if there are two buildings in one. I see two very different personalities there.”

  “Secrets have been a part of our existence for thousands of years,” the elder witch reminded her. “Some meant to be revealed over time, many kept in the dark for infinity.”

  “Then let’s work on unraveling those secrets.” Lili held up her cup in a toast, deciding it was best not to argue with someone who could put her down with just a twitch of her pinky. She sipped her tea, tasting flowers and herbs. Eurydice was right. The warm liquid was just what she needed.

  Eurydice smiled and lifted her cup.

  “You told me I could do this my way,” Lili jogged her superior’s memory. “That means when I discover something important, I will tell you. So far that hasn’t happened. All I’ve been coming up with are more questions than answers.”

  “You are a clever witch, Lilianna,” her elder said. “I am certain you are very careful, because I do not want to think what could happen if you are not. All the races have lost loved ones in that hospital. Too many deaths have been deemed suspicious, even though no one could find proof of any kind of wrongdoing. I understand your need to discover what happened to Sera and the more recent disappearances.” Her emerald eyes glinted with understanding. “I only agreed for you to come here and see what you could learn as long as you were careful and kept in touch with me. Except you did not follow my instructions. Since you did not, I felt I had to come to you.” She speared her former pupil with her intense gaze.

  So not a good thing to hear. Lili had done the unthinkable. She’d ignored Eurydice’s orders, and now the Head Witch was here to let her know she wasn’t happy. Lili momentarily touched her moonstone pendant for a hint of comfort, but the stone remained cold under her fingertips. No one’s home. The phone’s off the hook. Dead air.

  She’d whimper, but even that didn’t seem possible.

  She’d always been intimidated by the Head Witch, but then, who wasn’t? Eurydice ruled the witches overall and the Witches Academy with an iron wand. She tolerated no fools, and anyone who thought they could best her soon learned a very painful lesson. And never, ever, should anyone lie to her.

  In 1313, Eurydice banished Lili and her classmates from the Witches Academy when one of the students cast an illegal spell on a local nobleman’s son. No one confessed and the class stuck together, refusing to give up the wrongdoer.

  Eurydice told the witchlings at that time if they behaved themselves, they could return to the academy after a hundred years in the real world.

  So far, not one witch had returned to the academy.

  “As far as anyone’s concerned, Sera left there of her own accord,” Lili said abruptly. “And they’re not too happy about it, since she left during a Mage Flu epidemic.”

  “And you do not agree.”

  Lili knew Eurydice said this as a devil’s advocate.

  “No, I don’t. Sera is one of the most professional healers I know. She wouldn’t just up and leave,” she argued.

  Eurydice nodded. “I admire your loyalty, Lilianna. Few would go to these lengths to discover the truth.”

  “Anyone in my class would,” she said with a strong certainty.

  The elder witch’s nose wrinkled in memory. “Yes, well, you witchlings created a problem back then that was not easy to handle.”

  “And you never thought of a loss of memory spell?” Lili murmured. “Sorry.” She didn’t wince when her fingertips suddenly turned hot.

  “Enough damage had already been done,” Eurydice said sharply as she poured more tea for herself. “Lilianna, I do not have a good feeling about this path you have taken. Our Seers have only Seen shadows for you.”

  Lili froze at that, then quickly relaxed, hoping her visitor didn’t see her reaction.

  “San Francisco is known for its fog.”

  Eurydice’s eyes blazed with a burnished fire. “Impertinence is not necessary.”

  Lili decided stuffing her mouth with an iced petit four might be a good idea. She even took the time to dab a bit of caviar on a toast point and hand it to the waiting Cleo.

  “I did not come here assuming you would know anything by now,” Eurydice said. “I came because of what the Seers Saw and didn’t See.” Her regal features displayed concern.

  “The shadows.” Lili nodded. “Why hasn’t anyone investigated the hospital before? Looked into Dr. Mortimer’s work? The asylum is more like a dank dungeon. The patients are treated as if they were feral animals, not any kind of sentient being. Conditions there are filthy and sickening.”

  “And that is not what any of the inspectors have seen when they visit there,” Eurydice said. “All asylums are regularly visited by a Council.”

  “Then why doesn’t anyone see the truth? You can’t tell me a really strong illusion spell could continue to be undetectable.” She chose another iced cake to go with her tea. “Look what happened in Florence in 1768 when the healing center’s illusion spell hid the horrors inside?” She had been one of the healers who had gone in to help the afflicted. A great many creatures had been mistreated by a sorceress who performed horrific experiments in the name of healing. Lili still had nightmares from that time. “What I don’t understand is why Dr. Mortimer would do such a thing. He doesn’t seem the type.” She waved her hand. “Yes, I know the tales of witches who gave the false impression they wouldn’t hurt a soul and eventually were proven to use the darkest of magicks. Of others who did that and worse. Sometimes I feel as if he’s stuck in another century and unwilling to leave it. I’ve read his notes. He seems to want to see his patients cured, but at the same time there’s one charge he prefers to keep at a distance. As if he knows there’s no hope and only does as little as possible.”

  “You cannot save them all, child,” Eurydice said gently. “Just as you need to remember you could not save your mother. Hieronymus Mortimer is well-known for his excellent work with the afflicted.” She finished her tea and stood up. She stopped by Lili and placed a hand on her head, her touch warm and comforting. “Contact me immediately if you discover any magickal wrongdoing. Do not confront anyone yourself,” she said sternly. “And if you have need of me, you know what to do. I do not wish to lose such a talented healer as yourself.” The elder witch turned away and walked to a portal of shimmering golden light. She walked through it and disappeared.

  “Consider the tea set a housewarming gift, my dear.” Her words drifted in the air. “No household should be without a proper tea service for entertaining.”

  “Thank you.” Lili wasn’t sure whether to laugh or sigh in relief that she was alone again. She opted for grasping Cleo by the scruff of the neck when the cat ventured too close to the silver bowl. “You’ve had enough.”

  “Oh no,” Cleo mourned as the tea set, bowl, and serving dish disappeared. Witch and cat heard water running and cabinets opening and closing in the kitchen. She hopped off the couch and ran into the kitchen, returning in a few minutes. “Her cleaning service is even better than the brownies you use.”

  “Don’t let them hear you say that,” Lili warned, abandoning her chair. “They’re difficult enough to deal with.”

  Any energy she felt while Eurydice was there had now gone by the wayside, and Lili wanted nothing more than to crawl into her bed and sleep for the next twelve hours.

  Thanks to the Head Witch’s rearranging her work schedule, she could do just that.

  Nonetheless, she flopped back and forth on her pillows, disturbing Cleo so much that the cat sniffed her disdain and stalked into the other room.

  “Look at this, a Nancy Drew movie marathon is on cable,” Cleo called out. “Maybe you should come out here and watch it. You might pick up some tips. Or I could see if that doctor detective is on right now.”

  “Go suck an asp,” Lili muttered, burying her head under h
er pillow and finally falling asleep to the soft sounds of the TV playing in the family room.

  ***

  Some things never change. The acrid stench of unwashed bodies, decomposing food, shit lying along the side of the road. He could hear the clip-clop sounds of a dray horse pulling a wagon, the sounds of drunken laughter coming from a nearby gin house, and the prostitutes calling out to prospective customers as they strolled down the wooden sidewalk.

  Soot hung heavy in the air, masking the sky and stars overhead.

  How long had it been since he’d been here? Almost 130 years. It was a dark and dangerous world, where even a man’s clothing could be the motive for his death. Life meant nothing here. Small boys and girls trained as pickpockets or were sold to brothels.

  He felt inside the deep pocket of his frock coat, caressing the cold steel implement he kept there. He walked down the sidewalk, glancing inside the gin houses, keeping to the shadows.

  This time he would be more cautious with his endeavors.

  Chapter 6

  Lili stood with Dr. Heron as he treated a gnome for allergies.

  “It’s a prevalent problem among my kind,” he explained to her as he wrote out the list of ingredients his patient would take to the apothecary. “Many spells don’t work, so we’ve learned that certain infusions help with the rashes. What is that?” He frowned, his head snapping upward as a loud voice intruded the ER, which for once was fairly quiet.

  “How did you get in? You don’t belong here. Leave!”

  Lili walked swiftly toward the entrance to find the nine-foot-plus receptionist towering over the petite teenager holding a small boy, who wrapped his arms tighter around her shoulders.