A Demon Does It Better

by Linda Wisdom

Lili noticed there were tiny wiggling things on his shirt front. She didn’t even want to think what the ogre ate for lunch.

  “I won’t need your assistance,” she told him, ignoring his comment.

  His bushy unibrow creased. “And the doc said you can’t see an inmate without one of us with you.”

  “I just said I don’t need your assistance.” Lili pushed enough power at him to cause him to fall back a couple steps.

  Turtifo scowled at her. He lost the staring contest and retreated to the room, mumbling it wasn’t anything off his ass if something happened to her. Don’t expect him to pick up the pieces.

  Lili kept a vigilant awareness of her surroundings as she headed for Jared’s quarters. She smiled as she heard the sound of a tiny voice from inside.

  Do you have any twos?

  “Go fish.” Jared’s laughter warmed Lili’s ears and had her smiling.

  She pressed her palm against the special lock and waited for it to click. A faint popping sound alerted her that Amy had left the cell.

  “It’s all right, it’s just me,” she said softly, waiting as the door swung open. She stepped inside and watched it close behind her. Her gaze settled on the tiny ghostly figure as Amy reappeared. Her eyes alighted on a deck of spectral cards lying on Jared’s mattress.

  “I don’t think it was a good idea to teach her poker. She’s killing me here,” he explained. His dark eyes glowed as he looked at her. “Long time no see, Doc.” He grinned.

  She grinned back. “How true.”

  “How’s the cat?”

  “Hungover, but she’ll survive.” She hesitated, glancing in Amy’s direction.

  “Amy, would you mind leaving Dr. Lili and me alone for a little while?” he asked. “We can continue our game later.”

  Amy ghosted out of sight.

  “What brings you down here?” He settled back on the mattress, stretching his legs out in front of him.

  “I wanted to run something by you.” She hexed up a chair and sat down.

  Jared cocked an eyebrow as he unleashed his devastating smile on her. “As in?”

  It took a moment for her to remember why she was there. He might be grungy-looking, but he was still sexy enough to make her mouth water. Memories of his kisses didn’t help with her peace of mind, either. “Let’s talk binding spells on a witch, spells that might be demon magick in origin.”

  Jared shook his head. “Not possible. Any binding spell my kind use can only be used among us, not on others. It’s a death offense to even consider targeting a member of another race.”

  She clenched her teeth against the frustration building up. “Fine, then what about a binding spell that can transfer a witch’s magick to another? That it comes to the point where it’s creating intolerable pain to the victim.” She remained silent, allowing him to think over what she said. “That sounds like demon magick to me.”

  Jared was so quiet she wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d fallen asleep.

  “Was the witch hot to the touch?”

  “Hot and I was almost thrown back on my butt when I touched her. Cleo pointed out spots where I shouldn’t touch her.”

  He used his hands to sketch in the air. “Ankles, thighs, waist, shoulders, and face?”

  Lili thought back to where the dots of light had hovered over Vonnie. “Yes. I managed to use a sleep spell on her, but I don’t know how long it will last. So I’m right? It is a demon-based curse?”

  He nodded. “And a nasty one. I’ve only heard of it in theory. Do you know who was stupid enough to use it on her?”

  Her expression darkened. “My first guess is her asshole boyfriend who’s a mage second class.”

  Jared shook his head. “No mage second class should have access to something like that. If he has that knowledge, then he had help. I’m sorry, Lili, it’s not good.”

  She shook her head, refusing to give in. “Do you have any idea what I can use to help her?”

  “The boyfriend should have what you require, and he’d need to carry it on him at all times if he wants to keep the magick flowing at a fairly steady rate. The charm will be something innocuous like a piece of jewelry or even a button.” He looked grim. “You have to find out where he obtained it. The demon who’d sell a spell like that has to be brought to justice.”

  “Justice as in destroyed.”

  “Got it in one.”

  “I want you to look at her,” Lili said.

  Jared looked down at his filthy and smelly self. “I don’t have a lot of power left after my little trip this morning,” he warned her.

  “If need be, I can help with an illusion spell. I need a demon to look at her before Zane shows up. Please?”

  “You’re right—he won’t waste any time if he’s afraid he’ll be found out. What he’s done has made him an addict for her magick. The withdrawal from this is bad.” Jared stood up and gathered the shadows around him while leaving a piece of himself behind to look as if he was sleeping.

  Lili returned to the main part of the hospital with her obscure companion on her heels.

  “Just don’t talk to me or look at me,” Jared instructed in a low voice.

  Once on the main floor, Lili entered the ancient elevator to travel to the top floor where patients were housed in the seclusion rooms. Once there she found Deisphe walking out of the room on the end.

  “Dragon lady came by and ordered up lavender in Vonnie’s room. I’ve got it scattered around, and it seems to be helping to ease her distress.”

  “I’m sorry I didn’t think of it,” Lili said, aware of Jared nearby.

  “Same here. I got hold of good ole Zane, and he’s very worried about his beloved Vonnie, since she wasn’t at their apartment when he got back after his classes,” she confided in Lili with a roll of her eyes. “He should be here in about an hour.”

  “Wow, you only spoke to him on the phone and you don’t like him already?” Lili was amused.

  “I’m sure I’ll not stand him at all once I see him in person. Vonnie’s still resting quietly,” the nurse told her.

  “Thanks. Do me a favor and let reception know that Zane isn’t to be allowed up here. He can wait in the lobby until I’m ready to see him.” She grasped Deisphe’s arm before she moved away. “Could you come to dinner tonight?”

  The Were smiled. “I’d love to.” Her smile disappeared just as fast. “Lili, is something wrong?”

  “No, I’d just like us to have some time to talk,” she assured her. By now she felt she could trust Deisphe, and she hoped the Were could help her with more information about Sera. “About six?” She added her address.

  “I’ll be there with dessert in hand.” She gifted her with a bright smile.

  Lili moved toward the seclusion room, sensing Jared’s presence close by. She paused once, quickly typing a text message on her cell phone. She smiled when a reply appeared seconds later. It’s good to have friends in the right places.

  Magickal wards covered the glass chamber, ensuring that no harm could come to the inhabitant and preventing Vonnie from causing injury to anyone who entered the room.

  Lili stopped in front of the heavily warded glass and looked in. She thought Vonnie looked smaller than before. A soft blue blanket covered her, and golden sigils scrolled on the fabric while more power softly pulsed throughout the room.

  “Could Zane break into the room?” Jared asked softly.

  “Not without enduring some excruciating pain,” Lili said with satisfaction. She briefly savored the idea of the young mage trying to break into Vonnie’s haven and ending up on the floor, crying like a baby.

  Jared moved around her and stared through the glass.

  She didn’t understand the words that fell from his lips, but she guessed that they were some pretty hefty swear words.

  “Don’t you see them?” he demanded, his jaw tight with fury.

  “See what?” She followed his gaze but only saw the quietly sleeping witch.

  “The bonds. You�
��re right, Lili. That fucking mage has her bound so tightly, it’s killing her,” he bit out the words. His hands tightened into fists that looked as if they were ready to pound someone.

  Lili guessed the intended prey would be a mage second class.

  Jared hunkered down on his heels. “Give me something to draw with.” He didn’t look up as he held up his hand.

  Lili handed him a black marker and watched him draw a woman’s figure on the tile floor then slashed dark lines across her body in the areas he mentioned before.

  “The bonds are on these parts of her body,” he stated. “Demon magick means you need a demon to remove them. And it’s going to hurt like Hades when you do release them. They’ve been attached to her so long, they’ve actually grown into her body.”

  She absorbed his words. “Will it kill her?”

  Jared shook his head. “Not if it’s done right. But it will be a long recovery for her. Witch magick and demon magick aren’t a good mix. That’s why you need to know where he got the charm. Both of them need to be taken care of.”

  “Tell me what I need to save her.” She stared at the witch, sensing her pain and wishing she could just snap her fingers and it would be gone. What good was her healing magick if she was thwarted at times?

  “Me.”

  She shook her head. “No way. That I can’t do. I’d have enough problems if Dr. Mortimer found you out of your cell, but if he knew you were helping with me with a patient, I’d be shipped back to Chicago in seconds. Then I’d be brought up on charges. You’ll have to tell me what to do.”

  “He won’t know,” he said confidently. “As I said, this is olde demon magick. I bet there isn’t anyone else in this building who can help that witch. Something tells me I’m the only demon around.” His voice softened to a growling purr. “You asked for my help, Lili. You have it.”

  Lili straightened up, releasing a healthy dose of her power to give Jared a good push. “Crying Souls is one of the most revered hospitals for the preternaturals, alongside Darkside Manor in England and Cura para Todos, near Madrid,” she said, allowing her ferocity to show. “Not to mention others in the Pacific area. I have been fortunate to work at many of them and have learned something new wherever I went. Maybe we don’t have as many healing centers as we need, but we do our best. Over the centuries, new curses have increased and qualified healers haven’t.”

  Jared shook his head. “Knock off the defensive attitude. Demons always keep to themselves and make sure their magick isn’t used by anyone outside their clans. So tell me, Dr. Carter, do you know of anyone here, other than me, who can handle a demon-created binding spell guaranteed to kill that witch in there if something isn’t done fast?” He crossed his arms in front of his chest, impatiently waiting for her reply.

  Lili considered a good bout of primal scream therapy or maybe just zapping him with a good dose of mylethian parasites. The cure was just as disgusting as the disease. She allowed a tiny smile to slip as she imagined the parasites burrowing into his skin.

  Jared narrowed his eyes. “I don’t like what you’re thinking.”

  “What am I thinking?” She was all innocence now.

  “I’d say something not good that happens to involve me, and I’m talking not in a fun way.” He pulled in a deep breath and exhaled noisily. “I’m not being arrogant here, Lili. She needs my help.”

  “Yes, you are being arrogant. All demons are arrogant. It’s part of your DNA, or whatever in Hades you want to call it.” Lili turned her head to stare at Vonnie. Her heart clenched as she saw agitation move over the witch’s body in rolling waves. Then she smiled as Cleo carefully climbed onto the end of the bed and gently touched Vonnie’s leg with her paw. A moment later, she returned to natural slumber while Cleo reclined next to her.

  “I never saw a cat do that,” Jared commented.

  “Cleo’s constantly full of surprises.” She felt her cell phone vibrate and pulled it out of her pocket. “Hmm, seems Zane has arrived early.”

  “And is probably very worried about the love of his life,” Jared said sardonically.

  “Of course he is.” She quickly typed in a text. “I was going to make him wait in the lobby, but I think I’d like to have a chat with him instead. I asked Deisphe to take him to my office. I’m sure we’ll need some privacy for this particular conversation.” She looked at Jared and arched an eyebrow. “Are you ready to terrorize what’s probably an arrogant little pissant of a mage?”

  Jared flashed a grin while his eyes sparked fires. “Nothing I’d like better.”

  Chapter 10

  As she returned downstairs and walked briskly to her office, she ignored Jared’s presence, as she had earlier.

  Deisphe stood by the door while her charge sat by Lili’s desk. Lili didn’t miss that the young mage sat there blatantly flirting with the Were. The gorgeous cat looked ready to take a nasty bite out of him.

  “Hello, Zane, I’m Dr. Carter.” She entered her office and held out her hand. The minute she touched him, she felt a sense of imbalance in his power and noted the flickers of lack of control in his eyes. Jared’s right. He needs a fix. Good thing there’s no way he can get to Vonnie.

  She stared at the blond-haired mage with the winning smile and boyish good looks. A bronze pin tucked in his shirt collar indicated his status as a mage second class. She wondered how many exams he had cheated his way through to get that pin.

  “How is Vonnie?” he asked, masking his earlier flirtation with concern.

  “She’s very ill.” She gestured for him to be seated and walked around to sit behind her desk. She sensed Jared had taken possession of a shadowed corner. Deisphe straightened up as she felt an odd shift of power in the room, but not even by a flicker of her eyelash did she indicate she knew something was different.

  “What’s wrong with her?”

  “We’re not sure. I’m still running tests,” Lili said with her best doctor’s smile meant to reassure a patient’s next of kin.

  He leaned forward in his chair, his fingers tapping the arm of the chair. “I want to see her.”

  Lili looked up at Deisphe and gestured for her to leave the office. The nurse frowned but finally slipped away. The witch still gave no indication Jared was present.

  “I’m afraid that isn’t possible,” she informed the young mage. “Since we don’t know what’s wrong with Vonnie, I’ve had to place her in a seclusion room. For all we know, she could have been exposed to something highly contagious. We can’t take that chance,” she said blandly.

  “I want to see her,” he demanded.

  Lili placed her linked hands on top of her desk. “I’m sorry, only family members will be allowed inside the room.”

  “I’m her family. Vonnie only has me!” Zane shouted, showing a loss of control.

  Jared started to push away from the shadows, but an incline of Lili’s head stopped him.

  “You’re not mated, therefore, you’re not a family member,” she stated. The charm had to be on him. She didn’t want to think about finding a way to strip him down to find it. But she would if she had to.

  Then she noticed a jagged piece of metal decorating a leather band wrapped around his left wrist. Near his heart. Power base.

  “I love Vonnie. I need to be with her,” Zane insisted, his white-knuckled grip almost breaking the chair arms. “Take me to her now.”

  “I don’t think so.” Lili ignored his attempt to compel her to follow his demand. She wanted to slap the youngling down, big-time.

  “You’re hurting, aren’t you, asshole?” Jared stepped out of the shadows. “It’s like a drug. Once you’re hooked, you can’t stop. Your body is demanding a fix.”

  Zane’s eyes widened. The smell of fear flowed off his skin like an acrid stench. “Who… what are you?”

  “I’m your worst nightmare, you son of a bitch.” He reached down and tore the leather band off the mage’s wrist, leaving a painful welt behind.

  “You’re a demon.” Zane al
most crawled up the back of his chair. “You’re supposed to help me keep what I rightfully paid for.”

  “I had nothing to do with this transaction.” Jared held up the band, the metal glinting dark glimmers in the room. “Why don’t you tell me about your talisman?”

  The mage couldn’t take his eyes off the leather bracelet. His fingers twitched with the need to snatch it back. “That’s nothing. Just something I wear for luck.”

  “Why wear nothing for luck?” Jared countered in a silken tone that sent shivers along Lili’s spine.

  She stood up and braced her hands on her desk. “Luck as in keeping it close to you so you can drain the woman you claim to love of her magick,” she accused. “You’ve almost killed her by using that illegal charm.”

  “Not to mention getting yourself in a shitload of trouble for dealing with the wrong kind of demons,” Jared hitched a hip onto the corner of her desk. “What did you give the demon for this charm?” He dangled it in front of Zane. “And don’t tell me it’s not a charm,” he warned when the mage opened his mouth. “I’m able to smell and feel a demon binding charm miles away.”

  “I was told no one could sense it.” Zane knew his mistake the moment he spoke.

  Jared loomed over him, resting his hands on the chair arms. “I’ve got news for you, sport. Demons lie,” he said softly, the words like razor blades across the skin.

  Lili ratchetted up her personal protections as she stared at a new scary side of Jared. This creature could easily twist Zane’s head off his neck and hand it to him without breaking a sweat.

  “He’ll be taken care of, Jared,” she murmured. “I’ve already arranged for him to be held accountable for his crime.”

  “And I will let you do just that, right after he gives me the name.” He leaned down until he was nose to nose with a heavily sweating Zane.

  “I can’t,” he stammered, now refusing to look at the band Jared held. “He said I’d die the minute I say his name.”

  “And you’ll die if you don’t.” He bared his teeth. “So let’s try this again. Name and clan. In order for you to have procured this,” he dangled the band in front of Zane’s frightened eyes, “you’d have to know both.”