by Simone Pond
“Stop running away from me!” he yelled.
“I don’t need your help!” I took off again.
The large demon I had hit with the rock switched directions and came barreling my way. Hopefully I could cause confusion until I figured out how to take them down. Turns out I didn’t need to, because Asher scooped up air with his hand and lobbed some sort of magical power at the demon, knocking it down. The forest floor rumbled when the behemoth dropped. I didn’t know if the creature was dead or unconscious and I didn’t want to find out—I darted from behind the tree and found another temporary hiding place.
The other two demons saw their buddy on the ground and went after Asher, but he stomped down, causing an enormous ripple in the ground to wave outward. The demons lost their balance and fell over. Asher’s tremendous strength and his mighty powers were an unexpected bonus—though I was still pissed that he lied about who he was and had planned on turning me over to Cagliostro, he was incredibly hot. He was a thing of beauty as he picked up one of the demons and swung it like a discus across the trees.
Losing patience, the third demon growled and charged at Asher. That time he wasn’t fast enough to defend himself. The demon slashed its long claws across Asher’s chest, slicing deep into his muscles; blood saturated his shirt as he stumbled backward.
“No!” I yelled, charging from behind the tree straight toward the demon like I could actually do something. I had no idea what my small frame would do upon impact, but I hoped to distract the bastard long enough for Asher to get his footing. I took the sharp rock in my right hand and lunged at the demon, aiming right for one of his black beetle eyes. The jagged point dug into his throat because I hadn’t properly calculated our size difference, but it was enough to cause him pain. He reached for my neck and lifted me up, strangling the life from me. I wondered what would happen to my body if I died in Asher’s hidden dimension—would I be considered “missing” like my parents?
I didn’t have to worry about that for too long because Asher came up from behind the demon and impaled the bastard through the chest with a wooden spike; its body exploded into a spray of red, and I scurried away.
“Fiona! Stop moving. I need to get us out of here before more of them come after us.”
As much as I wanted to pretend like I didn’t need Asher’s help, I’d be a fool to refuse it. Without my Armor, I was sort of helpless—also, I had no idea how to get out of the hidden fortress, only Asher did. If I ever saw Ezra again, I’d be sure to ask for specific instructions on how to dimension hop. If demons and rogue angel bounty hunters could do it, why couldn’t a Protector?
Though Asher was bleeding heavily, he took powerful strides in my direction. My heart raced, and not from the attack. I wanted Asher. Badly. Trying to stop my feelings for him was as futile as trying to stop being a Protector of Light.
He grabbed my arm and yanked me close against his bleeding chest. I allowed my head to rest on his shoulder as he glimmered us out of the woods and back to his house. We arrived in his kitchen, and he dropped to the floor.
“Asher! Please don’t die.” I sounded ridiculously melodramatic.
“Call Charlotte.”
When Charlotte answered, I didn’t bother explaining what had happened and told her to hurry up and get to Asher’s house. While we waited, I paced around Asher’s kitchen, trying to preoccupy my thoughts with anything but the blood-soaked towel he held against his wounds.
“I really like this cabinetry. Do you think you could do something similar with my kitchen? And the white marble counter tops are lovely—very nice touch. I think that would definitely look great. But is it still in keeping with the original design? I’d hate to do something too modern. However, it is a kitchen, and a kitchen should have—”
“Will you please stop talking? Or rambling. Whatever it is you’re doing. Please just chill. Maybe come sit next to me and apply some pressure to these gaping holes in my chest?”
“Oh, I’m so sorry!” I ran over to Asher and sat next to him, holding the towel over his chest.
“I’m sorry I deceived you,” he whispered, starting to fade out.
“Don’t you dare die. I’m still mad at you and that would be incredibly selfish to die on me like that.”
“Kiss me,” he said.
“What?” I heard him, but I was confused and angry—and unbelievably turned on.
“Come here.” He used the last bit of his strength to pull me closer to him until our lips were a breath apart. I leaned in gently and kissed him. The heat burned through my lips, down my throat, and pulsated through my limbs.
“Please don’t die,” I whispered, holding back any silly tears.
But Asher closed his eyes, and I could no longer feel the faint beating of his heart.
thirty-two
The pounding on Asher’s front door jolted me out of my despair. Charlotte had arrived. I ran out to get her, admiring Asher’s impeccably decorated home, and pulled her toward the kitchen.
“He might already be dead,” I told her.
“I can’t resurrect the dead.”
“You can try, can’t you?”
I shoved Charlotte into the kitchen, and she immediately knelt down next to Asher. She removed the blood-soaked towel and ripped open his shirt. He wasn’t moving. The cuts were deep and exposed some of his ribs, which made me gag a little bit. I paced around as Charlotte held her hands over Asher’s jagged wounds.
“Stop pacing!” she yelled.
I stood behind her, watching in disbelief as rays of sparkling pink light poured from her palms and penetrated Asher’s chest. Nothing happened. He lay as still as a stone. Charlotte kept pouring light into his chest, but still nothing.
“Come on, Asher! You’re not allowed to die when I’m still mad at you!” I dropped to my knees and held his head in my hands. I kissed his cold forehead, wiping his dark hair from his brow. I wanted to see his perfect blue eyes again. I needed him to open his eyes and look at me.
“It’s working!” Charlotte sang out in surprise. “Look at his wounds.”
I didn’t really want to look at Asher’s mangled chest, but I couldn’t stop myself from watching as Charlotte’s pink healing light magically melded the flesh back together. When there wasn’t a single scratch across Asher’s chest, I expected him to open his eyes and smile at me, but he didn’t. He remained still.
“Why isn’t he waking up?” My heart raced frantically and sweat dripped down my cheeks.
Charlotte sat back, completely tapped out. “I don’t know. I’m kinda new at this healing thing.”
I placed my ear over his chest to listen for a heartbeat.
“Is he dead?” Charlotte asked.
I wasn’t sure. I thought I heard something, but then nothing. “Maybe he’s in a regenerative state or something? I don’t know. I’m new at this, too.”
We sat on the floor, leaning against the cabinets, and waited for a miracle. Charlotte was drained; her rosy cheeks were pasty white. I wondered if she had over-exerted herself.
“You okay?” I murmured.
“Just wiped out. But it’s strange; I can feel some power inside of me churning, like an energy factory replenishing me.”
“That’s pretty freaking cool. I only feel power when I’m wearing the Armor. Which I’m not, and that’s why Asher’s probably dead.”
“Please don’t take the blame. You did that all through college. Like when you said your parents going missing could’ve been prevented if you had been more on the ball. I don’t know anyone more on the ball than you, Fiona. I mean, your first week on the job at Lifting the Fog and you exposed a human trafficking operation within the government?”
I smiled. “You heard about that?”
“Of course. Once you set your mind on something, you go after it. Good things have resulted. Look, I don’t know what happened with you guys, but whatever it was couldn’t be entirely your fault.”
“It wasn’t. He lied about some pretty big stuff
. Like being a bounty hunter who was planning to sell me to Cagliostro—the head demon mage of the Shadow Order. But he changed his mind because he likes me. Sounds so surreal. Is this going to be our life from now on?”
Charlotte laughed and kissed my cheek. “As long as we’re in it together, I’m cool with it. You know, I’ve heard that name—Cagliostro—before. Lilith invited me to some huge gala event at the Palace Hotel tonight. Apparently all of the most powerful supernatural factions will be there. Cagliostro is doing some sort of sacrifice—blood ritual or some creepy shit like that. I kinda tuned out after she mentioned sacrifice.”
Upon hearing that, I knew in my bones who Cagliostro was planning to use in the ritual. “We have to stop him,” I told her. “I’m almost positive it’s the other Protector of Light—Julian.”
“So you want to go up against the most powerful demon mage in the city?”
“We have to. Another Protector’s life is at stake. And if Cagliostro kills Julian and drinks his blood—or whatever the hell he’s going to do—it will definitely give him more power. More power means the Light will be in grave danger.”
“That can’t be good.”
“We’re going to that gala event. You don’t have to do anything except sneak me in. I’ll find Julian and get him the hell out of there. Simple.”
“Nothing is ever simple, Fiona.”
She was right about that. But I couldn’t let a little challenge get in my way of doing the right thing. All I had to do was find my way to Julian and the two of us could work together. Didn’t Ezra say Protectors were more powerful when they’re working together? I had done some successful feats on my own, so imagine what two Protectors could do. Get the Scrolls back, for starters.
“We need to go see Lilith,” I told Charlotte.
“You’re serious? You want me to ask my succubus sister if we can tag along with her to a demonic sacrifice?”
“Yep.”
Charlotte planted her face into her palms and stayed quiet for a minute. “What about your boyfriend?” She glanced over at Asher who was still not moving.
I didn’t feel great about leaving him behind in an inconclusive condition—dead or alive—but I had heard the call. The call I had been ignoring all week because of my selfish ambition to appease Somer Barrett at Lifting the Fog; the call I had been ignoring my entire life because it seemed like such a nuisance. Now it was time to take my real job seriously. And by real job, I meant being a Protector of Light.
“I’ll leave Asher a note.”
thirty-three
Lilith opened the door all smiles. That is until I de-cloaked myself. The test had worked—she couldn’t detect the Armor when I was fully cloaked. Hopefully this held true for the rest of the Shadow Order. Only time would tell. But so far, score for the Protectors.
“You didn’t mention she was coming over.” She frowned at me.
“Oh, good. So you can’t see the Armor if I’m cloaked?”
Lilith turned to Charlotte. “What’s going on, sis?”
“You’re taking us to that gala event at the Palace Hotel,” I said.
Lilith actually cackled. “If you think I’m bringing a Protector to this thing, you’re batshit.”
“Come on, sis. We need your help. I wouldn’t ask if it weren’t vitally important,” Charlotte said.
Lilith thought for a minute. “Do you have any idea that the entire Shadow Order is looking for you?”
I nodded.
“And you want to walk right into the belly of the beast?”
“That’s how I roll,” I said.
“Your funeral, Protector.” She stepped aside and let us in.
Upstairs, Lilith and Charlotte got ready for the demonic event of the season, while I sat on the bed, watching. Thank heavens, Glimmer City, and every single dimension that I didn’t have to go through the torture they seemed to be enduring getting ready. But Lilith did look stunning in her red dress with her blond hair pulled off to one side, cascading over her shoulder in waves of golden splendor. Charlotte wore a simple black dress and pulled her hair up into an elegant twist.
“So, do you have a plan?” Lilith asked.
“Yes, one that doesn’t concern you. I just needed to make sure you couldn’t see me when I was cloaked. Thank you. Off you go….”
Lilith rolled her smoky eyes and stormed out of the room.
I sat next to Charlotte, keeping my voice low in case Lilith had super succubus hearing abilities. “Here’s the deal. I’ll be fully undetectable. I’ll be right behind you when you enter the hotel. You join the guests and listen. Text me if you hear anything remotely suspicious.”
“Like what?”
“Like if my cover’s blown.”
Charlotte applied some red lipstick. “This is so weird.”
“Tell me about it.”
From downstairs, Lilith called up to us. The car was out front. I tapped my helmet and disappeared.
“You still here?” Charlotte asked.
“I’m right behind you. Be safe, Char. Seriously, if things get out of hand, get the hell out of there. No matter what. Okay?”
Charlotte reached into the air and did a fake handshake. I think taking it with a grain of salt was her way of coping with this new supernatural phase of our lives.
thirty-four
The last time I had visited the Palace Hotel was for my thirteenth birthday. My grandmother had taken me to high tea in the Garden Court. I ate so many chocolate tortes my stomach was in knots the rest of the night. Still, the luxury and opulence of the hotel wasn’t lost on my gluttony. It was one of the most spectacular moments of my life, sitting at the table with my dear grandmother, sipping tea and admiring the sunlight sparkling through the magnificent windows. The same mesmerizing feeling came over me as I trailed behind Charlotte and Lilith into the lobby of the grand hotel—only instead of sunlight pouring into the court, the room twinkled from the warm radiance of chandeliers.
I tapped Charlotte’s shoulder and whispered, “You go on ahead. I’ll be sleuthing around, trying to figure out where they’re holding Julian.”
She smiled at a passing gentleman who may or may not have been a demon, warlock, or shifter, and mumbled under her breath, “Please be careful.”
“You too.”
I slipped away from the sisters and hid behind one of the marble pillars. Observing the lavish room and the dazzling guests, one would never suspect that this was a room full of demonic beings. The Shadow Order kept up classy appearances; the women sparkled and the men beamed. They were a damn good-looking bunch of supernatural assholes.
Charlotte situated herself by the bar, while Lilith made the rounds, flirting with only high-level mages and demons. Lilith wasn’t the type of gal to waste her time on a meager warlock and most definitely not a trifling shifter. She was a social climber.
On the other side of the pillar, a slender woman with sleek black hair leaned over to a tuxedo-clad man, whispering in his ear, “Do you know what time the main event starts? I have a pending engagement.”
“What could be more important than this?” the man asked.
“Oh, don’t get me wrong, dahling, I’m all for a blood sacrifice of a Protector, but honestly, I have to look after my own interests. And I have a venture capitalist waiting for me in New York.”
The man chuckled, stroking the woman’s shoulder. “Always planning ahead, Candace. Smart little witch, you are.”
“You’re not so bad, warlock. In fact, if you want to head up to my room until the festivities begin, I’d love to show you my portfolio.”
He grabbed her ass. “I’d love to see your portfolio any day.”
The two strutted off to the elevators. There was something so incredibly icky about evilness.
I noticed Charlotte talking to a debonair man with salt and pepper hair and a gold watch that could’ve guided a ship in from sea. Charlotte tilted her head back, pretending to flirt. She was actually really good at it, much better than I gav
e her credit for—but she held her own. After a few minutes of chatting up the fine-looking gentleman, she looked around the room, then pulled out her phone. My back pocket started buzzing. As I reached around to grab my phone, something shocked the life out of me, and I dropped to the floor.
“What the fuck—” I murmured, glancing up from the ground.
Cagliostro stood over me, rubbing his slender hands together, beaming wickedly from ear to ear. “It’s working even better than I anticipated.”
Clearly, Cagliostro had obtained a lot more information from Julian than I had bargained for. His powers outweighed mine because when I called for my sword, nothing happened—he had been able to deactivate my Armor with whatever source of power he had gleaned from the Sacred Scrolls. Lilith strolled over and stood by his side, smiling smugly. If I had any strength, I would’ve jumped up and tackled the bitch to the ground.
“Well done, Lilith dear. You’ll be greatly rewarded for your loyalty.” Cagliostro stroked her cheek, and she released a sultry moan.
“What are you getting in return for setting me up?” I asked Lilith.
“Oh, Fiona. You're the idiot who came to me.” She just chuckled lightly, then sauntered off to chat with the guests.
“Get her up to the suite with the other one,” Cagliostro instructed one of his guards.
“I’ll never decode the Scroll,” I choked out.
“Oh, never you worry, dear. I have other plans for you,” he assured me. “Your Protector friend, Julian, has already yielded enough information to begin decoding the Scroll. I originally planned to seal the covenant by drinking his blood, but thank you for the generous gift of yours as well. The blood of a virgin is incredibly powerful and delicious.”
“Screw you.”
A guard pulled me up and cuffed me, then shoved me toward the elevator. I looked for Charlotte, but she was lost amidst the crowd.
We rode the elevator to the presidential suite on the top floor. The guard pushed me into the living room, then through another few rooms until we reached a secluded spot in the back. There was a glass cube containing who I could only assume was Julian the Protector. The sun-bleached blond surfer couldn’t have been a day over sixteen.
