They liked to barbecue their victims before eating them. Lovely.
The yeehnu’s jaws parted in a low hiss, and its throat constricted weirdly. Droplets of black liquid hung in loose ribbons from its maw, scraping the ground as it rolled its head in our direction. Yeehnu demons were a rare commodity in our world. I’d only vanquished two since I started patrolling the Veil for the Dark Witch Court. And I preferred it that way. Just one of these bastards could easily cook up a hundred humans before the night was over. This one had managed to kill one human woman, so far. But its spree was ending tonight.
I stood with my hands splayed by my sides. “He’s an ugly SOB. At least there’s just the one.”
“Uh—Sammy. To your left, darling.”
I spun to my left.
Another yeehnu demon was crouched over what looked to be a bundle of scorched human remains. My heart slammed into my chest. Damnit. Two yeehnu demons in one night? That was like spotting two Bigfoots in Central Park on a Friday night with beers in their hands. What the hell was going on?
And then I saw it.
Not fifty feet away, undulating in the air like a heatwave on a hot summer day, was a rolling wall of black water.
A Netherworld Rift.
A string of black smoke rose, framing the edges of the moving doorway. It glistened and cracked, erupting in swirls of black mist like a maelstrom of shadows. If you stared long enough, you could almost see to the other side, to a world of darkness, blood, death and pain.
“Oh crap,” I whispered, my insides clenching into a hard ball.
“Oh Rift,” said Faris.
Damn. Things had just become a great deal more dangerous.
CHAPTER 5
What does a Dark witch do when faced with a demon Rift dilemma of gigantic proportions? Absolutely nothing.
All I had to do was wait. Rifts never stayed open for more than a few minutes at a time. They were gaps in the Veil—that invisible layer that protected us and kept the Netherworld’s creatures from crossing over into our world—where the barriers between dimensions had become particularly weak. Thus they created a portal that would attract demons and other supernatural creatures. It could become a “hot spot” for supernatural activity, and that was very bad.
But the Veil would repair itself on its own and heal its wounds. That’s what it did.
The two yeehnu demons were still crouched over their kills though their bodies were posed for any sudden attack. Their eyes were fixed on us, probably waiting to see if we were going to strike first. Fighting off two yeehnu demons would be hard, but having Faris with me, I wasn’t worried.
Spindling my magic, I kept it close as I stood there waiting for the Rift to close. Yet, after sixty seconds, this one was still visibly open.
I shifted anxiously, casting my gaze around the park. No human joggers or any other mortals that I could see. Thank the cauldron.
“Faris. Is it me… or is this Rift staying open longer than usual?” The Veil should have closed it by now, seeing as it had let out two lesser demons. Weird.
“It does seem that way,” answered Faris. “How peculiar. Has this ever happened before to your knowledge?”
“No. Never.” I frowned, trying to keep the panic from rising. Movement caught my attention. The yeehnu demon to my left stepped over the body and squatted next to it, rows of eyes focused on me with such hatred I could almost taste it. “I don’t like this. I really don’t like this.”
The air sizzled with sudden cold energy. Tendrils of black demonic magic dripped from Faris’s fingers. “The longer it stays open…”
“The more demons are going to come out.” Holy hell.
As if on cue, the Rift shimmered and cracked again. Three more demons spilled out of the rippling doorway, as though hell itself had vomited them out. At least, the sudden reek of rot, bile, and sewage smelled like it.
These were not yeehnu demons. I had no idea what kind of demons they were. They looked like giant toads the size of bears withs claws and maws full of fish-like teeth. Their black hides gleamed in the moonlight, and black liquid trickled from their bodies like oil. Red eyes glowed like embers of a fire fixed on us.
“Uh… Faris?” I questioned, my pulse fast as my fingers pricked with my magic. “What the hell are those?”
“Meek demons,” answered Faris, and I didn’t like the tension in his voice. “They live in the Netherworld bogs. They’re bottom feeders. Big, nasty, creatures who just want to kill and feed. Rinse and repeat.”
Great. Hungry, stinky, giant toads from hell. This night was just getting better and better. “What the hell is going on?”
“I don’t know what to tell you,” said the mid-demon, “except perhaps—incoming!”
The yeehnu demons charged.
Adrenaline hit. “Feurantis!” I shouted and flung out my right hand at the nearest yeehnu. A ball of fire shot from my outstretched palm. The yeehnu vaulted to the side and caused me to miss. The ball of fire hit the ground where the demon had been a second before, burning a hole in the grass. I’d forgotten how fast these ugly bastards were. Like cheetahs, only fouler and not cute, cuddly giant kitties.
I felt the air move next to me and caught sight of Faris hitting one of the meek demons with a volley of his black death. The meek howled in pain and waddled forward, clumsy and slow. The toad demon grew and grew in size, as though someone had put a straw through its body and blown it up into a balloon. The meek shivered once and then exploded like a liquid piñata, showering Faris in black oil and strips of meek flesh.
The mid-demon squealed like a girl who’d just ruined her party dress over a spilled glass of grape juice. “I hate meeks! I hate them!”
Totally understandable. I would have loved to watch Faris cry over his ruined clothes, but if I didn’t move, I was a dead witch.
The sound of hissing reached me, and I spun with my hands in the air.
“Vento!” I shouted, slamming the yeehnu demon in the chest with a burst of wind and sending it sprawling to the ground fifty feet away.
“Sneaky bastard.”
My body shook from adrenaline. I spotted the other yeehnu demon, still crouched over its victim, with its head moving in sharp jerks as it tore into the human flesh. Guess this one didn’t want to disrupt its meal. One less demon to worry about for the time being. I would fry its ass later.
Something grabbed my arm. My feet slid and I was hauled to the ground with a powerful tug. Sand and rocks grazed my side as I was pulled by my left arm. Something was dragging me back. Panic hit as I saw a thick, gray tongue wrap around my arm and squeeze. Reaching out, my fingers slipped as I tried to pull the slippery mass of tongue from my arm. I couldn’t get a good grip.
I managed to turn my head and met a large open maw. The meek was ready to swallow me whole.
Just a second while I vomit a little in my mouth.
I wasn’t about to let this giant toad eat me. That would ruin my reputation, not to mention my new jeans. It was hard enough to find a pair that made my butt look good. This toad wasn’t getting them.
I was eight feet away from the meek’s mouth.
I pulled on my sigil rings and cried, “Fulgur chordis,” while slamming my free hand on the meek’s tongue around my arm.
Five feet.
Blue electricity shot from my hand and hit the gray tongue.
Two feet.
I cringed at the scent of burnt flesh, watching the tongue blacken from my magic. And just when I thought it wasn’t going to work, the tongue loosened, and I yanked my arm free.
“Hasta Feuro!” I shouted and spun around on my knees.
A yellow-orange fire spear-blasted into the meek’s open maw. Bullseye. The demon staggered, spitting up black blood as it fell on its back, legs flailing. Then, its body engorged like a balloon.
Oh crap.
I pushed myself up, just as a bucket of black, vile demon blood and guts hit me. I retched. Then retched again. The smell alone was enough to hit any sane person in a vomi
ting spree. I was blinded momentarily by sheets of black in my eyes. I froze on the spot. The last thing I wanted was to accidentally stumble through the Rift and end up in the Netherworld. Because, that would be bad.
I spat something rubbery from my mouth. Gross. My jeans were ruined. So was my pride.
“Ha-ha. Your turn,” I heard Faris laugh.
He was dead. So dead.
“Laugh it up, demon,” I spat on the ground. “Luckily for you, I can’t see a thing. ‘Cause you wouldn’t be laughing with my boot so far up your butt… you’d be choking.”
I wiped the blood from my eyes and something heavy hit me from the side, slamming me into a tree, which felt almost exactly like being slammed into a concrete wall. Ouch.
I couldn’t breathe. I blinked as something big and red crashed into me again. My head banged against the tree, and pretty black stars danced in my eyes.
I felt the thing move again as my instincts kicked in. “Murus!” I croaked, and a blue protection wall rose before me.
Through the semi-transparent wall, I could see the yeehnu demon hissing, its face a few inches from my own. A second later and it would have eaten my face off. Nice.
The demon stalked around the wall, anger rippling over its body. I could see it clearly in the light of the moon, all up close and personal. It was horribly ugly, misshapen, and foul with heavy muscles and strong jaws built to tear through flesh and bone. It glared at me before driving its head at my shield. As it rebounded in a shower of blue sparks, the demon howled a horrible and primal sound.
“Not too bright. Are you?” I looked over and saw Faris in the midst of battling the other yeehnu demon, his arms straight before him as black tendrils of death shot through his palms and hit the demon. I couldn’t see the last meek demon. Hopefully Faris had taken care of that one too.
My yeehnu demon snarled again, its eyes getting wider and rounder with its tail thrashing around wildly. The two rows of eyes were creepy and unsettling. I never really knew where to look.
The demon lowered on its haunches and stared, restless and ready, like a cat waiting for a chipmunk to stick its head out of the burrow in the ground.
“Nice try,” I laughed and did a little dance. I was having a moment. “Joke’s on you, buddy. You’re never getting through. You can kiss my a—”
And then my wall fell.
Oh crap.
The yeehnu pulled back its lips in what I could only describe as a butt-ugly and terrifying smile.
And then it lunged.
“Dis caeli!” I bellowed and sent a kinetic blast of energy into the demon. And then, for good measure. “Feurantis!” A ball of fire hit the yeehnu demon in midair, engulfing it like a flaming cannonball. The demon hit the ground and exploded into a cloud of ash.
“Not bad for a witch.” Faris rushed toward me. “You okay?”
My head throbbed like someone had taken a sledgehammer to it. “Fine. You look like you went for a dip in the Netherworld’s bowels.”
“Ha. Ha.” Faris made a face. “You don’t look any better, darling.”
I moved from the tree. “Looks like you got the last meek.” My eyes searched the park and found the Rift. My knees shook. It was still there.
There was a sudden crack as the Rift shimmered again. And then my worst nightmare came true.
Not one, not three, but ten more demons clambered out of the Rift.
I stood shocked as a horde of ghouls, meeks, and more yeehnu demons spilled through the gates from their homeland into ours. The demons took one look at us, seeing the remnants of their brethren, and kept going. They ran into the night on the prowl for easier, tastier prey.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
“This can’t be happening,” I cried, cold panic making my muscles stiff.
“Believe it because it’s happening, baby.”
“How can this be? It’s not supposed to happen. The Rift… it’s not… it’s not going to close.” I felt the blood leave my face as I realized what was happening. I’d never heard of such a thing, but maybe the demons had finally figured out a way to keep the doors open—indefinitely. I had to do something.
The Rift flickered and vomited three more shadow demons, their deformed and hideous bodies all the more monstrous, vile and evil. If you could give evil a physical body, that was it.
If I didn’t figure out something soon, hundreds of human-feeding demons would have escaped from the Veil on my watch. I’d never work for the Dark Witch Court ever again. I’d never work for anyone again.
Faris’s dark brows knitted to a frown. “We can stand here and debate all night, but if you don’t do something right now, even more of these bastards are going to come out. You’re a smart witch. Be creative and create something. Now.”
I looked at Faris, my blood pressure spiking. “Can’t you close it? You’re a demon.”
“Yes, if you need me to exploit a few females, I’m your demon. But I’m afraid my skills here would be worthless. The magic required to close off a Rift is beyond anything I possess. Besides, we’re on your side of the world. My magic wouldn’t have any effect. It’s your show tonight, my little witch.”
Right. I had to do something. “I think I might know of a spell to close it.”
Faris gave me an affable leer. “You go girl.”
I ran toward the Rift. The air stank of rotten eggs, burnt flesh, and blood. If that didn’t attract demons, I didn’t know what would.
The Rift shifted, and five more ghouls came clambering out. Being alive and all, I was not their preferred meal as they favored the rotten flesh off corpses. I cursed as I watched them run in the opposite direction.
I stood next to the Rift with the energy pulsing around me like a constant humming from a powerline. I’d never been so close to one before. The reek of sulfur and rot was overwhelming, and my ears popped with the shifting of pressure. A powerful wind blew around me, lifting my hair off my shoulders and slapping it against my face. It was unnatural, acidic and poisonous to us mortals. I recognized it. It was the Netherworld’s air, and it was coming from inside the Rift.
Floundering in my mind, I tried to recall a spell I’d happened upon in one of my favorite readings, A Dark Witch’s Guide to the Supernatural, which proved extremely taxing when faced with such a limited time frame.
I didn’t know much about the Veil. Right now, the only thing I knew for sure was that a demon had punctured a hole through it, and for reasons unknown, the Veil couldn’t heal itself. I didn’t have a degree in Rifts either, so I didn’t know how to shut off the doors to the Netherworld.
Instead, I focused on what I knew and what I could do. I could heal things. I could help the Veil, give it a boost. I just had to help it heal, and the rest would take care of itself.
Right. Easier said than done.
A scream erupted from somewhere in the park behind me. It was far away, but there was no mistaking the utter terror in the voice. Damn. Another victim.
“Whatever you’re going to do, dearest,” cried Faris, staring into the Rift with his eyes focused on something beyond our world, “you better hurry up and do it.”
I squinted into the wind. Shapes moved beyond the boundaries of our world. Hundreds. Thousands of shadows were running toward us. Toward our world.
Holy hell. Literally.
If they reached us, Faris and I were as good as dead.
Tapping into my sigil rings, I reached in and grabbed all the power I could to spindle it inside my core. Then I reached out with my right hand and touched the edges of the Rift.
I hissed as it burned my skin like I’d stuck my fingers in a flame, but I didn’t let it go.
Taking a deep breath, I focused all my energy from the rings and said, “To the Veil, into the ground. Here to stay, the magic is bound. To heal the Veil and her mind, within my magic the power bind.” And then faster. “Take my magic, your wounds to heal, by my words the magic’s sealed!”
I poured my will and my magic out with the words as I
chanted them. My body flooded with the tingling energy that gushed from my core, racing along my hands and into the Rift. My heart pounded as the spell strengthened to wind its way through me and into the Rift, becoming me and pulsing with the force of another heart.
But it also burned.
I cried out at the sudden searing pain racing through me, like my insides were liquifying. Dizzy, my balance wobbled as the magic gushed out of me like a fountain, drowning me in a flood of fatigue.
“Don’t let go, Sammy,” encouraged Faris. “Look. It’s working. You’ve got this. Don’t let go.”
I stared at the rippling black waters. The Rift shifted and began to shrink. It was already half its size. The door was closing. It was working!
Distant cries and howls of outrage found me. I squinted into the Rift. Countless shadows appeared in view, getting bigger and closer. I could make out wings and tails and tentacles. Their movements were frantic and desperate. The demons saw what I was doing, and now they were making a run for it.
The spell faltered as I lost my focus.
“Don’t let go!” cried Faris behind me. “Hold on just a little longer. It’s almost done.”
Straining, I grasped at the spell again while my heart slammed in my chest. I clenched my teeth, and sweat poured into my eyes as I held on to the spell. Close, damn you! Heal! If I let go now, I knew I wouldn’t have enough energy to conjure up the spell again. I had to hold on. Hold on a little longer…
The spell’s energy flashed, like bursts of static electricity inside my mind.
The demon howls intensified, their voices stronger and nearer. A hundred feet away. Seventy feet. Fifty feet.
“Almost there!” encouraged Faris. “Almost…”
Adrenaline flooded me. The spell seemed to shred me into thousands of pieces, held together only by my skin and my will. Searing pain exploded in my head, and blackness flooded my eyes. I couldn’t see, but I still held on.
“Witch!” I heard a guttural voice shriek, but it was too late. Their cries of outrage rose, echoed, and vanished.
My skin tingled as I felt the spell leave my body. The wind died. Silence.
Curses & Blood Page 4
