by Ann Aguirre
“That will not be necessary, Binder.” The neutral tone was back, a sure sign I had offended it. “I will convey you to my employer, as I was instructed. Where you go from there is between you and her.”
Her?
“Do we have allies?” Chance asked.
“In a manner of speaking. The Luren want to see you. Speak with you. They are…amenable to the idea of a shift in the power structure.”
I pondered; I wasn’t without resources, so I etched a sigil in the air with my athame, whispered a word, then asked, “Did the Luren have anything to do with taking Shannon?”
“No,” the demon answered. “But they did not strive to prevent it either.”
Truth echoed in my head. The spell wouldn’t last long, so I needed to get as much info as I could.
“Who are they?”
“They mean you no harm,” Greydusk said impatiently. “Which is more than I might say for any other caste. You imperil yourselves by arguing here. It’s imperative that you permit me to complete my contract.”
Half truth. The whispered judgment from the spell didn’t shock me. Unfortunately, it couldn’t tell me which part was less than honest. Maybe the last bit, because the consequences would be terrible for Greydusk if we balked. He’ll die, a skeptical voice reminded me. That meant it was doubtful we could trust him. He’d say anything to get us to cooperate. Yet it wasn’t like I had a demonic version of Chuch hanging around Sheol, waiting for my call. There were no better offers on the table.
“What do you think?” I asked Chance.
He lifted one shoulder in a graceful shrug. “I don’t know where the hell we are. We could die here before we find Shannon without some help, so it seems better to let him take us to the demons who don’t immediately intend to kill us.”
That summed up the situation nicely. Greydusk had us over a barrel. So I muttered, “Let’s get on with it.”
The Imaron set a small, intricately graven box on the ground. Then it whispered a word in demontongue, and the item responded with an agitated rattle. It unfolded rapidly, assembling into something larger, and when the pieces stopped unfolding and turning, the tiny article had turned into what looked like a mechanical coach. I shared a glance with Chance, brow raised. In reply, he shook his head: Nope, never saw anything like that before.
Next, Greydusk uncapped a vial, and blacklight poured out. I recognized it from Lake Catemaco, even if I hadn’t been able to identify the smell. Panicked, I drew, so that magick sparkled on my fingertips, burning like ten small suns. My spells slipped, so that I couldn’t remember which sigils matched what effects; I was that scared, and without an outlet for the power I’d drawn, I would cook myself alive.
“Calm down,” Greydusk said impatiently. “The Klothod won’t hurt you.”
Except when they possess a bunch of angry monkeys, who then try to eat your face. They killed the boatman in Catemaco without breaking a sweat. “Since when?”
“Since I command them.”
Chance took my hand, even with the energy crackling from it, and it burst away from him, lancing the air in a wild bolt that shook the tree. Overhead, the bird-thing uttered a raucous cry in protest. As I watched, Greydusk whispered orders to the Klothod, and they infused the carriage he’d called. The thing shuddered to life, fed on demonic energies. I swallowed my misgivings, climbed up, and then we were off.
The smell lingered around us, tingeing the air. I couldn’t forget that some of these things had tried to murder me; they had killed Ernesto, an honest boatman from Veracruz. In my heart, I knew Kel wouldn’t approve of this. He’d said I held both heaven and hell in me, and that I had yet to choose my course. But this? No. There was no paradise waiting for me after this. So I’d better make my mortal life count because it was straight down in a handbasket thereafter.
A lonely road stretched before us; there was no other traffic. No signs of indigenous life either. No native flora and fauna. “What is this place?”
“The Ashen Plain. On its other side, we will cross the River of Lethe, and come through the Chasm of Despair.”
“Seriously?”
It ignored my sarcasm. “Once past, we will see the city walls.”
“Xibalba,” Chance said.
“Just so.”
“From there, you’re taking us to the Luren. Tell me about them?” Since Greydusk didn’t seem to be guiding the carriage—the enslaved, formless Klothod appeared to be doing the work—it seemed safe to ask.
“They are the tempters,” the demon said. “Beautiful. Seductive. Deadly. They are…difficult to resist.”
“Is that how you wound up guiding us, against your better judgment?” Chance wanted to know.
Greydusk offered a curt nod. Interesting. So these Luren had incredible powers of persuasion, even over other demons. I’d have to be on my guard. I wished I had some spell to make me proof against mental shenanigans, but off the top of my head, I couldn’t remember anything in either grimoire that would help. Chance’s luck should keep him safe to some degree, but the longer I stayed close to him without a cleansing, the more danger I’d encounter.
“You mentioned taking us to her?” I prompted, hoping the demon would take the hint.
“Sybella,” Greydusk supplied. “She is the patroness of the Luren caste, holding the rank of Ruling Knight.”
Like Caim, I guessed. Time to learn a little more.
“Do you know of a demon named Caim?” I asked.
Greydusk cut me a sharp look. “The Ruling Knight of the Hazo?”
“I guess?”
“They are the warriors, not to be trifled with.”
Shit. What I had done to the demon knight in Peru was way worse than that. I imagined he’d want to impale me on something sharp and rusty, as soon as I hit the city. The news just kept getting better and better. I mean, I’d known Caim was scary as hell, but the fear that laced Greydusk’s expression made my dread worse.
Chance cut in, “Back to the Luren. Do the others take orders from Sybella?”
“Nothing so brutish,” Greydusk replied bitterly. “It is all much more smooth and civilized among the Luren. More accurate to say she has seduced them to the point that most would rather die than displease her.”
More shit. I preferred free will.
“Is there anything we can do to protect ourselves from her?”
The demon considered, and I could tell it was weighing the advantages of helping us. I wished I hadn’t pissed it off so often. “Don’t look her in the eyes. Stay at least two meters away at all times. Above all, don’t let her touch you.”
“Touching is bad?” Chance looked worried.
“For you, yes. If you consent to sexual contact, she’ll steal a year of your life, and once you start down that road, you’ll find it impossible to stop. The Luren are a…lethal addiction.”
Yeah. Bad. Really bad.
“No sex with the Luren. Got it.” I narrowed my eyes. “I thought you said they mean us no harm.”
The Imaron laughed softly. “They need not intend harm to inflict it…as you well know, Binder.”
Ouch. Direct hit.
“I take your point. And we’ll be careful.”
“It is nothing to me either way, once I complete my contract.” But a hint in the demon’s expression told me that wasn’t entirely accurate—or maybe it was a flicker of response from the truth spell I’d cast a while back.
So I called its bluff. “So no matter what we do in Xibalba, it won’t affect your world at all?”
Greydusk angled a cold look at me. “You have the power to level my world, Binder, but I am no kingmaker. I am Imaron—I honor my contracts. And that is all.”
“Would you like to be more?” I asked.
“That’s like asking an eyreet if it wants to fly. Some things can never be.”
I had no clue what an eyreet was, but I recognized stifled ambition when I saw it. “Let me offer you a new deal. Keep your contract with the Luren, but once you deliver
us, you come to work for me. I need someone who can explain how things work and keep us from making stupid, terrible mistakes.”
“That could be dangerous—and unwise,” Greydusk said.
“You said I have influence here, whether I want it or not. And it’s always better to have powerful friends.”
“Will you force me to submit to the ritual?” Its tension and word choice gave me insight into its preferences.
I recalled the demon had mentioned how it was compelled to complete its contracts via a blood ceremony—with death as the penalty for failure. So I shook my head. “No. Your word is good enough for me. It isn’t right to force you to keep an agreement in such a way when you have no assurance that I will deal faithfully with you in return.”
Greydusk shifted and offered me its hand, long fingers with those soul-stealing sucker pads. The first time, I’d refused to touch it. This time, I gambled—and as Chance drew in a sharp breath in protest, I clasped the demon’s palm in mine, sealing the bargain. I didn’t know if this was the right move, but it had to be better to have some notion of how to behave and what dangers we might face.
I didn’t expect our mission to be as simple as demanding to see Shannon and being taken to her. The fact that I’d been brought to Sheol was a power play, pure and simple, and the ones responsible for her kidnapping would try to make sure I did as they wanted—whatever that action might be. My goal was to survive, keep Chance safe, rescue my friend, and get the hell out.
The ride continued in silence from there. Beside me, Chance seethed. He hadn’t changed so much that he enjoyed seeing me take foolish risks. But this one was calculated more than stupid. Killing and draining me to a husk didn’t serve Greydusk’s interests at all at this juncture. That move, in fact, would’ve killed the Imaron, as it had an obligation to take me to Sybella. So with minimal risk, I made inroads into its good nature, such as demons might possess, and gave it reason to think well of me. I was a sentient being who had dealt honestly and kindly with it and who trusted its honor enough to make a pact that wasn’t rooted in death magick. That had to be significant.
I understood why this was called the Ashen Plain. It looked as if volcanoes had erupted for eons, before the lava cooled, leaving a dark, ashy earth that churned as our diabolic carriage clanked along. It plumed out in our wake like a macabre banner, and the bird-things swooped along behind us. There were more of them, singing our arrival in a cacophony that reminded me of tortured cats.
Greydusk threw a nervous look over its shoulder. “I do not like the interest the quasits have taken in our arrival.”
So that was what they were called. I asked, “Do they work for someone?”
“Perhaps.”
“They’re spying on us, then.” Chance firmed his mouth into a tight line.
“Indeed. We can expect trouble at the river, if not sooner.”
I sighed and shook my head. “Bring on the next assassination attempt.”
“I’m glad you’re amused,” Chance muttered.
“Better to laugh than cry.” Or I’d never stop.
I was in over my head here and scrambling for purchase on a slippery shore. Oh, Kel, I thought. Save me. But he wouldn’t. Not here. Maybe never again—he’d made that clear the last time I saw him. He didn’t have a life; he had a calling. And I had to save myself. Good thing I’d had some practice.
With the Klothod-powered carriage stinking up the area, it was impossible to smell trouble coming, like I usually did with demons. The plain grew darker as we approached the river, which doubtless fed the tiny tributary at the natural gate, and even that didn’t look like normal water. It had an unnatural blue tint, like it was full of dye. Overhead, the sun looked peculiarly broken, as if it hung in two halves with a dark rift in between them, and that darkness was full of blood. Shadows on the ground moved as the quasits chased us, their raucous cries telling anything that might be nearby where we were.
“I’d love to kill those things,” Greydusk muttered.
Chance asked, “Why can’t you?”
“Because if they’re indentured to a demon’s house, then I’ve injured him and will owe reparations.”
I thought about that. “Historically, it’s kind of like harming a man’s servant?”
I remembered something from my history lessons about when the lower classes weren’t seen to have much value, and so if you killed a maid or something, you had to pay her master for the inconvenience. I was pretty indignant over that law, as I recalled. Not so oddly, I cared less about the fate of weird winged monsters that were probably reporting on my whereabouts to those who intended to execute me.
“Close enough,” the demon replied.
Which meant we had to leave the quasits alone, no matter how annoying they were. I didn’t care to end up in debt before I worked out a game plan. So like Greydusk, I ignored the creatures flying in our wake and focused on the crossing ahead. A stone bridge arched over roiling water, but it wasn’t in good repair. Chunks of stone had dropped away, leaving a rock-lattice that didn’t look strong enough for the carriage to cross.
“Should we get down?” I asked.
Greydusk shook its head. “Just hold on.”
The Deadliest Desire
In response I grabbed onto the metal bar before me; Chance wrapped both his arms around me. I leaned against him and shut my eyes. The loud bang of the wheels striking the stonework made my stomach clench. More rock broke away and the demon coach shuddered; the Klothod strained to heave us across the gap.
“Whatever you do, don’t fall in the water,” Greydusk shouted.
I didn’t need to ask why. Lethe meant forgetting. Oblivion. Therefore, it followed that if we were submerged in the river, it would erase everything that made us who we were. Which was almost like death—and unlike the forget fog I’d cast on Shannon and Jesse, this wouldn’t wear off. Demon magick was always stronger; that was why practitioners craved it. Killed for it.
Nodding, I hung on for dear life as the carriage went airborne. It was an aerodynamic impossibility, but we weren’t relying on the laws of nature anymore. The Klothod used their power to carry us across the bridge, and another piece fell away behind us as the coach clattered onto the rocky shore. And so, at full speed, we hit an invisible wall. If not for Chance’s arms around me, I would’ve been flung against it, breaking all my bones in the process. He held me tight, face against my neck, and the Klothod hissed out of the infernal mechanism, dissipating into smoky tendrils all around us.
“What’s the deal?” I asked.
Greydusk held up a hand as it leapt from the vehicle. Watching it explore the edges of our unseen prison was a nightmare, mimery in hell. Expression grim, the demon felt its way around the edges. In the end, the Imaron shook its head. It seemed we were seriously encased in an invisible box. I tried to ignore the Klothod swirling around us. They whispered in my ears, so faint I couldn’t make out the words, but they sounded…hungry. Not. Good. For obvious reasons, the Imaron focused on getting the Klothod back in their vial, which required an incantation and more than a little magick. I recognized the signs of casting, though demon spells looked much different.
I climbed down and checked on Butch. He was cowering at the bottom of my purse, looking as miserable as I’d ever seen him. He didn’t even lick my hand when I picked him up. This was one traumatized dog.
“Sorry.”
Butch stared up at me with limpid, despondent eyes, and when I said, “Don’t worry—we’ll figure it out,” he didn’t even dispute me. Which was really, really bad. When your Chihuahua stops arguing with you, you know you’re in trouble.
“Magus trap,” Greydusk said finally.
“How does it work?” Chance joined the Imaron, unwilling to take the demon’s word that there was no way out. So I watched him mime his way around the square too. God, this really was hell. No wonder Maury wanted out so bad.
Greydusk explained, “Magical lines are drawn, and when the desired target cross
es, they snap together, creating an unbreakable casement.”
“Shit,” I said. “So we just sit here, waiting for whoever to collect us?”
If possible, its gray skin went paler, sickly green, as if it contemplated the surety of its own death. “I know of no way to break this enchantment.”
For sure, mime-craft wasn’t doing it. “Cut it out,” I said to Chance. “There are four walls…we get it.”
Expression sheepish, he returned to my side and slid an arm around my shoulders. “Unbelievable, right?”
“Yep.” I pointed at the carriage. “You might want to put that back in the box. It’s taking up a lot of room. I figure the spell goes both ways?”
Greydusk nodded. Having something to do seemed to help it. I held out my hand for Chance’s backpack. Once he handed it over, I dug for grimoires. If we had limited time to figure out a way out of this before our captors arrived, I wanted to be ready. I flipped open the blue book and started reading.
Most of the spells weren’t helpful. My mother had been a white witch, one who believed in getting back to nature, so there were lots of charms for growing plants and discouraging animals from rummaging around in your garden. If I wanted a life like that, I’d never have to worry about gophers eating my veggies. Unfortunately, I didn’t see a damn thing that could get us out of a magus trap.
“Balls,” I muttered.
Chance knelt beside me. “No luck?”
It was fantastic that he sounded surprised, as if he thought enough of my abilities that I could cast something that would help. Min’s abilities were quieter, though I did believe her salves and creams had magickal healing properties. His mother went more for result than special effects, and Lily’s ability hadn’t been flashy either. I mean, when she went astral, she just laid there. Not exactly ostentatious.
