by Dakota Brown
Most of the ones we were going to release would need an actual host to be useful, but I didn't want to have to do too many exorcisms, so Ezra was basically telling the released demons to do what they could to help our fight and wait for me to send them back to hell when we were done. This one chose to help by blasting through his former captor and knocking him out. That was extremely useful, and I approved.
The other guy realized what we'd just done to his partner and reached for a gun. Mal stepped in faster than I could see and had the guy in a solid arm lock before he could get the weapon out.
Though it was obviously painful, Aaron repeated the procedure with that demon charm and the freed creature took out the human. Mal dropped the guy to the ground, held up a hand warning us to wait while he inspected the doorframe for wardings that could harm us, and then gestured for us to follow him inside.
It actually was kind of like storming the dungeon had been last night in the game. Some brief fights that the guys took care of, Mal checking for traps as it were, and quick progress through the house.
I knew it wouldn't remain this easy, but for the moment things were going our way.
We worked our way into heart of the house. I couldn't tell from the outside, and maybe we should have gotten on the internet to see if we could find some areal pictures, but this house had an interior courtyard. That's where things stopped getting easy.
Mal neutralized another ward, but when we stepped through the door, a burst of energy blasted into the vampire, dropping him.
"Mal!"
He'll be fine.
I didn't believe the demon, but before I could do more than take a step in the fallen vampire's direction, Mayhem slammed into me, knocking me to the ground as another burst of magical energy smashed into the doorframe behind me.
You would not have been.
The hellhound blocked some of my view, but once I'd recovered from slamming into the hard ass ground, I looked around him and sighed.
"That what I think it is?" I groaned.
Yes.
"Fuck."
Indeed.
The occultist hovered in the air, a nimbus of energy surrounding her. The energy crackled with red and black streaks cutting through the green of what had probably been her aura before she took on a demon.
I had no desire to know what mine looked like at the moment, come to think of it.
Her eyes blazed red, and her expression was wholly inhuman. While Ezra was along for the ride, she'd clearly completely accepted, or been consumed, by the demon she was hosting.
That is another prince, Ezra supplied.
"Awesome," I grumbled as I climbed to my knees. "Probably a rival of yours?"
Likely. He didn't elaborate but I got the feeling he knew exactly who it was, and it didn't surprise him one bit.
Right now, her gaze followed Aaron and Sabian as they struggled with a group of men off to one side. I glanced at Mal. He was still unconscious.
Her attention snapped back to me as soon as I got to my feet.
Mayhem leapt, intercepting another magical blast. He apparently absorbed the energy, before roaring at the occultist. A jet of flame arched out of his mouth and splattered against her aura.
I shielded my eyes as the energies warred. In the end, her shielding held, but I got the idea it was close.
"Well, that's cool as shit."
It'll be a while before he can do that again, but yes, it is a handy ability. You'll need to cast out the demon. I'll do my best to protect you.
Before I could ask him how he was going to do that, I felt Ezra stretch, as if he were just waking up for the day and sliding into a comfy robe. Except that comfy robe was me.
"Hey!" I yelped, as he settled more fully into my body.
Just get rid of the prince and make this quick.
Ezra gathered my powers.
The exorcism! He snarled when I hesitated.
Right. Fuck. I'd deal with him later. Figuring this was a time for pulling out all the normal measures, I pulled the squirt bottle of holy water out of my jacket and made sure my protective stole was visible.
Stalking forward, Mayhem flanking me, I began.
"Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus..."
"You are not strong enough to cast me out!" Her voice was also inhuman, low, demonic, echoing around us.
I'd heard it all before and I answered with a spray of the last of my holy water.
It splattered against her skin, smoke rising where it burned her flesh. She screamed.
I dropped the empty bottle and pulled out the blade Mal had made for me. "omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii..."
My energy focused through the blade, amplifying it. Damn, I hoped I got to keep the vampire around after this. He was fucking good at making tools.
Something flew at me from the side, but Ezra manipulated my powers in a way I'd never experienced before, some of his own power burning through me, and deflected whatever it was. Tears sprang to my eyes as his power torched my aura.
Fuck, mate.
The quicker you get rid of that prince, the sooner I can stop hurting you.
The demon recognized my weakness. She laughed, the sound echoing around us. "You are weak, Ezra! Letting that one keep her mind? You fool."
I shouted out the next few lines of the exorcism, blade held in front of me, pouring all of my will at defeating that vile creature. That I wasn't concerned about preserving the occultist's life helped this entire process.
Though it hurt, I was able to mostly ignore Ezra deflecting the demon's attacks as it became something like a constant burn as opposed to the sharp pain I'd experienced at first.
One of the possessed humans came at me from the side, gun in his hand. Mayhem snarled and launched himself at the guy. The gun went off, but Mayhem must have handled it. I turned out the cries of agony as the hellhound tore the demon from the human and mauled the infernal creature.
"Ab insidiis diaboli, libera nos, Domine. Ut Ecclesiam tuam secura tibi facias libertate servire, te rogamus, audi nos..." I shouted.
She screamed as the final lines of the exorcism shoved at the demon prince possessing her.
Ezra added his power to mine, and the power I used to send demons back to hell amplified to a degree I'd never experienced. I screamed in pain as we shoved the prince out of her. I could actually feel the walls between our plane and hell buckle as we forced the demon away.
I collapsed to my knees as the demon was sucked away. All of the extra power whooshed out of me and I barely managed to catch myself before my face smacked into the hard ground. Hopefully, we had succeeded, because if I was attacked in the next few moments I was done. My arms didn't respond to my commands to move and I finally gave up and let myself rest.
I must have passed out, because I woke to a hot tongue licking my cheek. Cracking my eyes open revealed my hellhound looming over me.
"Hey, Mayhem," I rasped out.
He whined and nudged me with his paw.
Aaron came into view and knelt next to me. "Are you okay, Chris?"
"Maybe." I groaned and managed to roll onto my back.
Ezra?
No answer.
I'd figure out what that meant later. For now, I held out my hand and Aaron grabbed it, hauling me to my feet.
No shock.
Our eyes widened at the same time as we looked at our joined hands.
"I didn't mean to send him back, too," I said. "I mean, I was going to eventually, but..."
I really wasn't ready to process that new bit of information.
"Yeah, you did a number on all the demons in the room," Aaron said softly. "Sabian is gone, too."
"I...Fuck." What had I done? Banishing Sabian had not been part of the plan. I needed him, damn it.
He pulled me into a hug, and I clung to him for a few minutes, trying to pretend everything was going to be okay, while tears leaked from my eyes.
Finally, I pulled back. "Mal?"
"I wasn't brave enough to try and wake him up, but I don't think he's dead."
"Well, that's a start. If he's not dead, blood will fix anything that happens to a vampire."
Though my legs wobbled, and I had to put a hand on Mayhem's back for stability, I made it over to Mal's side. He was still sprawled on his stomach, his wavy hair obscuring his face. He wasn't breathing, but that was normal.
"Hey, Mal?"
I knelt next to the vampire and hesitantly touched his shoulder.
"Mal?"
He twitched, but I didn't jump back fast enough, and before I could comprehend that I was no longer on my feet, Mal had me pinned between him and the ground, eyes black, teeth bared, a low growl vibrating through me.
Or maybe that was Mayhem. The hellhound didn't interfere, but he was clearly ready to.
"Mal," I gasped out.
He blinked a few times, eyes clearing.
"Chris. I'm sorry." His grip on my arms softened and he leaned back, looking me over. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, fine. You?" I wasn't, but I didn't want him to think he had hurt me just now.
"Head is killing me, but I'll be all right before long. Did I miss the rest of the fight?"
I forced a smile. "Yeah, slacker."
He helped me up then looked around before frowning. "Where's Sabian?"
"Uh." I waved my hand helplessly and burst into tears.
Mal tightened his jaw, before pulling me against his chest and let me cry while Aaron filled him in on the particulars.
"He's not dead," Mal said gently. "There's that at least."
"Yeah," I agreed through choked sob.
"We can get him back, you know."
I nodded. That we could simply summon him back had occurred to me. I wasn't sure if I was ready to go down that road or not, but there was hope. We would figure something out.
"Chris, we need to retrieve that book, make sure there's nothing else dangerous for the police to have, and get out of here. Can I hand you off to Aaron while I take care of this?"
"Yeah, mate. You're right. Sorry." I wiped at my eyes and rubbed my sleeve along my face, just now noticing the jacket was basically shredded. It had saved me again. I almost burst into tears again at the loss, but I managed to remind myself it was just clothing. It could be replaced, Sabian couldn't.
I stood with Aaron while Mal checked on the occultist–she was dead–and swept the room for anything we needed to take with us. He grabbed a couple of things before making a quick check of the rest of the house and pronouncing it as clear as he could manage without a much more detailed exploration.
Then we trudged wearily back out into the desert. He used his vampire speed to rush ahead and get the car, and by the time we met up again, I was dragging my feet so badly I was tempted to ask Aaron to carry me. I wasn't sure if he felt any better than I did, but he wasn't acting like he was in bad shape.
Still, Mal got me into the passenger seat. Mayhem shifted back to his tiny form and curled up on my lap, and Aaron got in the back. He put his hand on my shoulder and I rested my cheek against it while Mal drove, grateful for the comfort.
I drifted in and out of sleep. The magical blast of energy I'd used to push the demon prince back to hell had really wiped me out. I didn't want to sleep, afraid I would dream, and I kept jerking myself awake.
Mal pulled into the driveway, and was at my door before I could climb out. He opened it, undid my seatbelt, and lifted me out.
I tried to protest that I could walk but he smothered my objections with a gentle kiss.
Aaron opened the door, and we all went inside. The house felt empty without Sabian.
"Do you want anything to eat? Or do you just want to go to bed?" Mal asked.
"I...I don't want to dream," I admitted, feeling ridiculous, but I didn't want to be alone in my head right now.
Mal nodded. "Let's get you something to drink then."
We went into the living room and Mal set me gently down on the couch.
Turns out, Mal knew how to make hot chocolate from scratch and that shit was better than whiskey to knock me out into a dreamless sleep.
Chapter 20
Price
"So they're gone?" Darius asked the next day.
Mal and Aaron had contacted him after I'd finally fallen asleep.
He and Deputy McClellan sat on my couch, while I was curled up in the armchair, Mayhem warming my lap. Aaron had gone to work, but Mal was still here.
"Yeah, mate. They're all gone." I even managed to keep my voice relatively normal. I didn't want Darius to know what all we had done to banish the demon prince and defeat the occultist, so I didn't make an issue of his callous attitude.
If he had taken a look at my fractured aura, he would have known how much of a fight it had been, however he didn't seem to have noticed. That was also probably just as well. I'd recover, but it was going to take a little time. Ezra had burned through my energy pretty badly. It had been necessary, but even thinking about shifting into the headspace that allowed me to see all the pretty, and occasionally not so pretty, colors surrounding people made my head hurt.
It would also be a while before I could even think about trying to contact Ezra or Sabian. Mal probably could have done it, but I still wasn't really sure how we should proceed. I missed Sabian, a lot. I knew he'd be okay. He was most certainly in Ezra's good graces and I imagined Ezra had gained considerable standing when we had defeated our rival.
I didn't even know for sure if Sabian would want to be summoned back. I suspected he wanted to return, but I didn't know. It surprised me how much I missed Ezra, too. I did not want to be possessed again, but I certainly wouldn't mind seeing him again, as fucked up as that was. Exorcist drooling over a demonic prince. Smart, Price...real smart. Lusting after an incubus was bad enough.
I did feel really alone in my head though, and that was tweaking me out.
"You're not going to summon Sabian back, are you?" He frowned.
"Why would I do that?"
Mal was standing in the kitchen area, leaning against the counter. I saw his hands curl as if he wanted to punch Darius. I kinda did so I didn't blame him one bit. Neither Deputy McClellan or Darius could see Mal's reaction from where they stood.
Mayhem growled softly, but I put a hand on his fluffy back and he quieted.
"Any idea if there are more demon charms out there?" Deputy McClellan asked.
"I don't know," I answered. "Maybe. If I come across any, or find out there are more, I'll take care of it." Just, not for a week or two. I wasn't even sure if I could exorcise a willing demon right now, let alone one that might fight me.
"Well, Ms. Price, we certainly appreciate your help in all of this," Deputy McClellan said.
I stood when she did, Mayhem jumping to the ground from my lap, and shook her hand.
"You're welcome."
Darius studied me for another moment before he also got to his feet. "Stay in touch, Price," he said.
"Yeah, mate. If I need something, I'll be sure to let you know."
He winced but nodded, accepting the jab that he only came to me these days when he wanted help. I wasn't sure if we'd ever even try to bridge the gap that the years and bad experiences had built between us, but he would probably be there if I did need him. And I'd be there if he needed me. That's what best friends did, even ones with our fucked up relationship.
Darius exchanged a slightly strained goodbye with Mal and Deputy McClellan gave them both an appraising look before giving him a nod and they left the house.
Mal put his arm around me and I leaned into him as we watched them pull out of the driveaway and hopefully out of my life. At least for a while.
"Are you okay?" Mal squeezed his arm.
We hadn't had much of a chance to talk since last night.
"No. But I will be."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
I turned until I could bury my face against his chest. He held me, not speaking, just waiting on me.
> "I don't know. I didn't expect to lose Sabian. I mean, I almost banished him once, but I guess I just didn't think."
"We did the best we could, Chris. Hell, I was unconscious for most of it." He sounded a bit chagrined.
"We wouldn't have gotten in without you, and I wouldn't have survived that hit, so thanks for taking it for me."
Mal rubbed small circles on my back. "Any time."
"I am surprised at how much I miss Ezra." I didn't want to admit it, but if I could tell anyone, it would be Mal.
"He seemed like a decent sort, for a demon prince."
I chuckled. "Yeah. He was kind of growing on me."
Mal returned my laugh. "Yeah. I hear that's what happens when you're possessed."
I snorted. "Guess so. Hoping to avoid that again, but he did save my life and all. Guess, if I do run into him again, I hope it's under slightly different circumstances. What are we going to do about Sabian?"
"Get him back, of course," Mal replied. "I've got a few ideas. Your aura has gone to shit though, and I'm guessing you're out of energy, so let's give it a couple of weeks."
"Seriously?" I tilted my chin so I could look him in the eyes.
"Yes, Chris. He's good for you. I like him, too. We just have to figure out the best way to go about getting him back."
I grinned, but then I remembered we needed to talk about the two of us as well and my expression fell.
"What about us?" Best to just get the emotional stuff over with.
Mal smiled. "I'd like to officially call you my girlfriend, if you want." He traced his fingers along my cheek, and I melted a little.
"Yeah, mate, that sounds great. You over the whole Chris is a fragile human thing?"
"No, but you've got a properly bonded hellhound now, you'll have your incubus back in a few weeks, and a half angel living in your guest room. Between them and me, you're as protected as you can be. Not to mention, you are pretty badass on your own, if you can avoid getting stabbed or shot."
I grinned. "Yeah, don't you forget I'm a badass, either."
"Trust me. I won't."
"So if I'm your girlfriend, am I still allowed to have Sabian?"
