Last Breath

by Debra Dunbar

  Instead of leaving he folded his arms across his chest. “Four demons. Your back looks like hash browns from one demon. I’m a bit worried what four are going to do to the rest of your skin.”

  “So you’re going to take on four demons to protect my pretty skin?” I snorted. “I’ve got a group of experienced mages coming over. I’ve got Raven, who can banish like a mo-fo. And there’s me with all my Templar skills. I’m good.”

  “You most certainly are not good. You told me what happened last week when you tried to summon that information demon. Then one attacked you in DC and clawed you up, then burned you. Two Templars, two, and you couldn’t manage to banish him?”

  What the… How did he know that? I shot Raven a narrow-eyed look and she grinned at me.

  “Yes, well that’s why I have Raven here, and why I’m going to get the assistance of other mages.”

  Dario look heavenward and slowly shook his head. “I might not be a mage, but I’m a vampire. I’m pretty hard to kill, and as someone who has sold their soul, I think I’m uniquely qualified to battle hell’s spirits.”

  Seriously? He probably had a million things to do for Leonora. He’d probably had no more than a quick snack before heading over this evening. He had a girlfriend/blood slave. Hanging out with a bunch of mages while they corralled and banished dangerous demons couldn’t have been high on his to-do list this evening.

  “Besides, I brought you a gift. You can’t kick me out when I brought a gift.”

  Oh he was so right. And when he motioned to the white box on the dining room table I knew he had me. I opened the box and saw half a dozen cannoli neatly lined up inside.

  “Oh yum,” Raven said over my shoulder. I resisted the urge to selfishly clutch the box to my chest and instead offered her one.

  “You’re in,” I told Dario, shoving a cannoli in my mouth and shutting the box. “I’ll need you to stand back and be careful not to smudge the chalk.”

  He nodded and I wondered for a second if I should introduce him as a vampire or not. Before I could inquire about the correct method of introduction, there was a knock on the door. Raven opened it and I saw a crowd of three men and four women outside my door. Seven. They weren’t in robes, but one of the women I recognized as Gryla, so these must be seven of the remaining eleven Fiore Noir mages. There had been twenty-five names on the list. That meant that besides Shade, four mages had either declined to participate in the banishing or had already bailed and left town. With the seven at our door, we’d be nine. It was the number of eternity, of harmony. Immortality. The perfection of the trinity, squared.

  Yes, nine would do very well indeed. Raven motioned them in and I felt the sting of magic as the energy from amulets and protection charms zinged around the room. Mages were nothing if not a paranoid bunch, especially around other mages.

  One of the men stepped forward. “We were reluctant when the Gryla told us about this. Working with a Templar and a member of a rival group that was more than happy to see us all dead isn’t something we are eager about. We’re not experienced in demonology. It’s not our strength.”

  The woman beside him waved her hand. “It doesn’t matter. None of that matters anymore. We’ve lost too many. It’s time for this to stop. We can put aside our differences to ensure our safety.”

  “It wasn’t Haul Du,” I blurted out, waving the last bit of my cannoli for emphasis. “You all sacrificed a demon-marked human. Then you sacrificed an angel-marked human. So don’t give me this bull about not forgiving or forgetting. You brought down a demon and an angel on your own heads, as well as human law enforcement. I’ll do my best to help you with the demons and the angel, as part of my Templar responsibilities, even though I’m really tempted to just let them tear the lot of you to pieces. I’ll make sure you stay alive, and I’ll make darned sure you face human justice for the murders you’ve committed in the course of your magical doings.”

  The mages all spoke at once until Gryla threw up her hands and yelled for silence. “Whoa, whoa. None of us are happy doing soul magic or human sacrifice. We had to. The good of many sometimes necessitates the sacrifice of a few.”

  Not this again. “I don’t care who or what you’re afraid of,” I told her. “When we’re done here, you need to go down to the police station and tell the truth about who was involved in the death magic rituals. There’s no escaping justice—it’s just your choice whether that justice comes with a prison sentence or via demons or an angel. Your pick.”

  I’d had it with these folks. I was tired. My back hurt. I wanted to eat cannoli and sleep the night away, not risk my life banishing demons.

  Gryla’s lips thinned. “We’re bonded by our practice. We take care of our own problems. And you’re hardly going to let a group of demons run loose to kill whomever they choose in Baltimore, are you?”

  Yeah, she had me there.

  “Obviously not,” I scowled. “You’ve got a choice. Help me banish these demons and go to the police, or I’ll give the angel the green light to kill the rest of you. I don’t think he’s very particular about figuring out who held the knife and who didn’t. He’s of the kill-them-all-and-let-God-sort-them-out school, if you know what I mean.”

  And from the pallor of her complexion, I could tell she did.

  Gryla shot a quick look around at the others who gave short nods. “Okay. Banish the demons, keep a leash on the angel, and we’ll go to the police and tell them everything.”

  “Who’s that?” The man in front pointed to Dario. “I know the woman is one of the Haul Du mages, but I’ve not seen him around before.”

  They couldn’t tell. I’d always been able to sense vampires nearby, to tell them apart from humans, but I often forgot that non-Templars lacked that skill. And since they didn’t recognize him, Dario must not be the liaison between the Balaj and Fiore Noir. It made me feel better to know he hadn’t been personally involved with them.

  “He goes by Fang. He’s part of Haul Du, but a novice, so he won’t actually be taking part in the banishment. He’ll just be observing.”

  No one seemed to have a problem with this. And Raven, bless her poker-face, didn’t bat an eyelid at my blatant lie. None of the other mages seemed to see through my falsehood. Surely their amulets and charms dealt with the detection of untruth? Perhaps my being a Templar put them out of whack. I’d have to ask my father when I got the chance.

  “Well, let’s get going,” Gryla said, rubbing her palms together. A shower of sparks came from them, vanishing before they managed to set my carpet on fire. “Let us know what to do.”

  Raven took charge, pointing at the men. “You guys roll the carpet up against the wall. The circle on the floor is going to need some serious reinforcing if we’re going to call back and hold four demons. If you Fiore Noir mages can work on getting the circle as tight as possible, Aria and I will get finish up the sigils and the banishing scripts. Fang can get the candles and incense out of the kitchen cabinets.”

  “Fang” raised his eyebrows as the order, but complied. It was a relief seeing Raven supervise the undertaking.

  By the time midnight approached, the circle perimeter was enhanced to a ridiculous degree. Practically my entire apartment was one large series of interlocking circles, triangles, and pentacles. Raven lit the candles and we all chanted, Dario leaning against the door and watching us with a fascinated expression. The power built until the room fairly hummed with it, the circle glowing bright white with all its runes and symbols. It was so intricate that I swear it would have held the prince of darkness himself without so much as a crack or tear.

  The chanting faded. My skin prickled with the feeling of anticipation. I lit a piece of parchment, tossing it into the metal bowl. “Mansi, we summon you forth to appear before us in this circle.”

  I did the same with three other sigils, waiting for the demons to appear. The candles flickered, the lights of the circle brightening, but no demons appeared. They were resisting. Not that I blamed them. Demons sum
moned from hell were eager to appear, to serve for a taste of worldly delights, information, or the possibility of snatching a soul. Innyhal had appeared, confident that he could kick my butt. Mansi wasn’t as stupid.

  If he was going to fight me, I needed to go for his weakness. I slid my thumb against the blade of my sword, smearing it on the parchment as I picked it up. Holding it into the flames, I watched as the blood-laced sigil burned away. “Pinen. I command you upon my blood to appear. As Solomon before me, by the gifts given to me as a Templar, I command you to kneel in this circle and do my bidding.”

  It hurt to summon like this. I saw Raven’s eyes widen, saw the other mage’s shift nervously at my invocation of my Templar rights. As before, I stuck my finger again onto the sharp edge of my sword, then massaged it until the bead of blood dropped on the fiery parchment. It hissed, sizzling like I’d dumped a cup of water into a pan of hot grease. A long, plaintive wail filled the room and something pink and lumpy appeared in the center of the circle.

  One down, three to go. I set fire to a second piece of paper, not even waiting for the first to completely extinguish before I threw it into the metal bowl. “Gi’nar! Kneel before me in this circle as you once did before Solomon himself. I command you to come to me.”

  Gi’nar had the fortitude not to scream, but the sickening crack his long, narrow green body made as it smashed on top of Pinen couldn’t have felt good, even to a demon. Dalgas came easier with two of his brethren already inside the circle. By this point I was shaking, desperately wishing we were near the end and a warm blanket was in my immediate future. The other mages were just as bad off, sweating profusely, their eyes glazed as they concentrated on keeping the symbols around the protective space solid and bright white. Across from me, Raven looked grimly determined.

  One more. I needed to call the big guy. And he wouldn’t refuse this time, not when I had three of his legion bound in my circle. I lit the parchment and tossed it in the bowl, jabbing any remaining fingers that hadn’t already been stuck and squeezing the droplets of blood onto the burning sigil. “Mansi. I command you once, twice, and thrice to appear in my circle and bow to my wishes.”

  He wasn’t as strong without the other three demons to pull from. The candles flickered, the symbols dimming to near dark before slowly regaining their light. The air in the circle shimmered and Mansi appeared, round and six-armed with squat legs and the head of a lizard. He had a huge phallus that was grotesquely covered with black scabs and oozing pustules. Ugh. Give me a war demon over a plague one any day.

  “You have no right to call me here, to trap us in this circle,” he snarled, spittle flying from his broad mouth, sizzling as it hit the inner edge of the circle. “I am here by invitation, with permission.”

  “No, you are not,” I told him, taking advantage of his desire to converse to catch my breath and gather my strength. “The human you marked was killed, his soul taken. You have no more ties to this world. You and your three demons are to leave and return to hell, never to return unless summoned again.”

  Mansi raged, spittle flying until the inner edge of the circle smoked and dimmed. There was no more time to rest. The mages were weakening, and so was the barrier under Mansi’s onslaught. The other three demons joined in and the second row of symbols flickered and died.

  “Mansi, Dalgas, Gi’nar, and Pinen,” Raven shouted, her hands raised. “I banish you to hell, never to return unless summoned again.”

  One by one, the mages around the circle repeated the banishment in hoarse, strained voices, the screams of the demons nearly drowning out their words. For a second I worried what the neighbors must be thinking. That woman below me who was always banging the handle of her broom on the ceiling was probably calling the police, or the landlord, right now.

  Then I turned my sword around so the tip hovered an inch above the floor. Holding it aloft, I rested my forehead against the plain hilt, envisioning the holy responsibility of my birthright and holding that in my mind as well as in my heart.

  “T’voghnel anmiapes.” My voice rang out louder than the screams of four demons. And then there was silence. I opened my eyes, staring into the empty circle with disbelief. I’d once had faith in this banishment, but after it had failed me twice… well, I was shocked it had worked this time.

  They were gone. The outer boundaries of the circle still held, so they hadn’t escaped. Besides, as furious as they were, they wouldn’t have just run off if they’d managed to break through the circle, they would have attacked us. They wouldn’t have left until every one of us lay dead in a pool of blood and torn entrails, paying with our lives for trapping and humiliating four demons.

  Raven dismissed the circle and the seven mages slumped, their cloaks stained damp with perspiration. My whole apartment reeked—of incense and sweat, of candle wax and sulfur, of burned parchment and blood. If I wasn’t evicted by the end of tomorrow I’d count myself blessed.

  I wanted to turn and see Dario’s reaction to all this. I wanted to eat a cannoli and possibly indulge in my Emergency Beer. I wanted to take a nap. But my work here wasn’t anywhere near finished.

  Seven mages got to their feet. I wasn’t imagining the sudden tension in the air. With the demons gone, all bets were off. Former promises were made to be broken, and I knew better than to trust that these mages would turn themselves over to the Baltimore City police.

  As two of the mages moved toward the door, Dario blocked them, baring fangs in a toothy smile.

  Gryla glared at him. “We’ve got no problem with the Balaj. And we’re of more value to you outside of jail.”

  “Well, we’ve got a problem with you,” Dario replied. “One of your sacrificial rites brought an angel down on the city. If that’s the sort of careless disregard you have for our interests, then you’re of no value to us at all. Be grateful you’re facing jail and not an unmarked grave.”

  I was suddenly glad of Dario’s presence. Without him this might have turned into a seven-against-two magical fight.

  The mages backed slowly away from the door, eyes narrowing as they realized Dario was standing in front of the only exit to the apartment. Well, the only exit unless they wanted to throw themselves out my window and down three stories onto the pavement below. Even then, vampires were fast—fast enough for Dario to grab any mages foolishly trying to jump out my window.

  “I suggest you all keep your hands out of your pockets and held quietly in front of you where we can see them,” I told them, holding my sword. Dario stood his ground by the door and Raven flanked the mages on the other side, a knife in one hand and an amulet in the other.

  I sent a quick text from my phone, and jumped as almost immediately there was a knock on my door.

  “That was fast.” Dario scooted over so I could open the door for the detective. “I have seven of them, all Fiore Noir members although I’m sure they all claim to not have any part of the murders. They’ll cooperate.” I glanced over at Dario. The vampire was watching the mages intently. They all stared back at him with their wide gazelle eyes. It was like a nature documentary. Vampire hunts down prey in a Fells Point apartment. The only difference was that these mages were going to walk out of here alive. For now.

  Tremelay moved aside and other police moved into my apartment past me to cuff the mages and pat them down for weapons. I wasn’t surprised at the number of magical items that were going into labeled plastic baggies. I shot Dario a grateful glance that he didn’t see. Without him here tonight, this would have probably gone very badly.

  The mages filed out past us and I walked Tremelay out my door into the hallway. He glared into my apartment at Dario and then down at me with a scowl. “Who the heck is that guy? Is he your personal bouncer or something?”

  I was too tired to go into all this with Tremelay, and I wasn’t sure he’d believe me anyway. Demons, angel, killer mages, and now vampires? That conversation would have to wait for later. “I’ll tell you later. I think you’ll need a bottle of whisky for this
one.”

  The detective shook his head. “I get the feeling you’re not going to tell me he’s an accountant who watched one too many episodes of The Wire. Voodoo? Please tell me it’s not voodoo because that stuff needs to stay down south.”

  I patted his shoulder. “Not voodoo. Worse. I’ll tell you later. I promise.”

  Tremelay walked down the stairs and out the door, where the flash of red and blue lights was beginning to become a regular nightly thing. I turned to go back into my apartment where Raven was giving Dario a high-five.

  It was odd seeing my best friend so casual and comfortable with the vampire that was my… whatever. Friend? Near-miss boyfriend? The vampire in question turned to me without a fang in sight, grinning his fool head off.

  “I’m glad I stayed. Intimidating a group of mages was immensely satisfying, but that banishing… I think I might actually be turned on.”

  Who was this, and what had he done with my somber vampire friend? Raven grinned back and chuffed him on the shoulder. “Well, you’re not getting any from me unless I play dentist first and yank those fangs of yours. No venom addiction for me, thank you very much. I’ve got enough problems with my mage lover. I know my limits.”

  Dario didn’t even look at me, knowing my answer. The levity evaporated like it hadn’t been there and in its place an odd tension filled the air.

  “Thanks for your help.” My gratitude was real, no matter how forced my words sounded at the moment.

  He nodded his eyes warm as they turned to meet mine. “Any time. It was my pleasure. Honestly.” He sighed. “But now I need to go. There are some things I need to accomplish before sunup, and I’ll need to hurry.”

  Giselle. In an instant I saw her beautiful face, adoring eyes watching him, hand reaching up to touch the marks on her neck. My stomach twisted at the thought, but I forced it down and tried to school my features into something resembling friendly interest. “Of course. I’ll walk you out.”