“You think the killer caused this?”
“Or the person who summoned it,” he said. “There are few with the knowledge and skill, and I would know if a fellow warlock did so. What’s unusual is the lack of any traces. One would almost think the demon was summoned somewhere untrackable.” He spoke with an emphasis I didn’t understand—until his gaze dropped to my uncovered left wrist.
“What—you think a celestial did it? Why?”
“He who fights monsters…”
I blinked. “Nice job quoting Nietzsche. Fine. If you’re so convinced, then why not ask me about them, rather than the victims?”
“Because there’s nothing you know that I don’t already,” he said. “You’ve been on your own for two years, so if anyone has left or turned to demons in the interim, you wouldn’t know yet.”
“Yet,” I said. “You want me to spy on them. That’s what this is about.”
Un-fucking-believable. Sure, there was a one percent chance he was right, but if so, why pile this on me now when he could have asked me upfront? I might not have believed him, but at least I wouldn’t be stuck in a demon dimension, dependent on him to get me out.
I didn’t like being this vulnerable. At all.
“You’re grasping at straws,” I said before he responded. “Accusing the people who hunt demons as their life’s calling? You know what, let’s save it. Get me out.”
“I’m trying to work out where we are in relation to the city,” he said, the shadows moving around him. “We crossed over on a main road, which isn’t ideal. If we end up stuck in the middle of a wall, for instance, it’ll be unpleasant.” He began to walk, Rachel joining him. She’d put away her knives, but seemed tense, on edge in a way she hadn’t back on Earth.
“Like you haven’t done this a hundred times before.” I walked after them. “There’s nobody at the guild who’d murder novices. Come on, you must know that’s absurd. Why jeopardise their own mission?”
“Why indeed,” he said. “It’s rare for me to hear of a demon I don’t know.”
Oh. So that’s why he wanted to solve this. He was after the challenge. As for his interest in me, I had no clue. Nor should it matter. We needed to get out of this dimension and back to a world where people like me still existed, before my celestial light drew every demon on the planet. Nikolas’s demon side might belong here, but I sure as hell didn’t. In the pause after he spoke, silence slithered in, quieter than I’d heard in a long time. The sort of quietness of a place with nobody around for miles—but the castle, and the dead demon bodies heaped behind us, proved that wasn’t the case. Rather than tranquillity, the silence spoke of dangers, of stealthy killers which crept up behind you and casually took your life. I kept my celestial light switched on even at the risk of attracting more demons. I’d much rather see them coming.
“What happened here?” I asked Nikolas. “The demons won, of course, but—you said your arch-demon parent wasn’t here.”
“He abandoned this realm long ago,” he said. “The celestials lost the war, but most of the demons were wiped out in the process. He’d be ruling over a wasteland. He got bored. Babylon was a ruin when he left.”
“Babylon?” I said dubiously. “This is what this realm’s called? Wait, how old are you?”
He glanced over his shoulder at me. “I turn thirty this year. Any particular reason?”
“Babylon in our realm was… ancient. Also, I’d like to know if I flashed my tits at an old man.”
He laughed, to my surprise. “You’re not like the other celestials. And warlocks aren’t immortal, not even the children of arch-demons.”
“Just hard to kill, huh.” I looked up, frowning at the spiky shape of the turreted castle silhouetted against the unnaturally large full moon. “What’s that for, anyway?”
“That’s my home.”
My jaw dropped. “You’re kidding. The castle is yours?”
“Not mine, exactly,” he said. “And we can’t go up there. The way’s blocked by creatures which wouldn’t like that I brought a celestial here.”
“No,” said a voice. “We certainly wouldn’t.”
A human-shaped figure appeared from the shadows. As tall as Nikolas himself, he towered over Rachel and me. His dark red hair gleamed in the full moonlight, and he was clothed in black. His gaze slid over to Nikolas. “What now, consorting with celestials?”
“Just taking a shortcut, little brother.”
Wait. No way—now I saw the resemblance. The arrogance. And the power. That, and the pitch-dark aura. I should have noticed that part before.
He tilted his head. “I saw that light a mile away. You’re playing a dangerous game.”
“I don’t doubt you think so,” said Nikolas, “but we’re not here for fun. If you don’t mind—”
The second warlock stepped forward. His shadow stretched behind him, splayed against the cliffs, and split into two identical warlock-sized shadows. Each one divided again into two more. Shit. He has shadow magic, too. The four shadows became eight, closing in around us. I stiffened as a shadowy hand touched my shoulder.
“Get off me,” I snarled, waving my celestial light.
The real warlock laughed. He stood unmoving in front of us, but his shadows seemed to have a mind of their own. Illusions. They can’t be real.
Nikolas took a step towards him. “Leave us,” he commanded.
“I don’t think so,” said the warlock. “The celestial girl and I are going to have some fun.”
“Are we hell—” My words were cut off as a shadowy arm grabbed me on either side. Sure felt solid to me. Crap.
“Let’s see how well she copes with this,” he said.
The shadows closed in, blocking off my sight. I couldn’t see Nikolas or Rachel anymore, nor much of anything else, either. My celestial light should have lit up the dark—but it didn’t.
“Let me go, you bastard,” I shouted into the dark.
Soft laughter answered. “I wonder if you can fight without the light of your Divinity.”
A shadowy hand squeezed my throat, cutting off my breath. I struggled, kicking out, as he lifted me off the ground. I couldn’t tell whether it was the warlock or one of his shadows, but damn, it felt real. And I was in trouble if the blasted light didn’t turn back on. Come on. Burn him out. He’s a demon.
I gripped my left hand with my right, wildly aiming above my head. I might not be able to see the light, but no demon could switch it off altogether.
Sure enough, the pressure on my neck lifted, and I spun around. The faintest light shone in the dark, outlining a man-shaped shadow.
Laughter rang around me. “Let’s see you fight all of them off, celestial.”
The shadows closed in.
Chapter 11
I raised my left hand. A sizzling noise sounded when my celestial light struck something solid, but the shadows prevented me from seeing my own hands, and a solid punch landed on my cheek. Jerking my head out of reach, I pivoted.
“Show yourself, you coward,” I growled, aiming a punch with my celestial hand in the vague direction of the shadow. My hand sailed through thin air, and I damn near overbalanced. Where the others were, I hadn’t a clue. I might not even be in the same dimension. Maybe that was why I couldn’t reach my sword. From the humming sensation in my left arm, the light was definitely switched on, but apparently the shadows blocked even the light of the Divinities.
Falling into a defensive stance, I struck out at the shadows. The shadow hit back with a heavy blow that sent me flying back into a hard surface. The cliff? Was the real world still out there? I reached back with my right hand, feeling my way along its surface. Its solidness grounded me, steadied my rising panic. I’d reached the limit of the little shadow world he’d created.
Now to break the spell.
I jumped back and sprung, using the cliff face to launch myself into the air as though attacking a flying demon. Closing my eyes, I reached for the sword.
This time, a
familiar weight settled in my hands. The blade sliced the air, and the shadows fell away like thin cardboard as I opened my eyes to see the warlock shadow-clones had gone, leaving only him.
The warlock faced me with a similar piercing look to his brother’s. “Effective. How did you guess you hadn’t left this dimension?”
“The cliff.”
“Ah.” He nodded. “I’ll keep that in—”
I punched him in the jaw. He ducked, not fast enough, but his jaw was like iron. I yelped, my celestial magic not quite shielding my hand from the pain.
With a snarl, he grabbed my wrist.
White smoke poured from my skin and he let go with a loud curse. Backing away from me, he waved his hand around, giving me a glimpse of the impressive batch of bright purple blisters rapidly spreading from his hand to his wrist.
Black lightning sizzled past, striking him in the forehead. He fell back without a sound, mouth open in surprise.
I spun to face Nikolas. “You killed him?”
“He’ll get over it,” said Nikolas, with a scowl. “Are you okay? Zadok’s shadows are designed to shut everyone else out. He has far too much free time on his hands.”
“Huh? Yeah, I’m fine. He’s a prick.” I stepped away from his prone body. “What was that in aid of?”
“He’s never played with a celestial before. I didn’t think he’d be roaming around at this hour.”
“Hmm.” He looked pretty dead, a smoking hole in the middle of his forehead, but if he was a blood relation of Nikolas, he must have an arch-demon’s invulnerability. “So you two have a weird Cain and Abel thing going on?”
“You might say that. What did you do to his hand?”
From the way the blisters continued to climb up both his hands, he was apparently alive, after all. “I put a little defence charm on. So—he uses shadow magic, too. Can he cross between realms?”
“Thankfully not,” he said. “What you witnessed was his main power—summoning up a shadow trap, populated by shades of his own making, and locking you inside it.”
“Tell me those are the only powers he has. I thought all warlocks had only one.”
“Most do,” he said. “Luckily for the humans.”
And the celestials. “So when you said there was a provisional ruler of this realm, you meant him?”
“Technically, he only rules this part of the wasteland. I suppose he couldn’t resist testing a celestial. You handled him better than I expected.”
“I’m so flattered that I met your incredibly low expectations. By the way, thank you,” I said.
He blinked. “For what?”
“You’re the reason I was wearing that blister trap in the first place. In case you’re thinking of trying your little mind-trick on me again.”
“Oh.” His mouth curved in amusement. “I got under your skin that much?”
“I don’t like being manipulated,” I told him. “And by the way, I’m still wearing it, in case you need a warning to keep your paws off me. He’ll be covered in blisters from head to toe when he wakes up.”
“Then we’d better hope we don’t have to come here again anytime soon.” His eyes glittered. “I should warn the others.”
He stepped around his brother’s body, summoning shadows of his own. The air split and he peered through, shaking his head. “People will ask questions if we appear in the middle of the locked shopping centre at night.” He began to walk on through the canyon, leaving his brother behind.
“And that’s worse than demons?” I asked, one step behind him.
“According to him it is,” said Rachel. “We’re law-abiding, honest members of the public as far as your realm is concerned.”
“Apart from how he keeps jumping into this dimension whenever he wants to avoid something or make a quick exit,” I added, breaking into a jog. I wasn’t out of shape, but damn, he moved fast. “Slow down.”
“Don’t bother,” said Rachel. “He doesn’t want to leave any traces of us near Zad, when he wakes up.”
“I thought he couldn’t cross dimensions.”
“He can’t, but Niko always wants to be certain.”
My feet hammered against the rocky ground, and he still showed no signs of stopping. “Does he normally bring people into this dimension without their permission?” I asked Rachel.
“No. I think you’ve caused us more trouble than any human we’ve met.”
“Awesome.”
Nikolas finally slowed, and I did too, trying not to show how out of breath I was. Really good job I hadn’t worn heels, though I’d probably shredded the soles of my nicest boots.
“There you are,” he said. “I was beginning to worry I’d left you behind.”
“Maybe you should have thought of that before you took off like a bat out of hell.”
He looked highly amused at my word usage. I gave him a look. “I don’t see what the fuss over us not being near your brother is, anyway.”
“I don’t know how fast he’ll regenerate this time,” he said. “Might be hours, might be a couple of minutes. You’ll be top of his hit list after what you did to him.”
“Great. I really needed a new nemesis. At least I know my defence works, if another one of you decides to screw with me.”
“I wouldn’t assume you’ve got our measure so easily, celestial.”
“You never said it wouldn’t work on you,” I added.
“No,” he said. “I suppose I didn’t.”
He stepped close to me, power radiating out of the dark aura unfurling around him. I swallowed, my throat dry, as his gaze darted to my still see-through top. Was he seriously checking me out?
“Are you done bickering?” Rachel wanted to know. “Because I’d like to get home today.”
“Me, too,” I said. “I take it we’re far enough away by now.”
“Let’s find out.” A shadow split the air, and he peered through. “Not the best location, but this’ll do.”
“What do you mean?”
Instead of answering, he raised a hand. Shadows folded around the three of us. I tensed, but they disappeared a second later, and a torrent of rain instantly drenched me. Brushing my wet hair out of my eyes, I stood on tip-toe to get my bearings. “King Street, huh.” We’d walked further than I’d thought. At least I knew how to get home from here.
“Aren’t you going to thank me?” Nikolas looked at me expectantly, apparently oblivious to the rainfall. This time, when his gaze dropped to my chest, I knew it wasn’t an accident. And despite the trap keeping him from touching me, my neck flushed with heat under his stare.
“Sure,” I said, pointedly keeping my gaze on his face. “It was fun. Nice change of scenery.”
“Babylon has its moments,” he said, apparently still waiting for me to say something. What, I didn’t know. “Will you be able to get home?”
The invitation was unmistakable. Normally, I’d say yes without a thought. Had he been a normal human man who hadn’t snatched me into another dimension without my permission. I could only imagine Fiona’s expression if I walked to my flat with a warlock. And if the celestials found out about any of this, there’d be no forgiveness. From here on out, I was as guilty in their eyes as he was.
I wouldn’t tell them. Not even Gav. Our killer was still at large, and had claimed three victims in the space of a day. If we let things go on as they were, the inspector would take up permanent residence in the city. And if the way he and his fanatics talked about warlocks and vampires was anything to go by, there’d be full-on war by the week’s end. Whatever Nikolas wanted from me, nothing was more important than catching our demon killer.
I peeled my gaze away from him. “I’ll be fine. Try not to run into any celestials on the way home.”
The next day dawned cold and grey. After I’d reached home—thankfully without meeting any celestials—I’d found Fiona in hysterics. By now, the latest murder was all over the news, and she’d been convinced I’d been caught up in it. I’d reassured her
I was okay, warned her not to go near the celestials, and most definitely did not tell her about Nikolas, Javos, or our little excursion into another dimension.
Perhaps it was a bad idea to go into the guild the next morning, but I needed to know what had really gone down last night. So I rode the train there first thing the following day. As it was a Sunday, the trains were infrequent but quieter. Once at the guild I scanned my way in, and nearly collided with Inspector Deacon in the entryway.
“What are you doing here, Devina?” he snarled.
“I work here. There was another death?” I asked, careful to balance just the right amount of concern and surprise in my voice.
He wasn’t fooled. “Don’t pretend not to know.”
Someone was in a mood today. “I just got in.” Not exactly a lie, and they’d never guess where I’d been last night. A world away, literally. Leaping into demonic dimensions wasn’t against the rules, technically, because they didn’t think anyone would be stupid enough to try it. I didn’t want to be the first to find out what the punishment would be.
“Were you out drinking last night?” he asked, looming closer to me. Not quite as intimidating as a warlock, but enough to put me on the defensive.
“Huh? No. I had a quiet night in. The victim was found near the high street, right?”
“Correct,” he said. “To be precise, in an area frequented by warlocks, vampires, weres, and other demon kin.”
“Same circumstances as before?”
He folded his arms across his chest. “Celestial Lawson, I think you should leave and cease to investigate this case.”
“What’s the issue?” I asked. “I was rehired by the celestials to help out, and I didn’t even see the last victim.”
“Have you been with those warlocks since yesterday?” he enquired. “We don’t need the aid of unreliable individuals known for consorting with netherworlders.”
“Whoa there,” I said. “What exactly is your problem with me? No, I haven’t seen any warlocks since yesterday.” Technically true, because it’d been before midnight when I’d gone home after my round-trip to the shadow realm. “Who is the victim?”
Celestial Magic (Celestial Marked Book 1) Page 10
