by DB King
Alec reached for the Bloodcloak just as it beckoned him to touch it. He teleported to his fallen Diamondspear, barely able to raise it before the demoness pounced on him. He swung the blade, only just keeping her at bay.
Now they fought like two statues, each trying to break chunks off the other. Alec got in a good hit with the Shield Ring, using the magical armored plating like a gauntlet to punch through a chunk of the demoness’s hide. If she’d sported a bare midriff at the beginning of their fight, he’d probably have punched right through her—as it was, she twisted away just in time to deflect the blow.
“Spells and tricky gadgets,” the demoness giggled, leaping over her own throne. Alec raced around it, the Diamondspear close at hand, only to discover the demoness had disappeared in a puff of smoke. “I tire of these parlor tricks, young man. They’re so gauche. Wouldn’t you rather see some of mine?”
The room darkened around him. Alec’s gaze tried to be in every corner of the room at once, keenly aware the demoness could strike from any direction. He put the chair at his back, keeping three-quarters of the room in his field of view as he pulled the Water Element into his fingers. Fire wasn’t an option, if the sickly vines of the demoness’s realm were as flammable as the vines that had covered the door. But maybe if he spread water in every direction he could flush out her invisibility.
He decided to try. Mist flowed from his fingertips, turning the air as thick and humid as a jungle in summer. He turned this way and that, only to see—there! A silhouette in a corner of the room, shaped like a woman with a long, forked tail.
“Got you,” Alec growled, triumph flaring in his chest.
The water flowing from his fingers turned to ice. Streams of it flowed from his fingertips, covering the demoness from head to toe. She struggled, but Alec’s magic was too much for her—he held too much control over it. He turned the woman into a living ice sculpture, entombing her in a frozen sarcophagus.
For a moment, he thought he’d won. Then a bright light shone through a crack in the ice and the whole thing split in half.
The demoness strode through the room, shrugging the last bits of ice from her dusky gray skin. “You’re skilled,” she said, brushing frozen chips from her hair. “I’ll grant you that, young man. You might be the most powerful mage I’ve faced in a decade. But you’ve begun to see the problem, right?”
Unfortunately, he had. The two of them had been fighting for what felt like hours now—though it couldn’t have been more than a minute or two. And so far, neither of them had landed a serious blow.
She couldn’t hurt him. And he couldn’t hurt her.
Worse, she knew it. The demoness stepped right up to him, her arms spread wide as if she were about to hug him. “Go on,” she said, grinning too wide for a human woman. “Strike me down. Show me some of that Diamondspear bloodlust!”
It was a trap. He knew it. But the baton in his hand sang to him, and as he drew it he felt the righteousness of his magic. The demoness stood there, grinning complacently as he struck directly into her heart.
I did it, he thought dazedly. I killed her!
The thought brought triumph and shame in equal measure. Why did he have to achieve his power over a pile of bodies? It was wrong for him to kill a living, speaking creature, even one as clearly evil as this.
He didn’t have time to wring his hands, however. As soon as he withdrew the blade, the wound he’d laid in the demoness closed. She melted away to mist, still grinning, and reformed sitting on her makeshift throne.
“You can do that again, if you want,” she purred, crossing one leg over the other like a seductress. “It tickles!”
Alec stared down at the Diamondspear. His rage left him, the fabled bloodlust of the Diamondspear line dissipating as he tucked the baton into his robes with a disgusted sigh.
“We’re at a stalemate,” he realized, glaring at the beautiful demoness. “I can’t beat you, and you can’t beat me.”
The demoness snorted and rolled her eyes. “Well, of course not,” she said, seeming happy that he’d finally figured it out. “This test isn’t about fighting, young man. Your magic won’t help you get out of here and back to your tutors—and neither will any of your fancy little magical gadgets.”
Alec stood frozen in his tracks. “Lies,” he sputtered, unwilling to believe the demoness. “One of us isn’t leaving here alive. I have to defeat you if I want to pass the test!”
“That’s what they all say,” the demoness said, her tail twisting like a corkscrew between her thighs. “You haven’t figured it out yet, have you? This isn’t the introductory course, kid—this is the rest of your life. If you want to ever get back out of here and go on living, you’re going to have to agree to my rules.”
Alec glared hard at the demon, willing himself to be strong. Perhaps, if he could convince her to let her guard down, then strike a weak spot? It was worth a shot.
“Alright,” he said, allowing his arms to drop. “What are your rules?”
“I’m glad you asked,” the demoness growled, reaching behind her back. Alec tensed, expecting a weapon, but the gray-skinned demon held nothing more exotic than a long scroll of paper. The parchment was aged and stained with time, broken in several places, yet the ink on it remained bold and dark. “In order to leave this realm, you’ll need to sign this contract.”
Instantly Alec knew this wasn’t the test. Something—or someone—had intercepted him on the way to the real exam. This was not the realm Maimonides expected to send him to. What the hell was going on? Calm down, Alec commanded himself. If you start freaking out, this woman will tear you limb from limb.
Only she wouldn’t, would she? Because she couldn’t hurt him. The two of them would merely end up staring at each other for all eternity. She was a pleasant creature to stare at, he had to admit, but Alec would greatly prefer to return to the House of Doors.
“Don’t give me that look,” the demoness said, rising smoothly. “Look, you even know the man who wrote the contract. Well, not personally, of course— you know what I mean. Take a look.”
Alec did. When he saw the signature at the bottom, next to the line where he was to write his, his heart thudded against his ribcage like a kettle drum.
This parchment was signed by the Archon!
“How,” Alec muttered, scanning the provisions in the contract. He was no legal scholar, and most of them seemed little more than gibberish to him. “How is this possible?”
“Don’t think about it,” the demoness purred against his ear. Something dark shifted within him, something that might break loose at any moment should his control falter. “Just sign on with us, kiddo. You, me, the Archon… and several other powerful mages in the Kingdoms. We’ve got a little secret society, you see—and you’re the most promising prospect we’ve seen in many years.”
They’re evil, Alec realized. And they want to bind me.
He had no doubt that magic saturated every pore of the parchment. Written in the Archon’s hand, it would bind his will to whatever was contained in its words. Even his thoughts would no longer be his own were he to agree to membership in whatever society this demon spoke about.
“We have big plans,” the demoness said, licking her lips. “Your friends are right—the world is changing, Alec. For the better! Don’t you want to end up on top when it’s all over? You can have anything you want: money, power, girls…”
The thought of girls made Eleira’s face appear in his thoughts. He drew away from the demon with a shudder—he knew what the elf would think of all this. “You’re rotten,” he stammered, reaching for the Shield Ring. “I don’t want anything to do with you!”
The demoness’s face filled with a sick strain of sympathy. “Oh, come on,” she said, sounding almost pleading. “If not for yourself, think of the ones you love. Who’s going to protect all those squalling brats back at your Temple without you there to watch over them? Bad things could happen to those boys without you on our team, Alec. I’m just
saying…”
His heart froze in his chest. Thomas, Marcus, Mortimer—all the foundlings. “You wouldn’t,” he growled, rage welling in his veins.
“You’re right, I wouldn’t,” the demoness said with a shrug. “But some of our members, well… they don’t have the patience I do. Living in a realm like this will teach you fortitude like nothing else—which you’ll learn, if you don’t want to sign the contract. I can wait all night, young man—and the next day, and the next, and the next…”
She had him cornered. This demon was a powerful member of a secret society, and if the only way for him to escape her clutches was to join, then…
No. He couldn’t. He wouldn’t!
“You,” Alec groaned, taking a step back from the beautiful demon. “What would these mages want with you, anyway?”
The demon looked hurt. “Why, I’m a familiar,” she said, as if it was obvious. “They use me for little errands like this. I’m a very diligent girl, almost like your fellow pupil. Only I don’t have such a stick up my butt, of course.”
She’s not one of them, he realized. She’s just a servant—like one of the monks at the Temple.
And like the monks, maybe she could be bribed.
This Realm was like the cable cart that carried Alec to the House of Doors. It might appear splendid to some, but he could tell the demoness found her environs every bit as drab and rickety as Alec did the pulley system along the Northmund Estate’s great chain. If he could offer her something, perhaps he could change her loyalties?
The answer, he realized, was right under his feet. His toe crunched a spider, the poor thing sucked dry until it was little more than ashes.
“You like eating spiders?” Alec asked, affecting a casual tone.
The question was so unexpected it caught the demoness off-guard. “Indeed I do,” she said, her sharp chin taking in the carpet of insectoid bodies at their feet. “It’s one of the only pleasures I get in this realm. Pulling them apart and sucking them clean of marrow is almost as good as consuming a human’s soul.”
“Well, I don’t know about that last part,” Alec said with a shrug, “but I happen to know where there’s a lot more spiders. Way bigger ones than these—as big as horses. What if I told you I could get you as many of them as you wanted?”
No one’s going to fall for a plan like this, he told himself, trying to keep his face neutral. My freedom for spiders? She’d have to be a fool to—
“All the spiders I want?” she asked, leaning forward in her seat.
He might as well go big—otherwise, he couldn’t go home. “As many as you can eat,” he assured her, lifting his hands. “As often as you want. I’ll provide you all the spiders you can possibly eat, if you’ll agree to let me out of your Realm and back to the House of Doors.”
The contract snapped shut in the demon’s hands. “You won’t be able to give them to me here,” she cooed, clasping her hands together beneath her chin. “Which means you’d have to let me come with you, right?”
Ah, he thought, the realization flooding him. So that’s what you want. Well, if it gets me out of here.
“Sure,” he said with a shrug. “The more the merrier.”
The demoness sprang from her chair, her face inches away from his. “Swear it,” she demanded, a wicked gaze dancing in her eyes. “Swear to me, mortal!”
Heedless of the trouble he might be getting into, Alec closed his eyes. “I swear to grant you all the spiders you can possibly eat,” he said solemnly. “In exchange, you’ll allow me to leave this place.”
“And you’ll allow me to leave,” the demoness hissed. He hadn’t realized until that moment that the demon was just as bound as he was. She probably wasn’t allowed to suggest this to anyone who visited her Realm. He’d had to broach the topic first. “Say it!”
“And I’ll allow you to leave,” Alec said with a little laugh. “Do I have to prick my finger, produce a drop of blood or something like that?”
“No,” the demoness said with a laugh. “Binding a demon to a mortal is much simpler than that.”
Without a moment’s hesitation, the demoness kissed him.
Her lips felt like liquid fire against his. He recoiled, his mouth opening slightly in shock, and the demoness wrapped her arms around him and kissed him harder. Warmth filled him as the realm dissolved, his lips puckering as he leaned into the beautiful, gray-skinned monster’s embrace. A wind blew over his skin, tearing away his senses.
“My name is Trystara, Alec of the Archon,” the voice of the demoness purred before it faded into silence.
When Alec opened his eyes, he was standing in the lobby of the House of Doors, his lips puckered and his arms holding nothing at all. He became aware of Maimonides staring at him, the gnome’s mouth open so wide it nearly trailed on the floor.
“Alec!” Maimonides rushed over as quickly as his tiny legs allowed. “Gods, are you alright? What happened? Where did you come from?” Maimonides asked, pointing at the door. The vines and jewel had reformed while neither of them were looking, as if the door had never been breached at all. “That door… It took you somewhere else, didn’t it? I saw a flash and then…”
“It took me to a demon’s realm,” Alec stammered, recovering his senses. The ghost of that needy kiss lay heavy against his lips for a long moment before he was able to shake it free. “Well, a demoness’s realm. Trystara.””
Alec didn’t think Maimonides was capable of further shock, but the gnome exceeded his expectations. “Alec. Beyond that door you should have found a forest glade with golem made from an enchanted suit of armor. Are you telling me that’s not what you fought?”
Briefly, Alec outlined what had happened. Maimonides’s eyes got wider and wider as he listened.
“The golem is one of my inventions,” he muttered when Alec was done. “In order to defeat it, you were supposed to hit each of its limbs with a different type of magic. That’s the intended puzzle, not some... contract written by the Archon himself!”
Demonic laughter filled the House of Doors. Abruptly, Alec had the sense of someone standing just behind him, their lips pursed against his ear. The lights dimmed beneath the dome, then returned to normal.
“I suppose that would be the woman you freed,” Maimonides said, wiping sweat from his forehead. “That’s, what, the third impossible thing you’ve done since you met Uriel Diamondspear? Making a bargain with a demon!”
Sudden fear gripped Alec’s chest. “Did I do something wrong, Maimonides? I didn’t give up my soul or something like that, did I?”
The gnome relaxed. “You’ve done nothing wrong, young Alec. In truth, you’ve done something… well, something that hasn’t been done for many generations. Binding a demon to a mage’s will through a bargain isn’t considered a bad thing—it’s considered an impossible one. Even Uriel couldn’t have managed what you just did, young man. We’re truly in uncharted territory now.”
“I didn’t really command her,” Alec protested, remembering the demon’s promise of mages around the world working together in a secret society. Commands were more their thing—and Alec wanted nothing to do with it. “I just… made her an offer.”
Maimonides swallowed hard. “If you don’t mind me asking, Alec, what kind of offer? It wasn’t of a… well, a prurient nature, was it?”
It took Alec a moment for his meaning to sink in. When it did, the young man’s cheeks flushed beet red.
“No, not at all!” he said, waving his hands in the air. “I promised her all the spiders she wanted, Maimonides! That’s it! As many spiders to eat as her stomach would hold!”
Maimonides stared at him in near-disbelief for a moment, then relaxed. “Well then, that’s alright,” the gnome said, sighing with relief. “I suspect her freedom was the real jewel that provoked her to accept your offer, even shackled to a mortal as such freedom would inevitably be. I’ll have to take you back to the spider’s nest at some point, though—it wouldn’t do to renege on a contract, especia
lly one this important.”
Alec looked at the door, his stomach sinking. “So I didn’t really pass the test,” he realized, feeling so irritated he could scream. “Do I not advance to the next level, then?”
Maimonides’s laugh was so long and loud it shook the very walls of the House of Doors. “Lad, I’ve known mages who’ve practiced magic their entire lives that couldn’t pass a test such as the one you’ve just faced. You’ve ascended to the next level, certainly— and possibly much more than that. But for now, we need to return to the manor. I must inform Urry that someone’s managed to access the House of Doors. Until we know more, we can’t trust any of these portals.”
Alec understood. He wouldn’t trust them either, if any one of them could lead to a demon’s realm. His gaze traveled up to the thin door just beneath the roof of the dome, and a shudder passed through him. If a demon had been lurking behind the door of today’s test, what horrors might be concealed through the final portal?
Chapter 20
“You won’t believe it!” Eleira said proudly. The elf girl was nearly bouncing up and down with delight. “I passed! I’m moving on to the next level of training!”
Moments after Alec and Maimonides stepped off the cable cart leading from the House of Doors down the chain to the Northmund Estate, they ran into Uriel and Eleira making their way back from the manor. Alec realized this was no accident—some secret signal had passed from the gnome to the Archmage in the intervening time. Uriel wore the proud smile Alec knew so well, but the look in his eyes spoke of a secret worry.
“That’s great!” Alec said, giving Eleira a quick hug. For once, the elf girl didn’t tense up—if anything, she seemed to welcome the embrace. “I passed too! We were just up in the House of Doors.”
“Lucky,” Eleira said, crossing her arms over her chest. “You got a field exam. I had to conjugate verbs from the Leafwalker Grimoire for nearly a half an hour before Uriel would let me do anything fun with my magic.” She turned to the Archmage, smiling up at the Archmage. “Does this mean Alec and I are ready for our entrance exams to the Academy?”
