by SA Magnusson
What did that make me?
Gran and Gramps worried I was part demon, and they knew me better than any others, but hearing that there might be some other explanation left me with more than a little surge of hope.
I didn't want to be part demon. The implication of that was even worse than the possibility that I might be a dark mage, and I had no idea what might come of me if that were the case. The council hunted dark mages, but seeing as how I had never heard of anyone being half demon, I didn't know what they might do in my case.
It was possible they would simply destroy me.
Learning that I was something else might be a blessing, but maybe it would be even worse than being part demon.
“What do you think I could be?”
“I had hoped that by going to Ariel, we would discover just that, but all she was able to tell me was that you weren't obviously a dark mage. She didn't recognize your type of magic either.”
“The demon king reacted to me as if I were part demon.”
“The demon king might have wanted you to believe that you were part demon. You weren’t the only one in that room, and his reaction might have been designed to gain the attention of others who might have some interest in you.”
In the days since that battle, I had spent considerable amounts of time trying to think about what I had done and what it meant for me, but all I could come up with was the fact that I had used the demon sword, and in doing so I had helped prevent the demon king from crossing the Veil. Even if I was part demon, I had the hope that perhaps I had some control over that, and that control would allow me to avoid becoming something worse than what I was.
More than that, I had wanted nothing more than to simply ignore my magic, especially now that I’d used it to kill. If I could live my life working my shifts in the ER, getting through my residency, then I might be able to disappear somewhere where my magic wouldn't get me into trouble. Most of the residents wanted to work in a busier ER when they were done with residency, where the money was better and the types of patients were generally more interesting, but that wasn't me. I wanted to find a way to stay hidden, avoid the attention of the council, and live out my life. That had always been my intention, but even more so after discovering my probable connection to the demons.
“What others would be interested in me?”
Aron studied me for a moment. A chill washed along my spine as he used his magic. “When I first met you, I knew you were powerfully connected to your magic. It surprised me, especially as you weren't tied into the rest of our world, but the more that I got to know you, the more I understood why you were kept away from the rest of the world.”
“Because my grandparents feared I was a dark mage.”
Aron rested his hands on the table, staring at me with the heavy intensity he managed so well. “What do you know about dark mages?”
I laughed softly. “I know they access power that's dangerous, and that users of dark magic are felt to be unsafe by the council.”
“You don't feel that way?”
After everything that I've been through, and all of the torment that I had experienced under the dark mages, I probably should feel as if their magic was dangerous, but there was something I wasn't quite certain about. If my mother had pursued that kind of magic, it couldn't be all bad, could it? My memories of her were hazy, but what I did remember involved a caring woman who had loved me. She had loved my grandparents. And they had loved her. That wasn't the kind of person who deserved to have their magic burned off them and their entire selves destroyed.
“I don't know how to feel about it. All I know is the council fears it.”
“They fear it for good reason. Before I became an archer, I pursued dark mages.”
He’d mentioned that he’d been a chef before becoming a knight, so it made a sense. What would the training to become a knight be like? How much more rigorous would it be to become an archer? “Are all archers former knights?”
“Not all, but most. There is a particular training that one goes through while learning to be a knight that allows them to handle the expectations that come into play as an archer. When I chased dark mages, I saw the magic they wielded. I saw the way that they used it.”
“All dark mages, or only some of them?”
“The ones that drew the attention of the knights.”
“What if there were other users of dark magic besides those who the knights chased? What if not all of them were bad?” I didn’t know for certain that Ms. Jones and Tony were dark mages, but the fact that they hadn’t gone to the council for help suggested that they might be. And if they were, why would the Dark Council attack them?
“I suppose that's likely. Not all mages are good.”
We had both seen that, but then again, Lexy had been a dark mage concealing herself from the council. Was it the dark magic that made the mages turn, or was there something in the mage that was already there that caused them to pursue dark magic?
“And if not all mages are good, it would stand to reason that not all dark mages are bad.”
Aron frowned, shaking his head. “I think assuming that you can somehow restore a dark mage is a dangerous line of thinking.”
“Restore? I’m not intending to restore anything. What I’m suggesting is that there has to exist a possibility of dark mages who don’t want to use their magic for evil purposes.” I studied Aron for a moment. “What do you know about dark mages, really? You’ve chased them on behalf of the council when you were a knight, but I bet you don’t even think about them now that you’re an archer.”
“Chasing demons is a difficult task.”
“I understand that. But even chasing demons isn’t something you do full time, is it? That’s the reason you came with Lupita to stop the Dark Council.”
“Since we suppressed the demon king, there have been fewer attempts at crossing the Veil. The new Carters have secured the Veil.”
I stood up to start pacing. My kitchen wasn’t large, and certainly not large enough for me to really get going, but I could circle around the island as I paced, letting my mind focus. Despite my fatigue, I felt that I was nearly onto something, though I had no idea what that might be.
“Has that ever happened before?” I asked, pausing to lean on the counter. An empty wine glass rested near the sink, waiting to be cleaned and reminding me of Gran. They had been here recently and I suspected they were still in the cities on behalf of the council, but for what purpose? It wasn’t because of demons this time, but could the threat of the Dark Council have prompted them to come?
“Demon crossings come at various times,” Aron said. “This region is not as active as it often is, which gives me a chance to continue training.”
“This region?”
“There are others. I can’t serve in all places. The Veil exists everywhere, though it is fortified in this city. There are other similar places.”
“Where?”
Aron studied me for a moment. “I cannot say.”
“Because I’m not a part of the council?”
“That would be one reason.”
How could I help if he wasn’t going to let me be a part of it?
With the thought, I realized I wanted to help.
That surprised me. For the longest time, I’d wanted to stay away from the Veil and the magic there, and I had wanted to hide what I could do, but now that there was someone who knew about me and what I could do, and who didn’t seem as if he wanted to report me to the council, I didn’t feel quite the same way.
“Fine. You can’t tell me about the other places where there’s a closeness to the Veil, but has there been a decrease in attacks since the demon king was suppressed?”
“The attack would have taken considerable strength for the demon king to cross. His defeat would have been such that he wouldn’t be able to easily raise another threat.”
“But aren’t there other demon kings?” I remembered Aron telling me that there were several others,
each controlling a section of the world on the other side of the Veil. I still didn’t know quite what that meant, much like I didn’t know what existed on the other side of the Veil. There was power, but I didn’t really understand it.
“There have been three demon kings.”
“Have been?”
“It’s possible that the defeat of the demon king who attempted to cross disrupted things on the other side of the Veil.”
“You think we killed it?”
Aron shrugged. “It’s possible that we did. I don’t have much communication with activity on the other side of the Veil. Few on this side do.”
I barely heard the last part of what he said. “I saw the demon king. Hell, I fought with it.” I couldn’t get the image of it out of my head. I tried, but most of the time I failed. When I drifted to sleep thinking of that night, I would remember the way that he’d looked at me, as if he knew me, and it left me even more terrified. Worse was the way my magic had reverberated with it, as if the demon king had known. “We didn’t kill it. Is it even possible to kill something like that?”
Aron stood and joined me at the counter, leaning on it. “When we destroy a demon in this world, it’s more than simply banishing it back beyond the Veil. The demon is destroyed. There is no return for it. It’s why it takes such power to allow a crossing and why we search for demons when crossings are detected. With each demon we destroy, they are weakened on the other side of the Veil.”
“You think that because we managed to fight off the demon king, he might have died.”
“It would explain the silence on this side. If he’s gone, another will replace him. That void of power would need replacing. In time, more attacks will come.”
“What does any of this have to do with the Dark Council? That’s why you’re here, isn’t it? It’s not just that you wanted to help a knight defend me and defeat some of the dark mages. There’s something else that you’re not telling me.”
Aron sighed. “When you called for me, I thought that perhaps you knew something more than what you do. It was why I was willing to come. Protecting mages isn’t typically within the scope of my responsibilities.”
“You did it with Finnaster.”
“That was a unique situation.”
“Only because you were implicated.”
“Regardless, when you called for help, I thought there was a chance that you learned of something more.”
“What more?”
Aron met my eyes. “I mentioned the council has escalated their pursuit of the Dark Council?” I nodded. “The Dark Council has begun to push back. The assault on your home was one more example of that.”
“And what do you think I might have known? How could I have known anything?”
“Your unique connection.”
“You think my magic revealed what is happening on the other side of the Veil?”
“You have a connection that’s different than others, Kate. Whether it’s what you fear or something else, there is little doubt that you possess a connection to power beyond what mages have. I wondered if you might have detected magic that would explain what the Dark Council wants.”
As he said it, I could feel that power bubbling up. Being around Aron seemed to be the key to me losing control of my magic, which should be reason enough to stay away from him, or maybe it was simply my tiredness. I needed sleep and then I needed to understand what was taking place and how it had to do with the Dark Council.
Which meant that I would have to find them.
I had been hiding from the Dark Council long enough. If I wanted to know what they were after, I suspected I would have to go after them.
And the chances were good they were responsible for what had happened to Derek.
“I can see from your expression that you’ve come to some decision,” Aron said.
“I think I need to confront the Dark Council.”
“Even if you had the necessary training—and you don’t—you confronting the Dark Council isn’t a safe plan.”
“Even if you were there?”
“It’s outside the scope of my role to pursue dark mages. There are plenty of knights capable of doing that.”
“But those knights won’t help me find my friend.”
Aron regarded me for a long moment. “What is this person to you?”
“He’s a friend. A mage, or something like that. My grandparents asked him to watch over me in the ER and if something happened to him, it’s my fault.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“It would be. He took the blame for me with the Dark Council. If they think he was the one who had restored Tony—”
“I thought you said you had tried to help but failed.”
“I tried and failed. Or thought I did. He left AMA—against medical advice—which makes me wonder if maybe he wasn’t better. Then his mother came into the ER looking for help. And died. Derek disappeared.” I took a deep breath, wishing for a glass of wine. “Whatever happened is because of me. It is my fault.”
“You said your grandparents have gone after him.”
“As far as I know, they have.”
“Then let them. This better suits their particular talents.”
“I can’t sit back if something happened to him. He needs help and I can’t shake the feeling that something terrible has happened to him.”
“I’m not suggesting that you don’t do anything.”
“Then what?”
“You need to understand your magic. If you intend to use it, then you should have a better understanding about what you can do so that you don’t keep trying that.” He looked over at the sword with distrust.
I didn’t have the same reservations with it as he did. The sword had helped me. That much I knew. And with it, we had managed to stop the demon king. I had drawn more magic than I ever had before. It couldn’t be all bad.
“What do you suggest? I thought you didn’t have any way of me understanding my magic? That was the reason we went to Ariel, but she didn’t know anything.”
“She didn’t, but there’s another possibility, though it will be dangerous.”
“Isn’t everything when it comes to magic?”
“When it comes to your magic, yes.”
“What is it?”
Aron pushed away from the counter, and every sizable muscle in his body tensed, rippling beneath his clothing. Did he even know he did that? Did he even know how damned appealing it was?
“We will have to ask for help from a dangerous informant of mine.”
“And who is that?”
“One of the fae.”
12
After a night of rest, I felt considerably better. Staggering to my kitchen for a glass of water, I jerked to a stop when I saw Aron sitting at the table, flipping through the newspaper. I’d forgotten that he’d offered to stay the night before.
I quickly messed with my hair, knowing there wasn’t much I could do to make it presentable. It was straight and boring most of the time, but I was a restless sleeper and could feel the tangle of hair.
He glanced over. “Do you feel better?”
Taking a deep breath, I grabbed a mug and started the tea kettle on the stove to boil. Caffeine would help clear my head. I wasn’t much of a coffee drinker, though Jen had tried persuading me during medical school. The coffee shop right outside the lecture hall had made it tempting, but I never developed the taste for it. Not like tea. My grandparents always had iced tea in the fridge when I’d been growing up, and now I preferred hot tea, and black.
“Better than I did before going to sleep,” I said. “Have you been sitting there all night?”
“Not all night.”
“No. You went out for a paper.”
“There’s a machine on the street level.”
Was there? I didn’t pay much attention. Most of the news I wanted I got online. It was easier that way. The fact that Aron had gone for a newspaper was a reminder that he was older than me, de
spite the fact that we looked to be similar ages. Magic users aged differently, which was the reason my grandparents looked as if they could pass as my parents. Other than a chef, what had he been before he’d gotten involved with magic?
“You didn’t sleep?”
“I slept, if that’s what you’re concerned about,” Aron said.
“If you’re going to drag me to meet one of the fae, I don’t want you to be tired.”
Aron smiled slightly and set the paper down on the table. “You need not worry about my preparedness when it comes to facing one of the fae.”
“I thought you said they were dangerous.”
“The fae are dangerous, though for different reasons than demons. And Solera is no exception, but she is not quite as dangerous as some.”
“Why? Did you have a past relationship with her, too?”
He frowned as he looked at me. “I wouldn’t dare have a relationship with one of the fae.” There was something almost angry in the way he said it.
“Why not?”
“The fae can be deceptive, even when they offer their help. They are immortal, or nearly so, and their perception of the world is quite a bit different than yours or mine.”
“But they live on the other side of the Veil.”
“They live in a different realm, yes, and one that has been separated from ours by the Veil. Many can approach and influence events on this side of the Veil though most choose not to do so.”
“How would they influence events?”
“They have the ability to reach through the Veil, but most cannot cross over. There are few who are able to do that even among the fae.”
Few didn’t mean none could.
My tea kettle started whistling and I poured hot water over a bag of English Breakfast, bringing it up to my nose to inhale the fragrance of the tea. It helped clear my mind and I glanced at the clock.
