The front door was locked. I cast a quick unlock spell and Ash and I went up the stairs together.
The door at the top of the stairs stood wide open.
"Stay behind me." Ash stepped in front of me, he didn't have a weapon. He didn't need one. "Do you sense anything?"
I didn't. I'd cast my spells and couldn't find any danger, any traps. Not a thing. I couldn't sense anything or anyone.
I followed Ash, half a step behind, into the apartment.
It was exactly as she'd described.
Completely trashed.
Now that I could see for myself, I understood why she hadn't thought it could be a random criminal.
Each and every room had been gone through systematically and deliberately. The furniture that had come with the apartment had simply been pushed over. Tossed out of the way.
But anything personal - her clothes, pictures, even her food - had been destroyed. Maliciously ripped, shredded or smashed. A total fit of rage aimed at demolishing every part of Désirée, piece by piece.
I walked back into the living room. Shaken. I'd listened to Désirée's story, but I hadn't fully understood the scope of it. Maybe you couldn't unless you lived the reality of being stalked.
I stood in front of the sofa, chills racing down my spine as I read the hateful words. They looked like they had been written in blood. I didn't get close enough to see for certain. It skeeved me out.
"There's no trace of her." Ash walked back into the living room. He stopped next to me, scowling at the threat scrawled above the couch. "I think he must have been here, waiting for her to come home. When she took off her protection charm, he grabbed her and walked out."
He'd been watching her the entire time? While we were talking on the phone?
Creepy. And a gut wrenching violation.
You should be safe in your own home.
Ash turned me toward the small coat closet by the front door. "I felt something, a slight buzz, when we came in. Do you feel anything?"
I walked over to the open door. Ash was right. There was something very faint. The magic was almost gone, but a spell had been used. Nothing I was familiar with, which was why I had missed it.
I stepped closer to the closet. Ash grabbed my waist, holding me in place. "Not too close."
I turned to look up at him, wondering what had him on edge. I was the witch. Magic was my forte.
I turned back to the open doorway. It did indeed give off a slight buzzing feeling. The electric shock of a low voltage wire. Like an extra warning.
I could cast a protection spell with similar results, but the spell would only work on the individual it was protecting.
This wasn't like that. It must have been some sort of concealing spell, to hide the twisted ass, as he hid in wait for Désirée. So why would a concealing spell give off any kind of vibe? Unless it wasn't the spell itself, but the magic involved.
Oh, shit.
I reached out my hand slowly. Even though the spell was almost gone, the tingling grew worse as I reached forward. Building like a bad storm until I stopped, my entire hand almost burning.
I pulled back with a sharp gasp.
Ash caught my hand, "Are you okay?" He ran his fingers over my skin. There was nothing to find. The spell hadn't hurt me. It was the magic that shook me.
Black magic.
I knew of only one person who had no issues with black magic.
Adam Night hadn't been after me. He'd been trying to use me to get to my secretary. And now he had her.
****
I asked Ash to call Phil, we'd need his nose to track Désirée, and then I placed my own call.
"Hello, dear. I thought you'd call sooner than this. Everything all right?" Witchy intuition. I'm telling you.
"No. It's not. Désirée has been kidnapped by her psycho ex-fiancé. He's using black magic. I need some help."
"Black magic? Where is Ash?"
"Uh, he's standing right beside me."
I could hear Phil's deep bass frantic through Ash's phone.
"Why?"
"Black magic won't hurt a demon."
I didn't know that. Clearly my aunt had been right when she told me I should stay in school.
"Why not?" I wasn't asking for a lesson right now, but I needed to know as much as I could in order to help Désirée Norma-Sue.
"Black magic started in Hell. The demons don't use it, but it was created there. Demons have a sort of built in immunity towards it."
Go Ash.
"Kate, listen carefully. You can't fight it. You can't fight it with anything but black magic. It's part corruption, part death and all evil. It will suck you dry."
It was bad. Bad, bad, bad. And the wretched pig using it had a hold of my secretary.
"So, what can I do?"
"Stay out of the way."
"Aunt Tabs, he has Désirée!" I couldn't not do anything. I had to help somehow. This was my secretary and friend we were talking about.
"Kate, any wizard or warlock who will use . . ."
I interrupted her. "He's a fairy prince."
"What?"
"I said he's a fairy prince. Not a wizard or warlock. His name is Adam Night. At least that's the name he gave me. I don't know what his real name is."
I didn't know why any of this mattered either. I'd added the information automatically. Straightening out the facts, nothing more.
"Oh, well, if he's a fairy prince then he isn't controlling the black magic." I opened my mouth to correct her, but she continued talking. "He's borrowed black magic from someone. A few spells at the most. It will be in a charm or something similar on his body. Fairies can't use black magic for long. It drains them too quickly. Any time he uses the spells, it will weaken him. Remove the charm and then zap him."
I thought of the wide, black watch Adam had been wearing both times I saw him.
"Okay. Anything else?"
"Yes. Al says to be careful and check your purse. He put a back up knife in there. Call us when she's safe."
She hung up. My Aunt Tabs is a champ in a crisis situation. Calm, straight to the point and didn't waste time or words.
The complete opposite of me.
Now that I was fairly certain I knew where Adam kept his black magic spells, I couldn't wait to have Ash rip his arm off.
Then I planned to use it to bash him over the head with it. The bastard.
"Phil is on his way here. He'll be able to track Désirée."
"Good." I swallowed, furious with myself. Adam Night had totally played me. "I know who has her."
"You do?" Ash gripped my upper arms. "Who?" He lifted me up until I was standing on my tiptoes. Bursts of orange flames lit his shoulders. "How do you know this?"
Ash is an extremely protective demon. Which is why I tended to keep certain things to myself. Like assholes who use black magic.
"This guy came into Love Required. I thought he wanted to use me for something." Ash growled deep in his throat. "He tried to use black magic." I decided not to mention the exact nature of the spells. Ash's grip tightened and his growls deepened.
"The spell you felt here is black magic." I nodded with my head towards the closet. "It's the same guy. He's Désirée's ex-fiancé."
"Black magic?" Ash abruptly pulled me into his chest, wrapped his arms fully around me as if he planned to protect me with his body alone. "He didn't touch you with it, did he?"
"No." I could feel his heart pounding against me. Black magic couldn't hurt a demon. His fear was all for me. "He tried to use it to manipulate me."
I knew what was coming next. "You don't have to worry. Aunt Tabs says he's borrowed the magic. He's a fairy prince. He can't use it without it weakening him."
No wonder Adam Night hadn't stayed long both times he'd visited me. The HC value strength and power. He wouldn't have wanted me to see him weak.
Ash grumbled, but his muscles relaxed. "I want you to stay behind me when we find him." I didn't have a problem with that.
I told Ash ab
out the black watch, knowing it would further reassure him.
He rested his head on top of mine. "We'll get her back."
I nodded, holding onto that thought. I didn't want to think about my sweet, tiny secretary in the hands of Adam Night. She had to be absolutely terrified.
"Let's go outside and wait." Ash turned me around, pushing me forward. "Phil should be here any minute and he doesn't need to see this. He'll be able to pick up Désirée's scent outside. He's already on edge. Seeing this could push him over."
I could only imagine what Phil was feeling right now. He'd dropped Désirée off and hadn't walked her in. It wasn't Phil's fault, but I doubted he'd see it that way.
"Wait a minute." Ash stopped herding me and I turned back to the apartment. At least there was one thing I could do. I raised my hands, cast my spell.
Ash looked around at the clean room. The white walls. "You're a good witch, Kate." He bent and kissed me. "She's lucky to have you as a friend."
I'd been thinking it was the other way around, but maybe we were both right.
We'd get Désirée back. Safe.
Ash one again shepherded me out the door and down the stairs.
"Do you happen to remember if I grabbed my purse on the way out?"
Our mad dash out the door was a blur. I didn't remember picking anything up, but some things, like a back up wand, or a purse, were instinctive grabs for a witch.
And my back up wand was in my purse.
"Yes. Why?"
"Al added a little extra protection to it."
29. The Weeny Prince.
"He took her south." Phil drew another deep breath into his powerful lungs. "She was conscious when they left. I can smell her fear."
When he'd arrived, Phil had been pale and shaking. Now he whitened to another degree. A combination of terror and rage.
Adam Night was in a shit load of trouble when we found them. And we would find them. I didn't have any doubts.
I'd been in a panic since receiving Désirée's phone call and couldn't recall the exact amount of time Désirée Norma-Sue had been missing, but Phil breathed her in as if she stood right in front of him.
It reassured me. Brought my nerves down from shrieking to humming.
Phil would find Désirée Norma-Sue.
It was my new mantra.
"We need to leave now." Phil turned and headed south. On foot. He could move incredibly fast for such a large gargoyle.
Ash and I jumped in his truck and took off in hot pursuit. It took us two blocks to catch up to him.
I lowered the window. "Phil, we can locate her faster in the truck." I had to repeat it twice.
Phil was a loaded missile, programmed and aimed.
Gargoyles were ancient warriors. They'd been created for protection. Beings designed to scare off intruders. And safeguard their territory.
Désirée Norma-Sue had become part of Phil's life and his territory from the moment they met. He wouldn't rest until he had her back under his safe-keeping.
But it would be a very long journey if he continued it on foot.
"Phil?"
He turned his head. His fedora long gone. "I'll jump in back. I can track her better from there. Don't stop."
Ash didn't slow down, in fact he sped up. I thought he should slow down a little bit. There wasn't a single part of Phil's body that could be considered small. Or even overtly agile.
Metal shrieked, grating on my ears before the truck bounced.
I looked out the back window. Phil's green button down shirt patterned with red parrots took up most of the view.
Obviously I needed to brush up on my Gargoyle information.
"Gargoyles have incredible speed and strength when on the hunt." Ash set his hand on my knee. He squeezed lightly, making sure he had my attention. "No matter what happens, stay away from Phil when we find them. Gargoyles have powerful wings with razor sharp edges they bring out in battle. Phil will be totally focused on Désirée. Nothing else will register with him."
Stay away from the Gargoyle with the large wing span. Check.
"And keep behind me until I remove the black magic charm from the prince," Ash reminded me.
Stay away from the bad black magic. Check.
A fist pounded on Ash's side of the truck. "Turn left."
Ash turned left at the next corner.
"Do you have your knife?"
I lifted the butcher's knife Al had snuck into my purse. I guess Al figured I'd just cast a healing spell when I accidentally sliced my hand on it. Better armed than not.
"Keep that on you."
Weapon. Check.
I pulled out my wand and stuck it into my back pocket.
Extra magic. Check.
"Maybe you should stay in the truck."
Now he was going too far.
"Ash." I waited until he passed an SUV and swerved back into the correct lane. "I love you. And I know you love me." Blue flames with red tips popped out on his shoulders and ran down his arms. It fluttered my stomach to say it too. "But I am not helpless. Nor am I going to sit and do nothing while you and Phil rescue Désirée Norma-Sue."
I needed to put my foot down with this demon. He was the King of Demons, after all. Used to getting his way.
I loved it in the bedroom, but outside of it, I needed my independence.
Just as I needed to be a part of Désirée's rescue. I felt partially responsible for the mess she was in right now. Plus she was my friend.
I'd do anything I could to help my friends.
Phil hit the roof again. This time on my side. "Right."
We turned right on two wheels. I grabbed the top of my seat belt to stay upright. I checked on Phil when we were back on four wheels. It didn't look like he'd moved an inch.
"I can't stand the thought of you hurt." The red flamed to orange with his fear.
"I know, Ash." I glanced at his scars. Their rough and raised ridges. Ash didn't dwell on his scars. Or the memory of how he got them. They made my heart clench every time I looked at him. I understood all too well how he felt.
"I hate the thought of you hurt too." He opened his mouth and I rushed on. "I would feel like less of a witch if I didn't do anything."
Ash growled. "You've never been less, Kate."
It was how he saw me. How he'd always seen me. Never part this, or part that. But the whole witch.
"Then let's get Désirée." I reached out my hand. "Together."
Ash folded his hand over mine.
Together.
****
Phil pounded on the roof of the truck about six miles outside of town. "Slow down."
I sat up, straining to see what Phil smelled.
This area was thickly wooded and the road twisted and curved. I couldn't see anything. Then we rounded the next bend.
A silver, luxury sedan was parked on the side of the road.
Both the driver's and passenger doors stood wide open. I couldn't see anyone inside or outside of the vehicle.
The car didn't look damaged. And there wasn't anything except trees and brush in the area. Why had Adam stopped here?
Phil bounded out of the truck before Ash pulled over. Ash had to swerve to avoid hitting Phil. Phil didn't even notice.
Phil stalked all the way around the car. Inhaling deeply the entire time.
"He ran out of gas."
Seriously? The evil fairy prince plotted and planned to kidnap my secretary and forgot to fuel up?
Phil swung around abruptly. Ash turned at the same time.
"Stay behind me."
They took off. Racing into the woods.
I followed behind them as requested. Not that I had much choice. I couldn't match their pace.
Luckily, I didn't have to run far.
The prince had managed to drag my secretary about a quarter of a mile into the forest to a small clearing. Where he thought he was going I have no idea. We were surrounded by trees, with more trees beyond the immediate ones.
I woul
d have wondered more about why he had stopped, but the why was pretty damn obvious.
Désirée Norma-Sue was giving him hell.
She had a thick branch in both hands, drawn back like she meant business. Her green silk blouse was ripped down one shoulder with scratches peeking through underneath.
Her skintight pants were splattered with mud and dirt. She'd lost one high heel somewhere along the way which put her off balance. The force of her fury seemed to make up for her lack of footing.
She had a couple of leaves in her top knot. They matched the color of her hair.
And she glowed. Brightly. Her skin a spotlight of rage.
"You are a complete ass, if you think for one minute I will marry you." Clearly, we'd arrived in the middle of a furious and well-deserved rant.
Adam Night stood two feet away from her. Dressed in another black button down shirt with one torn pocket. His dark hair stuck up in odd clumps that made me think Désirée had decided to rearrange his hair for him.
Blood trickled underneath his nose. His jeans had mud encased over both knees and down the front of his shins.
He appeared slightly dazed. Wobbling back and forth.
Sweet Spirits, my secretary had turned into some sort of redneck fairy MMA fighter.
She raised the branch higher in excellent batter form. "I don't care what my mother said. I will never, ever be your wife."
She swung the branch, clubbing Adam Night across one shoulder and upside the head.
And here I'd been worried sick. Worried she might run and I'd never be able to find her or help her. Worried her ex might have damaged something in her psyche, spooked her so she would always look over her shoulder. Worried about my friend.
Whatever fear Désirée had felt for her ex-fiancé was clearly a thing of the past.
She was glorious.
The prince pushed himself back up from where he'd landed. "You bitch! You'll pay for that."
An enraged bellow came from Phil. He stood fifteen feet behind Désirée Norma-Sue. My mouth dropped open.
Phil set his shoulders and appeared to grow another foot in height. He shrugged and two enormous black wings emerged and unfurled, shredding his shirt as they grew.
His wings had to be five feet across. Each one. Thick muscles spread out from his back in a spider web pattern across each wing. Their surface shimmered like oil on water.
Demons Don't Always Tell The Truth (Kate Storm Series Book 3) Page 17
