“Are you incapable of coming up with your own magic?” I yelled at him, summoning my sword. “Or is everything you do stolen from other people? I don’t even believe this was all your idea. You’re a hack. Explains why you and Azurial get along so well.”
He blasted me with fire again. I dodged, though the heat didn’t burn me. Lightning followed, sizzling the ground at my feet. More powerful than any non-demon had the right to wield. I dodged his attacks and retaliated with a vicious swipe from my celestial blade, only to slam into a fiery shield. Another trick he’d stolen from Azurial. I’d never met a demon who could mimic another’s magic, but it sure as hell didn’t come from a weak parasite. This guy had another demon’s magic entirely.
There was only one type of magic that was stronger than mine and Nikolas’s.
An arch-demon’s.
Had he taken in some of Themedes’s magic, too? Azurial had initially drawn on it to fuel his own power, but his defeat at my hands would have long since dispersed that energy, and Themedes hadn’t been near the palace since. Not to mention stealing Nikolas’s power wasn’t part of Themedes’s skill set.
Which left one conclusion… he must be demon marked. Like me. He carried the power of one of the fallen Divinities.
But that means our demon marks are equal. The problem was, of course, that he knew how to use his magic. I didn’t. Unless… unless it was the same one.
He’d stolen Nikolas’s powers. I’d never done anything like that—but Themedes’s power was definitely inside my mark, somehow. Was that why? Had he somehow known what my ability was all along? Of course—the former inspector’s been here a while. Themedes must have seen him… but of course the tight-lipped bastard had gone to his grave without telling me a damn thing. But he had given me some of his magic, in the moment of his death. And it’d saved my life.
Inspector Angler’s palms splayed, and lightning surged towards me. I jumped through the demonglass floor and emerged out of range, raising my demon marked hand. As though it’d been waiting for my permission, it lit up, power crackling inside it. Lightning rippled up my arm, more of a pleasant tingle than a painful one, and exploded from the end, bouncing off the floor. I’d missed—but I’d really done it.
Now to do some damage.
When the enemy fired at me again, I shot lightning back. Black-edged bolts of light sizzled against one another, extinguishing one another.
He laughed. “You finally worked it out? I’m disappointed it took this long, Devi.”
Instead of an answer, lightning spiralled in twin attacks from my right hand, mingling with the celestial light from my left one. It slammed into him, lifting him off his feet. I ran forwards, only to collide with a wall of lightning that raised the hairs on my arms—but didn’t hurt. I’d taken in the lightning power, which must have made me immune to his own attacks.
But that meant the same applied to him. Unless one of us found some new demonic power or I got close enough to use my celestial blade, we were at a stalemate. Either I needed to find a whole new kind of magic, or something more mundane.
I reached for a stake—one of my last ones—put the lightning power behind it, and hurled it at his chest.
He moved to dodge, so it sank into his ribs instead of hitting his heart, but blood immediately blossomed from the wound. I took my advantage and ran up to him, drawing my celestial blade, but he raised a hand and shot lightning at my feet. My hair stood on end again, and he straightened up, grinning. Regenerative powers? I’d bet my demon mark he’d stolen those from one of the demigods, too.
“Nice try,” I said, drawing another stake. He summoned lightning and blasted it to pieces. The power in his hand was from a fallen Divinity. Like mine. Was it even possible for me to kill him, without knowing how to truly kill a demigod?
He’s no demigod. He’s borrowing the power by proxy. There must be a way to drain it.
My celestial blade sank into his chest, impaling him to the floor. He screeched—and disappeared through it.
You dickhead. He’d even stolen my demonglass power.
“Get back here!” I jumped through the floor with barely a conscious thought, landing in a corridor outside the hall where I’d confronted Azurial the first time around. The scent of brimstone clung to my nostrils, and several dead demons lay sprawled, some of them in pieces. Rachel, in her demon guise, stood in the centre.
“I’m sorry, Devi,” she said. “There was a portal here—it already closed. I was too late.”
“A portal?” I echoed. “Where?”
“The portal let the vampires directly into the celestial guild. They’re dead.”
Chapter 22
“Shit,” I said. “The vampire king—Inspector Angler—he used my ability. He didn’t come here, did he?”
Rachel shook her head. “No. What do you mean, used your ability?”
“He’s marked. Both of us have the same one—we can steal other demons’ powers. But the guild… I can’t go there. Not directly. There’s no demonglass back in our realm aside from at the warlocks’ place.”
The guild couldn’t be gone. No way. They were tougher than that. I’d wonder how the demons had transported themselves directly inside there, but I’d bet that bastard of a celestial betrayer had something to do with it.
“Then we’ll go there first,” Rachel said. “I’m not seeing another option here. How the hell do you kill that guy? Is he pretty much like a demigod without the weaknesses?”
“Basically. He can steal regenerative magic, too. But he’ll go into our realm for sure, given the chance. He has a really strong personal grudge against the inspector. I’m surprised he hasn’t done it already.” My own demon mark didn’t prevent me from travelling through portals—I think. Maybe it did, especially now I’d unlocked its true power. I’d used the demonglass to get here, not the actual portal.
I spun around at the echo of beating wings, but it was Nikolas. He landed beside me, his shadowy wings folding against his back. “I temporarily subdued Azurial, but he’ll regenerate.”
“The vamps are at the guild,” I told him. “They used a portal. No idea where the old inspector went, but his army’s in our realm. Stands to reason that’s where he plans to go, too.”
“Unfortunately, I think you’re right,” Nikolas said. “But you can’t transport yourself directly there.”
“Actually,” I said, “I can.”
For a moment, I expected him to challenge me. To say the guild’s safety wasn’t worth the risk. Nikolas’s eyes narrowed. He knew my plan—and it depended on both of us. “The guild wants us dead.”
“If they die, so does the city, and possibly the world.”
“That’s good enough for me,” Rachel said. “I’m in.”
I frowned at her. “You both weren’t supposed to guess the plan.”
“We know how you work by now,” Rachel said. “Jump in without warning and break shit.”
“Too right. Get hold of me, both of you.”
They did. And we passed through the demonglass floor, falling fast. Then we emerged in the pillared corridor in the castle of Babylon. Thankfully, no ambush waited. The night sky outside was a stark contrast to the brightness of Pandemonium’s gleaming pillars.
“We’re on top of the guild now, right?” asked Rachel.
“Yeah, we’re in the upstairs corridor,” I said. “Good enough.”
A second later, Nikolas’s shadow magic surrounded us, to be replaced by an explosion of noise as we landed directly in the celestial guild. Nobody looked to see the three people materialise in the upper floor corridor, because nobody was here. The sounds of fighting drifted through the open window. I left the room and ran for the stairs, my heart sinking at the sight of blood on the beige wallpaper I’d hated so much.
I climbed downstairs, following the direction of the noise. The smell of burning and brimstone drifted through the corridors. I paused besides the windows looking across the quad, and gasped. The forbidden part of th
e guild—the tower I’d never had the chance to explore—was in ruins. Didn’t take a genius to figure out where the celestial vamp had set up the portal.
“Oh, hellfire,” I whispered, wrenching my gaze away from the carnage. No bodies lay outside, but smears of blood on the walls and floor indicated the dead and injured had been dragged away. Sure enough, the doors to the entrance hall were open, and two celestials carried the body of a fallen novice inside. Behind, I glimpsed more bodies lined up on the wooden floor. Including…
Mr Roth lay amongst the dead.
They have no leader. That leaves the position wide open to…
The inspector.
Horrified screams drifted in from the glass doors to the lobby. The celestials must have driven the enemy out of the building—but they’d had no warning. The demons had crept into the heart of the guild and killed their leader in cold blood.
Not demons… vampires. Black-eyed vamps tore open the neck of a young novice, and anger exploded through my nerve endings.
I’ll kill you all.
Celestial blades sang, lighting the air. Vampires darted in and out of the chaos, fangs bared, knives and daggers in hand. So that’s how they’d managed to do so much damage. Unaffected by the bright lights, they recovered swiftly from every hit, moving faster than any celestial could. But of course—the higher ranked soldiers would still be around the warehouse. Only novices had been left behind, half of whom didn’t even have access to a celestial blade yet.
My stake sank into a vampire’s back, and I whirled to my next opponent. Ignoring my itching demon mark, I used stakes to subdue every vamp I could. My demon mark kept up a constant burning sensation, longing to release infernal fire on all of them. If I did, though—the anti-demon wards were right there. They’d burn me alive.
“DEVI LAWSON!” shouted a horribly familiar voice from behind me.
I ignored the shout and withdrew my stake from another vamp’s back. So the inspector had shown up, and actually joined in the fight at that. Blood stained his smart suit and his hair was unusually rumpled. Bad Haircut Sammy stood so close to him, I’d bet my sword he’d been hiding behind the inspector during the battle.
Both of them stared at me in horror—or more specifically, at Rachel, who still wore her demon guise and had her teeth buried in the back of a vampire’s head.
“What in damnation are you doing here?” roared the inspector.
“Saving your ungrateful necks,” I said in answer. “You’re welcome.”
“You—you brought warlocks here?” he spluttered.
“The vampires left the doors open,” I said. “I don’t have an army, so I brought these two.”
Lucky Nikolas had kept his wings hidden this time around. He shot lightning at two vamps, knocking them away from a group of young celestial novices huddled against the lobby wall. Blood, glass and other debris littered the once immaculate space. As for what they’d destroyed in the tower… if it really did contain all the guild’s research, they’d lost a ton of resources. Of course the former inspector didn’t need to steal any information, not when he knew it all.
I needed to break the news to Inspector Deacon, but his scowl indicated he wouldn’t accept any excuse from me, least of all the notion that his former partner had come back from the dead.
“Inspector Deacon,” I said. “There was a portal set up in your tower by a traitor celestial soldier. That’s how the vampires got in. The second portal at the warehouse was also set up by the same person. He might have more hidden throughout the city. Or even under our feet. He aims to kill all of you.”
“Who?” he demanded.
“Damian Greenwood,” I said. “But the real one calling the shots is Inspector Kenneth Angler.”
He looked at me like I had three heads.
“She’s telling the truth,” Nikolas said.
Rachel nodded, blood dripping from her serrated teeth.
“I won’t accept this lie,” he said. “Never. Inspector Angler died four years ago—”
“Or so you told everyone,” I said. “You betrayed him, just to further your own career. He did this, inspector. The blood of your own people is on your hands.”
His face reddened in fury, and celestial light sprang to his palms. I’d never seen him use it before, but he’d been a legendary fighter in his day.
“I really wouldn’t,” I said. “Nikolas and I will have to hurt you, and that’ll look awkward for your reputation. If you don’t want a fire demon materialising on top of you, I’d hold your fire. Literally.”
He didn’t look amused. “Devi Lawson—what is that on your hand?”
Shit. Smoke had helpfully begun to pour from underneath my right sleeve. “Vampire bite. Thanks for nothing, by the way.”
Nikolas stepped up behind me, and we disappeared into the shadows, landing outside Babylon’s castle. Apparently, the lobby overlapped with the space just outside the castle’s front doors.
I twisted away from him. “The hell was that in aid of?”
“He would have killed you, Devi,” he said.
“That can’t have been the end of the battle,” I said. “I thought for sure Inspector Angler should have shown up in person. He must be using another portal.”
“I’m inclined to let him and the inspector finish one another off.”
“You and me both, but I don’t want the city to be collateral damage, either.” I grimaced, shaking my demon marked hand in the hope that it’d stop smoking. “What about Azurial? Because last time he planned to use celestial energy to cross realms, and there are an awful lot of pissed-off high-ranked celestials running around. Not to mention people who’ve been bitten.”
He gave me a dark look. “If that’s still his plan, we’re in a lot of trouble. But I suspect Azurial has been acting as a puppet for a long time.”
“Ow.” My demon mark continued to pour smoke out, blazing bright. “What the hell is happening to it?”
“I can guess,” he said. “You absorbed more than one kind of power, didn’t you? I’d wager it’s overloaded.”
“So I need to use it? But—I can absorb any power? Even from a demigod and an arch-demon at the same time?”
“Only because the mark belongs to an arch-demon,” he said. “If my knowledge of demon marks is accurate, your ability works on anything below that level. He’s the same.”
“And we have the same mark.” Wait. “How much of your magic did he steal?” Being in his own realm meant it’d regenerate, but when faced with a normal demigod, Inspector Angler could drain them dry. No wonder he had Azurial under his control.
My gaze drifted to Zadok’s tower. The one place where there was a chance in hell of luring either of the enemies away. If I was prepared to face the one who owned the tower.
“Nikolas,” I said. “You have an army inside that castle, right?”
“No. Absolutely not.”
“They’ll destroy Haven City. You know what Zadok has—it’s the real deal. If we redirect the portal over there, the army will land in Babylon instead. I’m pretty sure Zadok’s army of scorpion demons, not to mention the other demons living out there in the wastelands, can take those vamps to pieces with no issue. That’ll leave our realm safe, and give me a shot at killing him.”
His mouth pressed together. “And throw this realm into chaos, too. My brother will never make a deal with you.”
“It’s that or let the city burn. I’m not bargaining with your brother. I’m stealing from him.” I held my demon marked hand up. “I’ve got this, okay? Trust me.”
“I do trust you. I don’t trust him.”
“You and me both, but seriously. This has to be done. I’m going to Pandemonium to head them off, and then—”
“If they’re even still there,” Rachel said darkly. “But I’m in. I watched one realm fall. I won’t let it happen to ours.”
Nikolas’s jaw tightened. “We can’t stay out here anyway. We need to find more demonglass. Devi—I think this is a
mistake.”
“Then argue with me about it later.” I took off towards the front doors, but Nikolas shook his head.
“Use the side door,” he said. “We don’t want to run into anyone inside the castle.”
I heard especially not my brother. Not stopping to argue, I made for the side entrance again. Despite my unfamiliarity with the rest of the castle, I knew this section by heart, including the path to the pillared walkway. I even kept pace with Nikolas on the way there. Maybe I really was going full-on demon. The inspector had definitely seen the smoke pouring off my sleeve, and I didn’t exactly have a ready-made explanation he’d believe. Add in the Grade Four’s disbelief about the reason for my aura change and the idea that I’d ever be able to put this behind me seemed an impossibility. But right now, I couldn’t summon up half a fuck to give. All my attention was focused on my enemy.
Pushing my sleeve up to reveal my demon mark, I pressed it to the glass pillar.
“Let’s go.”
I thought as hard as I could about the white-haired wannabe-demigod, picturing him in my mind’s eye. Then I shoved my hand through the pillar, and we passed through into Pandemonium—
And fell into empty air. The city wheeled below, sandy roofs careening around us. I flailed, desperately kicking out to make contact with the nearest solid object—which happened to be the side of the palace. Rachel clung to my back, yelling in my ear. There was the sound of beating wings, and Nikolas’s hand snagged the back of my coat, yanking me upright. We slowed, rotating on the spot. Gasping for breath, I took in the details—the castle tower we’d just fallen out of, and directly below, in the courtyard, the large outline of a pentagram. He’s portalling into our realm.
I shouted to Nikolas, who directed his descent in that direction. Fire licked the edges of the portal, and Azurial stood in the centre. His head raised to look at us, and the flames leapt into the air, aiming at Nikolas.
He flew higher, and the flames dashed past, narrowly missing us. Azurial’s winged form rose, fast as Nikolas himself. Fire flared from his hands. It didn’t burn me, but Nikolas and Rachel were vulnerable, and my smoking, burning demon mark made it impossible to concentrate enough to grab a weapon. Not to mention I’d die if I hit solid ground from this height.
Celestial Fire (Celestial Marked Book 2) Page 20
