Demon Day

by Penelope Fletcher

  My lip twitched. Be nice?

  The white witch’s face was pink as she stopped before me. How different a small piece of information can make a relationship? I’d figured out why Ana was so hell bent on helping the fairies and why her spell to break the hex on the Disciples had gone so horribly wrong before I stepped in.

  “You’re the he-witch’s kin, aren’t you? And not just because he’s Coven Father, you’re his blood relation. You look far too alike so don’t try and lie.”

  Her shoulders slumped. She nodded. “Yes,” she whispered. “I am First Daughter of Cael. Father of Blackthorn Coven.”

  I stared at her. The names meant nothing to me but I got a distinct feeling from the way the others stiffened it was not a name to carry with pride. “Why didn’t you tell me?” Her eyes clouded over and I snapped my fingers in her face. “Don’t you dare. Stay focused on me and ignore everything else.” She sent a frightened look at Breandan who started to speak, but I held up my hand. “You’ve said enough. I understand why you did what you did, and how in a twisted way you thought you were protecting me. But she can lie and she did.”

  He reached for my hand and I slapped him away. He sighed. “It’s not her fault. I asked her not to tell you. Not to tell anyone who she was.”

  I kept my eyes on Ana. “Tell me what happened.”

  She rubbed her tummy. “You saw the scars.” Her eyes briefly flittered across mine and her face creased in sympathy. “The Tribe caught me and Wasp tortured me for information on Cael’s plans.”

  “I’ve already heard this story.” I paused. “An altered version no doubt but–”

  “What I didn’t tell you is the real reason why I’ve given my loyalty to the fairies.”

  “You told me you were from the upper dwells–”

  Ana made an annoyed sound. “No, you assumed and I didn’t correct you.”

  My tail cracked from side to side in irritation. Ana side-stepped to avoid getting lashed by the tip. I took a deep breath. “But you told me about demons hiding behind the Wall.”

  “Demons hide in plain sight behind the Wall.” She shrugged as if this was common knowledge. “There are humans with goblin, witch, and shifter blood. Not enough to mark them as demon though. Many probably don’t realize they’re descendant from a supernatural. The fairies have always tended to stay within their own race, but recent events wouldn’t be the first time a fairy had tied themselves to one outside their gene pool. Your own mother bred with a human.”

  Fisting my hands, I looked down at them as if they held all the answers. “Are you saying that I might have more family somewhere?”

  This time Breandan did take my hand. He unfurled my fingers and stroked my palm. “I would ask that you forget any thought of more family. It will cause you nothing but pain. Alright?”

  As always, he was blunt and matter of fact. Not that it bothered me anymore. Better to flatten a silly hope then let it take root and grow. Still, I struggled with this because I still fought to understand the timelines of when this all occurred.

  I asked, “Why have I not aged? You believe what you’re saying to be the truth, I get that, but shouldn’t I have two hundred years worth of memory, or physically be older than I am?”

  Breandan stroked one of my wing tips then followed the curve of my pinion down to my back. “Physically, you’re still growing.” His own wings flexed then and the corners of his mouth kicked back in a smile. “As am I. When we reach our prime our aging slows drastically. Combine this with our temperament and we begin to look matured yet remain … youthful in appearance. Our minds refresh themselves to stave away the apathy and ennui that comes with long life. Understand?” I nodded. Really, what else could I do? Burst into tears? Breandan smiled at me, and that was more than enough reward for sucking it up. “Do you remember what you did when we fought Devlin?”

  My own smile slid from my face. A shudder rippled through me as I remembered the feeling of being stretched and yanked from one place to another. “Somehow I moved us from the forest into the old church.”

  Breandan nodded. “No other fairy would think of attempting such a thing. Generally we do not hold enough power therefore physically it is not possible for us. Yet you managed to not only move yourself, but Devlin and myself, purely on instinct.”

  From the look of awe on Conall’s face, I could tell this was a big deal. I eyed Breandan speculatively. “You didn’t seem shocked at the time.”

  His face creased with amusement. “When have I ever looked shocked to you? When has Conall, Devlin, or Maeve? It is not something we experience often. And when we are surprised we adjust so quickly you’d be lucky to catch us suffering through it.” He smoothed his hand down the space between my wings and I squirmed. “We suspect Sorcha did something similar when Devlin and the warriors chased her down after she broke the amulets and took you. Only I don’t think it worked the same way.”

  Conall reached to touch my shoulder, but then held back and looked down to his booted feet. “Our mother was powerful. Beautiful and powerful in ways not even her own family truly understood. When it happened those of us sensitive to magic felt it rattle our bones.” His eyes closed as if in memory. “Everything stopped and was quiet. A silence so loud it was deafening.”

  The way he stood, arm reaching and ears twitching it was like he was back there, remembering. He had once told me that as a young boy he had peeked into my cradle. My eyes bugged as the implications of that became clear.

  He smiled faintly, and when he opened his eyes, they were already trained on me. “I’ve been looking for you for a long time, little sister. It brings me joy to know that I did not fail you. I could not find you because you were not there to be found.”

  I floundered, shook my head. Were they honestly trying to say my mother had used her magic to walk through an opening in time and leave me on a Temple Priests doorstep?

  No, impossible.

  “I’m struggling to accept this,” I admitted. “I mean, you can’t be serious.”

  My brother touched my amulets briefly. “What are we Rae? What is the first thing I taught you about magic? ”

  “That it’s energy.”

  He nodded. “Energy that flows and connects all things. When you and Breandan touch how does the nexus manifest itself to you?”

  I swallowed. Was this a trick question so that he could scold me? “Light,” I said tentatively. “Burning light.”

  He smiled, but it did not reach his eyes. I saw a great sadness there and knew then he would never fully accept I had chosen Breandan over Lochlann. “And there is no power on this earth that moves faster than light,” he explained. “Do you understand now?”

  Ana had told me when the nexus fully opened Breandan and I would become a Source in our own right, and be able to wield insurmountable power. We had all seen a glimpse of its destructive capabilities by the obliterated Temple grounds, but what it if a smaller portion of that power, say half, was focused on moving as fast as light itself. Could you move so fast it seemed you shifted from one location to another in a blink, like I had? Moving so fast your energy passed through, around, or over any stationary barrier. Was my magic that powerful? Ana could see the future … in a fashion. Ghost images constantly played out over what she saw in her waking hours. Though she could only focus on one possible future at a time, and often missed many, I did not get a feeling that she had ever lied or held back what she had seen. Could I use her Sight to an even greater advantage? Say she tells me a future path and I try to move fast enough to jump into it. Would I be able to jump back too?

  I spoke slowly still reeling with the possibilities. “So if I focus enough I can move through–”

  Breandan glared at me with such violence his eyes shifted from silver to black. He sent me a wave of caution so strong it hit me like a physical blow and I stumbled back. My ears rung and my stomach lurched dangerously.

  Gods, at this rate there would be nothing left inside me.

  “Banish t
he thought,” Breandan roared and took hold of my arms to shake me roughly. “What one can achieve does not pass over to the other. Every fairy is unique and none do the same thing the same way.” He lowered his voice and trembled as he struggled to control his reaction. “Should you try we cannot predict what would happen to you.”

  “Our mother died, Rae,” Conall said softly as an explanation for Breandan’s fearful anger. “She was found dead in a circle of burning grass and you were gone.” My brother shrugged hopelessly. “Just … gone. Her magic had burnt out on the return journey. The only reason we knew you were still alive is when the years passed and a new Priestess was not born.”

  When I had shifted us I had barely been able to stand and think straight. Attempting it again would have probably killed me ... like it had killed my mother.

  Oh, Conall. My heart hurt for him. Everything and everyone he loved, the life he’d once had, simply disappeared overnight. My whole life I had thought my family had abandoned me, but it looked like I had been forced to abandon them. Amelia had told me Conall had visited her great grandmother searching for me. He had held onto the hope that I was alive and that he would bring me back to my rightful place amongst out people. He had shouldered the shame of our family, the burden of our legacy. Son to the murderess who broke the balance and sent away fairykind’s one hope to restore order.

  There could only be one Priestess and since I was still alive for two hundred years the fairy race lost their spiritual leader. No wonder we were so fractured and lost. Worse, when she was found not only was she selfish, foolhardy, and scatterbrained, but she didn’t mate with the High Lord. She fell in love with his younger brother. And not any old mating, a dangerous bonding that rocked the foundations of their race a millennia before; their lost Priestess who spilt blood for vampires, and the humans who wanted them gone.

  How could I repair such damage? I needed time to learn and grow but they needed me now. Things were happening now and as always I was hesitant, or too afraid to throw myself into what I was in fear I would lose myself.

  Lochlann was an ass, but he did what he thought was best. Just like Conall. He had seen Lochlann as a leader who wanted to bring positive change. If I had been in his shoes wouldn’t I have done the same?

  “I’m sorry,” I said to Conall quietly and before I talked myself out of it, I wrapped my arms around his waist. He was so bulky and big it took some effort on my part. I rested my head lightly on his chest. “I’m sorry I left you and that we had to spend our childhoods alone.”

  Conall wrapped his bulging arms around me and buried his head in my hair. “All will be well,” he said roughly.

  There was a soft thump of boots trying to walk away quietly and my eyes snapped open.

  “Ana,” I said firmly and she froze, looking sheepishly over her shoulder.

  “You and I are nowhere near done.” I disentangled myself from Conall’s arms and waited arms loose by my side. My wings flexed and extended again and the witch swallowed loudly. “Did your father send you to spy on the fairies?”

  Ana lifted her chin. “It was my job to get close to Devlin, yes. To use my Sight to convince him I was on his side. I was to return after one month and report all I knew.” That month had come and gone yet still here she was. That spoke for itself. “I don’t want to be like him, Rae. Surely you can understand that? Not wanting to be like your parents … I don’t ... fit in,” her eyes welled with tears. “I don’t bend to the darkness like they do.”

  “But that is where your magic comes from, isn’t it,” I said. “Humans were never supposed to be able to touch the Source and use magics. The Vodoun can use magics because their power does not come directly from the Source but from the Loa. They can only infuse other objects with magics and that’s why they use charms and fetishes or the bodies of those who have passed on.”

  Everything came together. A clear understanding of how each race was connected and how they used the forces around us. I touched the amulets around my neck and glanced at Lex from the corner of my eye who nodded her head slowly.

  “They can’t manifest like we fairies and the witches can,” I carried on, confident I was on the right track.

  I had learnt a fairy’s temperament had a depth that made it complex. We were ruled almost entirely by instinct and our nature. It helped us adjust to things quickly, but humankind didn’t adjust well to sudden change they had no control over. They were passionate, strong-willed, resilient yet stubborn and single-minded. Their collective nature couldn’t handle the power, and always did they choose to walk the left hand path.

  “But you’re an exception,” I blurted out loud, and my eyes widened. “Because of your Sight! You don’t have to choose one path because in a way you walk them all. You’re able to choose your own destiny.”

  Triumphant, I beamed at her. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and my grin slid from my face. Ana dropped to her knees in front of me and bowed her head. Nimah started forward but Amelia held her twin back. I didn’t quite understand what was passing between those three, but I really didn’t have the time to worry about it.

  Flustered, I waved my hands. “Well, don’t cry,” I squeaked, panicked.

  I looked to Breandan for help and flushed harder. His face was a smug mix of pride and accomplishment. No doubt my bout of clarity helped prove to all present that no matter how much I proclaimed I didn’t know what I was doing that I was born to do this … that my wisdom was something that did not come from a passing of time but from whom I was.

  “I’ve felt so alone and wicked for walking out on my family,” And said. “And in one moment you make my choice worth it.” She smiled up at me through her tears.

  I opened my mouth to repeat my wish for her to stand the hell up, but something at the edge of the courtyard moving in the shadows over the rubble caught my attention.

  My eyes slitted with resentment. Seriously, the crazy-assed fairy with snake hair, and a dangerously unnatural affinity with knives had come here? Wasp was Devlin’s life mate, and completely loyal. Was he here? Why had Ana not seen this? My gaze darted past her into the shadows from which she emerged. I narrowed my eyes further when no one appeared after her, and hissed, my hair crackling with the power I called to me, my wings unfurling.

  Breandan side-stepped so he stood in front of me protectively, his wings sprung out to shield me. I blinked at this and felt disgruntled. It had taken me hours to use my wings without falling over and I was still getting the hang of them.

  “I am alone,” Wasp said in the gritty voice I remembered, and stepped forward into pale beams of moonlight.

  Breandan and Conall all looked at me, waiting for an answer. I shrugged. At my calm acceptance, the tension in the air wound down, but I was still taut. A memory of this girl pulling Lex’s neck back flashed across my memory, but before I could say anything around binding her, a shriek of rage shattered the stillness.

  A streak of white knocked Wasp over. She flipped up to land silently on her feet then spun and kicked Lex in the stomach when the zombie-girl lunged for her again. Lex landed in an ungainly sprawl as Wasp eased into a loose crouch.

  She cocked her head. “They made you a zombie,” she laughed without mirth and without missing a beat her gaze flicked to me. “You are pathetic.”

  “Enough,” Conall barked. He picked Lex’s trembling body up and patted her on the head as one would a favorite pet. Ro came to her side and hovered, wary of the fairy. Conall left them and turned to face Wasp, crossing his huge arms across his torso and tilting his head, face displeased. “You are not among friends. You will show respect here.”

  Wasp narrowed her red eyes at him. She straightened. “By fairy law I am leader here.” She tipped her head back in a queenly way, but I saw a flicker of doubt crack her untouchable facade. “You will not harm me. I am the mate of the High Lord.”

  I blew out a breath, fed up of her posturing, and stepped around Breandan. “You think that means anything to me?”

 
Her lip curled. “You are not my Priestess, you vapid excuse for a royal.”

  “And you are not my High Lady,” I replied easily. She could not offend me with disrespecting a title I had no love for. “You’re lucky you’re still standing in one piece. The fairies may not bother to hurt you but there’s shifters here whom I’m sure want payback for how you and Devlin treated them.” My eyes flicked to look over her shoulder and I pursed my lips thoughtfully. “That is … if a witch doesn’t get you first.”

  Breandan sighed and in a blink was behind Wasp, catching a thin arm mid swing, and holding firm. Wasp stumbled back, eyes wide with shock, but kept her mouth shut. She nodded, stiff-necked, as thanks to Breandan who did not respond.

  My fairy shot me a look of consternation and I stared back blankly. He fought a smile. “I will make a peacekeeper of you yet,” he murmured. He plucked the knife from Ana’s grip and shook his head at her. Handing back the knife hilt first and said, “This is not who you are.”

  She snatched the blade from him and slotted it back into her boot. “She hurt me.” A rare glimpse of vulnerability claimed Ana’s expression, and her eyes shone with tears. “She hurt me, and I want to hurt her.”

  Breandan’s fingers brushed away a tear. “You know that is not the way.”

  She swallowed and surprisingly looked at me for back up. I hesitated, but the sliver-kissed pressure at the edge of my mind spoke to my sensibilities. I shook my head. “He’s right. She’ll pay for her crimes,” my voice hardened, “and I promise her punishment will be more than suitable for the pain she’s caused. But even I know killing her will achieve nothing.”

  “Especially if you fools wish to try and finish your nonsensical attempt at rebellion.” Wasp rallied her courage and stood hand on hip. Her dreadlocks bristled and her scarlet eyes were cool as she locked gazes with Breandan. “The vampires have Devlin. I want him back and you, boy, you and your insipid mate are going to help me.”

  Ignoring her poisonous tongue, Breandan and Conall shared alarmed looks.