Demon Curse

by Linsey Hall

  I stuck close to Declan as Nix led us through the market. It hummed with activity, and I passed tables covered with shrunken heads—real—and diamonds—probably not real. There was everything in between, but I kept my eyes on the people around me instead of on the goods. I didn’t want to run into any trouble before we got to Mari and Del.

  My shoulders relaxed slightly as we departed the market. Nix led us to one of the many huge tunnels that led off the main market square. They were like roads in the underground Grimrealm, leading to other neighborhoods and districts, most of which I’d never visited.

  This one was mostly empty, with just a few souls passing back and forth. There were no doors or shops in this tunnel, just barren stone walls.

  By the time we made it to the graveyard, I was buzzing with nerves.

  At the sight of the view, Connor whistled low under his breath. “Whew, that’s something.”

  As I took in the view, I couldn’t help but agree. The graveyard was at least the size of the market, but instead of activity, there was silence. Thousands of gravestones and mausoleums filled the space. Somehow, mist managed to crawl over the ground, though I had no idea where it was coming from.

  I turned to Cass and Nix. “Can you feel anything?”

  “Give me a moment,” Cass murmured.

  Nix already had her eyes closed, clearly trying to focus on her magic and her surroundings. This time, instead of using their dragon magic to look for Mari and Del, they were looking for a hidden door.

  I hoped it made a difference.

  Tension crawled across my skin as I waited. We could physically search for the door—and I would, if they couldn’t lead us to it—but we didn't have a lot of time to spare. Even now, the fire in my veins burned. It weakened my muscles, no matter how hard I tried to ignore it. That didn’t bode well for me or Mari.

  Finally, Nix’s head popped up. “I’ve got something.”

  “Me too.” Cass pointed ahead and slightly to the right. “That way.”

  My heart thundered as we hurried across the cemetery, weaving between the gravestones and mausoleums. Cold mist twisted around my ankles, making me shiver.

  Wally appeared at my side, trotting through the mist. Nice place.

  “Your judgment is skewed,” I said.

  He looked up at me, then shook his head in disgust. You don’t know how to appreciate the finer things.

  Despite the worry that twisted my insides, the smallest smile tugged at my lips.

  Cass stopped abruptly. “Here. It’s around here.”

  I halted, searching the area around us. We’d reached a spot where there were three small mausoleums. None of them had a visible door—it was as if they’d been all bricked up. The ground underfoot was trampled a bit more in this area, but it didn’t point to one building over another. I walked around the little structures, searching for a door.

  When I finished my circuit, I looked at Nix and Cass. “There’s no door.”

  “No door that we can see.”

  I nodded. “Secret door. Of course.”

  “How do we reveal it?” Declan asked.

  “I’ve got something for that.” Connor stepped forward, digging into his potion bag.

  I stepped back, giving him space to work.

  He looked at Nix and Cass. “Any idea which one it might be?”

  They frowned and walked in a circle around the three mausoleums.

  Cass met Connor’s eyes. “Could be any one of them.”

  He nodded. “Well, I’ve only got enough potion for two, so cross your fingers. If we’re lucky, it will reveal the door hidden behind the spell.”

  I watched, breath held, as he splashed some of his potion on the first building. Nothing happened.

  Damn.

  He moved toward the other two, looking between them. Then he pointed, silently mouthing some words that looked a lot like eeny, meeny, miney, mo. Finally, he settled on one.

  I squeezed Declan’s hand as I watched him splash the rest of the potion on the mausoleum to the right.

  Tension thrummed in the air as we watched, until finally, magic sparked around the little building. Slowly, a door began to appear.

  Yes! “Thank you, Connor.”

  He grinned. “Just glad it worked.”

  I approached the door and hovered my hand over the handle. Dark magic pricked against me, reaching right into my soul and punching hard.

  I stepped back. “Death.”

  “Death?” Declan frowned at me.

  “If you touch it without permission, you’re dead.” But I had my nullifying magic. I reached for the door again.

  Declan grabbed my hand. “No.”

  I looked at him. “Yes. I have to.”

  “Even with your nullifying magic, it’s too dangerous.” Worry tightened his mouth.

  I looked around. “Anyone else have any ideas?”

  Worry flashed on every single person’s face, eyes darkening and brows creasing. But no one said anything.

  “Well, that settles it.” I looked at Declan. “It’s my sister. I don’t really have a choice. And I don’t think I’m going to die.”

  It’d probably hurt like hell, though. No way I was getting out of this unscathed.

  Finally, Declan released my arm, but he didn’t look happy about it.

  I gave him a long look, then reached for the door. I called upon my nullifying magic before I even touched it, trying to force it out of myself to get a head start. The power swelled within me, making me vaguely ill with its strength. I grabbed the door handle and yanked.

  Electric pain shot up my arm. I gritted my teeth as tears pricked at my eyes. Once the door was open, I gestured to my friends, who hurried through.

  Declan waited until last, and as soon as he’d gone, I followed, letting go of the door handle as quickly as I could.

  Darkness enveloped me within the mausoleum. Stale air filled the room, and I breathed shallowly, feeling my way toward the stairs that led downward. I followed Declan, joining the trail of my friends as we descended farther into the earth. After about fifty steps, the path leveled out.

  The tunnel was creepy and narrow, with rough rock walls and no light.

  “Forest up ahead,” a whispered voice filtered back.

  It was a game of telephone, one person passing the news to the person behind them.

  When I stepped out of the tunnel and joined my friends, I doused the light of my ring. We stood in a large clearing in the woods, surrounded by a ring of trees. A pale light emitted from the top of the cavern above us. The rock ceiling was so high overhead that it was like being in perpetual twilight, and already, I felt claustrophobic.

  Was this a natural cavern in the earth, or something magic-made?

  “Trees underground?” Connor asked.

  I approached one to my right, touching the blackened bark. “I’m not sure they’re alive.”

  “There’s a path up ahead.” Declan pointed to the worn place between the trees, about fifty yards away. We just had to cross the clearing to get to it.

  I looked at Nix and Cass. “Do you guys feel anything?”

  They both frowned.

  “I can’t sense them, no,” Nix said. “It feels the same as it did back in Grimrealm.”

  Declan studied the clearing. “That’s a powerful concealment charm.”

  “Let’s follow the path, then.”

  The nine of us set off across the clearing. Though we were technically underground, it didn’t feel like that. It felt like walking through a haunted forest at dusk.

  We were nearly to the path when several of the skeletal trees shifted.

  I stiffened, eying them warily.

  Four of them moved toward us, gray magic swirling around their forms. Their limbs and bark transformed, turning them into skeletal demons with long limbs tipped with white claws. Each had two legs—sort of—and two arms. The heads were just long pillars of jagged wood. No eyes, noses, or mouths.

  I’d never seen
anything like them. But the dark magic that swelled from them made it clear—they were here to hurt us.

  “They don’t look sentient,” Cass said.

  She was right. They looked more like magic than a living thing. “But they do look deadly.”

  The four creatures charged us, claws raised. Each one was at least twelve feet tall.

  My heart thundered as their footsteps shook the ground.

  I drew my mace from the ether and sprinted forward. The metal was a comforting weight in my hand as I swung it in an arc, aiming for the closest monster’s left leg. The heavy spiked ball smashed into the limb, and the wood shattered. The creature went down hard.

  Next to me, Declan threw a blast of heavenly fire at one on the left, while Connor tried out his potion bombs. They flew as flashes of color and exploded against the trees, causing them to freeze or burst into flame.

  The monster that I’d felled was crawling toward me, claws outstretched. I darted around, barely avoiding a slice, and slammed my mace against its head…area. The creature slowed but didn’t stop, so I went for each limb with my weapon, trying to smash the beast into oblivion.

  Finally, it lay still, then disappeared in a poof of dark magic.

  Damn, these things were hard to get rid of.

  To my right, Cass and Aidan shifted into their griffin forms. They were massive, with huge beaks and a wingspan that stretched at least fifteen feet across. They launched themselves into the air, heading for the forest beyond the attacking monsters.

  Only then did I realize that more of the trees were coming alive.

  Shit.

  At least four more of them. Then eight. Then twelve.

  Oh fates, were there too many of them for us to fight?

  15

  As more monsters came to life, I joined Nix in her attack against a particularly large tree creature. She wielded an enormous mallet that she’d conjured, slamming it into the beast’s limbs. To our right, Claire hurled fireballs at one of the monsters.

  Roarke, Del’s man, had adopted his demon form. His skin had turned dark gray and his muscles had increased in size, enough that his shirt had disappeared. His dark wings carried him high in the sky, and he dive-bombed one of the monsters, using his massive strength to catch a limb and tear it right off.

  Ares the vampire moved so fast that he confused the monster who chased him. He wielded a sword that quickly separated limb from body, and he was onto the next monster within seconds.

  Nix and I finally obliterated the tree monster that we fought, and I turned to face the ones that ran toward us.

  Too many.

  It would take too long to fight them.

  “Go!” Connor shouted. “We’ll hold them off.”

  “They’ll overrun you!” I shouted.

  “Nah.” He pointed to Aidan and Ares. “The three of us can hold them off. And if not, I’ll hitch a ride on Aidan, and Ares can outrun anything.”

  It was a good plan, actually. They could distract while we saved Del and Mari.

  “I’m fine with it!” Ares’s voice carried across the clearing, his advanced hearing having picked up on Connor volunteering them for the job.

  Aidan roared, his griffin call cutting through the air.

  “That sounds like an affirmative,” Connor said, hurling one of his potion bombs at a monster.

  The blue glass ball smashed against the creature’s chest, splattering it with sparkling liquid. Blue veins shot out from the chest, turning the whole creature to ice. The monster staggered two steps forward, limbs freezing, then crashed to the ground and shattered.

  Connor looked at me. “Go! Save your sister.”

  He didn’t have to tell me twice. “Thanks.”

  I turned and ran, Nix joining me. We headed right for the path that cut through the forest. Claire caught up, along with Declan and Roarke. Cass was the last to follow, flying overhead in her griffin form. She joined us on the ground, shifting as she landed.

  Together, we sprinted down the path, leaving the battle behind. Aiden, Ares, and Connor distracted the creatures from following us. The slightest bit of worry tugged at me, but Connor was right. They were strong enough to hold off the monsters. And in a worst-case scenario, they could run for it.

  “Do you feel that?” Cass asked from beside me.

  Dark magic prickled against my skin, a warning charm that made me shiver. “Yeah.”

  A second later, we saw it.

  A wall of massive orange flame.

  The forest path was about to terminate, right into a wall of fire.

  The six of us skidded to a halt right before the flame. The wall extended as far as I could see in either direction, blasting my face with heat. I winced, shielding my eyes as I tried to see to the top.

  Roarke launched himself into the sky, his dark wings carrying him all the way to the top of the cavern, confirming that there was no way to fly over it. I could hear his frustrated curse from here. Could feel his anxiety for Del. He loved her, and now this damned fire cut him off from saving her. Similar desperation clawed at me. We were getting closer, but our odds were getting worse.

  “Shit.” Frustration creased Nix’s brow. “I can’t conjure enough water to deal with this.”

  Declan approached, his hand outstretched. “You may not need to.”

  He touched the flame, wincing slightly. Then he stuck his hand right in.

  I bit back a cry and resisted the urge to jump forward and yank him away.

  He stepped back and showed us his hand, unburned. “Heavenly fire.”

  “Well that sucks worse.” Cass frowned. “Nothing can take out heavenly fire.”

  “Of course the bastard used heavenly fire,” Nix said. “Fucking angels.”

  I eyed Declan, hope surging in my chest. I knew the rules were different for angels when it came to heavenly fire. He approached the fiery wall again, reaching both hands into it. His magic surged on the air, filling it with the scent of a rainstorm and the sound of a roaring river. I held my breath as he worked.

  His white aura glowed brighter, and the fire in front of us started to fade. Just a section of it, but it was enough.

  He formed a little portal, and I didn’t wait for directions. I just sprinted for it and leapt through, then rolled on the ground on the other side. Fire heated my skin, and my eyes watered.

  Shit!

  That hurt.

  I lurched upright, patting myself off to make sure I wasn’t blazing, and darted out of the way so my friends could come through. As they leapt through the portal, I inspected my surroundings.

  A massive house sat on a hill about two hundred yards from me. It looked like a freaking haunted mansion. In the perpetual dusk, I expected a lightning bolt to crash behind it.

  Nix appeared next to me and gasped. “She’s in there!”

  “You can feel her now? Both of them?”

  She nodded, excitement gleaming on her face. “That barrier of heavenly fire was what blocked my ability to find them. Now that we’re on the other side, I can sense them.”

  “And they’re okay?” Roarke asked, desperation making his voice rough.

  He hadn’t spoken much during this journey, and I realized why. He was barely holding it together. Despite the fact that he’d fought with the skill and viciousness of a seasoned, decorated warrior, he was out of his mind with worry.

  Couldn’t blame him.

  “They’re alive,” Nix said. “That’s all I can feel.”

  Declan joined us, which meant everyone was through.

  “I’m going to use illusion to make us invisible,” Cass said. “They won’t be able to see us approach. But we won’t be able to see each other either. So keep your pace steady, and we’ll all group up by that big bush under the window on the left.” She pointed to the darkened window and the skeletal bush that sat in front of it.

  “Let’s go get them,” I said.

  Once everyone around me disappeared, I looked down at my body. Gone.

&nb
sp; Wow. Cool skill.

  I set off across the grass at a steady jog, checking out the three-story house as I ran. The haunted house vibe only increased as we neared. Occasionally, I saw people pass in front of the windows. Everyone wore an identical red robe, and eventually, the effect became cultish.

  A cult.

  The Weeds had said that he’d been hired by a group. Probably a cult, blindly following Acius.

  Finally, I reached the bush and pressed myself up against the brick wall. My shoulder hit someone else’s, and I nearly jumped.

  “Hey,” I whispered.

  “Hey.” Cass’s voice came back at me.

  “I’m here,” Nix said.

  After a moment, everyone checked in, and Cass let the magic fade. We all appeared, tucked out of sight at the very bottom of the house. Unless someone walked outside or leaned out of a window, they wouldn’t see us.

  “Let’s go around back. See if there is a quieter entrance.” I led the way, and we moved in a silent, single-file line around the edge of the house.

  Fortunately, I didn’t see a single sign of security anywhere. Acius assumed his giant monsters and wall of fire would keep people out.

  Idiot.

  At the back of the building, I spotted a root cellar door that was nearly flush against the ground.

  Oh, thank fates.

  We approached it silently, and to my surprise, it was locked only by a big metal padlock. Roarke reached for it and crushed it in his big gray hand, then tore it away.

  “Well, that works,” I murmured.

  The metal hinges squeaked as Declan and Roarke lifted the two doors. I tensed, waiting for an alarm to sound, but none did.

  Fantastic.

  I slipped down the stairs, into a long empty room. The packed dirt floor was damp underfoot, and there were no lights in the space. From behind me, one of the FireSouls ignited the magic in her lightstone ring, providing light for the rest of us.

  The six of us moved silently to the end of the room, then slipped out the door.

  Into chaos.

  A group of ten cloaked figures leapt up from where they sat around a table. They turned to us, crimson cloaks flying. I drew a dagger from the ether and hurled it at the nearest figure. The blade sank into his left eye, and he flew backward, crashing into the table and turning it over.