Demons & Djinn: Nine Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy Novels Featuring Demons, Djinn, and other Bad Boys of the Underworld

by Christine Pope

  Daric placed his hand on the padlock hanging from the door. He grunted, and then Tarian felt a tight pulse of magic as the lock broke apart, raining pieces down on the metal steps. The clang rang through the quiet alley. Skitters and screeches answered it.

  Inside, they found the entire floor gutted. Empty beer cans littered the floor, strange rusted metal pieces lay here and there at odd angles, and an old metal desk chair with the bottom gone sat alone in the middle of it all like a throne. The stench of decay and urine brought tears to her eyes. Even though they were cracked and filthy, windows set high in the wall let in enough light from the outside street lamps for them to see. One rickety metal staircase rose from the trash on the far right side of the vast space and disappeared through the concrete ceiling to the floor above.

  “I’m not climbing that,” Tarian said.

  “Well, you’re not making a portal here. You already have his attention, no sense sending him an invitation to the party. Not until we’re ready for him.” Daric opened a portal so they could jump to the level above without taking the rickety stairs.

  She stepped through the portal, irritated that she couldn’t do it herself, but seeing the sense behind his words. The second floor housed derelict musty offices. Dust lay an inch thick on the floor. No footprints. No scuff marks. Still, Tarian could feel someone in the building. Several someones. She heard nothing, but the feel of a human presence was unmistakable.

  Daric stepped ahead of her, checking each office as he went. They found the girls they were looking for in the last office, lying on the floor in a semicircle with their heads pointed toward the center. Duct tape kept their mouths shut and bound their hands and feet. None of the girls even twitched at their approach.

  Red symbols covered all four walls. On closer inspection, she could see the red was dried blood rather than paint. “Scion” was written in neat red letters in the center of the circle at the girls’ feet. Tarian shivered.

  Pulling out his phone, Daric snapped pictures of the walls. Tarian moved closer to inspect the girls. The youngest had to be the one who owned the necklace. The child’s chest rose and fell in a natural enough rhythm. They still lived, but a spell held them here. It might just be a simple sleep one. She was too far away to know for sure.

  Tarian glanced down at the graffiti on the floor. It was old fashioned, archaic even, to draw a power circle. They weren’t really necessary. Magic was innate…something you were born with, like brown hair or blue eyes. Circles had been used a long time ago as a way to focus power, but it turned out it was more of a placebo effect. If you believed you could focus, you could, with or without the circle.

  She’d been taught about them, of course, because it was a part of history. Everyone learned about power circles, and everyone created their own power symbol as part of their naming day. She’d drawn her own over the rune in the center of the receiving hall, the same rune that still glowed because of the Succession Ritual being in full swing. But other than that type of symbolic gesture, she’d never needed one to gather more power. She couldn’t imagine the demon did either.

  So why draw one?

  “These markings make no sense.” Daric snapped a few more pictures. “Some belong to a couple of different power rituals that I’ve seen, but some don’t. I have no idea what these are.” He gestured to the wall closest to him. “They look like gibberish.”

  “Maybe it’s all for show?” She shrugged, and then pointed to the floor. “Why the circle? I don’t feel a lot of power coming from it. So what’s the point?”

  “No idea. But clearly whoever it is values this location. It’s not a full circle yet, but when it is…” Daric’s voice trailed off.

  “You think he’s coming back?”

  Daric pointed at the girls lying so still on the floor. “There’s only three. This sort of thing needs five, I think.”

  “What do you suppose he’s going to do with them?”

  Daric met her look with a grim one of his own.

  She thought of the girl in the basement and shuddered. There was no way she’d let the demon do that to these girls. “We have to get them out of here.”

  “Agreed.” He turned to look at the circle. “He’s calling you out again.”

  “I saw that. It’s just a taunt.”

  “How’d he even know you’d come here?” Daric moved into the circle and knelt by the youngest girl. “I was on this case, not you.”

  “Good question.” The demon could have a spy, but the idea didn’t sit well. It would have to be someone very close to her. Only Calliope knew where she was tonight. No way Calli would have told on her.

  “Something’s wrong with this girl. She’s having trouble breathing. I can’t break the spell, either.” Daric bent over the tallest girl and felt her wrist, then her neck. “Her pulse is way too slow. Even in a sleeping spell, it wouldn’t be this erratic. He might have drugged them. We need to move them out of this circle and get this crap off them.”

  He stood, and then pulled the girl up by the arms and dragged her toward the edge of the circle. Tarian stepped toward the youngest girl. She could carry her out to the hallway, and then help Daric with the last girl. They’d figure out a way to wake them up and get them home once they were out of this room.

  “Tarian, wait!” Daric’s shout reached her as her foot crossed the circle.

  She realized too late exactly what was going on. Old fashioned or not, this circle contained hidden power, and she’d crossed the line.

  Chapter 21

  A pulse of energy washed over Tarian. It radiated out toward her with enough force to lift the girls up off the floor as if suspended by invisible strings. Daric toppled as the spell surrounded him. It gripped Tarian with icy claws that scraped her insides, and the back of her neck exploded as though she’d been struck by a rock.

  Pain reverberated through her body as the force, energy, spell, whatever it was, centered around the demon’s tracer and attacked the shield protecting it. She couldn’t move. The spell had her trapped. If she’d been able to breathe, she’d have screamed. As it was, all she could do was fall to her knees.

  Frantic, she reached for her own magic to solidify the protection she had in place around the tracer. Mistake. Bad mistake. The demon latched onto her power from somewhere and wove it into his own spell.

  In the next moment, she felt the outer part of the shield crack. The demon siphoned power through it at an alarming rate.

  Something hit her on the head hard enough to knock her over. She struggled, and then realized Daric was trying to break the spell. He grabbed her feet and pulled her out of the circle.

  Once they were near the wall, Daric raced back to the center of the circle. From her point of view, he looked as though he did some sort of jig or wild dance. It seemed absurd. Whatever it was, the girls slowly lowered back to the ground. The demon’s hold on Tarian evaporated. She gasped with the sudden release.

  The outer layer of the shield around the tracer was gone, leaving the entire thing weak and hot underneath her skin. In those few seconds, he’d stolen quite a bit of her power.

  Fear coursed through her. The deadline, it seemed, had been moved up. Just like that.

  “Shit.” Daric stormed toward her. “Shit shit shit.”

  “Yeah.” She couldn’t even get to her feet yet. She rubbed her neck and shoulders to soothe the cramped muscles but it did nothing to help the headache. Her eyesight blurred with each pulse of pain. “What the hell did you just do?”

  He helped her up and kept her steady with his arms around her. “What did he get?”

  “Enough.” She forced air in and out in an effort to slow her pulse. Panic wouldn’t help this situation. “He cracked the shield. Dammit.”

  “I’m sorry, Tarian. I didn’t realize what your name in the center meant until too late. A targeted spell, a blind one. It would only be released by you. I didn’t think he could act through these walls.”

  “I don’t think he was that close
. This was nothing more than a well-placed trap, like hunters use to snare wild game.” She rested against Daric for a moment while she tried to get her breath, and wits, back. The warmth of his chest did more to calm her than anything.

  “Can you seal it? The shield?”

  “On my own? Probably not. It took three women and the Dolphin Throne to put it there.”

  “You should get out of here.”

  “Not until we get these girls out. He’ll kill them if we don’t.”

  “He might kill you if we do.”

  She pulled out of his arms and looked into his eyes. “He doesn’t want to kill me. He wants babies.”

  Daric’s eyes widened. “The ritual?”

  She nodded and tried to take a deep breath to calm her nerves. “I think so. It’s the only thing that really makes sense.”

  “Exactly how does the ritual work?”

  “It’s not rocket science.”

  “I mean, the whole idea behind it is so that the father of the child is not known. What happens if you do know who the father is? What happens if there’s only one…”

  “I have no idea.”

  “You should probably find out.”

  “What the hell could I do about it? If he succeeds, there’s nothing I can do.”

  “There’s one thing.” Daric pulled her to her feet. “Move up the ritual. Do your part. Before he gets a chance to do his.”

  She stared at him, stunned. He was suggesting she go ahead and have sex with random people just in case the demon was able to… She couldn’t wrap her mind around the thought.

  “It probably doesn’t matter.” She’d already started the ritual. With Alex. But Daric couldn’t know that.

  “What if it does?”

  Beware the danger from within. Had they meant inside these warehouse walls, or within her own.

  Tarian looked over at the girls. All three were now back on the floor, unaware that they’d been used. “Why did he need them? Were they just bait?”

  “Not sure. The markings make no sense.” Daric stepped back from her but held his hands out as if he thought she’d fall right over.

  “I’m fine. Go take care of them.”

  “Look, we’re going to figure it out. Everybody has a weakness. We’ll find his.”

  “So it’s ‘we’ now, is it?” She knew he was probably offering himself up as a contender for the ritual. She studied him as he moved around the center of the circle, releasing the spell on the girls. She had to admit the thought wasn’t all that unpleasant. She’d already had Alex. No reason Daric couldn’t be the second. That would go a long way to solving one problem, at least. She’d only have to figure out one more.

  Groans from the girls pulled Tarian out of her circle of thoughts. With the spell released, all three were able to sit up, and the youngest started crying. They struggled against their bonds, terror in their eyes. The tallest gasped and hyperventilated. Allergies or maybe asthma was making it very difficult for the poor girl to breathe around the duct-tape gag. Tarian hurried to remove it but could do nothing about the labored breathing. Daric placed his hands on the girl’s back, and her breathing eased. Once again she wished she had that healing skill. Her sister had been the big winner in that department.

  With the duct tape removed, the girls launched into a general chorus of “Where are we?”, “Don’t hurt me!” and “I didn’t do it!” The words tumbled over each other as the girls tried to gain an understanding of what had happened to them.

  After a few soothing words and questions, it was obvious that the last thing they remembered was Kevin and Mark Chester talking to them, and climbing into a car. The oldest had used a fake ID to get into a local club and remembered dancing with him. He snatched the other two from the park a few blocks away. None of them remembered anything once they got into the car. Just as well. They probably didn’t want to know the details.

  Tarian looked over at Daric. “It sounds like Chester's main talent was compulsion."

  He nodded. "I can only imagine what he used it for."

  "It’s not smart to keep them talking here.” She pulled one of the girls to her feet, and then helped Daric with the other two.

  Daric coaxed addresses out of them, and then created a large travel portal while Tarian gathered them together and instructed them to hold hands. The travel experience was going to be particularly jarring on top of everything else they'd been through, but it couldn't be helped. She didn't want to call a cab, even if one would come to this forsaken neighborhood. They needed to get the girls out of here fast.

  They stepped through as a group, with Tarian holding the older girls’ hands tightly and Daric holding the youngest girl in his arms. As they stepped out on the other side, all three girls gasped, and the asthmatic one coughed a loud barking sound sure to wake the neighbors.

  Daric turned to her, rubbed her back soothingly, then set the younger child down to take the other’s face in his hands and stare deeply into her eyes. He looked like he was trying to hypnotize the poor girl. Maybe they'd have been better off leaving them in the thrall of the sleep spell until they'd gotten them home.

  When Daric took his hands away from the girls' face, Tarian watched, dumbfounded, as the girl smiled, turned and walked serenely into her home.

  Daric opened another travel portal next to the first, grabbed the smallest child by the hand and gestured for Tarian to step through ahead of him. She took the other girl’s hand and dragged her through the portal before any protest crossed her lips.

  As they arrived on yet another squalid street, Daric put the smallest girl down to take her cousin’s face in his hands. Then she too smiled and walked into her house. Tarian could hear squeals from inside as the girl was greeted by her family.

  That just left the third. She lived so close to her cousin that they walked her home. Daric held her hand the whole way.

  When they reached her tiny row home, they stopped outside the rickety porch adorned with plastic Jesus statues. Tarian took in the decor of crosses, nativity scenes, and general religious paraphernalia with interest. She’d never understood the need for this sort of religion, but found it fascinating anyway. Her own beliefs centered on the power in all living things, not some mystical creature in the sky. Still, she supposed that to these people, her friends the dolphins or the archivists, with their ancient magic, would seem as gods.

  Daric took the little girl’s face in his hands as he'd done the other girls. Tarian expected the same vacant smile and was ready for the little thing to drift off into her house, but instead, the girl giggled as he finished.

  “Thanks for saving us. You don't gotta worry. I won’t tell.”

  The startled look on Daric’s face made Tarian smile. So his talent wasn’t all powerful. The youngest didn’t seem affected at all.

  “Promise?” Daric grinned at the girl.

  She nodded. “You’re different. I like you. You gotta name?”

  Daric laughed. “I do. It’s Daric. What’s yours?”

  “Kia.” The girl nodded, then looked at Daric from underneath her eyelashes, a sly smile on her face. “You come around here often?”

  “I might now I’ve met you. I like you too, Kia. Now be good, and no more walking through the park alone. Okay? Promise?”

  “Promise.” She gave a solemn nod.

  He gave her a hug, and Tarian handed the necklace she’d use to track her back to the girl. The girl took it and fastened it around her neck, then skipped up to the front door of her home. The girl turned. “Don’t forget to come see me.” She blew a kiss to Daric, then entered the house.

  “I think you have a fan.” Tarian laughed.

  “Well, I always did have a way with women.”

  “What did you do?”

  “A memory wipe.” He glanced toward the house. Screams filled the air as the girl entered. “At least, I tried to.”

  “So that’s your talent.”

  “Useful in situations like this. It’s not easy with th
is much trauma. I bet the others remember some of it. Hopefully it’ll just seem like delusions.”

  “Would it work on me?” She didn’t like the idea. He could just stare at her and wipe her memory?

  “No. You’re Society. It only works on nonmagical types.”

  Good to know. “So I’m right. The girl has some talent. I felt it on the necklace.”

  Daric nodded. “Someone should come back to see her sometime. She’ll need help when she hits puberty.”

  “I’ll tell Frankie to keep an eye on her. What about the others?”

  “Nobody would believe them if they described what happened anyway. I hope.”

  “Any idea what those markings on the wall were? Or why the demon needed these girls in the first place?”

  Daric took out his phone and displayed the picture he’d taken of one of the walls.

  “Looks like an old-style focus ritual, but I have no idea which one. I’ve seen some of these markings before, but others make no sense.”

  Tarian grabbed the phone out of Daric’s hand, but static obliterated the image before she could get a good look.

  Daric snatched it back from her. “Hey, watch it! What are you doing?” He tapped the screen, and the static cleared.

  “Let me see the picture.” She held out her hand, and her foot tapped a staccato on the sidewalk.

  Daric moved the phone closer to her. The static returned. He moved it away. The static disappeared. He shook his head.

  “Not a chance. You’re some sort of destructive force of nature. No way I’m letting you wipe these images.” He held the phone away from her.

  “Oh, I am not. Don’t be ridiculous.” Tarian darted to the side and snatched it out of his hand. She managed to see the image for about two seconds before even the static disappeared. The blank screen glared in silent accusation.

  “Well, shit.” Blood rushed to her ears. She handed the useless thing back to Daric without looking him in the eye.

  “Great. Thanks.” He put it in his pocket. “You should go home and catch your breath while I go get more photos of the walls.”