by L. L. McNeil
The scary thing was the Leeches and Stingers that she’d hunted effortlessly for years were no longer giving her much energy. Nowhere near as much as before. Killing the Prowler under Kew Gardens had been the start of it. She’d had such a boost of power she’d felt she’d burst.
Now, she couldn’t go back to the small fry. And she wasn’t quite up to tackling the bigger demons alone. Caught between a rock and a hard place, she needed to stick it out with the Kouzlo to bring down the bigger, stronger demons.
She didn’t want to end up in the same, weak, condition again.
‘I can defeat Gorath. My axes and my dragons are able,’ Tress said.
‘Fallow told us to check this place out and go back to Caramond House,’ Damon replied.
‘Be quiet, little pup,’ Tress snapped.
‘All right, calm down. Let’s get outside and some fresh air. Being stuck in this dank, musty place ain’t going to be helpful for anyone,’ Tej said. He’d raised his arms between Damon and Tress, tried to calm the growing tension.
‘We’d need to clear the Mirage search with Fallow first, anyway,’ Ashante said, as the group made their way back out into the car park and the bright sunlight. ‘Especially if it’s outside her territory.’
Seila took a deep breath, felt the tension ease somewhat. ‘If Sekki put some of his power in the jewellery, wouldn’t it make sense to destroy it? Won’t that weaken him in the same way sealing a Mirage will?’
‘I’m not sure. It’s possible it’ll affect the Lesser Demons more. But Fallow will know what’s best,’ Ashante answered.
Tej came outside last, the bundle of jewellery boxes stacked high in his arms. He leaned his head back a little bit. ‘Can someone get the boot for me?’
Damon hurried forward and opened the boot of the Mustang, allowing Tej to unceremoniously dump all the boxes inside.
‘Don’t you find it strange?’ Seila asked, glancing up and down the empty street. ‘We’re outside in broad daylight. There’s shops along the street, but no-one seems to notice this place. Anyone who’s been near in the past two weeks will have seen the jewellers is boarded up. And now all of us arrive and you carry what are clearly jewellery boxes to your car. No-one’s seen us, spoken to us.’
Damon and Tej looked up the street at her words.
‘Delgo found us before,’ Tej said eventually.
‘Delgo is a Djinni. He works for Fallow’s Kouzlo.’ Seila shrugged. ‘We’re all Kouzlo. And Ashante didn’t sense any humans in the shop.’
Tej’s brows knitted together. ‘What are you saying, Seila?’
‘I don’t know what Sekki can or can’t do. Especially now he’s no longer here. But what if he has some kind of demonic enchantment on this place? Like Fallow does at Caramond House?’
They all shared an uneasy glance. Then Tress said, ‘Impossible. Demons can’t do that.’
‘Sekki is an Elite, though. And he walked in a human skin to pass for other humans,’ Seila said. ‘He fooled Tej easily enough.’
Tress shook her head. ‘Even so. Even if he could have done that, he’s gone, now. Fallow was gone less than two weeks and her enchantments faded. Sekki’s would have done the same.’
‘Unless…’ Ashante said.
Tress wheeled around to face her. ‘Unless what?’
Ashante stared up at the boarded front of the jewellery shop. ‘Unless Sekki is more powerful than Fallow.’
‘Why else leave a shop full of valuable stock without so much as an alarm in place?’ Tej said, jumping to the same conclusion. ‘Any passing thief would try their luck. But it doesn’t mean much to us Kouzlo. And if demons are interested in it, they’ll be manipulated by the Elite.’ He frowned, eyes dark.
‘Impossible,’ Tress repeated. ‘There’s no way that a demon, any demon—even an Elite—would have the intelligence to plan that out. To organise. Absolutely impossible.’
‘We’re not saying anything is for certain,’ Seila said, trying to soften things and make Tress less agitated. ‘I’m just saying how it’s a bit odd. Sekki is the first Elite Demon I’ve ever encountered. I don’t know if it’s possible or not—’
‘It isn’t.’ Tress almost growled.
Seila decided not to say anything more. But she found what Ashante and Tej had both said incredibly interesting. It would add another layer of intrigue to demons. They were more than just blood and flesh hunters.
And, of course, there was the demon who had taken her soul from her. It was no Soul Eater, who feasted on it and lived. It had been taken by an Elite Demon out of spite and malice. She could hear his laughter echoing all around her every time she went to sleep.
Perhaps in Tress’s world, demons were simpler. But here, there was far more than met the eye. She could vouch for that after personal experience.
‘I know your axes managed to harm Gorath, but I’d rather not fight him while also trying to fend off an army of demons,’ Seila said. ‘We should search for the Mirage. Ashante, is there any way of knowing which Mirage is Gorath’s? Surely if these things pop up from time to time, we might stumble upon another?’
‘That would be down to our runesmith,’ Ashante said. ‘Don’t you have pieces of runework that’ll tell you a Mirage’s origin?’ She looked at Damon expectantly.
‘What?’ He looked like a deer caught in the headlights. ‘Um, I think so. In the notes? It’s all very complicated.’
‘Then you’d better have some more lessons with Claes,’ Ashante said, an air of Fallow about her tone. ‘He’s away more often than not. We’ll need a good runesmith to cover for him.’
Damon’s eyes dropped at her words.
Seila pursed her lips. Damon was being forced further and further into the Kouzlo, and she wasn’t entirely sure he even wanted to be there, much less become another cog in Fallow’s wheel.
‘So you can match it to Tress’s homeworld?’ Seila asked, ignoring the assassin’s flinch when she again dropped her title. She wasn’t being intentionally disrespectful. She just didn’t see the point of referring to her as Lady every time. She was the only one called Tress there.
Damon nodded slowly, unsure. ‘Yeah, that’s right. I mean, at least I think so. It’s something like that. I need to check Claes’s notes before I can definitely say.’
‘Well runesmiths have been sealing Mirages for centuries. I’d say they’d have some method of determining which is which.’ Ashante spoke with the most confidence of any of them. ‘Now, let’s get these bits of jewellery back to Caramond House so Fallow can take a look. If Sekki is still using them—or plans to come back for them—then we’ll have put him at a disadvantage. And if they have anything to do with Gorath.’ She headed towards Tej’s car.
‘You go back. I’m staying,’ Tress said.
‘What? Why? There’s nothing here,’ Ashante said.
Tress ran a hand through her hair, her other hand resting on the hilt of her axe. One thumb stroked the blade. ‘Gorath is mine. I can kill him, I know I can.’
‘Yes, we’re trying to give ourselves the biggest advantage possible to do just that.’ Ashante wasn’t impressed.
‘If Gorath is picking up the Lesser Demons, the remains of Sekki’s army, then I’m sure I can pick up his trail from here.’
‘Lady Tress, don’t be unreasonable.’
‘I’m not.’ She held up one of the rings from inside Sekki’s jewellery shop. ‘Gorath’s demons were here. They’re linked by this jewellery. I have my own powers in tracking. I’m going to find him and take him on. I can’t wait around any longer while you are off on your little scouting mission.’
‘Tress, we’re in this together. You face him now, you have all those demons after you, too,’ Damon said.
‘I don’t care. Malsiador and Theramax can keep them at bay. I’m going after Gorath, and I’m going after him now.’
‘Fallow said—’
Tress cut Ashante off. ‘I don’t care what Fallow said. I’m avenging my siblings and protecting my worl
d from Gorath. This will end, now, the way I want it to. I don’t care for sealing Mirages. My dragons and I are strong enough to take him on now. We always have been.’
‘Your vendetta is blinding you!’ Damon said.
‘Be quiet,’ Tress said. She was staring off into the distance, the ring clutched in her fingers.
‘Lady Tress!’ Ashante pleaded. ‘Gorath is too powerful! We need to find the Mirage, first!’
But the assassin wasn’t listening. Already, mist had begun to envelop her. ‘I’ve got his trail…’ She stared off into the distance, her eyes focussing on something that wasn’t there. ‘Can see his footprints. Just you wait…’
And then she was gone, swallowed by the swirling clouds of mist that had brought her to Caramond House.
‘Tress!’ Ashante screamed.
‘She’s going to get herself killed,’ Damon said. ‘We all struggled against Gorath. She doesn’t stand a chance on her own.’
Seila had less of a reaction. If Tress was keen to die, let her.
‘Ashante, can you track the ring she took? Can you follow where she went?’ Tej asked.
The Enchantress nodded. ‘I can find anything so long as I have a source. We have the other pieces of jewellery. She must have some link to Gorath, be able to sense his energy somehow. She used the ring backwards—using it to take her to the demons instead of them coming to her. Smart.’
Seila hated to admit that Ashante was right. When Tress had arrived, she hadn’t had any method of finding Gorath otherwise she’d have gone straight after him. But now, with the jewellery and the link between Sekki and his Lesser Demons—demons that Gorath now controlled—it was no wonder she’d immediately leaped at the chance to track him down.
She’d have done the same, if she’d known for sure that the demon had her soul.
‘That’s how she travels, though,’ Tej said. ‘I thought it was only for in between dimensions?’
Seila said, ‘Perhaps she can use it to travel a few miles away. Gorath will only be a short way outside Fallow’s territory. Otherwise the news would have blown up with sightings of a demon army strolling through the countryside.’
‘So, she can’t be too far?’ Damon asked.
Ashante raised her hands. ‘She’s east. Let’s go.’
Seila raised her eyebrows at that. ‘What? We’re following her, now? I thought we were returning to Caramond House with all this jewellery?’
‘We can’t leave her to face Gorath alone. She’ll be outmatched,’ Ashante replied.
‘So will we!’ Seila had no intention of fighting the Elite Demon again, not without his Mirage sealed first. Her sword couldn’t even touch him, and she doubted Tress would be willing to relinquish one of her axes again.
‘I’m not abandoning her,’ Ashante said. ‘Tej, I’ll give directions. Can you drive us? She’s moving fast.’
Seila shook her head. She couldn’t believe it. Lady Tress had knowingly disappeared to fight an enemy they couldn’t defeat. Why not leave her to her fate?
And considering Tress was about to be eaten, they needed to get on with finding Gorath’s Mirage so when they did encounter him, she could actually do some damage with her Sieken Blade.
‘Of course,’ Tej said, hurrying over to the driver’s side and opening the door.
Damon was there in a moment, with Ashante. ‘Seila. Get in.’
The Phantom sighed and shook her head. ‘And what happens if Gorath overwhelms us and we all die? There’s no Fallow or Delgo there to rescue us.’
‘If we don’t go, Lady Tress will almost certainly die,’ Ashante said, as though that was reason enough.
‘Leave her to her fate, then. There’s no sense in all of us dying.’ Seila folded her arms.
‘The longer we leave it, the more likely she will die. If we act now, perhaps we can stop it.’ Ashante was pleading now. ‘You need to slay more demons, don’t you? You can have your fill, keep them distracted and off us while we save Lady Tress. Get in, Seila. Please.’
Seila sighed. They were all against her. But Ashante did make a good point. It had been days since they’d last encountered any demons. Whether or not Tress lived was of little consequence to her. But there would be demons there, ripe for the taking.
If she forced the matter, she’d risk alienating herself from the others again. Perhaps if she was the one who swooped in to save Tress, she’d get a little gratitude from Fallow. ‘Fine. Lead the way. But I’m telling you, it’s a big mistake. She’s probably dead already.’
Damon held the door open for her, and she stepped inside and onto the car’s back seat. Damon joined her a moment later, while Ashante navigated from the front.
‘East, you said?’ Tej confirmed, starting up the engine.
Seila had heard the Mustang many times. She maintained it sounded like an enormous demon’s growl, and being sat inside the car only reinforced that notion. The whole car rumbled, her seat shook, and somehow she felt more afraid in this than she did in the back of Damon’s rusted Mathilda.
The car lurched into life as Tej pulled out and down the street. Curious, Seila turned around in her seat to peer out of the car’s rear window back the way they’d come. She kept her eyes on the abandoned jewellery shop, forced herself not to blink. Suddenly, in a flash, the shop disappeared like it wasn’t there. The row of shops ended at a derelict barbers, a good twenty steps away from Sekki’s jewellers.
Seila gulped.
Had Sekki really been able to set up some kind of enchantment to hide the building from view? She had no doubt that when regular people drove past, or walked past, they wouldn’t see it. Only demons—or the Kouzlo—could see or approach the building.
Her heart thudded in her chest. Was it some kind of invisibility charm? Some way of manipulating what people saw? How could a demon have that kind of ability? She supposed he could already cloak himself in some way, veil his true form while essentially wearing the shell of a human. Like a glamour. It might have been the same with the shop itself.
Tej hadn’t thought anything was amiss when he’d bought the bracelet for Amber.
Even a cursory glance and she’d have thought he was a regular human. It had only been when Sekki had moved or spoken that she’d realised there was something else hidden inside. Something demonic, and so powerful that only a Djinni could hope to stand up to.
And yet they’d all come together, worked as a team, and managed to banish Sekki. Sekki, who according to Ashante, was more powerful even than Gorath.
Surely if they’d managed to defeat Sekki, Gorath would be a walk in the park.
Tej turned the wheel sharply and forced the car around a corner. The exhaust and engine continued to growl, the noise echoing off buildings and under the bridges they drove past.
There was going to be no element of surprise whatsoever. But that would be okay. This time, they needed to distract the demons, keep their attention off Lady Tress. Tej’s car seemed like the best way to do that. And it wasn’t as if she could fly ahead to see. With Ashante navigating, they were all at her mercy.
Doubt gnawed at Seila. She knew they would be able to take on Gorath—at least for long enough so as they could get Lady Tress away. But she couldn’t help but remember that her Sieken Blade had done nothing to him. The demon might as well have been made of stone.
That, and he’d have many Lesser Demons with him—which included Prowlers and Marauders—both of which she’d struggled to beat, before. And if Tress was already mid-combat, would her dragons attack her, or Tej? Did they remember their battle from before, or was every fight fresh, every opponent new?
Seila took a deep breath. Tress wouldn’t be very happy at their rescue attempt, and she had been perfectly okay with setting her dragons on Tej after he’d touched her axes. Seila was less worried about taking on Gorath and his demon horde.
She was more worried about incurring the fury of Lady Tress Vitali.
13
Ashante navigated them for almost two hours
. Tej took all her twists and turns without complaint, heading east, then south, while the late afternoon sun slowly drifted towards the horizon. As they left the boundaries of Fallow Caramond’s territory, Seila began to hear the demons again.
It was little more than a faint whisper at first. Something that she was only dimly aware of. It became progressively louder, until she could make out distinct words over the low hissing. Mostly they were words of excitement and anticipation, of food to come and safety to roam as they pleased. ‘I can hear them. We must be getting close.’
‘Not far to go now,’ Ashante agreed. ‘In fact, we might want to think about stopping soon.’
‘No. The noise will be a good distraction,’ Seila said.
‘Wait, wait. We’re talking about demons, right? I don’t want ‘em swarming the car!’ Tej said, looking worriedly over his shoulder at Seila.
‘As long as we aren’t in the car, they aren’t going to care,’ Seila said. ‘But making some noise might bring a handful of them over. Fewer demons we need to deal with—or that Tress needs to deal with.’
‘Makes sense,’ Damon said. ‘We make some noise then split. If anything, you can see when they’re coming.’
‘Right.’ Seila nodded. ‘Do you know exactly where they are?’
‘No. I just hope she still has the ring. If she dropped it somewhere, we’ll be heading towards that instead of her.’
‘We’re definitely heading towards them. Their voices are getting louder.’
Tej pulled the car down a large industrial estate. Even before she got out, Seila could smell saltwater on the air and deduced they must have been near the coast. ‘Where are we?’ She looked around, trying to get her bearings. The cold sea wind whipped her hair around, sending it in all directions. The cloud cover had grown as they’d come closer to the sea, and were a dark, stormy grey, making it appear even later than it really was. They covered what was left of the sunset.
‘Somewhere near Brighton, I think,’ Tej answered. ‘I wasn’t really paying attention to signs, just where Ashante directed me.’
