by Linsey Hall
“Go!” Roarke yelled. “I weakened the barrier. They may make it through.”
My friends turned and ran, racing across the room and through the doors. Roarke set me on the ground so I could run, and we followed my friends, leaving the demons behind.
Just as my friends couldn’t cross the barrier, the demons couldn’t either. I glanced back to see them beating their fists against the invisible barrier, rage in their eyes. They might break through, they might not. But I didn’t want to be here to find out.
We sprinted up the wide spiral staircase behind Nix, Cass, and Aidan, then across the massive great hall and out into the cold. My legs ached where the burns had eaten into my skin.
“Can you transport us out of here?” I yelled to Cass.
She hesitated briefly, her magic flaring. “No! I’m blocked.”
“We need a cemetery,” Roarke said. “Or a place that is haunted. I can create an Underpath.”
“What about the courtyard where we killed all the Phantoms?” I asked.
“Could work.”
We ran for it, skidding to a halt in the place that had been haunted by the Phantoms when we first came in. Roarke pulled back his fist and slammed it into the air, creating an Underpath entrance.
He grabbed my hand, and before I could open my mouth, he tugged me into the ether, leaving my friends behind.
Chapter Seven
We appeared a moment later in the woods by his house. I tugged away and spun to face him.
“Go back for them!” I yelled.
He gave me a look that could only be interpreted to mean duh, then stepped back through the portal. I paced while I waited, losing control of my Phantom form and turning corporeal. It was partially nerves, partially fear. The burns on my thighs were killing me.
It was only a few seconds before Roarke appeared with Nix. He let go of her hand and stepped back through the portal.
“Are you all right?” Nix hurried to me and knelt to look at my legs.
“Great.”
“You don’t look great.” She winced. “Those burns look bad.”
I eyed the portal worriedly, trying to ignore the pain. Roarke stepped through with Cass, then returned for Aidan.
“Handy skill he has there,” Cass said.
“Yeah.”
“He also made it through the barrier back at the castle,” Nix said. “We couldn’t break through.”
“It had to be an Underworld portal or something,” I said. “We’re the only two who can cross them.”
Roarke appeared with Aidan.
My shoulders relaxed. “Had the demons made it past the barrier?”
“Not yet.” Roarke’s gaze dropped to my legs. “We need to get you medical attention.”
“I can do a bit of healing,” Aidan said. “But she may need more care.”
“What kind of fire was that, anyway?” Nix asked. “It hurt you while you were in your Phantom form.”
“I don’t know.” Exhaustion hit me. The memory of the hike up the mountain, nearly drowning, the broken leg, and the strange demon fire sucked out every ounce of strength. My friends didn’t look much better, honestly. “Roarke’s place is really close. Can we have a shower and some food, then do a breakdown?”
“Yes.” Cass’s voice was emphatic.
“Let me heal your legs a bit to help with the pain.” Aidan’s gaze met Roarke’s. “Then perhaps you could call your demon healer to finish what I can’t.”
Roarke nodded and pulled his phone from his pocket. “Thank you.”
I stood still while Aidan hovered his hand over the burns. Comforting warmth flowed through me, and the pain faded slightly.
Aidan straightened. “That’s the best I can do.”
“Thank you.” I glanced down to see that the flesh looked a bit better, but still like a barbecued chicken. The idea made me gag slightly.
Roarke lowered his phone. “Let’s get back to my place. Lofta, the healer, will be there soon.”
In silence, we walked through the woods.
“Fates, I’m beat,” Nix muttered.
“Me too.” My limbs felt like they were made of lead. When we finally climbed the steps onto Roarke’s porch and made it inside, I was ready to sleep for a week.
I took a seat on the couch to wait for the healer while Roarke showed everyone to guest bedrooms where they could get cleaned up. The healer arrived while he was upstairs, letting herself into the house. She was the same one who always came to my aid when Roarke called her.
“You’re the one I’m here to see?” the tiny demon asked as she approached. Her horns were small, but visible, and though she looked like a middle-aged woman, she clearly was not.
“Yeah, thanks for coming.” I started to stand, but she waved me down.
“What’ve we got?” she asked.
“Burns.”
“Nasty ones, too, from the look of them.” She knelt at my side and hovered her gnarled hands over the burns. They faded quickly, and the pain followed, making me sag with relief.
“Thank you.”
“Of course.”
I was about to stand when she reached for my hand, gripping it tightly. Startled, I sought her gaze.
“What?”
“You’re special.” Her voice was fierce. “I don’t know how, but you are. I can feel it in you. You are meant to accomplish great things.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. But I do know that people who are meant to accomplish great things often die while trying. Don’t.”
“Um, thank you for caring?” I wasn’t sure what to say to that, but I didn’t want to offend the healer, not after the many times she’d helped me.
“It’s not for you,” she whispered. “It’s for Roarke. He’s been alone a long time. He doesn’t trust easily.”
“I’ve noticed.”
“Yes, well, he seems to have taken a liking to you. Don’t leave him.”
“I wouldn’t.” Wouldn’t I? I didn’t know.
A sardonic smile pulled at the corner of her mouth. “When I say don’t leave him, I mean don’t fail at your fated task. That will tear two you apart.”
I swallowed hard. “I’ll definitely try not to do that.”
She nodded sharply and stood. “Good luck with your task.”
Before I could ask what the hell she knew about my task, she turned and left.
But then, I had a feeling she’d have told me more if she’d known. She really didn’t want me to fail. Not for my sake, nor for the sake of the world. But for Roarke.
He appeared in the living room a moment later. He was so handsome and good and strong that I could see why Lofta had given him her loyalty.
“Did Lofta come?” he asked.
I stood, finally pain free for the first time since I’d been burned. “Yes. She fixed me right up.”
He approached, gently gripping my shoulders. His dark gaze was concerned when it met mine. Pained. “I was so damned worried when those demons charged you and I was on the other side of the barrier.”
He looked so torn up. Like he really, truly cared about me. My heart thudded. I didn’t know what to say, so I stood on my tiptoes and pressed my lips to his. He groaned low in his throat and cupped the back of my head, kissing me like his life depended on it.
After too short a time, he pulled away. “I’m going to order Thai if you want to get cleaned up.”
“Okay.” I stepped back, then made my way upstairs. I glanced back right before I reached the top.
Roarke was watching me, a hundred different expressions on his face that I couldn’t identify.
And the thing was, I thought I felt a hundred different things for him. And I had no idea what to do about that.
By the time I finished my shower and made it back downstairs, I was feeling more alive. Nix and Cass were sitting on the living room couch in front of the fire, both dressed in PJs that I assumed Nix had conjured.
With the rustic chic surroundings, th
ey looked like they’d just gotten off the slopes instead of the mess we’d just been through.
“Burns all better?” Cass asked.
“Yeah. How’re you guys?”
Nix sipped a mug of something that steamed, then sighed and said, “Much better.”
“Same.” Cass handed me her mug. “Try this. It’s excellent.”
I took a sip and grinned. Spiced wine. It tasted like warm, sweet Christmas in a mug. “Where are the guys?”
“In the kitchen, chatting about manly stuff. Thai food should be here soon.”
My stomach grumbled.
“Hey, why didn’t you take that demon’s electricity power?” Cass asked.
The question was so out of the blue that I almost spilled the wine.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“I saw you hesitate.” Cass’s gaze was concerned. “You were in a life or death situation, and you could have had a power that would light up any jerk who touched you. But you didn’t take it. You should have taken it.”
I lowered the wine, my heart pounding. “Of course I couldn’t take it. What about the side effects?”
“Of what? Zapping people? I know you had a bad run-in with the Ubilaz demon’s power, but he’s an anomaly. Most powers are simpler. Helpful. You need all the help you can get.”
My mind raced. She had a point, and I knew it. But I was afraid. And being called out on that fear sucked.
“I know what you mean,” I said. “But we’ve spent so many years fighting our FireSoul natures and not stealing powers that it’s second nature for me not to do that. And I’m not like you, Cass. You have experience taking powers. You’ve learned to control them. What if I can’t control them like you do?”
She reached for my arm and gave me a squeeze. The love in her gesture calmed me a bit.
“I was a mess, too, remember?” Cass said. “I was afraid of my magic, and that got me nowhere. But I fumbled my way through my changing powers. You will, too.”
“I agree with Cass,” Nix said. “You have something big coming. I know you’re afraid you can’t handle it… Or handle the new powers that keep cropping up, but you can. I know you can.”
“And you have to,” Cass said.
I nodded. “I know. I thought of taking his power, but I freaked out. Next time, maybe I will.”
“If it’s a power that could help you, then I think you definitely should,” Cass said. “You need a stronger arsenal to fight whatever is coming.”
The doorbell rang, and Roarke strode out of the kitchen. I caught his gaze briefly and he smiled, then went to collect the food.
I was famished by the time the cartons and silverware were laid out on the table. So was everyone else, apparently. We each grabbed a plastic container at random and dug in.
As we ate with the fire crackling in the background, I couldn’t help but be grateful for my friends. I swallowed a mouthful of noodles and said, “Thanks for all the help today, guys. We never would have made it without you.”
“No’ a problem,” Cass said around a mouthful. “We’re a team.”
I grinned. We finished eating, then sat back, satisfied. I wished we really were at a ski resort instead of facing the problems we were facing.
But then I realized that was a lie. I didn’t want Draka to be held captive, but I liked the challenge ahead of me. I’d always thrived on this type of thing. I might’ve doubted myself sometimes, but I always threw myself back in it.
“So, how about that elephant in the room?” Nix said. “Because that was clearly a trap.”
I nodded. “Yeah. I think those demons forced Draka to make the connection with me that told me where she was. That’s why there were failed attempts in the beginning—with the blue light that never quite made the connection.”
“Like that episode in Honduras and at Emile’s party.”
I nodded, thinking of the moment when the flash of blue light in my mind had disabled me.
“They want you for something, but they must not be able to find you,” Roarke said. “So they’re drawing you to them with Draka as bait.”
“Or they can’t get past that barrier,” Nix said.
“Yeah.” I sipped the spiced wine that had cooled. “Flora said my old home is between the Underworld and Earth. That must be what she means.”
“Do you think they want you because you’re part of the Triumvirate?” Cass asked.
“Or because you have weird death powers?” Nix added.
“Maybe both.”
“You need answers,” Roarke said. “There are too many unknowns, and that makes this situation more dangerous.”
“Yeah. We walked into a trap today,” I said.
As much as I wanted to run straight back there to get Draka, we couldn’t fight off those demons if we just repeated our actions. Not if we couldn’t bring Cass, Nix, and Aidan through the barrier to help us fight. “We need another way to get to Draka.”
“And answers about your past,” Aidan said. “It has to all be linked. They didn’t take her to your home just because it was partially in the Underworld. That place is important.”
I nodded, remembering the feeling of walking through the courtyard and being desperate to explore. Particularly the tower out back.
“I need to go back,” I said. “There are answers there. And maybe I can find another way to reach Draka that doesn’t force me into their trap.”
“We’ll come with,” Cass said.
I opened my mouth to tell her not to, but shut it again. She wouldn’t listen. Just like I wouldn’t listen to her if I thought she needed my help.
Chapter Eight
“Hey, wake up.” I nudged Roarke in the side.
He groaned and rolled over, his broad chest nearly squishing me against the soft mattress. After dinner, we’d all crashed, too exhausted to stay up a moment longer. I’d curled up next to him, briefly considered climbing on top of him, then passed out before I’d finished the thought.
But it was now four a.m., and my plan needed to get a move on.
“Wake up!” I poked Roarke in the side.
He grunted and opened his eyes. “What time is it?”
“Early. But we need to sneak out of here before the others wake up. I’m not taking them into a trap. Not when our main goal is just recon.”
He nodded, sitting up and scrubbing his hand over his hair. He looked so damned good that my palms itched to touch him.
“You’re right,” he said. “And we’ll be quicker and quieter if it’s just the two of us.”
“Exactly.” Though I felt bad for ditching them, it was for the best. As long as those demons were there, threatening to break past the barrier, it was too dangerous. The only escape route was through Roarke’s Underpath, and he could only take one person at a time.
My friends had helped us get to the fortress—had been invaluable—but this time, I had to do this alone. If I hadn’t needed Roarke to give me a lift through the Underpath, I’d have ditched him, too.
We dressed quickly, then snuck out of the house as quiet as thieves. Fortunately, Roarke’s electric car was silent as he turned it on and drove us down the driveway. We were headed into town to pick up some invisibility potions from Connor. When we went back this time, I wanted to be fully prepared. If there were any demons wandering around my parents’ old place, I didn’t want them spotting us.
“You sure he’ll be up this early?” Roarke asked as he drove down the darkened street. Tall trees loomed on either side.
“He’s a baker. Of course he’s up this early.” I’d texted him last night just to be sure, though.
We pulled up to Potions & Pastille’s twenty minutes later. The streets of Magic’s Bend had been empty. The main lights in the restaurant were dim, but the door to the kitchen was open and it glowed with light.
I climbed out of Roarke’s car, went to the front door, and tapped on the glass. Connor’s head poked out the kitchen door a moment later. He grinned and hurried tow
ard me to open the door wide.
“I left the music off so I’d hear you,” he said.
“Thanks.” I grinned and stepped inside.
Today, he wore a purple T-shirt with the band name Peatbog Faeries on it. White flour dusted his hands and sprinkled on his hair.
He nodded to Roarke. “Morning.”
Roarke stepped inside the cafe. “Thanks for meeting us so early.”
“Not a problem. Come on in. I’ll get you the potions.”
We followed him through the shop and into the kitchen, weaving through the narrow space to the door at the back. I hovered outside his tiny workshop, peering in. Unlike the kitchen, which was immaculate, the potions workshop was the lair of a mad scientist. It was cluttered with herbs, bottles of all colors, cauldrons, and little metal tools.
It was fabulous.
Connor poked around, grabbed a couple vials, then turned to us and handed over the potions. “Drink these when you want to become invisible. It should last several hours. You’ll be able to see each other, but no one should be able to see you.”
We were planning on the demons still being trapped on the other side of the barrier below the main throne room, but just in case, these would come in handy.
I took them. “Thank you.”
Roarke nodded his thanks, and we followed Connor out through the kitchen and into the main cafe.
“And now for the coffee!” Connor clapped his hands together once and headed for the espresso machine.
“You’re a hero.”
The gleaming silver espresso machine steamed and hissed as he made us our beverages. He got us two paper cups and a bag of muffins.
“They’re a day old since it’s so early, but still tasty.” Connor handed them over.
“Thank you. You’re the best.” I hugged him goodbye, then followed Roarke to the car.
“Let’s use the Underpath near Mad Mordecai’s in town so that we don’t run into the others. I’ll text them right before we go through so that they don’t worry.” I sipped the coffee, which tasted like hot, rich glory.
“Good idea.” Roarke made quick work of getting to the Historic District. It helped that the streets were empty this time of morning.
