The man who had been driving the forklift brought the bird directly to Tyson. "Thanks, now go on and get out of here. I have business to tend to." The Celest leader didn't even look at the other man as they exchanged the bird. It squawked and shuffled its wings. The sense of calm Desiderus had felt from it before washed over him again, and Haven sighed as if she could feel it as well.
"The bird," Desiderus said putting his hand out, daring the leader to back out of giving it to him. He could use some aggression release. Tyson held the bird by its feet with one hand and the other carefully covering wings. He reached across, offering the creature to Desiderus. Desiderus moved Haven behind him. He didn't trust Tyson. Once she was safely nuzzling the back of his shirt, he grabbed the bird from Tyson. The leader pulled a little, but begrudgingly gave in when the bird let out a screech, a few feathers falling to the floor.
Frankly Desiderus was surprised the man handed the creature over, giving what he'd done to get his hands on it in the first place. A rock settled in his stomach, letting him know this would not be the end of their exchange, and either Tyson would come for it again or he already had what he needed from the unnatural bird. Either way, it wouldn't be good, or pretty.
Desiderus sneered at the Celest leader, tucking the creature under one arm and pulling Haven back to his side with the other. Smoke swirled around him as he concentrated his magics on getting all three of them out of the heavily-magicked compound. This whole thing would take more from him than he'd come in with, but even when they safely found their way out of the compound, there was more yet to do. The female needed his help to wash the witch's potion from her veins. As the last of the smoke covered his vision and he felt the pull to another place, he heard Tyson's final comment.
"Eventually she will be mine demon...and you won't be there to save her."
***
The use of his demon skills for so much weight pulling drained everything he had. He stumbled with the bird and Haven as they came out of the smoke, free of the compound, free of Tyson, and no one horribly maimed. All in all a pretty good day's work for a demon. Not that he truly wanted to be redeemed by anything holy. He simply wanted her trust.
The bird reshuffled itself and snuggled into the crook of his arm. Two strange beings curled into him, both trusting–for the moment–making Desiderus as uncomfortable as an angel in the fires of Hell. There was only so much he could take. He resisted the urge to push them both away, knowing full well he couldn't leave them out in the open like this. If he did, what would have been the point of rescuing her and the bird in the first place? Desiderus shook his head. He needed to find a witch strong enough to counter Undine's magic.
"What are we doing?" Haven asked, her voice soft and honey-filled. The effects of the magic, no doubt.
"Finding a witch." Desiderus began moving them forward.
"We are close to Adonia's." Haven smiled. "I think she's a good witch. She helped Aunt Gena. Cancer...that's what killed her..." her voice trailed off as she lost herself in some memory.
Desiderus's heart softened just a tiny bit for this mortal. Her aunt had died. Then he shook his head. Why was the human telling him this? No, now was not the time to be soft or sympathize. Haven was the one in trouble at the moment. "Which way?" Desiderus asked, looking around the area he had misted them to. They stood in between two tall storefront buildings. He had no idea what the stores were and didn't care, just needed somewhere slightly hidden, given it was daylight out. And he didn't want to just appear in front of a bunch of people.
Haven cocked her head and removed herself from his arm. She walked to the corner of the building. "She's right here. How'd you know?"
He didn't. "Lucky guess." He readjusted the bird in his arms.
"Well come on then, Desiderus." Haven grinned at him. One of the few times she had used his name, and in a happy way. As if he were just another human, a human she might like...
He couldn't think that way. She was drugged and he couldn't let hopes go anywhere until he could see her reaction when she was off the witch's magic.
Haven skipped around the corner. Her hair glittered when the sunshine hit it. She was beautiful for a human. Desiderus followed Haven. She ducked into the building that had some kind of palm-reading stuff out. Little twinges of zaps slammed into his flesh, as if he weren't welcome in the place. Most likely he wasn't. But he pushed through. They didn't hurt half as much as water. While a lesser demon might be repelled from the zaps of her witch magics, Desiderus had been around too long for Adonia's magic demon trap to work out well, or for any longer than a few seconds.
"Haven! What have you done?" Adonia asked when she walked into the small room and nailed Desiderus with a glare that told him quite plainly how he would die a slow death if he tried anything. The witch's soul was a bright blue, as all witches were. They carried an inner power protecting them from being seen by demons. But Desiderus was old, and small spells such as those didn't cover much for him. He averted his gaze, for the first time in years, so he didn't actually see what she desired. He needed her help, not her power to feed on.
"Isn't he wonderful? He needed a witch and I thought of you. You're a witch, a good witch, and he's a good demon." Haven smiled back at him. His gut twisted. She was cute, but also very much not herself, and it sickened him.
"You brought a demon here. That's the demon isn't it?" Adonia stomped over to Desiderus and slapped him across the face, her hand leaving a powerful sting on his flesh. "What have you done to her and where are you keeping Jeremy?"
"Slap me again, female, and I will chop off both your hands. I mean no harm at this time. I won't even play tricks with your..."
He checked her soul. Lust was her most powerful aura, burning a bright satiny red.
"…sexual desires. I want to help Haven. She's been magicked by a witch named Undine."
Adonia took a few steps back, he presumed in shock, and then his words seemed to register as she looked over at Haven. "Undine. She's a very powerful witch indeed. What did she do to Haven? I'm not even sure I could undo something she concocted. I'm nowhere near her F-four level of magic."
"F-four?" Haven asked as she skipped back over to Desiderus to hang on his arm.
Adonia's brow arched. "It's top level magics. Means she's one of the four most powerful witches of all time. He's a demon, Ave, did he do this to you?"
"I did no such thing to her, witch!" Desiderus roared. How dare she accuse him of making her act so...what was it, love sick? Teenager? "I wouldn't want her this way. If I did I could have done it when we first met. It's some kind of potion or spell. Maybe both. I think she ingested it."
"Haven, come over here so I can take a look at you." Adonia motioned for her to come.
Haven rubbed her arms but walked over to the witch, who proceeded to turn her around in slow circles looking her up and down.
"There it is," Adonia said pointing to her arm. A little pinprick, probably from a needle. Damn, it had gone straight into her system.
"How do we fix her?" Desiderus asked.
"We don't. I try to."
"Well what will you do?" He tried not to look worried by leaning up against the wall, as if the state of Haven's being mattered little to him.
"A series of tests to try and figure out what Undine has done. I might not be able to fix it, but if I figure out what she did, I might be able to lessen the effects. What are her symptoms?"
"When I found her she was watching the fire on a torch lighting a staircase. Just sitting there. When she saw me, well, her eyes were glazed and she seemed...happy to see me. Ran into my arms. She even told the head of the Celest that I was good." Desiderus shook his head. "She's bewitched somehow. I do know that. She seems like she's fawning all over me, but not anyone else. I know it looks like I would have done something to her, but seriously, if it were me, then why would I bring her to you?" He needed Adonia to believe it wasn't him, so she could focus entirely on the magic instead.
"Celest? What on earth
was she doing anywhere near the Celest compound? Those fanatics could have killed her." Adonia frowned.
"She was chasing this bird." He pet the feathers. Adonia seemed to notice the creature for the first time.
"That's the bird. It's an unnatural. She was supposed to have that taken into work. Give it to me."
Desiderus took a side-step away from the witch when she lunged for it. "I think not. Haven knows how to contact me when she wants the creature. It's between her and I. All you have to do is fix her."
"Let him have the bird, Andy." Haven looked over to Desiderus, adoration shining in her eyes. It made him shudder.
"By all that is unholy, just fix her." Desiderus wanted out of there. His magic had restored just enough for him and the bird to disappear.
Chapter Fourteen
Haven swayed as Adonia moved her to the back room. Bottles of potions lined the walls, and light and dark candles illuminated the room, causing shadows to dance along the wall. Haven began to dance with them, circling, flowing, reaching, and bending, needing to fill the space with her energy. She wanted Desiderus to come back and dance with her, but he'd vanished...with her beautiful bird. "He's perfect you know," Haven told Adonia when she swirled down and flopped in the middle of the room, watching the walls circle around her with the dizzy feeling she gave herself. It was like being set free.
"Who is, dear?" A glass bottle clinked with another.
"Desiderus, of course. Did you see him? He's a demon with angel wings. An angelic demon. Did you know demons didn't fall from heaven? Ba'al made them from humans."
"Perhaps you are having a splendid dream, dear. Here, drink this." Adonia handed her a glass with swirling blue and purple liquid inside.
"Will it taste bad?"
"A bit sour, but gulp it on down and we'll see if we can get you back to normal."
Haven sniffed the contents and scrunched her nose when the lemony scent hit her. "How do you know I'm not normal? What if everything that is going on at this very moment is by definition normal?"
"Drink, Haven." Adonia patted her head like a little puppy and Haven giggled.
"Do you think he'll come back soon?" Haven eyed the glass of liquid, still unsure of the contents or why she needed to drink it.
"You'll find him. All you have to do it drink up. I hope..." Adonia's words trailed off.
Shrugging her shoulders, Haven slipped the liquid in her mouth, taking a huge swallow. She gagged at the sour milk taste flowing down her throat. Her hand came up to her mouth as she looked around for something to hurl in.
"Take a breath, it will pass."
Haven took a deep breath, and then another, and slowly the churning in her stomach calmed. Dancing shadows dulled to the flicker of candle light. The dizziness abated and her head began to pound. Bright lights flashed behind her eyes with every blow inside her head. "Oh God Andy, what have you given me?" She cried out as pain washed over her head. Falling to the floor, hot tears slid down her cheeks. "God, make it stop." Each word came barely above a whisper, as every sound made the blinding pain worse. She kicked her feet out and rubbed the side of her head along the cool floor, seeking relief.
"Haven? Come on, Haven, look at me."
"I can't open my eyes. The light...please don't be so loud. Just make it stop." Chaos erupted in her head, sounds of their movement echoing in her ears and making the pain and bright blinding light worsen. Lavender hit her nose as Adonia covered Haven's mouth with a moist cloth.
"Calm down. Let's try something else."
"You're experimenting on me."
"I'm not, Haven. I'm trying to help you. Please lay still. Hold this up to your mouth and throat, it helps." Haven felt the warmth from Adonia dissipate. She heard her mixing something, sloshing it. A burner came on and turned off, and then Adonia was beside her again.
"Try this one. It's sweeter. And then I'm going to lie you down for a bloodletting."
"A what?" Haven couldn't open her eyes.
"Drink, first." Adonia put something up to Haven's lips and she drank the sweeter liquid. A warmth flowed down the back of her throat like brandy, only she could tell it wasn't alcohol. It pooled in her stomach and within seconds she felt light as air.
"Bloodletting. I'm going to drain some of your blood. Let your body replenish, then drain it again after a little while. Try to get the witches poison out. I'm sure it was some kind of concoction involving belladonna."
"Poison. The witch. She did this to me." Haven lay back on the floor.
"This will sting a bit. I'll start on your right arm and then move to your left in a few hours."
Haven didn't much care. "Go for it." Something poked into her, then tape slid across her skin. Her mind wandered back to Desiderus. He had to be a good demon somehow, if demons were to be considered good. DAIS vouched all unnaturals more bad than good, and that's why she had been trained to bring them in, for the human race. Unnaturals defied the rules…but what rules did they really act against? Whose rules were they, and who gave them the right to decide those rules? Desiderus had not harmed her, or made her do anything she didn't already want to do. He simply was a demon. He lived off sins, and in their world that was normal. Perhaps the human race were the abnormals. If DAIS believed birds, demons, and such were unnaturals, when would they condemn witches, too, for use of magic? That also went against nature itself, some would say. Not Haven, but she'd heard talk of dark arts. And even Jeremy had his own issues in the darker areas of life. 'Normal' seemed to lay in the eyes of the beholder far more than in any rule or standard mankind set for one another.
Haven felt a pinch and managed to open her eyes. She was lightheaded and the room spun a little, but the pain had receded from her head to a dull thud every now and again. Adonia had a tube and a pail in her hands. She stood with them, giving Haven a faint smile, and walked out of the room. Her feet shuffled along the carpet and Haven concentrated on the sound, waiting for the witch to come back. There was a rustle, and then Adonia appeared again.
"Don't go anywhere. Just lie there for a few and rest. You might feel some dizziness, but it will pass. Is the pain better?"
Haven nodded.
"Good. How clear is your head?"
Haven considered her question carefully. There were no angel wings anywhere, nothing dancing like before. Everything looked relatively normal, except the lights shifting every once in a while. "Good. What did you find out about the contract with Ba'al and my brother?"
"Yup, that's a bit more like you. Had me worried there for a tick. You fawning all over the demon like a lost puppy. Twisted my stomach."
"The contract Adonia..." Haven's irritation level had reached its limit for one day, and going from happy-go-lucky to listening to Adonia drone on ruffled her far more than it should have. She chalked it up to how much had happened and what all had been going through her system. Probably had all her hormones bunched in odd ways. She shook off the irritation and gave Adonia an apologetic look.
"Sorry. Well, I found one instance that might prove a golden nugget for us. See, when demons and such pay off debts, they don't see debts the same way we do. They look more on the bad side, so anything good-related generally falls through the cracks.
"A long while back, Jeremy had a friend that helped him. In return, Jeremy owes a good deed. There is no time limit, no rhyme or reason for when it must happen or to whom, but because this good deed debt has not been paid, technically the demon king didn't keep his end of the bargain, thus nullifying the contract!"
"Oh you brilliant, brilliant witch! How did you find it?" Relief filled Haven. Now she would be out of her contract with Desiderus and Jeremy would come home to them, with a very stern talking-to and possibly some professional help with his addictions. She couldn't do this anymore.
"Luck, that's all I can say." Adonia smiled.
"How do you know so much about demons?" The question blurted out before she realized she even wanted to know. Adonia knew way more than Haven could have guessed.
/> "I've dealt with them for the better part of my witch career, Haven. The details really are none of your business."
Avoiding her answer, Haven asked, "What do I do now?"
"It's time to face Desiderus for real, as well as Ba'al, sweetie. I can't promise you safety, or any true help. I've done what I can for the both of you. Whatever the witch has done, the bloodletting is clearly helping with it, so we will do one more of those and then you will be free to call on your angelic demon, as you call him. If it all goes well, Ba'al will have to hand Jeremy over, and you both come home. He won't accept this lightly Haven. Expect anger. He's the king of Hell and losing will not be something he's accustomed to. I'm sure any form of no would set him off."
"I get it. Let's let out some more poison and then I'll put on my snare face and hopefully pull myself and my brother up out of the fire." Hell would most likely be on her toes, but she could do this, and none of them would see it coming. Haven let a grin spread across her lips.
Chapter Fifteen
"Where's this female you promised me, Desiderus?" Ba'al bellowed through his main blackened chamber. It had a few torches lit around the stone seat Ba'al had nestled into. The demon king's fat little body filled the space. His cat ears twitched in Desiderus's direction.
"Still in the works, my king. Our contract states I have to free her brother before she will come with me." Desiderus didn't see her caged brother anywhere and briefly wondered what had become of him. He hoped Ba'al hadn't changed his mind and killed the human, as that would nullify the contract with Haven.
All of Ba'al's eyes turned to Desiderus and narrowed. "Why do you have a feather in your hair? Where did it come from? It's of magic."
The bird. Shit. He had hidden it in his chamber, but keeping it in hell for long would prove a lethal mistake for the creature. As an unnatural and clearly pure animal, Ba'al would desire its uses on his random creations. His tampering in magic and genetics proved to be a hobby Desiderus didn't quite approve of.
Impure Bargains (Impure series Book 1) Page 11
