Roxy hesitated for a moment, then came around to where I had drawn a circle.
"Is Raphael going to be all right with him?"
I glanced over to the bed. "Sebastian."
The Dark One's eyes opened, and I was startled to see they were a clear, true blue rather than the grayish black they had first appeared. His lips caressed Raphael's wrist.
"Don't take too much; he's one of the good guys. All right?"
He managed a small nod.
I sat down before the circle and snipped a long strand of my hair.
"I don't mean to be rude, but do you… er… trust him?"
"Yes." I glanced up at her. "I thought you were an expert on the Dark Ones. You of all people should know that Sebastian feels a sense of obligation to Raphael. He would never harm him."
"Oh. I guess you're right. It's just that Raphael's a friend, and I don't want to see him… er… drained dry, for lack of better word."
I smiled. "He won't be. Sebastian will take care."
"You can feel that?"
I nodded. "I can feel it."
"Okay." With one last glance at them, Roxy sat down beside me. "So how do you 'finders keepers' this ghost?"
I set the keeper in the circle, my strand of hair laid across the doll's neck. "I've never actually done this, so I'm not sure if it'll work or not. Theoretically it should, but who knows?"
The ribbon was used to bind the doll's hands behind its back. I dug into my bag until I found a length of plum-colored cloth wrapped around a long silver object.
"That's gorgeous. What is it?"
I held it up so Roxy could see the figures of two lovers entwined on the top. "It's a hatpin, really, one of the old-fashioned kind. A wizard friend of mine made it for me. I use it for spells, though."
"Cool. Does he take orders?"
I shook my head, glanced over to make sure Sebastian and Raphael were all right, then sketched a binding ward and closed the circle, the keeper and my hands within it. Using the hatpin, I pricked the doll's heart.
"This pin pierces your heart, I see, so let it now be bound only to me."
"Wow, magic," Roxy said, her eyes huge.
I snipped the ribbon binding the keeper's arms, signifying the spirit's bindings to Guarda being destroyed. "Threads your body first entwined, now find you are bound to mine."
"Why do spells always have to rhyme? I mean, it makes for some fairly bad poetry."
"It gets worse, I'm afraid," I told her as I wove the strand of my hair into the ragged, twisted cloth that made up the doll's hair. "As I am now part of thee, so you will answer only to me."
Roxy groaned.
"Last one."
"Good. I don't think I could survive much more. You really need to take a couple of poetry classes before you do this again. I'm thinking something along the lines of an ode would help."
I used the hatpin to prick my finger, pressing the drop of blood into two marks on either side of the circle. "With my blood I do command you to heed my call and stand."
"Oh, that was so lame—Hey! It's working!"
I pulled my hands from the circle as the air within turned opaque, first light gray, then darker, until the image of a small girl in Victorian dress shimmered in the air:
I grounded the spirit. "What is your name?"
"Honoria Entemann."
Roxy blew out a low whistle.
"Honoria Entemann, do you wish to be Released?"
I swore tears glittered in her ghostly eyes. She hugged the ghostly image of the rag doll to her chest and nodded. "Please."
I stood up, traced the ward of protection, and sprinkled ginseng all around the spirit, focusing my mind and speaking the words of Release. With my eyes closed, I summoned every last ounce of will to urge the spirit to move on.
"That was interesting. Is it actually supposed to do something?"
I opened my eyes. The teary-eyed ghost still stood before me. I swore under my breath and carefully stoppered the ginseng.
"Yes, it's supposed to do something, but I don't have time to figure out what went wrong. Esme, I Summon you."
Esme materialized before us. "Oh, my, you've sneezed up another one! What an adorable, sweet child! Where did you come from?"
Honoria threw herself at Esme and sobbed.
I limped over to the bed. "I didn't Summon her; I cut her loose from Guarda. Are Joy and the others all right?"
Esme stroked Honoria's head. "Yes, she's fine. She beat Antonio three hands in a row at strip poker, but I don't think he minded much. Jem decided to pierce his tongue, but something went wrong and now it's gone missing."
I blinked. "The piercing stud?"
"No, his tongue. He's most vexed about it, too."
I took a deep breath and pushed from my mind the thought of a disattached ghostly tongue. "I tried to Release Honoria but didn't have any luck, and I have to go save Christian just as soon as I talk to Sebastian and figure out what's holding Christian there, so if you could just take care of her for a bit…"
"I'd be delighted to. Come, little one. I have the most amazing thing to show you. It's called a television, and if we're lucky, Buffy the Vampire Slayer will be on BBC 2…"
Their forms evaporated as I gently touched Sebastian's head. "I think that's probably enough."
Slowly he pulled his mouth from Raphael's wrist, his tongue giving it a final flick as he gently released the arm.
"Wow," Roxy breathed, looking at the faint twin puncture marks on Raphael's wrist. The marks dissolved into nothing as we watched.
I eyed Sebastian. He still looked awful, but at least his skin had lost the grayish cast. "Rest for a minute; then I need to talk to you."
His eyes drifted shut.
Roxy and I managed to get Raphael onto the armchair next to the bed. I covered him up with a blanket, and quickly ran downstairs while Roxy stayed behind to watch over Raphael and Sebastian.
She looked up as I set a plate of pound cake and a glass of apple juice next to Raphael for when he woke up. "You know, I used to think this whole Dark One world was so fascinating, but I have to admit, it's a bit freaky seeing a vampire drinking your friend's blood."
I put my hand on Raphael's forehead and opened my mind up to him. I'm not very good at sensing people's emotions, but he didn't seem to be in any distress. "I think he's okay; Sebastian was careful. Raphael probably won't even know what happened unless you tell him."
She looked faintly sick. "Think I'll pass on that."
I glanced at Sebastian. He was watching us now, his eyes the clear blue of a summer sky, a faint flush of color on his cheeks.
"Can you talk?"
His throat worked as he nodded. "A bit."
He had an accent, but one that sounded slightly different from Christian's. More French, perhaps.
Roxy winced at his words. "Ow. Sounds like you're gargling glass."
I agreed, but felt little remorse in questioning him. I had done what I could to tide him over until he could be helped properly; now it was his turn to help me. "Did you see what happened to Christian when he went in to rescue you?"
He shook his head, lifting one fragile hand to touch his eye. "Couldn't see. Blind."
"Oh, I'm sorry. But you can see now, yes?"
He nodded.
"You do know that Christian saved you?"
His lips stretched into what must have been a smile, but just looked terrible with him so emaciated. "Yes. Knew he would. Brothers."
I stared. Christian had never mentioned a brother, other than having lost one when he was young. "Christian is your brother?"
He shook his head, his long fingers fumbling with the cloth until he found the area over his heart.
"Oh, I see, he's the brother of your heart. Well, good, then you understand why I'm so concerned about him. Is someone holding him?"
Pain filled Sebastian's blue eyes. "Didn't know. Hadn't thought he'd come back so soon."
"Who? The person who captured you? Is that who has Chri
stian?" The air in my lungs seemed to thicken until I couldn't draw a breath.
Sebastian's throat worked as if he had a hard time saying the word. "Asmodeus."
My blood froze solid. Now I was not only not breathing; my heart had stopped as well. It was amazing I could still think. Then again, perhaps I was delusional. Perhaps I had just imagined that Sebastian had named the demon lord, the being who had once been a man and now ruled a dark army of such power that even wizards and mages feared to meet with them. Yes, I'm sure that was all it was—a mistake. Sebastian hadn't just spoken the name of one of the most frightening beings in all of existence.
"A demon lord." I exhaled, air suddenly finding its way into my lungs again.
"Oooh, I've read about them in Christian's books. They're bad news."
The knowledge of what Christian must be going through was dark in Sebastian's eyes, bringing tears to my own.
"I am not going to leave him there to suffer as you have suffered," I vowed, closing my hand around his fingers. His hands were weak, but I could feel the strength that they once held. "You have to help me, Sebastian. You have to tell me everything you know about Asmodeus, and how he came to be in cahoots with Eduardo and Guarda." I grabbed the tattered remains of his shirt and shook it to drive home just how serious I was. "You must tell me exactly what happened to you, how they caught you, how they kept you so weak you were unable to escape or even answer Christian's call, and most important, you have to tell me everything you can remember about Christian saving you!"
"Allie, honey, I think you're choking him. I know you're deafening me, and if you don't want Christian's housekeeper to come running to see what all the yelling is about, I'd suggest you lower your voice as well."
I looked down at Sebastian and realized I had gripped the cloth in such a way that he was strangling. He made no protest, though, just watched me as if I had a right to throttle him.
"I'm sorry," I said, releasing his shirt and smoothing it down. "I didn't mean to yell at you. You don't have to look at me like that; I'm not blaming you for what happened."
"He wouldn't have been there but for me," Sebastian replied, his voice a raw croak. I couldn't tell if it was with the pain of knowing Christian had felt him worthy of a sacrifice, or if I had damaged his throat while I was shouting at him, but either way, I couldn't let him suffer needlessly.
Roxy hurried over to Raphael when he moaned in his sleep. "I think he's about to wake up. He looks pissed even sleeping."
I nodded to let her know I heard her, then turned back to Sebastian. "Christian isn't the type of person to stand in the shadows and not right a wrong," I said slowly, smoothing the blanket over his chest.
"Rozzy?" Raphael tried to sit up, rubbing his face. "What happe'd?"
"I told Allie you were going to be mad. Are you okay? You look a bit blurry-eyed to me."
Sebastian's fingers picked fretfully on the blanket. I patted his hand. "Especially when someone he cares for is in trouble. Christian has so few friends, I know they mean everything to him; he would move heaven and earth to help those he loves…"
Especially someone like a woman who could redeem his soul.
"Feel blurry-eyed. What hit me?" Raphael was sitting up straight now, shaking his head and feeling his jaw gingerly.
I looked at the pain in Sebastian's eyes and was filled with shame at my own selfish desire that kept me from Joining with Christian, as I should have. He had said all along that once we were Joined, we would be more powerful together than we were separately, and yet he'd never pushed me to take the last step, never once made me feel pressured into doing it. He seemed happy with me just as I was, and yet I knew that it was my fault that he was trapped in that house, and I was sitting here safe and sound with Sebastian.
"Uh, that would be Allie. But she had a really good reason for decking you."
"No," I swore, my fist tightening around a handful of blanket.
"You didn't have a really good reason?" Roxy asked. She peeked at Raphael out of the corner of her eye. He was trying to stand, and after three tries he at last made it to his feet. "Er… I thought we were ixnay on the ampirevay eedingfay."
"We are. I had a very good reason for striking Raphael. I'm saying no, I will not let Christian suffer because of my stupidity."
"If you punch Christian like you did me, you have a hell of a nerve saying you won't let him suffer," Raphael complained, wiggling his jaw.
"She put a spell on you to make her punch more powerful," Roxy said helpfully. I glared at her. "What? I didn't want Raphael to think he can be bested by just anyone."
"That's reassuring to know. Now, if one of you would care to tell me why it was necessary to knock me out, I'd be grateful."
"I needed to feed," Sebastian said simply. "You saved me."
Raphael's yellow eyes darkened as he stared at Sebastian. "I what?"
"See? I told you he was going to be pissed!"
I held up my hand to stop Raphael. He had a bit of a "wild bull about to charge" look in his eyes. "Raphael, I'll explain it all to you later. Christian is my number one priority now. All right, Sebastian. I want everything, every last thing you can remember. Start at the beginning, when you were captured, and don't leave out a single, solitary—"
The door to the bedroom burst open in a huge blast of wind. I stiffened as the wind swirled around us, bringing with it a familiar scent.
"You fed my blood to a vampire? You knocked me out and fed my blood to him? Without even bothering to ask me how I felt about it?"
"Oh, Allie, child, we have trouble," Esme said as she spun through the door, caught in the spectral wind.
"You stood by and let her knock me out and feed me to the vampire?"
"Well, honestly, Raphael, what was I supposed to do? She's bigger than me, and she knows all sorts of cool spells. And besides, it's not like you need all that blood. Didn't your mother ever teach you to share?"
Honoria clung to Esme, her ghostly gray eyes huge with terror. I looked from her to Esme's pale face and worried eyes.
"It's my blood! I don't think it's asking too much to have a say in how it's dispensed!"
"Trouble?" I asked, the word weak on my lips. I didn't want to know. I just didn't want to know.
"I think I'll have that explanation right now, Allie," Raphael growled, stalking toward me.
I had as much on my plate as I could deal with. One more thing…
"I'm sorry, dear, but it seems the demon is back. The lower part of the house is filled with demon smoke. And I think the basement has been sucked into H-E-double-toothpicks."
… would break me.
Chapter Seventeen
"Oh, sure, the minute Christian needs rescuing, earth-shatteringly important emergencies suddenly pile up on me. First Sebastian, now a demon. What next? The apocalypse?" I grumbled as I stuffed my things into my bag, leaving the holy water on top, where it was handy.
"I'm so very sorry to ruin your evening," Esme apologized.
"So just what does Esme mean when she says the basement is now part of—"
I slapped a hand over Roxy's mouth. "Never, ever say the H-word when there's a demon in the house."
Her eyes were huge as she nodded her understanding. I released her mouth. "I have no idea what's happened down there, but I guess I'll be finding out rather than saving Christian, like I should be doing." I slung my bag over my shoulder and headed out the bedroom door. "Blast that Guardian! Just what the… dickens"—we also don't say the D-word when minions of hell are about—"does she think she's doing?"
"How would I know? I'm just a handy feed bag to hang around the neck of any visiting vampire."
I stopped at the top of the stairs and looked at the man following me. "Look, Raphael, I appreciate your offer of help, but about this you really have to trust me—a situation involving demons is no place for a human."
"You're not human?"
I gave him a wry smile as I limped down the stairs. "According to Roxy, I'm no longer
strictly human, no. And even if I were, I'm a Summoner. I practice magic as my business. I won't be likely to fall into any of the demon's traps, as you might."
Raphael looked disbelieving as I approached the door to the basement. Esme was right; the lower half of the house was filled with demon smoke, a sign that the Guardian had either Summoned the demon to banish him forever, or something had gone badly awry. Given my luck, I was pretty sure it was the latter. Perhaps the Turners had already gone to sleep and would remain blissfully ignorant of the evening's events.
I glanced at Raphael. Even as angry as he was with me for allowing Sebastian to feed from him, he was still prepared to stand by my side and fight. He really was a nice guy, and I had made it one of my rules that I never allowed nice guys to become demon fodder. "If you won't listen to me, maybe you'll listen to Joy."
He frowned. I nodded. "Think about her—is she going to want you to risk your life and eternal damnation unnecessarily? Or would she tell you to let the experts handle this?"
"Well…"
I have never been able to do a strong mind push on anyone, but I tried now. I put my hand on his arm and focused on what I wanted him to do, giving him a push into agreeing with it. "I think Joy needs you more, Raphael. She loves you; I'm sure she wants you home. Right now."
He blinked, a faint frown between his brows. "I…"
Well, pooh, in for a penny, in for a pound. I put my other hand on him and mentally shoved. Hard. "She might even need you."
His head snapped up and he turned to bellow up the stairs. "Roxy! We're leaving. Now, woman! I don't have time to wait for you!"
Raphael was dragging a protesting Roxy out the front door as I opened up the door to the basement. Thick white smoke boiled up the stairs, a noxious barrier I had to push my way through to reach the basement.
"Hello?" The demon smoke was thick enough to choke a horse, which meant that us almost-humans were coughing like six-pack-a-day smokers. "Um… Guardian? Are you down here?"
I swam through the offal-scented smoke and peered around the basement.
"I'm sorry, but the wine cellar is off-limits," a voice called out from the heart of the smoke. It was a young-sounding voice for a Guardian. Very young.
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