by Sara DeHaven
“What is it?”
“It’s a demon in dragon form,” Bree replied.
“Dragon form demons are nasty, but there are things that can help you with a dragon. Your mind will now show you what that is,” Daniel said smoothly, and there was something so certain in his tone that Bree suddenly, completely trusted the answer would come to her.
And it did. She saw herself confronting the dragon, and a long, shining silver shield appeared, strapped to her arm. There was a lion worked in gold on the face of it, no doubt something her psyche had picked because she was a Leo and had always had a fascination with lions. It should have been corny, but Bree felt her heart lift and felt her spine straighten as the shield became even clearer in her mind’s eye. The dragon roared at her and fire shot directly at her. She saw herself in the vision lift her shield, with an expression of intent focus. The dragon struck at her again with fire, and then with its teeth and claws, over and over, and each time, she effectively blocked with the shield. The shield itself seemed to know just where to be, just what angle to present, to ward off the dragon. Finally, the dragon screamed in frustration, then disappeared. “A knight’s shield,” Bree whispered, and felt ridiculously on the edge of tears. She opened her eyes to find Daniel smiling at her.
“There you have it,” Daniel said, “a protective symbol, something to be your focus for your defensive spell.” He got to his feet and held out a hand to help her up. She took it absently, still caught up in the feelings the meditation had raised.
“You okay?” he queried, head ducked as he tried to catch her gaze.
She met his concerned look then self-consciously looked away, let go of his hand and fiddled with pushing her hair behind her ears. “I’m fine,” she responded, “it was just a powerful meditation. I got a really clear image.”
“Those are the best kind to work with,” Daniel assured her. “Now here’s what I want you to try. Take my hand for a minute, and read me while I call up a basic defensive spell. You should be able to feel something of how I’m forming the energy.” He held out his hand again, and Bree reluctantly took it. His hand was warm.
She felt loath to read him. She had some vague idea that reading someone who was a Binder would contaminate her somehow, much as one might fear getting taint from a demon. And she remembered all too well how good his base energy had felt to her the last time she read him. The way two powered people connected on the base energy level added a whole different dimension to the concepts of compatibility and attraction. And reading him last time had seriously fueled her attraction for him. Yeah, she told herself impatiently, you’ll either get cooties or you’ll want to kiss him. How old are you, twelve?
She shook off her distraction and took his hand, forcing herself to bring up her Reader sense and tune into Daniel’s base energy. She closed her eyes for a moment to concentrate further, and there it was again, that hum of serious power, but with a certain baritone, harmonic, pleasing sound/feel to it, rather like several really huge cathedral bells had been rung at the same time while you were in the bell tower. Kind of overwhelming, but beautiful. That dark, aggressive edge she’d felt when she'd read him before was gone today. The sadness was a background noise, but quite faint. She got the sense he was trying hard to keep his energy calm and non-threatening.
“Here we go,” Daniel warned, and Bree felt the surge and shift of energy, a sort of reversing of polarity. He reversed it again, and demonstrated twice more.
“I have to say, I think that will help me get the spell,” Bree admitted. There was an awkward moment as they both realized they were still holding hands and let go. Daniel stepped back a pace and said, “Great. Now I want you to bring up your will and base energy in the manner I just showed you, call 'Shield' in your mind, and imagine summoning the shield to you. Picture it in front of you, deflecting the energy of any spells coming at you. I’ll send a simple spell your way, and we’ll test it out. Just tell me when you’re ready. We’ll take it slow this first time.”
Bree took a deep breath and focused. She tried shifting the energy, and the image of the shield quickly swelled to life. She nodded to let him know she was ready. Daniel made a quick flip of his hand and wrist in a twisting gesture, and Bree felt a brief flash of dizziness, but it wasn’t enough to do more than cause her to sway a little on her feet. The image of the shield stayed steady. Daniel nodded in satisfaction. “That was good. You only got the edge of the spell.”
“What, were you trying to make me fall over?” Bree asked, mildly annoyed. What if her defensive spell hadn’t worked?
A look of mischief lit Daniel’s face. “You bet I was.”
“Right,” she replied combatively. She set her feet a little apart in a steadier stance. “Bring it on.”
They practiced for a half hour, and in that time, Bree got to the point where she could call up the spell in the space of a heartbeat. They tried it with the protection amulet on, and with it off.
It was definitely harder with it off. While that gave her respect for the amulet’s abilities, she was also disappointed to find that it didn’t protect her completely from Daniel’s spells on its own. He assured her it was hard for him to direct a spell at her with it on, but as the maker of the amulet, it was easier for him than it would be for another powered. She’d gotten a couple of bumps and bruises along the way from when she hadn’t been so successful blocking the dizziness spell, but she ended up feeling satisfied with herself.
“That really was very good,” Daniel assured her as they ended their session. He seemed to be bouncing with energy and bonhomie, and clearly had enjoyed himself. “I wasn’t holding back much at all there at the end.”
Bree threw the pillow she had just picked up off the floor at him. “Not much?” she groused, rubbing her sore hip. He laughed as he tossed the pillows onto the chair, then led the way down the stairs.
“Listen, I have a couple of errands to run, I’ll just head out with you,” he said, reaching for his coat after he handed her hers. She waited briefly as he locked the door on his way out, and discreetly gestured the warding spell. He turned and smiled at her, a brilliant, delighted, relaxed smile, the first really unguarded expression she had yet seen from him. She literally felt her knees go weak. Then her Demonsense back handed her so hard she nearly collapsed.
“Jesus Christ, finally,” Scanlon muttered. Thorvaldson’s door opened and the Keeper came out with a woman.
Justice threw open the car door and sprinted toward Thorvaldson.
“What the fuck!” Scanlon swore. Justice was blowing his entire plan all to hell!
Justice made a throwing gesture as he ran. A column of flame shot out, and the Keeper flew off his front steps and slammed onto his back on the sidewalk. The woman stood frozen on the top step clutching at something on her chest.
With freakish speed, Thorvaldson turned on his side toward Justice and swept his arm out in a counter spell.
The fire died, and Justice bounced off an invisible wall, face contorted with rage.
Thorvaldson sprang to his feet, waved up what looked like a defensive ward, and moved toward Justice
Justice responded quickly with a ripping motion, tearing through the Keeper’s ward, then attacked. Scanlon hadn't known Justice had that kind of ability in him.
The Keeper staggered and slumped over like he’d been punched, then he flipped his hand and Justice spun about and nearly fell down.
Scanlon had been poised to drive off and leave Justice to the fate the dumb shit clearly deserved, but then he saw how the Keeper was putting himself between Justice and the woman. He was trying to protect her, she was a distraction. Maybe it was enough to give them an advantage. If he called in his reinforcements, maybe they could take Thorvaldson here and now.
He dug frantically in his pocket for his cell and made the call as Justice spun around several more times and crashed to the ground. It was crazy to do this in broad daylight, but there was no one on the street, at least so far.
; He made the call, then crept out of the car and moved down the street, keeping low behind cars parked along the curb, and worked his way toward the woman.
It all happened so fast. Bree couldn’t even begin to gather her thoughts until the fire had stopped. Her Demonsense shrieked at her as her hand groped for amulet Daniel had given her.
The man straining toward Daniel wasn’t that big, but the demon was right there on the surface, giving him an unnerving, maddened beast look. She wanted to help Daniel, but she couldn't think what to do.
Her eyes were glued on Daniel's battle with the possessed man, and she didn’t see the other man coming at her until he reached the bottom of the steps. Before she could react, he swerved and headed off toward Daniel. The amulet must have deflected him.
Panic came fast on the heels of relief. The man had a drawn knife in his hand. “Daniel, behind you!” she shouted as she bolted down the stairs and ran at Daniel's attacker.
Daniel turned and pointed at the knife wielder. The man crashed into the bushes in front of Daniel’s house, and Bree skidded to a stop next to him, then back pedaled away in case he came up swinging. He didn't. In fact, he looked out cold.
Daniel turned and threw another spell at the possessed man. The man backed up, blue and red lights dancing in front of him. The air sizzled with an overload of energy. Daniel’s attacker fell to his knees. Daniel was winning!
A blue Chevy careered into the street and drove up over the curb and into Daniel’s front yard. Two men jumped out, a tall Asian man with long hair held back in a pony tail, and a short, fat white guy. Pony tail clutched something in his fist and waved it around, and an edge of cold swept by Bree. Daniel stood frozen in mid gesture, and the possessed man on his knees in front of Daniel pulled something out of his pocket and with a look of triumph thrust it at Daniel.
Daniel staggered with the impact, and Bree could see the pained look on his face. Then he seemed to break free of whatever spell had caught him, and his fist shot out and connected with the bearded jaw of the possessed man. He whirled to face the two others from the car coming at him.
It was like watching a kung fu movie where no one actually touched each other. Daniel spun, lunged and gestured, and his assailants staggered, fell, pawed at their eyes, got back up and gestured in turn. There was a burning, electric smell in the air, like lightening had struck nearby. The man who had been coming at her came to and fought his way out of the bushes. He turned toward her again, knife extended and a determined look on his face. His lips were moving, and Bree felt her amulet get hot against her chest. He was doing something to counter the amulet! Finally, her brain went into gear. “Shield!” she cried, and the defensive spell surged in front of her. The man’s face twisted in frustration.
Bree risked a glance at Daniel, and saw he had turned to look in response to her shout. Big mistake. The short, fat man tackled him from behind and he went down. Pony tail jumped on Daniel as well.
The brown haired guy coming at her made a lunge at her, knife extended, but he wasn’t able to break through the shield. He tried several more times, then he turned and ran at Daniel.
The two men on top of Daniel suddenly shot into the air, arms flailing, one crashing into the car they had driven up in, the other into the neighbor’s yard. Daniel warded off another rush by the possessed one, but then he staggered and shook his head. The man with the knife was on him now, but Daniel’s shield held. The two men Daniel had just thrown off weren’t moving. The man with the knife gestured, and Daniel staggered again, almost falling.
Bree was frantic to help, but she’d seen how she’d distracted Daniel before and didn’t want to do it again.
The brown haired man shouted and dropped the knife, rubbing at the hand that had held it. Yes! Bree thought fiercely, burn the son of a bitch. Then his eyes rolled up in his head and he toppled to the ground.
The demon possessed man was still on his knees, dirty blond hair hanging into his face, panting and swaying as if he were in the grip of something. Bree slowly and cautiously approached. If it was just the possessed one, maybe she could be of some help. Bree moved in at an angle where Daniel could see her coming.
As she got closer, she could see Daniel was pale and shaking. He had a hand to the back of his head as if it hurt. Bree gathered her will and brought up the wards she used for exorcisms as best she could without her usual ritual objects and symbols. She started to reach out to attune to the demon’s energy, preparing the way in case there was an opportunity to work an exorcism. If they could get the demon distracted and even partially subdued, they had at least some chance to gather the energy and do the working.
“I call on, I call on Sky Father,” Daniel began, then stopped, swaying on his feet.
“Daniel, I’m here,” Bree said quietly, and stepped forward to support him with an arm around his waist. Daniel kept his eyes locked on the man before him. The man was shuddering and jerking, the skin and muscles of his face rippling in an unnatural way. Squelching her instinctive disgust of signs of demon possession, Bree sent another tendril of energy toward the man, trying again for attunement.
Suddenly, Daniel collapsed against her, and they both fell to the ground. The bearded man growled with the bone chilling timbre of the possessed. He scrambled for the knife the other man had dropped, rolled back, and slashed at Daniel with it. Daniel groaned and rolled off of her, waving a hand weakly in a spell. The possessed guy howled and covered his ears as Daniel climbed painfully to his feet, his hand clutching his side. Blood seeped out between his fingers from where the knife had got him. Bree saw a syringe on the lawn, not far from his feet.
“Demon of fire, demon of hell, I command you,” Daniel ground out, arm extended, finger pointing at the possessed.
“You cannot command me! You do not know my name,” the demon replied with a nails-on-chalkboard squeal to its voice. The demon was fully embodied now, and fully in charge. Bree’s Demonsense was letting her know this was a big enough demon to pose a serious threat. The possessed man was still holding the knife. Bree called her will to her more strongly. She saw that Daniel was in no shape now to do an exorcism, and if she didn’t do something, he could be killed by demonic energy or by the knife. She could probably ward herself, but she wasn’t sure she could ward Daniel.
She couldn’t bear to watch someone die again. She had to do something, even if it killed her. “Shield,” she whispered as she prepared to try to catch the demon.
Daniel looked dreadfully pale, but his voice was strong now. “I command you because I am your Master!” he intoned, power evident in his voice.
The demon cried out, a sound of despair, and Bree felt horror rise up and stick in her throat. A Demon Master? Daniel was a Demon Master?
“What is your will, my Master,” the demon whined, groveling.
“You will gather up these men. You will put them in that car.” He pointed to the Chevy. “You will take them away from here. You will take no further action against me, this woman, or my friends or their child for three days. You will not follow us by sight or by magic.”
“You cannot compel me for that long!” the demon screeched.
“I can,” Daniel replied, and power throbbed in the air around them.
“Yes, Master!” the demon grated out, bobbing the man’s head in a parody of servility.
“Start now,” Daniel ordered, and the demon obeyed.
Daniel turned to Bree. The pupils of his eyes were huge, and his expression was stony. Bree felt afraid of him. Watery gut afraid. A Binder and a Demon Master. That was the dark and no mistake.
“Bree, get me out of here,” he said, and she felt that wave of power in the air, her amulet got hot again, and she started to feel compelled to do what he asked.
“You promised,” she whispered. “You promised you only use Binding for self defense.”
His eyes closed, and the pressure was released. “Please, Bree. Please,” he said softly, all trace of power gone from him. He reached out blindly f
or her, and she felt a wrench of emotion, part terror, and part pity. She became suddenly aware that she was standing on the street in broad daylight with a demon dragging unconscious bodies to a car and a man with a knife wound bleeding all over the grass.
A car went by on the nearest cross street and as she scanned up and down the block, she could see a woman with a stroller heading their way about three blocks down. It had all happened so fast and it looked like so far no one had seen the commotion. She couldn’t see anyone in their yards or looking out the windows.
If there was one thing she’d had drilled into her when she finally got some training, it was “Don’t let normals see power working.” The whole, sad “They’ll burn you as a witch” history was behind it. She had to get Daniel off the street, regardless of who or what he was. She grabbed up the syringe from off the ground in hopes that if Daniel had been injected with something, there might be some clue as to what, and put it carefully in her coat pocket. Then she put his arm over her shoulder and began walking him back to his place.
“Not my house,” he said, eyes opened again. “Other Keltoi may come. Take me somewhere else. Not a hospital,” he ground out. “And don’t call in the Keepers, not yet. Take my car. Won’t get blood on yours.” He fumbled keys from his pocket and waved them vaguely around.
She snatched them when they came close enough. “Which one is it?” she asked.
“The green one, over there,” he whispered. Then he stumbled, and they both almost went down.
When she got them righted, she glanced around, and the demon possessed man was shoving the last of the bodies into the front seat of the car. The lady with the stroller was maybe two blocks away now. She saw an old, long nosed green Jaguar, nicely restored, parked in front of Daniel’s house. The key fit, and she got him into the front passenger seat. She got in the driver’s side just as the Chevy pulled away. The stroller lady walked by, leaned over and handed a blanket to the round eyed toddler inside, blessedly not looking at Daniel as he slumped in the car seat, eyes closed, blood dripping down his neck from what appeared to be a wound on the back of his head.
