by Nichols, TJ
That would get Jim’s interest.
He was, of course, assuming that Jim was still in the underground and hadn’t dropped out. Maybe that was the place to start.
Hey… are you still connected?
Angus watched the screen. Nothing. Jim obviously wasn’t answering even though he was online. He couldn’t sit here and wait. He had homework to do. He had theory to study as well as the various rituals for protection. Until the students had mastered protection, there would be no progression. They would spend the last year of college on a specialization. Like healing, or retrieval, or policing, or advertising.
After another few minutes, he got out his books and started working.
A message came back.
Yes.
We should catch up. It’s been a while.
Haha… too late to get me back.
Dickhead. What had he liked about Jim again? But Angus smiled. Jim had always done things his way, and he wasn’t afraid of making the wrong move. His parents actually cared about what he wanted.
He’d wanted to be brave like Jim… fearless.
Jim came back with another message. Let’s go to the Drake and Ribbon. Tonight at 8?
OK
He gave up on homework, had a shower, and got changed. At eight o’clock he walked into the Drake and Ribbon, a small bar on the good side of town. There was a darts competition going, sports on the TV, and it was the kind of place that Jim had hated.
Angus spotted Jim at a table with four others. He had his arm around a dark-haired woman. How fast had Jim moved on? Actually Angus didn’t want to know as he hadn’t dated anyone since Jim. Sleeping with a demon didn’t count.
He forced himself to walk over. Had he told them that Angus was a warlock? Did they know that Jim was a wizard? Some people didn’t tell. If you couldn’t afford Warlock College, it was easier to keep quiet about the magic in your blood. The Warlock College had done a good job of convincing the general population that wizards were dangerous because they were untrained. The government had tried to bring in mandatory training, but the cost was too much and not everyone wanted to get their very own demon. So it had all been swept under the nearest mat.
Wizards still offered their services, nice and cheap, and the Warlock College still reminded people that warlocks were better trained and more powerful and that magic was worth paying for. Most people couldn’t afford the college’s high rates for magic.
Jim lifted his hand in greeting. “This is Angus.”
Jim rattled off a bunch of names, but all Angus remembered was Lizzie the girlfriend.
“Hey.” He’d wanted a private chat with Jim not a social one.
Everyone looked at him. There was a distinct frost in their smiles as conversation all but dried up. Oh, they knew exactly what he was, and it carried zero status.
Not everyone loved warlocks.
Some people hated all magic users equally. Had Jim fallen in with a group of them and decided to suppress his magic? If he did it for long enough, it would wither away. It was alleged that when some kids first showed magical tendencies, some parents would force them to stop. They called it therapy.
That was worse than being forced to be a warlock. Not being able to use magic and to feel it dying inside would be horrid. Once dead it couldn’t be rekindled.
“I told them a bit about you. Hope you don’t mind.” Jim smiled.
Exactly what bits? Did Lizzie know that he and Jim had dated for nearly two years? He hesitated, not sure what to say. “I guess that depends on what you said.”
That smile again. Once it had made his chest tighten in lust. Now his chest was just tight with anxiety. He took the last seat at the table—they had been expecting him.
“Just the truth… your father made you go to college.” It was clear from Jim’s tone which college that was.
The temperature dropped a few more degrees. They really didn’t like warlocks. Angus had decided over the last couple of days that he didn’t like most warlocks. Even the other people in his class only seemed to care about who had what demon and how much power they could control. Since getting taken, and the initial rush of curiosity at his return, they had taken to avoiding him. He was seen as weak.
Maybe he was. The scar on his chest was a warm reminder of the things he had agreed to. But he didn’t feel weak. He had the support of Demonside—or at least part of it—and a mage for a demon.
He looked Jim in the eye. “Yeah, he did.” He glanced at the other people. “You’re all wizards?”
There were a couple of nods. A few were still hesitant about admitting to anything.
Jim leaned forward. “Some of my connections. They didn’t want me meeting a warlock on my own.”
Right, so all underground.
Did Angus trust them? He didn’t trust anyone at the moment. But alone, he couldn’t figure out what was going on. At least Jim had people who cared. All Angus’s father had done was lock up the memories.
Were the warlocks really afraid of what he’d do or learn?
“I never wanted to be a warlock, but I can’t change that now. I have a demon.” He glanced at Jim. Jim had probably guessed. “But that doesn’t mean I agree with what is happening.”
“Oh yeah and which bits don’t you agree with?” Lizzie asked with one eyebrow raised as though she didn’t believe a word out of his mouth.
He couldn’t say all of it. “The killing of demons for power.”
“Would you prefer that they let them rampage through the streets killing humans?” The other woman scoffed, but there was an edge. This was a test.
Angus took a few breaths. Either he parroted what he was supposed to, what everyone had been led to believe, or he admitted to believing in the underground’s argument. He didn’t just believe; he knew it was true. He couldn’t open a tear in the void from Demonside. There was no way those demons were doing it. “Demons can only cross the void if someone on this side opens it for them. They can’t just pop across for a quick holiday killing spree.”
They looked at him. What he’d said was not what the papers were saying.
“And what would a first-year warlock know about demons that a master doesn’t?” The man with short spiked hair narrowed his eyes.
Angus swallowed. He knew that he shouldn’t be talking about it and that he shouldn’t even be able to remember it. But he needed to share what he knew. He needed help to be able to find out what was going on. He wasn’t going to get that in college.
“I have been across the void.”
“Nah. Not possible. People don’t come back from there.” Jim shook his head.
Lizzie stood. “This is a trap. Warlocks will snatch us.”
Did the college still try to catch underground wizards to silence dissent? Hadn’t that all ended years ago? What happened to the wizards they caught… oh… magic had to be rebalanced. Angus was willing to bet that they were sent across the void. Nobody would miss a few missing troublemaking wizards. The college barely tolerated those that kept their mouths closed and worked alone. If the college had their way, there would be no practicing wizards at all. “If anyone is watching me, they are seeing me catch up with an old friend.”
Jim tugged on Lizzie’s hand, and she sat. “Let’s assume that you did go. Your father actually sent a retrieval squad after you? That implies that he has a heart—I don’t believe that for a nanosecond.”
“He sent a squad because me getting taken was embarrassing, not because he cared. He hasn’t changed.” Angus shook his head. “I know what goes on there and what happens to those who don’t return.”
“We all know what happens.” Lizzie leaned against Jim. Her gaze was calculating. Was she trying to work out what Angus had done while he was there?
“The balance is out. We can feel it,” the other woman said.
“Feel it how?” He couldn’t feel magic in the air, not like he’d been able to in Demonside.
The other woman smiled. “We don’t need demons to wo
rk magic. It comes from us, from the earth and nature. Magic can’t be created or destroyed. It obeys the laws of physics.”
Saka had said much the same. Angus nodded. “The people responsible for the upset need to be stopped.”
“You and what army?” Lizzie crossed her arms.
“Angus needs to talk to Ellis.” Spikey slapped the table.
“Don’t drag Ellis into it.”
“How can we even trust Angus? He could be lying, trying to draw out contacts for the college.”
“He’s not lying. I’d have sensed it,” the other woman said, although it was clear that she still didn’t trust him. “That said, he could still be bait from the college. They’d love to smash us as we are the only voice united against them.”
Angus’s gaze darted around the table as they argued about if he should be invited into the underground without actually using that word.
“Who is Ellis?” Angus said, not sure how deep he wanted to get. The college would hunt him down if he left. A rogue warlock was highly dangerous—more so than a wizard, as a warlock had the demon’s power to draw on. Right now he wasn’t feeling dangerous. But the scar on his chest was still warm. He still had enough magic to get himself out of danger if he needed to.
Jim looked at him. “Ellis knows more about demons than any human. Word is she also survived Demonside.”
Chapter Fourteen
Saka place his hand over the cool black stone. He calmed his breathing and thought of Guda. He hadn’t seen the winged mage in almost a year—since the last gathering—but they talked regularly via the telestones. She had been his instructor in all things blood and cutting. It had taken decades for the scars to fade from his skin.
Her image formed in his mind. He held it, giving her time to sense his call and answer. If she was too busy, she would contact him later, but he needed to speak with her. Miniti wanted to make travel plans, and the hunting hadn’t been very good here. The watering hole was little more than a patch of mud. He and Usi were contacting their counterparts to build a fresh map of the rivers and active wells and watering holes. They were also supposed to head to the gathering, which meant they couldn’t wander wherever the water was, the way they normally did. They had to head toward Lifeblood Mountain.
It was requiring more and more magic to bring the river up so they could tap it. He didn’t like to think about what would happen if one day he couldn’t draw it up. If he couldn’t, Usi wouldn’t be able to either, and then everyone would die. He hoped that water still flowed at Lifeblood.
Guda’s mind touched his, and her image solidified. In his mind it was as though they were standing in the same tent.
Saka inclined his head. “Thank you for attending to my call.”
“It is always a pleasure to talk.” Her mouth opened a fraction in what passed for a smile on her snout. She was what humans fancifully called a dragon. She hadn’t needed knives to mark his skin, as her talons were lethal. He shivered at the memory of the pleasure and pain he’d learned by being at the pointed end of a claw first before graduating to turning the blade on her and then finally a human.
“I look forward to seeing you at the gathering. How goes your journey?”
“We have to leave sooner than planned because the Golden Lake is almost dry.” That had never happened before. This camp was supposed to be one of the regular stops because it was reliable. They were running out of safe sites. It would take more than one young warlock to put things right. The task before him, before all of the mages was too huge. “And Lifeblood spring?”
“Still bubbles.” She made the sign of protection. “It will be a bad day when it no longer flows.”
“Agreed. We are taking action, though I am sure that you have heard.” He smiled. He had caught a warlock and not just any warlock, but one who didn’t follow blindly.
“I have. Quite the success. I hope he doesn’t slip free or betray you.”
Saka was well aware of the risk. He’d thought for a moment when Angus had summoned him in front of those other warlocks that his time was going to come to an abrupt and unpleasant end. Instead he seemed to have reached a new understanding with Angus.
“So do I. We need him.” That left a bad taste in his mouth. Humans were the ones destroying Demonside, and yet, it was humans that they needed to stop the power drain.
Guda grunted. “We need more than one at the rate the rivers are sinking.”
Saka could only agree with that. “And how deep are the rivers? Below the spikes?”
There were spikes sunk all across the desert, ready for whatever tribe needed to draw up water. Once it had been possible not to require a mage—that had been before he’d been born. Now no tribe would be without one, and a strong one.
“Some. I feel you will have to raise the water as you travel. It is becoming harder to stabilize the rivers. It used to be that a blood and soul sacrifice would lift them for a season… now?” Her leathery wings flicked.
Saka nodded. “I know.”
The magic he had released with Angus was already fading away and the river sinking with it. The hunters were returning with tales of dried-up springs surrounded by the bodies of animals.
More blood was required. More souls. More sex.
“A point you might find interesting, Saka. Do not wait for the warlocks to send through their criminals. Take their animals the way they take ours. Their blood achieves the same.”
It would be a simple painless kill. No demon would use an animal, a creature incapable of giving consent, in a prolonged ritual. Humans didn’t have that many scruples. While there would be rebalancing from the death of the animal, it wouldn’t be as much as from a human.
“The flesh was also edible.” Guda gave a silent laugh.
Saka smiled. “I am glad the whole creature was used.”
It would be a horrible waste to kill an animal and then leave bits to rot.
“We can’t be fussy.” She shared some other stories of dry springs and wells and the death of the herd animals. It wasn’t local. It was wide spread. Things were getting worse fast. Faster than they had predicted at the last gathering.
“Thank you for sharing your knowledge, Guda.”
“Always. We’ll meet at Lifeblood.” She inclined her head and was gone.
Saka’s mind cleared, and he took his hand off the stone.
He let himself come fully back into his body and stretched his legs. It was times like this he wished that he could open up the void and drag someone or something across. Instead they had to wait while the rivers sank. Wait while their world died. Wait until a warlock bridged the void.
He snarled and stood.
While he knew releasing Angus to the retrieval squad had been the right thing to do, part of him had wanted to keep him right here. For the magic….
He couldn’t fool himself.
Angus had been something special. He understood what was going on, and he cared. Even now that he was home, he still cared.
That didn’t help Saka now.
What he needed was a sacrifice from the human world. He knew which demons in the town had warlocks. He was going to have to get them all together with Usi and wait until one got a call up. Then they would have to grab whatever they could.
He would have to sharpen his knives.
Chapter Fifteen
There were whispers around the college that another warlock was missing. The silence that had surrounded Angus thawed, and the other warlocks started looking at him with questions in their eyes.
He had been retrieved. Would the other warlock?
The twenty-four hours was almost up. There was a hint of fear in the air as if the other students realized for the first time that it could happen to any of them. Apparently a third-year warlock had been completing an assignment when it had happened. There had never been a problem between warlock and demon before.
This time it was hard to stop the gossip. The questions about why it was happening more frequently, and the d
emands from other students who wanted to know what had happened there.
Angus knew exactly what was happening. While he didn’t know which mage would be responsible, Angus had the horrible feeling that there would be nothing for the squad to retrieve. He knew how badly Demonside needed the magic rebalanced. It would take more than the blood or soul from one warlock, or even one night of bone-melting sex, to put back what was being drained across the void.
The missing warlock didn’t make the news.
A demon on the loose tearing up the streets of New London did. Angus watched the footage with a few other students in the common room. A large gleaming, golden demon raced down the road, picking up and tossing screaming humans aside with tusks as thick as a thigh and twice as long as a tall man’s leg—they were the lucky ones, the unlucky ones got eaten in a couple of quick bites.
“Look at it go.”
“The power it must contain.”
Others exclaimed in awe as they watched. Angus wanted to correct them. This was an animal, not a powerful demon. A big, terrifying animal with multiple rows of teeth and what looked like armor plates on its shoulders and spikes on its tail, but still an animal.
“How do these things keep breaking through?”
“The bigger they are, the easier it is apparently.”
Angus bit his tongue. That was what they were told. That was what everyone believed. But it wasn’t the truth. It was propaganda put out by the college so that people didn’t blame the warlocks. Much better to blame the demons.
The footage replayed.
Where had the demon materialized? Where was it going?
A third-year student who tutored history remained grimly silent. As Angus watched the TV and ignored the comments of the other warlocks, he realized that the creature was wounded and it seemed to be running away, not running to something. It kept glancing behind as though it was being herded.
“Is it being chased?” Angus leaned forward and wished the footage were sharper and wider.
