by Izzy Shows
I sighed and nodded. “Got it, got it. No more screw ups. No training wheels. So, what are we doing tonight? I don’t think I can do much running around.”
He shook his head. “No running, not likely. We need more information, so that we aren’t plunging into this blind. Best place to get information about something bad like this…is someone who deals with the dead pretty frequently.”
“You’re going to summon the Grim Reaper?” I snorted at the absurdity of that.
“Hell no. I’m not fucking with Death, and neither are you, and if you take anything I say to heart, ever, let it be that.” He looked dead serious, and all I could do was blink in shock. OK. So, there’s a Death, or a Grim Reaper, or whatever you want to call it. Good to know. I had never been a big believer of religion, so I hadn’t really been expecting something like that. I wondered what else was out there.
“I told you, it’ll be a demon. And like I said, we’re going to do it very carefully, and you’re going to inscribe all the precautions on your soul. Sloppy rituals kill Wizards.” He glared at me, as if daring me to argue.
I threw up my hands, defeated. I didn’t want to fuck around with a demon, that sounded scary as shit. And after everything that had happened today, I didn’t want to make anything harder than it needed to be.
“What can I do then?” I asked.
“Keep your head down and take notes. Don’t, uh, don’t draw too much attention to yourself. At least we aren’t dealing with Fae, but that doesn’t mean a demon isn’t something to be cautious of. You’re a beginner, and I don’t want you drawing the attention of someone who will screw you over for a laugh.”
I nodded, as solemnly as I could manage.
“Take a nap,” he said. “I’ve got some things to get in order before we get started, and you look like death.”
Another nod, because I couldn’t find the words to say ‘thank you,’ and he got up and vanished into the back of the house.
I dragged my arse off the chair and threw myself onto the sofa, managed to kick off my shoes, and stretched out.
As soon as I closed my eyes, my mind started racing. Eager to replay all the information it had gobbled up. I groaned and mentally swatted at the thoughts, wishing I could just drop off into a nice and deep sleep for once. I had never been very good at that; it always took me an age to fall asleep. Quick naps were not for me, no matter how much I dearly wanted to have them. My mind just had to jump across a thousand different topics before it could settle down.
I took in a calming breath and began to weave a story in my mind, hoping that refocusing would soothe my brain and left me fall asleep.
16
I WOKE UP TO SOMEONE SHAKING my shoulders and almost flew off the surface I was lying down on. For a moment, I couldn’t place where I was, who I was with, or any other relevant information. I wasn’t on my bed, the smell of fire and dust in this place was not the same as my flat, this wasn’t where I was supposed to be.
My eyes were wild, and I glanced around a hundred times trying to connect it all.
“Sheesh, settle.” Aidan barked, and I breathed a sigh of relief as I finally figured out where I was. Aidan’s house, Aidan’s couch, with Aidan. He had let me take a nap and apparently, I had gone to sleep somehow.
I glanced at a window to see if I could tell how long I’d been out, and was surprised to find it was pitch black outside. The sun had been up when we got back to the house, and though it was late in the year, it hadn’t been close to the time the sun should set. I’d been down for a couple of hours, it seemed.
“Why’d you let me sleep so long?” I asked.
“You looked like you needed it. But now we need to get to work.” He jerked his head towards the back of the house. “Come on.”
I got up and followed him, curiosity prickling my brain. I wondered where we were going. The bathroom was immediately on the right when you exited the living room, and we walked past two other shut doors—bedrooms? Most likely. There was another door at the end of the hall, and that’s the one Aidan opened. It opened to stairs leading down, and we descended into darkness. It was thick and pervasive, and made me want to turn around and walk back up. It only took a moment for my eyes to adjust, but all the same, I didn’t like it.
I listened to his footsteps to determine when the stairs ended and he was walking on a flat surface, so that I didn’t trip or do something else equally foolish. Some feet ahead of me, he lit a candle and the rest of the basement came into view.
It was extremely cluttered. There were a couple of work benches—I was sure, but I wondered how he’d got them in here, because a quick look around revealed that the stairs were the only way in. Bookshelves sagged with the weight of all the books stacked on them, and a couple of storage trunks were overflowing with items as well. Aidan was clearly not a housekeeper.
In the centre of the room was what looked like a steel circle hammered into the cement floor. I lifted a single eyebrow at it, but decided not to ask questions. Somehow, I felt like too much talking down here was a bad thing. It would disrupt the atmosphere.
I stationed myself in a corner, leaning against the wall. Aidan had said not to get in the way, and I was hoping the dim lighting he was setting up and the distance would help me with that task. I watched, with crossed arms, as he prepared the space. He walked around the circle a few times, chanting in a low voice. Then he changed directions and walked a few more rotations. I felt the air thrum with the power he was using, the hairs on my arms sticking up. He placed a candle at one end of the outside of the circle, then on the opposite end, then at the side between them, then again the opposite of that one. I watched as he produced a piece of chalk and started inscribing something on the cement between each candle. Finally, he took a seat on the ground about a foot away from the circle, cross legged, palms up and resting on his knees. His face became very stern, and he said something. I couldn’t hear it, his voice was too low, and too far away. He repeated the word twice more and then fell silent.
My eyes darted from one side of the room to the other, waiting for something to happen. Nothing, no puff of smoke or crack of lightning or anything cool like that. The silence was annoying, ringing in my ears and making me want to talk just to fill it. I felt that was a bad idea, though, so I pressed my lips together and dug my fingernails into my arms, letting the pain distract me.
I looked around again, and when my gaze came back to the circle, there was a man standing in it.
That’s it. No announcement of arrival, just a man standing there. He wore a suit—I didn’t know anything about suits, but it certainly looked fancy—and had a bored expression on his face.
Aidan did not. He looked very surprised and concerned.
“What are you doing here? I didn’t call you.” Aidan stood slowly, cautiously.
“No, you didn’t, did you? Funny how that works.” I don’t think I’ve ever heard a voice so beautiful. I stared at the man, my mouth agape, taking in as many details as I could. The lighting was frustratingly horrible.
He had dark hair, though the tips of it looked like they’d been dyed red. It was sleeked back, a professional style that didn’t quite match the colouring at the tips. His skin was dark, tanned possibly, or maybe that was natural. Tall, lean, though that was hard to make out in the lighting and from this distance.
Beautiful. Painfully beautiful. Not so much that you wanted to look away—how could you possibly look away?—but looking at him certainly did bring about an ache.
“It’s been a while since your last call, Aidan, we were starting to miss you. The other Wizards don’t talk to us as much as you, we were starting to think you didn’t want to be our friend anymore.” He purred the words at Aidan, a flirtatious and teasing note in his voice.
The discomfort was clear in Aidan’s face, which seemed to confuse the man. I watched Aidan’s fingers twitch towards me, and I knew that he wanted to glance at me to reassure himself that I was staying out of the way. Or maybe the di
scomfort was because he didn’t want me hearing this? None of it made much sense to me, so I didn’t know why that would be the case. He couldn’t look at me, though, because that would give me away to the man in the circle. And he didn’t want to do that, I was almost certain. After all, he’d told me not to draw attention to myself—him glancing over at me would definitely call attention to me.
“I need information.” Aidan cut directly to the point, not wasting time engaging the man in conversation.
The man pouted, as if Aidan had hurt his feelings. “You’re such a spoil sport, Aidan. You never let me have any fun. Always insisting on speaking with the little boys…are you scared of me, Aidan?”
“I’m annoyed by you. Your ‘little boys’ don’t waste ten hours with banter before we can discuss what I need to, and I don’t have time for that.”
“That’s the problem with you mortals, always in such a hurry. Your ancestors had better manners, they knew how to speak with honour and dignity, they were respectful of protocol. You disregard the Old Ways as if they were nothing. It will hurt you, Aidan, make no mistake of that. Or perhaps…it already has?” His voice came up like it was a question, and the way his eyes gleamed as he leaned forward unsettled me.
“Quiet.” Aidan’s voice came out a guttural growl. Not really the kind that I’d heard from him before—he’d growled at me a couple of times today, but nothing that had…scared me.
“Or what?” The man grinned like the Cheshire Cat, thoroughly enjoying the exchange. “You could always step in here, Aidan, I’d enjoy…dancing with you.” A shiver ran down my spine at the way he said it—there was something inherently dangerous, and yet inviting, about his tone.
I guess that’s why they’re called demons.
Silence stretched out, which only served to make me more anxious. I didn’t know why, but I had a gut feeling that silence was bad. Aidan needed to hold his attention…
The demon rolled his eyes and began to walk the circumference of the circle, his gait predatory and his eyes locked on Aidan the entire time. I felt…watched, somehow. The goosebumps had come back.
“Oh, Aidan, you naughty boy.” He purred, his lips stretching to a vicious grin as he stopped walking. “You brought me a treat.” He turned his head, slowly, to lock his eyes with mine.
There was an odd flicker in his eyes—surprise? It almost looked like recognition—but it disappeared as quickly as it appeared.
I cast a nervous glance at Aidan. “Um…” It was only half a word, and it sounded pathetic. I was suddenly aware of how vulnerable and exposed I was. He couldn’t leave the circle, right? That was the whole point of the circle. It kept us safe from him.
Why did I feel like I was standing in a room with a…? I tried to find a word that matched him, but could only internally laugh at myself. I was literally standing in a room with a demon and trying to figure out what to call him.
“Come here, little darling.” His words were soft and sweet, sickly so, and he crooked a finger at me.
My mind recoiled at the idea, but I felt my foot inch forwards. Why was it doing that? I frantically checked my mental shields, only to find that they were as strong as ever.
It wasn’t mind magic. It was basic human weakness.
I didn’t have a lot of experience—good experience—with men.
No, but I knew that sweet, kind, words were not to be trusted.
I tossed my head back and laughed with derision at the would-be seducer—it might be a show, but at least I knew how to put one on—and strode confidently to Aidan’s side. I wasn’t hiding, there wasn’t a point to it anymore.
“Hush. Be a good boy and cease your foolishness.” The words fell from my mouth, so strong that they didn’t sound anything like me and certainly didn’t reflect how I felt or normally spoke.
“You can stop playing mind games with Aidan and get to what he wants now that he doesn’t have anything to worry about.” I kept my chin up, a haughty expression on my face—the expression I’d been on the receiving end so many times from so many other people. Whatever. It worked.
“Well played,” the demon murmured, looking intrigued.
Maybe I hadn’t done so good? Would it have been better to act intimidated? Maybe I should have left the room? The look on Aidan’s face screamed disappointment.
Oh. Don’t attract attention to yourself. The only job that he had given me tonight, and I had flunked it. It wasn’t my fault, though, the man had looked right at me and called me out. It wasn’t like I could hide anymore. Right? Except maybe Aidan didn’t care if the demon saw me, so long as he didn’t care about me…
Better to be a blip on a monster’s radar than something worth thinking about.
Running a hand through his hair, the demon did his best to look bored. “Well, what is it, then? If you aren’t going to be any fun than this is just a waste of my time.”
“There is a group of necromancers in town. I want to know what they’re doing, why, and where.” Aidan’s voice came out flat, like soda that had been left out with the lid off the bottle.
“Oh, those adorable little things.” He smiled again. “Yes, I suppose they are kicking up a bit of a fuss, aren’t they? Ahead of schedule, though, I thought they’d only disturbed the one man…” His voice was coy, and he winked at Aidan as if they were in on a secret together.
“Tell me, already.”
“Why should I? You know how this works, sweetie, I’m not going to make it easy for you. What will you give me?”
Aidan looked grim. “What do you want?”
“Oh, the world, of course.”
They both stared at each other for a solid minute after that, the demon’s face stuck in this parody of humour and Aidan looking like he’d been carved from stone.
“Ugh, fine, something you can give me then. Her?” He tipped his head towards me, and my stomach did an interesting flip flop.
Gross, get a hold of yourself, Blair.
He’s playing with you, it’s what demons were made to do. I reminded myself. I don’t react like this, not to anyone. I was only attracted to people if I’d made an emotional connection to them, and I certainly hadn’t with this demon.
“No.”
“Her name, then?” I could see in Aidan’s face that it was killing him, the interest shown in me.
“What would you do with it?”
My eyes flitted from one man to the other, and I felt my jaw drop open. I didn’t know the importance of a name—something I felt should have been communicated to me, if it was important enough for a demon to barter information for—but I was pissed off that he was just talking about giving it away like that.
“Excuse me?” I snapped, eyebrows jumping up to my hairline. “I am not a piece of meat to be bartered for. I’m standing right here, watching the two of you carry on as if I’m not even here. Are you bloody joking right now?”
The two blinked at one another for a second before turning to look at me with eerie timing. The demon spoke first.
“Oh, yes, you are here. Perhaps you’d like to tell me yourself? Whisper it right in my ear?” He winked. Oh, man, if that circle wasn’t there to protect me, I would seriously consider slugging him right about now.
“I don’t know it.” Aidan said with a shrug of his shoulders.
Wait, did he mean that he would give it away if he did know it? What was the point of telling me to go unnoticed if he was willing to hand my name over just like that?
I had forgotten that he didn’t know my name—I had asked for his and he’d never asked for mine. So much had gone on since, it had probably seemed awkward to ask for it. Or maybe he had intentionally not asked for it, because he didn’t care to know it.
“That’s my price, Aidan. Her name. Just her given name, though, I’m not a monster.” He said.
I didn’t know what that meant, that last bit about given names, but it didn’t sound good.
Aidan turned a pained look towards me. “Sorry, kid, but I’m going to
have to ask that you tell him your name. First and last, middle if you’re feeling generous.”
I really cannot stress how surprised I was. “But you just…you were just asking him what he’s going to do with it, and what can he do with it, and why are you just giving in?” I couldn’t get one question all the way out before another one left my lips, and I knew I looked all kinds of distressed just then.
“I will explain names to you after this, I promise. I did not consider it would be relevant beforehand. Nothing that could harm you.” His eyes were pleading with me, and I just…he was the closest thing I had to a friend at the moment. I was so pathetic.
“Jenny Honeycutt.” I snapped at the demon without looking at him.
“No, it isn’t.” I could hear the smile in his voice.
“Anne Johnson.” I threw out the name of a grade school classmate.
“Tell me your name.”
Glory, that voice could melt bones. I felt the fire in my belly, completely at odds with my mind, and forced myself to ignore it.
Ice. I needed ice. I breathed through my nose and made a tiny gesture of my fingers, and felt as ice prickled out along my skin.
I heard the demon inhale sharply. Probably didn’t like the cold, being a demon and all.
I opened my mouth to deliver another false name, and immediately shut it. I was suddenly aware that I couldn’t speak the name I’d prepared. I gnashed my teeth together and scowled at him like the feral animal in my soul.
“Blair. Sheach.” I all but snarled the name out from behind my teeth. I did not like being made to do things I didn’t want to do, and though I wanted to blame him, in truth I blamed Aidan for putting me in this position.
“Good. Very good.” He closed his eyes for a moment, as if he’d obtained a weird pleasure from the exchange. “Ah, well now that payment is taken care of. You have carte blanche, my dear.” He winked at me, but addressed the words to Aidan.
