Undone: Succubus Undone Part 6

by Frost, L. L.

  As if they sense my gaze, they turn toward me, but the mist rolls up to shroud them from view. Pinpricks of light spot my vision, and Landon and the Librarian come into view. Landon throws himself at the doors of the Library, his rage so fierce I can taste it, while the Librarian’s head rolls on her shoulders, her sagging eyelids lifting to pin me with sharp, black eyes.

  “It’s time to let go,” she says, but her lips don’t move, the words ringing in my mind. “Shine bright, Adeline Boo Pond. As bright as you can.”

  The command rings through me, and my wings burst from my back, cleaving through Victor Hesse like butter and ripping him in two as iridescent light bursts out of me, bright as a beacon.

  His hold on me slackens, then falls away, his body landing in pieces on either side. I fall to my knees, gasping for breath as the ground shivers beneath me.

  The beast, bounding forward, freezes in mid-air, and the light rattle of dead branches silences, time stopping between one heartbeat and the next.

  Beneath me, the ground splits open, and ley line magic bursts forth, answering my beacon. Victor Hesse had built his forest on top of a power node. No wonder no one found him here. No one goes near the nodes for fear of being consumed.

  The thought barely registers before magic wraps around me and through me. I feel my body disintegrating, my consciousness being pulled down.

  No, I tell it as I struggle to hold onto the pieces of me. The threads that bind me to the others hum, reminding me of my purpose.

  The ley line pulls harder, demanding death, demanding creation.

  I build a picture of the Between in my mind and shove it at the ley line, demanding that it release this pocket of space, that it free those who are trapped there.

  A latticework of glowing lines fills my mind in return, showing how the lines spread between the planes of existence, that one cannot be moved without the others. It holds a question and a demand, something I’m familiar with as a demon. There is no give without take, and if the price of this is that I join the ley line, so be it.

  With a last gasp, I let myself go, and the ley line consumes me.

  I return to existence with a gasp, finding myself back in the dead forest just as time resumes.

  Confused, I watch as the beast pounces forward, landing on one half of Victor Hesse’s body and consuming it. As it does, the dead forest crumbles, bones raining from the trees.

  How did either of them survive the eruption of ley line magic? Did it simply pass them by? Or was all of that in my head?

  I bend to smooth a hand over the cracked clay earth, devoid of any evidence of the node I know exists beneath the hard surface. I lift my hands in front of my face and turn them back and forth. They look normal, and I feel normal for the first time in a while, if a little hungry. Maybe even ravenous.

  Bones crunch and break as the beast feasts beside me, and I cringe. Okay, not that ravenous.

  My attention shifts to the other side of me, to what remains of Victor Hesse. He doesn’t look like someone who was living only moments before. Instead, he resembles the remains of mummies, dried and preserved over centuries. Which may be a more accurate description of what he was. One of those evil, cursed mummies, bent on destroying the world.

  Yeah, definitely not that ravenous.

  About to look away, a flicker catches my attention. I almost miss it, hidden in the dried, hollow remains of his stomach. When the brief flash of pink comes again, my heart lurches.

  Hand shaky, I reach out and gently scoop up the light. It shivers and pulses in my palm, and I gasp out a sob.

  The beast, done with its meal, growls and paces around me, its hungry eyes fixed on the light I hold.

  I cup my hands protectively around it. “No, not this one.”

  It growls, and I growl back, flaring my wings wide. I don’t want to fight the beast, but for this small core of energy, I will give my last breath.

  The beast flares its own wings as if to show it’s not afraid of me, then paces to the remains of Victor Hesse’s body and snaps its jaws around the leg before dragging it into the trees.

  Should I try to stop it? What will leaving such a beast alive do?

  But the demon plane is full of monsters far worse than it, so I stay where I am, waiting for any sign that the leash still binds me to Victor Hesse or his creation.

  When no new pain flares to life, I push to my feet.

  With the light cradled against my stomach, I stumble out of the crumbling forest. It needs energy to grow, energy I don’t have. If I tried to feed it ley line magic, it would be destroyed.

  My eyes fall on the mountain, and my feet turn toward it, retracing my path.

  When I reach my destination, the slag demon is gone, but I know I’m in the right place by the crushed bodies of the akuzal.

  I kneel next to the first, searching the squashed remains for a spark of life and drinking it down. Then I move on to the next, and the next.

  Some of the creatures were too starved for energy and have no life force to give, but there are hundreds here, far more than I expected. They must have come from all over the wasteland, only to be crushed against the mountain.

  Slowly, a ball of energy forms in my core, rolling with death, chaos, and hunger. I thread ley line magic through it, stripping away the imprint of the akuzal until only pure energy remains. Then, I lift the flickering energy core to my lips and breathe life into it.

  The ball shudders and pulses, growing stronger, though not yet able to take on a corporeal form. But that’s okay, we have time. All the time in the world now that Victor Hesse’s out of the way.

  Tucking the ball close to my stomach once more, I stand and look around. “Hello? Is anyone here?”

  My voice echoes off the side of the mountain and fades before the ground rumbles. A shower of pebbles bounce down around me, and a slag demon rises.

  It turns with a grating of stone and stares down at me. “Yes, Life Giver to Torch the Tiny Flame. I am here.”

  I tip my head back to stare up at it. “Which way is the citadel?”

  In answer, it lifts one heavy arm and points toward the setting sun.

  I dip my head in acknowledgment before turning and striding back into the wasteland, my ball of energy held close.

  * * *

  When I arrive at the Demon Clerk’s Office, I find utter chaos. Demon’s jam pack the hall, and I turn toward the wall, using my body as a buffer of protection for my precious cargo.

  “Adeline Boo Pond!” a voice yells, and my head turns to find an imp pushing through the crowd toward me, a familiar box of red licorice sticking out of his pocket.

  “John Smith,” I say in surprise. “Good to see you again.”

  He grins, his soft, gray cheeks bunching, before he looks down. “What do you have there?”

  Cautiously, I pull my hand away from my stomach to reveal the small energy core.

  “Oh, well, isn’t that a sight.” He reaches out and gently strokes the light. “Can’t say I’ve ever seen one so small.”

  “He’ll grow,” I say with conviction, then glance around. “What’s going on?”

  His soft brown eyes widen in surprise. “You haven’t heard?

  I huddle closer to the wall. “Heard what?”

  He leans in close, his breath smelling of red dye 40 and corn syrup. “The Library’s vanished.”

  “What?” Panic shoots through me, and I half turn, prepared to go see for myself.

  “But that’s not all.”

  John’s words stop me, and I turn back with trepidation. “What else?”

  Excitement shines in his eyes. “The veil’s thinning. At the rate it’s going, we won’t need transfer approval to get to the human plane. The missus and I are packing up our spawn and heading over now, before they figure out how to fix it.” He bounces in place. “First stop on our tour is Boo’s Boutique Bakery. Do you have licorice flavored cupcakes?”

  Shocked, I stare at him as my mind struggles to process his words.
“The veil is thinning?”

  He nods and reaches out to squeeze my arm with excitement. “See you on the other side!”

  With that, he steps back out into the crush of demons and vanishes.

  My heart pounds, and anxiety makes my limbs shake. How can the Library be gone? What about Landon and the hag? Did it take them with it? And what does it mean that the veil is thinning? Did that happen because I asked the ley lines to move? But then, what does that mean for the human plane?

  It had felt like an all or nothing option, and I had asked for all without even considering the ramifications that choice would bring to the humans whose world hasn’t been destroyed by prolonged exposure to so much power.

  Slowly, I push forward, moving farther away from the hall that would lead me back to the Library. There’s no reason to go looking there if it’s gone. Like John Smith, I need to return to the human plane as soon as possible. That’s where Emil, Tobias, and Kellen will be waiting if they were able to escape the Between.

  “Move aside!” someone shouts, and hard feet pound the floor.

  The demons who fill the hall press to either side, nearly flattening me against the wall. Through their bodies, I watch guards from the council stomping past, with the high council at their center.

  As Lord Marius’s eyes sweep the crowded area, I duck lower, staying out of sight. Somehow, I don’t think I want his attention on me right now. If at all possible, I’d like to avoid his attention for the next century. Hell, maybe even the next millennia.

  As soon as they pass, demons disperse in all directions.

  I wedge myself into a group of imps, walking in a fast crouch. If anyone knows where the nearest crossover to the human plane is, it will be imps. I just hope I fit through whatever cracks they use.

  Arriving on the human plane turns out to be the easy part. Hailing a cab in my bra while covered in blood and dirt and sporting weird symbols drawn all over my body turns out to be a whole new adventure.

  Eventually, one brave, desperate soul pulls over for me. Beyond grateful for the power I was able to take from the akuzal, I use my limited reserves of demonic power to whammy him into driving me three cities over to Clearhelm.

  By the time we pass city limits, it’s already dark out, and a light flurry of snow fills the air.

  I feel bad that I don’t have money to pay the driver, but all of that vanishes as my home comes into view. Despite the late time, every window in the house blazes in welcome, and I practically fly out of the cab and up the steps, slamming through the front door.

  The house smells of sugar and spice and home. Tears prick my eyes as I dart around the short entryway and into the living room.

  Everyone is still here, and they leap up at my sudden appearance, swarming over to me with exclamations of surprise and welcome. Warmth fills me at their happiness that I made it out, and tears slip down my face.

  Excited, I search the group for my demons of destruction, but I don’t see them. Happiness dimming, I push past my imps and into the kitchen to find it empty.

  Now, worry sets in, and a tremble rolls through me as I turn to face everyone.

  Tally steps forward first. “They haven’t come back.”

  “Okay.” I nod jerkily.

  She hurries forward. “Maybe they just need more time. We have no idea how long it will take for the Between to dissipate once it lost power.”

  “Right.” I nod again and look around the room. “Thank you, everyone, for what you did today. I owe each of you a debt.”

  “Not us.” Xander slashes a hand through the air. “This ended our contract with Kellen. Helping you freed us.”

  Reese nods. “We knew the second you succeeded in moving the ley lines.” He snaps his fingers. “Just like that.”

  Jax and Slater nod in agreement, and Tally backs up to grasp their hands, her eyes shining bright.

  I bite my lip. “Will you be leaving, now?”

  “We’ll need to find a new house,” Xander says. “I don’t see Kellen letting us live there rent free, anymore.”

  My eyes sting, and I nod again.

  “We might know a few places looking for renters,” Pen announces. “And if you need some side jobs, we’d be thrilled to hire you on as freelancers.”

  “We can hook you up with the local coven, too, if you want to learn more magic,” Flint adds. “I’m sure Gwyneth would be happy to get some witches who are actually trained.”

  Reese and Xander both look interested, while Jax and Slater shake their heads and murmur polite refusals.

  Flint shrugs. “Offer’s open. Take some time and talk it over.”

  “We should head out.” Pen looks at Gavin, who’s stayed silent through all of this, taking everything in. “Do you want a ride, Sharpe? We can have another sleep ov—”

  “No,” he cuts in, his expression inscrutable. “I’ve had enough of you and your lies for now.” He grabs his jacket from the back of the couch. “Stay out of police business, Pen, or I will arrest you, paranormal bullshit or not.”

  “Boo,” Flint hisses, giving him a thumbs down. “Way less hot, Detective.”

  Ignoring him, Gavin gives me a brisk nod and stomps out the door.

  The cleaners follow at a slower pace, giving him time to reach his car to avoid another angry confrontation, and the front door closes behind them.

  “Sophia.” I find her in the middle of the imps. “Can you bring Torch’s box over?”

  She nods and releases her hold on Jesse. “Sure thing.”

  She returns a moment later with his heat proof box in hand, and I gently set the pink energy core inside. “Now, don’t try to eat each other, you hear?”

  Sophia gasps. “Is that Julian?”

  “Yeah.” I stroke the small ball of energy. “But he’s going to need a lot of energy if he wants to be a real boy again.”

  The energy core pulses with irritation, and Torch waddles over to greet his new house guest.

  Tears fill Sophia’s eyes, and she clutches the box closer to her chest. “I’ll give him some now. And I’ll call the others. Everyone can provide. We owe it to him.”

  My chest tightens as she rushes away, and I resist the urge to chase after her and snatch back the energy core. It’s not that I don’t trust Sophia, but I only just found him.

  Fuyumi steps forward, her robes swishing against the floor. Merp lays around her shoulders, twin tails swishing, while Prem struggles in her arms.

  She thrusts the squirming whelp into my arms. “You will pay your debt to me by finding a home for Prem. He is outgrowing his mother’s tolerance for her offspring.” She reaches up to stroke Merp’s head. “At least his sister knows how to stay out of the way. He is just clumsy.” She casts a frosty glare at Tac. “Like his sire.”

  She turns back and gives me an icy nod. “It is good you are back and whole. I expect two baskets of offerings in recompense for the trouble you have caused.”

  With that declaration, she sweeps out of the house, taking Merp with her.

  Small wings bap against my arms, and Prem hisses up at me, angry to be separated from his sister.

  Jesse immediately leaps forward. “I will take the kitty as payment for your debt.”

  I narrow my eyes on my smallest imp. “How is your piggy bank doing? You’ve gotten him used to filet mignon.”

  She juts out her narrow chin. “The debt—”

  “We do not exchange living beings to pay debts without prior negotiation.” When her face puckers up, I sigh. “I will assign you as Prem’s caretaker. And you will continue to work on your savings while weaning him off of filet mignon.”

  She gives me a begrudging nod and reaches up for the tiny monster.

  As soon as I drop his wiggling mass into her arms, she bolts for the kitchen, and a moment later, the door to the basement slams shut.

  I’m going to have to check her suitcase when they all move back to their own houses to make sure she doesn’t try to sneak him inside.

  The
other imps come forward to give me hugs and rub their scent all over my dirty body before they follow after her.

  “Do you want us to stay?” Tally asks. “We can sleep on the couches.”

  “No, but thank you.” I look around the room. It feels empty even with people in it. “I’m going to shower and go to bed.”

  “Okay.” She rushes forward to pull me into her strong arms. “Don’t worry about the bakery. We’ll make sure it’s taken care of. Just focus on recovering, okay?”

  I nod against her shoulder, my nose filling with the familiar, comforting scent of clay.

  Reluctantly, she releases me, and they file out of the room.

  After the door shuts, I stand in the abandoned living room, feeling the ache of loneliness from the absence of my demons of destruction.

  With a chuff, Tac stands and pads over, circling around me to butt his large head against my back, nudging me toward the stairs like I’m one of his recalcitrant whelps, up past my bedtime.

  I let him move me along, my feet finding the first of the steps, then the one after, and the one after that until I arrive at the first landing.

  There, I stop to look down the short hallway to Emil’s room, where the shut door and dark shadows at the threshold once more remind me of his absence.

  A large, black wing lifts to block my view, then gently baps me toward the bathroom.

  I look down at the thick layer of disgusting crust that coats my body. “Yeah, a shower’s a good idea.”

  Once Tac herds me to the bathroom, he flops down in the open doorway.

  I lift my brows at him. “You’re going to watch?”

  A quiet whine rises from him, and he nuzzles my foot.

  “Yeah, I miss them, too.” I rub the soft spot between his tufted ears. “But they’ll be back. We just have to wait.”

  I say the words as much for me as for him. I need to believe that what I did was enough, that my men will return to me, that the high council didn’t catch them and lock them up somewhere else.