by Nia Night
“You did,” he said, answering his own question.
I didn’t bother denying it.
“You’re all the same,” he said. “Just thoughtless killers. How can someone like you be the child’s guardian? Why would the Fates make such a poor choice?”
It seemed as if he were asking the questions more to himself than to me, but my hands clenched into fists at my sides.
“And you’re a fucking saint, are you?” I spat. “A benevolent Demon King who is so much Gods damned better than everyone else?”
Ibrahim scoffed, his nose literally wrinkling in disgust as he looked at me. “Not everyone else, but definitely you.”
For a moment, I was positive that I was going to throw hands at this son of a bitch, beyond the point of caring about how powerful his dark magic was, and how brutal a physical altercation between the two of us would be.
A small voice from the entryway interrupted whatever might have happened next. “Everything okay over here?” Vida asked.
Both the Demon and I turned in her direction, biting down with effort on the rage simmering between the two of us.
“Everything’s fine,” I told her, unclenching both my fists and jaw, making sure my voice wasn’t too hard. I checked my watch. “Bella should be just about ready to perform the spell now, so we should head out.”
The sooner it was done, the sooner I could get the fuck away from the arrogant Demon bastard before one of us killed the other.
Vida said nothing as I moved past her to stand by the edge of the cliffside in the living area of the stupid place. There was something both disturbing and soothing about all those burning souls below, something that helped to put all my own troubles into perspective.
I was still pissed though. How dare Ibrahim judge me? He didn’t know me. He didn’t know shit.
I stiffened as footsteps sounded behind me, but when I turned, it was just Vida. She stared out at the realm as well, her hands tucked in the pockets of her fashionably torn jeans. She slipped out her right hand now and removed one of two braided bracelets I’d caught her toying with more than once on this journey. Pulling it off her wrist, she held it out to me.
“I want you to have this,” she said.
My first instinct was to refuse, but something about the look on her face made me swallow the words in my throat. Instead of taking the bracelet, however, I only turned to her with raised brows.
“Here,” she said, lifting my hand and tying the bracelet around my wrist. “It’s good luck, and I want you to have it.”
Once it was tied, she dropped my hand and went to wait over by the elevator. I stared down at the bracelet as an unfamiliar feeling swirled through my chest, a feeling I wasn’t sure I welcomed. Other than the lost Calidi chain, I’d never been given a gift before, unless you counted the Warden’s graduation “gift” to me, and the two were hardly comparable.
Though I knew that the child had not intended it to be, the bracelet seemed to me like a sort of shackle, a physical representation of a burden I’d never asked to have, same as the silver keyhole on my palm.
I supposed that we all had our crosses to bear, I thought guiltily as I joined the Demon and the child over by the elevator and prepared to finally obtain the Gods damned spell.
21
The address the Sorceress had given us took us across town. The tension between Ibrahim and me didn’t fade with the travel. We didn’t even look at each other as we took the subway and walked the remaining blocks to the destination. If Vida noticed the animosity, the child didn’t comment.
Although we all seemed to be lost in our own thoughts, I was sure to keep a keen eye out for any attacks. We’d been lucky thus far when moving beyond the protective boundary of Ibrahim’s hell realm, but I knew it was only a matter of time before someone caught up to us. Having this spell complete would be a big burden off our shoulders.
“Is this it?” Ibrahim asked, looking up at the sign hanging over a small brick building tucked between two larger ones. It looked like a regular antique shop, complete with secondhand furniture and lamps in the window.
I double checked the address on the slip of paper. “I guess so,” I said.
These were the first words we’d spoken to each other, and Ibrahim only grunted in response. I pushed open the door to the shop, reminding Vida to remain close behind me.
A bell rang as we entered, and the dusty smell of the place greeted us. Dimly lit with a low ceiling, items of all sorts littered the place. There were instruments and wooden tables, a record player and a jukebox that looked as though it had seen better days. What drew my eyes, however, was a wall of weapons that hung behind a glass counter, all manner of blades and daggers, old guns, and even a few bows and arrows.
Shut up and take my money, I thought as I approached the counter. Nothing here or anywhere could match the value of my lost Calidi chain, but a girl could always use a few more weapons strapped to her hips. And I didn’t want to keep the daggers Ibrahim had lent me. Petty, maybe, but I didn’t want anything to do with the bastard.
An old woman sat behind the counter, wearing glasses with lenses thick enough to make her blue eyes appear three times the normal size. She held knitting needles in her hands, and was busy making some article of clothing. She looked up when we approached. Her likely silver hair had been died a soft shade of pink, and her entire outfit was made of black leather.
I blinked a few times at her, searching for words that remained lost for a moment.
Thankfully, Bella appeared through the doorway behind her. “They’re here for me, Reeva,” Bella told the old woman.
Reeva simply nodded and returned to her knitting.
The three of us followed Bella through the door and down a hallway, then up a set of stairs. Our footsteps creaked on the floorboards, but otherwise, the place was almost eerily silent. We passed through another door at the top of the staircase, and the scent of magic hit me as soon as we entered.
The magic held Bella’s signature, that of lavender and vanilla. The room itself looked like an attic, with an arched, beamed ceiling and a single circular window providing meager light. Creatures constructed of sticks dangled at the end of transparent strings that were tied to the beams above, and though I knew them to be inanimate, they moved like real animals.
Above me was a tiny wooden dragon, complete with a barbed tail and wings. Magic made those wings flap, that tail sway, the mouth yawn wide as if to spit out fire. Above Vida, a wooden sea serpent slithered at the end of its string like a snake, wooden tongue flicking out of its mouth at intervals. There had to be dozens of them, each infused with magic that made them nearly seem alive.
The room was filled with other wonders as well. To the right was a string quartet, the instruments plucked and stroked by magic, invisible fingers, letting out a soft and sweet melody that offered a sense of serenity to the ear. A mattress lay on the floor in the corner, books piled both atop and around it. A fire of purple flame illuminated the room with flickering light, set into a wide pot that was large enough to sit in. No smoke came off the flames, just warmth and light. Cushions surrounded this pot, set up around it as though it were a campfire.
Bella took a seat on one of the cushions and gestured for us to do the same. As I folded myself down into a seated position, I noticed an array of ingredients, including the white flower from the Land of the Dead, arranged neatly beside Bella. The Sorceress blew out a long breath and met each of our gazes around the fire.
“It might get kind of intense,” she told us. “The spell is a powerful one, but I think I can handle it.”
“You think?” I asked.
Bella’s purple eyes met mine. “Well, I’ve never done it before. But I was top of my class back at the academy.”
This was not as comforting as I knew she meant it to be, but really, what choice did we have? I nodded, giving my silent approval to continue.
When a hand touched mine, I looked down to see that Vida was offering me her hand, h
er little palm face up. Swallowing back a bit of apprehension, I laced my fingers through the child’s and gave a reassuring squeeze.
Blowing out a heavy, lavender-scented breath, the Sorceress began the spell.
The feel of the magic around us was heady, ramping up with each passing second. I became lost in the flickering purple flame between us, trapped between it and the swirling of Bella’s strange eyes.
The Sorceress spoke words in a language I didn’t know, the cadence of her voice rapid and steady. The grip Vida had on my hand tightened, her mouth pressed into a thin line. Even Ibrahim looked off kilter, his own dark magic pulled in tight around him, as if to keep a shield between himself and Bella’s magic.
Above us, the wooden creatures hanging upon strings from the ceiling beams stopped moving, flapping, and slithering. The musician-less string quartet in the corner halted, the music dying out like a whisper on the wind. Every bit of magic concentrated itself on the spell currently being cast, drawing toward the caster in a rally that made the tiny hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
As I watched Bella’s magic gather and began to reach toward Vida, a strange protective feeling came over me, one that I was sure I’d never felt the likes of. The magic stretched toward Vida and wrapped itself around her, encasing her in a shimmering cocoon that was almost electric to be near. My own fire magic rallied restlessly within my veins, pushing against the walls of my skin like a beast demanding to be freed from its cage.
Bella began to add some of the items she’d arranged around her to the flame, which flared and blazed with each addition. The flower from the Land of the Dead was last, the white bloom disappearing within the purple fire as though absorbed into its soul.
Just when I was beginning to think I would not be able to withstand the Sorceress’s magic, the spell began to fade. Bella’s chanting grew slower, quieter. The magic remained around Vida, seeping into her as though absorbed right into her body. Vida’s grip on my hand loosened, and the child blinked slowly, as if waking from a dream.
The wooden figures overhead resumed their movements, the music of the quartet starting up again. Bella blew out a heavy breath, gasping as if she’d just run a marathon. For several seconds, we all only stared at one another.
“Is it done?” I asked, once I could catch my breath.
Bella nodded, chest still rising and falling.
I turned to Vida. “You okay?” I asked.
The child nodded, throat bobbing as she swallowed.
I was gratified to see that even Ibrahim looked a bit rattled, the potency of the spell having had an effect on all of us. Gathering the strength to stand took a moment, and Bella wiped at a bead of sweat that had formed at her brow.
“I think I’ll sleep for a year now,” the Sorceress commented.
That didn’t sound like a bad idea.
“The beacon is muted, then?” I asked, just needing to be sure. “No one will be able to find us now?”
Bella nodded again, opening her mouth to say something. Before the words could come out, a loud crash sounded from below.
Then another.
Bella shot to her feet, the rest of us following suit a heartbeat after. “Reeva,” the Sorceress said, already at the door, disappearing down the stairway.
Ibrahim and I exchanged glances. There was only one way out of this place, and it was down those stairs. “Stay here with Vida,” I told the Demon, removing two blades from my jacket as I followed after the Sorceress.
When I reached the bottom of the staircase, I flew down the hallway toward the door that let back out into the antique store. Beyond that door, the sound of chaos grew louder, and my heartbeat kicked up in pace at the anticipation of a fight.
The sound of hissing let me know what I would find before I passed through the door, but still did not prepare me for what I saw on the other side.
Accursed.
They had found us, likely following the beacon Vida had been putting out before we’d managed to mute it only moments before. There were ten of them, pale as moonlight, soulless black eyes and multiple rows of razor sharp teeth. They moved like serpents, slithering quickly from here to there, striking and striking.
But it was not the Accursed that captured my attention so, but rather, Reeva and Bella. Magic flew from the Sorceress’s fingertips, knocking back the Vampires and keeping their attacks at bay. Her violet eyes flared and swirled, her feet braced as if against a strong wind.
The old woman with the strange hair and leather clothing—Reeva—had taken up one of the bows that had been hanging on the wall of weapons behind the glass counter, and was firing arrow after arrow into the Accursed. Every shot she fired hit its mark, going through soulless black eyes and pale necks, vile black blood erupting wherever they struck.
I jumped into the fray with my blades, more eager than I probably should be to take these bitches out. The Accursed seemed to hone in on me, as I was indeed the connection to the one they were really looking for. I moved through the room with a deadly grace, striking and slicing, choosing not to think about how good it felt to be doing what I did best, about the reality that I had missed killing, that the act seemed to have become a part of me.
I supposed one could take the girl out of the Sisterhood, but could not so easily take the Sisterhood out of the girl.
These were thoughts for later, however, and I shoved them away as I continued my deadly dance. With the help of Bella and Reeva, we made quick work of the Vampires, making a mess of the shop as we went.
I removed the head of the final Accursed still standing as Reeva sent an arrow through the bitch’s heart. We’d barely begun to catch our breath when the bell over the shop’s door rang. At the same instant, a silver star cut through the room in a flat arch, slicing the throats of the Sorceress and the old lady clean open. Blood gushed from the too-deep gashes.
The two were dead before they hit the ground.
And in walked an Angel and a Sister.
22
The Sister caught the silver throwing star on the way back around, a deadly boomerang. The blood of Bella and Reeva stained her fingers as she slipped the star into the pocket of her black pants.
I had a quarter of a heartbeat to glance at the young Sorceress, to see the final light die behind her purple eyes before it blinked out like the last ember of a once great flame. Something in me shifted just then as I took in Bella’s state, but I was not really aware of it.
Then I turned back to the threat. The Angel and the Sister.
Raidyn and Kieran.
The combination shouldn’t have surprised me as much as it did. I knew the Angel was under the Warden, and Raidyn was the Sister stationed nearest, so it made sense that she would be ordered to dispatch me, but it was still a scene I’d never thought I’d see.
For a moment, the three of us stared at each other, a brief pause before the inevitable. Kieran, with his golden hair and blue eyes, his wide shoulders and white wings on full display. And Raidyn, with her long, electric blue hair, the form fitting all black uniform and duel, deadly seraphs clutched in each hand.
Standing between Vida and I and freedom.
“We don’t have to do this,” I said. “You can let us walk out that door.”
Raidyn’s face was the cold mask of a true Sister, but her lips pressed together as she met my eyes. “We have orders,” she replied.
I looked at the Angel, recalling all the bullshit he’d spouted when we’d first met, about how doing the right thing wasn’t easy, and questioning orders was even more difficult, but equally necessary.
“And you,” I said, “still full of shit, I see.”
When their eyes went over my shoulder, and the feel of familiar dark magic pulsed at my back, I knew that Ibrahim was now standing behind me.
“Kieran,” said the Demon, with even more distain dripping from the name than when he spoke mine.
“Ibrahim,” the Angel replied, returning the obvious distaste.
My brow fu
rrowed as I realized the two must know each other, as I saw in the way they addressed each other that there was a whole history that I was unaware of.
“Where is the child?” asked Kieran.
Ibrahim snorted. “You can’t have her.” Dark magic pulsed stronger at these words. “The wise move would be to walk back out that door.”
Kieran’s golden aura seemed to flare brighter at this. Beside him, Raidyn’s eyes were locked on me as she adjusted her grip on her blades.
The Angel smirked. “Are you afraid, Ibra?” he asked.
Ibrahim stepped up beside me, dark magic curling around his shoulders, his fingertips. He didn’t bother to answer, his magic pulsing with the challenge, so strong it was almost heady.
Kieran leaned to the side, and something beastly within me flared as he addressed the reason we were all here. “Hey, there, sweetheart,” he said, offering Vida a smile I knew to be a lie. “You’re going to come with us.”
“Fuck off,” Vida said.
I had to bite back a smile despite the tension. I had no doubt where she’d learned that kind of language. Across from me, I could see that Raidyn was hiding a smile as well, and dread swirled through my stomach. As much as I may not like her, I would never relish killing a Sister, especially not one of the five who’d been in my graduating class.
But it was clear that only one side of this would be walking out of here alive, and I was going to make sure that side was mine. I would not let Bella’s sacrifice be for nothing.
As if this thought broke the delicate impasse, Raidyn charged forward, seraphs glinting in the dim light of the shop. She came for me, blue hair trailing like a cape behind her. Dark magic flared at my side as Kieran and Ibrahim engaged in their own battle.
My killing instinct took over, my body reacting on autopilot, eager to meet the challenge that was presented. Raidyn and I collided with muscle and steel. As we were both fire Demons, and impervious to flame, our magic would be useless here. The victor of this battle would be decided instead by physical combat skills.
