by Linsey Hall
Except, it did.
As soon as the demon’s fist made contact with Declan’s head, a dark light pulsed from his hand. It reverberated through the water, and I got the strongest sense of despair. It washed over me, a feeling that tore at my mind and heart.
Death.
Declan tumbled backward, his body limp.
9
Holy fates!
The demon had some kind of insane death magic. Necromancer demons were dangerous—they were strong, excellent fighters who could raise the dead. But I’d never heard of one wielding some kind of sonic boom death power with their fist.
But this one did.
I could still feel the magic reverberating through my chest, a weird kind of power that was a combo of existential despair and cold, hard physical force. My chest ached more than ever.
Damn, I was lucky he’d only hit me with his bag.
As the demon kicked away, Declan floated limply in the water. His body was still fifteen feet from the surface, and there was no guarantee he’d regain consciousness in time to swim there.
If he ever did.
Cold fear shot through me. He could already be dead.
Only luck had saved me. I’d swum for the demon just like Declan had, with no idea of the insane power he held in his fist.
Damn it. The angel had saved me back in the gorge.
I gave the demon one last longing look, and swam toward Declan. My muscles and lungs burned desperately as I approached. I was running out of time down here.
I grabbed Declan by the arm and swam toward the surface. My head broke through toward the air, and I sucked in a deep breath, yanking Declan up with me. I gave him a hard shake, and he gasped, opening his eyes.
“You good?” I demanded.
“Yeah.” His gaze was confused and his face pale, but he was still kicking.
“Favor repaid.” I let go of him and spun away, racing toward the demon who was swimming across the surface of the lake toward the shore.
He was only twenty yards away from me. I could totally catch him.
And kill him from afar. After what had happened to Declan, no way I was going to get too close to that beast. The demon reached the shore and climbed out onto the rocks. I swam faster, pushing myself to the limit.
I reached the pebbled beach only seconds after him, scrambling out onto the rocks as he ran away, digging into his pocket. He was going for a transport charm, no doubt.
I had only seconds.
I leapt to my feet and hurled my dagger, aiming straight for his back. The silver dagger glinted in the light as it hurtled toward him. Right as it neared the demon, he stumbled on a rock. His body dipped low, and the dagger plunged into his shoulder instead of his back.
Damn it.
The demon whirled, rage twisting his face. His skin was a pale, creased gray, and his horns rose high above his head. He had an enormous green gem in his forehead, and his eyes burned like fire. Fangs hung over his lips, which pulled back in a snarl.
Damn, this guy was ugly.
And scary.
He could cause a hell of a lot of problems all on his own, even without raising the dead.
He stepped toward me, the kind of threatening movement that shouted, It’s time to throw down, bitch.
Fortunately for him, that was my idea of a good time. If I’d gone to a normal school—or any school—I’d have been voted Most Likely to Throw Down.
I withdrew another dagger from the ether and hurled it right toward his chest. The key to winning in combat was to aim for big targets. Weaken them, then go for the kill.
He reached up to stop the blade, but he was too slow. It slammed into a spot right over his heart.
Then bounced off. Two tiny objects flew off the demon’s chest. A broken medallion?
It was impossible to see from here. But something had stopped my blade.
The demon laughed, a rusty sound that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Rage lit in my chest.
“Oh, you bastard,” I muttered. I drew my mace from the ether and charged, my strides eating up the ground.
I neared the demon and swung for the throat, glad that my mace chain was long. My hits were weaker when the chain was long, but I wanted to play it safe. The beast dodged backward just in time, avoiding my blow. I swung again, and the mace’s spikes grazed his arm.
Damn, he’s fast.
Way too fast for a hulking, eight-foot tall demon. He towered over me. The scent of death that wafted off him clogged my lungs and made my eyes water.
His blade-like nose twitched as he sniffed the air, and his eyes widened as they met mine.
“Dragon blood?” he rumbled.
Ice chilled my veins. He’d smelled my true species?
Shit.
I swung my mace, powering up for a big blow, and the demon raised a massive hand. Huge claws sprouted from his fingertips, each at least eight inches long.
“Freaking Wolverine?” Just my luck. I swung the mace.
He was fast, reaching out to swipe at my steel chain with his claws. They collided with a clang of metal against metal, and the chain severed. The spiked ball flew into the forest.
Shit!
I dodged backward, tripping over something and slamming into a rock. Pain flared.
Fates, I wished I could activate my ghost suit. But Declan would definitely think something was up if I suddenly disappeared.
Groggily, I raised my head. Through bleary eyes, I saw the demon thrust his free hand into his pocket. He yanked his hand out of his pocket, clutching something.
The transport charm.
I scrambled to my feet, clumsy from disorientation.
Declan sprinted past me, a massive sword in his hand.
Hell yeah! He was going to kill him.
Finally.
Declan swung his blade for the demon’s closest arm—the one that gripped the bag full of loot. He was fast and deadly strong. In one swoop, he amputated the limb. It dropped to the ground, the potion bag slamming on the rock. Black blood spurted.
The demon roared, rage in his eyes.
As Declan drew his sword back, clearly going for the other limb, the demon threw the transport charm to the ground. A poof of silver dust rose in front of him. He moved unnaturally fast, lunging toward his dropped bag and grabbing it up, then jumping into the silvery cloud.
The ether sucked him away.
“Damn it!” I stumbled backward, tripping over a root. I landed on my butt, gasping.
Pain radiated through my back. When the demon had chucked me backward, I must have smashed hard into the rock behind me and was just now starting to feel a few broken ribs.
Damned demon. Damned Declan.
“You went for the arm,” I accused.
“He can’t give me a death punch without any arms.” Declan scowled and stashed his sword in the ether. “But he was faster than I expected.”
Declan was right. At the end there, the demon had moved quicker than I’d ever seen a demon move. Between his death punch and his speed, he was a species of necromancer demon that I’d never encountered before.
Something special, and deadly.
“I can’t believe you tried to take him alive,” I muttered.
“It’s my job.”
Disgusted, I shook my head, which suddenly felt like it weighed a million pounds. I bent my neck, and suddenly I was exhausted. With my face tilted toward the ground, my gaze landed on a bronze medallion. Half of a bronze medallion.
I frowned.
The demon’s necklace. That medallion had stopped my dagger, which had split it in half. I reached out, hovering my hand over the small piece of metal. No way I was touching anything of the demon’s without testing it first.
Dark magic radiated from it, but it was minimal. Nothing like what he’d thrown at Declan. There was definitely a distinct magical signature, though. I gripped the half medallion and clutched it tight.
I could use this to track the bastard.
&n
bsp; Trying to be sneaky, I slipped the charm into my pocket and stood, my body aching. Maybe I should look for the other half?
I ran my gaze over the ground around me, but didn’t see anything. I glanced up at Declan to see if he’d noticed, but he was staring over my head, his eyes widening.
“Ah, crap.”
That was never good. I turned and looked up, spotting a horde of bats swooping toward us. This crowd made the last one look tiny. There had to be thousands, and each one had glinting white fangs. They were hunting for blood.
My blood.
My heart rate spiked.
There was no handy cover like there had been in the gorge. This time, the bats would have direct access.
Time to go.
As the bats neared, I dug into my pocket and grabbed a transport charm just like the demon had done.
“Aerdeca!” Declan shouted, clearly getting an idea for what I was about to do.
Ditch him.
Hell yeah, I was ditching him. No way I was sharing my clue—the medallion—with the guy who’d just lost our prey.
I turned to him. “You got a transport charm?”
“Yeah.”
“See you later, then.” He could get out of here himself, and I’d let him.
The bats were right overhead when I chucked the transport charm to the ground. A cloud of gray dust poofed up, and I stepped into it, letting the ether suck me away. The last thing I saw was Declan, scowling at me.
I appeared in the foyer of my townhouse a second later. As soon as the safety of home enveloped me, exhaustion crashed over me. The halls were dark, and no light filtered in through the windows.
Night had arrived.
“Mari?” I shouted.
“Here!” She sounded just as tired as I felt. A second later, she stumbled into the hall, coming from the direction of her apartment. She still wore her black fight wear, and her hair was a complete rat’s nest. Her black eye makeup was streaked around her eyes, with an addition of soot on her cheeks and forehead.
“Looks like you had fun,” I said.
“You too.” She pointed to my head. “You’ve got a little seaweed there.”
I pulled it out of my hair and winced at the feeling in my back. Definitely some cracked ribs. “You have any luck?”
“Almost. Portal closed—violently—before I could get in.”
“That’s what’s up with the new look?” I gestured to my face and hair, indicating the soot and rat’s nest.
“No, I was just trying this out for something new,” she deadpanned.
“Well, I like it.” I groaned, leaning against the stair railing. “I need a healing potion, then some food, then a nap. But I also need to ask you about this thing I found.”
“I hope it’s a clue.”
“I think it is.”
“I’ll get you that potion, and we can meet at your place.”
“Chinese work for you?”
“Heck yeah.”
I stumbled toward my apartment, every inch of me aching. The last little bit of that adventure had really kicked my ass. Home sweet home welcomed me as I stepped into the pristine white space. The truth was that I’d paid a pretty penny for a tidying spell to keep the place so nice, and it was worth every penny.
I went to the little bell that sat on the counter and rang it twice, indicating two portions.
But one of the best investments I’d ever made was installing a tiny portal that led right to a Chinese restaurant down the street. It was enchanted so only food could be passed through, and anyone who tried otherwise would get an explosion to the face. A little added security measure.
I had an account with the Jade Lotus, and whenever I rang the bell, they passed through some food and charged my credit card.
Modern magic was a thing of beauty.
Especially when it meant I could get some deep-fried General Tso’s chicken without ever picking up the phone. I had a real thing for junk food that I knew was bad.
The thing was, I just didn’t care.
As I waited for Mari and the food, I grabbed a half full bottle of wine. As much as I might like a martini right now, I was once again too exhausted to make one.
I sloshed the wine into two glasses—just a bit, since I’d be off hunting this demon again after a quick recovery nap—and collapsed in the chair.
Mari appeared a moment later, raising a tiny vial in her hand. “Got it.”
“You’re a lifesaver.” I groaned as I reached for the potion, then swilled it back.
Warmth filled me as the meds raced through my body, magically healing my bones and limbs. Relaxation made me sag in the chair as memories of Declan filled my mind. When he’d healed me, it’d felt amazing.
“What’s that look for?” Mari asked.
“Uh, nothing.” I sipped the wine, then pushed her glass toward her. “Drink your wine. You look like you need it.”
“Do I ever.” She sipped, then studied me with keen eyes. “You’re thinking about the hot angel. How’d that go?”
“The dick lost our mark.”
“Dick? That’s a little Freudian, isn’t it?”
“Jerk. He’s a jerk.”
“Too late.” She grinned at me. “And as much as I want to grill you about him, I guess it’ll have to wait. Tell me about the demon.”
I nodded and dug into my pocket, then pulled out the half medallion. I pushed it across the table toward her. “The demon got away, but not before this fell off him.”
Mari grabbed it and raised it to her face, studying it. She frowned, her brow creased. “This looks familiar.”
“It does?” I held my hand out, wiggling my fingers in a grabby motion.
She handed it over, and I squinted at it. I hadn’t given it a good look before—I’d been too busy trying to hide it from Declan. But now that she’d said it…
The medallion had half a symbol that did look familiar, but…
“I can’t place it.” I looked up at Mari. “Can you?”
“No. But something lit up inside me when I saw it.”
“Maybe it’s from Grimrealm.” I shivered at the idea.
Mari’s gaze flicked toward the oven, as if she didn’t even want to talk about it.
I handed the medallion back to her. “Can you track it?”
Mari had more permanent magic than I did. The dangerous, dragon blood kind of magic that increased our signatures and made us easier to detect and find. It was the main reason she was so committed to her disguise.
She was the oldest, and when we’d been kids and our family had been experimenting with our powers—or forcing us to experiment—she’d gotten the brunt of it. As a result, she had more skills.
One of those skills was tracking. We told the world that she had a bit of Seeker power, and she did. It was just how she got it that we didn’t tell.
Mari took the charm and held it to her chest. Her eyes drifted shut and her magic swelled on the air, bringing with it the burn of whiskey. A moment later, her eyes popped open. “There’s something missing.”
“Missing?”
“Yes. It’s like there’s half a magical signature attached to this medallion. I could track it if I had the other half.”
Damn it. I should have looked for the other half. Except for the bats. I really hadn’t been in any shape to deal with the bats. “We’ve got other options.”
Mari nodded. “We can try to make a tracking charm.”
We made them occasionally, though they were difficult and expensive.
The bell on the counter rang, and two white cartons appeared through the portal.
I jumped up. “I’ll just bring this with us.” I leaned over and grabbed the bag of Cheetos near the fridge. “And these.”
“Nothing like a little blood sorcery and dinner.” Mari grinned. Most people would find it gross, but we were well used to it by now. “But you eat like a teenage boy.”
“Bring wine. Teenage boys don’t drink wine.” I raised my brows. “S
o, yeah. I’m a grown-ass woman.”
Mari grinned and grabbed the glasses, and I followed behind her with the food. As much as I was dying for a nap, we didn’t have time to dawdle on this demon hunt.
We reached the workshop, and I flicked on the light with my elbow, then set the food on the table. Quickly, I went to the hearth and took a pinch of the magical dust that sat in a bowl on the mantel. I tossed it into the hearth, and the flames burst to life.
Mari grabbed a carton of lo mein and ate while she moved from shelf to shelf, collecting ingredients for the charm. It should have been impossible to do both at the same time, but she was a pro. “I think we should do the determination spell to start.”
“I agree.” There were a number of ways to use an object to find someone, but first, we’d have to determine if the medallion had what it took to work in a charm. It needed some of the demon’s magic, or it had to be very important to him, for it to work for our purposes. Some of the charms destroyed the object, and I didn’t want to do that if the spell wouldn’t work.
I joined Mari, devouring bites of chicken in between collecting ingredients.
Finally, we had it all laid out on the table, and I’d scarfed down my entire container of chicken. The Cheetos would have to wait. I didn’t want any orange dust getting into the potion we were about to make.
Mari and I had been doing blood sorcery for so long that working together was second nature. We were slow from exhaustion, but our movements were flawless as we uncorked vials and poured them into the bowl. I could pretty much sense what she would do next, so it was easy to work as a team.
We make a good team.
Declan’s words echoed in my ears. I shook my head, driving off the thought of the sexy angel, and focused on my work. Finally, the liquid in the stone bowl swirled with a metallic green light. I looked at Mari and picked up the medallion.
“Ready?”
She nodded.
I put the medallion in the liquid, careful not to touch it or let it splash. Together, Mari and I held our hands over the potion, nicking our thumbs with our nails. Two droplets of blood fell into the potion—one white and one black—and a gray steam sizzled upward.
