Saved by the Spell (Of Mystics and Mayhem Book 2)

by Heidi Vanlandingham

  Willow

  “He’s positive Tarja was here?” Lucien practically barked each word, overenunciating each with a tone that showed me the regal side of him. A side I didn’t much care to see again. It was scary.

  I cringed as his voice banged about the room, wishing there were a few more tapestries lining the walls to help deaden the harsh sounds. Lucien scraped his fingers through his raven-black hair until it fell in messy disarray. Clearly the Demon King was incapable of looking bad, even when disheveled.

  He threw an impatient snap of his fingers into the silence. I held my breath, waiting for the inevitable arrival of the disgusting old imp, who I’d learned was named Mukesh, or Kesh for short. Goose bumps flashed over my skin as his black, tick-like form popped into view, floating in mid-air beside Lucien’s head.

  A shiver of repulsion tore through me, hunching my shoulders. The creature’s beady eyes met mine and a knowing grin cracked its face. His sharp zigzagging teeth gave him a macabre jack-o-lantern look. Forcing myself to straighten, I stood tall and lifted my chin in defiance. I wasn’t about to let the little beast get the better of me.

  I have no love for the little monsters myself. However, I would advise you to leave this one alone, DC whispered in my head.

  It’s about time you woke up. You’ve been asleep far too long. I watched as Kesh listened to something Lucien said then popped out of the room. I’m good with not having anything to do with him, but why? What’s wrong with him?

  Many things. I have heard rumors about his past, although my warning comes from what I sense. He is evil.

  How can you tell? Kesh popped back with a pad of paper and a long gold pen. He handed them to Lucien, who immediately began to write something with quick, short strokes.

  DC, how can you tell he’s evil?

  His aura is tainted.

  What? I waited for a better explanation but only heard the sound of her soft purr. “We need to work on your explanation skills a bit more,” I muttered, thankful Lucien’s voice was loud enough to cover mine as he gave Kesh more directions.

  “Deliver—no, wait.” He paused, his eyes narrowed in thought. “I will take care of Joachim. You go find Niki. Tell him to meet me in Malachi’s room immediately.”

  Before Lucien could pop away and leave me behind, I took a step toward him. “And me? Where should I go?”

  Lucien nodded at Kesh and glanced at me. His brows rose in surprise. He’d forgotten I was there . . . With a smart pop the bloated imp vanished.

  I shuddered again, adding, “They are so repulsive, unless it’s just him.”

  “Who—oh, the imps?” Lucien chuckled. “They serve their purpose. Some better than others. Kesh is not one of my favorites. Too stubborn. But he finds out things no one else seems to discover.”

  “Doesn’t it make you suspicious?” I asked as DC’s warning flashed through my mind.

  With his heavy hand on my shoulder, Lucien steered me toward the doorway. “Go back to Malachi. When Niki arrives, tell him I’m meeting with Joachim and will return as soon as I can.”

  I nodded and stepped into the hallway but glanced back at him. “Will Johnna be with Niki?”

  He rolled his eyes. “Is she ever anywhere else?”

  I laughed at his pained expression. “If you see my dad—”

  He smiled. “I will tell him you send your love.”

  I nodded, too choked up to tell him thanks, glad he seemed to understand. I wandered through the maze of hallways leading back to Malachi’s room. The moment I stepped into his hallway, I knew something was wrong.

  Sprinting to the door, I stared at the chaos in front of me. The mattress and bedcovers were thrown about the room. The once beautiful mahogany bed frame resembled a game of pick-up sticks gone wild. Standing back-to-back in the center of the chaos, Johnna and Niki turned in a circle with swords drawn and ready to battle an invisible foe.

  And Malachi was gone.

  The only thing I detected was a subtle whiff of cinnamon and sulfur. The putrid odor crawled up my nose, tingling and scratching its way in.

  As I stared at the destroyed room, my anger rose. “Why? Why’d you let that bitch take Malachi?”

  Johnna held up her hand and her sword sliced through the air in a wicked arc.

  Niki bent backward and took a quick step away from her. “Watch the sword, imp. I’ve told you a thousand times to pay attention to what you’re doing when you are wielding a weapon.”

  “I forgot I still had it.” Johnna made a strange twisting motion with her hand, and in a bright flash of purple light the sword vanished, as everything else in this place seemed to do.

  Pushing down my panic about what was happening to Malachi, I strove to focus on how to get him back. If I had a weapon, maybe . . .

  What was I thinking? I’d probably cut off my own head.

  Concentrate, Willow, I scolded myself, as I centered on my immediate need. “Where is Malachi? And how can I learn how to control my own magic to help find him?”

  In a brilliant flash of sapphire light, Niki’s sword also vanished. “Magic is different for everyone. As a demon, I am pure magic while Johnna uses elemental magic to manipulate those elements sensitive to her. In her case, metal.”

  “But I don’t know my magic, much less how to use it.” The room’s walls seemed to close in around me, and my lungs struggled to pull in the suddenly heavy air as my panic grew. A cold flush inched across my skin, numbing muscles and soaking into my bones. “Please,” I begged, meeting Niki’s worried gaze. “Please tell me he’s okay, and she hasn’t hurt him worse.”

  Malachi had become as important to me as my need to figure out who I was and what I wanted.

  Johnna laid her hand on the enforcer’s arm, her expression fierce as she waited for him to try to communicate with Malachi. “Niki?” When he didn’t answer, she shook his arm. “Niki, come on, answer us,” she pleaded. “Is he all right?”

  He shook his head, the motion hesitant. “I can’t tell you for sure. He’s not answering or isn’t able to answer.”

  My stomach tightened until it was one giant cramp. “What does that mean?”

  “Male demons mind-speak. It helps us in battle. Because Malachi is my second and also the Fallen leader, our bond is stronger than most.”

  “So it’s bad then.” I couldn’t stop my voice from shaking.

  “He’s either being blocked or—”

  I yanked at my own hair, grown much longer since I was no longer in stasis. “Don’t. Don’t go there.” I forced my hands to drop to my sides but couldn’t stop them from clenching spasmodically.

  With each clench, Niki’s face paled until he seemed as human as I did.

  “Willow, stop it! Whatever you’re doing to him, stop!” Johnna jumped between us, but Niki’s face continued to blanch. She launched herself at me and rammed me against the doorframe. From what seemed a great distance, I felt her hands gripping mine before the familiar tingling swirled inside me. This time, however, it burned for a few minutes, changing to a slow heat as my rioting emotions finally began to calm.

  My eyes wouldn’t focus, remaining a misty blur. I heard Niki groan as I slid to the floor. I frantically blinked, willing my eyesight to return to normal and wondering what had just happened. I held my stomach as it threatened to void my lunch.

  Forcing my lips apart, I inhaled, pressed them closed, and repeated the technique until my heartbeat slowed. “I don’t feel good.” I swallowed several more times as I kept trying to keep my stomach down where it was supposed to be.

  “Neither do I.” Niki moaned. “Remind me never to piss you off,” he muttered. If I hadn’t felt so bad, I would have laughed at the way Johnna’s body contorted as she tried to keep him from hitting the ground face first. A stool appeared behind them as Niki c
ollapsed.

  I closed my eyes and pulled in more cleansing air. For some weird reason, my butt and legs hurt. Looking down, I realized I’d fallen on several large chunks of wood, most poking into the softer areas of my backside. None of this made any sense.

  What had I just done?

  With a focused effort, I struggled to my feet and took a very unsteady step toward Niki. “He is not dead. I won’t accept it. I can’t accept it.”

  Heavy hands covered my shoulders and squeezed, gently pulling me back against a hard chest.

  “I would not allow anything to happen to Malachi, Willow.” Lucien’s whispered words in my ear took some of the tension from my stiff frame. “This is the second time that succubus has breached the wards. The weaker Malachi becomes, the combined power of the Fallen and Watchers decreases.”

  I tilted my head, trying to see his face. “And you know this how?”

  “Let’s just say I received a surprise visit from my boss.”

  “Wha—” Niki choked. “He was here?”

  “Lucien?” I was going to regret my next question but asked it anyway. “Who is your boss?”

  “Lucifer.”

  My stomach dropped. Regret didn’t even come close to what I felt for asking the question in the first place. “You mean the Lucifer?” I squeaked, meeting Johnna’s blue gaze. “That’s the Lucifer you mentioned earlier?” I turned and gaped at Lucien without giving Johnna a chance to answer. “Your boss is the archenemy of God?” I felt lightheaded and horribly woozy again.

  “Yes and no. Yes, he’s my boss, but no, he’s not God’s archenemy.” Lucien’s grip tightened on my arms and jerked me back to my feet. “Actually, Lucifer was His right hand until their little disagreement.”

  Niki snorted. “Disagreement is what he calls it. In truth,” he said, glancing at me, “Lucifer royally pissed Him off. Ruling all of Dark World is his punishment. Personally, I think he likes it.”

  I dropped my face into my hands. “I didn’t sign up for any of this.”

  Johnna leaned toward me and whispered, “News flash. None of us did.”

  Glancing up, I gave her the stink-eye. “Not helping.”

  “I was ordered to fix our unfortunate problem,” Lucien put in. “And if he has to get involved . . . Let me just say we all look much better with our heads where they currently sit.”

  I groaned. Could this get any worse?

  Chapter 18

  “What do we do next?” I asked Lucien, before another question popped into my head. “Wait. I thought you were ruler of Dark World?”

  “I am. Think of it as the Chairman of the Board and the CEO of a company. As chairman, he’s in charge. As the Chief Executive Officer, I run things.”

  “Oh. Well, it makes sense. Now go back to my first question. What are we going to do?” I probably wasn’t going to like the answer I got, but I worked better with a plan. Most of the time.

  “Niki, if you can manage, close the door.” Lucien waited until the door latch clicked before motioning for Johnna and me to back off the worn tapestry covering the stone floor. He placed a finger over his lips for us to be quiet. “I also think one of you should explain what happened in here.” He gestured for us to follow his lead.

  Johnna sighed. “Willow took one look at the bed and totally flipped out when she realized Malachi was gone. Niki had just told her he couldn’t get Malachi to answer him when she went into some kind of rage and practically killed your enforcer.”

  “She didn’t practically—” Niki began.

  I jumped in with, “He wasn’t going to—”

  Lucien held up his hand. “Just stop.” He picked up one corner of the rug and tossed it across itself, revealing a large wooden door nestled in the rock floor. He lifted it then turned to me with a focused stare and laid his hands over my shoulders. With a gentle push, he moved me toward the dark opening.

  One by one, we followed him as he descended the long wooden stairwell with Niki bringing up the rear, hesitating only long enough to pull down the door behind him. We continued along the dim, crudely carved tunnel, the only light coming from large bunches of weird-looking plants growing along the upper walls.

  “I didn’t know there were real glow-in-the-dark plants,” Johnna whispered behind me.

  “Shh,” Lucien hissed from the front of the line.

  Before my legs fell off, reminding me of all the exercise I’d gotten in the Nightmare Realm, the tunnel branched off in two directions. Without missing a step, Lucien took the tunnel leading to the right. I turned the corner and immediately felt claustrophobic. Instead of a room, he’d brought us to a carved-out niche that must have been intended to pass as a room.

  “I brought you all down here to talk because someone in the Bastille is an informant.” Lucien’s deep voice rumbled in the cramped space.

  “Damnation.” Niki spat.

  “It’s why I met with Joachim. Mostly,” Lucien added.

  “What do you mean by mostly?” Johnna asked, her blue eyes glistening in the torchlight, only to have Lucien glare sharply at her.

  “A small group of his Watchers were surrounded by succubi and Summoned. We went to rescue those still alive and bring back those who were not. They are one step ahead of us and seem to know what our battle strategy is.” He scrubbed his hands over his weary face, and I couldn’t help but think he held something back.

  His watery gaze met mine.

  A heavy dread settled around my heart. My temperature dropped several degrees as a cold chill raced over my arms and legs. I was afraid to ask, yet too afraid not to.

  “Lucien?” My voice cracked.

  “I don’t want to tell you this and have been putting it off since I arrived, trying to find the words . . . As I said earlier, Joachim received word his men were in trouble, and several more Watchers killed. He wouldn’t tell me why but insisted on retrieving the bodies himself. I couldn’t believe he would put himself in such danger. I’m so sorry, Willow.”

  Lucien didn’t have to tell me. My heart knew the truth. My father had been one of the Watchers killed. My eyes burned, and I could no longer make out Lucien’s features as everything swirled together. My pain-filled shriek filled the room, strangling me in its unrestrained bid for freedom. I was powerless to stop it.

  Arms surrounded me, pulling my numbed body into a tight embrace as I started to fall, but I was no longer sentient as grief consumed everything I was.

  Not even Malachi’s whispered pleading consoled me. Just as quickly, my heartache turned into a raging fire. How could fate be so cruel? Why show me my ultimate dream, only to snatch it away? I no longer wanted to think or feel. Breathing even seemed too difficult.

  With a cry of pure agony, I let my anger and grief blend into the surrounding darkness, drawing me into the dark depths of oblivion.

  From far away, I heard Johnna’s voice calling to me, but all I wanted to do was sleep. I snuggled in the softness surrounding me, trying to recapture the blessed nothingness I floated in.

  “Willow! Come on, you’ve got to wake up.” This time, Johnna’s voice echoed in my ear.

  I cringed as her sharp tone sliced through my mind. I groaned. “Please stop screaming . . . I think you pierced my brain.”

  “Oh, my gods. Don’t do that again—you scared me,” Johnna said, shifting her position. Some of the warmth disappeared.

  I cracked open my eyes and stared up into Johnna’s blue gaze. “How did I scare you?” I suddenly realized we were on a hard, dirt floor and not in my cozy bed, which was where I’d thought I was. Glancing up, I found two more pairs of eyes focused on my face. An uneasy feeling crept through me. “Why is everyone staring at me? And secondly, what are we doing on the ground?”

  Johnna glanced up at Lucien then dropped her gaze back to mine. “
You don’t remember?”

  I scrubbed my face and sat up, immediately missing Johnna’s comforting warmth. As memories flooded my mind, my heart felt as if it was breaking all over again.

  My father was dead.

  The fragile wall I’d built crumbled and my grief poured out of me as my tears flowed down my cheeks. “Oh gods . . . I remember,” I whispered. Even though my relationship with Zander was new, I had wished for real parents my entire life. To have the wish jerked away so soon was heart-wrenching. Agonizing.

  Trying to get a grip on my uncontrolled emotions, I pulled my knees to my chest and folded my arms around them, thankful the others were letting me grieve without hovering. Although my emotions were raw, my heart broken, getting my mind off Zander and back on the precariousness of our situation seemed best. “What are we going to do?”

  Lucien stepped toward me and knelt, his own tears covering his face as he dried my cheeks. “You couldn’t have had a better man as a father, Willow. Zander was Joachim’s right-hand and best friend for a reason. He was my friend too. If you ever want to talk . . . ask questions about him when you’re ready, I’m here.”

  I nodded, not trusting myself to burst into tears again, so I kept my lips pinched and blinked several times. I stared at everyone, their sad gazes staring at me. I felt their concern beating at my fragile psyche and knew I was blessed because I still had them. These strong, amazing people were now my family.

  “Thank you,” I whispered and reached over to squeeze Johnna’s hand. She squeezed back.

  Lucien cleared his throat and stood. “We will properly grieve for Zander soon, but our situation now is precarious, at best. Not only do the succubi have an advantage with their spy, but my castle has been breached. We suspected someone helped Tarja breach the ward and had been feeding her information, but with Malachi’s disappearance, it’s been confirmed. Unfortunately, most of my force is fighting at the North Castle with Joachim’s men. We don’t have enough soldiers left here to fight on three fronts simultaneously. Someone has been planning this for a while, and I doubt it was Tarja or Dahlia.”