Cards of Death Box Set

by Tamara Geraeds

  “Vicky?” I yell. “You need to go up and make Geoffrey feel guilty. Hurry up, please.”

  The black-and-blonde beauty appears in front of me. “Aye aye, sir.” She salutes and vanishes.

  The demons are getting to their feet, growling and huffing. The head demon steps into the large hallway. His bulky form is reflected in the shiny marble on the floor. He hisses and all the demons sniff the air. Their heads simultaneously turn in my direction.

  I reel in my weapon as fast as I can. “Uh… guys? A little help here, please?”

  The demons spit icicles at me and charge at the same time. I duck and roll, wave my athame around blindly and swing my Morningstar. Something pierces my shoulder and I raise my hands in defense.

  The sudden silence around me is deafening. I risk a peek between my arms and frown. Dozens of sharp icy spikes are suspended in front of me. When I lower my hands I notice all the demons are frozen in place.

  Someone grabs my arm and pulls me away. “Come on. They won’t stay like that for long!”

  Maël lets me go when I’m on my feet again. My shoulder stings and cold spreads to my chest rapidly. I clench my jaw, pull the spike out and throw it at the closest demon. It hits the monster square in the eye, but it doesn’t move.

  “Five… four… three…” Maël spreads her feet and raises her staff.

  Jeep materializes next to me, D’Maeo is at Maël’s side.

  I hold my breath when the demons slowly start moving again, like puppets that need to be wound up.

  The ghosts are not moving. I give them sideways glances. “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m not waiting until they’re fully thawed.” I don’t wait for an answer, but swing the Morningstar above my head and slice through the front row of monsters. They fall like dominoes, spluttering. Vapor coils up in intricate patterns.

  “Nice job,” Jeep exclaims.

  Taylar zooms into view, jumping over the bodies. “Watch out.”

  Three demons are on his heels, eyes blazing and mouths greedily opened. They leap after him with their claws outstretched. Icicles whistle around our ears.

  I raise my arm to whip the Morningstar, but my shoulder doesn’t budge. It’s frozen solid.

  While Maël pushes me out of the way, Jeep flings his hat at the demons. It manages to cut off a claw, making one demon stop in its tracks, but the others just keep going.

  Taylar jumps around, waving his sword around like a samurai. He fades in and out, emerging left and right and slashing everything within his reach. Pieces of gooey skin and other unidentifiable parts fly through the air.

  “This might sting a little,” Maël says into my ear. Before I even realize what she’s talking about, a sharp pain hits my shoulder and I crumble to the floor.

  Maël’s hand clutches my shoulder bone. Not on the outside, but on the inside. A grinding noise makes my teeth ache.

  “What are you doing?” I shout at her.

  “I have to get the poison out, before it does any permanent damage.”

  Jaws clasp shut inches from my face, but they are torn apart by Taylar’s sword seconds later.

  “Thanks,” I gasp.

  I try to pull the Morningstar closer, which isn’t easy when it feels like your shoulder is about to explode.

  “Almost done,” Maël says.

  The cold slowly retreats. Breathing gets easier and the fog filling my brain dissolves.

  D’Maeo apparates in front of us and deflects another shower of spikes. He pushes them back, but the demons avoid them easily. The head demon howls in anger.

  I glance at my shoulder. Blue steam rises from the hole left behind by the icicle. Maël removes her hand and pushes my shirt onto the wound. “How’s that?”

  “Much better, thank you.”

  “Are you ready to continue?”

  I nod, get to my feet, haul in the Morningstar and raise my athame.

  CHAPTER 31

  The African queen vanishes and reappears behind the head demon. With a roar she plants her staff in the back of its neck. It spits icicles in anger and I duck again.

  A snakelike creature wriggles past me. It takes all my strength to raise my right arm. I know I have to react faster, so I lash out with the athame, but my strength hasn’t fully returned. The blade only scrapes the spiked skin before the monster crawls into the elevator.

  I dive after it, and hit my head against the closed door.

  “I’m going upstairs,” I yell, and I kick in the door to the stairwell.

  There’s a hiss behind me. I dodge the claw tearing through the air and push the door shut as hard as I can. The demon tumbles backward. I don’t wait for it to get up. I have to catch that snake demon before it screws up our plan.

  It takes me forever to get to the right floor. I catch myself wishing I was dead so I could just pop up in places at will. Then I realize wishing things like that isn’t a very good idea and think I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die really hard.

  I finally reach the tenth floor and run to the elevator. It has already arrived. I look around frantically and see a tail disappearing around the corner. It is moving towards two voices caught up in an argument.

  I turn the corner just as the snake demon’s upper body rises in the air.

  Vicky is standing with her back to the door, watching the Timson brothers in concentration. She whirls around when the snake hisses softly. But it can’t see her, it’s going for one of the brothers. Slowly it rises higher, its head moving in small circles.

  “Stop that thing,” Vicky yells, already jumping in its direction. “It’s trying to hypnotize them.”

  I’ve hardly had time to catch my breath, but my body obeys without hesitation.

  While Vicky jumps between the demon and the brothers, I bring my athame down onto the tail that’s inches from my feet. The snake shrieks in agony and turns to face me. I swing my Morningstar. The demon escapes it easily by slithering sideways.

  The brothers are yelling at each other undisturbed, oblivious of the fight going on behind them.

  “Yes, I’m framing you for fraud. You deserve it,” Geoffrey shouts.

  I swing my weapon again. As soon as it hits the ground, barely missing the wriggling body, I dive forward and pull my dagger from the tail. I slam it back down immediately. Cold blood sprays my face. My skin crackles where the drops hit me, freezing instantly. I wipe the spatters off and raise my athame again.

  “Why do I deserve to go to prison?” George yells. “Because I’ve had more luck in life?”

  The bell from the elevator echoes through the hall, followed by D’Maeo’s voice. “Hold them back.”

  There’s so much going on around me, that I have trouble focusing.

  Vicky pushes me aside. “Watch out!”

  The snake’s tongue brushes my cheek, before Vicky kicks the body away. It hits the wall with a thud.

  She turns to check on me. The saliva burns into my cheek, but I just wipe it off and ignore the pain. “Thanks.”

  “It must have smelled you.”

  “Yeah, they all do.”

  There’s a piercing scream from around the corner. Vicky tenses. “Taylar,” we say in unison.

  We sprint out of the room. When I pass the snake, it raises its head, hissing furiously. I grip my athame tighter and slice its body open from head to tail. Black goo oozes out of it.

  Geoffrey’s choked voice is barely audible above the crackling of the solidifying body. “More luck? Mom and Dad gave you everything. And me?”

  I can’t hear the rest of his words, because I’m running after Vicky.

  I need only one second to take in the scene unfolding before me. Taylar lies frozen on the ground, icicles sticking out of his chest. Maël is bent over him, reaching into his body to heal him. That leaves only D’Maeo to hold back the horde of demons coming out of the elevator and from the stairs.

  Vicky is at his side already and I prepare to h
it the line of monsters with my Morningstar. It sails through the air with a soft whistle. Just before it hits its target, the demon on the right lunges forward. The spiked ball lodges itself in the thick scaleless neck and the demon keels over sideways. It knocks over its neighbor, but that’s all the impact it has.

  I pull at the chain and push the button when the other monsters charge, but the ball doesn’t budge. The light reflecting off the iced bodies paints artful patterns on the floor and ceiling. They almost blind me. Just in time I duck and roll towards the wall. A wide mouth with razor-sharp teeth snaps shut an inch above my nose. A chill creeps up my spine when I recognize the head demon, with a frosted gap in its neck, but there’s no time for fear. I thrust my dagger upwards. It hits the scales of its arm when it defends itself. It leans forward and a sharp pain goes through my leg. I can feel my skin rip as it pushes the scales on its legs into me. Its weight pins me to the floor. Slowly, menacingly, it brings its head down. Vapor rises from its mouth. I turn my head, but I still breathe it in. Coughing wildly, I try to stab the beast again. With a growl that sounds more like a chuckle, it moves its head back, ready to spit a deadly icicle right through my brain. I wriggle to break free, but there’s no use. The vapor immobilizes me and the pain in my leg is excruciating. Panicked shouts reach me, but I’m not sure who they’re from.

  I close my eyes, ready to surrender to my fate. I guess this is what you get when you wish for death to come and take you.

  Someone screams my name and the air around me moves. I squint between my eyelashes. Everything is hazy.

  “Dante! I’m coming!”

  My left hand twitches. “Don’t bother,” I lisp.

  In the back of my mind I hear Maël’s voice. “I have some stored time. We can use it to make a demon’s snare.”

  Stored time? I’m probably dreaming.

  Someone is pulling at my arm. The vague form of the demon holding me down disappears. My body is dragged away.

  They’re going to eat me, my thoughts tell me.

  A slap across my face. I blink.

  “Come on, Dante! Wake up! We need you!”

  I know it’s Vicky, even though her voice is contorted.

  “It’s too late,” I murmur.

  “No, it’s not. Maël is stopping time. You need to form a demon’s snare.”

  I don’t respond. The pain in my leg seeps through my consciousness. I want to sleep and never wake up.

  “DANTE! WAKE UP! NOW!” Her voice almost rips my eardrums.

  I shoot upright and blink furiously. Tears fall on the floor. I wipe my eyes with my shirt.

  Finally my vision clears.

  Vicky is shaking my shoulder. “Please!”

  I raise my hand. “Okay, okay, settle down. I’m awake.”

  I turn my attention to my leg. My pants are torn. Strips of cloth are wound around my leg. When did that happen?

  I squeeze my eyes shut. “Concentrate,” I tell myself softly.

  I hold out my hand. “Help me up.”

  She pulls me up and wraps her arm around my waist so I don’t fall down again. Electricity pulses through me.

  I wriggle out of her grasp and lean against the wall. I shoot her an apologetic look. “That’s really distracting.”

  “Sorry.” She gives me a crooked smile.

  I clear my throat. “So… tell me how to make a demon’s snare.”

  “Jeep is already collecting everything we need. Do you have your athame?”

  I pat my pants, then search the floor. “There it is.” I point at the weapon, lying under the head demon, that’s about to rip apart the air instead of me. Vicky flashes over to it, picks it up and appears at my side again. “Here you go.”

  “Thanks.” I feel utterly useless. I can’t wait for my power to wake up. I hate depending on my Shield so much.

  D’Maeo beckons us to the doorway of Mr. Timson’s office.

  The brothers are still standing wide legged, their faces contorted in anger.

  “You never had to work for anything,” Geoffrey shouts. “Everything simply falls into your lap.”

  “No, it doesn’t.”

  D’Maeo waves a hand in front of my face. “We don’t have much time.”

  “Right.” I turn my attention to him. “What do I do?”

  Jeep pops up next to me and hands me a bowl, a box of matches and some salt. Meanwhile, D’Maeo tells me what to do.

  I frown. “That might take a while. I thought demon’s snares would be easier to make.”

  Vicky nudges my shoulder. “You shouldn’t believe everything you see on TV. Those shows make everything look easy. A solid demon’s snare takes some time. So hurry up. We’ll watch the demons while you’re working.”

  I take a deep breath. “Okay then.”

  D’Maeo nods to where I’m standing. “Draw it just outside the doorway. The demons will try to reach the brothers. They’ll take this path.”

  I put the bowl and salt on the ground and pull out a strand of hair from the back of my head.

  Taylar holds up his hand. “Wait! You should draw it under the carpet tiles, so it’s invisible.”

  D’Maeo gives an approving nod. “You’re right.” He takes out the first tile. When I bend down to help him, he looks up. “We can do this. Finish your preparations.”

  I glance over my shoulder. Maël is standing in the middle of the hallway, her arms raised, her staff held high. Sparks escape from the tip and hit the immobilized demons with a soft crackle. Her lips are moving rapidly, her words inaudible.

  If she hadn’t stopped time, I would now be dinner to that ugly head demon.

  My mind still whirls at the thought of that. But there’s no time to ponder on that now. Maël looks tired. I fear the Shadow World has drained much of her powers. I can only hope she’ll be able to retain her hold on time a while longer.

  I swallow and turn my attention back on the hairs in my hand. I light a match and hold it against the lock of hair. As soon as it starts smoldering I drop it into the bowl and take out my athame. When I raise my left hand and look at the spot where I cut myself to open the portal to the Shadow World, I’m surprised to find clean skin. There’s no trace of the wound.

  “Hurry up, Dante!” D’Maeo urges me.

  The area around the doorway is clear. Tiles are thrown sideways. For the first time tonight, I’m glad the Timson brothers are arguing. They haven’t noticed the carpet moving by itself. Nevertheless, I hope they’ll settle their differences soon. Even with a demon’s snare I’m not sure we can hold back all of these demons.

  With one swift motion I slash the palm of my hand. Blood drips onto the ashes of my hair.

  “Ten drops exactly,” D’Maeo warns me.

  Vicky rips my other trouser leg and hands me a strip.

  I wrap it around my hand and add the salt to the bowl. A thought hits me. “Why don’t we just kill them all while they’re frozen in time?”

  D’Maeo gives me a sideways look. “We can’t hurt them while they’re in a different time frame. Keep working.”

  I nod. “Black candles?”

  Jeep rummages through his pockets. “Here.”

  I want to grab them, but just before I can, he drops them and moans loudly. The skin on his arms and legs starts to move.

  Cold fingers grab at my throat. “Oh no, not now.”

  Vicky appears at his side. “D’Maeo, Taylar, I need you!”

  The other ghosts waste no time pinning Jeep down.

  “Keep going, Dante,” D’Maeo says, while the tattooed ghost wriggles under his grip.

  I pick up the candles, light them and hold them over the bowl, the tapers touching. Wax slowly drips onto my blood.

  Vicky pulls a small bottle and a stick out of Jeep’s pocket and throws them next to me on the floor. “Holy water and incense.”

  “Yes, thank you. How’s Maël doing?”

  She frowns and turns her head. “At th
e ends of her strength.” She looks back at me. “You see a lot.”

  “I do?” I count the drops of wax. “Fourteen, fifteen.” I move the candles away from the bowl and blow them out.

  Vicky doesn’t answer.

  I pick up the bottle and add twenty drops of holy water to the muddy substance. Then I take the bowl, stick my finger in it and draw a large circle. Within the circle I form a pentagram. I light the incense and move it in circles within the trap.

  Vicky pops up next to me, panting as if she’s as alive as I am. “Jeep will be fine in a minute, but Maël won’t be able to hold those demons for much longer.”

  I move faster, chanting.

  “Trap all demons, young and old

  make their powers dead and cold.”

  I repeat the words over and over, until I’ve completed three rounds. Smoke fills the hallway and I glance inside the office, steadying myself against the doorframe.

  CHAPTER 32

  The brothers are still too absorbed in their own world to notice anything around them.

  “You always got everything you wanted.”

  “That’s no reason to frame me.”

  I wonder if they will ever make up. Maybe we should use more of Vicky’s powers.

  “They’re starting to move again,” Vicky yells.

  I turn around, still dizzy from all the turns.

  D’Maeo and Taylar are putting the tiles back in place, while Vicky hides the bowl and ingredients around the corner. Jeep is still on the floor, his face contorted in pain.

  I wave my hands in the air to spread the smoke. Then I step forward to join the others, but D’Maeo puts his hand on my chest. “You stay there, as bait. They can smell you.”

  I move back. My leg stings, but I ignore it. I help Jeep up and move him out of the way.

  “I paid for the house,” George says in desperation behind me.

  “No, you didn’t. You got it, just like you got everything else I had to work hard for.”