“D’Maeo,” I mumble.
“He’s fine. Just tired. We sent him to bed.”
My eyelids slowly grow back, too, and for a moment I close my eyes. The simple movement has never felt so good.
“You called?” Quinn’s voice says as I swallow some more water.
When I open my eyes, the shapes have turned back into people, although vague ones. My Shield is huddled around me. Vicky is right beside me, Mona is studying my skinless legs. Taylar, Jeep and Maël are standing behind them like guards, all with concerned faces. Even Charlie is there, chewing manically on something greasy.
Quinn’s tall dark shape steps between them. “What happened to you?”
I cough and wince as more pain shoots through me. “Got taken to the seventh circle of Hell with D’Maeo. Were pulled into a lake of boiling blood.” I gasp for more oxygen. “Wasn’t very pleasant.”
As my eyes heal, contours become clearer, details return and colors get back their vividness. One look at my body makes me gag violently.
Vicky gently turns my face towards her. “Don’t look at that. Look at me.”
“Gladly.” I try a smile, but it feels like my face is ripped apart.
A tear escapes Vicky’s eye. “I’m so sorry. I wish I could hold you.”
“You can.”
She shakes her head fervently. “No, I’ll hurt you.”
“I don’t care.”
She looks at me for a moment, reading my feelings. Then she gently places her arms around me and kisses my head.
“Much better,” I sigh.
Quinn’s worried face appears over her shoulder. “You look like crap, mate.”
A moan escapes me as the skin around my feet grows back into place. I take a deep breath that makes my lungs burn even worse. “Yeah, no kidding.”
He gestures for Vicky to step aside. “Let me see what I can do.”
As soon as his hand touches the top of my hairless head, I close my eyes. My skin is still pulling in every direction, but it doesn’t hurt anymore. My head tingles as hair grows back steadily. Sucking in air doesn’t hurt anymore. After I cough up some blood from the lake, my throat feels smooth again.
“You could easily score the leading part in a horror movie right now.” Charlie’s joke is followed by a soft outcry of pain.
“Just trying to lighten the mood a bit,” he says a couple of seconds later.
“Can someone get him a glass of water?” Quinn asks softly.
I’m itching all over by the time Vicky comes back with a glass. It takes all my restraint to keep from scratching.
Quinn smiles when I look at him with clenched jaws. “Don’t worry, you’ll feel like new in a moment.”
I lick my lips. “Thanks, Quinn.”
He clasps the glass between his hands for a moment, muttering something inaudible. Then he splashes some of the water onto his hands. Slowly, he moves them over my whole body. The last of the burning and itching disappears.
Quinn sits up straight and hands me the glass. “Good as new. Drink this to cleanse your insides.”
Just before I take a large sip, he grabs my hand. “Slowly. Give it time to work.”
As much as I want to gulp it down in a second, I do as he says. When the glass is empty, I feel reborn.
I run my hand over my face several times. “Well, that’s something I never want to do again.”
“What happened?” Quinn and Vicky ask at the same time.
I recap everything we went through and only leave out D’Maeo’s life story.
“What I don’t understand,” I say after a short pause, “is how we got back here. We’d been looking for a way out since we got there, but there was no sign of it.”
Vicky pulls up a chair next to the bed. “You probably remember that we were looking for a way to contact you quickly in case something happened when you were gone.”
I nod.
“Well, we finally found a spell. It can be used to get a message to you or, with a small change, to call you to us. We figured you and D’Maeo were pulled into another world, so we choose the latter.”
With a smile I pull her closer and kiss her temple. “Good thinking. I can’t imagine what it must be like to spend eternity in that lake of boiling blood.” I shake my head to get rid of the haunting images and feelings. “Or actually, I can. There are no words strong enough to thank you guys for getting us out of there.”
“Don’t worry about it, that’s what we’re here for,” they say in unison, making us all laugh.
It’s exhilarating after all the horror I just experienced.
Vicky hands me a piece of paper. “This is the spell, it also works the other way around. So if you need us quickly, or want to send us a message, you can use this.”
She hands me my Book of Spells and I thank the universe silently that it’s still in one piece. After sliding the piece of paper between the pages, I check on my other stuff that’s placed on the night stand. Since I’m only wearing underpants, there’s nowhere to put everything.
Suddenly very aware of my mostly naked body, I rub my arms. “So did you guys take out that crab guy?”
Vicky shakes her head. “Almost, but then we were pulled back here.”
“Oh right, of course.” I sigh. “Well, at least none of you got hurt.”
With more energy than I’ve felt in days, I haul myself to my feet. “I’m going to check on Mom and after that we can get back to saving Kale.”
Quinn is smiling at me, while Vicky seems to be checking out every body part I have.
I swallow a comment and turn to my angelic friend. “Would you mind checking on D’Maeo? He might need your help, too.”
He takes a small bow. “Of course.”
While the Shield goes to the kitchen to discuss our next move, Charlie, Mona and I go upstairs to see Mom.
Mona lifts the blanket covering the frail figure. “She’s doing much better.”
Tears of relief fill my eyes when I see the clean skin of her arms and legs. Only a trickle of black is left on her chest and the rest of her skin is not as pale as it was when I last saw her.
I lower myself onto the edge of the bed. My head drops onto her shoulder and I wrap my arm around her. “I love you, Mom, and I miss you.”
A heavy sob escapes my lips and for a moment I let out all of the fear, sorrow and despair that’s been building up inside of me.
By the time I lift my head, a large piece of Mom’s shirt has turned dark.
As Mona squeezes my shoulder, I swallow the last of my tears.
“We’re all still here, Mom,” I say, my voice no longer broken. “It’s a tough war we’ve found ourselves in, but we’ll get through it. I’ll protect you, wherever I am.”
Charlie puts his hand on my other shoulder. “We’ll all protect her.”
I dive into the bathroom before joining the others downstairs. My forehead wrinkles when I look into the mirror. “Wow.”
Quinn did more than just heal me. Not only do I look older than before, my muscles seem to have grown a bit. I’m no longer a sixteen-year-old with skinny-ass arms. The person looking back at me is more like an eighteen or nineteen-year-old who works out on a regular basis.
Or one who fights demons almost every day.
Maybe not all of this muscle is Quinn’s work. Fighting demons has its perks.
I grin at my reflection. Now I know what Vicky was looking at.
The smell of baked eggs swirls into the room and I quickly wash my face and comb some gel into my hair with my fingers. I put on clean clothes and walk back to my bedroom to collect my weapons and notebooks.
“Mona, you’re the best,” I groan when I enter the kitchen. “Can you come live here?”
Her face lights up. “I’m already practically living here, so why not.”
I recoil. “Really?”
The pan is suspended above the stove for a moment. Mona shoots me an apolo
getic look. “Oh, only if you want me to, of course.”
“I do, I meant it. I just didn’t think you’d say yes.”
D’Maeo appears in the doorway, still more transparent than he used to be, but with a content look on his face. “I think it’s a great idea.”
Jeep sighs from across the table. “Of course you do.”
Taylar stands up and holds out his hand to Maël. “If everyone is hooking up, I don’t want to be left out. So Maël, will you be my girl?”
Everyone falls silent, while Maël shoots him the most confused look I’ve ever seen. “What?”
Taylar chuckles. “I’m just kidding, of course. You’re way too old for me.”
The African queen shoves him in the stomach with her wand, which only makes him laugh harder.
I look around and feel confident about our mission for the first time. The Devil might be strong, and his demons dangerous, but we’ve become a family. We have something the Devil will never have: a bond. We will fight together and protect each other, no matter what.
CHAPTER 34
While he munches on his fourth bacon and egg sandwich, Charlie surfs the Pentaweb for info on Kale.
“If we can’t find anything, we can just go to his boxing gym. He’s probably training for his next fight.”
Charlie holds up his phone. “I’ve already saved the address.” He swallows the rest of his sandwich and looks longingly at Mona, who’s cleaning the stove. She turns around as if she senses his stare, grabs the pan and slides two more sandwiches onto his plate.
Charlie’s eyes glisten. “Oh Mona, you’re a life saver.”
She tilts her head, then shrugs. “I know.”
“We should get going, there can’t be much time left,” I say, reaching for my car keys.
Everyone is getting up when Charlie suddenly calls out. “Oh no!”
I freeze. Charlie looks at me with wide eyes.
“What? What did you find?” I urge him.
“There’s a news report about Kale. He broke crab man’s nose. He was arrested for assault.”
I take out my Book of Spells and place it on the table. “That means he has already committed his sin, right? We need the cloaking spell.”
“For what?” Taylar asks from the doorway.
“To get into the police station. We have to protect Kale.”
“Right.” He vanishes and reappears a second later with a shield on his back. “I’m ready.”
Quinn stands up and ruffles through his black curls. “Since I can’t come with you, I’d better get back to my other duties.”
For a moment my mind whirls with the possibilities of what he could mean. What are the duties of an angel as high as he is? Does he have a meeting with God himself? Does he have to keep the order in Heaven?
I shake off the thoughts and images. Those questions are irrelevant right now. We need to focus. I need to focus.
I hold out my hand to him and we bump fists. “Thank you so much for helping, mate.”
Helping is the understatement of the century, but it’s all I can think of now.
As Quinn leaves, Mona kisses me on the cheek and gestures to the ceiling. “I’m going to check on Susan again. I’ll send you a message when she wakes up. It can’t be long now.”
She turns to the others and blows them all a kiss. “Good luck. Be safe.”
“Charlie, can you-“
“I’m coming with you,” he says before I can finish.
The fear of what’s coming subsides a bit. “That’s great.”
Thanks to Vicky’s pocket full of supplies, it doesn’t take long to prepare the cloaking spell. And to make sure no one will be able to see us, I change the words a bit. We can’t cast it yet, or people will think Phoenix is driving herself around town.
As everyone files into the car, I take a moment to talk to D’Maeo.
“How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine, master.”
Him addressing me like that already tells me he isn’t telling me the truth. “Did you recover from the fall into the lake of blood?”
“Yes, Qaddisin healed me.”
“Could he do anything about the parts of your soul that were taken by the black void?”
He starts walking to the open front door. “I didn’t ask. We’ve got more important things to do.”
I stare at his back as it disappears through the front door. Well, I guess that’s the end of the conversation. The old ghost must be in worse shape than I thought if he avoids my questions like that. Another item on the list of things that should be dealt with as soon as possible.
With a giant brick in my stomach, I walk out the door and close it behind me.
D’Maeo shoots me a reassuring smile from the back window and I smile back despite everything. If someone who’s missing several parts of his soul can be positive, then so can I.
Lucky for us, Kale smashed in Craig’s nose while he was still in Blackford. Now it only takes us a couple of minutes to reach the police station.
It’s a busy day in town, which makes it hard to find a place where we can cast the spell.
“What about the parking lot at the Winged Centaur?” I suggest. “It’s not open yet, and if the owner sees us turning invisible, it’s not the end of the world. We can tell him we were just practicing our skills.”
They all agree and a minute later Charlie and I pretend to chat in front of the café, which is no more than a grass strip to non-magical humans, while waiting for the opportunity to vanish into thin air. At least, that’s what it’ll look like to people walking by.
Charlie yanks me along when nobody’s looking and as soon as I regain my posture, we hurry into the deserted parking lot.
We’re halfway through when Vicky’s head jerks up. “Do you hear that? Demons.”
“Did they see us?” I ask without looking up.
“No, I think they’re on Main Street, heading for the police station. Hurry up.”
“Okay okay.”
As fast as I can without mispronouncing anything, I recite the rest of the spell.
“Ehm…” Taylar says, his shield firmly in his hand. “There’s a small problem.”
I whirl around, suspecting to see some sort of demon or other monster blocking our way. But the parking lot is still empty. “What? What’s the problem?”
Taylar looks at the remains of the spell. “Ehm… can you hear us, Dante?”
Jeep pushes the rim of his hat up with an impatient look. “Just get to the point, Taylar.” He turns to me. “We can’t see you anymore, Dante.”
My hand slaps my forehead hard. “Shoot, I forgot to put a line in about friends.”
Vicky is pointing at the street behind the garden of the hotel next door. “There’s no time to change it now, guys. We really have to go.” She sticks out her arm. “Just grab my hand so I know you’re still with us.”
Taylar raises his arm, too. “Charlie, grab mine.”
I smile at my best friend. “At least we can still see each other.”
We file into the street unseen. Even if we didn’t know where to find the police station, it wouldn’t be hard to find. A small army of lizards with tentacles for feet is making its way down Main Street. They are hissing eagerly, as if they can already smell their prey.
“We’ll never make it in time,” I say.
No one responds, so I pull at Vicky’s arm. “We have to create a distraction. Make them turn back.”
Still no answer. Vicky just keeps walking and the others don’t even look up.
I meet Charlie’s eye beside me. “They can’t hear us either?”
“Guys? Stop for a sec,” he says.
Everyone keeps walking.
We pull at the same time, making Vicky and Taylar come to a sudden halt.
“What is it?” Vicky asks.
“We need a distraction, or we’ll never make it,” I repeat.
Vicky’
s eyes search for my face. “Dante? I can’t hear you. Can you write down what you want to say?”
“Good thinking.” I pull out my Book of Spells, but realize I don’t have a pen.
Vicky has probably come to the same conclusion. She reaches into her endless pocket and holds one up.
I grab it and let go of her hand for a second to rip out a page.
D’Maeo steps toward us. “There’s no time for this. I’m not sure we’ll make it at all. The demons are moving fast. We should create some sort of distraction.”
“Yes!” I call out.
Vicky nods in approval. “That’s a good idea. Dante, squeeze my hand if you agree.”
I quickly obey.
“Is that what you wanted to say?” she asks, staring past my face.
I squeeze again.
“Okay, great.” She gives me a small smile that is lost on the lamppost beside me. “But we’ll have to come up with something fast.”
Maël gestures with her staff. “We should keep walking while we think.”
After only a couple of steps, I let go of Vicky’s hand so I can stuff my book back into place and take out Dad’s notebook. As I flip through it I find exactly what I was hoping for. “I’ve got something,” I tell Charlie. “There’s a new spell in Dad’s notebook.”
“Great! Write down what you need.”
As fast as I can without making it illegible, I scribble down the ingredients. At the top of the page, I write a message for the Shield.
Found spell to create fake army. Combine with Jeep’s army.
Vicky’s eyes scan the page as soon as I hand it to her.
“Sounds like a plan,” she says and she explains it to the others.
Jeep is already rolling up his sleeves. “I’m on it.”
As he starts waving his hands around to wake the dead, Vicky is emptying her pocket again.
She places two hand mirrors and a small doll on the ground in front of her and sprinkles the doll with salt.
“If you drop a little blood on it, the army will look more real,” she tells me.
With my athame, I make a small incision in my fingertip. When a drop hits the doll, Vicky creates a circle of ground nutmeg, Mexican calea and salvia leaves. Then she steps back. “Ready.”
Cards of Death Box Set Page 60
