Dark Cotillion (First in the Brenna Strachan Series)

by Hadena James

  “Very good,” Levi gave a small clap of approval. “I’m surprised you had it in you, Abaddon.”

  “I’m surprised you didn’t, Leviathan.” His eyes stopped glowing and he let go of me. “Now, do you know who you are? Now do you understand what you are? Are you ready to accept your responsibility and take your place as a Lieutenant of Demonnation, a protector of Mankind?”

  “I am,” as I said the words, my brain completely cleared. I could see everything. All the magic, in its true beauty and power.

  “Then repeat after me,” Lucifer’s voice suddenly cut through the air.

  “You are not to be here, father.”

  “And you must take your Oath before this battle begins. I am the only one who can administer it.”

  “Fine,” I looked at him and felt different. He was still my father and I his daughter, but there was something else. He was also my Overlord, perhaps for the first time I saw him as the ruler of Demonnation and as the First Among Equals, First of the Nine.

  “I swear on my blood that I will, from this day forth, serve Demonnation as I find possible. It is my responsibility and duty to protect Demons who are below me, assist Demons who outrank me and serve my Overlord. Humanity is also my responsibility and each one that dies at the hands of an Elder shall be avenged. I will also avenge any Humans killed at the hands of one of the beasts we swear to protect them against. Do you, Brenna Strachan, swear to protect Humanity from Elders? Do you swear to protect Demonnation from the evil that walks the land?”

  “I do, My Lord,” I bowed before him.

  “Then I declare that you are now a full member of Demonnation and no longer just a Demonling.”

  “Thank you,” I raised up.

  “I wondered if this day would come,” Lucifer gave me a look. “For a while, I thought you would become so bogged down in all of what you think you should be that you would fail to realize who you really are.”

  “I know who I am,” I turned to my uncle, “thanks to Abaddon.”

  “Every Demon needs to be shown the way, more so with you because you insist in hiding in the background,” Abaddon responded. “Now, get your sword and stand with us. Stand with all of us.”

  This last sentence seemed to have weight to it. It was about more than just The Nine. More than just Demonnation. It was the entire allied Elder world. More importantly on a personal note, I stood with the Overlords that were bound to me.

  “Good Demon,” Gregorian gave me a smile of approval, “I knew you had it in you.”

  “Thank you, Gregorian.” I smiled back. “No need to rush off and get the sword.”

  It took two tries, but the sword actually came to me. It floated on a magical current and stopped in front of me, hilt at hand level. I took hold of it and felt the magic of it. I could do this.

  “Where is he, Magnus?” Levi shouted.

  “I don’t see him,” Magnus responded, “I don’t see his magic. Only Brenna does.”

  “He is…” I pointed into the trees. “Not far.”

  “How fa…” Lucifer began to ask. He stopped when the ground began to rumble. Smoke became visible over the tree line.

  “Why do they call him a Hell-hound? There is no such thing.” I asked randomly.

  “Does it matter?” Someone hissed at me.

  “It might,” the smoke was getting closer. The ground was shaking harder. There was far more than just Cerebus.

  “Because his skin can cause matter to burst into flame.” Lucifer told me.

  “Interesting and disturbing. I count at least three hundred different magical signatures with Cerebus.” I told him.

  “There should be more than that,” Pendragon said.

  “No, each species has their own unique signature. I see three hundred different signatures. That means at least three hundred species. But Cerebus’s magical cloud is much bigger than the others, it could be hiding some.”

  “Well, how many do you think there are?” Levi asked.

  “Seven hundred and sixty five spirits,” my mother’s voice came into the background.

  “There you have it.” I looked at Anubis. “That’s a lot.”

  “Nah, we can take them easily,” Anubis responded. “Just remember, if things get too bad, get as far away and as fast as possible.”

  “Demons!” Lucifer bellowed.

  “Angels!” Gabriel followed suit.

  “Vampires!” Anubis shouted.

  “Lycans!” Fenrir howled.

  There were shouts in response to these cries. I was guessing they were battle cries. Cerebus broke through the trees.

  I took a step back. The three headed monster was enormous. He made the Chimeras look like tiny ponies. His flesh looked like molten rock. And clustered at his feet were what I could only imagine were the Minotaurs. I tried not to shudder.

  “Brenna, just remember that you are both Demon and Witch. While you may not have a ton of control, you can still use magic and be helpful,” Anubis whispered.

  “Uh, thanks for the reminder,” I didn’t look at him. I was too busy focusing on Cerebus. He had short, almost bristly looking fur that was some color between red and black. Each head was as big as a Suburban and his entire body must have been 50 feet tall. This was accented by the fact that he was longer, closer to 100 feet, not counting his tail. His tail didn’t look like anything special though, it was just a tail covered with fur that seemed unable to wag. It created a u-shape behind his body. Just his toe nails were nearly as tall as I was and attached to massive paws that looked like they would have no trouble stamping down a building.

  He tossed one of the massive heads skyward and let out a mournful howl. It made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Nothing seemed to be moving. Even the Earth seemed to fail to rotate on its axis as it let out that sound.

  I understood why they referred to him as a hell-hound. He could convince even the most hardened atheist to start praying. My current goal was not to wet my pants. It wasn’t just fear that Cerebus inspired, it was absolutely terror. He was as immortal as any of us and far more dangerous.

  Suddenly, the Minotaurs, Dragons, and Wyverns didn’t seem so bad. At least they seemed to have weaknesses. At least they weren’t the same size as a very large building with immortality running through their veins.

  The howl ended and everything got deadly silent. I waited to hear the blast of trumpets that always seem to accompany Seraphim when they descend from Heaven to kill all the Humans. I didn’t know why, but that was exactly what I was expecting.

  And yet, we were waiting. I didn’t know what on, but neither side was advancing or doing anything menacing. Only that howl had happened and everyone was standing completely still. I was personally afraid to breathe. I had never been involved in true Elder combat, but I didn’t think it was going to be very pretty.

  My father stepped forward. His horns were at their full length. I didn’t know when or how they had grown out. He kept them ground down to a more manageable five feet, now they towered nearly seven feet over his head. His body was glowing. He was staring at Cerebus.

  “Chiron!” He bellowed into the air. “This is what you send to do your bidding? You send mortals and creatures. Are you a coward? Too afraid to face one Maturing Demon on your own?”

  I frowned at that. I didn’t know what he was doing, but I’m pretty sure Lucifer baiting the psycho Centaur was not a good idea. I took a slow, steady breath, and bit my tongue to keep from pointing this out to him.

  “Chiron!” He bellowed again. The Nine were all starting to glow as well. Each Demon filling with rage, feeding off of their brother’s pain and hate.

  “This is going to be bad,” I whispered as quietly as possible to Anubis.

  “You have no idea,” he whispered back.

  “Chiron!” My father’s voice cut through the night again. It was deeper than I had ever heard it before. Cerebus lowered his heads to the ground and whined. I imagined it was vibrating so hard against his ear drums that it h
urt. It was nearly hurting mine.

  “Lucifer,” Chiron’s voice finally came through the dark. “I warned you before, but you never listen. After all, I’m just a Centaur and what do Centaurs know.”

  “Step out, Coward,” Lucifer’s voice vibrated inside of me.

  Chiron laughed from his hiding spot, “No, I think not, Demon. I am not in awe of you like the other Overlords. You have no say over what I do. To face you one on one would mean my death. I am not stupid.”

  The statement confused me, but I didn’t ask anyone to clarify. Could my father really kill any thing that he wanted? I didn’t know and it seemed unlikely.

  “So, you will send others to die for you?” Lucifer chided. He wasn’t just glowing anymore; he was bright enough that the entire field was bathed in blood red light.

  “Fine, then issue your challenge directly, Chiron, stop this nonsense,” Leviathan said loudly. If looks could kill, he would have died where he stood. Lucifer whipped his head around and glared at Leviathan.

  “I do not know what she can do and I don’t imagine it would end well for me. Besides, I do not trust the rest of you not to help her.” Chiron finally stepped in front of Cerebus.

  “But she can challenge you,” Beezel responded. There was a hand on my back that shoved me forward. I was suddenly standing much closer to my father and much further from the safety of those around me.

  There was a voice in my head. “Challenge him to a duel; he will be mortal during it. You can kill him.”

  I didn’t know who the voice belonged to or why they thought I should challenge Chiron to a duel. I did believe that it was a good way to get myself killed.

  “She would never,” Chiron smiled, “she is already mortal.”

  “You’re right,” I answered, suddenly feeling emboldened, “I am mortal. Which means that challenge you or not, I could die tonight. I might as well take you with me.”

  “What?” Chiron’s mouth became a gaping hole.

  “I challenge you to a fight to the death.” I repeated the words that were being said in my head. “I win, you die. You win, I die. Simple as that. Fail to take the challenge and you give up your position as Overlord. You are obviously not strong enough to protect and lead your people.”

  “The Challenge has been issued,” Leviathan nodded at me, “what say you, Chiron?”

  “Evil, conniving bitch,” Chiron hissed at me. “You are too young to realize exactly how stupid you are for doing that.”

  “And you are too consumed with hatred and fear to understand why I did it,” I told him.

  “Chiron,” Lucifer’s voice cut us both off, “Brenna Strachan has issued you a challenge, a fight to the death. Will you accept her terms?”

  “Do I have a choice?” He spat the words out at my father.

  Lucifer turned to look at me. There was something in his eyes, something unreadable. I was guessing he was none too happy with me. I could understand that.

  “Fine,” Lucifer called for Magnus.

  Magnus brought both of us into a circle of power. I could see the magic beginning at the ground and stretching up past the stars. It would remain until one of us was dead. Chiron was still half horse and I was a pretty wimpy Demon. The sword was my only real strength against him and I wasn’t sure how it would do.

  Just before Magnus closed the circle, a third person entered. The circle closed. The voice spoke to me again.

  “Sorry, Bren, I couldn’t let Lucifer issue the challenge and he was about to do so. If you kill Chiron, this group of rabble becomes disorganized and easier to defeat. However, if Chiron managed to kill Lucifer, all hell would have broken loose. On the flip side, if Chiron kills you and takes the Overlords with you, I imagine all hell will still break loose.”

  I turned and peered through the magic to find the speaker. No one stood out. Instead, they all stared back at me, each looking like they always did. I searched harder.

  “Niece, a piece of advice,” the voice started again, “let instinct and the Strachan Sword guide you. It will know what to do; it has Chiron’s blood in it. Try to defeat the horse before you defeat the man. His powerful body will be your greatest challenge. And it is very possible that Pendragon will keep you from pulling magic from the circle.”

  “How did you know that was part of my plan?” I asked aloud.

  “Because, I know you,” Mammon moved his lips this time, but his voice was still in my head. “The circle will also protect you from anything on the outside. Chiron is now your only concern. Cerebus, the Minotaurs, the Dragons, Wyverns, none of them can cross the circle.”

  Cerebus raised all three heads to the sky and howled. The sound was deafening. Chiron sneered.

  “Kill him,” Mammon said as the Minotaurs suddenly surged forward. Outside the circle a battle began. Inside the circle, Chiron was staring at me with such hatred and fear that I didn’t know whether to hate him back or pity him.

  “Are you both ready?” Pendragon asked.

  “First, I have a question,” Chiron narrowed his eyes at me. “How does it feel to know that your uncle sent you to the slaughter?”

  I laughed, “No, he sent me to do the slaughtering. Better me than my father, in his opinion.”

  I raised the sword. It hummed in my hands. It wanted to draw blood. My feelings being expressed through the humming of the sword.

  “Do you really believe that?” Chiron asked.

  “Was he talking in your head?” I countered.

  “No,” Chiron responded.

  “Then yes, I really believe that. Besides, my death would be bad for the brothers as well as the Council and the Elders in general. He would not have told me to do it, if he didn’t believe I could win.” I smiled. The words rang true as I said them.

  “I’m ready,” I told Pendragon.

  “Same,” Chiron had a tone to his voice.

  The world faded away. There was no baying hell-hound, no snorting Minotaurs, no glowing Demons. There was just the circle, Pendragon, Chiron, and myself.

  “Overlord Chiron,” Pendragon spoke, “you have been challenged to a fight to the death by the Demon Lieutenant Brenna Strachan and have accepted. Should you lose, one of your brethren will be imbued with the power of the Overlord to ensure that your brethren have a leader. Do you understand this challenge?”

  “I do,” Chiron snorted.

  “Brenna Strachan, you have issued the challenge. Failure will result in your death and the loss of a Lieutenant in Demonnation. That is a position that can never be replaced. You will leave Demonnation with a vacant chair. Do you understand the challenge?”

  “I do,” I really didn’t, but that was sort of how I figured it would go. I felt like I was playing solitaire with a deck that was short thirty cards.

  “Then by the rules of the challenge,” Pendragon touched the forehead of Chiron. There was a noise, something dreadful and indescribable. I watched magic, pure white, drain from Chiron and enter Pendragon. “Overlord, you are now mortal.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chiron moved lightning fast. I wasn’t even sure Pendragon had stepped away from him when he kicked me square in the chest with his front hooves. I fell to the ground, gasping for air. He was on me again, trying to stomp on me. I rolled just in time and felt the sword fall from my fingers. I grasped at it and rolled again, his hoof brushing my ear. Blood was pouring from it, dripping onto the ground. I could hear it.

  I swung up with all my might, which didn’t actually take much effort. I felt the sword strike bone, hesitate for less than a second and cleave through it. Chiron screamed with rage and pain. I smiled and got to my feet. He had lost a leg, but it didn’t seem to impede him. I had always thought that if a horse broke a leg, you had to put it down, but I guess that didn’t apply to Centaurs.

  He came at me again. His hands and arms outstretched. I went to swing the sword, but he caught my arm. Chiron jerked me into him, not enough room to move the sword even with the other hand. His face was only milli
meters from mine. He bit. I felt his teeth sink into the flesh of my cheek. I jerked, felt the skin tear away. Felt more blood. Something inside told me that I was losing. I couldn’t break free from his grasp. He slammed his forehead into mine and the world seemed to slide a bit on its axis. He did it again, I had just enough time to move down and tilt my head just a bit. He impaled his forehead on the tiny horns that my hair had successfully hidden since birth.

  It was his turn to jerk. He yanked his head off of mine, tossing me aside with one hand. I hit the wall of magic and fell down it. My head felt fuzzy. He was bellowing again, this time it seemed to be words, but the words were lost to me. If I blacked out, I was as good as dead. I struggled to maintain consciousness, struggled to get to my feet. The sword was gone again. The warm metal no longer in my hand. I tried to look for it, but my eyes wouldn’t focus on anything except the Centaur that was charging at me.

  I closed my eyes and felt magic. The circle was pure magic and under that, there was another type, it was Pendragon. I tried to pull it. Tried to pull the magic and couldn’t. Chiron was on top of me now. He grabbed me by the front of my shirt and brought me off the ground. My feet were dangling. I had lost.

  “Now then, Demon,” Chiron spat in my face. It was warm and smelled of blood. “Let’s see how the world gets along without you.”

  I reacted without thinking. I kicked out and found his diaphragm. The air rasped out of him and he nearly doubled over. His grip loosened some, but he didn’t drop me. I brought my head down on top of his. Felt my head fracture. If I was going to die, I was going to make sure he went with me. I rammed one horn into his eye and pushed up against the eye socket. I felt the horn start to break. Chiron dropped me, screaming. But I had grabbed a handful of his hair and was bringing him with me as I went to the ground. The horn gave a little more and I pushed up as hard as I could and felt it break. We were both bathed in heat. More screaming. I didn’t know whether it was Chiron, or me, or both, but I had a good feeling it was both. He came free of me. I fell to the ground and felt the flames hit the circle of magic. It shivered, but didn’t break. The fire died.