Celestial Shadows, page 21
part #4 of Celestial Marked Series
She staggered forwards a step, her wings still weeping blood. “It’ll burn itself out.”
“What’s Zadok even doing over there?” I stepped closer to the lights, staring up at the tower. It was a literal mirror image of his old home on Babylon. “Letting you run away? I’d have thought he’d want to finish you off, too.”
“He did,” she said matter-of-factly. “He stole the essence of what I am. I’m not long for this… world.” She sank back down to the earth.
“You’re dying, aren’t you?”
She crawled to her knees. “I was dying the moment he cast me out of my own realm.”
More like the moment you tried to steal Babylon from Nikolas. And I’d given her Pandemonium, only for her to lose that world to someone she’d deceived.
If she died now, Lythocrax’s true name wouldn’t spread amongst the demons the way he’d thought it would. Unless I told them, but that wouldn’t end the war.
“I’ll finish Lythocrax off,” I said to Abyss, taking my eyes off the portal and looking into hers. Ancient pits of darkness stared back with the weight of centuries. She was old, and tired, and broken. “I swear I will. But I’m going to need help. I can’t hurt him with magic, because he’s the one who marked me.”
“Then take what I have left.”
Her magic slammed into my demon mark, filling my body with a fiery light.
21
I blinked awake, confused as to why I lay on a bed, and not a wasteland covered in debris, demon venom and corpses. And the fallen—
“Don’t move,” said Rachel. “You’re in a frightful state, according to Nikolas.”
I coughed, blinking around at Nikolas’s bedroom. “Why am I here?”
The last thing I remembered was my body shaking with Abyss’s power as it filled my demon mark to capacity, and falling onto the demonglass shards besides the glittering portal. My magic must have brought me home. Considering I’d been halfway to losing consciousness, it was damned lucky that I’d ended up on earth at all.
She looked at me oddly. “What do you think happened? There’s been a few demon attacks, but nothing earth-shattering. Literally.”
I rubbed my eyes, relieved to find my hands in working order. “For a start, Nikolas was held captive in a portal around this house the last time I checked. And so were you. The fallen… they’re gone.” They hadn’t come with me. Lythocrax had them now.
Rachel bowed her head. “Yeah, that thing was nasty. Luckily, Fiona’s human enough not to have been affected, so I called her, and she got Niko and I out of the demon trap and we took it to pieces. But the portal you went through was gone by then. Niko’s been losing his mind—he blamed the guild, for a start. And Javos. He said that an evil thing that looked like you was responsible.”
“Shit. I didn’t even see where that monster disappeared to. Last I saw, the fallen were attacking her, but Abyss broke through a portal from Pandemonium and interrupted.”
Her eyes widened. “She did?”
I took in a deep breath. “She’s not the important part. Lythocrax is a rebel spy from some faction of heaven. He’s behind the warlock murders. He’s sent this clone who looks like me to cause havoc, but he flew away when Abyss came through. He killed her.”
She swore in the demon tongue. “Damn. Really?”
“She gave me a present, though.” I twitched my demon marked hand.
“You can use her power?”
“Yep. I can… wow. I can turn into anybody at all.”
She raised an eyebrow. “So can I, and I can’t think of a way out of this shit show.”
“It’s more than transformation magic,” I said, recalling the false inspector. “I can become them—even absorb their memories and mannerisms. Might be helpful. But I only have her magic temporarily, and she was dying when she gave it to me. Don’t get any ideas. Aren’t you a little worried about how every one of us massively underestimated Zadok?”
Her brow wrinkled. “Wait, he’s in Pandemonium? I thought you were implying Casthus did it.”
“Where’s Nikolas? He’d know.”
“He’s with Javos. There’s been a… situation.”
Ah. “You’re borrowing Nikolas’s understatements again.”
“Niko decided now was the perfect time to inform Javos that he intends to depose him as leader of the warlocks.”
I half sat up. “Seriously? He picks right this minute, while all hell is breaking loose?”
“I don’t think it was planned. He was incredibly pissed off at your disappearance and near-death. I think you’re driving him out of his mind.”
“I don’t know, maybe it’s the fact that his brother just staged a massive coup and took over a city meant for an arch-demon, too?”
“I didn’t think he knew,” she said. “I certainly didn’t. Seven hells. You can tell him. I’ve had enough of my family attacking one another as it is.” Her tone edged into uncharacteristic prickliness. I didn’t blame her. She’d had to ditch Javos, and her monstrous adoptive brother had taken over her former home.
I sat up properly, swinging my legs over the bed’s side. “Sorry, Rachel.”
She shrugged one shoulder with an attempt at her usual casual attitude. “It’s not your fault. The only one of the culprits you have any control over is Niko, and he must have known you’d be fine. But you should probably go and tell him you’re alive.”
“I’m in his house,” I pointed out. “Is Fiona okay?”
“Yeah, I sent her home in case this place was attacked again. She’s fine. Do you feel up to walking?”
“Now you mention it… yes.” The aches of the battle hadn’t faded, but if anything, I felt energised. Because Abyss had given me her magic. She’d chosen to give me her power. To kill Lythocrax.
And I’ll kill that Devi clone along with him.
I got to my feet, and drank from the glass of water someone had left on the bedside table. “Nikolas is at Javos’s place?”
“Yep. He’s been there a good ten minutes. I can’t get through to his phone, so I left a message saying you came back here.”
“Good. Javos isn’t going to be happy I let the killer slip through my fingers again.”
“And now he’s losing his title,” said Rachel. “It’s pretty clear Niko wants him out of here. I’m not blaming you—it’s his own damn fault for forgetting he was dealing with a human. But I think Niko would have reacted the same if you were a warlock, too.”
“Yes, I know you all resolve your problems by punching one another,” I said. “If Javos was a human, he’d be jailed for nearly strangling me, so he’s getting off easy. Lucky for him, I’m more pissed off with Lythocrax.”
More like raging mad. Like a sleeping beast inside me, my rage coiled up, waiting to strike and unleash its wrath on the monster who’d wrecked my life. But not yet.
Soon.
Rachel squinted at me. “You look… different.”
“I just took in another arch-demon’s power,” I said evasively. “I’ll be fine once I figure out how to use it. Hmm. So I can take any person and become them… not arch-demons, I’d guess.”
“Nope. Niko said she used to conquer worlds by replacing important diplomats and having them assassinate one another or otherwise bring down their overlords.”
“She did have a battle form, but she wasn’t that strong,” I said. “I assume she didn’t actually kill any arch-demons.”
“No, just stole from them. Armies, worlds… most wouldn’t miss her. But I never expected Zadok to replace her. He’s always been the weak link.”
“I think he played on that,” I said. “The real question is—did he do anything while he was here? We thought he was a prisoner. He hid his recovery well.”
But if he’d meddled here, surely one of us would have found out. On the other hand, I hadn’t believed him capable of conquering an entire city either. I guess it’s on Casthus as to whether he gets to keep it or not, then. Or me. Because I was apparently in the business of accidentally causing massive changes in the war between realms.
After changing into a fresh outfit, I walked to the lab to replace my supplies. I’d lost all my weapons and all my demonglass, too, which wasn’t ideal. I didn’t have an infinite supply. Even Lythocrax didn’t, which struck me as odd considering his—and my—magic was tied to it. But I hadn’t seen the entirety of the realm he ruled over.
“I’m not driving there. I think my car’s taken enough abuse,” I said, holding up a handful of demonglass. “Ready?”
Rachel nodded. “For the record, am I telling Javos about all this? I don’t know if Niko told him about the fallen, but he does know the killer worked with Lythocrax and you went after him.”
“Honestly, it’s not Lythocrax pulling the strings. He’s with… heaven, kind of. He fell on purpose, but he’s not the orchestrator.”
No… someone else had been responsible for sending me on that mission. A person who’d planted those saphor demon eggs, and by extension, murdered Rory.
Someone at the celestial guild.
But the guild had to wait. Lythocrax had stolen the fallen from me, to form his own army, and while I didn’t know who was responsible in this realm, I knew the person who’d really laid the trap. I’d been angry with the guild after Rory had died, but I’d never had a real target. I did now.
“He fell on purpose,” Rachel repeated. “Why?”
“As a spy, from a rebel faction of heaven,” I said. “But he couldn’t get into any demon realms until recently. Now his world has been linked with Pandemonium, though, who knows what will happen?”
Only Babylon linked directly to earth, but his servant had already been running in and out of this realm from Purgatory. I didn’t have time to pick a fight with Javos, not when we needed an army of our own to face what was coming. But with one group of allies missing and the other potentially on the enemy’s side, the warlocks were a safer bet.
The instant Rachel and I transported ourselves into my lab at the warlocks’ guild, shouts erupted from outside the door. The room itself looked much the same as the last time I’d been here, my supplies still strewn everywhere, like nobody had been in the room since I’d quit. But unfamiliar voices came from down the corridor.
“Shit. The other warlocks.”
I’d bet Javos had told them he’d found out who the murderer was. Please say they don’t know she looks like me.
I pushed open the door and walked out into the corridor. A group of warlocks had gathered outside Javos’s office—not a room he generally used much, considering he was usually marching around giving orders. My celestial light chose that moment to switch on, and I quickly stuck my left hand deep in my pocket. Better to assess the situation before barging in. Everyone was too fixated on the room beyond to notice Rachel and I slip into the crowd. Inside, Javos was shouting— “Get them out. This is confidential information.”
“The hell it is,” Nikolas snapped. “You’re not qualified to lead the warlocks of this city and it’s time for someone else to step in before you do irreversible damage.”
“Hear hear,” said Rachel.
All eyes turned to us. I gave her an accusing look, then shrugged. “I back Nikolas. For the record. Not sure if I get a vote. Also, fair warning: I think Lythocrax the arch-demon is probably going to attack the city.”
“What have you done this time?” Javos demanded.
Nikolas spared me a glance—relief mixed with fury—and then turned back to him. “As I tried to tell you, the demon who took Devi is the one who’s been killing warlocks.”
“Technically, it was someone else giving the orders, but yep,” I said, over the warlocks’ protests. “The arch-demon Lythocrax created a being, using his creation magic, and it seems to have a type of celestial power. He’s been sending it to attack warlocks, to frame the celestials.”
“And just how do you claim he’s doing this?” Javos asked. “You let those celestials get away with hiding outside the city. Not anymore. I’ve already sent a team of warlocks after them.”
Oh, for the Divinities’ sakes. “You idiot,” I snapped. “They’re hardly the most important thing you should be worried about at the moment. It’s Lythocrax who has an army.”
Damn. The warlocks here didn’t even know about the fallen. But maybe they couldn’t be saved now.
“Devi,” said Javos, “my brother has those rogues of yours within sight. At one word from me, he will destroy them. And if you think I’m merciless, he makes me look positively mild.”
Everyone froze. Power vibrated out from Javos’s formidable form, and every warlock in the hallway began to rise into the air. Hands, talons and claws grabbed the walls and floor, some knocking into one another in an attempt to break the spell. Some demons shifted into scarier forms. Auras surged, magic flaring in an burst of lights that nearly sent my demon mark catatonic.
Javos had levitated every warlock in the corridor—and he wasn’t about to stop.
“Stop that!” I shouted at him. “Stop it—”
The walls trembled, the bricks shifting. Too late for classical music. The whole place was about to come crashing down.
Nikolas’s wings extended, followed by dark-edged lightning. It hit Javos with the force of a truck, sending him flying into the wall. The brick gave way beneath the onslaught of magic, and panic shot through my nerves. I reached out with my demon marked hand, grabbed Javos’s magic and pushed. My borrowed telekinetic power smashed into the rapidly collapsing ceiling. Crap. Didn’t mean to do that. I let a slower trickle of power flow from my palm, and the pieces of falling brick stilled. But I hadn’t practised nearly enough to use his magic on the whole house.
“Get out!” I yelled. “If his magic switches off, we’re all dead.”
Black lightning burst from Nikolas’s palms, and the stunned warlocks snapped into action. Some ran for cover away from the teetering walls and ceiling, while others formed shields or deflected the falling debris. The more sensible made for the doors, and a sudden rush of telekinetic power hit the collapsing ceiling. The debris shot out in all directions, leaving the ceiling open to the sky. Dark lightning collided with another blast of telekinetic magic, pushing the house’s remains away from the warlocks fleeing for their lives. The moment the last warlock left the building, I ran back to Nikolas, where he and Javos remained in the wrecked office. As I watched, he drew back and punched Javos so hard on the jaw that the warlock left the ground, hitting the debris-strewn earth with a bone-shaking crunch.
Everything stilled. We stood in a circle of debris, in an echoing silence. Javos didn’t get up. Out cold, probably.
Nikolas looked up at me. His expression couldn’t say I did that for you more clearly if he’d spoken aloud.
“Hey,” I said. “I got out of hell.” I moved closer and hugged him. He hissed in pain, holding his hand at an awkward angle. Ouch. He’d hit Javos so hard he’d broken bones.
“Sorry,” I said. “Someone’s going to sleep through all the fun.”
“Someone’s going to wake up and find his leadership position has been revoked.” He shook his hand, healed once again. “Let’s go.”
Lights flashed up and down the street. Portals opening. Great timing there, Lythocrax. We were too late to warn anyone—the battle was already here.
“What the hell are those lights?” I asked aloud. “Those can’t all be portals—”
“Demonglass,” he said.
Someone had left demonglass scattered in the street, and countless demons surged through, along with the fallen.
Lythocrax’s army had arrived.
22
“Watch it,” I warned the warlocks, some of whom still looked stunned, as though they thought the sudden demon attack was somehow connected with the collapsing building. “They can’t be killed. They’ll just come back to life.”
And they wouldn’t stop, not until I’d taken down their creator.
I broke into a sprint. I’d know if the arch-demon was in this realm, but the evil Devi-clone was another story.
My demon mark seared my palm, reminding me of the magic within it. Abyss’s power. No time for a test run, so I’d be relying on my usual celestial abilities in this fight.
Nikolas took to the sky, his wings beating. Wait a moment. If I turned into a winged demon, I’d be able to fly after Lythocrax no matter where he was hiding.
Way to overlook the obvious, Devi.
“Trap the fallen in pentagrams,” I told the warlocks. “The only way to stop them is to contain them. Get props, pentagrams—anything. Hell, grab Javos if he wakes up and strong-arm him into using his telekinetic ability to keep them off the ground. I’m sure he’s capable of it. His weakness is classical music, by the way.”
I didn’t wait for an answer. I ran through the warlocks, yelling the same instructions to everyone who would listen. Nikolas landed beside me, his wings edged in darkness. “Are you ready?”
“To find Lythocrax? Yes. Can I trust you to handle the fort here?”
“It’ll have to be Rachel,” he said. “Javos sent several warlock allies of ours after those rogue celestials. Someone has to warn them they’re heading into a trap.”
“Oh shit.” Like it or not, Nikolas’s allegiance was to the warlocks over the fallen. “Okay. Do it. The other warlocks have their instructions.”
The Grade Fours were unpredictable and still thought me an ally, but that would change if the warlocks reached them first. I hoped Nikolas would stop them in time.
I took in a breath. “I’m not much use in dealing with the celestials. I’m going after Lythocrax. This is all on him. If I can stop him—”
“You can.”
He kissed me full on the mouth, his arms wrapping around me. His wings were still out, his eyes still flickering with golden light. He wasn’t just saying goodbye: he was offering a challenge to the other warlocks not to stop me.
Time to make you pay, Lythocrax.
I gripped the demonglass tight in my hand. Light exploded behind my eyes, and flames danced around me. A moment later—
