The Nightshade Guild: Half-Blood Mage, page 3
Instead of shoving Myra outside, Demi pulled her in and shut the door, ignoring the flutter of panic in her gut that extended like a creeping vein spreading hopelessness in its wake. With a quick wave of her hand, the alarm bells muffled, and the wind died down. She focused her power, feeling the transformation overtake her as she mentally recited the exorcism incantations and forced Myra against the door.
The demon within her friend howled out. “I’m merely the first. Give me the princess, and I’ll let this meat bag go.”
“You’ll visit hell before you touch the princess.” She called forth the symbols, the invisible etched runes that would serve as part of the exorcism circle. On the ceiling, wall, and door, she’d placed them throughout her loft apartment for this exact possibility. Except… no one had ever breached here before.
She couldn’t let fear intervene now. A glance showed Ameria walking toward them, and Demi summoned a barrier to prevent the princess from getting too close. The princess appeared intrigued, reaching out to touch the invisible wall.
“There’s the Elven bitch.”
Heat rose within her, the demon part of her eager to lash out with flame and fury.
“Shut up, hellspawn,” Demi growled, allowing her power to come forth.
The demon’s voice was effectively silenced by her silver tongue, so the next steps were all a mental exercise she’d practiced over and over. She recited the incantations of exorcism and the rites of passage to open a gateway and expel the beast. To separate evil from the earthly plane. Demi could feel the pull on her strength, power rippling through her body like a rising wave and an aura of white cresting around and above her acting as a cocoon. She summoned magic to banish, enhanced by her own demonic power, which gave her an extra boost of endurance.
The howls from Myra grew worse, her body shaking and palms pounding against the door. The wood cracked under the severe pressure, but then the demonic presence was gone, only confirmed by the complete silence of the alarm.
Demi warred between dropping the barrier to take care of Ameria who now cried and wailed and checking on her friend. Thunderclouds gathered above them, summoned by the princess’s fury.
Except, Myra had to come first. Demi needed to be sure the demon was gone. She rushed to Myra’s side, gently releasing the levitating hold on her friend before letting Myra’s body float to the ground. Thankfully, her breathing appeared even and steady.
“You’re going to need a stiff drink after all this,” Demi said as she crouched next to Myra and rubbed her shoulders.
Myra’s head snapped up, but her eyes weren’t normal. They were no longer red but a blend of a storm, gray, black, red, blue, yellow. Horrifying. Myra grabbed Demi’s arm and held tight—far tighter than she would’ve expected possible. “For an exorcist, you should know that when you open a door, things can travel in both directions.”
The voice wasn’t Myra’s any longer but multiple voices, overlapping with high notes, low notes… Legion. Her mother had warned of such a demon many years before, and though Demi had heard whispers the beast was on the loose, she’d not encountered him—no, them.
Demi tugged at the hold on her arm. “You’re not… let me go.”
“Give us the princess, and all will be well.”
The grip tightened, and the pressure on her bones increased. A little more and her arm would break. But to take action meant hurting Myra, her best friend. Her heart ached, as if stabbed by a sharp dagger. Her limbs were heavy with the weight of what she’d done, exposing the one person closest to her. This was the situation Demi feared the most, why Myra should have stayed far away from her.
Too late now.
Demi summoned her own strength, tapping into the part of her she abhorred, and her flesh heated as she did. “Release me.”
The force of the words worked, and Legion let go. Demi mentally shoved her friend’s body into the door. Demi scrambled backwards on her feet and hands like an upside-down crab until she crossed the barrier.
Ameria cried out and held her arms toward her. “Me. Demi.”
Demi snatched the girl up and ran for the couch. “It’s okay, princess, we can still get out of here.”
The alarms began to vibrate again throughout the room, signaling Demi’s momentary win was at an end. There wouldn’t be just demons possessing humans but all manner of hellspawn. Hounds, harpies, and imps were a small taste of what could possibly come for them. She didn’t bother to glance back at the door. Already, tightness gathered within her chest, a sign of a physical assault on her barrier. This was how magic could damage someone, since all mages pulled from themselves to conjure. She forced a few deep breaths in and out as she juggled the princess in one arm while gathering Ameria’s bag and important belongings.
The barrier hissed and crackled behind them. They were out of time, and the sun… Demi glanced at the window.
“It’s gone. We’re going to jump now, princess. Don’t portal.”
A whimper followed, and Ameria’s sweet voice let out a plea. “Go.”
“Yes, we go now.” Demi hustled to the corner of her living room and stepped backward into the shadows as she watched the barrier finally give. Her friend, now possessed by something far worse than a regular demon, stalked toward her. Guilt tugged at her again, the pain so near. She’d carry it with her until she could fix this.
I’ll save you Myra. Some way, somehow.
Then the shadows engulfed them, and Demi latched onto the familiar, an image of Myra’s house across town where they could regroup momentarily. The shadows whipped around her, tendrils of monochrome color, but when they cleared, they weren’t anywhere close to the house. She sighed in frustration at her lack of ability.
Too much of her magic energy had been used on the exorcism, conjuring the extra protection, and repelling Legion. So instead of being miles away, they were in her parking garage, less than a foot from Myra’s SUV. Demi kept a firm hold on Ameria and shrugged her shoulder to elevate the limping strap of the princess’s bag before slinking toward the vehicle.
Maybe I can spark the ignition.
She’d never hotwired a car before, but they needed to get away.
Ameria whimpered again as they made it to the driver’s side door. Hell, she didn’t have a car seat.
“Don’t worry, princess. We’re almost out of here.”
A laugh, deep and forbidding echoed around her. “Dear daughter, I wouldn’t give the Elven girl promises you can’t keep.”
The voice should’ve brought Demi satisfaction, since she’d searched long and hard to find her father over the years. She’d never gotten close enough to hit him after he’d killed her mother, let alone hear his voice. However, in this weakened state with the princess on her hip, she’d be no match for him. She’d fail in her mission to protect the Elven princess from being taken and used or worse, killed.
He stood no more than twelve feet away, approaching her slowly, a figure of pale skin and long white hair. He wore solid black which made those yellow eyes that matched hers stand out. Imps skipped around his feet, baring their hideous smiles of gnarled, pointed teeth as they approached. Fear threatened, and she pushed the gnashing grind in her stomach away. She couldn’t afford to give her emotions any more space.
Shit.
She started the incantation of protection, a low humming of dulcet tones designed to not only summon a circle around them but to alert the other mages. Before Demi could get into the second set of syllables, black smoke whipped through the air and into her nose and mouth, choking her and cutting off her ability to speak.
It swirled around them both as her breathing capacity lessened, and Demi collapsed to her knees. Ameria’s cries increased. Lightning flashed in the sky, and thunder shook the parking garage, more magic from the little girl. The distress in the princess’s voice, the desperation, ripped at Demi’s insides as much as the smoke.
She would die here, never avenging her mother or saving the princess. A failure.
As she started to give in to her fate, the air changed. A fresh breeze whipped against her face, and the smoke momentarily abated. She gasped for breath before glancing up to see a dark figure standing over her.
“I’ll never let you have her,” she muttered, seconds away from closing her eyes. Her power was zapped, her body useless. The threat was more bravado than truth.
Black boots clicked against the pavement right beside her, and a different set of yellow eyes met hers.
Adrian.
“Then it’s a good thing I plan to rescue you both.”
Chapter Four
Adrian didn’t waste time when the princess’s voice invaded his mind.
Come. Help.
The words were clear as day, and he’d seen the stalking, possessed figure of Demi’s friend moving through her loft windows. The princess led him to the parking garage, and he immediately tossed down a repellent ring made of iron and silver.
Demi’s father, Asmodeus, hissed, and his other cronies of imps moved back. Demi was nearly incapacitated, and the princess cried openly.
Adrian couldn’t leave them here. Couldn’t let either of them fall to the demon who’d spawned the woman he loved. Irony at its finest. So, he scooped them both up with ease and flew out of there, using the magic of the levitation runes etched into his back to carry them to safety before Asmodeus could take an action.
The rings were only a temporary solution, but at the very least they’d give them enough time to get far away since demons couldn’t fly. Adrian had to go somewhere Myra would have no knowledge of, but the one place that came to mind would piss Demi off.
So be it.
Two hours later, with the three of them inside the safe house, Adrian started the process of putting up demonic wards just like Demi had shown him all those years ago. The princess was restless at first, but he mesmerized her with a little vamp magic, and she fell right to sleep. How easy would it be to take her now… to fly right back to the queen and deliver the prize that would ensure he kept living?
Except, the princess trusted him and had befriended him. Over the last couple of days, the toddler had grown on him. Sure, he’d been told to track a princess, capture her, and bring her to the queen. But they’d never mentioned she was a small child, nearly a baby.
He set about making a bottle for her with the items in the bag Demi had grabbed. Ameria had taught him how to use her special can of food with a few shared visual memories. He also prepared some hot tea for Demi. Any moment, she’d wake up and probably snap his head off.
At this point, he wasn’t sure how long they’d have before the demons tracked them. He’d barely gotten the hot water poured into a glass before the sharp end of a machete rested against his throat. “I see you got ahold of my trench coat.”
“Where am I, and where is the kid?”
Adrian released his grip on the coffee cup and slid the tea kettle onto the counter. “You’re in a merc safehouse out past Alliance, Kansas. The kid is sleeping in the other room on a bed, surrounded by pillows.”
Because if there was one thing he knew about little humans, it was in the absence of a crib, they needed extra soft protection.
“Where is my father?” The knife had moved only a fraction of an inch, but Adrian hoped she’d let up if he kept talking.
“I don’t have a clue. Probably trying to figure out where we are. I imagine they went to Myra’s house, but I have no way to confirm my suspicions. Won’t take them long to figure out who I am though, and from there…”
“We’ll be easier to locate.” Demi’s attack stance melted away, and she withdrew the machete. Shadows played across her face in the small, crappy kitchen with even worse lighting. Her hair had faded back to black, and her eyes were no longer yellow, all good signs that pointed to her strength returning.
Adrian thrusted a mug of tea toward her. “English Black because that’s all the local gas station had.”
“You left us alone?” Demi took the mug and gripped it tight as if trying to warm herself.
He stalked over to the thermostat on the wall just on the other side of the refrigerator to check the temperature. The open floor plan featured a small living room, two bedrooms, and one bathroom. Add in a kitchen with the bare minimum plus a two-seater eating table and this place could pass for an apartment not a house.
“For five minutes. We needed a kettle for water and tea, along with some ramen. Or have you fully embraced your demonic side and given up eating?”
Demi’s frown expressed plenty as she sipped her tea.
Adrian maintained the distance between them but smiled as he looked her over. His goal ever since he met Demi was to be with her, yet his good intentions were always dashed by the desire to spark her anger. It was the only emotion she seemed willing to display with ease.
The machete sat on the counter beside Demi, and he wasn’t taking any chances. “Besides, I put up the wards like you taught me.”
Her eyes went wide, and she froze, mug halfway to her mouth.
“Shit, Myra.” She set the mug down. “I’ve got to go to her house. Save her and stop them.”
Adrian remembered how close she’d been with Myra. Demi had always said she only had two friends in the world, but then again, Demi had ditched him, so he didn’t know if he still qualified. “All by yourself? What about the kid?”
Demi sighed, her body deflating and shoulders slumping. “Maybe I can…”
“Can what? I’m not a babysitter.” And he didn’t want Demi dead. He needed her back in his life or at least a chance to spend time with her before his own mistakes got him killed.
Even after all the crap she’d put him through, the abandonment and pushing away, he still longed to be close to her more than anything. Yet, he could recall a different side of her. Strolls along nighttime beaches and shared adventures at many wonders of the world where she’d held his hand or allowed him to wrap her in his arms.
They’d fought side-by-side and shared a bed, yet when the time to commit arrived, she ran and tried to take on this mission herself. Fighting demons wasn’t easy work, and now… those demons sought the princess.
“I’m not asking you to be. In fact, I’m not asking you to do anything.” Demi lifted her mug and downed the rest of the tea. That fire living inside her could make even the hottest drink seem cold in comparison. She set the mug down and gave a good roll of her shoulders.
Fuck.
“I’m going to take Ameria and get out of here.” She headed for the hallway, each step filled with stubbornness. He’d seen this walk a million times.
She fought through whatever internal fears she had and shoved off any assistance. He couldn’t stop her, and he wouldn’t. He gripped his own mug until it cracked, and hot tea seeped through the lines where the ceramic no longer held together. He was like this, broken, his heart cleaved in two, and yet he kept trying to fight for something he might never win. The mug fell into the sink and shattered as he doubled over in pain from the binding tattoo on his arm.
He yanked at the faucet nozzle, turning on the water and ripping at the sleeve of his shirt so he could try for a pointless attempt at relief. The cold only numbed the pain slightly. The tattoo had gotten worse, spreading from his forearm with the tendrils snaking upward almost mid-bicep now. They headed for his heart. The words of the bind were etched in his mind from the queen’s torture artist.
Double fuck.
“What the hell is that?” Demi asked, coming back into the room with Ameria perched against her hip. The toddler was still tired, her eyes closed and head resting against Demi’s shoulder. They were a study in opposites with Ameria’s blonde hair and shimmering skin compared to Demi’s dark hair and sallow complexion.
He turned the water off and yanked his sleeve in place. “A burn. Got it fighting imps.”
“You should treat that with something other than water.” She started to move closer, and he panicked. He couldn’t let her see the mark, not yet.
“I thought you didn’t care. So eager to run off and get yourself killed.” The words hit their mark and brought her to halt.
“Okay, then we’re out of here. Keys?”
“I don’t have a vehicle. I flew you both out. My motorcycle is in the parking garage of your place.”
Demi huffed. “There isn’t any transportation?”
“A small town about two miles down the road. You could try to jump, but then daylight is only about fifteen minutes away.”
He couldn’t help but smirk as she clenched her free fist. Add in the tension in her jaw and the rising pulse point in her neck, and she might reach the same level of frustration he did. Maybe she’d get the point... she didn’t need to travel her path alone.
“Then I’ll walk until we can get a vehicle.” She bent and picked up the princess’s bag.
“You don’t have to do all this by yourself.”
“Yes, I do.” Demi headed toward the door, and Adrian followed her. He couldn’t help himself, his foolish heart and head. He was a sucker for punishment, a damn masochist, watching her walk away from him over and over.
Except before she could open the door, an invisible barrier stopped her dead in her tracks. She tried going forward repeatedly only to be held back.
“What the hell? Adrian, this isn’t funny.” She growled in frustration before throwing the bag at the barrier.
Adrian stifled a chuckle. “This isn’t me.”
He glanced at the toddler who was now awake, peeking over Demi’s shoulder at him. She extended a small hand in his direction, and Ameria’s voice echoed in his head.
No go.
“She doesn’t want to leave.”
Demi whirled around and looked at him, then to Ameria. “Princess we can’t stay. We’re better on our own.”
The girl pouted.
“What did you do to her?” Demi’s accusation stung.
He hadn’t done anything yet, but he would have to if he planned on living past the next two weeks. Yet, he had to share some of the truth. “Before I say anything, let me make it clear she reached out to me.”
