“Have you seen my...”
Something hit my back and I turned to find my jeans crumpled behind me on the floor. “Thanks.”
I contemplated the footwear before deciding on some kickass boots I bought at a sample sale a few years back. Black leather with a pressed filigree pattern running up the side. They sat right under my knee, making them the perfect boots for demon hunting. Or at least that was my reasoning and I was sticking to it.
Jax eyed my shoe choice warily as I stepped out of the dressing room.
“Are you sure you want to wear those?”
“What? They are the most practical shoes I own.”
“You are probably right, but, Des, demon hunting might get messy, you love those boots.”
“Whatever, I’ll deal with that if I have to. Come on.”
We headed down to the kitchen where Ava’s giggle could be heard before we even opened the door.
“What is so funny?” I asked, walking into the kitchen to find Ava sitting on her own.
I glanced to the pantry door—it was pulled closed. I flicked my head towards the hidden section where Maylea and I were building up the potion stores, but it too was sealed over.
Fuck.
“Ava, who were you talking to just now?” A lump formed in my throat. My palms became sweaty. My heart beat faster and faster.
Then my father popped up from behind the counter. “You lot finally ready for breakfast?”
I held my hand over my heart. “Dad, why were you hiding down there?”
“I wasn’t hiding, I was getting the bowls.”
“Mum?” Ava asked, tilting her head and frowning the same way her father did when he was worried about me. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, I just thought. Well, you know. You were laughing, and then it looked like no one was here, so...”
“So, you thought I was hearing voices again?”
I nodded and took the stool opposite her. “I did. I’m your mum, Ava, I’m always going to worry about you.”
“I know, Mum, but trust me, if the voices ever come back, you’ll be the first to know.”
I gave her hand a little squeeze. “Good. Now what’s for breakfast?”
“Berries,” Maylea said, opening the door to the hidden pantry. “But you don’t have time for breakfast, we have more potion to finish.”
“More?”
“Yes, the last batch, I promise. Maybe. Regardless, I can’t bottle it until you have added your final touch.”
I rolled my eyes, took a handful of berries from the plate my father laid in front of Ava, and followed Maylea back into the secret pantry.
I added the small drop of magic to the large pots of incomplete potion, then helped her bottle the batches into single portions. There were baskets and baskets of completed potion filling the little store room. Several of her friends had similar stock, I would have to stop in and add the final ingredient to their batches too.
When we stepped back out of the store room the kitchen was empty. I went to the fridge to grab some berries, huffing when I saw not a single one remained.
“Seriously, how did they eat them all?”
“I didn’t go picking yesterday, there wasn’t that much in there to begin with. Have a bayer stalk, they are good for you,” Maylea said as she made her way to the sink with the empty pots.
I scrunched up my nose and mouthed yuck to the open fridge before smiling and turning to her. “No thanks, I’ll grab something in the human realm.”
Bayer stalks tasted like celery and I hated celery. I took off back to my room to collect Jax.
The second I stepped through the door he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close. “I love you,” he whispered into my ear.
“I love you too.”
“Maybe we could take Ava out this morning, before we go join the hunt?”
“She won’t have time, first day of school remember. Come on, let’s go grab her or we will miss dropping her off. We already missed so many firsts.”
Jax released my waist and took my hand as we made our way to Ava’s room. She was tossing bags across the room when we entered.
“Ava, what are you doing?” Jax asked.
“I don’t know what one to take. What will I need at school? Can I just stay here with you guys? I can go another day.”
I shook my head. “Ava, you are just nervous. Here, take this one,” I said, reaching down and picking up a small, green leather backpack. “It’s light enough to not bother you on the walk, and big enough to carry anything the class collects along the way.”
She climbed to her feet and took the bag from me. “Thanks, mum. Can you take me?”
Jax wrapped his large arms around her. “We wouldn’t miss your first day of school. Come on, kiddo, let’s go.”
He released her but kept one arm around her shoulder as we made our way out of her room and down the hall. Sitting on the small hall table by the main door was a brown paper bag with Ava’s name written in black cursive across it.
“What’s this?” she asked, picking it up and unfolding the top. The smell hit us all, sweet berries, cinnamon, and honey.
“Maylea has made you lunch for your first day,” I explained.
Ava scrunched the top of the brown bag over to close it again and put it into her backpack.
“I guess I’m ready,” she said before stepping out of the house. Once clear of the threshold she phased. “Do you think we could fly there?” she asked with a raised brow.
I looked to Jax, his eyes were wide with excitement.
“I guess so, but we can’t land in plain sight, the other fey don’t know about Dad having his magic back yet,” I said.
She clapped as Jax phased. I followed, my wings swooping the moment they were free and lifting me up a little from the ground.
“A race to the border then?” I asked and they both nodded their agreement and rose to float on either side of me.
“On your marks. Get set. Go!” I called and we took off, Ava taking an early lead in front of Jax then me. But I rose higher than both of them, then quickly soared ahead. I landed on the border only a moment before Ava and another few seconds behind, Jax landed too.
“Mum won,” Ava said, phasing back.
“She always wins,” Jax replied, winking and phasing too.
“Look,” I began as I swished my wings behind me. “I can’t help being this awesome.”
They both laughed as they shook their heads.
“Come on, Mum, phase already. The bell will be going soon.”
Just as she said it, the chime sounded. It wasn’t like any school bell I had ever heard. There was seven school bells and each one rang a different note. Together they played a welcoming tune when lessons were about to begin.
We rounded the corner to the school building and Ava stopped.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, coming to stand in front of her.
“I... do you think they will like me?”
“Of course they will, Ava. They will love you. Now come here.”
I pulled her in for a hug and Jax wrapped his arms around us both.
“Are we ready for school?” a voice asked from behind me, and I released Ava to see her teacher, Hillary Mays, eyeing us expectantly.
“I think so,” Ava replied as she fumbled with the strap of her backpack.
“She will be fine, I assure you,” Hillary said, reaching out her hand to Ava.
Ava peeked up at me through long lashes, and I nodded for her to take her hand.
“We will see you this afternoon. Have fun,” Jax said and my heart raced.
She is going to school. She will be at school with other kids and the teachers having fun. She will be fine. Do not cry, Desmoree. Do not cry.
“Mum?” Ava called and I shook away the prickling feeling in my eyes and pulled her back for one more hug.
“Have a great time, sweetheart.”
She took the teacher’s hand and they walked into the school house together. Jax w
rapped his arm around my shoulders. “She will be fine you know.”
“I know, it’s just...”
“What?”
“What if something goes wrong? Like with her magic and the other kids see and...”
“The teachers are there. I’m sure they will be able to take care of it. Besides, all the teachers have flame notes for emergencies,” Jax said, turning me away from the school building and leading me back towards the border.
“I just hope her first day is a good one, I can’t imagine trying to get her back there for a second if it’s not.”
“They have that excursion right? So it should be a fantastic day. Where are they going again?”
“The outer reaches, they are collecting things for some casts.”
“Things really have changed,” he said, squeezing me a little as we walked.
“I think the teachers were the most excited when the ban was lifted. They have been reading about ingredients they were unable to access for years. Now they can finally try some of the casts in the musty old scrolls they hold so dear.”
Once past the border, we phased and flew the rest of the way home.
When we landed on the balcony to our bedroom Jax spun me to face him and moved his arms around my waist. I had to crane my neck back to look at him. “What?”
“Des, is there something wrong?”
“No, why?”
“You didn’t say a thing after we phased to fly back here and well, before that... you sounded really down. Are you really that worried about Ava’s first day? Or is it the hunt? Do you not want to join the hunt?”
I shook my head. “What? No—I mean, yes. I am worried about Ava, and I do want to join the hunt. It’s my fault they are out and I need to find that dark son of a bitch somehow. Tracking down his demon friends will hopefully flush him out.”
“So, this is about Traflier?’
“Jax...” I began, pushing him off me to walk to my closet. Maybe I should change my shoes. Pausing in the door frame, I closed my eyes and took a breath before turning to him. “Everything is about Traflier. Look at what he has done. Look at what he’s still doing.”
“You don’t know that was him with Ava,” Jax said, walking towards me.
“I know, but it felt the same and if he comes after her, I don’t know that I’ll be able to stop him.”
Jax reached me and laid a hand on my shoulder. He ran his fingers up my neck to cup my face in his hand. Warmth spread through me. A surge of electricity sent shivers up my spine. “You have brought the fey together. You have brought the fabled together. Des, there is nothing you can’t do.”
He slipped his hand behind my neck and pulled me in for a kiss. Our mouths touched and my body was on fire. We stumbled back into the dressing room.
“Does the sound cast work over this room too?” Jax mumbled through our kissing.
“Mmmhmm,” I confirmed. The sound cast was Jax’s idea, apparently I could be a little exuberant during our encounters and since we were now living in my father’s house, I sort of agreed it could be a good idea.
“Silentes,” I breathed out and the cast was done.
I slid my hands up under his shirt. His skin burned against mine, and I could feel every muscle of him flex under my fingertips.
Fuck, my husband’s hot, I thought to myself as he began trailing kisses down my neck. He gripped me tighter around the waist and I could feel he was as aroused as I was. Being with Jax wasn’t always fueled by blind passion—true, it was most times—but there were times like these where the world slowed down. Undressing each other as if dancing a waltz, each action slow, deliberate. The back of his fingers brushed over the sensitive flesh of my thigh and I was gone, lost in his touches.
Content, I laid on the floor of my wardrobe curled up with my head on his chest. I listened to his racing heartbeat slow to a steady drum before I lifted myself up.
“Come on, let’s go hunt some demons.”
We dressed and made our way to the study. Dad had given it to me, but lately he had begun using it again. Probably easier than cleaning up all the books scattered around his bedroom. We kept my elf sword there with the few elf potions Max hadn’t used yet. Seriously he was like a kid in a candy shop when he visited their apothecary. Lucky, they had more sense than to let him try everything there. He was one of the few permitted to trade for the potions, but there were still restrictions.
I grabbed the sword and instantly felt more powerful, clear headed, and calm. The opal inlay and elf magic taking effect almost instantly.
“All set to go?” Jax asked as he slipped a short blade into his boot.
“Yep, just need to grab a stabilizer and enhancer so I can make a portal to where the lead team are. Save us some time in tracking them down.”
“You can do that?”
“With this I can,” I said, holding up a similar glass ball to what my father had used when he spoke to us by the island gateway. The smoke inside this one was blue and orange and swirled feverishly without mixing even the slightest bit.
“Max won’t mind you taking it?”
“Nah, he said I could use whatever I needed. To tell you the truth, I think he will be happy when he runs out so he can go back and try some new stuff.”
Jax laughed and we stepped out into the garden behind the study.
“Okay, here goes,” I said nervously as I cast a weak portal. The edges sucked inwards and looked more like an hourglass. The image inside was impossible to make out.
“Umm, Des?”
“I know, hold on.” I thought of the guard hunting in the human realm. I thought of the team searching for the darkest demons. The more dangerous, the deadly. The portal still wavered violently but the image inside became clearer. I could see a street, late afternoon, an orange sky, shadows moving. I threw the ball of smoke into the portal and instantly it expanded to a perfect oval. The vacant side street came into clear view.
I turned to Jax, smirking.
“Nice,” he said then grabbed my hand and pulled me through.
It closed almost instantly and something cold pressed against the side of my neck.
“Stop right there!” The harsh voice ordered.
I squeezed the hilt of the sword and brought up my shield. It covered me, then spread over to cover Jax as well. In one movement I spun, brought up my sword, and felt the cold steel of his slice against my shield. I stopped just before impact with the elf’s side.
He dropped his sword and held up his hands.
“My apologies, I did not know it was you. We were not expecting any new fey additions to the team.”
“No apologies necessary,” I said, lowing my sword and bending to pick his up so I could return it to him. “No one knew we were coming. But we heard you could use some help and it’s our mess so...”
“We could use a hand. We have been tracking this one for three days now. It’s a slippery one. We had it cornered yesterday but it took over one of us and escaped.”
“Took over?” Jax asked.
The guard nodded. “This one has figured out how to possess. When you appeared, we thought you could be another possessed, we cleared the area of humans already.”
“Well let’s kill it before it shows any of the others how to do it,” I said as the rest of the team filed in behind the guard. Mostly elves, the team consisted of a few fey, and oddly enough, a dwarf.
“My name is Dion,” the dwarf offered when he caught me still looking at him.
“Um, I’m Des, this is Jax,” I said holding out my hand for him.
“Nice to meet you, don’t worry I won’t be stealing none of your things. I’m not that kind of dwarf,” he said with a wink, and the others laughed before introducing themselves.
I would never remember all of their names, but the leader was Hedger, and he was a chief elf guard.
“So, where is this demon you are tracking?” I asked, looking around at the deserted street. “And where are all the people?”
�
�We evacuated the area with a cast a few minutes ago. They won’t remember, but best they weren’t around.” Hedger moved towards the corner of the street.
“What if one of the people were possessed?” Jax asked.
Hedger stopped. “I don’t think the cast would work if they were. I mean it is supposed to push away humans. A demon possessing a human is more than human. Plus our tracker says the demon is still here.”
“But you’re not sure, are you?” I asked, recognizing the crease on his brow. It was the same one I saw in the mirror most days.
“I’m not, no. We will have to check with Sien. Maybe if we find a possessed, we can try it ourselves?”
I nodded. “Sounds like a plan. Let’s go bag us a demon.” Jax and I took step beside him and when we rounded the corner I was surprised to see the park where all of this began. The grass had returned to a brilliant green and a new play structure was being constructed on the far-right side. A few trees sat with their root in giant hessians bags, awaiting planting around the edges.
“Wow,” Jax said, taking my hand as he stopped beside me.
I glanced up to where my apartment building stood. “Where is this demon, Hedger?”
“I think you already know,” he said as he pointed up to the place I used to live.
“Seriously?”
“Deadly.”
Jax squeezed my hand tighter as if trying to will a sense of calm over me. “Well, you know what they say,” he began and everyone stopped to listen. “There really is no place like home.”
3
WE CREPT UP THE STAIRS of the apartment block, Hedger tracking the demon’s energy as we went. Not surprisingly, it was strongest outside my apartment door.
“So, what’s the plan?” I whispered.
“Blast the door open, storm the room, and take down the demon with an elfish blade,” Hedger replied.
“Umm, we could blast the door, or we could use the spare key to open it quietly?” I suggested, reaching up and pressing on a section of the wall to reveal a small hole like the one in my bedroom floor. “I figured why keep keys on me if I could just leave one here and no one would be able to get to it anyway? I spelled the door to only be opened with this,” I said, holding up the small key. “But I guess demons don’t use doors.”
Destroying the Fallen Page 5