Charms & Demons

by Kim Richardson

Blood trickled down my left hand. I’d cut myself deeply, but that was the least of my problems.

  The igumo screeched, and then it was on the move again.

  Shit. Shit. Shit.

  Gathering up my courage, I stood with fisted hands and willed my mind to focus as I channeled the magic from the blood summoning circle and triangle.

  A wind rose around me, lifting my hair and carrying the scent of sulfur and rotten meat. My skin pricked as energy flowed in and around me. The air shifted, and a cold wave of energy cascaded over me.

  It was working.

  The igumo demon was only fifty feet away from me and coming fast.

  My heart thrashed madly in my chest. The energy was unfamiliar, and yet I didn’t stop. Channeling the blood magic, I recited the incantation as fast as my lips would move, all without pause. I cried, “I conjure you, Sabnock, demon of the Netherworld, to be subject to the will of my soul. I bind you with unbreakable adamantine fetters, and I deliver you into the black chaos in perdition. I invoke you, Sabnock, in the space in front of me!”

  Energy rushed through me, cold, dark, and powerful, and I nearly fell backwards. I steadied myself as the energy screamed and surged through my core, burning the inside of my body as though my blood was liquid fire.

  Damn.

  I gasped as the blood circle and triangle at my feet shimmered and sparked into life with yellow and orange flames. The air sizzled with magic and I watched, amazed, as the energy churned and burned as it flowed around them, like liquid fire.

  The igumo demon halted at the sight of the fire, seemingly afraid or maybe even curious.

  And then the real pain hit.

  I reared back as searing pain screamed through my body. The full effect of the blood magic hit me, and it burned, vicious and endless. My body shook in agony. I couldn’t breathe.

  Blood magic hurt like a bitch. No wonder most witches stayed the hell away from it. But I would take the pain, all of it, if it meant a chance to get back home.

  Heat rushed from me, leaving a sick, cold feeling in my stomach—the usual when conjuring demons.

  And there, inside my circle, was a lizard demon the size of a rhinoceros.

  “Holy shit,” I breathed. “It worked.”

  20

  Who do you call when a giant spider is out to get you?

  A kimono dragon on steroids, that’s who.

  Sabnock was huge, ugly, and by the roundness of his yellow eyes—pissed as hell. His skin was midnight blue with silver stripes along his back, all the way to his tail, tipped with three sharp spikes. His body was hard and rippling with muscles. Thick forelimbs with slightly higher hindlimbs ended in clawed feet that could rip your head clean off with one strike. He opened his mouth and hissed, revealing rows of wickedly sharp teeth the size of kitchen knives. Excellent.

  He was magnificent and deadly and mine, for the time being. Part of me wished he’d come in a smaller size. Was he good on a leash?

  My pulse thrashed with excitement, pride, fear, and satisfaction. Even in the Netherworld I could summon its own monsters. I was a true dark witch.

  I felt pretty damn good about myself right about now, even though I was in the Netherworld about to be eaten by a giant spider as the night’s entertainment.

  I smiled. I wasn’t dead yet.

  There was an immediate uproar from the demons, a sudden chorus of shouts and protest as outrage and anger filled the arena. It was music to my ears and filled me with valor. They weren’t laughing anymore, and I wasn’t just a puny little witch.

  I met Faris’s gaze, and the demon was smiling proudly at me. He winked and gave a nod of his head. I had no idea how he knew my blood magic would work, but now I owed him big time. Something occurred to me. If he’d known my blood magic would work, perhaps Faris really could get me out of here. The mid-demon was full of surprises.

  But the real ticket was Vorkol’s expression. Her red eyes focused on me, and her face twisted with rage. With her lips pressed tightly, the anger simmering behind her red eyes was almost palpable. Ooooh. She really hated me now. It made me all giddy inside. I almost did a cartwheel right there and then.

  I waited for a moment, expecting her to call me out. But she remained seated, her face a mask of pure hatred and a little surprise. She hadn’t expected that. I was going to beat her at her own game.

  One for me, and nada for the queen bitch.

  Feeling a little rebellious, I gave her a smile and then a tiny wave. Yes, it was overkill, but if I was going to die tonight, I might as well have a little fun.

  And there was no time like the present.

  My eyes flicked to the lizard demon, huge jaws snapping in rage. “Sabnock. Kill the spider demon!” I commanded the demon, careful not to move from my triangle. If the rules applied here as well, the triangle was my only protection from the demon I’d just summoned until I was finished with him. “And protect me!” I added quickly, just to be sure he wouldn’t let the igumo rip me apart.

  Sabnock hissed again, and a black forked tongue flicked from his mouth. He shook his body, like a dog shaking the water from his fur, but he didn’t move.

  Crap. It didn’t work. Fear chilled me. He was going to eat me.

  But then Sabnock turned and charged head on at the spider demon.

  The igumo’s set of yellow eyes flared with a sudden luminance, and it lunged.

  With three giant bounds, they hit. The ground shook on impact, the sound like two raging bulls hitting one another followed by the sharp motions of a tiger ripping flesh from its prey.

  The sound of flesh hitting flesh and bone snapping crammed the air, drowning the sounds of protests from the demon audience.

  It was going to work!

  Sabnock’s jaws found the igumo’s chest with a crunching impact. Bits of broken carapace and red and black flesh fell from the demon’s mouth. The spider demon twisted and screeched as it tried to break free from the giant lizard’s maw.

  And then a spidery leg wound up and hit Sabnock in the eye.

  Sabnock howled, a sound disturbingly dog like. He opened his maw, and the igumo broke free, jumping to the side.

  Black and green liquid oozed from Sabnock’s injured eye, and I held my breath. The damn spider had blinded him in one eye.

  Jaws gaping, the igumo let out a screaming screech and leaped at Sabnock. With a powerful thrust, it sank its fangs into the muscles of Sabnock’s back.

  I had a moment of panic. I knew the igumo’s venom was poisonous to mortals, but I had no idea how it would react towards another demon. It was too late to do anything about that now. All I could do was watch and hope.

  Damnit. This was not going according to plan.

  Sabnock roared in pain. Then he grabbed the igumo by the leg and ripped it off his back with a powerful heave, sending the igumo across the arena and tearing off its leg in the process. Black blood sprayed the sand in ugly sheets, the toxic smell making my eyes water. God, those beasts were nasty.

  But igumos were resilient, and the bastard did have another seven legs.

  Sabnock shook his body in a violent show of anger. And then the demon hurled himself at the giant spider with a thunderous bellow, rearing up on its hind legs.

  Fear hit. How long until the venom started to show? How long until Sabnock was paralyzed and left me unguarded and visible, like a piece of meat dangling before the igumo’s eight eyes.

  My heart rushed with terror. I watched transfixed as the two massive demons fought. It was horrific, and exciting, and I couldn’t look away.

  Sabnock stirred and then snapped his jaws to one side, closing on one of the spider’s back legs and tearing it right off with another spray of black blood and gobs of flesh.

  The igumo screeched in pain and heaved itself away from Sabnock. One clawed foot came up towards the lizard demon’s other eye, but the lizard was faster.

  With a burst of speed, Sabnock’s jaws clamped over the igumo’s neck. Its exoskeleton broke with audible snaps, and the
spider demon squealed in pain, its arms and legs shuddering in spasms.

  There was a final snap, and the igumo’s head fell from its body and landed with a soft thud on the ground.

  Sabnock tossed the spider’s body. Then, for good measure, the lizard demon leaped onto its hind legs and came down hard on the spider’s chest with such force it simply perforated through the demon’s body to the sand beneath it.

  I raised a brow. “You’re very thorough,” I praised him. “Good boy.”

  I thought about releasing him at that moment, but then I thought better of it. He might just turn on me. It was my fault he’d lost an eye. He’d be furious with me, and demons held grudges. I made a mental note to never summon him ever again, if I got out of this place alive.

  But then I knew the longer I had control over him, the angrier he’d be.

  Resolute, I dragged my foot across the blood-drawn circle and said, “I release you,” breaking the contract and the binding.

  A flash of energy spilled through me from the blood circle and triangle. It spun inside me for a moment, and then I let go of the energy.

  At the same time, the lizard demon looked up, watched me for a second, and then went back to stomping on the dead igumo.

  Well, that’s that.

  Turning from the lizard demon, I checked my left palm. Crap. The wound was deep, red, and ugly. Worse, my entire hand was already swollen with infection. Great. That’s all I needed right now, gangrene or the flesh-eating disease. I liked my hands. I didn’t want to amputate one. But if I stayed here, that’s exactly what would happen.

  I’d have to make a bandage for it later. Cringing, I pulled my left glove over my hand. I was going to need stiches, if nothing else. I pushed Faris’s knife into my front pocket.

  When I looked up, back to the balcony, I couldn’t help the smile that spread all over my face. I’d done it. I’d won. And I was going home.

  My heart gave a little whoop of excitement. I met Vorkol’s blank expression, which for some reason was more terrifying to me than if she’d been scowling at me.

  “I won. Fair and square. You said I could go home,” I said, my voice steady, though not as loud as I wanted it to be. I couldn’t seem to get enough air into my lungs. “I’m ready to leave this shit hole,” I added, my smile widening at Duvali’s scowl. His jaw clenched harder, the muscles in his face bulging. It was lovely.

  “Oh, really?” Vorkol said, leaning forward, her red eyes focused on me.

  Dizzy, I shifted my weight to hide the fact that my knees wobbled. I was tired, and a fever was festering. “Yeah. Really. A deal’s a deal. Unless you demons don’t honor your words.”

  A gasp rippled through the assembled demons. My pulse thrashed, faster and harder.

  For a moment, I thought I’d gone too far. She was going to fry my ass. But Vorkol simply tipped back her head and laughed, high-pitched and horrid, like the wail of hundreds of dying women. Creepy.

  The Greater demon straightened with her bulbous red lips pulled back in a wicked smile. “Well. You certainly were very entertaining.”

  “I aim to please.” The sound of crunching reached me and I turned my gaze around to see the lizard demon munching with one of the spider’s legs sticking out of his mouth. Nice.

  “You said I could go home,” I told Vorkol. “Now would be a great time to honor that.” I caught a glimpse of Faris. He was shaking his head no to me.

  Vorkol clicked her tongue. “You would have perished without that miserable looking blade. Without interference,” she said and turned her head in Faris’s direction. The mid-demon was looking at his shoes. “My igumo would have made a meal of your witch flesh.”

  “Possibly,” I said. “But now we’ll never know. Will we?” I let out a sigh. Damn. Everything was spinning again. “But I still won. I want to leave now. The game is over.”

  Vorkol’s eyes sparked. “You haven’t won, little bird.”

  My heart sank. “Excuse me?” Was she for real? My blood pounded in my veins, but I kept my chin high as I said, “I won.” I glanced around the arena and spoke in a voice loud enough for every demon to hear. “Every demon here saw it. You saw it.”

  A round of angry whispers and hushed comments went through the crowd of demons. A series of snickering laughter accompanied some of the quiet mumbles.

  “You haven’t won until I say you’ve won,” Vorkol mused.

  My insides twisted, and I required a concentrated effort not to scream. “What’s that supposed to mean?” You lying, red-eyed bitch. Faris had gone very, very still.

  “It means exactly what I want it to mean.” Vorkol smiled without any teeth. “You mortal witches are usually so uncreative, so predictable. But you. No. You’re different. Special.” She hesitated. “You surprised me.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  Vorkol raised her perfect brows, but a smile haunted her mouth. “Things have been awfully boring of late. Killing you now, little bird, would be dull.”

  Duvali’s eyes flashed with an impatient look, and his smile turned into a gritting of teeth, like he wanted to taste my flesh.

  She let out a long, exaggerated sigh. “This isn’t the end of the entertainment. I haven’t finished playing with you, little bird. This is too good to pass up, too much fun.” She waved a hand in my general direction. “You are going to be very... useful.” A murmur of laughter from the seats echoed around me, hitting me like a fist in the gut.

  I clamped my jaw. “Screw you.” Fury flared inside me. I was furious at her, but more at myself for letting myself believe she’d let me go. I was an idiot.

  She’d never let me go—not until she got what she wanted, which meant until there was no more me to play with.

  Vorkol leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs. “All of this could have been avoided if only you told me how you did it.”

  Here it comes.

  Her expression darkened as she angled her head. “Tell me how you did it. Tell me how you killed Vargal, and you can go home.”

  Right. Like I was going to believe her now. But I wanted to live. “We fought. I won. That’s it. There’s nothing to tell.” I wished I’d never crossed paths with the Greater demon Vargal.

  Vorkol let out another laugh. “Little bird, that’s not even a halfway decent lie.”

  “It’s what happened.” I swallowed back a wave of nausea. “You saw what I can do. I’m nothing special. Maybe I got lucky.”

  I could never tell her the truth. Someone like her should never have power like mine. She would slaughter the humans by the masses along with all the half-breeds she could find. I couldn’t let that happen, even if it meant my death. I wouldn’t be responsible for all that death. I couldn’t live with myself.

  I flicked my gaze back to the lizard demon, but he was gone. So was any trace of the spider’s entrails.

  Duvali bent down and whispered in Vorkol’s ear. The Greater demon smiled as he straightened and said, “I’ll ask you one more time. Tell me how you killed Vargal, and all this goes away. You’ll be back in your world doing whatever it is that witches do. What is it exactly that you witches do?”

  “Work their cauldrons,” said Duvali. “That’s all they can do. They don’t have real power.”

  Another wave of laughter rolled through the arena, and my anger surged through me, cutting into my fever. God, I hated demons.

  If I don’t have power, how did I kill your mate, eh?

  Vorkol smiled, but I could see through her eyes that she knew I was holding back. She wouldn’t stop until she discovered what it was.

  “You’ve decided your fate, little bird,” said Vorkol, leaning forward in her chair. “Until you tell me what I want to know, you will never leave this place. And the show must go on.”

  Warning bells pealed in my mind.

  Vorkol settled back in her chair and shouted, “Bring in the mouth-breather.”

  Mouth-breather? Horror coiled in my gut.

  The steel doors burst open a
gain, and Andromalius strode into the arena. At first, I couldn’t see past the big minotaur’s shoulders and bulky body. A thick metal chain hung in his hand and he gave a yank at something behind him.

  My gaze went to the crowd and found Faris. His normally olive complexion was ashen. His expression was startled, and his mouth was open in shock.

  When Andromalius got closer to me, I gave out a little moan.

  Dragging behind the minotaur, with a chain clasped around his neck, was Logan.

  21

  Logan.

  No. This couldn’t be happening. The handsome angel-born, who’d kissed me and who I’d been fantasizing about naked shouldn’t be here, but he was shuffling behind the minotaur as they made their way towards me.

  This was not how I’d pictured our next encounter—me naked, him naked and preferably on top of me.

  A chill slithered down my spine. This was all kinds of wrong. I didn’t want to be here. And I especially didn’t want Logan here.

  He was wearing blue jeans and a gray t-shirt. I recognized them as the same clothes I’d seen on him when he’d showed up at my place yesterday. But now they were stained with sweat and blood, his hair hanging lank and dirty. Purple and red bruises marred his face, and dried blood caked around his nose and the corners of his mouth. He looked like he’d put up a good fight.

  His t-shirt was torn just above his right hip, and I could see a perfect, straight, three-inch cut, with dark, spidery veins standing out sharply against it—the mark of a death blade. So the higher demons had cut him to drag him here too.

  I felt a surge of dizziness and swayed on my feet. Damnit. I was going to be sick.

  Logan was here because of me. They had tortured him because of me. And now, he would die because of me.

  I tried to make eye contact, but Logan stared at the ground, his expression set in stone.

  Nice going, Sam. He’ll never ask you out now.

  Andromalius stopped when he reached me and unlocked the shackle around Logan’s neck. The minotaur grabbed the chain with one hand. Then with the other, he shoved Logan down into the sand at my feet. Seemingly satisfied, the minotaur turned and moved to stand a few feet away.