Spells & Ashes

by Kim Richardson

  “You carry all this crap around with you in that bag?” came my grandfather’s voice behind me. “I never understood why women find it necessary to haul half their lives with them in these bags.”

  A round, metal disk peeked from under the notepad, and I let out a sigh as my fingers grazed the metal medallion. I pulled it free, and a long silver chain followed. The soft pounding of power vibrated on my fingers as I wrapped the chain around Kyllian’s neck and let the medallion drop on his chest.

  I looked at his face. No change.

  “I don’t think your magic can help him,” said my grandfather, and I noticed how much calmer his voice was, with a tenderness to his tone that seemed to imply my actions were futile.

  I swallowed hard and kept my eyes on Kyllian because if I looked at my grandfather right now, I’d lose it.

  “I have to try. I can’t just sit here and do nothing.” While he’s dying... “Where the hell were you anyway? I could have used your help, you know,” I snapped, my voice harsh.

  When he didn’t answer I turned to look at him. A sheepish grin creased his face. I raised a brow. “Well? Are you going to tell me?”

  He shrugged, the movement taking years off his life. “If you must know, I was with the widow Camelli. And before you say anything—she’s helping me. Helping me with my broomshine.”

  I let out a breath through my nose and stilled my anger. This wasn’t his fault. What he did and with whom he did it with were his business. Plus, I didn’t want to know what kind of “help” the widow witch was supplying my grandfather.

  There was that same worried wrinkle above his eyes. I’d seen it before when he’d talked to me about my father, and my pulse quickened.

  “You need to stop bringing home strays, Sam,” he said, earnestly.

  “He’s my friend. I couldn’t just let him sleep in an alley. Besides, he saved me. If Kyllian hadn’t killed those two demons, we wouldn’t be sitting here having this conversation.”

  “Let’s draw him a bath,” my grandfather encouraged. “He can heal in Horizon.”

  I shook my head, feeling the cold desperation filling my chest. “He doesn’t want to go.”

  My grandfather raised his arms in exasperation. “He’s unconscious. We can move him together. I have a hover spell we can use.” He frowned when he looked at Kyllian. “Make that two hover spells. Trust me. He’ll thank you later.”

  “He wouldn’t,” I said, my eyes back on the angel and my tension spiking. “And I don’t have time to explain, but he doesn’t want to go back. He wants to stay here.”

  “And die?” asked my grandfather, incredulous. “If he stays here and we can’t save him... you know what’ll happen. Even angels can suffer their true death, Sam.”

  “I know,” I said dryly. “But I won’t betray him either.”

  “Even if he dies?”

  Shit. He was right. I was being an idiot, but I didn’t have time to argue with him either. How the hell had it gone so wrong so quickly?

  Tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ears, I grabbed a black marker and lifted Kyllian’s shirt to expose his chest. I leaned over him and froze for a moment. My eyebrows rose. I’d never actually seen his chest before—the golden ripples of muscle, abs of steel, and a massive, perfectly carved chest. Every part of him was lean and strong and flawless. And there wasn’t a fleck of hair on his chest.

  A wicked part of me was tempted to rub my hand over his chest. I shook my surge of hormones off and strained to focus.

  After staring for an inappropriate amount of time, I squinted at the felt point of the marker and drew an anti-pain sigil, the same one I’d used last night on myself. It wouldn’t cure him, but I was hoping it would take some of his pain away until I could figure out what to do next.

  The ink glistened wetly as I strained to form the spindly letters and symbols as smoothly as I could.

  I finished the last symbol and muttered, “Sine dolore.”

  Ribbons of energy darted between us and rushed into the angel. I held my breath as I watched for any sign of improvement. Usually the anti-pain sigil worked immediately.

  Kyllian lay without moving, his skin turning toward a gray color and looking more like a corpse.

  “Damn it,” I hissed. Tossing the marker, I pulled off my gloves, reached out and grabbed the Gypsy No. 5 Skin So Soft Healing Balm. I popped it open and smeared all of the contents over and around his broken arm and his chest.

  I sat back, my blood pressure reaching new heights. “It’s not working,” I said feebly, feeling like I was going to have a heart attack.

  “Let’s take him to the bathtub.”

  “No.”

  My grandfather gave me a chiding glance. “You don’t even know what’s wrong with him. Do you?”

  “He got beat up.”

  “I can see that. But his body, his mortal suit, is deteriorating. It’s what’s killing him. Our magic works, but it works on the living, on mortals. He’s not mortal.”

  And then something occurred to me. “Grandpa,” I said, grinning. “You’re a genius!”

  His eyebrows rose, and he looked shaken and pleased at the same time. “I am.”

  Pulling on my gloves, I whirled on my knees, grabbed a chalk, and drew a triangle on the floor next to Kyllian.

  “Sam,” warned my grandfather. “No.”

  “Yes,” I said. I was practically beaming as I began to draw a circle around me. “This is going to work.”

  “Sam, don’t—”

  “I conjure you, Farissael,” I summoned as I stood, “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, Farissael, in the space in front of me!”

  My heart throbbed at the sudden surge of magic. My hair flew around me at the rise of a wind.

  “Sammy, baby,” said Faris, who’d appeared in the triangle before me, dressed in a black kimono. “I’m not sure what to think anymore. That’s three times you call me this week. It’s positively stalking. I love it.”

  “There’s no time for chitchat,” I said quickly. “I need your help.”

  Faris’s dark eyes moved from me, to my grandfather, to finally settle on Kyllian. “Sammy.” He tutted. “Did you kill an angel? Why you wicked, wicked witch. You deserve a good ol’ spanking.” At that moment, his kimono fell open revealing all of him. He was hung like a horse. And I was the idiot who looked. He saw me looking and winked at me. Heat rushed to my face. This was just great. Just great.

  I pulled my eyes away from his nakedness, which I was sure he’d allowed to escape on purpose. “Can you save him?”

  Faris lost his smile. “What? You mean this miscreant is still alive?”

  “Yes.”

  The demon cocked a brow. “And why do you want this?”

  “Because he’s my friend. And because he saved my ass just now from some lesser demons that came to kill me tonight.” I glared at him. “Know anything about that?”

  Faris looked offended as he raked his fingers through his hair and then flattened it into place. “Why would I? You’re my only link to the outside world. Why would I want to kill you?” He flashed me his perfectly white teeth. “I want to have sex with you. Not kill you, you silly girl.”

  “Whatever.” My eyes fell on my grandfather. His face was lost in the folds of his deep frown. “Can you save him?” I asked again.

  Faris let out an exasperated sigh, and his eyes darted back to Kyllian. “The idiot’s been in this world too long. His body’s starving. And when it dies, so will his soul.” His eyes found mine. “Just throw the beast in some water and he’ll be saved. Voila. It’s like throwing out the trash.”

  “He doesn’t want to go back,” I said and raised my hands to stop him from interrupting. “Can you save him or not?”

  His smile turned wicked. “What’s in it for me?”

  “Another free night.” The words were out of my mouth be
fore I even had a chance to think about it. Yes, Vera had seen him, but the demon had been smart enough to use a glamour to make himself appear human to the half-breed community. And I hadn’t heard of any recent deaths. I had to take that chance again, the cauldron help me. I hoped this wasn’t a mistake.

  My eyes found my grandfather again, and I was surprised that he remained quiet and hadn’t objected this time.

  “Deal.” Faris grinned, and I wasn’t sure what I saw reflecting in his eyes. “Release me, and I’ll heal the beast—”

  “I release you,” I said, and then dragged my foot across the chalk-drawn triangle, breaking the contract and the binding.

  Energy flowed out of the triangle and into me. I let it go, and the pulse of energy faded.

  Faris stepped out of his confined triangle and tightened the belt around his kimono. “Well,” he said, eyes widening. “This is exciting. Where do you keep the booze? Have anything vintage?”

  “Faris!” I hissed. “Heal Kyllian first, or so help me, by the cauldron, I’m going to castrate you!”

  “Yes, yes, yes,” lamented the demon. “There’s no need to raise your voice.” He moved to stand over Kyllian. He stood there for a moment, watching him. “Sad-looking beast, isn’t he? What would drive an angel to let himself die?” He turned to look at me and cocked an eyebrow at what he saw on my face. “You know. Don’t you?”

  “Just heal him, please,” I said, my anger returning.

  Faris made a noise of disapproval in his throat and knelt next to the angel. “I must really want to bed you because I can’t believe I’m about to heal a blasted angel.”

  I opened my mouth to tell him off again, but at that moment the mid demon pressed his hands on the angel’s chest. He closed his eyes, his face deep in concentration. After only a few seconds he pulled back and straightened.

  I didn’t know what to expect. Maybe some Hollywood light effect or some crackling energy or something. But the demon had just laid his hands on the angel, like a human doctor might on a patient.

  Just when I thought it hadn’t worked, Kyllian’s face shifted, and a frown appeared on his face. Then the bone that stuck out from his arm slowly pulled back in with a pop. I almost threw up.

  It was like watching a video where the images were being played backwards. I was mesmerized as the bruises faded slowly until they were all gone and only his smooth, golden skin remained. He looked perfectly fine, apart from the dried blood around his nose and arm.

  My knees shook, and I nearly fell over in relief. “Is he okay?”

  “He’s still going to need to go back to Horizon eventually,” said the demon, just as Kyllian’s eyes snapped open. “This was a one-time deal. If the beast wants to kill himself, do it on your time.”

  Kyllian pulled himself up on his feet, alert and healthy looking, not like he’d just come close to dying moments ago. I was surprised at the loathing I saw on his face for Faris. I didn’t know why I was surprised. They were sworn enemies, each created to smite the other.

  Kyllian’s lips parted into a very werewolf-like snarl. Damn. The second he was back on his feet he was looking to pick a fight. Still, there was an equally loathing crease on Faris’s face.

  This was just freaking awesome.

  And when the angel saw that the demon was out of his binding triangle, well, all hell broke loose. Literally.

  Kyllian lunged with inhuman speed at the demon.

  “No!” I dashed forward, aiming to grab his arm. But I missed and landed face-first on the floor instead.

  I heard someone laugh and blinked up to find my grandfather with his arms crossed over his chest, giving me an “I told you so” look.

  The house shook as Kyllian slammed Faris into the wall next to the kitchen. Chunks of plaster and dust fell around them like snow.

  Kyllian pinned Faris by the neck. The demon’s face was screwed up in a vicious snarl, muscles from his neck and shoulders bulging as he struggled under the angel’s hold.

  “Guys, come on. We’re all on the same side here,” I voiced. But it had no effect.

  Faris moved fast, knocking Kyllian’s hold on him, and kicked him in the gut with a powerful blow. The angel staggered back, his blue eyes wild and manic with a visible smile on his face.

  Ah, shit. Here we go.

  Kyllian lurched himself at Faris. Matching the angel in both speed and agility, the demon leaped in the air and hit the angel with a powerful blow to the jaw. Impressive. I had no idea the demon could fight like that—a demon of many talents.

  The air was filled with the sounds of fists hitting flesh and grunts. I even saw some dark strands of hair drifting in the air. Kyllian’s face was creased with effort as he slammed Faris into the kitchen cabinets, glass and wood exploding with the impact. There goes my grandmother’s antique set.

  Faris’s face wrinkled from the strain as he pulled some martial arts move, and the next thing I knew, he had Kyllian by the throat.

  In my kitchen, an angel and a demon battled. This was a brute show of strength. And so typically male. The lion against the wolf. I didn’t know which of the two was stronger. And I didn’t care.

  Cauldron be dammed.

  If they kept it up, they were going to ruin my house. It was the only thing I owned that was truly mine. And like hell was I going to let these two idiots destroy it.

  Rolling to my feet, I drew the energy from my rings, willing the power from them and bending it to my will.

  “Stop!” I bellowed. Blood pounded in my ears as two balls of fire danced in my palms. “Or I swear by the cauldron, I will fry both your balls off and feed them to you!”

  That did the trick.

  Faris let go of Kyllian, both males’ eyes still simmering with open hatred as they moved away from one another. The air was so thick with testosterone you could practically see it.

  I let go of the magic, and with a breath I felt it leave my body.

  And then the angel turned on me.

  “Sam. What the hell did you do?”

  I didn’t appreciate his tone. “Me? We just saved your ass, you stupid angel,” I seethed through gritted teeth. Yeah, I was pissed. I didn’t go through all this to have him get all messed up again. “I could have dumped your sorry ass in a pool. I could have sent you back to Horizon, but I didn’t. So show some thanks. Without Faris, you wouldn’t be here.”

  And that seemed to work to knock off some of the angel testosterone. Kyllian’s glare dropped a smidgen. But a growl escaped his throat.

  I rolled my eyes. This was going to be a long night, and I wasn’t finished with either of them. Not yet.

  “I guess that sobered him all up,” said my grandfather. When I finally looked back at him, he was grinning from ear to ear.

  “Well,” said Faris, adjusting his kimono, which had surprisingly stayed closed. “I’d love to stay and chat, but the night is young, and the women won’t be forever.”

  “Just a minute, Faris,” I called as he headed down the hallway. “I need one more thing.” My thoughts drifted back to Julia. I wasn’t done. Not by a long shot.

  “That wasn’t part of the deal, darling,” said the demon as he turned around clearly annoyed.

  “I’m making a new one,” I said. “Besides. If you want more of these ‘free days’—which I’m assuming you will—you’re going to need me alive. And something tells me that whatever Greater demon I pissed off sent those lesser demons to kill me. I don’t think he’s going to stop. So, you don’t have a choice.”

  “What Greater demon?” asked Kyllian, eyes on me, and I could see some tension returning to him.

  I sighed. “The one that possessed a young girl called Julia,” I told him and quickly recounted the events leading to this moment. His face was blank, but I could see the anger seething behind his eyes. “But there’s a problem,” I went on. “I was a witness to it. I saw what the demon was doing. I saw him take Julia’s soul back to the Netherworld. So that makes me a target. It’s pretty clear now tha
t whatever the Greater demon was planning with the ritual is substantial. Otherwise he wouldn’t have sent the lesser demons to kill me tonight.”

  Faris cocked a brow. “What do you need me for?”

  “Did you hear of any Greater demon collecting human souls recently?” I asked.

  “I’ve made some inquiries,” answered Faris. “But I’m afraid I don’t have the information you want. There’s nothing out of the norm. The human-soul-collecting scheme is not uncommon in the Netherworld. There’s a huge market for it. It’s how most demons make a living. They trade. They sell. It’s a big business.”

  I felt ill. “It’s disturbing.”

  The demon shrugged. “Perhaps. But I didn’t make the rules. And I don’t trade human souls either.”

  “And we’re supposed to believe that?” Kyllian crossed his arms over his chest.

  Faris’s gaze moved to Kyllian and then flicked back to me. “At the moment, there are hundreds of demons collecting souls, perhaps thousands. It would be impossible for me to find the one you want. Not without more to go on.”

  “But this one is different,” I insisted. “I don’t think he wants to trade the souls. I think he was using the soul with the ritual somehow. Maybe he still needs them.”

  Faris thought about that for a moment. “Yes. I see your point. I’ll have to make some inquiries. May I go?” He gave me what he must have considered his erotic smile.

  “Not yet.” It wasn’t enough to merely know that a Greater demon was stealing human souls. I had to know what the ritual was for and why it had picked those particular humans.

  I needed to find the connection.

  “Three other bodies were found with similar supernatural overtones recently, just like Julia’s,” I told them, seeing my grandfather’s attention snap back to me. “Two women in their fifties and a young man. And I need your help. I need you to investigate, and see if the markings match Julia’s. If we split up, it’ll go faster. I need names and addresses, anything that can help us make a connection.”