Spells & Ashes

by Kim Richardson

  “Come on,” said Logan, his breath coming out in a rush. “The air smells fouler this way,” he added, moving ahead. Somehow he’d decided to take the lead. I let him. I wanted to stay close to Colin.

  Together, Colin and I followed the angel-born. We climbed rusted stairs to the middle tier, where the far door had been left open. We darted through and came to an exterior metal bridge, a pass-through connecting to the neighboring building.

  In silence we took the bridge. Blood pounded in my ears, and I felt like I was walking on a plank on some pirate ship, about to meet the dark waters of the Hudson River rippling beneath the moon.

  A full moon. Crap. Not only did all the crazies come out on a full moon, but it was when rituals were most potent, when magic was its strongest, and when the Veil that kept the demons from entering our world was the weakest.

  Logan glanced up at the moon, shifted his soul blade in his left hand and reached with his right to pull out another.

  We emerged into the next building. As I walked through, I felt the tingling presence of dark magic, and something much stronger. I took a deep breath and let it out, exhaling anxiety with it.

  Damn it, Poe. Where the hell are you?

  We stood in a cathedral-like hall. An atrium of metal, broken glass, and brick loomed above us. Metal latticework led up to the ceiling, woven in complex designs. Moonlight shone through the broken glass, illuminating the walls in soft hues of silver and blues. The hall below us loomed, emanating malice, its walls decorated in a canvas of runes and arcane symbols that glowed red and yellow in the semidarkness.

  Their intricate patterns were the same as those decorating the walls of the apartment where I’d last seen Julia alive.

  Logan cursed at something below. With my heart thrashing, I moved to stand next to him and peered below to the first floor.

  A large stone circle sat in the middle of the floor with six black chicken heads spread evenly around it. A woman lay in its center, above a blood-drawn triangle. Trish.

  I couldn’t see her face, but her arms and legs were bound with rope. A red-robed figure knelt next to her, broad shouldered, and definitely male.

  Four vials, each the size of a perfume bottle, sat next to the circle. They shone with shimmering white light. Souls. One of them was Julia’s soul.

  My eyes moved to a bundle on the far left. A soft, white illuminance emitted from its skin. Kyllian. Shit. What the hell had happened?

  A shadow moved into the light of the candles. A man.

  When his face came into the light, I hissed out a breath.

  Alex. He was completely naked, his body covered in the same runes and Mesopotamian symbols, all painted in blood.

  And in his hands, limp, with his head lolled to the side, was Poe.

  23

  “You son of a bitch!” I howled. All of my rage rose to the surface, a hot, unstoppable tide of fury. “I’m going to fry your ass! You’re dead, Alex. Dead!”

  I didn’t know what was stranger, me yelling at the top of my lungs or me yelling at the top of my lungs at a naked dude.

  I hadn’t known what to expect. Demons yes. Lots of them, of course. But a naked witch? Not so much.

  My mind blanked, and all I saw was white-hot rage and Poe’s lifeless body hanging in the bastard’s hand. My eyes burned. I forgot why I was here, or who was here with me. All I wanted was to get to Poe. If he was dead, I’d smash Alex apart like a piñata.

  And then I was running, down the slippery stairs, two at a time, my mind already spindling a dark curse—one of the illegal ones to use on another witch. The killing ones.

  Logan screamed my name from above, but I barely heard him. Poe. My Poe. Oh, God, Poe.

  I leaped down the stairs, channeling the power from my rings and driving it into me. My emotions added an extra layer of power, and I gritted my teeth as it flooded into me.

  I’m going to kill you, Alex.

  I reached the bottom of the stairs, my hands splayed out before me and my magic oozing from my pores, tingling around my fingertips.

  “Any closer and I’ll break his neck,” warned Alex. His other hand moved around Poe’s neck. “You might be fast, but not faster than me, bitch.”

  Did that mean Poe was still alive? Alex could just be screwing with me.

  My body shook with unspent power that wanted, needed, an outlet. Preferably Alex’s head. But if I hit Alex with anything, Poe was right there, and I knew I’d hit him too.

  “What did you do to Poe?” I seethed, my voice harsh and breathless. Fury radiated from me, hot and undulating, and every fiber of my body was ready to do violence.

  Alex’s features broke into a wicked grin. “The bloody crow came at me after I hit the angel. A big, crazy son of a bitch too. So, I hit him with a dark combustion curse. I think I killed it. But I can’t be sure.”

  Tears fell freely from my eyes. I couldn’t help it. “I’m going to kill you, and it’s going to get really messy. I’m going to boil your insides until your eyes melt out of your skull and your skin peels off your bones like hot wax.” I clenched my jaw until it hurt. I had to figure out a way for him to release Poe.

  The hooded figure stood and turned. It had a humanoid shape, wearing a heavy, red cloak and cowl that hid any possible details of its face. Though it did nothing to hide those gleaming, red eyes. Vargal.

  I was sure of it. The bastard barely took notice of me as he continued his ritual around Trish, a dark chant coming from him.

  My eyes flicked back to Alex. I used to think him a handsome witch, but now the skin around his eyes was thin and dark, almost giving him a racoon effect. His cheeks protruded, and his eyes were sunken like he’d skipped his meals for the past month.

  “Lay off the drugs, Alex,” I told him. “You look like shit.” Poe, wake up. Poe!

  The witch showed me his teeth. “I’ve never felt better.”

  My eyes rested on his crotch. “Are you praying for a larger size? It’s pretty damn pathetic. The size of a tampon. Teeny weeny. No wonder you had a different girl every week. They never felt a thing.”

  Alex stared at me for a moment, his eyes flat and empty, before he said, “Laugh all you want, you stupid bitch. After tonight, no one will ever order me around again. I’ll be doing the ordering.”

  “Really?” I cocked a brow. “Looks to me like you’re the demon’s bitch. Who’s the idiot now, eh, Alex?”

  A small laugh came from Alex. “I don’t give a shit what you think. I’m more powerful than you now. I’m the better witch.”

  I glowered at him, imagining him screaming as I burned him alive. It was a really good visual—special effects and all. “So you brought this asshole innocent victims. Psychics. All for what? For more power? You stupid, stupid, little witch.”

  “What do you know?” Alex mocked and shifted his weight. “With your seals and sigils, it’s all a big waste of time. I don’t even need to prepare spells anymore. It’s in me. I’m all powerful.”

  “Like a god?” I laughed. “You spineless prick.” But I didn’t like this new confidence in him. It was obvious. Alex sought out the Greater demon for power in exchange for the psychics. And the psychopath gave them to him. Did this mean Alex had this new power in him already? It would explain his nakedness.

  Footsteps reached me and Logan, and Colin appeared at my side.

  Alex laughed. “You’re the pathetic one. You bring a kid and an angel-born for backup? What kind of dark witch are you?”

  I matched his smile. “The kind who’s going to enjoy watching you die.”

  Logan leaned closer and whispered. “Why’s he naked?”

  “To better castrate him,” I said, my voice loud and enjoying the ugly frown on Alex’s face.

  There was a smash, like the sound of a glass hitting the ground, and I turned to see my glass sphere in pieces around Colin’s shoes.

  But I was startled when I saw his expression. He was looking at Alex with a fury matching mine, possibly more. He’d hurt his f
riend Poe.

  Alex was wrong. Colin wasn’t just a kid.

  A faint moan filled the air, and I saw Vargal kneel next to Trish, his lips moving as he worked her mind. He was trying to possess her so he could then kill her and take her soul, finishing the ritual to raise the pagan god. We were running out of time.

  But to reach her, I’d have to go through Alex first.

  Okay, then.

  “Half-breed. Take care of them,” came Vargal’s voice from the circle, flat and uncaring as though our presence was barely registered, like an obstacle easily removed.

  Yeah, like that was going to happen. Hell no.

  Alex’s teeth showed as his lips curled into an ugly smile. “With pleasure.”

  Before I could move or even say the spell I’d been conjuring, Alex’s hand twisted around Poe’s neck with inhuman speed, like he was about to break it. I could only stare as my friend was about to be killed right before my eyes.

  But then something extraordinary happened.

  His hand stilled. And then slowly, it withdrew.

  “What is this?” shrilled Alex, his eyes wide in utter shock. His hand shook as it pulled away from Poe. “How are you doing this?” howled the witch. Alex gritted his teeth in what seemed to be excruciating pain. But it wasn’t from me.

  I stood in shock as I watched the scene unfold. It was almost as though he were fighting with his own body. He didn’t have control of it. Alex’s left hand shook as he strained to regain control, but it still moved away from the raven as though it had a mind of its own.

  My gaze fell on the kid. Colin’s focus was on Alex. The kid looked livid with his jaw set. He stood still with clenched fists, a deep frown creasing his face, but his eyes never left the witch.

  Colin was controlling Alex’s hands. He was making him release Poe.

  I saw the realization on Logan’s face. Just when Alex’s right hand opened, and Poe’s limp body slipped from it, I moved.

  “Attrapere!” I shouted, my hands outstretched. An invisible force shot out, wrapped around Poe’s body before it hit the ground, and flung it back to my hands like an elastic band.

  I caught the raven. He was still warm. My knees wobbled with a sudden surge of relief. Thank the cauldron. Without stopping, I slipped him inside my messenger bag and prayed to the cauldron he was going to wake up.

  I looked up. Colin was still focused on Alex. He still had control of the witch. The kid ran the witch like a puppet. More like a naked Ken doll.

  Now this was going to be fun.

  “Cover me,” I told Logan, and I rushed forward, skidding to my knees next to Kyllian. My knees burned, and I knew I’d torn my jeans and was probably bleeding.

  “Kyllian!” I shook the big angel. His soul blade lay on the ground next to him. He wasn’t bleeding from any wounds I could see, which meant he’d suffered a curse. Knowing his angel body was specially designed to withstand some demonic energies and magic, I was hoping it had repelled most of the blow.

  “Kyllian!” I shouted and smacked him across the face, hard, making my hand throb.

  He sat up with a start, blinking fast. “Either I’m losing my mind, or a naked witch spelled me,” he said, eyes wide.

  “You’re not losing your mind,” I told him and reached for his arm, which was solid like a tree trunk. “Get up.”

  The large angel snatched up his soul blade and sprang to his feet without my help, light on his feet as though he hadn’t just been hexed.

  “Half-breed fool,” came Vargal’s voice, and Kyllian and I turned around. “Must I do everything myself,” yelled the Greater demon.

  In a flash, Vargal stood and removed his cowl. His skin was still that pasty white, but his face was human. He was bald and hairless, no eyebrows or eyelashes that I could see. He looked to be in his early forties, fit, like someone who spent hours at the gym. But I knew I was looking at an ageless creature from the Netherworld. He could be thousands of years old for all I knew. And right now, he looked pissed.

  His frustration was clearly visible in the wrinkles around his eyes and forehead and the tightness of his jaw. I could almost taste his desire to kill us himself, but he controlled it. He still had Trish to possess, and from the looks of it, things weren’t going as well as he’d planned.

  Tough shit.

  “Let’s kill the bastard,” said Kyllian, a wicked gleam in his eye as he flexed his shoulder muscles. Nice.

  I spared a quick look at Colin. His face had broken into a sweat, but Alex was still snarling, both index fingers stuck in his ears as he hopped on one foot. I cracked a smile. This was one of those moments when I wished I had the time to take a few pictures.

  Colin was impressive with a far greater mind control and mental mastering than I had imagined. I wished I had a spell that could control minds, like Vera’s.

  My gaze flicked to the red-eyed bastard.

  Vargal was alone. His naked helper was indisposed, bouncing around like a fool.

  I shot a glance at Logan. Our eyes met. With his blades out, his stance widened, becoming more aggressive and confident. He bent his body low. He was ready and waiting for my signal.

  All righty, then.

  It was now or never. Heart pounding, I moved toward the Greater demon, Kyllian on my left while Logan came up on my right. I lifted my hands. Summoning my will, I called to the power in my rings, shaping the magic I wanted to create, the magic I needed to restrain the Greater demon.

  And then Vargal opened his mouth, flung out his hands and howled, “Mangghom tjha’Di yirz ju’bbe tzebris Hor!”

  A black haze rose up and around him until he’d disappeared under it, like some sort of shield. I cursed as the haze grew and grew until it looked like a wall.

  Shit. I didn’t like this. Across from us, the black wall shifted and moved, and when my eyes focused to the dim light, I knew why.

  A chill fell over me.

  Hundreds of demons stepped from beyond the wall. Ghouls, imps, shadow demons, morax demons all shifted and paced with guttural grunts and moans as they thrashed their talons on the ground, waiting. The sound lifted the hairs on the back of my neck. I faced an impenetrable deadly wall of demons.

  And then that wall came crashing down on us.

  24

  “Incoming!” yelled Kyllian as he took a stand, soul blade at the ready with the eyes of a madman.

  I admired his courage, but when faced with hundreds of demons, the right course of action was to flee. But we still had Trish to save and Vargal to kill. We weren’t going anywhere.

  Plus, Vargal had vanished in that black haze, but I knew the bastard wasn’t far away. He’d be back. And I was going to kill him.

  The demons moved until they circled around us, trapping us. There was nowhere to run and nothing to do but fight their scraping claws, staring black eyes, and hissing, terrible laughter.

  The first wave of demons hit, and I was ready.

  The scent of rotted flesh and sulfur burned my eyes and my lungs. I coughed, tasting the bitterness on my tongue like I’d swallowed some sewer water.

  Kyllian hurled himself at the nearest ghoul, slicing its head right off with a single swipe of his blade. Show-off.

  Logan chopped and diced, moving with preternatural quickness, light on his feet.

  The noise of a battle drifted up, the blasts of magic with the hacking of flesh and bone.

  A shadow demon leaped at me, all writhing darkness and shadows and glowing red eyes. The thing with shadow demons was that they could take on a solid form for a short period of time, showing fragments of their corrupted and twisted bodies. And that’s when we killed them.

  The shadow demon shifted into its solid form, a grotesque, squid-like, giant rat with too many mouths and teeth.

  “Feurantis!” I shouted as I flung out my hand. The ball of fire hit the demon in an explosion of yellow-and-orange flames. Then came a burst of ashes, all that was left of the shadow demon. Gotcha, you shadowy bastard.

  A cry s
ounded behind me.

  I spun. Colin was going around in circles, his fists clenched in the air in front of him and his eyes flicking over the mass of nasties coming at us from every direction. Shit. He’d lost his focus on Alex.

  The kid was scared. But to hit a demon with a fist was like hitting a rock with your hand. It would only harm you in the end. You needed something more substantial, like a blade or magic. And he had neither.

  Checking that Poe was still secured in my bag, I ran to Colin—

  A ghoul rushed at me from the side.

  “Vento!” I blasted it with a gust of wind and sent it sprawling across the room.

  I kept running.

  A shadow demon leaped at Colin. The kid froze.

  Shit. Terror-fueled adrenaline rushed through me and kicked me into high gear.

  I hurled both hands out and cried, “Murus!” A see-through, twenty-by-twenty, simmering blue wall rose in front of Colin, just as the shadow demon hit it and bounced off. The spell would probably only last a few seconds, but it gave me enough time to reach the kid.

  A blur of limbs caught my attention as an imp came at him from the left. “Colin. Behind me,” I shouted as I pulled the kid by his shirt and yanked him behind me.

  The imp, a vile creature that stunk of feces with tuffs of black fur, a mouthful of fishlike teeth and the size of an ape, hurled itself at me.

  “Stinky bastard.” I pulled on my power and raised my hand—

  Logan lunged, thrusting both swords deep into its chest. The imp howled, hissing as it swatted at him with its talons. Logan cut and sliced, twisting on his feet with the grace of a dancer. With a final thrust into the demon’s chest, its eyes widened, and then its body went slack.

  A ghoul sprang from the other side. Logan’s blade ripped through the air with an eerie whistle and plunged into the ghoul’s right eye. Black blood spurted, and the ghoul collapsed.

  The protection wall fell.

  My heart throbbed against my chest as demonic energies flooded around us. The shadow demon moved like a cloud of black mist. It slipped around Logan and shot straight for me. Of course it would.