Spells & Ashes

by Kim Richardson

  In one fluid movement, I ducked, and then I was up and spinning, the tip of my blade whistling through the air. The demon pitched back, crashing into the wall. It howled and lunged again when my blade was past. It hit me in the back, and I went sprawling onto the bed, the brute force knocking the frame apart and sending the mattress to the floor with us on it. I twisted around, just as the demon loomed over me.

  It howled as it shot at me again, yellow spit dripping from its mouth. My eyes burned at the stench of rot and sulfur.

  “You dare disturb my feasting!” roared a voice that was many voices, mixed with the wails of demons and the cries of dying men. “I will feast on your soul, angel bitch!”

  Its jaws met my jacket sleeve and tore into my flesh with its needle-like teeth. I swore as white-hot pain ripped through my arm. Hot ice ran through my veins—the demon’s poison. I felt the muscles of my arm tighten and then go numb.

  “Damn.” Incubus demons were notorious for using their venom to paralyze their victims into a complete trance when their glamour didn’t work. Not going to happen.

  I kicked out with my leg and my boot vibrated as I made contact with its knee. The demon staggered back, but in a flash it went for me again.

  I struck at it with my blade, black blood spilling everywhere, but it was too quick. The blow glanced off, and it snapped at my arm again. Tears filled my eyes. The bastard was going to chow my arm off if I didn’t stop it.

  I felt a rush of panicked anger as I yanked my blade into its side with a twisting cut to the sound of a wail. The demon let go and stumbled back, hissing and spitting. Black blood oozed from the cut on its side as the demon thrashed and spoke in the ancient demon language.

  “I’m a little rusty on my demon dialect,” I said as I spat some demon blood from my mouth. “But I think you just called me a very bad word. Am I right?” I frowned at the tear on my jacket sleeve. “Crap. Look what you did. This was my one good jacket. I can’t afford a new one, not even with this lousy job’s pay.”

  The incubus turned its head very slowly in my direction. Shit. It was really mad.

  It sprang at me again, running like a streak, just a blur of black and shadow. Before I could stop it, we hit the wall together with a frightening force. The impact of pain took the breath from my lungs, and I felt my soul blade slip from my hand. A shower of wood fragments and plaster exploded into the air, falling over my hair, and dust blew into my eyes, blinding me momentarily. I was pinned to the wall and couldn’t move.

  The demon shrieked in laughter and its warm breath assaulted my face as it spoke. “I will rip the skin off your bones slowly, until you beg for mercy, until you cry out for your mommy… and then I will suck out your soul like water through a straw.”

  It pressed its body against me. I screamed as I kicked and struggled to get away. Hell, I was not going to end up soul-sucked by this incubus in desperate need of a shower.

  It grabbed a fistful of my hair, pinning my head to the wall as it licked my face.

  I gagged, my eyes watering at the reek of rotten meat. “Screw you.”

  It punched my side, knocking the wind from my lungs. “With pleasure.”

  I felt the demon going for my neck before it even moved. I cried out, panicking as a guttural laugh tore my ears. Its hand clasped around my neck and began to squeeze.

  Blood rushed to my face. I couldn’t breathe. Where was my soul blade?

  There was only one thing to do when about to be soul-sucked by an incubus without a soul blade, and that was to hit it where it counts.

  I raised my knee with as much force as I could muster and hit it right in its groin—well, what I expected was its groin. It worked. The incubus howled in pain and fell back onto the ground, hunched over.

  It was male, after all. Even male demons had their weaknesses.

  I snatched my soul blade from the orange-stained carpet, and a thrill rolled up my spine. The fight wouldn’t be ending so soon. I would dance with the demon a little while longer and let my rage free.

  “You’ll never hurt another woman ever again, demon.”

  The demon laughed, a seductive kind of laugh. “Who said you’re capable of killing me?” It raised itself to its full height.

  “I just did.”

  With a flick of my wrist, I let my soul blade fly. It flew true and straight and hit the demon straight in its right eye socket.

  The incubus burst into flames. It made a horrible scream as it thrashed around the room, its mouth opened wide and teeth snapping as flames burned all over it. Its howl made my skin crawl. Hunched over, it staggered toward me, still on fire, and I backed up.

  “I know what you are,” screeched the demon, pointing at me with a flaming hand. “I know! They know it too. They all know it! And they’ll find you! Death is nearer than you think! I’ll be back—”

  The demon burst into a cloud of gray ash. I didn’t even wait for the demon ash to settle as I stepped through the falling dust, crossed the room and picked up my blade. I wiped it clean with one of the drapes. It’s not like anyone would even notice, not with the hole in the wall, the broken bed, and the pile of ash that would soon settle all over the room.

  My soul blade gleamed. I could see the reflection of my thin face staring back at me, framed by a tangle of long brown hair. God, I was a mess. I needed a shower. Groaning, I sheathed my blade back to my waist.

  “Nice work,” said a voice behind me.

  I flinched and whirled around.

  A man stood in the doorway, and I never heard his approach.

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  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  KIM RICHARDSON is the award-winning author of the bestselling SOUL GUARDIANS series. She lives in the eastern part of Canada with her husband, two dogs and a very old cat. She is the author of the SOUL GUARDIANS series, the MYSTICS series, and the DIVIDED REALMS series. Kim's books are available in print editions, and translations are available in over seven languages.

  To learn more about the author, please visit:

  www.kimrichardsonbooks.com