“If humans got too close, they’d disappear,” Nikolas said darkly. “As would any celestial who got curious. It works because it’s low-key, and from what you said, it sounds like he has Damian watching the place. Maybe others.”
“Not to mention visiting the vampire queen and fooling her, too,” I added.
“The DivinityWatch crew are already warning people to avoid being bitten by any vampires,” Fiona put in. “Saying anyone might have the virus and that official channels can’t be trusted.”
“Good,” I said. “I don’t think we should tell everyone the virus kills celestials, but that’s not relevant anyway. The important part is that they know the guild’s compromised, there’s a demon in their midst, and anyone who’s been bitten might turn into a weapon. Get a warning to the celestials that way. But you know, they might not believe us. It’s been forever since an arch-demon actually attacked this realm.”
“Isn’t your novice training about terrorising you into thinking that the demons are trying to corrupt everyone?” asked Rachel.
“Fair point,” I said. “Yeah, there was a lot of talk like that, but the inspector—people worship him, or are terrified of him. And as far as anyone’s concerned, they’re rounding up vampires for the safety of the public. That’s the cover story.”
“And humans?” Fiona asked.
I shook my head. “I won’t hand you over to them, Fi, even if they demand it.”
“Even if there’s a demon in my head,” she said quietly.
I winced, another possibility striking me. With the other victims, they’d flown into a frenzy and attacked people. I’d thought it was the demonic essence from inside the saphor demons controlling their actions. But if Fiona could use fire…
The virus is like the celestial power, except on the demons’ side.
“It’s okay,” she said quietly. “If you want me to leave—”
“Not happening,” I said. “Seriously. It’ll take more than a blown-up lab to make me abandon you.”
“But I destroyed all your research.”
“There wasn’t much anyway,” I said. “Seriously—”
“DEVINA LAWSON.” Javos shoved his way into the room, aura flashing with molten rage. “I knew I sensed another demon’s presence in this house.”
Shit. “Don’t—”
“You aren’t the one giving orders here, celestial,” he snarled. “First the demons and now this. I will not harbour those who belong to the enemy. Those vampires are a liability, and now I hear that Madame White will wage war on anyone who helps them. I won’t stand for it.”
“Then they can come to my house,” Nikolas said easily from behind us. “I trust that won’t be an issue.”
“The vamps are asleep,” I said. “Seriously, you might have picked a better time.”
“Like when Madame White is beating the door down?” Javos turned around and sloped away, the message clear. The vampires were out of the house one way or another, and so was Fiona.
Fine, then.
“Leave everything in the lab,” Nikolas said. “I have all the ingredients we need at my house.”
“Great,” I said. “Anyone want to help with herding vampires?”
Twenty minutes later, we had the vamps loaded into the minibus again, Fiona and Rachel keeping an eye on them. I ran to my room, picked up my weapons and spare clothes and shoved them into a rucksack. I had a feeling I wouldn’t be coming back.
Strapping on the last of my weapons, I left my room and ran smack into Javos.
“Not so fast, Miss Devina,” he said, his horned head stooped under the landing ceiling “You still work for me.”
You total prick. “I did my job. You just kicked out my best friend. So if you’ll excuse me, I’m off.”
He scowled, fury crackling through his huge body. Even the walls vibrated as his aura burned white-orange, and my demon mark switched on, eager for a fight.
“Fine,” I taunted. “Kick off at me. Don’t forget I can take in your power if I wanted to. I’m out of patience, Javos. Step aside.
I raised my demon marked hand… and he did. He moved, allowing me to pass. Well, shit. Maybe he really didn’t want me to take his magic. That, or he realised belatedly that smashing me into a pulp would only give the enemy another advantage. Either way, I pelted downstairs to join Nikolas in the front of the minibus, my hands shaking with adrenaline. I’d never seen exactly what Javos’s power did in battle, but it was enough for him to command respect from every warlock in the city. But he hadn’t used it on me.
Nikolas was waiting, his gaze on the house. Shadowy wings extended from his shoulder blades, while an opening into Babylon lay right behind him.
“He didn’t hurt you, did he?” he asked, a warning note in his voice.
I frowned at the opening behind him. “No. What’s going on back there?”
“Nothing, thankfully.” His gaze passed over me, and I turned to see Javos briefly meet his eyes from the doorstep before firmly shutting the door.
What the hell was that, some warlock power display? Oh. Javos had probably thought Nikolas would bring an army through from Babylon to kick him in the head if he did me any harm. That explained why he’d let me go.
The opening into Babylon vanished and Nikolas boarded the bus without another word. I did likewise.
“I’m so screwed,” I muttered. “No more demonglass.”
“You don’t think I threw away my own collection?” Nikolas said. “I have no shortage at my house.”
I could have kissed him. But that might be too much for the poor vampires sitting bleary-eyed in the back.
“Good,” I said instead. “Because if ever there was a good time to take matters into our own hands, it’s now.”
Nikolas drove, while I kept one eye on Fiona and one on the vampires. If the arch-demon intended to use her against me, I wouldn’t hand her over without a fight.
“Fiona,” I said. “I wonder—can I absorb your power?”
She frowned. “Maybe. I don’t know. I’m not sure what it’s supposed to feel like, but I don’t feel any different.”
If I had to guess, the demon was using her as a host in some sense, and its power was impossible to access when she wasn’t using it. I turned to the nearest vampire, holding up my mark. It was the Asian girl I’d spoken to in the warehouse before. The mark didn’t so much as flicker.
“What?” she said. “What are you doing?”
“I can draw demonic magic,” I said. “I thought maybe I could take in yours, but I guess it isn’t the same as regular magic.”
Damn. It was worth a try.
Nikolas pulled over at the side of the road down from his house. It was a fairly ordinary four-bedroom house which I expected to look more neglected, considering he spent most of the time at Javos’s place lately. He took my bags from me and carried them to the bedroom at the corridor’s end.
“You can have the second guest room,” Rachel told Fiona, pointing at one of the doors. “I usually stay in this one. Unless you want to be roommates in case you need someone to stop you starting fires in your sleep, but I sometimes shapeshift when I’m unconscious. Fair warning.”
Fiona gave a nervous laugh. “No thanks. I think I’m good.” She dropped her bags off in the spare room, arching a brow at me. “Nikolas seems certain you’re staying together.”
I shrugged. “Guess so.”
Rachel gave me a grin. “I saw it coming. Even Javos did.”
“Is that why he waited until now to kick me out?”
“Probably. I never understood how his mind worked.” She bounded downstairs. “Come on. Let’s get those vamps off the bus.”
Between us, we relocated the vampires upstairs into the largest bedroom where they promptly passed out on the carpet—two of them mid-sentence. After locking the door, I met Rachel and Fiona in the living room downstairs.
“Not much of an army,” said Rachel, settling on the sofa. “It’s the three of us and a half-dozen va
mps who might turn against us.”
I sat down beside her. “Honestly, I’m willing to try anything at this point. Damian went through the portal into the demon realm, but he’ll be back. And this time, I’ll be ready to take the rest of the army off his hands. Where’s Nikolas?”
“He went to check on the shadow realm, apparently,” said Fiona. “Because that’s a totally normal thing to say. Did I mention I have no clue how to explain all this to my parents? They want to fly over from Ireland and visit me, and I can’t exactly tell them I might accidentally set them on fire. And now I’m pretty much homeless.”
“Me too. I’m sorry.” I sat in an empty chair, which smelled of brimstone and something warm and comforting. Like Nikolas. Oh, man. Sleeping together was one thing, but getting attached like this? Dangerous ground. “This is all my fault.”
“Oh no,” said Fiona. “I’m pinning this one on the demons. Always. The mind-invading bastards—”
Shadows exploded in the middle of the room and Nikolas reappeared. Fiona slid from the sofa with a shriek as his wings nearly hit her in the face. His shadowy aura was out in full force.
“Babylon is under attack,” he said.
“From what?” I jumped to my feet, alarmed to see him bleeding from the arm. The wound, however, was already closing.
“Whatever it is, it came through a portal,” he said. “I’d know the sight anyway. I need to assist my people.”
“I’m coming,” Rachel and I said at the same time.
Crap. So much for Haven City being the only target.
“Hold on,” I added. “I’ll get the demonglass set up. We need more than one way back. Where is it?”
Nikolas ran to the kitchen in answer. In this realm, his wings didn’t appear completely solid, tucked away when he passed through the door frame and dug into a cupboard next to the shelves where he kept his collection of warlock tomes and ingredients for demon summonings. Returning with a jar of glass fragments, he scattered them onto the carpet. “Are you all armed?”
I checked my stakes and knives were in place, and nodded.
“Devi,” said Fiona hesitantly. “Firepower would be useful in a fight, wouldn’t it?”
“You—no,” I said. “Sorry, but even with the arch-demon messing with you, that realm’s dangerous. If you start to feel the demon’s influence come on again…”
“Use this.” Nikolas handed her another jar. “It’ll knock you out. I can’t say it’ll work on the demon, but it’s all I’ve got.”
Panic and anger twisted his expression. Whatever he’d seen on the other side had been bad. Really bad. And that realm was tied up with Pandemonium—with the monsters who wanted to invade Earth.
Shadows blanketed the three of us. In another instant, we stood in a valley cradled between high cliffs. Not where we’d been before. I didn’t know where we’d ended up. But even at such a distance from the castle, the light of a portal blazed, unmistakable. It appeared to come from somewhere below… Zadok’s tower.
There weren’t supposed to be working portals here at all.
The usually purple star-specked sky burned with the shadow of flames, while the castle gates were thrown wide. Too far to run to.
“They’re down near the river,” he said. “They came out of the water near—”
“The same place I set up the pentagram before.” I swore. “It’s got to be Zadok—or the link to Pandemonium.”
He looked around. “I can fly—”
“But it’ll be quicker to use the glass,” I said.
He merely nodded. Shadows unfurled around us again, taking us back into the living room. This time I didn’t hesitate before stepping onto the fragments of demonglass, the others behind me. Javos’s lessons had actually helped.
My body seized up as pain racked through my spine, objecting to being forced to travel such an unnatural way. We landed in a heap, Rachel sprawled underneath me and Nikolas beneath both of us. I’d brought us into the castle’s corridor with the demonglass pillars, and the sounds of fighting echoed from below.
“I should have warned you it’s uncomfortable.” I disentangled my legs from Rachel’s, who groaned.
“Now I know where you got the courage to defy Javos,” she said, stretching her neck. “I think I’d rather have the shadow power.”
“This way.” Nikolas beckoned, his wings shadowy and solid-looking now he was in the realm which fuelled his demon magic.
We moved in the direction of the noise, towards the door opening onto the bridge to Zadok’s tower. Fiery light spiralled up to the sky. All around, demons did battle with warlocks. With a snarl, Nikolas launched himself into the air. His shadow passed overhead, a being of power and wrath, striking down the enemy with bolts of lightning edged in shadows. Lesser demons swarmed beneath the bridge and on it, too. The portal had definitely hit the same spot I’d used Zadok’s pentagram on.
I caused this. Somehow.
Divine light leapt to my hand, and I ran into the fray.
Chapter 13
Divine fire exploded from my hands, ripping the first row of demons to pieces. The light drew attention from other demons, who either cringed away or ran towards me with battle cries. I drew my celestial blade and cut left and right, severing wings and tails, sending dead demons toppling from the bridge into the surging current below. Rachel ran past in her demon form, tearing into anything that moved. As this wasn’t their realm, the demons disintegrated into ashes… but not all of them did. Scorpion demons remained behind, dead stingers leaking venom onto the stone. Bat demons fell out of the sky. And the demonglass tower at the end reflected the gory scene back at us in three-dimensional vividness.
Someone in this realm is working with the enemy. Considering how close the nether realms were, it wasn’t a surprise, but that someone had set up a portal again… I was almost certain it was Zadok, but I hadn’t seen him since the last battle, and Nikolas had removed the pentagram I’d used last time. No signs of life came from the glowing glass tower. All attention was focused on the bridge, and the flaming light beneath.
A venos demon bore down on me. The scorpion’s stinger flew wide, and its head followed. I climbed over its body, my demon mark thirsty for blood.
Fire roared beneath the bridge, but though the flames leapt close enough to touch, I didn’t feel their heat. That meant one thing—it was demonic fire, close enough to the sort Themedes and Azurial had used. Shit. Don’t tell me there’s another one.
As if conjured by my thoughts, a winged figure appeared outlined in the flames, the shape of a person, highlighted against the fire. Not again. The figure appeared as female, clad in flame-coloured armour, and wielding a blade of fire. With powerful wingbeats, she landed in front of me.
“Who the hell are you?” I demanded. “Not Azurial’s long-lost sister.”
Actually… it stood to reason there’d be other fire demigods. She was no arch-demon. I’d know. But I’d only seen that type of fire magic on one person before.
“Celestial,” she said dismissively, raising her blade of flames. “I’ve been ordered to eliminate you.”
“You’re late to the party.”
I ran forwards to meet her, conjuring up my celestial blade once more. Oddly, no heat came from her, and her aura appeared more yellow than orange—albeit still like looking into the sun on a high summer’s day. The combination of her blazing aura and the portal’s light made Babylon’s dark skies look bleached, washed-out.
I met her strike, sweeping her blade aside, but she struck back with ease, forcing me to parry. Damn, she was good. Better than her brother. The blade moved like an extension of her hand, and she didn’t use the fire magic at all. She must know I was immune.
Time to end this.
I willed my demon mark to take in her power, and it glowed with fiery light. Then I conjured divine fire to my other hand. “Nice knowing you.”
She disappeared into the flames. My attack seared through the air, but no screams came out of the
fire. She was just—gone.
“What the—?”
White light grazed my back. I spun around, dodging aside, but she’d concealed herself in the portal’s flames. Dammit. She was as much of a coward as her brother, apparently.
White fire pulsed from the twin marks on my wrists, not connecting with any target. My flames clashed with the portal below, and if anything, the flaming currents surged higher with each attack. Was I somehow making the portal stronger? Not good at all.
I have the power of an arch-demon. She’s nothing.
The flames from beneath the bridge climbed by the second. The portal… dammit, I needed to shut it off, but to do that, I’d need to get down off this bridge—somewhat difficult when it was covered in warring demons and warlocks. Nikolas had disappeared from sight. Rachel, too. A spasm of fear shook me. The bridge trembled under the flames. Maybe demonic fire could even melt through solid stone. I didn’t particularly want to be standing on it if that was the case.
“Get here and face me, coward,” I snarled. “I’m immune to your fire.”
A white thread of magic wrapped around my left hand. I swore, bracing myself. Rachel’s shoes did their job, fusing me to the bridge and preventing the magic from pulling me off. The whip-like strand of magic squeezed tighter, and pain jolted through my celestial mark.
“Get off me.” I grabbed it with my other hand, but too late. Breath whispered on my cheek, the demigod’s shadow appeared behind me, and a blade found its home in my back.
I dodged at the last second. If I hadn’t, she might have stabbed me in the heart. At the same time, the bridge gave way. Stones crumbled over the portal and the crackling flames, and even Rachel’s boots weren’t enough to stop me from falling.
My right hand flailed, grabbing onto her magic—I bloody hoped it was her regenerative power I’d grabbed, because if not, I was dead.
And then I fell, towards churning water and raging fire.
Celestial Ashes: The Celestial Marked Series: Book Three Page 11