“I very much doubt that.” I stepped forward, wanting to end it before it said too much.
The reflection raised its katana to block. I slashed downward, intending to cut both sword and body in half with a single blow.
Shadow met metal with the sound of a dull clang, and the metal was repelled. I stepped back in shock. The reflections weren’t going to be banished as easily as before; they no longer were just illusion.
“What should I do?” Lionel asked from behind me.
“Stay back.” At least Lionel’s reflection hadn’t materialized as well. “We want to keep you away from the mirror. Plus, you aren’t armed, and it is more solid than last time. More dangerous.”
“Have you become less solid?” The reflection lowered its katana a fraction.
“Of course not.”
“It will happen.” Its smile was chalk grating across slate. It looked exactly like me, but at the same time looked nothing like me. The eyes were too cold, and the skin was too smooth.
“Never.” I swung, and once again it blocked.
“By the end of the night, I’ll be you, and my partner will be your friend. It’s better this way. I can see inside your heart. You can feel your time coming to an end.”
I aimed a series of fast cuts toward the reflection’s left side. It retreated, blocking. I then lowered my shoulder and swung low at the reflection’s shins.
It jumped over my scything katana, then laughed. “I knew you were going to do that. You can’t beat yourself.”
I could. The problem was that I couldn’t move too fast without revealing my nature to Lionel.
The reflection, sensing my thoughts, looked over my shoulder. “He doesn’t know about you, does he?”
I leaped forward, aiming a blow diagonally at its right shoulder. It was a fraction slow in blocking, and my katana deflected off the shadow blade and passed into the reflection’s body.
Thankfully, it disappeared.
“You really know how to use that sword,” Lionel said. “What did it mean? About—”
“About us being replaced by the end of the night? It means we better hurry and find Val. Quickly. If she’s here, she’ll have heard us by now.”
I rejoined Lionel in the hall. Stairs led up and down, and straight on was a small corridor with two doorways in it.
“Which way?” Lionel asked.
“There’s less dust on the steps leading down. That’s the first place to try.”
“Appropriate. Down into the underworld to find the necromancer.”
It should have sounded ridiculous. But in the graveyard silence of the condemned estate with only a glowing pendant to banish the shadows, Lionel’s words only added to the ominous atmosphere. He led the way downward. At the bottom of the stairs, a small door blocked the way. He turned the handle, and, finding it unlocked, pushed it open.
“Keep an eye out for mirrors,” I warned. Inside, a desk piled high with books leaned against the far wall. Closer, an open closet showed a selection of dresses hanging up, with a jumble of overflowing clothes on the floor in front of it.
We moved through an open doorway to a bedroom. “She’s not here.” Lionel picked a framed picture off a small desk and handed it across. “Though as the hood mage promised, she did live here.”
I lifted the picture high to examine it. It showed a younger, more sane-looking version of the woman we’d seen teaching in the backroom of the Pink Palace. Beside her was another woman, who from the age difference and similarities of appearance was obviously her daughter. In the picture, Val looked lovingly down at her daughter, who was laughing at something off camera.
I moved around the room, examining the many other photographs. Nearly all of them were of Val and her daughter, some of the daughter as a girl, some of her as a young teen, none of them that recent. Danielle had mentioned Val’s daughter in less than complimentary terms. It appeared Val didn’t share that assessment.
“I wonder why Val stayed here when everyone left,” Lionel asked.
“You called this estate a graveyard of memories,” I said. “And perhaps Val isn’t ready to accept that time has moved on. She still clings to the past.” Each individual photograph was normal-looking, but all of them together created a creepy effect. Between the bookshelves, desk, and those hanging on the walls, there were dozens of them, and all of them contained Val’s daughter.
“Look, a picture of an actual graveyard,” Lionel said, picking a photo off the desk.
The background was familiar. “Show me that.” I snatched the photo out of his hand. It was a night scene with Val and her daughter’s eyes turned red by the flash. They stood on the steps of a mausoleum, but not just any mausoleum—it was the Colescu family one. Mortissa had had it built for us when we first arrived in the city, a place for the remains of vampires who left their immortal coil behind. It was just for family; the fawns weren’t told about it. Why would Mortissa or another Colescu have taken Val and her daughter there?
I turned the photo over. Val and Connie, together forever, I read.
Connie. The name was familiar, though it took a moment to place; it returned to me along with the memory of air thick with the smell of blood. Gaston had mentioned the name when I’d tortured him.
“Perhaps Val stays here because she can practice magic and necromancy without worry of neighbors complaining about bangs or explosions.” Lionel picked a book off the bed and leafed through it. He shook his head. “This shouldn’t be lying around where anyone can pick it up.”
“As Danielle said, perhaps knowledge can’t be contained.”
“Father has a rather different view,” Lionel said.
“And what he says goes?”
“In this city, yes.” He did a full turn, trying to take everything in. “I don’t see any obvious clues about where she could be.” He faced me. “If we are to believe your reflection, both of us are in deep trouble, and time is ticking. Isn’t it time you told me what you know?”
“I’m not hiding anything,” I said. I’m hiding everything, I thought.
“How did you get involved in all this?” Lionel asked. “Who is your client?”
My mind raced, and it amazingly came up with an answer after only a brief pause. “A man named Gaston hired me,” I said. “He was Connie’s boyfriend.”
“Connie?”
“Val’s daughter.”
“What did he want you to do?”
“He was worried about what Val was doing, worried that she was leading her daughter down dark paths,” I said. “He mentioned hood magic, and asked me to investigate. That’s how you came across me where you did.” To my pleasant surprise, the impromptu fabrication made a reasonable amount of sense.
“This Gaston didn’t know about the necromancy,” Lionel asked.
“Not that he told me. I’ll have some questions for him when I next see him.” The next time I torture someone, I should listen to the information they offer, I thought ruefully.
“I don’t understand how vampires fit in. They can’t perform magic or necromancy.”
“The Pink Palace is run by the Colescus. That’s the only connection I can think of.” I picked up the book that Lionel had dropped. It was an ancient leather tome, and the front cover was decorated by a swirling metal decoration. I fingered the whorls, admiring the craftsmanship.
“Shit,” Lionel said suddenly, looking around.
“What is it?” Even as I asked, the ground trembled beneath my feet.
“Magic just flared,” Lionel said. “Powerful magic.”
A hollow boom sounded and dust rained down. A magical booby trap, I just had time to realize. Then the roof collapsed.
Chapter 7
I grabbed Lionel and dragged him to the doorway between the two rooms. I held him with one arm and used the other to brace against the lintel above me. Chunks of concrete thundered down around us. I squeezed my eyes shut and put all my energy into pushing upward. My strength wasn’t enough to hold a falling bui
lding, but perhaps I could give the lintel a little extra support, just enough to make a difference. The roar of noise swirled around me. I grunted at several hits against my legs. A pressure enclosed my torso and squeezed.
The noise ended. I opened my eyes, and saw only darkness. Was I even alive? After the maelstrom of chaos and noise, the stillness was almost more terrifying.
“Help,” I shouted, coughing as I swallowed dust. “Help.” I strained against the pressure that held me immobile. The only parts of me that I could move were one arm and my head. As I struggled with all my strength, the dirt and rubble holding me gave slightly.
“Stop moving,” Lionel shouted, then he too started coughing. “You’ll bring the rest of this down on top of us.”
I stilled, realizing he was right. Rocks rumbled threateningly, and stones rolled toward me, several hitting me in the neck and face.
I used my free hand to wave the dust clear from in front of my face, and I was finally able to see faint light. My fingers scrambled at the dirt in front of my chest, and I unearthed Lionel’s pendant, still glowing. I coughed again, continuing to wave away dust until the air cleared enough to see better.
Lionel and I were squashed together, our heads close. We were both buried up to our necks, though I had one arm free. The lintel above us had held, creating a small pocket of air. Seeing how small the space was made me want to try to fight my way out again, but I resisted the urge.
“Help,” I shouted again, then another coughing fit took me. I took shallow breaths until my throat cleared. Dust swirled in the ghostly white glow.
“We should space out the calls for help,” Lionel said. “Conserve our energy.”
“How are you so calm?” I asked. The real question was why was I panicking. I had lived through wars and plagues.
“Most likely, I’m still in shock,” Lionel said. “When I fully realize what’s happened, I’ll start sobbing like a baby. I’ll let you deal with me then.”
“How?” I asked. “By changing your diaper?”
“Don’t joke. That may be needed when we are rescued.”
“So your underpants are full of—”
“Rubble, let’s say rubble.”
I sniffed, then the smile died on my lips as I smelled something, and not something unpleasant. “Are you badly injured?” I asked.
“No. I’m numb all over.”
Blood oozed down the side of his skull. We were pressed so close together, almost cheek to cheek, that I only had to bend my neck to touch my lips to the dark trickle. In anticipation, the taste of blood filled my mouth.
I swallowed, dust itching in my dry throat. Once I became aware of it, the smell of Lionel’s blood filled the small air pocket, swirling through the ghostly glow. His life force called to me. My gums tingled.
“Thank you,” Lionel said. “For saving me back there. I just froze. I’m not sure how you reacted so fast.”
“Instinct is a strange thing.” And vampiric speed and strength were even stranger.
And fresh blood could renew that strength. I gave a little headshake. What was I thinking? I didn’t want to harm Lionel; I didn’t want to kill anyone ever again. I had proved that with Sistine, that I could overcome my dark desire. I crushed my awareness of Lionel’s blood, pushing it deep down inside me. “Can you use magic to save us?” I asked.
He shook his head. “I’ve several spells stored on my pendant,” he said. “Such as the light we are using. Also, I could heal you if needed. However, to cast a spell I haven’t prepared, I’d need to read from my spellbook, which is currently trapped in my jacket pocket under a foot of rubble. And even if I had that, I’m not sure what I’d cast.”
“So you’re saying you can have us attacked by a fire illusion, but that’s about it.”
Lionel smiled. “Pretty much. If I’d known I was going to meet you, perhaps I’d be ready with a spell to push a collapsed building off the top of my head.”
“I don’t hear anything happening above us. Do you think anyone knows what’s happened?” I took a breath. “Help,” I shouted, then paused to listen. After a brief echo, all that answered was silence. “Do we have enough time to just wait for rescue?”
Lionel looked around. “It’s impossible to tell if more air is getting in.”
“Even if this small pocket is all we have, I think we’ll be already dead before the air runs out.”
“Well, if I was going to be stuck down here, at least I’m glad it’s with an optimistic person. Someone to bring light to the darkness, you know.”
“By night’s end, the demon reflections will have taken our place.”
“If you believed Reflessa,” Lionel said.
“Reflessa?”
“Reflection plus Essa equals Reflessa, no?”
“It won’t be alone. Reflionel will be helping.” If my reflection was going to get a stupid name, then his was too. “And we’ll be trapped, unable to defend ourselves.”
“There are no mirrors here,” Lionel said.
“I’m not sure that’ll matter. The reflections are getting stronger. Perhaps a shadow is all they’ll require soon to be able to manifest. Maybe not even need that. And, yes, I believed Reflessa. About that, at least.”
“What triggered the collapse?” Lionel asked. “I don’t think Val was nearby.”
“The last thing I remember is having that old leather-bound tome in my hand.”
“It had metal on it,” Lionel said. “So it could have contained a spell. I picked up the book earlier, though.”
It could have been primed to react to a vampire, I thought. Another trap for Mortissa that had instead caught Lionel and me.
“Heeeeeelp,” I roared, turning my head upward and expelling all the air from my lungs in one long yell.
Once again, we waited in vain for a reply. As the silence stretched out, I became acutely aware of my body position in relation to Lionel. I was twisted slightly to the side with my left breast shoved against Lionel’s chest. My arm wrapped around his side, and my palm pressed against the small of his back. Our thighs intertwined.
The whisper of his hot breath touched my neck. I glanced across at him; our gazes locked for an instant and we both looked away. The warmth of his body heat swelled against me.
“This is awkward,” Lionel said, acknowledging that he was experiencing something similar to me.
“It’s just a stupid physical reaction,” I said. “We’re not even attracted to each other.”
“We’re not?”
“Of course not. You recently accused me of lying, and I know you still don’t fully believe my story.”
“That’s true. And you felt nothing for me?”
My initial attraction toward him had dimmed. “The way you treated Danielle would disgust any woman.” Some men were only kind toward women they found attractive, women they wanted to seduce.
“Was I so horrible?”
“She helped us, and still you left her twisted over backwards, locked to your steering wheel.”
“She’s a hood mage.”
“And that’s it?” What would he think of me if he learned I was a vampire? “Hood mages do exactly the same as you, just without the family connections. Are you so blinded by prejudice that you are personally disgusted by hood mages?”
“I’m not disgusted.”
“You acted like you were.”
“I’ve recently become security chief for my family, and one of my tasks is dealing with practitioners of hood magic,” he said. “Now that I’ve seen what she can do...” He hesitated. “I might have to oversee...”
He is worried he’ll have to order her killed, I realized. “Don’t you have discretion to show leniency?”
“Perhaps.” His slightly pained expression said otherwise.
“I see.” His father ultimately made the decisions. That was why Lionel had arrived without any other mages and had used his magic to give the students a scare. Once his father became involved, Lionel wouldn’t be able t
o protect them. “You can’t justify letting Danielle get away. And you fear what your duty will require you to do. And if you get to know her, feel affection for her, then your duty could become even more difficult.”
He glanced away. “Hopefully she’s not known to any mage families. Then we’ll exile her from the city with a stern warning.”
Considering how proficient she was with magic, it seemed unlikely that she had never before come to the attention of any mage family.
Given his explanation, I understood why Lionel had acted the way he had toward Danielle. If he hadn’t cuffed her to the steering wheel, though, perhaps she would have arrived to help us already. “When they come, do you think the emergency services will be able to get us out before dawn?” I asked. “Considering how unstable it is, I’m sure they’ll need time to dig us out safely.”
“How long do we have?”
“What is it, one, two in the morning? So we only have another six, seven hours,” I said. “It might be hard to explain the urgency.” Even without the demon reflections, I had the rising sun to worry about. “Should we try to dig ourselves out? Risk it all coming down on top of us?”
Lionel made a face. “Considering how unstable everything was when you struggled earlier, I’d have that as a last resort. Don’t know about you, but my bare head isn’t looking forward to being showered with chunks of concrete.”
“We might be all out of resorts bef—”
“Listen,” Lionel interrupted me sharply.
I strained my ears. After several moments, I heard a distant clattering noise. “Help,” I shouted. “Down here.”
“Help,” we both roared in unison.
“I’m coming.” Though the sound was muffled, the words were clear, and the voice was recognizably Danielle’s.
Small stones showered down on top of us, bouncing off our heads and shoulders. Lionel grunted in pain. “Stop,” he shouted. “Go back. You’ll bring everything down on top of us.”
“I have an idea of where you are,” Danielle said. “Hold on. I’ll be back in a moment.”
“Get help,” Lionel shouted.
The Demon Mirror (Dragongods Saga, #0) Page 5