Dark Descent (Codex Blair Book 3)

by Izzy Shows

  Finally, a female demon stepped forward. "You are aware of guest rites?" Her eyes were focussed on Emily, unable to look away from the sight in front of her.

  Emily tilted her head in acknowledgement. "You may all rest easy. The Lord has not condoned action against you, and I am very familiar with your customs as to how you treat guests. So long as you do not touch me, we shall have no problems."

  I heard the lie in her voice. The moment she saw something nefarious take place she was going to take action. She would not stand by and watch as innocent blood was spilled, if it came to that.

  I sincerely hoped that Mal had not brought us to an event where that would be something I had to worry about—I trusted that he had taken into account the kind of person Emily was and knew better than to endanger either of us by doing so.

  The crowd parted, and we made our way further into the darkened room. At the far side, there was a stage, and a burlesque act was currently in the process of being performed.

  Two women circled one another, one of them singing in a throaty, seductive voice as they danced together. I tilted my head to the side as I watched, trying to figure out if a story was being played out or if it was merely a dance meant to showcase the bodies of the performers. They were certainly showing a lot of skin, and their movements were entirely suggestive.

  I would not have been surprised if they had taken one another on the stage.

  "How do you intend on locating...your target?" Emily turned to speak to me, all business and seriousness.

  I glanced around, sighing. "I don't know, to be honest. It's going to be hard to pick out whoever we're looking for, considering I don't have the least clue what she would look like. Add in the fact that she can shift her form at will, and it's a just ridiculous."

  "Perhaps I can be of assistance," Jakub's voice sounded behind me.

  I turned, instantly forming a passive mask on my face. I hadn't expected to speak to anyone but Emily, seeing as I didn't know anyone here and they didn't know me. Mal had moved away to mingle with the crowd, though I could feel his mind checking on me every few minutes.

  The next time he checked in I fully expected him to return—he didn't like it when I was with Jakub, silly though that was.

  "Jakub!" I formed my lips into a smile, hiding the fact that I wasn't entirely pleased to see him. He hadn't been as useful as I had thought he would be in tracking the succubus, and he was annoyingly arrogant. It didn't help that I wasn't allowed to give him the dressing down that he deserved—meek and mild, that was how I had to appear.

  "I had not expected to see you here, though perhaps I should have anticipated it. Mal is always eager to show off his latest pet," he said, watching me carefully for a reaction.

  Fire roared within me to snarl at him that I was not anyone's pet, and at the same time a pang of jealousy went off—this was something that Mal did frequently? He had said that he did not speak to humans, but perhaps that was what he always said to his latest project.

  “Do not listen to him, cher. He is intent on getting under your skin and inciting anger. He wants to see you behave as you did at Serenity that first night.” Mal's voice flooded into my mind like silk, reassuring the doubts that had sprung to mind almost instantly.

  I didn't know who to believe, but I had known Mal longer. I would have to put my faith in him for the time being—well, what little I was willing to give him. I didn't trust that man farther than I could throw him, and I couldn't throw him very far at all.

  I bobbed my head, smiling shyly and glancing at the ground. "I was honored by his invitation, there was no possible way I could turn it down." I put a tremor in my voice, as if perhaps I had thought about turning it down but had been too afraid of the wrath of my powerful demon over lord if I had disobeyed him.

  I was more than capable of putting on a show and tricking men when I wanted to, this was not the first time I had done so on a case. It wasn't something I enjoyed—most of the time, anyway. Sometimes it was fun to watch as people fell to a classic manipulation.

  This was an instance where I did not enjoy it. Sure, pulling one over on a demon was intriguing, but it wasn't enough to keep my interest piqued.

  When I pulled my eyes back up from the ground, I glanced over to see Emily looking at me as if I had grown a second head. Whoops, probably should have clued her in on what was going on.

  "More is the better for us that he brought you," Jakub said, shamelessly looking me up and down, his eyes hovering on my chest. I resisted the urge to cross my arms over my breasts, hiding them from his view. I was defiant in this one subtle lack of movement, though he did not seem to notice my eyes boring daggers into his head. I refused to be embarrassed by him, refused to give him the upper hand in this situation.

  "I had thought that we would be treated to the miraculous idea of demons with manners," Emily said, taking a step forward and wrapping her arm around my waist. I was pulled against the comforting touch of her armor, though it pushed against my skin. I was glad to have her with me, glad that I had the foresight to know that I would need her there with me.

  I didn't know why she had wrapped her arm around me, but I wasn't about to claim. I thrilled at the proximity, though I was certain she meant nothing by it. She was merely protecting me, which was silly, but she didn't know why I was behaving so oddly around this demon.

  He grinned at her, though it wasn't friendly in the slightest. "Yes, you are the paladin that Mal has brought with him. I had wondered why for a minute there, but it's obvious now. He doesn't trust the lot of us around this delectable creature, and with good reason. I would not hesitate to take you from him," he said, directing his last words at me.

  I flushed, pressing myself closer to Emily, a flicker of real fear bursting inside of me. I could deal with most threats, violence was not a new thing to me, but the sexual predator before me shook me in ways that others couldn't. I didn't like to be leered at, it was a mostly new experience for me.

  I wasn't unaware of my attractive physique, but I was accustomed to being ignored. I never dressed this way in my regular life, I preferred bulky shirts when it wasn't so hot out that I wore a tank top, I wore leather jackets that covered up my body, my jeans were baggy. I wore boots that were practical, not sexy. Nothing about the way I dressed was usually flattering, unlike the dress I wore now. And if the attention I was receiving was any indication of what I would get if this was what I wore normally, then I had no intention of ever changing my fashion sense.

  "You said you weren't trying to take me," I said, at last finding my voice. I remembered, at the club, when Mal had become territorial. Jakub had immediately stated that he had no interest in me, that he wasn't trying to take me from Mal; what had changed there? It was so confusing.

  "I did not think you were capable of being taken," he said with a shrug. "Now that I see you are no different from the other pets we have all owned at one time or another, it matters little that you have been claimed. Competition is a good thing." He winked at me.

  Emily turned to me, a question in her eyes, but before she could ask me what he meant by my being 'owned,' Mal was there. He placed his hand possessively around my lower back, pulling me away from Emily with one strong movement.

  I was beginning to feel like a chew toy, and I didn't like the pissing contest I was sure was about to begin.

  "Jakub, your true colours are shown," Mal said, not even a hint of amusement in his voice. I glanced up at him, to see his eyes were mere slashes of angry molten gold.

  A shiver ran down my spine.

  He glanced down at me, his hand moving to stroke my side. "Do not worry, cara mia, all will be well."

  Jakub's teeth flashed in a semblance of a smile. "My apologies, sir, I did not intend to offend."

  "You tread on tenuous ground, demon. What is mine is not up for the taking."

  "What is going on here?" Emily finally piped up, turning to face the two of us and ignoring Jakub completely.

  I opened my mouth to
tell a lie, but no words came out.

  What little light remained in the room vanished.

  28

  Screams flooded the room, panic rising in the crowd the moment the lights were gone. I heard the distinctive cry of the woman who had been singing on stage—and was suddenly aware that the amount of noise coming out of the crowd was not enough for all the bodies that had been present.

  Only the mortals, the pets as they were called, were screaming.

  I heard a whoosh of air behind me and whirled around, but my eyes had not adjusted to the darkness. I couldn't see anything.

  "Get it off me!" A strangled cry was torn from a stranger’s throat.

  I turned towards the direction of the voice, yanking my fire wand from its holster at my thigh. I couldn't see a Gods damned thing, but I was going to fix that in just a moment here.

  And then there was pain lancing through my scalp as something took hold of my hair, yanking me down to the ground. My wand clattered harmlessly on the floor beside me.

  I groped for it, gritting my teeth so that I could concentrate through the pain, but claws raked across my cheek, drawing blood, and distracting me from my goal.

  "What the actual fuck," I said, grinding out the words through my teeth. I took a deep breath, then wrenched my head to the side to free my hair from my attacker.

  My mind spun, trying to identify who or what would be attacking me, but I couldn't come up with much. Either it was the succubus, or it was another demon present that had taken to heart Jakub's words—competition was a good thing, and I was something that could be taken.

  Well, it looked like they were going to learn today just how wrong they were.

  I reached for the fire in the pit of my stomach, fully intending to throw it around carelessly, but before I could do so the claws that had taken my cheek a moment before bit into either of my shoulders. I was picked up, a dizzying sensation as I couldn't see through the unnaturally thick darkness to make heads or tails of where I was, and hurled to one side.

  I was thrown with such force that I knocked down several other bodies before I slammed into one wall. The breath was driven from my body, my head was ringing, and I seriously thought I might have gone deaf in one ear.

  I forced down one breath after the other, dragging my hands beneath me so that I could push myself into a sitting position. My lungs were on fire, hating me for every breath I took and demanding that I stay down. That was not an option. I had to get up and fight, because I didn't know what was happening in the rest of the room. Had Emily been attacked as well? Had she been taken down, or was she currently being swarmed by a multitude of demons, on her way to a bitter end?

  I was going to kill Mal for bringing me to this event. This was not at all how the evening was supposed to go—it was supposed to be a recon that had the potential to turn into the end of the case if we managed to identify and snatch the succubus without too much effort.

  The plan had seemed simple enough in my head, but I could see now how that had been foolish thinking.

  It was then that light flared into the room, so bright and powerful that I had to shield my eyes from it. I heard shrieking fill the room, entirely different from the screaming that had taken place when the mortals had been attacked, this was the sound of a demon's pain. I peeked through my fingers to see Emily's hands in the air, the light streaming from her fingers to fill the room.

  In front of her stood the succubus.

  I had never seen something so wholly terrifying, so unnatural. She was writhing shadows, a vortex of black stood for her mouth, and her eyes were mere slashes of terror and fire. She screamed at the light that spewed forth upon her, trying to dodge it but finding no shadows to hide in.

  "Your mage will be mine!" She howled the words before she vanished.

  I watched as Emily struggled to draw breath, dropping the holy light from her hands. The room turned back into the dim lighting that had held it before. The darkness had left with the succubus.

  I began to crawl to my feet, but Mal rushed to me before I could finish. He clamped a hand around my forearm, dragging me up.

  "Are you all right?" His eyes darted across my face before they dipped to take in my body, not a sexual glance but one of concern.

  "I'm fine. I think our welcome has worn out, though," I said.

  Emily appeared behind me. "Indeed. We should make our exit now."

  I looked to Mal for his agreement, and when he nodded with his lips set in a firm line, I limped for the door.

  This had been exciting, to say the least.

  29

  I walked into my house, holding open the door for my paladin and demon friends. We were a funny little trio, but so long as it continued to work, I was happy about it. Having Emily around to balance Mal's personality was incredibly helpful, though it had proved dangerous at the party when she had almost learned of the mark.

  I was going to have to be more careful about that in the future.

  "I'm going to change," I said as I shut the door, walking into my living room. "Try to play nice while I'm gone."

  I made my way to the bedroom, shutting the door and rifling through the pile of clothes on my floor to find something comfortable. I pulled out a black thermal shirt and a baggy pair of jeans. Once I had those slipped on, along with a comfy pair of thick socks, I padded out to the living room again.

  Mal and Emily were standing awkwardly in the living room, Emily's sword leaning against the side of the couch.

  "Do you want to take your armor off?" I quirked an eyebrow, folding my arms across my chest. "You might as well get comfy, we've got shit to go over."

  "What does that mean?" Mal narrowed his eyes, walking across the room to sit in the chair furthest from the kitchen.

  "It means I'm not doing that again," I said. "We're going to all sit down together, and formulate a plan of attack."

  Emily began to shrug out of her armor. "That is a good idea," she said.

  I grabbed my phone off the coffee table, where I had left it. It hadn't seemed important, or smart, to bring something like that to an area where there would be so much magical energy in one place. I tossed it to Mal, who managed to catch it with a surprised look on his face.

  "Finn is the first contact in there. Call him while I calm—no wait, that's no good. You exude energy, you'll fry it as soon as you turn it on," I said, grimacing. OK, so that was no good.

  "Give me five minutes." I all but growled at the two of them, and stomped down to the basement.

  Maybe it wasn't the brightest idea to leave the two of them together, unsupervised, for an extended period of time. But it was all that I could do right now. I had been attacked, the mark was burning at me to do something about it, and there was no way that I could call in Finn or Shawn while I was like this.

  Shawn could help...

  I cut the idea off before it could get any further. Shawn was not my personal toy to help me any time I ran into an excess energy problem, and besides. I had company over. That would be incredibly rude.

  I plopped my arse in the circle inlaid in the ground of the basement that Aidan had built long before I had ever met him. If anything was going to calm me down quickly, it was going to be an isolated environment where I could tamp down the energy running rampant inside of me.

  Calling me to destroy something.

  Begging me to give in and embrace the power within.

  I inhaled sharply, shoving the thoughts to the back of my mind. This wasn't doing me any good.

  "Come on, Raven, you gave me all these little exercises, let's see if they're any good," I said to myself. Part of me wanted to call Raven down and have them help me with this, but I didn't want them to see me like this. They had told me not to go to the party, that it wasn't a wise move, and though it hadn't turned out exactly as they had predicted, it still hadn't been good.

  I whipped my hand in a circle around my head, chanting a spell under my breath to lock the circle in place. A column of energy exploded f
rom the ground to reach above me, trapping me inside.

  I felt panic start to build in my gut—I had been trapped in this circle once before, when Aidan had done it. He had left me in this basement while he had been taken by the necromancer, by Deacon. I hadn't been able to help him, I had expanded all my energy trying to get out of his Gods damned circle, and Emily had to assist me. She'd bound up my injuries, but they had caught up to me when I finished the fight.

  I still had scars on my back from the talons of the skeletal monstrosity biting into my flesh.

  Breathe, you have to breathe, it's all going to be OK. You are not trapped, you can drop the circle whenever you want, this is all temporary. You are in control.

  I inhaled through my nose, exhaled through my mouth, and began to visualise.

  The rage was not a ball of fire in my conscience, not this time. It was wild, shifting and striking out at random, trying to find something to fight its way through, trying to take control of the environment it was in. It was difficult to cage, it kept slipping through just as I was about to shut the walls down around it.

  Finally, with a grunt of frustration, I managed to envelope it in white light.

  I could hear it howling, though I knew that was just a side effect of the visualisation. It wasn't real, I had just given it form in my mind. I tightened the sphere of light around it, choking it out like a fire being denied of oxygen. Inch by inch, I gained on it, until it was a mere spot in my vision.

  "Go. Away." I tightened once more, and it dissipated.

  I drew in another deep breath, aware that my forehead was slick with sweat, and wiped my palms on my jeans. There, that was done. Now I just needed a few more calming breaths and then I could rejoin the two in my living room.

  It took longer than I would have liked, but I eventually calmed myself down.

  I nudged a foot across the silver that marked the circle on the floor and felt the energy break, the column fall to nothingness. Standing up, I smoothed my hands along my jeans a final time, and made my way back upstairs.