Rival Demons

by Sarra Cannon

  He nodded. "Come with me, I will show you my favorite place in the entire Underground."

  We spent the next hour at a small tent cafe on the far corner of the marketplace. There were only six tables in the entire place and most of them were empty, so we didn't have to worry about anyone bothering us, which was nice. We had a great breakfast. Their version of eggs down here were delicious. I watched the cook preparing them and was amazed at the bright pink color of the shells.

  "What kind of eggs are these exactly?" Mary Anne asked, taking a big bite of her egg sandwich.

  "Angelbird eggs," he said.

  I wondered what an angelbird must look like. I couldn't remember seeing any birds on our trip so far. "Where do you guys get all of your supplies down here?" I asked since it had been on my mind so much lately. "Do you grow your own food below ground?"

  Essex shook his head. "Not all of it," he said. "We do have a garden district one level below this one, but we do not raise our own animals."

  "So someone goes out to hunt?" Mary Anne asked.

  "Yes," he said. "Most of us have a job to do down here just like on the surface. Some are gatherers of food, others trade for supplies like cloth or leather. Many are members of the Resistance and spend their days training."

  "The Resistance?" I asked. I perked up a bit at the mention of training. "They're the fighters, right?"

  Essex tilted his drink to his mouth and finished it in one gulp. "Yes," he said. "They are an army of fighters who train all day so that they can fight back against the Order."

  "Do they ever actually go up and fight?" Mary Anne asked.

  I was glad we were alone in the cafe. I had a feeling this was exactly the kind of conversation most of the demons here thought we shouldn't be having. Especially since there were those who still thought we might be reporting back to the Order.

  "From time to time the alarm will sound and our Resistance members will head out, but they rarely report to us about what is happening on the other side," he said. "Sometimes when they come back, they are cheering and their numbers are still high, but other times they return with wounds and many missing, never to be seen again."

  We ate in silence for a minute. I let Essex's words sink in a bit. Why didn't they keep everyone up to date on what was happening with the Resistance? It seemed strange to keep it all a secret and make everyone wonder what had really happened.

  "Do you hear anything at all about their missions?" I asked. "Like where they were going or who exactly they were fighting?"

  Essex shook his head. "No, but this is normal," he said. "The council believes there is no need to worry the rest of the community with this kind of information about the surface. It only will lead to suffering and worry."

  "But what's the point of being down here if not to try to build up a community of demons who can fight back against the Order?" I asked. "What's the purpose of being left in the dark?"

  "Most of us are not choosing to be down here because we want to fight," Essex said. "We are here to be safe from the hunters. As long as we can provide some service to the community, we are welcome here even if we do not want to fight."

  "Like bag making or tailoring?" Mary Anne asked.

  "Yes," he said with a smile full of pride. "Exactly like bag making. It is an important service we do for the Resistance. We provide them with bags and armor and boots. This is our contribution to the fight. My mother and I are very lucky to be here. We come from a small village in the far north."

  The purpose of the Underground was becoming more clear to me as we spoke. From where I sat, I could see a good portion of the marketplace. As Mary Anne and Essex changed the subject to his work and how he learned to be a tailor, I studied the demons of the Underground as they traveled from shop to shop or did their work.

  Some had come here to fight back, but most of them had only come to seek safety from the Order of Shadows. This was more of a refugee camp of sorts than a staging ground for an army.

  No wonder the Order of Shadows had such free reign to take the demons in this world. Very few demons were willing to stand against them. They wanted their safety, but they weren't willing to risk their lives to insure safety for all of their people.

  Was this really any different from the human world? Many of the members in the Order didn't agree with the way they did things, but no one would speak out. They either didn't want to lose their power or they didn't want to risk losing their lives.

  And so the cycle continues forever.

  Without an organized army of demons and witches willing to die for the freedom of future generations, the Order would continue to rule us all.

  Change The World

  Later that night, back in my room, I couldn't get the idea of an army out of my mind. Was it impossible to think demons and human witches could work together to defeat the Order? Isn't that how this all began? Not with slavery and death, but with a demon and a human woman falling in love and working together?

  Somewhere along the way, it had all become corrupted, but what if we could go back to our roots? What if we could work together by choice instead of force?

  Of course, my mind wandered to thoughts of Jackson. There was a part of me that still hoped someday we could be together again.

  We could change the world. Both worlds.

  Survival Tactic

  Another week passed, and even though I had the freedom to explore the marketplace, I still felt trapped down here. No sunshine. No fresh air. No one to talk to.

  Mary Anne and Essex had hit it off immediately and when he wasn't working, he was in our suite or they were walking around and talking. I tagged along a few times, but mostly felt like I was getting in their way.

  I scoured the marketplace for something I could read or an equivalent of an mp3 player so I could listen to music, but entertainment items weren't exactly a priority down here. Most of the shops were for more practical items like weapons, clothing, food or other necessities.

  The demons in the Grand Hall slowly became used to seeing me walking around, and I got a few smiles here and there instead of threatening looks. I had become friendly with some of the food vendors, but I hadn't met anyone I would really consider a friend. Not the way Mary Anne had anyway. Sometimes seeing her with Essex made me even more angry with Jackson. If this stranger was willing to risk ridicule from his fellow demons to spend time with a human, why wouldn't Jackson spend any time with me?

  Of course, wasn't I the one who'd been pushing him away ever since we got down here?

  It was a survival tactic. I believed that being close to him and pretending to only be casual friends would be harder than simply cutting him out of my life. Now, however, I was missing him like crazy.

  Every time I saw him these days, he was deep in conversation with Andros or some demon I didn't recognize. I had no idea what they talked about, but I guessed it had to be about the Order and Jackson's hope to free his brother. At first, when we'd see each other in the marketplace, our eyes would meet and he would hold my gaze for a split second longer than he should. I was always the first to look away and now, he'd practically stopped looking all together.

  To try to push the worry and sadness from my mind, I started writing in a leather-bound journal I bought from one of the vendors. I spent my afternoons at the small cafe brainstorming possible ways to fight back against the Order.

  Human World:

  1. Find a way to expose the Order's lies to all of the Primas around the world.

  2. Find proof that the Order killed its own people and then lied about it.

  3. Educate future candidates about what initiation really means.

  4. Search for a way to break the spell between a Prima and her demon without killing either of them.

  Demon World:

  1. Talk to Andros about forming a joint army between demons and humans.

  2. Try to convince the King of the North to fight back.

  By the end of a week, I had a notebook full of ideas but wasn't
really any closer to coming up with a true solution. As I looked over my notes, I realized just how crazy I was to think I could do this all on my own. These were huge dreams that would take years of planning and training. I needed help to really accomplish anything important.

  I was tired of sitting back and doing nothing proactive or productive. Without something to occupy my mind, all I thought about was Jackson. And that only made me sad. I needed a project or a plan. Something I could do that would make a difference.

  The items on my list were big, but maybe the difference needed to start somewhere smaller. Closer to home. Maybe the change needed to start within me. No one cared to listen to a young human witch without any real battle experience or knowledge of how to fight with magic. Yes, I had managed to end a few lives, but only in the most desperate of situations and only with help from Aerden or Jackson.

  If I truly wanted to make a difference, I needed to learn how to fight.

  What little training I'd had with Zara back home in Peachville was so minimal, it hardly counted. Besides, I knew I couldn't trust anything the Order's witches had taught me. After what Lea showed me in Aldeen, I knew the High Council of the Order was capable of a lot more than they ever taught their fellow witches. They preferred to hold on to the secrets of their most powerful magic so that if need be, they could use it against anyone who dared to voice opposition.

  They were afraid that if everyone knew just how powerful they could be, they would rise up and overturn the leaders of the Order. So instead, they taught their Primas just enough to scratch the surface of their power, but never enough to make them a real threat. Never enough to allow them the strength to fight back.

  Well, this was one Prima who had her eyes wide open. I knew exactly what witches like me were capable of, and I desperately needed to learn how to access that magic and power within myself. I might not have the same kind of strength and demon power as a Prima who had already passed through initiation, but I knew there was a reservoir of untapped power inside me.

  I had seen it that day we came through the portal. I still didn't know what had come over me when I killed the sister tiger. I wasn't thinking. I was only acting on instinct, but the power that had raged inside of me was foreign and terrifying and incredibly strong. If I could find a way to access that kind of power but still have control over it, I would be capable of so much more.

  I touched the strip of white cloth around my wrist, feeling a rush of certainty fill me.

  No matter how helpless I felt down here, there was one thing I always had access to. My own power.

  It was time I learned how to use it.

  The Information You Are Seeking

  Alone in my room, I started working on my magic. Nothing fancy, just learning how to reconnect to my power. I practiced glamours, lighting candles, going invisible, moving things from one side of the room to another. My skill had definitely gotten rusty, but slowly, it all came back to me.

  When I'd nailed down the basics of what I'd learned in Peachville, I started experimenting with slightly more daring magic. For example, I spent a few hours learning how to make my leather jacket hover high in the air, then quickly dive-bomb into the floor at breakneck speeds. Of course, a soft jacket was harmless at those speeds, but what about a brick? Or a knife? If I could learn to control both the speed and direction of any item, then I could almost always find a weapon no matter what situation I found myself in. Hell, what would stop me from learning to lift an entire person high into the air and then send them into a wall or a rock?

  Despite hours of practice, I'd still been unable to match the speed and power of the rocks I'd thrown at the tiger. I was making progress, though, and that was all that mattered.

  With my limited materials and space, I was only able to get so creative with my own magic. What I needed was a good teacher and a good place to practice. Essex said they had training grounds here in the Underground where they took their best students of the Resistance and taught them techniques to fight against the Order. I wondered if there was any way I could find those classes and watch what they did. I doubted the demons would want me learning their fighting techniques, but what if I could make myself disappear and observe them from some hiding place?

  Then again, all demons seemed to have their own unique powers and abilities. All it would take is one demon who could see through my invisibility glamour and my fate down here would be in serious danger. Hiding out to watch their secret training sessions would definitely make me look like a spy. It was too risky.

  I pushed the doubts from my mind and instead, channeled my frustration into my magic. I stood with my back against the door and slowly chose several items one after the other and lifted them into the air. My jacket. The backpack. A hairbrush. My pillow. One of my black boots. It took every ounce of my concentration to keep all five items lifted and controlled.

  Slowly, the jacket began to fall toward the ground and I switched my concentration over to it, lifting it back into the air. As soon as I did, the other four items collapsed in a heap on the floor. Damn. I sighed and leaned against the door. I'd been trying to perfect this one skill for at least an hour. I did okay when it was just four items, but the second I added a fifth, everything fell apart.

  I knew that if I ever wanted to have a chance to defeat the Order, I was going to have to bring my focus to a whole new level. I needed to develop a concentration so sharp that no one and nothing could break it during battle. Right now, my mind was still too scattered.

  In the other room, I heard the front double doors open. I froze, listening for who had come through. Mary Anne giggled, and I relaxed, glad it wasn't Jackson. If he discovered me in here practicing magic on my own, I knew he'd be pissed.

  I poked my head out my bedroom door and saw Mary Anne and Essex sitting on the couch, heads huddled together looking at something.

  "Hey guys," I said.

  They turned toward me, then separated like kids caught making out in their parents' living room.

  "Hey," Mary Anne said. "I didn't realize you were home. Essex just got off work so we came here to hang out for a while. Hope that's okay?"

  I shrugged and came deeper into the living room, curious about what they'd been looking at so secretively. "Sure," I said. "I don't mind."

  Essex turned shyly toward me and put up his hand in a half wave. On his lap, I could just make out a blue book with a tattered binding. "Hello Harper, I trust you are having a pleasant day."

  "It's been fine so far," I said. "I just wish there was more for us to do down here. I mean, even just a place to exercise or a small library or something, you know?"

  He fidgeted and moved the book under his thigh, looking nervous. "Yes," he said. "It can be quite dull down here if you don't have a trade."

  I moved around to the front of the couch and sat down on the large white marble coffee table. "What's that you've got there?"

  It was obvious he hadn't wanted me to see the book, and maybe it was rude to call him out on it, but I wanted to know where he'd gotten it and what, exactly, was in it that he didn't want me to know about.

  Mary Anne shifted her feet underneath her. She looked around, double checking that the doors to the suite were closed. "Is Lea here?" she whispered.

  I shook my head. "I haven't seen her since yesterday afternoon."

  She bit her lower lip and seemed to make a decision about the book. "Show her," she said finally. "She won't tell anyone, I promise."

  Essex kept his eyes trained on the ground. In his lap, his left hand trembled slightly. I realized I'd misjudged how important this book was to him. He wasn't just nervous. He was terrified.

  "Hey," I said, leaning my head down to try to catch his eye. "I didn't mean to upset you. I just saw the book and was curious. Is it something important?"

  He nodded slowly and looked up at Mary Anne, as if asking her if she really did trust me.

  "It's fine," she said. "We're like sisters. I swear you can trust her."

 
Essex took a deep breath in, his chest puffing out. He finally released it, allowing his shoulders to relax a little. With a nervous twitch of his hand, he lifted the book and set it out on the couch between the two of them.

  "What is it?" I asked.

  He glanced toward the door again, then finally turned and met my gaze. "What I am telling you is restricted information," he said. "I heard some members of the Resistance talking a few days ago about a mission from which they had just returned. They spoke in quiet voices, telling the story to a soldier who had not been at the battle. They spoke of a hunter they had fought in one of the many battles on the surface. Sometimes in battle, the hunters are killed, but most of the time, if the Resistance is able to defeat them, the hunters still manage to get away with only a few wounds. They are very much difficult to kill."

  I listened with patience, waiting for him to talk about this book.

  "At this battle, the Resistance managed to capture one of the hunters," he said. "The soldiers spoke of this event as if it were very rare."

  "What did they do with her once they captured her?" I asked. At this point, I was sitting on the very edge of the coffee table, my hands sweaty with anticipation.

  "They forced her to take them to the place where she lives," he said. "A cave of some sort high in the snowy mountains above Gollier."

  He paused, putting one hand on top of the book.

  "This book is one of the things they found as they searched her home," he said. "According to the soldiers, an entire box of books had been found there in the cave."

  "What kind of books?"

  "Spell books," he said. "And more importantly, records."

  A chill slipped down my spine. "Records?"

  "Notes about each demon the hunter had ever taken from our world to yours."

  I leaned back, my mouth dry. I wondered why they would even be keeping records. "How did you get ahold of one of them?"