Realm Walker rw-1

by Kathleen Collins

  Juliana threw her arms around Nathaniel’s neck. “I’m so glad to have you back.” When he just continued to sit there, she added, “If you don’t hug me back I’m going to kick your ass.”

  “But you don’t know the look I’m getting right now,” he said in her ear even as he did as she instructed.

  “He’ll get over it.” She released him and leaned back, looking him over. “And so will you. Promise.”

  He nodded. “Thank you, Jules.”

  “It’s what I do.” Seeing a medic hopping around behind her, she stepped out of the way so the girl could launch herself at Nathaniel. If Juliana remembered correctly Nathaniel and the girl had been out once or twice.

  “I’m so glad you’re all right,” the medic said as she all but landed in Nathaniel’s lap.

  He grinned at Juliana over the top of the girl’s head. She stepped away to give them some privacy and felt an uneasy pang of jealousy. Warmth appeared at her back.

  “We could have that, if you’d let us,” Thomas said.

  “We’ll never have what they have, Thomas. For one thing, I know Nathaniel would never threaten someone just for touching her.”

  “He doesn’t deserve her then.”

  Hardly the argument she expected, his words sent a thrill of excitement racing through her. She couldn’t stop the grin that crept up. Amusement shone in his eyes. Somehow she’d forgotten this side of him. The playful sense of humor. She missed it.

  “Besides, that was a kiss, not a touch,” he argued, his irritation evident.

  She snorted. “That was not a kiss.”

  “Then what was it?”

  “That was him saying hello.”

  “Well, he needs to learn to use words like everyone else.”

  Her snicker turned into an outright laugh at Thomas’s amused grin. Thomas making fun of himself was almost impossible to resist. Tamping that thought down, she looked at Ben. “Where am I staying?”

  “You’ll stay with me and Anna,” Jeremiah said before anyone else had a chance to speak.

  She nodded her thanks.

  “Those Neanderthals don’t live there, do they?” Thomas said in her ear. Her elbow caught him in the gut, her reward a small grunt.

  “What’s wrong with your place?” Nathaniel asked.

  She balled her fists and started forward but Thomas took her arm and steered her toward Jeremiah. “Stupid werewolf,” he muttered.

  “We all need to get some rest,” Thomas said. “We still have another demon to hunt.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  The next morning Juliana sat on Jeremiah’s back porch, coffee in hand. Early morning fog blanketed the world, making it hard to see anything past the perimeter of the yard. Knowing the wards and protections on the property, she wasn’t overly concerned about what might be lurking where she couldn’t see. Anna came out to sit beside her. The weight of her gaze made Juliana squirm in her chair.

  “Jeremiah says your vampire was rather protective of you yesterday. It seems to me you’re getting rather cozy,” she said finally.

  The corner of Juliana’s mouth curled up. “I suppose that’s one way of putting it, though I don’t know that I’d ever call a vampire cozy. They aren’t teddy bears. Well, teddy bears with teeth maybe but definitely not cozy.”

  Anna snorted. “Teddy bears with teeth, indeed.” She paused for a moment. “What about your particular vampire?”

  With anyone else, Juliana would have given the first smartass comment that came to mind. Anna was different. Besides, she didn’t tolerate flippancy when it came to topics she considered important. “Cozy is the last word I’d use to describe Thomas or our relationship. Dark, dangerous, screwed up, destructive. Any of those would be more fitting descriptors.”

  “For him or your feelings for him?”

  “Either. To paraphrase our relationship...we had this intense powerful thing. When I asked for time to get used to the idea, he disappeared. Now he’s back telling me the past seven years were just as hard on him as they were on me.”

  “Maybe they were,” she said in a soft voice. She met Juliana’s eyes for a moment and then turned her head to look out over the yard. “I’m only saying you should keep an open mind. You don’t know that what he says isn’t true.”

  Juliana shifted her gaze to the dissipating fog.

  “What aren’t you telling me, child?” Her voice was soft, a thread of comfort woven into it. “Did he hurt you in some way?”

  She smiled her half-smile again. “Other than abandoning me and breaking my heart? Not really. I just find it hard to separate him from all the other crap in my life sometimes. So much would have been different if he hadn’t left. I wouldn’t change it. Not all of it anyway, but it’s going to kill him when I finally get up the nerve to tell him. I don’t want anyone else hurt by what happened. It’s over.”

  “Does he have to know?”

  Juliana gaped in surprise. Anna was the biggest crusader she knew for complete honesty in a relationship. She gave Anna the courtesy of thinking about her answer before giving it. “Yes. As much as I hate it, he has to know. It’s too big a part of who I am now.”

  Anna’s smile brightened her whole face. “You love him then.”

  She blinked, then remembered just who Anna was. A Celtic demi-goddess of love. “I’ve always loved him. From the moment I first saw him,” she answered truthfully.

  Anna patted her knee. “All will be well. You’ll see.”

  Juliana didn’t ask if that was a prophecy or a prediction. She preferred not to know.

  Her friend moved to go back in the house, pausing when she opened the sliding door. “I’ll send Jeremiah out when he’s ready. You’ve got a lot of work to do.” She stepped inside leaving Juliana with the uneasy feeling she wasn’t talking about demon hunting.

  Half an hour later, Juliana’s phone buzzed while she stood beside Jeremiah’s car, waiting for him to unlock the door. James. Maybe the Gathering had information on the book.

  “What’s up?”

  “I need you. Now.” His voice was sharp, hurried.

  Fear straightened her spine. “What’s going on?”

  “I’ve got an inkmage spiking spells off in a dozen different directions. He’s already knocked three of my best off the playing field.” He sighed. “That’s not all. I know this kid. I know his family. They play with forbidden magics. I’d have eliminated them long ago but I’ve never had any proof. I’m getting it today.”

  “Where are you?”

  She snapped her phone shut and rattled off the address to Jeremiah. It was smack dab in the middle of mage territory, the area surrounding the Apocryphan. The Apocryphan was the Gathering’s center of power for the entire region. And right at the top of all of it sat James. Because of various laws, regulations and treaties, the Agency couldn’t get involved in any mage business in that area unless asked for help or there was a threat to the general populace. And knowing James he had that place locked down tighter than a dragon’s horde. Which meant no portals in or out. As Jeremiah peeled away from the curb she filled him in on the details. “If James can’t stop him, what does he expect you to do?” he asked.

  “He’s hoping the mage won’t be able to sense me since I’m not one. Not a practicing one anyway. Then he’ll distract the bastard while I put a bullet through his brain.”

  Jeremiah’s mouth sat in a grim line. “Your rifle’s in the trunk.”

  “It usually is.” She hadn’t worried about it because James would have one waiting for her. When her own weapon was available she preferred to use it, but she wasn’t picky.

  Thomas awaited them as they pulled up to the perimeter set by James and his men. She wasn’t even surprised to see him. In fact, she was grateful he was here. She needed someone she could trust to watch her back. Not that Jeremiah couldn’t be trusted, but she spent as much time worrying about him as she did completing the assignment when he was with her. Thomas could take care of himself.

  A
misty green glow hovered in the air, a visual representation of the containment spell set by the Gathering. She pulled out her phone and dialed James. “Yeah?” The ragged voice that answered didn’t belong to her best friend’s husband.

  “It’s Juliana. Who’s this?”

  “Rickert.” One of James’s personal guard. “Boss is keeping him busy. Shield will let you through. Vampire, too.”

  Rickert never wasted words. “Kendrick?”

  A grunt was the reply.

  “I’ve got a fire elemental with me, too.”

  “Didn’t know about him. Can’t fix it now, no time. Leave him there.” After that pronouncement, he hung up.

  She put her phone away and looked at Jeremiah. “Pop the trunk. You’re going to have to stay here. The shield will fry you. It’s only set to accept me and Thomas.”

  Jeremiah didn’t look pleased but he merely nodded.

  “How large is the perimeter?” she asked.

  “About two square miles. Agency’s taking up position around it as we speak.”

  James rarely shut down that much area at once. Things must be bad. She grabbed the rifle out of the trunk, loaded it and handed the extra ammunition to Thomas. “Let’s go.”

  They stepped through the green and into the unknown beyond.

  * * *

  Thomas glanced at his bride. This was taking some getting used to, the idea that he didn’t have to protect her from every danger. That instead he could head into battle with her by his side. He’d seen her fight, and knew she was more than competent. It didn’t mean he wasn’t going crazy with fear at the thought that something could happen to her. But he knew her, knew if he insisted on keeping her locked up safe from the world, he’d lose her.

  So he fell into step beside her, and let her take the lead. He kept his hands behind his back as they strode through the streets to help curb the desire to take the weapon from her. They approached an intersection and a mage stepped out of the shadows by a fire escape and gestured upward.

  Juliana nodded once and headed up, keeping her footfalls as soft as possible. He stayed right behind her. She crouched low when she reached the top and hurried to the far side of the roof. After a peek over the wall, she glanced at him. “You’re being unusually quiet,” she said in a low voice as she prepared her weapon.

  He watched the movement for a moment. “It is because I am afraid if I open my mouth the only words that will come out are ‘stop,’ ‘don’t,’ or ‘go home.’”

  The corner of her mouth curved into a smile. “Guess it’s a good thing you’re not talking then, huh?”

  He grunted but couldn’t help returning the smile.

  “All right,” she said, rising to her knees. “Let’s just hope he never knows we’re here.”

  She should really know better than to say things like that. As soon as they both looked over the wall to the scene below, the demon turned his head and locked eyes with Juliana. A feral smile split the man’s face and Thomas felt her shiver beside him. “Hello, Hound.”

  She huffed out a breath. “It would appear our demon has taken over an inkmage.”

  Thomas eyed the mage. Dark tattoos covered much of his visible skin. They shimmered with the unmistakable glimmer of magic. Another mage attempted to approach from behind and the demon muttered a word and gestured over his shoulder, casting the spell without even looking at the target. The would-be hero froze into a solid block of ice.

  “Damn fool. I told everyone to stay back,” James said as he came up behind them. He placed a hand on each of their shoulders. “Glad you two are here. None of our spells are working. We’ve tried just about everything.”

  Thomas glanced at his brother-in-law. Like most inkmages, tattoos covered the majority of his body. He even shaved his head to accommodate the tail of a massive dragon tattoo that covered his back. The same ice blue as his eyes, it was also a powerful protective ward. He was a good man to have on your side in a fight. “I would guess that’s because he’s not human. Not entirely anyway.”

  “Demon,” Juliana added to clear up any confusion.

  “You can’t be serious,” James said.

  “Juliana Norris, come down and play with me,” the demon yelled from below them. The blood turned to ice in Thomas’s veins. Not only did it threaten his mate, it called her by name. He’d noticed it when they faced it before, but he’d thought in an aberration. A way for the demon to taunt them before the forthcoming battle. But here there were many targets, many places it could set its sights, and still it called to her. The situation was more dangerous than he’d originally thought.

  A grimace flashed across her face and was just as quickly replaced with a cool mask of calm. She took aim, steadied the gun on the wall and fired. The shot pierced the demon through the shoulder.

  It howled in fury and turned coal-black eyes on her.

  “Vacate the host or I’ll shoot again,” she yelled.

  The demon stretched both arms to the side, palms out. It began to rattle off a spell in a language that Thomas was certain predated even him.

  “Shoot him. Now. And don’t miss this time.” Panic laced James’s every word.

  * * *

  Juliana glanced back at her friend, not liking the tone of his voice. Fear shone in his eyes. She quickly took aim again, sighting the demon through the scope of the rifle. The demon, not the inkmage. She couldn’t see the host, only the creature within, or she’d never be able to do this. A burning heat started up in her belly, like someone had set a hot pan on it. Ignoring it, she squeezed the trigger. The bullet passed straight through its mouth and out the back of its head.

  It stood there stunned for a moment and then dropped to its knees before falling forward onto the street. The burning faded. She stood, shifted the rifle in her hand so she had a more comfortable grip on it. “I didn’t miss the first time. I was trying to save the host.”

  “That’s very noble of you,” James said, “but if I call you in to help, it’s because something needs killing. Remember that next time please.”

  “Juliana.” Thomas’s voice was tight, angry.

  She looked at him in surprise, unable to think of anything she’d done recently to earn his ire. He pointed to the street below. The inkmage pushed himself up and staggered to his feet. Terror slammed through her body. The gods help her, the demon was inhabiting a dead host. She’d heard rumors of it being possible amongst the highest tier of demons but she’d never seen it. And she hoped never to see it again. Cold, dead eyes stared up at her and a rasping laugh came from the distorted mouth. Dark, thick blood coursed down the chin. Oh, gods.

  “You don’t know it, Hound, but you just did me a favor. See ya,” it said, more gurgle than actual speech. She caught a glimpse of daylight through the open mouth before the demon turned and ran down the street and through an alley faster than an inkmage had any right to move.

  Thomas was over the wall and in pursuit before she could even tell him to follow.

  “Did I just watch a demon animate a corpse?” James asked.

  She looked at him but said nothing. It wasn’t really a question that required an answer anyway. The sound of breaking glass filled the air and she turned to watch the green haze marking the perimeter come down in a million little pieces. James’s tight lips and pale countenance told her that wasn’t supposed to happen either.

  It was ten minutes later when Thomas appeared in the street below, the corpse of the inkmage draped over his shoulder. By that time, Jeremiah had joined them. They went down to meet him.

  “I found him a few alleys outside of the perimeter. There was no sign of anyone else.” He dropped the inkmage at her feet.

  Jeremiah pressed on the radio in his ear. “Fan out. Start looking for anyone acting odd or anything out of place. The new host couldn’t have gotten far.”

  The new host could be halfway across the city by now, but she didn’t bother correcting him. She ran a hand down her face and rubbed her nose trying to rid it of the sm
ell of cinder and ashes. The corpse still reeked of demon.

  “Can you search for it with your gift?” James asked.

  “Demons don’t have signatures, so I could leave my gift on and look for anyone not glowing. In theory,” she said. “Problem is I fried myself yesterday. I’m not sure I could call it up today even if I was stupid enough to try.”

  James sighed. “I don’t like this, Juliana. That’s a first-level demon and he’s obviously interested in you for some reason.”

  Tell me something I don’t know.

  “What was the spell?” she asked to change the subject.

  “What?”

  “The spell that had you ordering her to blow his head off before he could finish it,” Thomas answered, his voice clipped.

  He shifted his weight. “It’s a forbidden spell. It’s not supposed to be used except in times of war and then only with my express permission. To do otherwise is an automatic death sentence.”

  “That must be some spell,” Jeremiah said.

  James pursed his lips. “You could say that. It incinerates the target from the inside out.”

  “Like spontaneous combustion?” Heat flared through her stomach in an echo of the earlier sensation.

  James looked at her, a bitter smile on his face. “Something like that. Only this spell takes about six hours to come to completion and there is no counterspell. Hence the reason it’s forbidden.”

  A shudder ran through her. There’d be no coming back after slowly burning to death from the inside out. And that was almost her fate, would have been if she hadn’t killed the host. Right now, she’d be lying in the infirmary with her insides melting as she burned to death and they tried to find a way to fix her. Her head felt light and she took a deep breath hoping the air would help. It didn’t.

  “While you’re here, I’d like to get your opinion on the book,” James said, giving her a new topic to focus on.

  “I think it’s dangerous.”

  “That’s not what I meant. I want you to come into the vault with me.”

  She studied him until he frowned.