The Demon You Know
Page 26
With his breath in his throat, Rule watched the strange flickering appear again in Abby’s eyes, saw it linger this time. Saw her lips form silent words.
“Spirits.”
The first word came so softly, Rule wasn’t sure he heard it. By the time she’d spoken the third, he wished he hadn’t.
“I pass this spell to Arulnagal, and forfeit all remaining years.”
“Abby, no!”
He reached for her, but she struck out, the strength of both fiends within her combining to send him slamming to the ground.
In the background, Simon hissed, “What the hell is going on?”
Rafe just shook his head. “She’s teaching him the spell.”
“Spirits dark and powers light, sun in day and moon in night.”
“Abby!”
But the strength of her voice only increased. Rule could see the power crawling beneath her skin, making it ripple and writhe as it had in the library at Vircolac when he had first made contact with Lou. Only this time, the effect had increased tenfold. This time her skin moved and bulged as Uzkiel fought to free himself from the body that had suddenly gone from being his toy to being his prison.
Rule reached for her again, but this time he never even got close. A bright silvery-golden glow began to radiate from her skin, forming a halo around her entire body. It acted like a shield around her, keeping him from touching her. Keeping him helplessly distant as he watched her destroy herself.
“A spell I cast to bind your power, subject unto me this hour.” She spoke faster now, and louder still, the last traces of Uzkiel fading from her voice until she sounded only like Abby. Like herself. Like the woman willing to sacrifice her own life to save everyone else. “Fade with every spoken word, hide until my voice is heard, to call you back from prison cold and restore you to your places old. The spell is cast, the magic spun; in this place my will be done!”
She ended on a shout. Vaguely, Rule realized he had expected a flash of light or a sudden explosion, something to mark the end of the destructive spell. Instead, the light surrounding her blinked out and there was an instant of terrible silence before Abby crumpled, lifeless, to the floor.
Rule was on her in an instant, scooping her off the cold concrete to cradle her against his chest. From a distance, he heard a terrible roaring sound, but it took a moment to register that the noise was coming from him. He crushed Abby to him, as if he could will the life back into her, as if the faith he’d claimed to have just a few minutes before could somehow restore her to him. If it couldn’t, his life had ended as surely as hers.
“Ow.”
He drew in a shuddering breath and bent his head. His eyes burned, and his throat felt as if a fist had clenched around it and squeezed with all its might. He felt the sting of hot liquid against his cheeks and realized they were tears.
“Ow! Leggo!”
It took a moment for the noise to register and another moment for Rule’s heart to resume beating.
“Too tight!”
Afraid to breathe, afraid to hope for even a second that his ears weren’t deceiving him, Rule lifted his head and stared at Abby’s petulant frown.
“Loosen up,” she complained. “I think you’re cracking a rib.”
“Abby!”
Rafe’s shout reflected the joy Rule felt but couldn’t utter because his lips were otherwise occupied. They were currently covering every inch of Abby’s face with kisses of joy and relief and love.
With a laugh, Abby reached up and grabbed him by the ears, yanking his mouth down to hers. She gave him a real kiss that reciprocated every single one of those feelings with interest.
“How is it possible?” Rafe marveled, hurrying to their sides. “Tess was certain that when someone passed the spell on to another, the spell would kill the one who taught it.”
That made the smile on Abby’s face fade. “It did. But the spell wasn’t designed to take into account possession, let alone multiple possessions. It killed indiscriminately, but it wasn’t designed to kill three entities at once.”
“It killed only Uzkiel.”
She shook her head. “Uzkiel and Louamides. They’re both gone.”
“It does not matter.” Rule stroked his hands reverently over her face. “You are alive. Everything is perfect.”
“Everything is good,” Abby qualified, “but I was starting to get used to hearing that little perv in my head. I think I’m actually going to miss him.”
Rule did a double take. “You cannot mean that.”
“No, I do. You know it was his idea. In the end, he was willing to sacrifice himself to make sure Uzkiel didn’t get his hands on that spell.” She laid her head against Rule’s shoulder. “It seems to me, Lou might have been a little less fiendish than we all imagined.”
Rule bent his head and rested his cheek against her baby-fine hair. “I will inform the Parliament. At least we can ensure that he is remembered properly.”
“Good.” Abby sighed and raised a hand to cover her yawn. “Um, do you think we can go home now?”
Rafe laughed. “Certainly.”
He offered a hand to help Rule to his feet, but the demon refused to take either of his own from Abby long enough to accept it. He simply shifted her higher against his chest and used his powerful leg muscles to lever himself to his feet.
“First, though, we should wake your brother,” the Felix said. “I’m certain he would like to . . . shall we say . . . leave his mark on this place.”
EPILOGUE
The story of the explosion in the old Hudson Shipping and Mercantile Building led the news the next morning on all the New York stations. The blasts that had brought the structure down had been perfectly placed to make the old building collapse in on itself without damaging any of the adjacent properties. The best explanation the authorities could come up with was that a professional demolition crew had gotten the wrong building. Even though there was nothing scheduled for demolition within fifty blocks of the Hudson within the next six months.
Abby flipped off the TV with a grin and settled back against the pillows. Beside her, a very warm and still sleepy demon stretched and curled a heavy arm over her waist.
“I thought you were never going to wake up,” she murmured, turning her head to smile and press a kiss to his sleep-warmed skin.
“It was entirely your fault,” he rumbled, “keeping me up half the night with your insatiable appetites.”
Abby rolled her eyes. “Sure. It was all my appetites. Absolutely. You played no part in it whatsoever.”
He winked at her. “Exactly.”
That earned him a kiss, and several minutes passed before he spoke again.
“How are you feeling?” He stroked the hair away from her face, his black eyes warm and tender as they gazed into hers.
“Surprisingly okay,” she answered, her mouth curving. “I was expecting to feel like I needed a psychic shower or seven, but you seem to have washed all that away most effectively.”
“Glad to be of service.”
“I still have a moment here or there where a stray thought hits me, and I realize I can’t blame it on Lou, but I’m adjusting.”
He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I know.”
They lay cuddled together beneath the covers for a few minutes, just savoring the feel of being together and of knowing no one’s life hung in the balance that day. It made for a refreshing change of pace.
Finally, Rule shifted and stretched again, rolling onto his back and dragging her against his side. “If we stay in bed too much longer, I would not put it past the others to come looking for us.”
“You’re right.” Abby made a face. “So, what do you want to do today? I mean, we don’t have a fiend to catch, so . . .”
Rule turned to look at her, his expression serious. “Actually, there is something I need to do.”
“What?”
She saw him hesitate and draw in a deep breath. “I am going to ask Tobias if he can find me a pla
ce in his private security firm. I think I would be a very good bodyguard.”
Abby pulled back to stare at him. “But you already have a job.”
He shook his head. “Not for long. I’m resigning from the Watch.”
“But why?”
“Because the Watch is Below and you are here.”
And just like that, Abby felt her heart melt all over again. When she spoke, her voice was soft and choked with tears. “You mean that? You would leave your home, your career, and your position in your society just to be with me?”
“I would leave my soul to be with you, Abigail.”
Her smile, though watery, was radiant. “I love you, Arulnagal.”
“And I love you, Abby Baker.”
Their kiss, soft and sweet and lingering, tasted of forever and felt like a benediction.
When she pulled back, Abby was smiling brightly enough to light up the city. “So, what do you think? Can a demon really wind up living happily ever after?”
Rule wrapped his arms around her, and Abby nestled against him like the other half of his being. “This one will.”
St. Martin’s Paperbacks Titles By
Christine Warren
THE DEMON YOU KNOW
SHE’S NO FAERIE PRINCESS
WOLF AT THE DOOR
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
THE DEMON YOU KNOW
Copyright © 2007 by Christine Warren.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
eISBN: 978-1-429-93881-5
Date of eBook conversion: 07/16/2010
St. Martin’s Paperbacks edition / May 2007
St. Martin’s Paperbacks are published by St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.