“True,” said Nikolas, “but the celestials are often quick to assign blame. I’m surprised it hasn’t started already.”
“I’ve no idea what you’re talking about,” I said. “Look, guys, it’s been enlightening talking to you, but I was told you had more ideas. I get it, you hate the celestials. Beats me why you’d want to help solve their murders, to be honest.”
“Because if a rogue demon is loose on my territory, I need to know about it,” Javos said. “If someone is trying to incite a war between celestials and the preternaturally inclined, for instance, it might destroy our peace.”
The celestials wouldn’t do that. The words hovered on my tongue, but I knew they weren’t true. Inspector Deacon proved that.
“It won’t work,” I told him. “They wouldn’t put the city’s safety in jeopardy over a lone demon.”
“I suppose you know them better than I do,” said Javos. “I certainly hope they don’t declare war. I’ve become fond of this dimension.”
“Wait, you’re not originally from here?” I asked.
He laughed softly. “The arch-demons aren’t fond of their offspring… that seems to be a truth in every dimension in which they rule. We’re too powerful to be controlled. They don’t tolerate anyone who threatens their power. Either we submit to being their slaves, or we strike out alone.”
“So you’re what, in charge of every warlock here? Just this city?” It didn’t surprise me that he was the son of an arch-demon, too.
“In this city, yes,” he said. “It’s been enlightening talking to you, Miss Lawson. I’d certainly like to chat further if either of us come up with any more ideas about this mystery demon of ours. And based on what Nikolas tells me, you’d be an asset working for us.”
I choked on the sip of drink I’d just taken. “Working for you? I’m a celestial.”
Javos and Nikolas exchanged looks I couldn’t read. Anger buzzed through me. More and more, I felt like both sides wanted to push me around, and I wasn’t having any of it. The case was a one-time incident. Even if I decided not to stay with the guild after the murders were solved, I sure as hell wouldn’t be signing up to work with the warlocks. I could barely tolerate being near Nikolas as it was, and I thought the feeling was mutual.
“If you change your mind,” said Javos, “you can find me here. I frequent this place most nights.”
He climbed off the bar stool and strode towards the door, walking out into the night.
“Okay,” I muttered. “I didn’t know one person ruled over every warlock in the city. Figured you were mostly loners.”
Actually, if I picked anyone as ruler of the warlocks, it was Nikolas. Not that I’d be telling Javos, though. He was a scary bastard however powerful Nikolas was.
“We find it necessary to have someone in charge of maintaining peace,” he said.
“So what do you even do for a living, except supply the celestials’ weapons?” I asked. “Why do that, if you hate them?”
“I don’t hate them,” he said. “Some of them are quite interesting company.”
Nice try. “You’ve been belittling me for being connected with them since we met, when you know full well I haven’t worked for them for two years. And for the record, if you said any of that crap to any other celestial, they’d have locked you up.”
“Then I’d better stay on your good side.” His mouth curved in a grin. “By the way, you still haven’t apologised for the murder accusation. Which I assume you’re retracting, seeing as you’re still here.”
“You still haven’t apologised for violating my personal space.” He hadn’t tried to touch me again, but I still wore my improvised trap around my neck, tucked into my cleavage.
He raised an eyebrow. “That’s the part you focus on? Not how you wrenched me from one dimension to another and tried to trap me in a pentagram meant for a higher demon?”
Now he put it like that, the pentagram—which I’d returned to the guild in one piece—did sound kind of excessive. “You acted guilty.” I glanced away from his piercing eyes. “All right, I’m sorry for suspecting you. And the pentagram. I didn’t actually know I could trap a warlock in that.”
“You couldn’t. Not me, anyway. Few traps can hold me.”
“I gathered.” As for what he’d said afterwards… maybe it was the drink, but I wanted it cleared up, now. “What about the part where you said I had a demon’s mark?”
“You do. Javos noticed it, too. Why do you think I invited you to speak to him? The others don’t like celestials.”
“Cut the bullshit,” I said. “I was recruited as a celestial when I was a teenager—I know you’ve read my profile. The Divinities chose me. They hate demons. I can’t be one of them.”
“I never said you always belonged to a demon.”
His voice was quiet, yet each word hit me like a stone. My chest tightened. “What the hell do you mean?” I asked. “I have a celestial’s aura. I know because I’ve seen it.”
“Auras.” He gave a quiet laugh. “Not all demons have them.”
Like the killer. No—the aura around the victims meant something, but he hadn’t brought it up yet, so perhaps it wasn’t worth noting. Wait, could warlocks even see auras?
I took another sip of my drink and then asked him.
“We can,” he confirmed. “But they tend to look different to us than they do to others, like true demons.”
“And celestials?” I asked.
“If you haven’t seen your mark, I imagine so.”
I gripped the bar stool with my free hand, looking at him in what I hoped was a calm manner. “Listen, mate, if you’re screwing with me, I’m off this case. If not, then if you don’t tell me what kind of demon I’m supposed to be, I’ll use that pentagram to yank you into the nearest pond.”
“Oh, how terrifying.” He raised an eyebrow. “I can’t answer because I don’t know. You have a mark on your aura—unmistakably demonic in origin. But not a warlock’s mark, and you’re clearly human, despite your celestial nature. It’s a mark I don’t recognise, like one touched by a demon.”
“Touched?” I echoed, my stomach lurching as though I was about to fall from much higher than a bar stool. “In what way? Like you did to me?”
“Not physically,” he said. “Spiritually. It’s your soul that’s marked, Devi.”
My soul. Even as a celestial, I didn’t really believe I had one. I mean, sure, I was going somewhere after death, hopefully not a demonic dimension. But the Divinities alone knew that. Souls were corrupted by doing terrible things, none of which I’d done.
“How can that happen?” I didn’t mean to speak aloud. It was none of his damn business, besides. He seemed to think the whole thing—murders included—was a joke.
“You’re intriguing to me,” he said, his eyes glittering. “How indeed. I don’t know. It’s rare for the demons to take an interest in a person, especially one sworn to defy them. Unless it’s to do with why you left.”
“I left because a demon killed my partner,” I said. “And if anyone here has no soul, it’s you.”
I slid off the bar stool and made for the door, ignoring Rachel’s stare. The oak doors swung open and a torrent of rain hit me full in the face. I hadn’t thought to pack an umbrella. What a shit show. Demon marked? Me? I’d killed well over a hundred of them. And my soul couldn’t be marked. I’d done my part for the army of heaven, however little gratitude I’d received in return. And I’d never done anything bad enough to put a stain on my soul.
Except walked into a demon’s dimension, and came out alive.
My hands clenched. Just because I didn’t know anyone else who’d done it, didn’t mean I was damned. Losing Rory was bad enough, but I’d never seen who’d killed him. All I remembered was fire, burning in his eyes, burning in me.
Rain dashed against the pavement, soaking through my clothes. I stood for a moment, willing the rain to wash away the sensation of flames crawling over my skin. Rory’s face flashed th
rough my mind, replaced immediately with Louise’s. I’d spoken to her right before she’d died. If I’d known…
Celestial lights shone in the night, piercing the gloom in front of me. I took one step forwards, trying to see through the driving rain.
“You need to leave,” said a voice, and shadows closed in around me, masking my view.
The rain stopped so abruptly, I froze. Everything stopped, and nothing remained behind but shadow so complete, even my celestial light didn’t pierce the gloom. A hand found my arm, tugging on me, and I staggered away from Nikolas as the shadows melted away. Behind him was a sheer cliff face, ascending above our heads. Cold stone beneath our feet in the place of pavement. And instead of the driving rain, a bitter wind raised the hairs on my arms.
Because it wasn’t raining here.
We weren’t in Haven City anymore.
Chapter 10
“What the hell did you do?” I gasped. Nikolas stood beside me, with Rachel just behind. Other than that, all I could see was the dark face of a rocky wall. Opposite was another cliff. We were in some kind of valley—a massive one. The looming surface of a full moon shone over the clifftops.
“Don’t,” warned Nikolas. “If you scream, you’ll draw their attention.”
“I’m not going to scream.” Chills raced down my arms. I wasn’t dressed appropriately for a cold night on an alien planet. The icy wind was nothing like the warm April rain at home. For the second time in my life, I’d been dragged into another dimension entirely.
He could kill me here and nobody would know.
I reached for my sleeve.
“I wouldn’t,” said Nikolas. “You’ll draw attention. I brought you here because we were about to walk into a third crime scene. I assumed the celestials would be less lenient on us than last time.”
My head spun, and metallic-tasting fear rose on my tongue. “So you thought a dimension ruled by demons was safer?”
“Technically, it’s not ruled by demons,” he said. “Not arch-demons, anyway, though there’s a provisional ruler. There are even humans here. You haven’t entirely gone extinct.”
“And have celestials?”
He didn’t need to answer for me to guess. In this world, the celestials had failed in their quest to vanquish all demons, and had been destroyed in turn. If this area did overlap with the same place in the world we’d come from, then this ruined wasteland was all that remained of the Divinities’ most important city in England. If it had ever existed in this world.
It was more than I’d expected from a night at a bar, that’s all I can say. At least it wasn’t raining here. That was the only upside.
Rachel winked at me. “Here we are. Dull, isn’t it? I don’t know why he likes it so much.”
“I can’t believe this,” I said. “You pulled me into another dimension, without my permission.”
“Feel free to go back.” He waved a hand, and the air split along a shadowy crack, showing me a slither of pavement with people gathering outside the pub. A second later, it vanished.
“Wait, can we watch the crime scene from here?” I asked.
“Not without being seen or heard.”
Damn. “But—someone else was attacked, right? How did you know?”
“I sensed the demon, but I didn’t get the chance to look. The celestials were a minute from arresting both of us.”
“I didn’t even know you could bring someone else into this dimension.”
All my suspicions flared up again. Some inter-dimensional crap must have been involved for the victims to move across the city in the space of a few seconds… but he’d been with me the whole time.
“Very few of us can cross dimensions without assistance,” he said, “and even fewer of us can bring others along for the ride.”
“All right, then.” Like it or not, he was my only ticket back into my own dimension. “We’ll walk away from the crime scene and cross over somewhere else. I’m not spending any longer than I have to in this place.”
“That was the plan,” he said, “but there’s a group of biter demons behind us.”
I swore. “You brought us into a dimension overrun by demons. What did you expect?”
“It’s up to you. Walk quickly, or reappear on top of a crime scene.”
I gave him the finger, pulled off my wristband, and walked. He followed immediately behind, with Rachel on our left. No signs of other humans disturbed the rocky wasteland, no monuments to their presence here at all. It was as though nobody had ever set foot here except us. Rocky ground, a few caves, high cliffs on either side, and the outline of a larger shape on the horizon, silhouetted against the unnaturally large moon. A castle, perhaps, with a number of spire-like towers piercing the sky.
Rachel hissed in alarm. “There’s something coming.”
I raised my arm in defence, and two medium-sized fiends jumped down the cliffs at us, shrieking delightedly. Biter demons were swarm hunters, which meant they’d come to find food for their pack. Oh, joy.
Still, they were lesser demons, and I’d bet they’d never messed with a celestial before. White light flared around my hand, a warning hint they didn’t take. Several furred heads leaned forward, jaws unhinging to reveal three sets of serrated teeth each.
Light pierced the first demon to jump at me. Flesh melted off its teeth and a horrible stench poured out of the dying demon. Of course, when I killed demons here in their home realm, they stayed there, rotting away, rather than vanishing as they did back home.
Black lightning seared past me and struck down two more, but instead of running, the beasts surged forwards in a mass of fur. I called the celestial light, feeling my way to the sword. For a heartbeat, I was afraid it wouldn’t work—that not being in my home dimension would cut off access to my weapons. But the Divinities were beyond one single dimension.
I whipped out the sword, which shone brighter than any celestial light, and swung it at the nearest demon. Its head bounced off the cliff, jaws agape.
In a surge, the demons leaped down to meet us. Rachel wielded twin knives, while lightning sparked from Nikolas’s fingertips. But it was the celestial light that burned them, severing heads, melting flesh. The angel’s fury rode through me, and I cut two beasts’ throats in one, their heads bouncing down the cliffs.
A bellow split the sky. And there’s their leader. As before, a larger, spiny demon led the swarm, watching the ongoing carnage from the top of the cliff, surrounded by a wall of smaller demons.
Time to die.
I climbed one-handed up the cliff, using my left hand to wield my sword and cut down any demon that dared to grab for me. As another demon’s head bounced down the cliff, a clawed hand snatched the back of my still-wet coat, yanking me onto the cliff top.
The bigger demon and I faced off. Porcupine-like spines bristled from its body, its paw-like hands were tipped with deadly claws—but it was afraid to touch my sword. The blade sang, cutting down the line of defence, driving the demon to the cliff’s edge.
“Celestial,” it said in a guttural voice, speaking in Malthric, one of the demon languages. “You’re supposed to be dead.”
“You just can’t keep me down,” I said, and lunged.
With the blade active, my speed was beyond most humans. What I hadn’t counted on was him jumping off the cliff’s edge, leaving me to fall into empty air. I flipped over, catching the edge of a rock protruding over the valley. My blade hung from my other hand, lighting the gloom. I’d forgotten how fast the bastards could move.
Claws latched onto my leg, dangling me upside-down. The grinning face of the demon loomed from the shadows. He’d grabbed the cliff beneath me mid-jump, waiting to ambush me as I fell. The blood rushed to my head and I struggled, trying to get at the right angle to wriggle free. My sword swung wildly from my right hand, narrowly missing the demon.
Then he let go. I fell, fingers scraping the cliff side, and managed to slow my fall. The blade remained in my hand, probably more due to its m
agic than any skill on my part. It was weightless, made of pure celestial light, and would stay until the job was done.
And it will be.
As the creature kicked out, I caught its foot on the edge of my sword. While it was unbalanced, I thrust upwards, severing its leg. A terrible scream pierced the sky, and the demon tumbled past me, clawed arms flailing.
I let go of the cliff, launching myself at the beast. My blade sank into its chest, in mid-air, and celestial light flared around its body.
I landed hard, the beast cushioning my fall. Then I ascended the cliffs again, where the remaining biter demons milled around in confusion, looking for their fallen leader.
“Come and get me,” I said, grinning at them.
They bolted. Yowling in fear, the remaining demons ran for the hills, leaving dust in their wake. I killed the stragglers, leaving their bodies to the scavengers, and leaped down the cliff again. The dust barely stirred as I landed in a crouch. Rachel stared at me in awe. “So that’s what a celestial soldier really looks like?”
“That’s what I am,” I said, more to Nikolas than to her. I might think the guild was short-sighted at best, but I’d been reborn and remade to do this. No warlock would ever understand that. I hadn’t missed Nikolas’s eyes following the movement with fascination as I jumped down the cliff, but now, he wore a mildly irritated expression. I looked down. Crap. Not only had my bra slid down during the fight, rain water plastered my clothes to my body, and my top was totally see-through. Saying farewell to dignity, I tugged my clothes back into place. “I didn’t dress for a fight on an alien planet.”
“I told you not to draw attention,” Nikolas said. “Every demon for miles around will have seen that fireworks display.”
“Sorry for saving your neck.” The adrenaline buzz died down, though my heart continued to pound. My sword had vanished back to its storage point between dimensions, as it did whenever I wasn’t using it. “I’ll leave you to become demon food next time. You knew this was coming.”
“I didn’t,” he said. “There aren’t usually so many, but when demonic activity occurs in one realm, it has a knock-on effect on the others. If this demonic killer is moving realms, even more so.”
Celestial Magic (Celestial Marked Book 1) Page 9