“Not to worry,” Nikolas said. “Give me your phone and I’ll recharge it. If anything else had happened, I’d know.”
I hesitated before handing it over. It wasn’t like I had any options left. “And Javos?”
“He wishes to speak with you.”
I raised an eyebrow. “I assume he’s going to apologise for nearly smiting me last night?”
“I doubt he remembers,” said Nikolas. “When his power kicks in, he often forgets himself entirely. I’m glad you were able to subdue him.”
“Me too. Believe me.”
I took a quick shower and changed into the jeans and T-shirt Nikolas had brought. The shirt—white, embossed with red devil horns—hung loosely to my knees, but that was apparently the style. I replaced my wristbands, hiding both celestial and demon marks, and surveyed my reflection. Marginally better. The aura vision potion had worn off by now, but I didn’t need a potion to know what I looked like to them.
Maybe I was better off throwing my lot in with the warlocks instead.
I turned right once I left the room and followed the sound of voices down the carpeted stairs. A door led into a kitchen, where the great hulking form of Javos covered one entire side of the table and appeared to be devouring a dead demon’s leg. Not a human one, anyway. Ugh.
“Coffee?” he asked, in a deceptively polite voice.
“Er… thanks.” I sat down as far from the bloodstained meat as possible. “Do you have… normal food here?”
“Of course,” said Nikolas from behind me. “Javos has select tastes. But a number of warlocks frequent the guild. Not humans, though. I can’t say we’ve ever had one of those here.”
“Yay.” I accepted a mug of steaming hot coffee and a plate of toast from him. “I’m honoured.”
“I should think so,” rumbled Javos.
Ah, crap. Apparently my brain-to-mouth filter had disappeared somewhere in the middle of the night. Considering the relentless shitstorm the universe had unleashed on my life, I wasn’t doing too badly, but I’d never imagined eating toast in the kitchen with a pair of warlocks, one of whom had a human-sized leg dangling from his mouth. I nibbled toast in awkward silence before Nikolas handed me my phone back.
“How’d you charge it already?”
“I have many talents.”
I raised an eyebrow at him. “Please tell me you didn’t zap it with demon lightning. I have evidence stored on that phone.”
“Relax. I just used one of our specially enhanced chargers,” he said. “By evidence, you mean the photographs of the guild?”
Javos dropped the demon leg. “I do hope the guild doesn’t mistreat their prisoners.”
Slowly, I inched my chair back from the table, ready to sprint if he exploded in anger again. “They don’t normally have prisoners. Inspector Deacon’s running the show and has everyone dancing to his tune. I’m sure he’ll be open to negotiation.”
There was more chance of me getting a pardon from the guild than the warlocks, but anyone with half a brain could guess that. The inspector didn’t see the warlocks as human.
Nikolas put down his coffee mug. “What we need to discuss right now is Devi’s new ability to travel through demonglass. The repercussions for us—and for this new demon case, too—might be potentially catastrophic. No human has ever had such a power before.”
Javos looked at me. “Your new talent is bound to get you into a lot of trouble if you don’t learn to discipline yourself and use it sparingly.”
“I didn’t plan to make a habit of it,” I said. “I was kind of being chased by angry demons and an evil warlock at the time.”
“So Nikolas tells me,” he said. “You can pass from this realm to others, and you also appear to be able to move around within the same dimension using the glass, which is almost unheard of. Just where did you get this ability?”
“Apparently, I was marked with it,” I said. “Unfortunately, the demon who marked me is possibly linked to the murders. But I don’t know for sure. This potential evidence from the guild throws all my other theories out the window. They have demonglass in their secret storeroom.”
“And did you see other evidence of a demon summoning?” asked Javos.
“No,” I said. “Also, there’s no way anyone could have actually let a demon loose in the guild. There are too many wards in there. Someone would have noticed. But if demonglass is needed for the summoning, that limits the possible locations. So I figured I could maybe use my ability to track them down. I don’t have a ton of options.”
“Nikolas mentioned there was another death last night,” he said. “He said you were planning to do something reckless. Are you prepared to deal with a nest of demons?”
“Yes,” I said, looking him in the eyes. “The guild wants me to hand Nikolas over to them, or get locked in jail. I don’t know if they’re guilty or not, but my mentor died right after I sent him potentially incriminating evidence of the guild’s involvement. So I don’t know what to believe. The fact that they killed Gav—it broke the pattern. Not only was there more than a day between his murder and the one before, he wasn’t even a novice. Whoever killed him wanted to get to me.”
“That suggests the guild was involved, for certain,” said Javos. “This inspector figure.”
“He has a gambling addiction,” I said. “But we didn’t find any evidence he’s the one working with the demons. And Gav’s body was found two streets from the guild, not in the building.”
But one thing was certain—his death wasn’t random. Someone knew I was investigating, and had intentionally targeted someone I cared for. That was reason enough not to walk away from this.
“Show me the photos,” Javos said.
I loaded up the last message I’d sent Gav, without looking at it. I didn’t have time to stop and grieve. Catching his killer before the guild found me was paramount.
The warlock took the phone in his huge hand. “Either he sent the message to the guild and they took him out—in which case, we can expect an attack—or a demon saw it. Either might be true.”
“I know,” I said. “It’s still a toss-up whether the guild just look guilty. The fact that all three of us have reason to hate them doesn’t help, to be honest. I think it’s almost designed to make it look that way—the victim burns from the inside out, like how our own celestial light works against netherworlders. But I saw the body of the last victim, and the place the aura changed was around her right hand. There.” I held up my wrist, where the mark was hidden under my wristband. “You couldn’t see my mark to begin with, but it was there.”
“Are you certain that’s what you saw?” asked Nikolas. “I haven’t seen any demon marks on a person, but if it’s along the same lines as a celestial mark—you all wear the mark on your left wrist?”
“Yeah,” I said. “So maybe demon marks are the same. It might not even be the same demon either. But the victims… it’s the only way I can see someone killing them without laying a hand on them. The mark’s invisible until it’s triggered. With me, it gave me powers. But if the person being tested is a low-ranked novice…”
“Then their body rejects the change and it consumes them,” said Javos, handing me my phone back. “It’s not a bad theory, Devina, but it leaves out the crucial question of who summoned the demon, for that purpose. And why.”
I closed down the message from Gav and found two from Fiona asking where I was. I composed a quick response warning her not to leave the flat, and sent it. Hopefully she’d heed my warning and the guild wouldn’t make her life difficult. I looked up at the others. “Just warning my friend to lie low. I need to fix this. The demonglass will take me directly to the enemy, whoever they are. It’s the one plan the guild can’t stop.”
“How exactly do you control where the glass takes you?” asked Nikolas. “You did so at least once before, right?”
“I just pictured where I wanted to travel to,” I said. “There’s one way to know for certain. I have to test it.”
“Without being caught?” asked Nikolas. “We have yet to establish whether you can take other people along with you. If not, then you’d be transporting yourself into the hands of an unknown enemy with no backup.”
“If it’s like your power, then she’ll have to train it,” said Javos. “But we have only one full sheet of functioning demonglass hooked up to a power source. The summoner must be using something similar. The power drains out of the glass over time, so it would need a demonic energy source to keep it functioning. If the demon is indeed hiding in another dimension, the source would need to stay active.”
“Right.” I nodded. “There’s not a lot we can do if it is the guild, because they’ll arrest me the moment I show up there.”
“Not if their attention is elsewhere,” said Javos. “I’ll go to speak to the guild. I imagine my arrival would cause enough of a stir to draw their attention away from the storeroom long enough for you to remove or break the glass, correct?”
“Technically, yes, but I don’t think—”
“All the weapons you need are within reach,” said Nikolas. “You can escape through the glass again if there’s an ambush waiting.”
“It’s too risky,” I said. “Besides, I need someone to wait on the other side of the glass if it all goes to shit. There’s a chance I might come through with the entire guild on my tail.”
“They won’t be able to follow you.” Javos got to his feet. “And I’ve left my people for long enough. Make the decision, Devina. If you do decide to proceed, allow me fifteen minutes to divert their attention.”
He swept out of the room, leaving the remains of the demon leg on the table. I swivelled to look at Nikolas. “Doesn’t take orders well, does he? I really hope he doesn’t declare war on them.”
“He has more sense than that,” said Nikolas. “The demonglass is ready, if you’re sure.”
“You know I’m not,” I said. “I realise we nearly died last night anyway, but it’s people’s lives we’re gambling with here. And it’s personal now. They’re after people close to me.” Guilt twisted through my chest. “I’m worried about my neighbour, Fiona. She’s human, but I wouldn’t put it past them to target her, too.”
“Humans cannot be demon marked in the same way you are,” he said. “But that’s all the more reason to make a decision. I don’t like the idea of you risking your life by going through the demonglass alone, but I’m unlikely to be able to follow you.”
“Never thought I’d be glad to have power better than yours.”
“Oh, better, is it?” He arched a brow. “Maybe if we survive this, we can test that theory.”
I shrugged. “Honestly, I need all the hope I can get at this point. Where’s this glass?”
“In the back room.” He rose to his feet, beckoning me through a door on the kitchen’s other side. “Are you absolutely certain?”
“I’m certain I have no choice.” I took in a breath. “If I get trapped on the other side, or if their demon is there… I don’t even have my warlock-repellent. It expired. And they might have broken my doors down by now.” Fiona hadn’t responded to my message, and I hoped the guild would leave her alone. She wasn’t a celestial, so they wouldn’t have a reason to hurt her. Attacking humans reflected badly on the guild’s image. If they hadn’t thoroughly trounced their own reputation already.
His gaze dropped to my right hand. “I wouldn’t normally tell you this without the proper training and instruction, but that mark of yours contains demonic essence. It ought to act against anything celestial—and other demons, too. Certainly other preternaturals. Just showing the mark will trigger a reaction.”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t make them want to kill me.” I followed him through the door, down a short corridor, where he unlocked another room. It was set up like a store cupboard containing a lot of boxes and not much else. Except for the sheet of clear glass at the back, identical to the one at the guild. I approached it, half expecting to see my own reflection, but it showed nothing but the wall behind. I reached out a hand, and hesitated.
Nikolas stepped to my side. His hand slid down my cheek, deliberately, raising goosebumps. He smelled of heat and brimstone, fire and wind—a force too strong to contain, too wild to tame. Pity I couldn’t drag him through the glass with me, and unleash all that power on the guild.
“What do you reckon?” he said, in a low purr. “Since you’re no longer wearing your inconvenient trap, do you want a kiss for luck?”
“I don’t need luck, I need a miracle,” I responded.
But I didn’t step back as his lips hovered over mine. And perhaps it was because of my imminent arrest or death, but I kissed him back, crushing his mouth. He nipped at my lower lip and for a brief moment, I thought about forsaking the damned mission and having as good a time as possible for my last few hours of freedom.
Then he stepped back, gave me a nod, and indicated the glass. I walked towards it before I lost my nerve. When I pressed my palms to the surface, the view of a dark room appeared. The guild must be empty, or distracted by Javos’s diversion.
Here goes nothing.
The glass turned transparent, and I stepped through.
Chapter 19
I turned around, pulling down the wristband on my left arm. A mirror-sized patch of demonglass covered the back wall. Despite the darkness, the room seemed larger than the cupboard-sized room at the guild. Had they moved the glass? Or was I somewhere else entirely? The room smelled strongly of brimstone, with a coppery tang. Blood. But I hadn’t got the falling sensation as I did when I’d crossed through dimensions, so I must still be on Earth.
Tentatively, I stepped forward, my shin colliding with a solid edge. Ow. My celestial light illuminated a large object blocking my way, almost knee-height. I felt my way along its rectangular shape. A heavy wooden box, maybe. And another one lay beside it on the hardwood floor. I carefully stepped between them, the light in my hand growing. The room was bigger than I’d thought, and contained a dozen wooden boxes, all more or less identical. A door stood at the other end of the room, which had no windows. What kind of weird setup was this?
Light in hand, I knelt beside the nearest box. The lid slightly overhung the top of its rectangular shape, and the smell of blood came from inside it.
Oh shit. They were coffins. I’d transported myself into a vampire’s nest.
If it were night time, I’d be in real trouble, but they’d sleep until sundown if left undisturbed. At least they weren’t immune to celestial light, but what the hell were a bunch of vampires doing here?
I turned away to the demonglass wall. Some power must be fuelling it, for the glass to keep functioning when its guards were asleep. Sure enough, a number of fist-sized stones outlined the glass. Bloodstones. As well as a source of energy for vampires, they also worked as a source in demonic summonings, if a rare one. The stones must have kept the glass tuned into the demonic home dimension, before I’d messed it up by coming here. Nobody came into a vampire’s nest during the day. It was the perfect hiding place, and even a team of celestials couldn’t disarm and subdue an entire room of angry vampires. Not without risking a massacre. And if the vamps lost control, carnage would follow.
But… the guild wasn’t the enemy at all. And I’d sent Javos there, potentially to start a war. I switched my phone to silent mode, then sent Nikolas a quick message. Why hadn’t I considered that other preternaturals might have been involved before? Louise’s boyfriend had been one of the undead. And the client with the stolen bloodstone… had he been involved, too? He might be an innocent—but it’d been a demon which had stolen it. From Pandemonium, the city ruled by an arch-demon of fire.
I knelt down and examined the bloodstones. I needed to disrupt the circuit powering the demonglass, before one of them woke up. Vampires slept like the dead, but they might smell my human blood or hear my heart hammering against my chest. Power pulsed through each stone, and rather than the pale red of normal bloodstones, they were j
et black. The same colour as a demon’s aura. That’s new. And worrying as hell.
I felt my way around the trap and disconnected one of the stones. Its darkness continued to pulse, but the demonglass immediately began to dull. The stone hummed in my hand. I shoved it into my pocket and reached for the next one.
A slithering noise came from behind me.
My shoulders stiffened. Swivelling round, I bumped into a tall, solid figure.
Vampire.
He smelled cold, like empty tunnels. His eyes—half-open—were jet black. The only thing more dangerous than an awake vampire was a half-awake one. He probably didn’t even register me, only that I smelled like a human. If his buddies woke up, they’d devour me in bloodlust without even opening their eyes.
Swallowing hard, I stepped to the side. The vampire turned that way, too. I sidestepped, and he moved along with me, his hand latching onto my shoulder.
I slammed my elbow into his ribs. Pain shot up my arm, but I brought my knee up hard, eyes watering with pain. He didn’t seem to feel it. His fingertips dug into my shoulder, yanking me towards him.
Squirming away, desperate to avoid those fangs piercing my neck, I thrust the still-vibrating bloodstone against him. Demonic energy wasn’t deadly to vampires, but it was bound to give him a shock.
His body jerked back, his eyes opening a little, and I wrenched his hand from my shoulder. I ducked around him and ran for the glass. A marble-white hand shot out and threw me to the ground. The vampire’s eyes remained half-open, zombie-like, but he moved freakishly fast. I rolled to the side, behind a coffin, gripping the bloodstone tight. If I ran for the door, there was a very good chance I’d run into more enemies on the other side, assuming it wasn’t locked. But he was between me and the glass, and with the bloodstone gone, it’d shut down soon. Okay, the door, then.
I was on my feet in a second, but the vampire caught me by the arm and flung me into the air. I flipped over and landed on another coffin. The lid slid free and a second vampire sat blearily up. “Robert, stop that,” he mumbled.
Celestial Magic (Celestial Marked Book 1) Page 18