by Bonnie Lamer
Yes, we did get sidetracked. Addressing the Demon again, I say, “Your friend promised me that things would be back the way they were when his spell ended. He lied. I don’t like liars.” Something that really bothers me is that when the Demon lied, my internal lie detector didn’t go off. Are Demons the one race of beings who I cannot read?
The Demon begins shaking its head. Well, Tana’s head, and it’s pointing at her mouth. Kallen scowls. “I believe the thing wants to speak to you.”
Yeah, to say the exorcism spell. Since I didn’t understand the Demon’s language, nor do I know the spell, I have no idea how close it was to being finished, or if the spell must be spoken all at once or if it can be interrupted with a sudden loss of voice and picked up where the Demon left off when its voice returns. It might only have one or two more words and its done. Poof, it’s gone and we lose the upper hand. I study the Tana Demon closely and wonder what to do about this stalemate. Nothing spectacular comes to mind. With a sigh, I reluctantly say to the Demon, “Here’s the deal. If you utter one word that I don’t understand, I will not only take your voice away, I will put Tana in a coma so you can’t communicate or move at all. Do you understand?” Tana’s head bobs up and down.
Isla and Garren move next to us. Both of them have had magic drawn since Kallen, Dagda and I caged Tana and the Demon. They draw more, ready to defend if the thing gets loose. Doing my best not to seem worried, I give the thing its voice back.
Doing a verbal check, the Demon lets out a piercing shriek. It’s really hard not to cover my ears. I do not want to show any sign of weakness, though. Neither do the others around me. In fact, Kallen is giving the thing a rather dull stare as if bored with its theatrics. I really wish I could master facial expressions like he can.
But wow, I did not know that Tana’s voice could reach those kinds of highs. She could have considered a career in the opera if she was from the Cowan realm. Not a great opera. Maybe a minor one in a small town somewhere. Her voice is high. She cannot necessarily carry a note.
“Do try not to damage her vocal cords. That will just piss me off more,” I tell the Demon in as bored a voice as I can muster.
The thing quiets but its silver eyes flash bright in annoyance. I really hope Tana’s eyes go back to green when the thing leaves her. The silver would be really hard to get used to. Not to mention make the whole ‘I’m never going to be evil again’ argument much more difficult to believe. Moving close to the magical wall but not touching it, Tana’s lips curl back into a snarl. “You speak of liars when you live among races who do nothing but lie.”
Shaking my head, I glance up at Kallen. “How many stupid comments do you think I should give it before I take its voice away again?”
With a smirk, Kallen replies, “One.”
Nodding in agreement, I turn back to the Demon. “One it is, then. And you’ve used it up. Either say something useful or I take your voice and the rest of us go back inside. We have some important reading to do.”
If the Demon isn’t careful, it’s going to saw Tana’s tongue in half in its attempt not to say something stupid. At least it’s taking me at my word. After a moment of what are probably evil enough thoughts to permanently damage Tana’s brain waves, the Demon hisses, “You were given what you were promised.”
I cock my head to the side. “Really?” I glance around as if looking for someone. “Because I seem to be missing some friends.”
Tana’s lips curl up into a demented smile. “Those you seek were gone before my brother’s spell was cast. Angels are, after all, cowards.”
I don’t believe that for a second. I know my friends, and saying either of them is a coward is absolutely ridiculous. They would readily sacrifice themselves if they thought it would save the rest of us. A chill tickles my spine. Is that what they did? I will not give the Demon the satisfaction of asking. Suddenly pissed, I snarl, “If you are implying that Raziel and Adriel ran away because they were afraid of Demons, you won’t get any of us to believe it.” I tug on Kallen’s hand as I turn around. “Let’s go read some books,” I say to my husband.
“They did not run away.” There is both haste and great reluctance in the Demon’s words. For some reason, it did not want to admit this, nor did it want to appear weak enough to not want me to go. Yet, it stayed my forward progress by admitting this. Interesting.
I throw a glare over my shoulder. “Then why aren’t they here?”
The Demon takes so long to respond, I shake my head in disgust and turn back toward the house taking several steps, forcing its hand yet again. Finally, it hisses, “They were taken before the spell was cast.”
Taken before the spell was cast? How is that possible? Raziel would have seen it coming. Then again, if it was inevitable that they were taken, he would have seen that coming, as well. He knows the future. He is not invincible.
Considering this Demon’s words, I think back to how readily the first Demon agreed to my demand to have things returned to how they were before its spell was cast. It hits me how correct I was that my agreement with him would come back and bite me in the ass. The damn thing wanted to agree before I asked for something more specific like making sure all of my loved ones were accounted for and unharmed. Me and my stupid impatience. If I had done a little more probing, I may have been able to save Raziel and Adriel already.
“The thing is most likely lying,” Kallen reminds me quietly.
A frustrated shriek erupts from Tana’s lips. “Demons are incapable of lying!”
I turn to look at the caged being and smile wryly. “But, you do seem to have fantastic hearing.”
“What do you mean, Demons are incapable of lying?” Kallen asks. He still sounds bored and uninterested. Good idea. Best not to sound too interested in what the Demon has to say.
“We were cast from the ashes of the Flames of Truth,” the Demon declares as if we should all know this.
I shrug and readily admit my ignorance. I have so much of it in regards to the magical world still, there’s no sense in trying to hide it. That gets me nowhere in situations like this. “Sorry, not up on my Demon lore.”
“I believe it is telling the truth,” Mom says from the kitchen doorway. I turn to find her holding a very old, leather bound book in her hand. She, Tabitha and Dad stayed inside to protect Zac and keep researching when Kallen, Dagda, Isla and Garren came out to face the Demon with me. Technically, they came out to see if I was crazy and attacking Tana. Fortunately, I’m not crazy and I was not attacking her. That would have made for very awkward family get-togethers in the future. “According to this, Demons were scraped together from the ashes of the Flames of Truth. The fire from which the Angels were created.”
Okay, that I believe. In their true form, they definitely look like they were scraped together from some sort of ashes. But, that does not necessarily mean what the Demon is claiming is true. “Angels can lie,” I point out to no one in particular. They’re not supposed to, but they can. Belial is a perfect example. I’m pretty sure he lied all the time. Or, at least, came pretty darn close to it on many occasions.
“The flames were only one step in the process of creating the Angels,” Isla explains. I believe she is implying that the other steps negated some part of the effect of the Flames of Truth. Definitely a question I will be asking my Angel friends in the future. Studying the Demon in the cage, she continues, “If these beings were created solely from those flames, it is possible they carry such a limitation which the Angels do not.”
Quirking a brow, I ask, “Do you trust it?”
Isla’s lip quirks up in an unamused half-smile. “Trust it? No. I believe it will twist the truth in a thousand different knots to mislead and confuse us.”
“That was helpful,” I complain under my breath. We might as well assume it can lie then.
Tired of being ignored, the Demon growls, “Do you not want to know what has befallen your friends?”
I give it an annoyed glance. “Let me guess, one of your buddies kidnapp
ed them before your brother cast the spell. Now, they are being tortured mercilessly, and if we don’t let you go, there is nothing we can do to stop it.” Tana’s expression turns surprised and I roll my eyes. “Obviously, you have never watched a Cowan horror movie. A variation of that is the plot of a good deal of them.”
“What is she talking about?” Garren asks Isla. She shushes him. Now he’s annoyed, but he has the good sense to keep quiet.
Spit shoots from Tana’s mouth onto the driveway and the Demon hisses. Gross. If she’s conscious inside there, Tana’s probably horrified by such bad behavior. Then again, she is being possessed by a Demon. She may have bigger things on her mind than whether or not she just spit on the driveway. “I care nothing of Cowans,” the Demon declares. “A waste of creation.”
Wow. Cowans really are considered the scourge of the magical world. They really don’t deserve such censure. The things they have been able to accomplish without the use of magic is pretty damn impressive. Could any of these other beings do the same? “My Dad and my brother carry Cowan blood. If you have any hope of convincing me to be anything but cruel to you, I would cut the anti-Cowan rhetoric.”
“I will thrive on your cruelty,” the Demon hisses with a smile that backs up its words.
Hmm, hadn’t thought of that. Disturbing. Pulling my lips into my best smile, I reverse my position. “Then I will kill you with kindness.” After a second of consideration, I correct that statement, too. “Or, I will simply kill you. I’m that determined to get my friends back.” I didn’t realize until this moment how true this statement is. I am faced with one of the darkest enemies I have ever come across. I suspect there is no cruelty beneath them, nothing they are not willing to inflict upon their enemies. Nor is there any moral argument which is likely to change their minds. Therefore, I will probably need to kill to get my friends back. Okay, I’m a bit nauseous now but I don’t let it show. Instead, I harden my heart and face the very real possibility that I will be a murderer soon, even if it is in defense of family and friends.
The Demon must recognize something of its own darkness in my eyes because it believes me. “I will tell you how to get them back.”
Cocking my head to the side, I stare at Kallen in disbelief. “Did the Demon just say that it is totally willing to betray its friends and family?”
Kallen nods. “It did. Worse yet, I believe it is serious.”
Shaking my head, I intone to no one in particular, “They really are evil.” Turning my attention back to the Demon, my voice is tinged with, okay, not tinged, laden with disgust. “You would have had me with ‘I will let your step-mother go’,” not really, but it doesn’t know that, “but now that I know you are truly the lowest form of being in any universe and will totally rat out your friends to save your own ass, I plan to take full advantage of the fact. Before we get to that, though, tell me, are you harming Tana’s body? Think carefully before you respond because if you are already harming it, it would not make a bit of difference if I harm it, as well.” I hear Dagda hiss nearby, but he doesn’t say anything. He knows me well enough to know I am bluffing. It is just the thought which bothers him, not that he believes I will actually do it. Hopefully, the Demon does not know this.
Whether out of fear of me, or simply because it cannot lie, the Demon replies, “The host body will eventually degrade, but the process takes centuries.”
Hmm, time moves differently in each realm. “Cowan centuries or Fairy centuries?”
Annoyed to have been caught trying to mislead me, the Demon hisses, “Angel centuries.”
Now I’m really confused. “Angel time doesn’t move that way.” It goes in and out of other realms’ timelines.
Even more annoyed, the Demon admits, “It would take eons for her body to suffer the consequences of possession.” Technically, it did not lie. Eons are made up of centuries. A lot of them, but still.
Although I am greatly relieved, I feign disappointment. “Then physically, you are safe. For now,” I add with a malicious smile. “After all, Tana has never been my favorite Fairy in the universe.”
Before I have the chance to say anything else which will definitely be the cause of my biological father’s coronary, Kallen interrupts my back and forth with the Demon. “I believe it has been established that there will be consequences if you do not cooperate,” he tells the Demon. “Where are the Angels?”
Tana’s eyes shift from me to my gorgeous husband. “Hell,” he says simply.
“There is no such thing as hell,” Isla corrects. She glances at me. “At least, not as the Cowans know it.” I believe her. We had this discussion when I was going to the Shadow realm.
“I will ask only one more time. Your lack of cooperation will mean your ultimate destruction,” Kallen drawls. “Where are the Angels?”
“The place where the roots of all universes collide,” the Demon says in a voice as bored sounding as Kallen’s. You know, it’s cute when Kallen does it. Freaking irritating as hell when a Demon does it.
“Great, I assume you can draw us a map.” There is only a hint of sarcasm in my voice. Truly, I want a map to this god forsaken place. I assume it really is god forsaken. After all, which god would want to hang out with Demons? Well, there is Hades. Then again, he likes being the King of his underworld. I don’t think he would let Demons intrude in his realm.
“A map?” The Demon is truly alarmed.
Scowling at Kallen, I ask, “Did it seem like an unreasonable request?”
Kallen shrugs. “A map would be most handy.”
“I thought so.” I turn my attention back to the Demon. “So, how soon can you draw that up?” To be helpful, Kallen creates a pad of paper and a pencil inside the cage. I smile up at him in appreciation.
Horrified by the suggestion, the Demon stutters, “A map?? A map cannot be drawn to this place.”
Honestly, I suspected as much. Nothing is ever that easy when it comes to magical beings. Frowning, I still ask the obvious. “Why not? It exists, therefore directions can be given to find it.” Out of the corner of my eye, I see Isla shift uncomfortably. She disagrees but she doesn’t say this aloud.
“You need to be of Demon blood to find your way,” the Demon hedges.
I smile broadly. “Great! You can bring us there.”
Horror fills Tana’s green and silver eyes. Yeah, I really hope those go back to normal. It’s pretty freaky to see her like this. “I would be killed instantly,” the Demon claims.
Again, I glance up at Kallen. “How is this our problem?” I ask sweetly.
He shakes his head. “It is not our problem,” he assures me.
Desperation fills the Demon’s words. “They would know I was coming. They would sense it. We would both be killed instantly.”
A cocky grin covers my face. “I’m not quite that easy to kill. Trust me. Many of have tried.” Wait, I’m not sure that’s something to brag about.
Recovering some of its earlier confidence, the Demon forces Tana’s lips into a malicious smile. “Even when faced with a hundred waiting Demons?”
Okay, that might be a problem. I am having enough trouble fighting them off one at a time. I don’t believe I could fight off a hundred of them and survive.
Noticing my waning bravado, Kallen speaks up again. “If you had a hundred Demons waiting for us, they would be here rescuing you. Your numbers are not quite as great as that.
I open my mouth to correct him. Demons can’t lie. Then, I consider what the Demon actually said. Even when faced with a hundred waiting Demons? A question, not a statement of fact. He was not saying there would be a hundred Demons waiting for us. He was simply trying to make me believe there would be a hundred Demons waiting for us. Tricky. I give Kallen’s hand an appreciative squeeze for bringing this to my attention. He smiles down at me adoringly. Lord, he is sexy when he is adoring me.
Bringing my attention back to the problem at hand, I ask the Demon point blank, “How many of you are there?”
“One,” he answers readily.
Okay, I need to be more specific. “How many Demons are still alive and want to kill, torture, maim, cast spells upon, observe and generally annoy us?”
The Demon takes a moment to consider my question. I can see Tana’s brain ticking off the qualifications as the thing considers its brethren. It is also trying to find a way to answer my question in a way which does not betray an actual number. This alone tells me that there are not many of them. My heart swells at the prospect of only a handful of Demons to fight instead of a hundred.
As usual, my hopes are always dashed. At least, somewhat. “Twenty,” the Demon finally admits. Yet, it is much less crestfallen with this admittance than I would have thought. There is a glint in Tana’s now completely silver eyes which tells me I have once again been tricked into believing something that is not one hundred percent true.
My mind is racing trying to come up with a better question. It is Kallen who thinks of one first. “How many of these twenty are actually a threat to us?” Wow, I never would have thought of that. Are some of the Demons too old or feeble to fight? Or too young? Maybe some never recovered from the war or whatever that killed the rest of them off. That would explain why they haven’t shown up until now.
The Demon is quiet for so long, I once again turn back toward the house. I could be reading a book instead of waiting for it to speak. A much better use of my time. Kallen and I are at the kitchen door when the Demon says, “Seven. There can only be The Seven.”
My mind begins to tick off the clues the Demon has given us. Flames of Truth, the place where all universes collide, the need for Demon blood and that there can only be seven. These things will definitely narrow our research a bit. Mom is no longer at the door, but I bet she can still hear what is being said. Hopefully, she and Tabitha have already begun a new search with these clues in mind.
Assessing the Demon for a long moment, I cock my head to the side. “How close were you to finishing the spell to un-possess Tana?”
A frustrated growls escapes Tana’s lips. “Very close.”