Celestial Fire (Celestial Marked Book 2)

by Emma L. Adams

“The game isn’t between my brother and me.” His eyes gleamed, as luminous as the pentagram. “It’s between the Divinities and the arch-demons. Do you really think you were marked by accident? You are a crucial puzzle piece, Devi, and I for one am curious to know why a celestial was chosen. The gods alone know what games the Divinities play, and all of us are mere pawns to them… if we allow ourselves to be.”

  I shrugged, with difficulty. “So what? The only person who gets to figure this shit out is me.”

  “You don’t have access to the right information,” he said. “The celestials kept it from you, scared you’d run when you found out the truth of the war you fought… but I think you’ve known it was hopeless from the moment you stepped into the demon’s realm, haven’t you? Since your friend’s tragic death in that saphor demon nest.”

  My mouth formed a retort about his stupid cryptic responses, but then my brain caught up with me. I’d strayed away from thinking back to that last, awful mission if I could help it, and the only part I recalled in any detail was the desperate battle with the demon in its home dimension, and the horrific sight of Rory dying I’d come back to in the cave. I’d filed the only report, and the inspector had flat-out dismissed it. But there was one slight detail I’d forgotten—before our foray into the demonic dimension, Rory and I had crawled through a nest which had formerly belonged to saphor demons. They hadn’t been the worst of what we’d faced down there, but saphor demons… I was almost certain they were parasite demons.

  I’d need to check the files again to be sure, but had Zadok just handed me the name of the demon responsible for the virus?

  “Nothing to say to that?” He smiled. “I take it you’re aware that the warlocks did the very same to you, despite whatever they promised you when you signed up. Because if you were allowed to choose which path to take, and your decision didn’t line up with their plans for you, they’d be forced to exterminate you.”

  Keep talking. While he spouted off, I’d managed to wriggle my right hand enough to reach my stake.

  To keep his eyes on my face, I said, “They’re my business partners. If I wanted access to information, I’d go and find it myself. What do you think I’m here for?”

  “The old arch-demon won’t tell you a thing,” he said. “He lost his power long ago, and clung to his crumbling kingdom until his own son tried to usurp him. Pity. I think a new demon overlord is the only way that realm will survive.”

  My stake touched the glass, and I slid my fingertips down to the tip and pushed.

  Zadok lunged, but I’d already fallen through, toppling out of the tower onto the bridge. Not my first choice of landing, but it’d do. Cold air whipped at me, and I turned towards the castle. A sheer drop on either side reminded me of my close call the last time I’d been here. Rachel’s boots kept my footsteps steady, preventing the cold breeze from blowing me too close to the edge.

  Of course, that’s when the first scorpion demon appeared.

  I threw a stake at it without breaking stride. I hadn’t wanted to lose my weapons, but with my celestial light malfunctioning, I didn’t have much choice. The stake sank into the scorpion’s side and it screeched, stinger lunging at me. I ducked and stabbed with a knife this time, my boots giving me leverage. The venos demon toppled off the bridge, and I kept running. My mind whirled with the new information. Demon parasites. Whether he’d given me the information deliberately or not—I knew exactly what to look for.

  As long as he hadn’t expected me to offer my soul in trade.

  A crackling roar erupted before me, and smoke poured out of the side of the wall as I ran towards it. Alarm blared through my mind. Nikolas’s castle… it’d caught on fire.

  Chapter 16

  Flames licked the side of the castle, a dramatic contrast to the violet, star-studded sky. I was almost certain they came from where the arch-demon was imprisoned.

  I picked up speed, my heart swooping. Fear for Nikolas burned deep in my chest, and I kept running across the bridge towards the stone tower opposite. I hoped I remembered the route, because if not, I was screwed.

  A venos demon ran out in front of me. I called my sword and this time it appeared. I didn’t even get the chance to feel relief, just fury. Severing the demon’s stinger, I dealt the killing blow without slowing down. Bat demons circled above, but didn’t appear to want to get too close to the flames. A wooden door, luckily unlocked, led inside. I wrenched it open and pelted down the stone corridor within.

  No burning smells or screaming assailed me, but a strange crackling noise, one I knew from when I’d witnessed the arch-demon’s magic before. Had he attacked Nikolas? I’d thought he was dead. Or dying. But having seen what his magic could do… shit. I needed to be sure he was okay.

  I veered into the pillared corridor of demonglass I’d been in before, not stopping. The smell of brimstone burned strong but the whole place had the faint trace of netherworld smells around it anyway. The crackling noise, however, told me where to run. And the light burning in the corridor ahead of me told me I’d reached the arch-demon’s tower. Despite the light and the noise, the fire left no other signs of its presence—a definite sign that it wasn’t normal flames.

  I ran into the corridor, and stopped. The door to Themedes’s prison was open, and energy poured out, bright and fiery. The arch-demon’s aura flared bright enough to smother my celestial light, and the echoing power made my teeth rattle in my skull.

  “Nikolas!” I yelled.

  Silence followed. I ran to the door, which hung off its hinges, edges blackened to cinders. And inside the room, fire burned in vibrant spirals, surrounding a winged figure suspended in the air. He made no sound, but power continued to radiate off his body.

  My demon mark tingled, then my hand rose of its own accord. Fire swirled around me… and Nikolas. He was pressed against the wall as though pushed by the sheer force of the arch-demon’s power.

  “Devi!” he yelled. “Get out of here!”

  “What the hell is happening?”

  “It’s the last of his power—” he broke off. Blood dripped from his nose, and the way he held himself suggested worse injuries.

  The arch-demon floated, wings splayed, a fallen angel surrounded by a dark halo. How the hell did you switch off a dying demon’s magic? I remembered all too clearly the damage it’d done when I’d touched him before. I might not survive it this time.

  But Nikolas was hurt. Fire engulfed his left arm, filling the room with the smell of burning and brimstone. He swore loudly in some demon tongue, and yelled at me to step back.

  The demon power held me still, my teeth chattering as though coldness and not heat assailed me. My demon mark burned white-hot, like I’d pressed it to an open flame—yet it felt more like an itch than pain. Waves of sensation passed over my mark to my fingertips in tandem with the roaring flames surrounding the dying arch-demon.

  Themedes’s eyes looked into mine, and all the power rushed over to me.

  I gasped. My demon mark ignited and power surged through my bones, too bright. Too much. This time, my skin would burn straight off. I’d die if I took on all that magic—but I couldn’t stop it from rushing towards my demon mark any more than I could stop a hurricane by standing in its path.

  The arch-demon dropped like a stone, the last of his magic slamming into my palm, sending me staggering back.

  At the same time, Nikolas pushed me out of the way. I caught my balance, turning to him in alarm—but the flames had died the instant he’d pushed me out of the line of fire.

  Nikolas himself hadn’t been so lucky. One of his hands had burned away to the bone, and I gagged at the smell of burning flesh.

  “Shit,” I said. “Shit, shit, shit.” On anyone else, I’d have said they were dead for sure. But he had regenerative magic—if it worked on injuries that serious.

  “You shouldn’t have done that,” he said through clenched teeth.

  “How?” I croaked. “Fucking hell, Nikolas, your hand’s—”


  “It’ll regenerate soon.” Sooty ashes covered his face, but his gaze was surprisingly steady, considering half his freaking hand was missing.

  “If someone knocked your head off, would it grow back?” I asked instead of vomiting all over the arch-demon’s ashes like I wanted to.

  He gave me an amused look, flecked with pain. “I’d rather not find out. What were you thinking?”

  “I wasn’t. Apparently the demon mark took the wheel.” I glanced down at my own hand to avoid looking at his. Sooty blackness outlined the arrowhead symbol. “Anyone want to clue me in on what just happened?”

  “I have no idea.” He staggered forwards. “Themedes is dead, though.”

  He crouched down and reached out with his uninjured hand. The arch-demon’s winged form lay still, and the instant Nikolas touched it, it crumbled into ashes. Shadows surged from his fingertips over the ashes, filling the room. I backed away, the shadows looking all too close to Zadok’s own powers.

  “Whoa,” I said. “What are you doing?”

  “Removing all traces of Themedes. He hasn’t left this room, so no traces of his home dimension can get out.”

  “And if Zadok got in?”

  The shadows disappeared. “The room was bound. If he managed to get in, there’s no chance he could have taken anything out. I know how his magic works.” He pushed to his feet, swore, and leaned against the wall. A quick glance at his hand confirmed that the flesh and skin had grown back as though it’d never been gone. “Are you going to explain why you came here and walked in front of a dying demon’s fire? I take it you didn’t use a normal portal.”

  A twisting sensation seized my chest. I’d broken the warlocks’ law for real this time. No disputing it. Sure, I’d never exactly been great at following rules, but working for the warlocks—with Nikolas—had given me a sense of purpose that almost made up for the constant annoyance I felt at not being able to use my powers. Yet here—and fighting in the fire dimension—was the most alive I’d felt in a long time.

  I looked Nikolas in the eyes. “Just tell me if I’m out of the warlocks’ guild. Go on. I’ll survive it.”

  “I don’t doubt you will.” He took one step closer. “But surviving isn’t enough, for you or for anyone. If you can’t decide what drives you, the demons will step in. Mere recklessness for the sake of it is a weakness in their eyes. Why do you fight?”

  I hadn’t expected the question, but I clenched my left fist, the usual answers on my tongue—because I was reborn to this. I was made for it. But was I, really? That was my old goal.

  Maybe I had to let something else take its place.

  “Because the alternative isn’t acceptable to me,” I said. “Letting the demons win isn’t acceptable. And I don’t rush into dangerous situations for the sake of it. If I did, I’d have ended up in the fire realm much earlier than I did.”

  His eyes searched my face, and he nodded. Like I’d passed a test. Why did I get the feeling his analysis of me had nothing to do with Javos’s orders, and more to do with some personal curiosity of his?

  “Do I get a prize for being too reckless for the warlocks?” I asked. “I didn’t ask my demon mark to drag me into the line of fire.” I flipped my wrist over again. “Any clues? It sounded like Themedes hit me with his own magic. But the mark isn’t his. I’m not connected to that dimension.” But I wasn’t connected to this one either, and Nikolas’s lure had affected me intensely.

  “You aren’t,” he said. “Which means he must have felt your magic answered to his in some other way. The demonglass first linked you to his dimension before any others. I’ve never heard of an arch-demon passing anything on to a human.” His forehead pinched. “You really do seem to exist to push buttons.”

  “That’s my best talent. Pushing buttons. Pissing off authority figures. You knew that when I signed up. Nobody is spared. Celestials and bad-tempered warlocks included.”

  “Am I included in the latter?” he asked. “I’d wager most would find you more endearing if you weren’t so dead set on getting yourself killed.”

  “You nearly lost a hand. I don’t care if you can regenerate, you’re still as mortal as any of us. And you can’t blame it on a rogue demon mark.”

  “I don’t believe the mark has a mind of its own,” he said. “Even though you said it liked me.”

  His hand closed around my wrist, thumb stroking over the mark. Heat sparked low in the pit of my stomach, rising as his gaze slid up my body. His thumb brushed my wrist again, his other hand rising to move a strand of hair from my face. No lure, no hint of his demon power, but the mere thought of it conjured up the fantasies I thought had been the result of his demon magic screwing with my head. I moaned involuntarily as his thumb circled the demon mark again.

  He leaned close to me, his lips hovering over mine. “I have a number of buttons I’d like to push myself, as it happens.”

  I closed the distance between us.

  Kissing him was even better without the dazed effect of his lure. I gripped his waist with my free hand as he deepened the kiss, an explosion of sensation rising in my blood. Heat raced through my veins, painless and invigorating, like demon fire. The fire contained in my right hand, which longed to touch the shadowy magic inside him—

  I broke the kiss with a gasp. What in hell was that? Smoke poured from my right hand, and I yanked it back. “I should probably keep this thing shut away until whatever Themedes did wears off. I don’t want you to lose another hand.”

  “That would be unfortunate,” Nikolas said. His eyes were molten gold, inviting me in… but there was something I hadn’t told him yet. As much as the fire of his touch had sparked things I’d never thought I’d feel again, much less in the company of a warlock with a dead arch-demon’s ashes blowing around us—the annoying, cold voice of reason rose to quench the fire inside me.

  I took in a breath. “I should probably mention your brother got out. Did you know?”

  His eyes widened a little, the heat dying down. “What?”

  “Yep. My demon mark decided to take me into his lab.” I dropped my arm to my side, hoping the damn thing would stop itching—and more to the point, stop lighting on fire whenever I was around Nikolas. If I wanted to use it in a fight, I needed to maintain some semblance of control over the damn thing, not give into temptation at every turn. Even though, being a demon mark, it was probably made of temptation. No wonder my celestial power was fading.

  Nikolas scowled. “He must have got out today.”

  “You don’t think he might have killed Themedes?”

  “No. I’d know. His killing methods have a distinctive edge. Besides, he’s clearly been busy. I destroyed all his equipment several times this year already.”

  “So how much power does he have?”

  “Less than he thinks, and less than he’d like to have. This dimension is a dead zone. You can’t summon anything here. You only managed to do what you did because you used the demonglass. It’s one of the reasons I didn’t want him to work out the nature of your ability… people in this realm would exploit you for it.”

  “Yeah, well, he doesn’t want me dead anymore,” I said. “Instead, he offered to help me. I said no, and I managed to get out before he retaliated. Your brother has a pentagram which can apparently draw the demon in Pandemonium anywhere we like. We could get the vampires’ leader out of the palace and strike him down.”

  His hands hovered near mine, but he didn’t touch me this time. “That won’t stop the vampire army. It wouldn’t surprise me if that demigod wasn’t working alone. We know nothing about him.”

  “I don’t think we should forget Zadok. Look what he gets up to when we’re not around. Are you sure he’s not involved with that realm?”

  “No,” he said. “He’s a loose cannon, to put it mildly. What did he say to you?”

  “He didn’t know about the vampires. But he hinted that he knows about this battle between heaven and hell that’s connected to whatever’s going
on in both realms.”

  His brow furrowed. “He might have been posturing, but Babylon is still a netherworld realm. He’s unpredictable and known to be a liar.”

  “I don’t know, he didn’t try to kill me this time. Next thing you know, we’ll be best friends. I’m joking,” I added. “I know he’s a snake. But he sounded so damned convincing, I dread to think what else he can do. And it sounds like if anyone here summons a demon from Pandemonium—that’s where it’ll end up. Inside his tower. It’s like a beacon.”

  “Luckily, as far as I know, nobody on this realm has the same ability you do. But I’ll take care of him later. An arch-demon dead… shockwaves will have passed far beyond this realm.”

  “Then let me take us back,” I said. “It’s the quickest way.”

  “So it is.”

  For all that Zadok had brought up some good points, Nikolas did trust me. Maybe not with everything, but who was I to talk? The important thing was getting back home, and dragging up the guild’s records of that mission two years ago. The records I’d written myself. Because if Zadok was right—I’d had the name of the demon responsible for the virus in front of me the whole time.

  But none of that explained why the demon which had killed Rory had resurfaced now, much less the vampires’ involvement. For all the trouble I’d caused—and dragged Rory into—I’d never caught the kind of attention which would bring the wrath of a king in a netherworld dimension after me. I think I’d remember if I’d pissed off someone like him.

  Unless it was all tied up in the war between heaven and hell, Divinities and arch-demons. Maybe those I loved were doomed to be targeted purely because I was marked.

  Chapter 17

  Nikolas and I returned to the castle’s corridor, found the nearest demonglass pillar and stepped through, landing in the warlocks’ storeroom. Luckily, nobody waited on the other side.

  I pulled my phone out. “I need to look something up and make a few calls.”

  “Fiona?”