Now I got it. “Demonglass?”
“There’s only one piece in the city that’s unaccounted for.”
“Then I’ll have to find it,” I said.
It was a fair plan. Javos, however, had other ideas. When Nikolas unlocked the door of the warlocks’ place, it was to find him waiting in the hall in a manner similar to a parent confronting their wayward teenage offspring after coming home late from a night out.
“Just what do you think you’re playing at?” Javos growled at me. “Making a scene?”
“Saving lives?” I moved closer to Fiona.
“You should have left it to your celestials,” said Javos. “Not brought us to their attention.”
“They killed someone,” I said. “One of their own. I don’t think they’re done, either.”
His gaze went to Fiona. “And you brought a human here?”
“I’ll go,” she said quickly.
“Javos, don’t be a dick,” Rachel said. “The celestials, vamps and netherworld demons are out to get anyone close to Devi, and Fiona got bitten. So—”
“So did other humans,” he said. “Is she volunteering as a lab rat to help us stop the virus?”
“No,” I said, before anyone else could cut in. “Absolutely not.”
“Why not?” asked Fiona. “You need someone to what, test a cure on?”
“You’re not taking the cure,” I said firmly. “That’s what’s turning the people who get bitten into rabid monsters. It’s basically… you know how a person has to drink a vampire’s blood to turn into a full vamp after being bitten? That.”
Fiona paled. “Oh. Shit. But… they can walk in the day, right?”
“Yes,” said Nikolas and I at the same time. “That’s how they’ve been sneaking around,” I added. “Maybe it’s enough of a trade-off that some of them don’t care about the murderous side effects.” And having a demonic parasite living inside them.
Javos swore. “Just how did they get into that shopping centre without being seen?”
“I think they went in via Pandemonium,” I said. “But I never found the portal.”
Somehow, despite Javos’s grumbling, we got the story out. Fiona kept looking at him nervously, but she must know we didn’t have much choice but to stay here. Which meant keeping on the warlocks’ good side. Too bad I’d just caused a public display. If we’d known the celestials would be there… they’d have killed that girl anyway. Maybe more.
With them in the picture, stopping the vampires was paramount. Now they could walk in the day… all our usual plans for dealing with them went out the window.
“They couldn’t always do that, could they?” asked Rachel, when I said something along those lines. “I’m confused, to be honest. Is it the cure that lets them walk in daylight without catching on fire?”
“Probably,” I said. “They’re like a new species, almost, and they can be created from humans like regular vamps. That gives them a potentially infinite army, unless we get rid of both the fake bloodstones and everyone who’s fully turned. Starting with whoever owns the main portal. The demonglass.”
I was almost certain I knew who it was. Grabbing my phone, I sent another urgent message to Alec.
“Unfortunately, you’re right,” said Javos. “If not for the circumstances, all of you would face consequences for your actions in the last few days. But the fact is—these vampires already made a bold attack in broad daylight. They’re no longer held back by the weaknesses of their kind.”
“Yeah,” I said. Javos could be genuinely reasonable and intelligent when he wasn’t blowing up at everyone. “So… what are they planning? Aside from more of the same? We never found the portal, but it must be near the shopping centre if not inside it. Can’t anyone track it? I’d make a demon tracker if I could go near the place without the celestials finding me.”
“I can disguise myself and look,” Rachel said. “But it’s possible it was a temporary thing, like last time. Niko or I would have picked up on it if there’d been actual demonglass there.”
“They used bloodstones. Real ones, because I doubt they’d leave the fakes lying around.” I frowned. “I guess they’re interchangeable, to some extent, but I still can’t work out where they made the switch without being detected. Surely someone involved in trading those bloodstones would have noticed they aren’t the same.”
“Hang on,” said Fiona. “The bloodstones… you mentioned them before. What’s the deal with them?”
Right. I hadn’t told her about the saphor demon eggs. If it was me, I’d want to know the truth, but I was trained to handle traumatic situations. Fiona wasn’t, and she’d been through enough crap already.
“Does it have to do with what happened at the vampire bar?” she added. “Because I heard the vampires who kidnapped me talking about them, too.”
“Shit, really? What did they say?”
“I didn’t catch all of it. I was trying to escape their car at the time.” She grimaced. “But when they parked, they shouted something about using only regular bloodstones for the portal. The one they took me through. Something about… a limited supply.”
“Their demon egg stores are running low,” Rachel said. “That must be why they have their vamps biting people instead.”
“Did you say demon eggs?” asked Fiona.
“It’s where the demonic energy infecting people comes from,” I admitted. “But it can also be passed on through biting. And I guess—they’re not like regular bloodstones, because you can’t recharge a living thing. Once the energy from the demon egg is gone, that’s it.” Real bloodstones, on the other hand, were more like rechargeable batteries. “If that’s true, then… then if we take out all the infected vamps, we might have a chance in hell of stopping the virus spreading.”
“Exactly,” said Rachel, bouncing on the balls of her feet.
“I’m not getting the urge to bite people, if it helps,” Fiona said. “But does that mean—what kind of demon’s magic do I have?”
“Maggot demons,” said Rachel. I shot her a warning look.
“We don’t know,” I added. “This is all speculation.”
“One thing’s for certain,” Javos cut in. “Those bloodstones need to go. I think we have a solid enough case to argue for yanking every one of them off the market. Then we’d know for sure where the fake ones came from.”
“True,” Nikolas acknowledged, “but there’d be riots if we took away the vampires’ entire supply of bloodstones, and if the ones working with demons really do have a more permanent portal somewhere, there’s nothing to stop them continuing to bring in supplies from Pandemonium.”
“Exactly,” I said. “This isn’t good enough. We need a cure—an actual cure.” I looked at Fiona, then at the others. “The virus isn’t really a virus. It’s a demonic parasite. Because it’s part demon, celestial light can destroy it. But I don’t think Fiona wants me to cut her head open and shine a light into it.”
“Not really,” Fiona said, shuddering. “I did say I was willing to help, but not to die for it. This thing… it’s in my head?”
“Unfortunately,” I said. “The good news is that it’s probably dormant. Humans who get bitten by a vampire can carry the virus around for years without going full vamp. But most of them can’t resist the call of their blood.”
A chill ran down my back. Demonic power was hard to resist, too. She needed to stay here while I tracked the demonglass down. And there was one sure-fire way to do that.
“I’m going to look into the glass,” I said. “If I can track where the other piece is, we can make a plan.”
“You can really do that?” asked Rachel.
“Sometimes,” I told her. “I don’t really understand how it works. It might be tied to my demon mark, might not.”
None of the others said anything, but Javos and Nikolas exchanged an unreadable look.
“Just a look,” Javos said, with emphasis. “You’re a wanted woman, from what I gather. And you kn
ow what happened the last time you threw yourself through that glass without knowing what was on the other side.”
Yeah. And he didn’t even know about Zadok. Or what Themedes had done, unless Nikolas had told him. But urgency pressed on me. An attack on humans was bad enough, but the culprit must suspect I was onto him by now. He’d left more than enough clues.
Now you’ll pay for it.
The others followed me to the demonglass room, even Fiona. I hadn’t lied when I’d said I wasn’t sure what controlled where the glass drew me to, but other than when Zadok had dragged me into his lair, every other time I’d reached a place I wanted to had been because I’d believed I could get there. Just like when I used my celestial power to reach into the space between the worlds and find my weapon.
I approached the glass warily, not trusting my demon mark not to try to drag me somewhere unwanted. Like Zadok’s tower, for instance. Crouching down, I peered into the glass, imagining the other side showing the pillars in Nikolas’s castle. It was the only relatively harmless place I could think of—if there weren’t demons roaming around.
A familiar scene came into focus… but not the one I needed. A pillar climbed up to a high ceiling. Pandemonium’s palace throne room.
“What is it?” Javos asked sharply.
“I can see the throne room,” I said. “But not the vampires’ leader. Maybe he’s not there.”
“Tell the mirror to focus on him,” Javos said.
“I can’t turn the ability on and off by demand,” I said. “Or choose where to focus it.”
“Most magic has a control element,” he said. “You’re untrained, but you’ve managed to control it before.”
“In the heat of battle,” I said. “And if I touch it, I might fall through. Most magic doesn’t come with that sort of risk.”
“You’re one of a kind. Isn’t it exciting?” Rachel grinned.
“Apparently the warlocks need a special Rules for Devi’s Magic Division.” I leaned closer, and my demon mark twinged. “Oh hell.” I took a step back. “My mark wants to touch it. If it does, I get dragged through. I don’t know how to make it switch over to wherever the demonglass is hidden in this realm.” I leaned closer again, willing the glass to respond. I can do this. I have to.
My demon marked hand reached out, and this time, I let it brush against the glass. Faintly. Like when Nikolas ran his thumb over the mark, stirring it to life. The glass’s surface shimmered, showing a familiar warehouse.
I jerked back, my heart sinking. “The bastard. He left it in the warehouse. Recently.”
“Who?” asked Rachel and Javos, at the same time.
“I know who’s behind this.” I stepped back from the glass, adrenaline surging through my veins. I knew it.
“The other celestial—Damian?” Nikolas put in.
“Thanks for stealing the moment.” I dropped my hand to my side, thinking hard. “Doesn’t look like he’s there in person, but given the defences on the place last time—he knows magic. Powerful magic.”
“I’m lost,” Fiona said. “A celestial who?”
“The only surviving bite victim,” I said. “Only I don’t think he was ever a victim. He’s the one who stored the demonglass in the guild. It fits.”
“Yes, it does,” Nikolas said, taking a step towards the glass. “No spells can permanently harm me. I’ll go through—”
“If he’s turned it into a portal, you might get eaten on the way through.” I pulled out my phone again, messaging Clover. “Tell the guild there’s a demon planning to attack this realm. There’ll be a huge summoning at a warehouse on Blythe Street.”
Sliding my phone into my pocket, I turned my back on the glass. “I’m getting more weapons. Anyone who wants to come with me is welcome to.”
Javos shouted after me, but I sprinted down the corridor without looking back. I’d lost my best silver stakes in the battle at the shopping centre, but I had more than enough backups. And if Javos stopped me going through the glass, I’d mow him down, too.
“Devi!” said Fiona, in semi-hysterical tones, as I veered into the lab, grabbing any reachable weapons. “If you go through that glass—can anything come through this way?”
“Yes,” growled Javos from behind her. I tensed, ready to argue, but he said, “I’m calling the other warlocks here. I’ll get your friend out the way.”
I stared at him. He turned his back without letting me respond and guided her into the office. I mouthed stay hidden, and ran back to the demonglass room.
The others were waiting. I didn’t even need to ask. With Rachel on one side and Nikolas on the other, I dived through the glass.
Chapter 20
The fall lasted barely a second. Then the warehouse appeared, and so did a dozen venos demons, tails swinging.
I summoned my celestial blade, slicing down. The nearest demon’s head fell, trailing blood, and I moved onto the next target. Nikolas’s lightning streaked past, knocking demons into one another and blasting holes in their bodies, while Rachel barrelled past and tore into necks and ankles. Heat blasted me in the back without warning, sending me flying forward several metres. I flipped over in the air and managed to land on my feet.
Behind us, the demonglass was a swirling tempest of fire. Bloodstones surrounded it on all sides, fuelling its power. This was a setup, all right. Maybe Damian had been carrying all the bloodstones on him the whole time. But how was I supposed to shut the damn thing off, with demons pouring out at every second and Pandemonium waiting on the other side?
I brought my celestial blade down, severing a demon’s arm and bringing me closer to the portal. I swung the sword down at the nearest bloodstone, willing the celestial light to extinguish the pulsing energy. The stone barely moved. They were tied together in a circle, each fuelling the others, and even my celestial fire wasn’t enough to break the circle. It’d keep going until it burned out, and with the amount of power pouring from the stones, it might take hours.
My blade flickered and went out. I cursed, grabbing a stake instead, but a venos demon’s tail smacked me in the face, sending me alarmingly close to falling into the portal. Catching my balance, I punched it with my demon-marked hand. The mark burned, and the demon yelled, fire flickering across its face.
What the hell? Since when could I set demons on fire?
I waved my demon marked hand around, grabbing a stake and stabbing anything that moved. Maybe my demon mark could burn out the bloodstones. I’d taken in demon energy before—from an arch-demon, no less.
Crap. Maybe it’s Themedes’s fire. But did that make me a fire demon?
I dove underneath the nearest demon’s feet, slamming my demon marked hand onto his ankle. The beast fell, squealing in pain, fire engulfing him. Holy crap. Maybe I really had taken on the arch-demon’s power.
Nikolas had disappeared behind a wall of attacking demons, flashes of lightning the only indication that he was still fighting. And Rachel had gone, too. Fear sliced through me. We were far outnumbered, and the enemy had an infinite supply. More to the point—where in hell had the person who’d set up the portal gone? Was he laughing at us from a distance… or was he planning something else while we were distracted? Fending off demons, I let their movements propel me towards the trapdoor. It lay open, and there was no sign of anyone, vampire or human. Just enough demons to fill the lower levels of hell.
Despite my best efforts, we were driven back towards the warehouse door. Shutting the demons inside wouldn’t hold them back. I needed to break the portal, but even collapsing the whole warehouse on top of it wouldn’t help, because it’d give the demons free range to break out into the world outside. I’d bet those demon-proof defences weren’t here now—
Wait.
Either Damian had another plan, or he’d entirely removed the evidence. But he and I hadn’t known one another. He didn’t know, for instance, that I knew how to reset a demon-proof barrier.
Wielding the blade one-handed, I found the door with my
other hand, running my hand over the surface. The demon-proof button had been built into the door, and someone hadn’t entirely cleaned it up. I swiped my left hand over it, feeling its answering tremor beneath my palm. Celestial light shone from my hand, and the light snapped on over the door, sending a rippling curtain of energy over its surface. Encouraged, I lowered my left hand and walked alongside the door, burning a line along my path. Seeing the light, the demons fled, tripping over one another in an effort to avoid the celestial flames. Lesser demons would turn to ashes if they touched it. As long as nothing bigger broke through.
Like there was any chance of avoiding that happening.
“You know that’s not permanent, right?” said Rachel, tossing a venos demon’s head over her shoulder. Her serrated teeth were stained black with demon blood.
“It doesn’t need to be.” I took in a breath. “I called them… the celestials will be on their way here. We need to find the person who set up the portal in the first place. He’s not in here.”
“The celestials can’t take out that portal,” said Nikolas, appearing behind her covered in demon blood. “From the look of those flames, there’s a more powerful source on the other side. Too powerful.”
The doors flew open behind me. Dazzling light poured in, causing the demons to run shrieking back towards the portal. A dozen celestial warriors followed. Grade Fours. About bloody time.
They descended on the demons, blades slashing, with no apparent concern for whoever stood in their way. Beckoning to Rachel and Nikolas to follow, I shoved my way towards the door again. My phone buzzed in my pocket. Dammit. Either Alec was sending me a warning, too late, or something had happened to Fiona. My demon mark prickled as I got close to the celestial light I’d etched into the floor, but presumably it recognised me, because it let me pass, elbowing the door open.
I pulled out my phone, and damn near dropped it. Gav’s number was calling me.
Celestial Fire (Celestial Marked Book 2) Page 18