by Becca Blake
Not that I would be able to get to any of it before Raxael shifted inside the car to stop me.
As I fumbled for the buckle to my seatbelt, my fingers brushed against the gun holstered at my hip, which was still loaded with enchanted bullets. If I could reposition myself and get the door open, maybe I could get a shot off before he realized what I was doing.
Would a gunshot hurt a demon lord? Or would it just piss him off?
If it didn’t hurt him, or if I missed, I’d be dead before I had a chance to try anything else. And after our fight to escape the burning town, I wasn’t in any condition to try fighting him.
This time, Raxael didn’t bother knocking on my window. He opened my door and dragged me out of the vehicle. My elbow cracked against the pavement as he shoved me down.
“I don’t like to be kept waiting.” He shifted to the other side and pulled Jacob out, just as he’d done to me.
I started to pull myself upright, but I froze when Raxael appeared in front of me once more.
“I remember you two.” He circled me with slow, predatory steps. “You interfered with his evaluation and spoiled all my fun, and you were there again when I came to collect a debt from one of my followers.”
“I remember,” I said.
“I assume you don’t know who I am, since your Council insists on hiding everything.”
“Raxael,” I bit out. “Demon lord.”
“Very good!” He clasped his hands together. “Most of you hunters know so little. Though, perhaps that will change after today.”
“Who’s left to know who you are?” Jacob asked. “Your hellhounds massacred everyone.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Raxael said. “I have no intention of fully destroying your town or killing all your people. The attack is already over. Only part of the city is burning, and plenty of Arbiters are still alive.”
“Then, what was the point?” I asked.
Stopping again in front of me, he held out his hand and transformed it into the single bladed limb he used to kill Leader Grayson. “Humans are pathetic creatures, though you all try to pretend otherwise. Sometimes it’s charming to see how hard you try to be independent, but you seem to have forgotten your place. I thought it was time for a reminder.”
“Why bother with us?” Jacob asked. “You’ve already put on your show.”
A cruel smile slithered across Raxael’s face. “I wanted to get a look at the two brave demon hunters who chose to flee the city, rather than stay and fight. It seems that the two of you just broke your oath to protect humanity—or whatever it is you do.”
My attention drifted once more to my bag in the back seat. The amulet was our only hope of fighting him, but with my shoulder injury and only Jacob as backup, I’d never be able to get to it in time.
He followed my gaze to my weapons and laughed. “Don’t bother. You’re not nearly fast enough.”
“Well, if you’re going to kill us, get on with it,” I said.
I did my best to hold his chilling gaze and appear unafraid, even though he terrified me. It had been a long night, and if Raxael intended to kill us, I only hoped that he wouldn’t drag it out any longer.
“Tempting, but I don’t think I will.” Raxael let that hang in the air between us before he continued. “There’s something I’d like you to do for me.”
“Why would we help a demon lord?” I asked.
“Because the second you left town, you became Oathbreakers. Work with me, and I’ll make sure you’re under my protection. The Arbiters of Shadow won’t hunt you down.”
That didn’t seem like a hard choice. I would rather live the rest of my life on the run than in service to a demon lord.
“And if we don’t?” I asked.
“Then, I suppose I’ll have to take you to your Council myself. They can decide your fate.”
“If we agreed, what would you have us do?” Jacob asked.
“No,” I said sharply. “It doesn’t matter what he wants. We won’t do it.”
“Won’t you?” Raxael appeared behind Jacob, holding my sword in his hand. When I didn’t respond, he drove the blade through the flesh of Jacob’s upper arm.
My partner screamed as Raxael released him and tossed the bloody sword back to me.
“Jacob!” I started toward him, but Raxael shifted beside me and stopped me with a rough hand around my wrist.
“You’ll find I don’t have the patience for negotiations,” he whispered in my ear.
I struggled in his grasp, but his fingers dug harder into my flesh. Realizing he was too strong, I stilled.
“Now,” Raxael said, his voice once again taking on a cheerful tone. “I’m assuming you’d like to save his life. If you do as I say, I’ll take him back to Haygrove and make sure he’s given proper care. It’s not an infernal wound, so your doctors won’t have any trouble.”
When I didn’t answer, he pushed me back down and shifted once more, this time sitting on the hood of the car. Jacob writhed beneath the demon lord’s feet as he held his arm, trying to stop the bleeding. There was so much of it spilling out across the pavement. He wouldn’t last much longer losing blood at this rate.
“Or, I can just finish him off now. It doesn’t make much difference to me. I’ll get what I want, regardless. I always do.”
I closed my eyes and let out a shaky sigh. “What do you want from me?”
“I knew you’d come around.” He slid off the hood of the car and sauntered over to me. “I need to locate two Oathbreakers from your organization who have wronged me. I’m rather unhappy with how your Council has handled this matter. So, once you bring them to me, I’ll instruct the Council to free you from your oaths. See? It’s not that bad of a deal for you, really.”
“Who?” I asked, though I already knew the answer.
“Jay Maki and Alexander Orion.”
The chill that had been creeping up my spine since Raxael’s arrival now spread through my entire body.
“Now, what will it be? I suggest you hurry, before your companion bleeds out.”
If I wanted to save Jacob, if I wanted to live to fight another day, I had no choice but to agree. For now, at least.
“I’ll do it.”
“Excellent,” Raxael said.
“How will I find you once I locate them?”
The air around him blurred as he shifted away once more. When he reappeared beside me, his bladed arm burned red hot. He pressed the tip lightly against the base of my neck at my collarbone. Pain snaked out across my chest as burning lines spread across my skin, winding out in strange patterns like a glowing tattoo. I cried out as it seeped into the infernal wound, and the screaming pain dropped me to my knees.
As quickly as it had appeared, the fiery brand on my skin faded away.
“What the hell was that?” I bit out. The pain was gone, but my entire body still shook.
“I’ve marked you. Touch that spot on your chest when you’re ready, and it will call me to you.” He returned to Jacob and lifted him up. “You have one week to locate the Oathbreakers. If you fail, he will die.”
“Wait,” I said. “You’ll make sure he’s taken care of? He’ll heal?”
“I am a demon of my word,” Raxael said. “That’s more than can be said for your kind.”
The demon lord disappeared with my partner, leaving me alone in the middle of the road.
Once I caught my breath, I got back in the Cavalier and sped away from Haygrove as fast as it would take me. By the time I merged onto the highway, everything I’d been holding in caught up with me, and I pulled over onto the shoulder.
Sobs tore through my chest, and I slammed my fist against the top of the steering wheel. I’d been so stupid to think we could stop Raxael, and Jacob was now suffering for it. He’d been dragged back to Haygrove, back to his father, and I had no way
of knowing if he would be okay.
Worse, I’d agreed to hand Orion over to Raxael. If I didn’t, Jacob would die.
How could I choose between them? I loved Orion. He’d been family for as long as I could remember. But despite the rocky start to our partnership, I was starting to care for Jacob, too, and I didn’t think I could live with myself if I doomed him to die.
Even without the weight of that choice over my head, I was in so much pain. My infernal wound throbbed, and the healing herbs in my duffel bag were useless. I would have to find another way to treat it soon, and without access to the clinic in Haygrove, I wasn’t sure how I’d manage that.
Whatever my next move was, sitting in my car on the side of the road wouldn’t help.
I rubbed my eyes and steadied my breathing before pulling out my phone.
Orion must have been waiting for my call, as it only rang once before he answered. “Are you safe?”
At the sound of his voice, I relaxed back in my chair, my body sagging with relief. I’d been too afraid to call and check on him while we were still in town, and until now I hadn’t realized how worried I was.
“Riley?” he pressed, worry creeping into his voice, and I realized I hadn’t responded to him.
“Yeah,” I managed. “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m alive. Where are you?”
Awkward shuffling came from the other end, and I could hear faint voices in the background.
“I made it to Ayla’s. She didn’t seem thrilled to hear from me.”
“But she agreed to let you stay? Temporarily, at least?”
“If she didn’t, I wouldn’t be here. She’s being polite about it, but it sounds like she wants us out by the end of the week.”
There was a long pause on the other end. Neither of us seemed to want to be the first to turn the conversation to Haygrove.
Orion gave in first. “How did things go in town? Did you get the enchantment?”
“I…” I hesitated as I searched for words to describe all that had happened. “I got it. But Raxael attacked Haygrove. And he took Jacob.”
“Infernal hells,” Orion breathed out.
I continued describing the hellhounds’ attack, as well as everything I saw with the Council. I stopped short of telling him all that had happened after, or about the deal I’d made with Raxael.
We could solve that problem later. Right now, I just had to get to him.
Chapter Twenty-Six
By the time I arrived in Omaha, the moon was high in the sky. I navigated to Ayla’s address, which brought me to a bookshop downtown. After parking in a nearby lot and grabbing my bag, I approached the building. The sign on the door read that it had closed several hours ago, and the door was locked. I pressed my face against the window, trying to get a better view of the interior, but it was too dark to see much of anything.
Just as I pulled out my phone to text Orion, a light came on inside. A dark figure appeared in front of the door, and the lock clicked.
I stuffed the phone back in my pocket and let my hand hover over the gun at my hip, just in case.
Ayla pulled the door open. She stared at me for a few moments before pulling me into a hug. “So much for no Arbiter crap, huh?”
“Yeah, sorry about that,” I said.
“Come on—let’s get upstairs.” She pulled the door shut behind me and locked it, then gestured for me to follow.
I trailed her through the cramped rows of bookshelves. “We walked past this place when we met up that night. I didn’t realize you lived here.”
“I live upstairs and work downstairs,” she said as we started up a staircase in the back room. “It’s pretty convenient. Less of a commute than my last job.”
“Living above the bookshop you work at? That sounds like a dream for you.”
She looked over her shoulder and grinned. “Yeah. It’s perfect.”
“I really am sorry for bringing all this trouble to your doorstep,” I said. “I just wasn’t sure what else to do.”
“Don’t worry about it,” she said, sighing. “I knew I was taking a risk by contacting you. And, to be honest, as much as I love this place, I kind of miss all the action.”
“Just not the Arbiter crap.”
“Exactly.” She spun around, pausing in front of a door at the top of the steps. “Orion says you’re trying to stop them.”
“That’s the goal.”
“Well, count me in. I’ll help if I can.”
“You don’t have to—”
“Trust me. I want to,” she said. “Screw ‘em.”
Before I could respond, she opened the door, and Orion nearly flew out of the apartment. He enveloped me in a hug that was a bit too tight, and I gasped at the sharp pain that shot through my chest.
As he let go of me and looked me over, his forehead creased with concern. “You look like crap.”
He wasn’t wrong. I’d left my ruined leather jacket in the car, so only my black top remained. It was torn around the wound on my shoulder, and the edges of the material were charred and frayed. I probably should have changed into something clean before coming inside, but I’d been so exhausted it never crossed my mind.
“You didn’t mention this when we were on the phone earlier,” he said. “Is it infernal?”
I nodded. “Hellhounds.”
Ayla pushed past him and peeled the remnants of my shirt away. I gasped again as the fabric tugged at my raw skin around the wound.
“Careful,” I hissed.
“I’m trying. This is pretty nasty,” she said. “Come lie down on the couch.”
Ayla’s living room was a maze of books, all stacked in piles of various heights across the floor. It looked just like her apartment back in Haygrove. I had to admit, I was impressed by the collection she’d built up since she left, considering she’d only been gone a little more than a month.
When I nearly tripped over a stack as high as my knee, she gave me a sharp look. “Watch it.”
I put my hands up. “Sorry. I’ll be careful.”
She picked up the book that fell and returned it to the pile, then moved aside so I had space to get to the couch.
I dropped my bag and collapsed onto the soft cushions. The tension I’d been carrying in my body relaxed as I realized that, at least for now, I was safe.
Ayla sat down on the reclining chair across the room with her feet tucked under her and an energy drink in hand.
Orion pulled a stool over and sat beside me, still wearing that same worried look.
“I’m fine,” I said, though I knew as well as he did that it was a lie.
Instead of answering, he dug into my bag and pulled out my jar of healing herbs.
“It’s infernal,” I reminded him as he unscrewed the lid of the mason jar.
“They’ll soothe the pain. At least for a bit.” He pulled my shirt down just enough to rub the salve beneath my collarbone. “It’s better than nothing.”
My skin tingled under the mixture of herbs as cool relief spread across my chest and neck. I closed my eyes. “That does feel better.”
“We’ll have to be careful with that supply,” he said, wrapping a bandage around my shoulder and upper arm. “We’re not in Haygrove anymore, so we can’t run down to the alchemy lab when we need another jar.”
“Why not just use real magical healing?” Ayla asked.
Orion’s frown deepened. “That’s dark magic.”
“We’re not with the Arbiters anymore,” she said, rolling her eyes. “We don’t have to follow those rules.”
“Dark magic is outlawed for a reason. It’s unstable. It eventually makes users go insane,” he said.
“No.” Ayla pushed a stack of books aside and set her energy drink down on the table next to her reclining chair. “That’s a lie.”
“I know how much you
hate the Arbiters, but not everything they say is a lie.”
“You weren’t born in Haygrove,” I said. “Dark magic is something Orion knows a lot about. I trust him on this.”
“You’re both wrong.” She crossed the room and knelt down beside me, looking over the infernal wound again. “There’s no such thing as dark magic. There’s suppression magic and expression magic.”
“I’ve seen what it can do to people. Dark magic really is dangerous,” Orion said.
“What’s dangerous is putting a muzzle on half of your magic. It’s supposed to exist in a balance. Use only one type for long enough, and you cut off an important part of yourself. When you use only emotion-based magic, you become a slave to those emotions. It’s easy to lose control.”
“Exactly.” Irritation crept into Orion’s tone. “That’s why it’s dark magic.”
“But when you use only magic that suppresses emotions long enough, it represses your ability to feel anything at all. And that’s a problem, too.”
“If that were true,” I said slowly, “we’d know about it, wouldn’t we?”
“Lack of emotion is seen as a good thing in Haygrove,” Ayla said. “How else could the Council convince the people who know the truth to work for demon lords?”
“That’s—” Orion began. He stopped himself with a shake of his head. “Where did you hear that?”
“It doesn’t matter. It’s the truth.” She looked at me again. “Riley, you said you’ve used expression magic. Does it feel wrong to you?”
“I… don’t know,” I said. “I don’t like how angry it makes me.”
“Fire magic is especially hard to control, but it gets easier with time. You’re not practiced in it. Every type of expression magic is connected to a different emotion. Mastery of those emotions leads to mastery of the elements. Fire is anger. Lightning is fear.”
“And healing?” I asked.
“Love.”
“Where did you learn all of this?”
“There are some benefits to reading. You should try it sometime,” she said with a sly smile.
“So, healing magic… it can heal infernal wounds?” I asked.