Quenched in Blood

by Ari McKay

  This time Whimsy sent neon blue bolts at the door, and the voices were momentarily drowned out by the electric crackle as the bolts hit and skittered across the surface of the door, covering every inch of it. Only when the light of the bolts faded into the wood did Whimsy nod to Thomas.

  “It’s safe now,” he said.

  Thomas took a step, and then he paused. “Here, you should take this,” he said, drawing the box holding the feather out of the pocket of his coat. “Just in case.”

  Whimsy accepted the box and held it close against his chest, and he watched as Thomas grasped the iron handle and opened the door.

  The voices grew even louder, and Julian resisted the impulse to cover his ears. He looked over Thomas’s shoulder and saw, within a space no larger than a shower stall, a large, plain, and totally unimpressive cauldron that seemed to be made of black iron.

  “That’s it?” Julian asked doubtfully. He’d seen magic artifacts before, and somehow this one didn’t fit the mold. “Or is it a decoy?”

  “No, this is it,” Thomas said as he moved forward like one in a trance. “This is what we’ve been looking for.”

  He stretched out one hand and skimmed his fingertips along the lip of the cauldron—and the voices abruptly went silent.

  The sudden end to the clamor was startling, and Julian’s ears were ringing in response. Or he thought they were until he realized what the sound actually was. Metal on stone.

  “We’re being attacked!” he shouted, turning to look back toward the entrance. The voices had drowned out any shouted warning Eli’s packmates might have given. The werewolves were fighting in near darkness, and among their enemies were men.

  He didn’t know how the humans and possessed shape-shifters could have gotten to the cave so quickly, even if they’d attacked Tharn’s group the moment the last person had come down the ropes. But the question was moot: now that they were here, the demons couldn’t be far behind.

  Julian ran forward as Whimsy began to chant. By the time he was halfway across the cave, Whimsy had tossed his glowing sphere up toward the roof of the cave, and it suddenly burst into brilliant light that reached every crevice within. Eli and Harlan were right with Julian, and they shifted to their wolf forms on the run without missing a step.

  There were half a dozen humans in front of the passageway leading out of the cave, fighting with the members of Eli’s pack. The humans were armed with swords rather than guns, which meant they were likely either enchanted or cursed blades. The remainder of the possessed werewolves and bear shifters were heading toward Julian and his friends, and Julian, with a vampire’s innate link to the night, knew it was now past sunset, which meant that the demons were here, probably just outside the cave as they waited for their minions to do their dirty work.

  Julian ignored the humans—they should be easy enough for the werewolves to deal with—and kept his attention on the possessed shifters. He, Eli, and Harlan were outnumbered three to one, but they fought with ferocious intensity. Julian managed to deal one of the bears a fatal blow, and Harlan and Eli between them managed another. And Garrett apparently did have scores to settle, because he threw down the final bear shifter and tore its throat out.

  The possessed werewolves had hung back, and Julian fully expected them to leap into the fray once the bears were down, but to his surprise, they backed off. They couldn’t leave the cave because Whimsy, bless him, had cast his favorite entangling spell, and the remaining human part of the enemy contingent was now thrashing at the vines holding them fast. One of Eli’s pack was down, injured or dead, but Julian didn’t spare the time to find out.

  Julian turned to Harlan. “Those humans are blocking the door, but that’s not going to keep the demons out. Unfortunately it does mean we’re trapped, so we need to kill those humans as quickly as possible and—”

  Before he could finish, Julian felt a prickle on the back of his neck, and then there was an outrush of hot, fetid air from the center of the cave, and as he turned, a huge red-skinned, lobster-clawed demon with glowing red eyes materialized. The creature was so big it had to hunch, and its massive, pig-faced head knocked stalactites from the ceiling of the cave, sending them crashing to the floor.

  Demons were known to be size queens, and the immense bulk of this one indicated it must be Murmur. Julian couldn’t see Thomas, since the demon blocked his view of the far side of the cave, but he squared his shoulders and raised his sword, knowing that in order for Thomas to live, this demon had to die, and fast.

  Julian rushed toward the demon, dodging to avoid a blow from one of its claws as he went for a stab at its underbelly. He managed to slash it, causing the demon to roar in fury, but dragging the sword through its flesh slowed him down enough that he couldn’t avoid the creature’s wickedly fast barbed tail. It smacked into him, tossing him into the air and toward the thing’s other claw. In a split second Julian turned into mist; it meant he lost his grip on the sword, but when the claw scissored closed, he wasn’t cut in half.

  Since he was mist anyway, he floated higher, going around the demon to the other side, the same side of the cave Thomas and the cauldron were on. He couldn’t attack, and he didn’t have a weapon now even if he solidified. But as the demon rotated its head to follow Julian’s progress, Julian realized there was something he could do.

  He drifted closer to the demon’s face, and as the demon raised a claw toward him again, Julian returned to his solid form, and with all his vampiric strength, he punched the demon’s eye.

  Julian pulled back after his arm sank up to the elbow in the wet, rubbery ruin. The claw that had been aimed at him dealt him a glancing blow, knocking him away, and he began to fall toward the floor. Twisting in the air, he managed to land on his feet.

  The demon roared in rage and pain, and it spun to face Julian. It knocked Eli and Garrett across the cave with its tail, and as it turned, Julian saw, to his horror, that the creature had captured Harlan in its other claw.

  Harlan was in his wolf form, and he struggled against the pinching of the claw as it began to crush him. Julian looked around for his sword, wondering if he could find it and sever the claw before Harlan was cut in half. But then any action Julian might take was rendered pointless.

  “Let him go, you ugly motherfucker!”

  Whimsy ran toward the demon with murderous intent, and Julian had never seen so much fury on his gentle friend’s face. Harlan cried out, either in pain or denial, but Whimsy didn’t hesitate. He avoided a swipe of the demon’s other claw; then he came up under the demon and lifted his hand. Clutched in Whimsy’s fist was the angel feather, and Whimsy stabbed it into the demon as though the feather was a sword.

  Julian had seen the feather in action before, and he knew it could banish a demon… but what would it do to a fallen angel? To his surprise, the demon was enveloped in blue flame and gave a shriek of agony before it disappeared in a flash of white light.

  Everything in the cave was silent for a moment, and Julian looked around in a daze. That couldn’t be it, could it? After everything they went through, was it over?

  “Well, that was anticlimactic.” A deep voice echoed through the cave, and Julian glanced around, unable to pinpoint the speaker. It wasn’t any of their group. Whimsy was on the ground, apparently knocked out by whatever magical blowback hit him when the demon vanished. Harlan was also on the ground, his legs dragging behind him as he struggled toward Whimsy, pulling himself across the rough stone floor with his hands. Eli was limping, having apparently taken at least one serious blow, while Garrett lay crumpled against the wall near where Thomas stood, blocking access to the cauldron.

  The air near Whimsy shimmered, and a man appeared. His skin was a pasty white like the belly of a fish, and oily black hair brushed his shoulders. His eyes were red like burning coals, and he was dressed in a red loincloth, the color looking like nothing so much as slash of blood across his hips. And he had wings—huge wings, the feathers so black they seemed to absorb all the light
in the room. He looked around, his molten gaze seeming to sear as it passed Julian.

  Of course it wasn’t over. When had they ever been that lucky?

  This, then, was Murmur, the entity whose minions they’d been fighting for the past two years. The fallen angel who wanted the Cauldron of Rebirth in order to raise an invincible army to lay waste to the world and bring on a new Demon Time.

  “This is all the Most High has to send against me?” Murmur asked. “You’ve caused me enough trouble. Let’s end this, shall we? It’s not as though you ever had a chance of winning.”

  Murmur grabbed Whimsy by the throat and lifted him off the ground. “He destroyed my favorite pet, so he goes first.” Murmur’s pale hand tightened around Whimsy’s throat.

  “No!”

  Julian had started backing around, placing himself between Murmur and Thomas, looking around for something—anything—he could use as a weapon. But he stopped as multiple voices cried out in denial. Harlan, having recovered use of his legs again, surged upward, and plowed into Murmur, reaching out toward Whimsy with grim determination. At the same time, Arden—small, delicate Arden—ran past Julian, a dagger clutched in his hand. He, too, threw himself at Murmur, aiming the dagger at the creature’s bare white belly.

  Eli must have sensed what his mate was doing, because he rushed forward, either to stop Arden or help him, Julian wasn’t certain which. He couldn’t think and didn’t bother to stop himself as he found himself charging after his oldest, dearest friend, all thoughts of his own safety forgotten. Arden didn’t stand a chance against Murmur, and Julian had to stop him.

  “Children, children! So very naughty!”

  Julian found himself held in place as Murmur lifted his free hand. In fact, all of them were frozen in their tracks, some force holding them captive, unable to move. Julian couldn’t turn his head, couldn’t change into mist, couldn’t do anything to get away. All he could do was look at Murmur, who was smiling, certain of his victory. Now the only thing standing between Murmur and the cauldron was Thomas.

  Murmur turned his head, looking past Julian to where Thomas had been standing. “You’re new, aren’t you?” Murmur asked, almost conversationally. “Oh, yes. The baby demon hunter. Your parents were a real thorn in my side. They set my plans back twenty years.”

  As Murmur spoke, he waved his hand and spun Julian around so he could see both Murmur and Thomas. Apparently the fallen angel liked an audience, since he’d turned everyone else as well, though he still held Whimsy like a doll. Julian still couldn’t move, although he struggled while he tried to think of some way to get free so he could save Thomas. If he didn’t, he had no doubt that he would be forced to watch Thomas die.

  “Good,” Thomas said, his expression implacable as he stared at Murmur. “But I’m going to end your plans once and for all.” His gaze never left Murmur as he pulled out the box, opened it, and withdrew the angel feather.

  “Oh, that’s cute.” Murmur gave a bark of laughter. “I’m not a demon, child.” Reaching back, Murmur plucked a black feather from one of his own wings. “Look! I’ve got one too! Want to trade?”

  “Yours is tainted,” Thomas said, shaking his head. “I can feel the corruption from here.”

  Murmur let the feather fall to the floor. “That trinket isn’t going to do anything against me, angel-spawn. Tell you what: you let me have the cauldron, and I’ll let all your friends live. Not you, of course. But I’ll kill you quickly instead of carrying you down below and torturing you for centuries. That’s a good deal. I suggest you take it.”

  Julian didn’t want Thomas to take the deal. Even if Murmur let them live, they’d have to face Murmur’s army. And Julian wasn’t going to go on without Thomas. He didn’t even want to try.

  Destroy the cauldron, Thomas, he thought desperately. He didn’t know how Thomas could do it, only that it needed to be done to stop Murmur. It’s the only way.

  Thomas looked around at his friends, and he gnawed on his bottom lip as his gaze lingered on Julian. He swallowed hard, seeming uncertain, but then he tightened his fingers around the feather and lifted his chin.

  “I have a counteroffer,” he said. “How about you fuck off back to Hell and I won’t destroy you?”

  Julian couldn’t believe Thomas was being so brash, but perhaps it was a stall for time. Unfortunately, he didn’t think Thomas could stall for the twelve hours until sunrise, when Murmur would be forced to flee.

  Murmur chuckled and shook his head. “You remind me of your father, you know. He had a mouth on him too. It didn’t save him. It won’t save you either. Just to show I’m serious, I’m taking one piece out of the game.”

  A loud snap echoed through the room when Murmur broke Whimsy’s neck and let Whimsy’s body slide to the floor. Julian gave a moan of pain, but it was nothing compared to the agonized shriek Harlan let out, as though his very soul had been ripped from his body. Even though Gilorean had only predicted Whimsy’s and Thomas’s deaths, after this, Julian didn’t know that any of them would want to survive.

  The color drained from Thomas’s face, but he didn’t look away from Murmur, and his features hardened. “My friends aren’t your pawns, and I’m not playing a game.”

  “Ah, but you’re wrong. They are my pawns. My toys to do whatever I’d like with. I could wipe them all out with a wave of my hand….” Murmur made a motion as though brushing away a fly. “But I get the feeling such a demonstration wouldn’t do much good. You’re going to be stubborn about this, aren’t you? Well, I don’t believe in waste, and these friends of yours will make excellent vessels for my demons to use. So let’s get to the heart of the matter.”

  Murmur stretched his hand toward Thomas, and with a nasty smile, he closed it into a fist. Thomas let out a ragged cry, his face contorted in agony as his back bowed. His fingers shook as he reached for the cauldron, and as soon as his hand clamped on the lip, blindingly bright light surged out of the cauldron and engulfed Thomas.

  Julian wasn’t certain what was happening. It looked like Thomas was channeling the power of the cauldron, something Julian had never dreamed possible. But the cauldron had been made by angels, and Thomas was descended from them. Apparently Thomas had discovered it was a connection he could use.

  “You can’t resist me!” Murmur shouted. “You’re just a puny mortal with a fancy pedigree!”

  “This is for all the wolf and bear shifters whose lives you stole,” Thomas said, standing up straighter as the light surrounding him grew stronger. “For the wee folk.” He lifted his arm and pointed the feather at Murmur as if he was taking aim. “And for Whimsy.”

  A beam of light shot from the feather and struck Murmur in the chest. Julian didn’t know how Thomas was doing it or how he’d known he could do it, but he wasn’t about to complain. Murmur let out an inhuman shriek, flinging his arms open wide as the light poured into him. Whatever magic he’d used to hold Julian and the others dissipated, and Julian fell to the floor, but he rolled quickly to face Murmur.

  The fallen angel began to glow from within, and the sound of his agony echoed around the cave until Julian had to cover his ears. Murmur’s body shook and then rose up from the floor, the beam of light following. When Murmur reached the top of the cave, his body consumed itself in an explosion of light, and Julian had to turn his face away from the blinding glare.

  “Eli? Eli!”

  The first thing Julian heard was Arden’s frantic voice calling out for his mate, and then a keening howl that could only have come from Harlan. But Julian could think only of Thomas, and he pushed himself to his feet and staggered toward where Thomas now lay crumpled beside the cauldron, the feather having vanished from his hand.

  “Thomas!” Julian fell to his knees and drew Thomas’s body into his arms. Thomas felt hot, as though consumed with a fever, and his heart was beating wildly. Channeling so much power must have put a tremendous strain on him, perhaps more than his body could take. “Thomas, please! Wake up!”

  Thom
as’s eyelids fluttered, and when he opened his eyes at last, they were glassy and unfocused. “Julian?” His voice sounded weak and raspy.

  “You did it. You stopped Murmur,” Julian said. He leaned down close, stroking Thomas’s golden curls. “You saved us. You stopped the demons.”

  Thomas’s lips curved in a sweet smile of pure relief. “Good.” He lifted one hand, but it fell limply to the ground as if he didn’t have enough strength to follow through. “Sorry I can’t stay.”

  “No, no, you’re not going anywhere!” Julian replied. He picked up Thomas’s hand and brought it to his cheek. “I love you, Thomas. You can’t leave me now.”

  Thomas’s eyes were warm and soft as he gazed up at Julian, and his smile widened. “I love you too,” he said.

  But as soon as the words were out, Thomas’s chest hitched and he let out a rattling breath. The light in his eyes faded, and his body went limp and heavy in Julian’s arms.

  Pain like nothing Julian had ever felt tore through him. He couldn’t believe that after everything, after all they’d suffered, it would end like this. Thomas was too young to die, and Julian felt far too old to go on existing.

  He didn’t realize he was crying until drops fell on Thomas’s face. It could have been minutes or hours that he’d crouched there, lost in his grief, when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

  “Go away,” he snarled.

  “Julian.” Arden’s voice was low and gentle. “Come on, Julian. I know it hurts, but you need to come back to us now.”

  Julian tore his gaze away from Thomas’s face, glancing up at Arden. Inside he felt dead already. “Why?”

  “Because we need you,” Arden continued. “We have to do what’s right for Whimsy and Thomas. And we have to decide what to do with… that.”

  Arden pointed, and Julian turned his gaze to the cauldron. It looked as plain and harmless as it had at first, and Julian didn’t know how Thomas had drawn power from it. Murmur had killed so many to gain it, and now it was theirs.