Crimson Bone (Kouzlo Saga Book 2)

by L. L. McNeil

  Tress shrugged. ‘I see two dead Prowlers after two minutes of “showing off.” I still see the leftovers of your fire from half an hour ago.’

  Damon reddened, but due to the lack of fire, it was difficult to see. Seila felt bad for him, but ultimately, they were there to kill demons. If he couldn’t do that, then he shouldn’t be with them.

  ‘You did well, mate,’ Tej said, grabbing Damon’s arm and slapping him on the back. ‘Don’t listen to the Lady. She don’t know the first thing about you.’

  Damon patted Tej, grateful.

  ‘Don’t celebrate just yet,’ Ashante said, stepping forward. ‘Tonight isn’t over. There’s more demonic energy close by.’

  ‘More Prowlers?’ Seila asked.

  Ashante shook her head. ‘No. Something greater. Much, much greater.’

  ‘It’s probably the Elite,’ Tress muttered, sheathing her axes at her hips, having spent several minutes inspecting them for damage.

  Damon said, ‘But we got rid of Sekki. Halved his power. He wouldn’t come back so soon, would he?’ He looked at Seila, as if she held all the answers.

  ‘There’s more than one Elite Demon, you know,’ Tress replied. ‘It’s probably Gorath. I told you he was back.’

  ‘Who is Gorath?’ Tej asked.

  ‘A pain in my ass. He normally turns up in a dimension, wreaks havoc, then leaves after I drive him off. I’ve been hunting him for years across dozens of dimensions.’

  Seila swallowed. If Tress had crossed dimensions—multiple dimensions—then it was no wonder she had that sort of power. And she’d hunted this Elite Demon before, if what Ashante sensed really was Gorath, as Tress believed it was.

  ‘Can you lead us to the energy?’ Tress asked, turning to Ashante.

  The young Enchantress closed her eyes and concentrated for a few seconds. ‘Yes. It isn’t far, just the other side of the farm.’

  Tress nodded, taking charge. ‘Try not to burn that field too, little pup.’

  Damon glowered, and Seila felt his rage burn even from several paces away. Even if he was young and immature as far as his powers went, and even if Tress was heads and tails above them in terms of experience and strength, it didn’t give her the right to undermine him like that.

  At least he was trying.

  ‘His name is Damon,’ Seila said.

  ‘I don’t care,’ Tress replied with the same indifference she’d directed at Seila when she’d first arrived at Caramond House.

  ‘Maybe you should care. He’s not a little puppy that you can kick around and insult.’

  Tress shrugged, not rising to Seila’s challenge, and followed Ashante through the line of unburnt cabbages.

  Tej hung back to wait for Seila and Damon. ‘Hey, ignore her. She’s got a stick so far up her own arse because she has a pair of dragons to fight for her.’

  ‘Thanks,’ Damon said, but his voice and mood were low.

  ‘Anyway, don’t listen to her. She’s been hunting one demon for years and never caught him. She can't be very good if she’s never been able to beat him, can she? She’s all talk.’

  Seila had to laugh. Trust Tej to find the silver lining in Damon burning down half a field.

  Damon perked up at that, and lifted his head a little higher as he followed.

  Seila took to the air again, letting the two follow Ashante and Tress at their own pace, while she kept watch from above. Tress was convinced they were approaching Gorath, another Elite Demon. If he was anything like Sekki had been, they’d need everyone on perfect form to have any chance of defeating him. Failing that, they’d need to locate his Mirage, his way into their dimension, and seal it to reduce the demon’s power.

  She remembered her Sieken Blade had done almost nothing to Sekki before they’d sealed his Mirage, and wondered whether Tress’s axes were stronger than her sword. She’d been a minor annoyance to Sekki at full power. If Tress was able to harm Gorath enough to get him to flee a dimension, then the assassin had to be stronger than she was.

  Seila wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not for her.

  She followed them and kept high, listening with her own senses for signs of demons. At first, she couldn’t feel a thing, but as they passed the farmhouse and into the open fields beyond, a slight tingle rippled down her arms. There wasn’t any smoke, none that she could see, but the wind carried the unmistakable smell of demons and their blood.

  Seila lowered her altitude until she was only a couple of feet above Ashante and Tress. ‘I can sense them. We aren’t far.’

  Tress nodded at her words and grabbed one of her axes in readiness.

  Seila watched her. At least Tress took her warning seriously, which was more than could be said for how she spoke to Damon. Had she taken a disliking to him because he hadn’t knelt when she’d turned up? It wasn’t as if they’d had much warning. Although, she wasn’t sure Damon would have knelt even if he’d heard it was the thing to do.

  Maybe a pre-warning that she’d throw an axe at his head if he didn’t kneel would have been a threat enough to get him to act.

  Seila hissed at the notion. She listened to Fallow and Claes, and Delgo, of course. But other than that? She did as she pleased, when she pleased. Tress seemed to behave in much the same way, but she was far ruder.

  The stench of lingering smoke and demon blood grew stronger, and Seila flew on ahead towards it. No sense in letting Tress have all the fun, was there? She approached a large windmill attached to a barn. It was on the very edge of what had to be the farm’s land. Both had long since been abandoned, she could tell that from the glassless windows and wood rot before she’d even landed. The windmill had once had four sails; three were broken and jagged, and the fourth had been completely sheared off at some point.

  But a large shelter with few visitors often became a breeding ground for all sorts of wildlife. When she landed near the front, the smell of mice droppings and damp hay hit her square in the face. Coupled with the bonfire-burning stink of demons, it was all Seila could do not to vomit.

  This place had to have been home to all sorts of animals—demon and otherwise—for a long time. Months, definitely. Perhaps up to a year. Seila walked around the base of the buildings on foot, looking for any other ways in or out. She didn’t want to walk through the front door to find a horde of demons waiting to ambush her through a side entrance.

  Once certain of the lay of the building, Seila made her way back to the front door. It had been left ajar, and she used the tip of her blade to push it open wider. Peering inside, and seeing nothing moving, she finally stepped into the barn.

  It was one large, open space, and backed onto the windmill. A door at the far end led inside the windmill, but Seila ignored it for now. Demonic energy filled the barn like it had done at Sekki’s jewellery store. Several haystacks lay against the walls, pitchforks, shovels, and other handheld farming equipment scattered haphazardly on the stone floor. Several barrels sat in a corner, along with a few coils of heavy rope. The stalls that had once divided the barn had long since collapsed, and slats of wood lay in disarray throughout the barn.

  Seila perused the scene, tried to work out where the energy was coming from. There didn’t seem to be a source, and there didn’t seem to be a demon, either. Just the lingering smell of their presence.

  ‘Seila!’ Ashante called from the door several paces behind her.

  Seila half-turned to her. ‘It’s empty. I’ve already scouted around.’

  Tress appeared on Seila’s left, taking in the barn for herself, one hand on her hip, the other still clutching the larger of her two axes. ‘Nothing here, then?’

  Seila shrugged. ‘There was something here quite recently. I feel it in my skin.’

  ‘She’s right. I can still sense them. They’re close.’ Ashante shuffled past them, her hands held up in front of her.

  Tress grabbed her second axe. ‘Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go hunting.’

  Ashante shook her head. ‘But they aren�
�t...here.’

  ‘You just said they’re close?’ Tress snapped.

  ‘It’s hard to explain.’

  Seila walked ahead, prodding the stacks of hay with her sword, cutting off the top of a few piles and sending loose straw in all directions. ‘It’s like this place is a demon’s lair, and they’re hiding behind invisible walls.’

  ‘Well, I don’t understand what either of you mean.’

  Seila continued to investigate, but there was definitely no demon waiting to pounce in the shadows. She was just as disappointed as Tress sounded, but tried not to let on. Tress had two kills up on her, now. And they were Prowlers.

  Seila needed to find the Elite, Gorath—or whoever else—first. Get that under her belt. Then, perhaps, Tress would treat her as an equal.

  ‘So, where’d those dragons come from?’ Tej asked, shouldering the door open and stepping into the barn, Damon behind him. ‘Lady Tress?’ He added hastily.

  Seila looked over at him, then to Tress.

  Tress’s lip quivered, as though she couldn’t quite decide what to say to him. She flicked her hair and searched the other side of the barn. ‘From my home. They are my companions and protectors.’ She tapped the butt of one axe on the top of the barrel in the corner, then repeated the gesture with the other barrels.

  ‘Care to share where your home is?’ Tej pressed.

  ‘No.’ Tress’s response was a blunt as Seila expected it would be. ‘These barrels are full of liquid. Water? Cider?’

  Damon made his way over, rolling up his sleeves. Each barrel had been stoppered with a cork, and Damon pulled one out. He leaned forward and took a careful sniff. ‘Not sure about cider. Stinks like vinegar, now.’

  Tress covered her nose with one hand—axe still clutched—and hurried away. ‘It’d have to be a pretty desperate demon to hide in here. It stinks!’

  ‘You’re telling me!’ Tej waved a hand in front of his face, even though he still remained near the half-open door. ‘Guess there’s nothing here except what the farmers left. Why’d they even abandon it, anyway?’

  ‘Who knows,’ Ashante said. She walked through the barn, hands up and fingers splayed as she tried to sense more. ‘Demons have been coming here for a long while. Using it as shelter.’

  ‘The Prowlers, too?’ Seila asked.

  Ashante closed her eyes. ‘No. They hadn’t been here, but were on their way, I think.’

  ‘Why come here? There’s plenty of natural cover outside,’ Tress said.

  ‘Was something calling them?’ Seila asked, heart pounding at that being a possibility. If Gorath was an Elite, like Sekki, then would it be possible he could summon Lesser Demons to him, too? ‘I can’t hear any demons.’

  ‘You hear demons?’ Tress asked, skeptical. ‘What a ridiculous notion.’

  Seila took a breath, kept herself from scowling. ‘It’s one of my many skills. It’s quite useful.’

  Tress huffed, continued her search.

  Seila was going to take that as a win.

  ‘Here. What’s this?’ Ashante asked. She’d crouched down against the far wall, where the windmill rose up, fingers tapping the stone floor. ‘A gemstone?’

  Seila flew across the barn to her as soon as Ashante said the words. ‘Gemstone? Where?’

  The Enchantress held up a tiny, clear, round stone. It looked like a diamond, or one of the many cheaper replicas. Seila held out her hand and took a closer look when Ashante dropped the stone into her palm.

  As soon as it touched her skin, Seila felt the demons.

  ‘Come to me…’

  It was the same demonic voice from before. The one that had been infused into the bracelet Tej had bought unknowingly from Sekki. But it was much fainter than Tej’s bracelet had been. More a whisper than a booming order.

  ‘That’s not the same stuff, is it?’ Damon asked, making his way over to have a look for himself.

  ‘There are others,’ Ashante said. She dug her nails between the slabs of the flagstones, pulled out a handful of other gems. Most were diamonds, tricky to see in the low light, but there were also a few emeralds, too.

  ‘Remnants of Sekki’s power?’ Seila asked. Her only experience with this had been from a fortnight ago, and all of that had been new to her.

  Damon and Tej seemed equally uncertain.

  ‘This is when ya need Fallow,’ Damon said with a sigh.

  ‘What do we do with ‘em, though?’ Tej asked, holding one of the diamonds up close to his eye.

  ‘Take them,’ Tress said. ‘If this is what’s causing the demonic energy you can sense, then there’s no point in leaving them here for anyone to discover.’

  Ashante frowned, unconvinced. ‘They’ve been hidden here a while. Many demons have come and gone, and few people. Do you see anyone’s blood? It may be better to leave them undisturbed. Figure out what it means back at Caramond House. We’ve dealt with the two Prowlers, that’s all we came here for.’

  Seila didn’t know what was best. Sekki still lived, wherever he’d fled to. She’d half expected the Elite Demon to make another appearance in the days following his defeat, but everything had been silent. She was certain she’d sense him whenever he came back, and wasn’t worried when Sierra left with Fallow—she didn’t need the owls eyes, not when it came to Sekki.

  That creature’s face and voice had been burned into her memory, now.

  But everything had been quiet, and Seila was beginning to think perhaps the Elite had left the dimension for a similar reason Fallow had—to rest and recover, and restore his power.

  Seila was certain that he would be back. If their roles had been reversed, she’d be after revenge, no question.

  It was simply a case of when.

  But she had thought he’d be back sooner, and with the prolonged silence, Seila wondered if in Sekki’s leaving, he’d left a gaping hole, ready for another Elite Demon to move in.

  If that was the case, then the remnants of Sekki’s jewellery—what was left of his power in this world—were meaningless, and there was no point in moving the jewels anywhere. Not when they had bigger problems to face.

  ‘Well, if there ain’t any demons here, we don’t need to stay, do we?’ Damon said, straightening and dusting off his hands.

  ‘We’re sensing what’s left of Sekki, but it’s clear he isn’t here,’ Seila said. She glanced at Tress. ‘This Gorath of yours isn’t here, either. And whatever demons used this place as shelter have long gone.’

  ‘Gorath is here,’ Tress said. ‘Perhaps not in this exact place, but he is in your dimension. I wouldn’t have bothered coming here, otherwise.’ She crouched beside Ashante, picked up several of the stones and rolled them between her fingers, inspecting them.

  ‘You’re welcome to leave if you’re bored,’ Damon said, doing a terrible job of hiding his smirk. In fact, Seila wasn’t sure he was trying to hide it.

  Tress rounded on him, one axe still in hand. ‘I don’t care for you, them,’ her eyes flicked up to Seila and the others, ‘or your miserable little dimension. I care about killing Gorath, and that’s it. You should count yourself lucky that I’m here to protect you from him.’

  Damon backed away from Tress’s aggression.

  Tej leaned close to Seila and whispered, ‘Wow, and I used to think you were obsessively single-minded about demon hunting.’

  ‘You banished Sekki,’ Ashante said. ‘There’s only a little of his power still lingering, and it fades every day.’

  ‘Exactly,’ Damon said. ‘No Sekki. No Elite.’

  Tress shook her head. ‘Perhaps no Sekki, but I told you. Gorath is back. He’s an Elite Demon, and he’s somewhere in this dimension. I tracked him as far as London and my trail has gone cold. Give it a little time and he’ll crop up again. He always does. Then he’s mine.’

  ‘Tress,’ Seila said. Then she corrected herself, ‘Lady Tress. I don’t know you. I don’t know where you come from, or what your issue is with Gorath. If he’s a demon in London, he’s a problem
for Fallow’s Kouzlo.’ Her wings ruffled as she spoke, and she took great care to keep her voice neutral. ‘Which means he’s a problem for us.’

  Tress faced Seila, one hand on her hip, the other twirling her axe. ‘I get that you’re “the Phantom,” that you’re the first-class demon killer. But I know Gorath. I know what he’s capable of. I’ve seen worlds, dozens of worlds, burn under his wrath. I’m going to save your worthless lives. Then you can carry on being the big fish leading the little pups.’

  Seila stiffened. Her fingers twitched, but she held back from summoning her sword. She glanced to Ashante, Tej, and Damon. ‘If you want Gorath, you work with us to do it. If you go against that, then you’re going against all of us.’

  Tress narrowed her eyes. ‘You’re not stealing this kill from me. I know what you Phantoms are like. I know you’ll absorb the demon’s power. It’s a clever trick, but it’s not happening this time. You couldn’t even take down those Prowlers by yourself, what chance do you have against an Elite?’

  ‘We all took down Sekki,’ Damon said, his voice more confident. ‘He’s an Elite.’

  ‘Yes. And what a fluke that must have been. I watched you all against two Prowlers. They weren’t even that old. If you take that kind of approach against Gorath, then you’re dead already.’

  ‘Stop this.’ Ashante stood between them, hands raised. ‘There’s nothing to be gained by arguing over a demon—especially one we can’t do anything about at the moment. We go back to Caramond House and update Claes. Regroup. Strategise.’

  ‘Finally, that’s the most sensible thing anyone’s said all night,’ Tej said. He shouldered his crossbow, gave them his usual easy grin, perhaps hoping to diffuse the tension.

  Tress glared at Seila for a long moment before stalking off. She sheathed her axe as she crossed the barn, and didn’t say another word.

  Seila relaxed. She hadn’t realised she’d been trembling before Tress’s callous words. Though she agreed returning to Caramond House would be the best step, she didn’t have the first idea how she was going to work with Tress when Gorath made his appearance.

  4