Lyra's Magic: Witches of Manhattan Book One

by Langley Keaton

  James, I mean Asmodeus, stepped forward. “Lyra,” he said, walking up to me and kissing my hand. “So we meet again.”

  I looked over at Peter, who was telegraphing thoughts to me. You’ve known him before. You’ve slayed him before. Don’t let him charm you.

  As I looked in that kid’s eyes, I saw the demon within, and, I had to admit, I did recognize him. Astoroth too. He did the same as Asmodeus – came up and kissed my hand and complimented me.

  “Lyra,” Astoroth said. “You look as beautiful as ever.” He smiled. “You don’t look a day over 800, yet I know that you’ve been around for much longer than that. Off and on, of course,.” He smiled at his little joke and then said. “I jest, of course. You actually do not look a day over 19. Which is the age you were the last time you and I met.”

  I felt slightly flustered. This was not how I was expecting things to go, but, at the same time, I knew their strategy. Charm me out of my necklace. Put my defenses down so that I just take that necklace off and give it to them. I clenched my jaw and closed my eyes. They weren’t going to charm me out of anything.

  I stepped back, trying to orient myself. Peter was still standing there, next to me, and, to my horror, both of these demons seemed entirely too friendly with him.

  “Peter MacGregor,” Asmodeus said. “Long time, my friend. How is your father?”

  Peter looked horrified that Asmodeus referenced his father. “I don’t know what you are talking about, mate.”

  Asmodeus looked from Peter to me and back again. “Oh, I get it. Lyra has no idea who your father is, does she?” He started to laugh. “Oh, Peter, Peter, Peter. Did you think that would work? That you could just not tell her and she would never find out? You’ve learned very little, considering how many times you and she have gone through this, and how long you’ve been alive. I suppose that she also doesn’t know how many people you’ve killed, does she?”

  I looked over at Peter, wondering if this was Asmodeus’ game. Or was he right? Was Peter one of them? I suddenly wondered if I had been lured into a trap by Peter. He lured me right on up here, handed me to the enemy because he was one of them.

  Then again, maybe this was a game. Maybe Asmodeus was trying to get me off-balance so that I got confused enough to give him my necklace.

  I looked into Peter’s eyes, though, and I realized that Asmodeus wasn’t just playing a game. I mean, maybe he was in a way, by revealing this information, but I had a feeling that there was truth to it. A lot of truth to it.

  I took a step back, trying to get a handle on the situation. “Peter, what is he talking about?”

  Asmodeus started to really laugh. “Oh, I was right, wasn’t I? You have no idea, do you, Lyra?” He shook his head. “His father is still alive, too. Did you know that? His mother was a mortal, though. She’s been dead for over one thousand years. His father is the only demon, ever, who has been allowed to take human form. He didn’t have to possess a body, in other words.” Asmodeus shook his head. “I still don’t know why Orse got that special dispensation. Peter was his only begotten child.”

  My head was spinning. Peter’s father was a demon? Peter was the only child of this demon? Peter killed people? Who was this guy? Was I taken in by him? I started to think, again, that this whole thing was a set-up.

  “Lyra, I…” Peter shook his head and mumbled. “I should have told you before this.”

  “Yes, I think that’s right. To say the least.” I couldn’t believe what was happening here. I came up here to slay these demons, only to find them befriending me, charming me, and informing me that Peter was a demon himself. Half-demon.

  I suddenly remembered Sybil calling him a “half-breed.” She knows, too! Probably everybody knew but me. Why would they keep this from me? Why, Peter, why? And I immediately knew why Peter and I could never be together. He was a demon, I was a demon hunter. Conflict of interest right there.

  Peter immediately started to convey some thoughts to me. I’ll explain all when this is finished. You have to believe me, I did not set you up here. I really am protecting you. I would never betray you.

  I just shook my head, trying to get Peter’s thoughts out of there. Why did he ever think that he would have gotten away with this? Why didn’t he know that Asmodeus would just throw him under the bus? None of this was making sense to me.

  I turned back to Asmodeus, now feeling vulnerable. Damn Peter. If he only would have come clean to me before this, I would have been prepared. If I was prepared, I wouldn’t have been feeling this disoriented.

  Disoriented. That was what I was feeling.

  Keep mentally strong. Keep mentally strong.

  Asmodeus stepped back and then approached me again. His hands were getting uncomfortably close to my necklace. “I could grab this and pull,” he said, touching the Celtic Cross that was dangling on my neck. “But your mother made this necklace very strong.” He shook his head. “Your mother is a bitch. Not a witch, but a bitch. Although she’s also a witch.” He smiled and laughed. “Don’t you agree?”

  He can't tear it off, Peter was conveying to me. You have to give it to him or let him unhook it, otherwise he won’t get it.

  I nodded, wondering when my mother was going to send me my instructions on how to defeat this guy. I suddenly was unsure if Peter was helping me, so I had to rely on my mother. Who seemed to be taking her sweet time on this.

  “I do agree,” I said to Asmodeus. I closed my eyes. Give him the necklace, give him the necklace. I looked into the eyes of Asmodeus, and I felt him penetrating me. His magic was dark and strong, and he was trying like hell to influence me. Trying to control my mind.

  I suddenly felt lost. And confused. I was in love with a demon, and I was facing another demon who was clearly trying to seduce me into giving me my protective necklace. Up was down, black was white. I was officially through the Looking Glass.

  Peter, for his part, was now putting his arm around me. Even though I knew that he was a half demon, I still felt a strange sense of comfort. He was a good man, I felt, although I was going to have to find out his background. Was he violent? He was a half-demon, how could he not be?

  Then I suddenly got my instructions. Grab the hands of your sisters, they will make you more powerful. My sisters? They weren’t around. Mom had to have known that.

  Peter nodded his head. I told you so. Then he closed his eyes, and I knew what he was doing. He was summoning them. I looked to the horizon, knowing that I was soon going to see my sisters and the pack climbing up the side of the building. I looked into the eyes of the demon, and saw that they, too, knew that Sybil and Maddy were going to be coming up. But something told me that they had no clue that the pack would soon be there too.

  Sure enough, Asmodeus nodded his head. “Your sisters. They’re going to be here soon, too. That’s good! That’s the best way to kill three birds with one stone, as they say.” He rubbed his hands together, and I suddenly wanted to kill him. I no longer was in his thrall, but was seeing him for what he was – a vile, low demon. Somebody who was violent, and killed for a thrill. Somebody who was a serial rapist and serial killer. He might have a certain charm and a certain je ne sais quoi, but I suddenly was seeing him clear-eyed.

  “You leave them alone,” I said to him.

  “You’re going to tell me what to do? Lyra, I’ve won every battle I’ve had with you. You’re powerful, I will admit. You dispatched many of my brethren. But I’m stronger than you. I was the last demon to get to you, and I killed you the last time. You only went to the Annwn, although I wanted you in the Infernum. You will be going to the Infernum this time, and I plan on making sure you stay there.”

  I touched my sword, and Asmodeus smiled. “That’s ineffectual to you. It was blessed by your father, of course, but you need the power of three in order for it to work. I am surprised that your guide didn’t tell you this.”

  I looked over at Peter, wondering if he was sabotaging me. He told me that I would be more powerful with my sist
ers. He didn’t tell me that my special sword wouldn’t work without them. Then again, maybe this Asmodeus was trying to psyche me out. Make me not draw my sword because he made me think that it wouldn’t do any good. That it might actually make things worse.

  Before I knew it, my sisters were climbing onto the roof on the backs of two of the wolves. The rest of the pack, however, was nowhere to be seen. I looked over at Sybil, suddenly knowing the plan. The pack would hang back and spring at the demons. They couldn’t sense them because they were animals.

  “Lyra,” Sybil said, coming over to me. “Mother summoned us here. She said that we were needed.”

  “I guess you are,” I said. “Because, well, I guess I literally can’t do this without you.”

  Asmodeus rubbed his hands together. “This was too easy. Too easy. I now have all three of you here. The three of you, who have been the bane of our existence for all these years. I just cannot believe my great fortune. Your mother must be slipping that she would arrange for all three of you to be here.” He started to laugh, and Astoroth came up next to him.

  I narrowed my eyes. This was all getting to be too much. I suddenly got a flash of the future. Sybil laying dead on the ground and Astoroth standing over her, laughing. I looked over at Peter, not really knowing what to think. I knew that I could probably read his thoughts, as least I usually could, but I couldn’t right at that moment. It was as if he had consciously put a veil over his mind so that I couldn’t figure out what was going on in his head.

  “You know what?” I said. “This is bullshit.” I shot both Sybil and Maddy the stink-eye. “I’m out of here.”

  At that, I went over to the ledge, closed my eyes, and jumped. I landed softly on the ground below me and took off running. I could hear Sybil, Maddy and Peter yelling after me, but I didn’t stop. If it weren’t for the fact that there were people down there on the sidewalk, milling about, I would have literally flown away. And not to my apartment, either.

  Fuck this. I closed my eyes, putting a veil over my mind. I knew that Peter, at the very least, would be tracking me down, so I wanted to throw him completely off my trail.

  I found that I could run extremely fast, so I did, running through the streets for miles. I could hear the wolves coming at me, hot on my heels, for a long time. But even they couldn’t keep up with me, and I ended up running across the bridge, into Brooklyn. I looked behind me, seeing nobody running after me, and felt safe.

  I looked up, saw a Motel in front of me, and decided to check in.

  I had to decompress before I thought about my next move.

  30

  “Lyra?” James Woodson was whispering to me. “What are you doing? Where are you? You promised to come back for me.”

  The kid was sitting at the desk in my motel room, plain as day. He looked like he was flesh and blood, and he looked just like I remembered him down in the Gloaming. “Hey kid,” I said, “I’m so sorry. It just wasn’t the right time or the right situation.”

  “What do you mean?”

  I patted the bed, and he came over to it. To my surprise, he was flesh and blood. It wasn’t even like he was a spirit. “This is a dream, isn’t it?”

  “No. I’m still down below, waiting for you. You made a promise to me, and I’ve been waiting for you.”

  Just then, I got a flash. Asmodeus and a slight blonde girl. She apparently was a girl from the club. She was dressed in a leather bodysuit with cutouts for her breasts and genitals. She had an innocent face, and, despite the fact that she was wearing a get-out that was clearly that of a dominatrix, and she appeared to have been in that sex club, she looked like a fresh-faced young woman. Asmodeus and the young girl were in a smallish apartment that had a mattress on the floor and little else in the way of furniture.

  The two were on that mattress, having what looked like some wild sex. The girl was writhing and groaning while Asmodeus was on top of her, thrusting in and out. The girl ran her long fingernails on his back while he rode her. The girl started to scream out in ecstasy, as Asmodeus groaned and laid down on top of her.

  Then Asmodeus started to call the girl Delphinia. “You look so beautiful, Delphinia,” he said to her, stroking her blonde hair. He kissed her again and she lay back down with a sigh.

  “Why do you keep calling me that?” the girl asked him innocently. She had a strong Brooklyn accent, and her voice was slightly high-pitched. “You know my name is Michelle.”

  Asmodeus eyes suddenly became black, like I used to see in that show Supernatural. Whenever there was a person who was possessed by a demon on that show, their eyes would turn coal-black. The girl looked at him, but she didn’t really react to Asmodeus’ eyes turning that color.

  Then she did react, but it wasn’t a strong reaction. “Your eyes look weird,” she said. Then she put her finger on her genitals and licked it. “I need you down there, pronto. You gotta do what you were doing earlier. That felt awesome!”

  I pinched myself, trying to figure out if I was hallucinating or dreaming. I was wide awake in my hotel room, as far as I knew. The light on the clock read 3:50, and it quickly changed to 3:51. The television was on, the volume low, so low that I could barely hear it. Some people walked by the door, laughing and joking, and then I heard the door next to me slam shut. I could smell something in the air, something that was a typical motel room smell – Lysol, or some kind of cleaning agent, mixed with bleach. The window was open, and the smell of the pool hit my nose. The pool was closed for the season, but the water was still in it, and I the smell of chlorine was wafting into the room. A plane flew overhead, and I could hear the distinct sound of the engine.

  If this is a dream, it’s the most vivid one I’ve ever had.

  I concentrated, looking for something in that room that would indicate what day this was or what time. The clock that sat on Asmodeus’ small poker table read 5:45. 5:45. Morning or night? I looked out the window of that little apartment, and saw that it was dark outside. Probably morning.

  The young girl brought a glass pipe to her lips and sucked on it, blowing out the smoke. She lay back down on the bed, and motioned for Asmodeus to get closer to her. “I said, come here,” she said. Then, in a soft voice she said “I’m so glad that I met you in the club last night. You are really dynamite.”

  Last night. Chances are this was happening this morning. This morning, two hours from now. My heart started to race as I watched the two, knowing what was about to happen, and feeling that I had to do something to stop it.

  Asmodeus returned to the bed, a knife in his hand.

  Michelle smiled at him coyly and held out her wrist. “Cut me,” she said. “Make me bleed. I need it. I want it. Do it.”

  Asmodeus did as she was told, scraping the knife lightly on her wrist, barely bringing her to bleed. She held up her wrist to his mouth, and his lips grazed her skin, sucking greedily. His eyes were still black as coal. He pulled her hair, her head jerking backwards. “Hey,” she said. “That hurts.” Then she laughed. “And I love it, of course. Do that some more.”

  Asmodeus took the knife and grazed it on her exposed breasts. He then used the knife to cut into the leather bodysuit, ripping into it. “Hey,” Michelle said. “This is an expensive suit. I paid $200 for it. You better pay me back for this.”

  “You won’t have to worry about that, I assure you,” Asmodeus said. Then his voice changed so that was loud, echoing. Demonic. “You won’t live to have to worry about it.”

  Michelle looked at him, her eyes getting wide, and then she looked around the room. “Where did that voice come from?” She looked back at him, looking at him like she couldn’t quite believe what she was hearing. “That was so weird. You sounded just like one of those television demons just now. I guess that was you. Wasn’t it?”

  Michelle seemed to be out of it. She sucked on that glass pipe again and offered it to him. He just shook his head.

  Then it happened. He took the knife and plunged it into her abdomen. She didn’t make a
sound except for a low groan. She clutched her belly after the knife withdrew, and she looked up into Asmodeus’ face. “Why?” was the only word that left her lips. Then she was perfectly still, her delicate hands still clutching her abdomen.

  Asmodeus started to laugh, and then he picked her up and went out into the hallway. I was able to follow him into the hallway, where there was a door that apparently led to the trash chute. He opened up the door to the trash chute and stuffed her in. She was a tiny girl, so she fit into that little trap-door that led down to the trash bin below. Then he clapped his hands together, as if he was happy to be rid of that load and went back into his apartment. He didn’t even bother to look around, to see if there was anybody lurking about who might have seen him.

  My heart pounding, I knew that what I was seeing was real.

  And it was going to happen in a matter of hours. Less than two hours, in fact.

  31

  First things first. I had to figure out where this James Woodson lived. I shut my eyes, and tried to think about that. Hale knew where James lived, because Hale was able to hack into the servers at the county jail, where James stayed for a matter of days. But I couldn’t call Hale. If I did, then he would gather the troops together, and I just didn’t feel comfortable with that. Not when I saw Sybil’s lifeless body lying on the ground below us. Maybe I would feel more comfortable involving Sybil, Maddy and the pack at some point in the future, but, at the moment, there was just no way that I could involve them.

  I was in a hotel, and I didn’t have my computer with me. I didn’t even have a SmartPhone with me. Besides, I didn’t exactly have mad hacking skills like Hale, even if I was a witch. In other words, I didn’t know James Woodson’s address, and I had no way of getting it.

  “James,” I called. “James, are you there? If you’re there, please answer me. I need to ask you a question.”