by Lisa Shearin
“Let him go!” I screamed.
Piaras did and dove behind some overturned tables.
Free of all constraints, the demon roared in triumph and turned on me.
I had the bottle and cork in one hand, and Tam’s power coiled inside me ready to strike.
We were ready for the son of a bitch.
I thrust my empty hand toward the demon, fingers spread, much like Piaras had done. Piaras had only focused a spellsong; I was focusing Tam. My arm shook with the effort and my shoulder was on fire. Tam’s power exploded through my body, my own surging upward to meld with it. Tam’s dark magic rushed up from the deep, primal core of him. My own magic coiled and flared through my body, seeking and triumphantly finding the source of Tam’s power. It was like a well, dark and deep. I dove in headfirst.
The demon’s roar turned to a scream of rage and disbelief, and finally to a thin shriek as Tam’s magic shoved him face-first into the bottle with enough force to knock me on my ass. I shoved the cork in and grabbed the bottle in a two-handed death grip, holding it as far away from me as possible. Purple mist writhed inside.
I really wanted longer arms.
Chaos surrounded me. Vegard was barking orders, and Guardians were running out of the Quad to carry them out. Meanwhile, more Guardians were arriving, and so were officers of the city watch. From Vegard’s expression and all the armed men shouting and running around, you’d think we were under attack. And here I was sitting on my ass holding a demon in a bottle. I got to my feet. My knees were a little shaky, but I made it.
“I’ve got him!” I yelled to Vegard over the din. “What’s the problem?”
“You have one, ma’am. There’ll be more just like him.”
I gripped the bottle tighter. “More?”
“It’s a Volghul, Raine,” said Tam’s voice in my head, as if that explained everything. It didn’t. Tam sounded as though he was running. I don’t know how I could tell, but I could.
“What the hell’s a Volghul?” I asked Tam, Vegard, or whoever could tell me what was going on. And why were Guardians in full battle armor running into the Quad?
“There will be more of everything,” Vegard told me.
I was incredulous. “Some lunatic is summoning these things?”
“Volghuls aren’t summoned,” Tam said. “They cross over by themselves. Vegard knows this.”
“Cross over?”
“Through a Hellgate.”
I stopped breathing for a few seconds. “You mean a gate to Hell? Literally?”
“If by Hell you mean the dimension in which demons reside, then yes, I mean a gate to Hell. Volghuls are advance guards.”
I froze. “Guards in advance of what?”
Vegard and Tam answered me at the same time. “A legion of demons.”
Chapter 3
We were in the headquarters of the Isle of Mid’s city watch. Bars on the windows, bars on the cells, and wards just about everywhere. Most people would feel safe, but I wasn’t most people. One, I was a Benares, and we didn’t feel safe anywhere there were bars, unless it had bar stools and a lot of rum, which I could use a shot or two of right now. Two, according to Vegard, things were on their way here that iron bars and wards couldn’t hold, at least not for very long. Every Guardian and watcher was now on full alert. Anyone on leave was being recalled, and a day off had just turned into on duty. The demonology department faculty was aware of the situation and was taking steps. I hoped they were big ones.
I hadn’t seen any demons on the way here. Aside from a lot of heavily armed men, daily life and classes seemed to be business as usual. Word had to be getting around about the demon in the Quad, but as of yet, there was no terror in the streets. Then again, on an island full of magic users, seeing a demon might not be all that unusual. If we were lucky, people thought that a demonology grad student’s class project had escaped or something. The last thing the authorities on Mid needed right now were panicked citizens.
The possibility of an impending demon invasion did deflect some uncomfortable questions. Vegard told the chief watcher that I didn’t murder that elven mage. It was Vegard’s word and the word of his Guardians versus the groundless accusations of citizens with an overdeveloped mob mentality. My accusers had come out of hiding only after the fight was over; what they had seen was me confirming that the dead elven mage was indeed dead. It wasn’t my fault they mistook confirmation for carnage.
My being wrongly accused of murder wasn’t anyone’s biggest concern right now, and fortunately, neither was the other thing that I’d done.
I’d just taken out a demon in front of hundreds of people using a magical skill that obviously wasn’t mine. My enemies would think I’d used the Saghred. Actually, having them think that was better than what I’d really done. I was linked in some way with a goblin dark mage. To certain powerful and influential people on Mid, that was an even worse offense. It wouldn’t matter to them that I’d saved student lives. I’d be declared elven public enemy number one within the hour, if not sooner.
The purple demon was imprisoned in the wine bottle like an evil genie. The bottle was sitting in the middle of the floor in a jail cell so heavily warded it crackled. I wholeheartedly approved of the city watch’s security precautions; I didn’t think they were in the least bit excessive. I just hoped they held.
And I thought shopping and an attempt on my life would be the worst that could happen to me today. Though I shouldn’t complain, I wasn’t the one who’d had my throat ripped out. That dead mage was downstairs on a slab in the morgue. Some of the students were in the infirmary-a few had broken bones, but none had been killed. Katelyn Valerian was one of those in the infirmary. Considering that a demon had her neck in his claws, she was doing surprisingly well, though we’d almost had to drag Piaras from her side to come here.
We were sitting outside the corner office of Chief Watcher Sedge Rinker. Piaras sat on one side of me, Talon on the other.
The room was one big office area filled with the usual: desks, chairs, file cabinets, watchers, accused perpetrators, and plenty of noise. Cells lined one wall. Some had bars, some had wards, and some had both. If the city watch had gone to the trouble to apprehend someone on an island full of magic users, I guess they wanted to make sure they stayed put. One cell held a couple of students who looked as if they’d done something last night that’d sounded like a good idea after a few rounds. A few hours behind bars and killer hangovers were giving them second thoughts. The Guardians had captured four of the blue demons that had attacked that mage and then us. They were in a warded cell. The wards were thick, but not thick enough for me. The demons hadn’t taken their beady, yellow eyes off of the three of us since we’d arrived. With Piaras and Talon, I couldn’t tell what their interest was, but having demons interested in the boys was bad enough. I didn’t know anything about demonic facial expressions, but from what I could see, I think they were either afraid or in awe of me. I’d take either one, even though I knew it wasn’t me they were terrified or intimidated by. When I’d taken on their purple leader, they’d gotten a good whiff of the Saghred. I didn’t blame them one bit for being afraid-that damned rock scared me, too. But what Tam and I had done had scared me more.
I glanced at Piaras. Being escorted to headquarters by watchers and Guardians was yet another first for Piaras that was a direct result of knowing me. Most of the trouble I’d gotten into, Piaras had been sucked into right along with me.
Phaelan was still in Sedge Rinker’s office with Vegard. I had given my statement, then the boys had come in and told Sedge their part of the story. While they did, I’d stayed with them. For all intents and purposes, I was the closest thing Piaras had to family on the island. He was the grandson of my landlady back in Mermeia. I had lived in the apartment above her apothecary shop. Piaras was like the little brother I never had. And since Tam was the closest thing I had to a man in my life, I felt compelled to keep an eye out for Talon’s rights, too.
Not th
at Sedge Rinker was going to violate anyone’s rights. Sedge wasn’t just Mid’s chief watcher; he was also good people. He didn’t get to be chief by sitting behind a desk all day. He was a consummate professional, knew his business, and cared about the safety of his citizens. Sedge did tell me that before the elven mage’s fatal run-in with the demons, he had been the chairman of the college’s demonology department. I hoped one of those steps the department faculty was taking right now was finding themselves a leader who stood a better chance of survival than their recently deceased predecessor.
I sighed and slouched in my chair, crossing my legs at the ankles. I think even my bones were tired.
I glanced sidelong at Piaras. He’d been running a nervous hand through his dark curls, making them even more tousled than normal. Though if he stayed around me for much longer, he’d probably get some white hairs to go with the dark. Piaras was tall and lanky, and he didn’t quite know what to do with his height, so he had a tendency to slouch, which was about the only comfortable position in these torture devices that passed for chairs. I guess watchers didn’t care if accused criminals were comfortable or not.
“Sorry, sweetie,” I told him.
Piaras still looked straight ahead, but one corner of his lips curled upward, trying for a smile. “We’re making this a habit, aren’t we?”
He tried to sound casual, but I wasn’t buying. The kid had a death grip on the arms of the wooden chair he was sitting in. I didn’t think he even realized it. Probably his first time in a watcher station, along with being his first time latching on to a demon.
“No, I’m making this a habit,” I told him. “You just keep coming along for the ride.”
His lips twitched again and his grip lightened. A little. “You’d think I’d know better by now.”
“Hey, at least this time we weren’t kidnapped, tied up, and blindfolded. The watchers asked us nicely and there were no handcuffs involved. And we’re not in a cell.”
Piaras almost grinned. “That is an improvement, isn’t it?”
“Damn right, it is.”
“So, how many times have you been arrested?” Talon piped up, his aqua eyes sparkling.
We both just looked at him. Piaras was normally the nonviolent sort, but was clearly entertaining thoughts about his new friend and spellsinging classmate.
“I’ve never been arrested,” I told him. I didn’t mention that the Benares family had the best lawyers in the seven kingdoms on retainer. That little benefit alone had kept my bacon out of the clink at least twice. Not that I had been guilty of anything; well, not exactly, but other people had thought otherwise. Kind of like today, my inner pessimist reminded me.
I told my inner pessimist to shut up. “You’re looking quite at home here,” I told Talon.
The goblin shrugged. “I’ve had a few unfortunate misunderstandings with watchers in my time.”
Considering that Talon’s time only amounted to about nineteen years, those must have been some misunderstandings. He was slender and sleekly muscled with waist-length black hair. His silvery gray skin was lighter than normal for a pure-blooded goblin, which Talon most definitely was not. His aquamarine eyes were from his mother, an elf. Tam liked elves, Tam liked me, and Talon was the living proof that I wasn’t the only elf who Tam had liked.
When the boys had given their statements, Sedge had asked them the usual questions, but not the one I expected him to. I was glad he didn’t, though my inner pessimist wondered why he hadn’t. I wondered, too, but I wasn’t about to turn down what could amount to a gift on a silver platter.
Piaras and Talon had taken on a demon that a troop of Guardians couldn’t stop, and I had only been able to bottle him with Tam’s help-a dark mage, highly trained in black magic. Piaras and Talon were too young to be highly trained in anything, yet they’d held that demon until Tam and I could take control of it. What they had was natural talent: raw, powerful, and dangerous. That kind of talent also got you noticed by people you didn’t want to have notice you.
“The two of you worked well together,” I said quietly. Piaras and I weren’t the only elves in the room. Some of the watchers were, too. Elven ears did more than just look good.
Talon shrugged. Piaras didn’t say a word.
“You’ve been reading new spellsongs again, haven’t you?” I asked Piaras.
His hesitation told me everything I needed to know.
“A few,” he admitted.
I swore silently.
Piaras wanted to be a Guardian more than anything and was studying with Maestro Ronan Cayle, a legend among spellsinging masters. When Tam and I had joined forces to save those six lives last week, Piaras had destroyed some nasty magical beasties before they could destroy us. He’d used a spellsong that was damned near suicidal for someone of his age and inexperience to attempt. He’d seen it once in a spellsong book, read it, and had instantly memorized it. He’d gambled and won-that time. Today he’d gambled again, and if Tam and I hadn’t been able to take that demon from him, this time he would have lost.
I took a breath and silently counted backward from ten. It took all the way to one before I could trust myself to talk without yelling. “That was quite a risk the two of you took.” My voice came out amazingly calm. If I hadn’t been so tired, I would have been impressed.
I saw Piaras’s jaw clench under a faint shadow of stubble. Jeez, the kid had stubble; when had that happened?
“Would you have had us do nothing?” His voice was tight.
“No, I would not have had you do nothing.” I took another breath and let it out slowly. I’d better say what I needed to say quickly, because calm and I were about to part ways. “That’s not what I mean-at least not entirely. You acted when no one else would and stood your ground when everyone ran. Both of you were very brave.” I paused and resisted the urge to grit my teeth. “You also had no idea what you were latching on to, but you grabbed it anyway, and neither one of you were trained to handle it.”
Piaras drew breath to retort, and I quickly held up my hand. “I’m not saying what you did was wrong. You have the skill, but not the experience. It would-”
Talon interrupted. “It would have been better if we’d just sat there, while that thing mauled its way around the Quad?”
I turned on him. My calm was officially gone. I held my thumb and forefinger a hairbreadth apart in front of Talon’s face. “The two of you came this close to getting torn to shreds! Your father just found you, and he doesn’t want to lose you. Do you have any idea what he has been through to protect you since you got here?”
The normally cocky Talon looked taken aback. You’d think I’d slapped him. A couple of the watchers were suddenly interested in our conversation. I glared at them until they found something else to do.
“No.” Talon’s voice was subdued, but only slightly. Teenage defiance still seethed beneath the surface. “He didn’t tell me.”
I leaned back in my chair, blew out my breath, and closed my eyes. “And he probably won’t.” Tired had surrendered to exhausted. “He wouldn’t want you to worry. Because he loves you.”
When Talon didn’t respond, I opened one eye and looked at him. “He hasn’t told you that, either, has he?” I asked wearily.
“Not exactly.”
My elbow was resting on the chair arm, and I dropped my head onto my upraised hand. I snorted. “Not exactly.” I shook my head. “Men.” I didn’t lift my head off my hand; it felt too good to be resting on something. I turned it about an inch and I could see Piaras just fine.
His face was a shade or two short of a full, blazing blush. “I know you do.” His words tumbled out in a rush. “You don’t have to tell me.”
I grinned slowly. “What? You don’t want me saying the ‘L’ word in public?”
“I’d rather you didn’t.” He looked around uncomfortably.
“At least not here.”
I sat back and crossed my arms. “Okay then, I’ll make you a deal. You tell me where and
how you picked up what you did in the Quad, and I won’t yell ‘I love you!’ and plant a big, wet, sloppy kiss on your forehead in front of half the watchers on Mid.”
“I told you; I read it in a spellsong book.”
“Does Ronan Cayle know about your extracurricular reading?”
Piaras hesitated, then in the span of two seconds, he winced, grimaced, and looked queasy, as though what he was about to tell me was the last thing he wanted to say.
“Yes, he does. It was part of a lesson.”
I blinked. “What?” My voice was quiet, the kind of quiet that said Ronan better be glad he wasn’t in the room with me right now.
Piaras turned to face me and lowered his voice to a bare whisper. “Raine, I may be the age of a first-year student, but I’ve long known what they’re just now learning. Maestro Cayle did some testing with me to determine what level of study I should start at-”
Now I was the one who felt queasy. “And what I saw today was it.”
Piaras nodded. “I’ve been working on a confinement spellsong for the past two days in class. One of the things it works on is demons.”
“And after only two lessons you used it today.”
“When I saw that thing fly into the Quad, I had to do something.”
I froze. “Wait, you saw it fly in? It didn’t materialize until it snatched up Katelyn.”
Piaras’s brow furrowed in confusion. “I could see it.” He leaned forward and looked around me at Talon. “Could you see it?”
“I heard it.” The goblin wrinkled his nose. “I sure as hell could smell it. But no, until it popped up over our heads, I couldn’t see it.”
“Vegard couldn’t even see it,” I told Piaras. “And I could only see it because…” I didn’t want to finish that sentence, at least not out loud. I didn’t know it for sure, but I strongly suspected that my demon-sighting ability was the Saghred’s doing. I had a link with the Saghred; Piaras didn’t. So what did Piaras have that a senior Guardian, a highly trained, elite magical warrior, didn’t?