by Rain Oxford
The demon dropped to his knees, spilling blood across the floor, before dispersing into shadows. When he did, the fire around me died.
“Bridgette,” Laura said.
“She’s fine,” Logan said. “You can go to her now.”
After she left the room, I said, “He could come back.”
“I have no doubt he will, but probably not right away. It would help if we knew if he’ll attack anyone else tonight and who.”
“Well, if I could channel these visions, maybe we could find out.” As I spoke, I checked my phone.
Michael: I caught one of the shadow walkers. I can’t hold him for long, though.
“We need to get back to the church now.”
Logan didn’t ask any questions; he immediately headed to the truck. As soon as we pulled out of the driveway, I texted Michael and instructed him to order the shadow walker to sleep. Then I told Logan what Michael had done.
“We can question him,” Logan said.
“If we get there quick enough. I still don’t know if my thrall will work on demons, but I’d like to find out.” We didn’t talk much on the trip because we were both thinking of a plan. It probably would have been more efficient to discuss a plan.
“I have an artifact at my shop that can temporarily debilitate any paranormal around it. I have never tried it, but it might work on a demon. The problem is that it would definitely work on you, and if it does work on him, it’ll work on me as well.”
“I don’t like the idea of relying on a human or a stranger to help us.”
“I agree. Alternatively, my gun works on him when he’s in corporeal form. I suspect he will be able to counter it next time, though.”
“Yeah. I think we need a magic weapon and a non-magic one as backup.”
“I don’t suppose he would accept some spiked tea.”
“No way. He looked more like a coffee-drinker to me.”
“Do you hear the whispers?” he asked.
“Not at the moment. In fact, I didn’t hear them when I faced the demon.”
“Maybe it was because you were focused on the battle.”
Phobos whimpered, so I got in the back and cuddled next to him.
* * *
I didn’t get a response from Michael, so until we reached the church, I had no idea whether or not the shadow walker was still there. When we saw it, however, I knew why Michael didn’t respond.
The church had caught on fire.
Most of the roof and brick walls were in place, but it stank of smoke and with the door open, I could see everything inside was blackened. The pews were pretty much ash and everything needed to be rebuilt. There were no fire trucks, so I figured either the damage looked worse than the fire had been, or they were busy.
Aside from Arks and Michael, there were only a few startled spectators. None of them was a demon, let alone an unconscious one. As soon as I saw Michael, the whispering started. “What happened?” I asked when we got out of the truck.
Arks came to us so that the onlookers didn’t overhear what he had to say. He didn’t notice Michael following him. As Michael got closer, my head started to hurt. “He’s already gone, and I don’t appreciate a demon being detained in my church,” Arks said.
“You know about the shadow walkers being demons?” I asked.
“I know it’s a demon that Michael has captured and I know it’s you who put him up to it.”
“I didn’t send the demons after him.”
“He was safe here.”
“Bullshit. Michael did you find out anything?” I asked.
Arks shot Michael a look, for Michael ignored him. “I made him tell me his weakness and then sleep, but he woke up pissed.”
“What’s his weakness?”
“The light doesn’t hurt him, but he needs darkness to appear or disappear. Also, his name is a weakness. You can apparently control him through his name. I didn’t get his name, though.”
“Were we right that it was the nurse?” Arks asked.
“Yes. Logan hurt him, but we don’t think it’ll stop him for long. If a shadow walker goes after Michael again, maybe we can---”
“Michael is not going to be used as bait,” Arks said. I could smell the determination and protectiveness in him.
“I’m not suggesting that. However, he’s not the only victim of the shadow walkers.”
“If I can hold the next one that attacks me, I can help other people,” Michael said.
“Right. I know a trap that dampens his power. If you can get him to sleep, drag him into the trap and hold him long enough for us to get back here and question him.”
“Great,” Arks said. “If you’re sticking around then you can help rebuild the church.”
“No, thanks,” I said.
“By rule of the former wizard council and the state of Oregon, I’m not allowed to have any part in creating a church, ever again,” Logan said. “I should also leave, because it would not look good for me to be found outside a burning building… again.”
“I’m really looking forward to hearing that story,” I said.
“In the meantime, you should work on that trap. I’ll get us a hotel room. When you’re ready, we can go to the hotel and try to decipher the whispers.”
I decided to make the trap in the shelter room first, and then Arks could recreate it in the other rooms. He planned to put some new flooring down and that would protect the trap. This didn’t take long.
* * *
An hour later, we were at a hotel. It was simple, but I was surprised Logan could book anything so decent on such short notice. After I carried Phobos inside, Logan ordered a couple of pizzas and I coaxed Phobos into eating.
“We probably should have headed to Meredith’s town and stayed there for the day,” I said.
“I would rather avoid my mother until the festivities.”
I turned on cartoons for Phobos, left him on one bed, and sat next to Logan on the other. “How were you planning on doing this?” I asked.
“First, you need to relax. I’ve known a number of people who had visions or heard things. The ones I’ve asked have said that it’s easiest to understand if you’re calm. Most people learn to turn it on and off with a mindset.”
“I don’t want to be psychic.”
“And that’s what will make the power chaotic. There are ways to get rid of magic like that if you choose. For the moment, let’s see if they can be useful. Don’t fight it.”
“That’s easier said than done.”
“I know. You’ve learned to fear magic from when you were experimented on as a child. Such experimentation can even create abilities like this.”
“I don’t fear magic.”
“Both times you have faced a mystery, you blamed magic. You may not fear it, but you definitely dislike it.”
“That might be true.”
“Have you ever meditated?” he asked. I nodded. “Good. Do that. Don’t block out the whispers. Instead, imagine you’re hearing them. Open your mind to it and listen, but don’t force it.”
I reclined on the bed, Logan turned out the lights, and Phobos muted the television. As I cleared my mind and slowly relaxed, my sense of time faded. At one point, I felt Logan lightly touch my forehead, but that thought drifted away after a moment.
The whispers came again, and I didn’t push them away. The more I listened to them, the clearer they became, until I finally understood them.
“They join us or die. They join us or die. They join us or die.” The hissing voice was creepier than demons coming out of shadows. An instant later, a few dozen faces flashed through my mind.
I was hearing and seeing the shadow walkers’ hit list.
Unfortunately, faces didn’t give me the necessary information to help people. It did tell me that demons could find someone based on their face, though. I focused my mind on the mummified victims and to my surprise, that worked; I saw Meredith’s face.
I cleared my mind of that, knowing that
another demon could go after someone before her. Just as a new face started to form in my mind, my cell phone rang, shutting up the whispers and returning me to reality.
“That is bad timing,” Logan said.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket and saw that it was Cindy calling me. “Hello?”
“I was reading more of that book by Baldauf. Iron. Demons don’t like iron. How well it works, I can’t be sure, but Baldauf wore rings made of iron to protect himself with.”
“That’s great information. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. Now I’m going to bed.” She hung up.
“We need iron,” I said to Logan.
“I can have some iron bullets made and shackles. Does it burn them like silver burns vampires?”
“I don’t know. It may not work, but it’s worth a try. I didn’t get any names. I don’t think the demons use them. I just saw faces.”
“We wouldn’t have time, anyway. The sun will be up in half an hour.”
I checked the time on my phone, shocked. The problem with summer was that the nights were shorter. “I must have fallen asleep.”
“Since they need darkness to appear and disappear, I suspect that they only attack at night,” Logan said.
“Good, except it’s night time in other parts of the world.”
“We can’t save them all. We can kill Bob, but the other shadow walkers are---”
“Bob?” I asked.
“I got tired of calling him ‘the mummifier.’ He’s not going to give us his name, so we might as well give him a new one. As I was saying, the other shadow walkers are going after powerful wizards.”
“And children.”
“Powerful children. Those people can at least partially protect themselves. The people Bob is after have no chance.”
He was right, and I thought about that after he left.
* * *
1988
I was in my bedroom. My father had told me not to leave my room, but because I was four, I wasn’t sure what was going on. I snuck out of my room when I heard my father talking to someone else loudly. He was in the kitchen with Natalia.
“This wasn’t what I agreed to,” my father said.
“What did you expect?”
“There’s something different about her.”
“That’s because you’re treating her differently. You’re sensing my magic in her.”
“It will make her a target.”
“I can take back my magic, but she’ll die. I didn’t just heal her body, Ascelin. She was dead. Bringing a person back requires tremendous sacrifice. She’ll always have my mark on her, she’ll always be connected to me, and she’ll always be a target. If you want to renege on your deal, the shadow master will take back her life and mine.”
His hesitation was ominous. Finally, he said, “I won’t go back on the deal.”
“Good. If you let her, she might even develop magic.”
Chapter 8
I woke to Logan kissing me and kissed him back without thinking. Then Phobos growled and I pushed Logan away. I had to save Deimos. That came before anything else. “You have a Sleeping Beauty complex,” I said.
“Are you complaining?”
“No. It’s a nice way to be awoken. Much better than Phobos’s breath in my face.”
Phobos grumbled.
“We need to go. I want Deimos back.”
“What about blood?”
“I’m not in desperate need of it right now.”
“Would it help you?”
“Yes.”
“Then drink some from me.”
I considered arguing, but he was right, and I wouldn’t hurt him. “Okay.” I rolled over so that I was on top and he turned his head invitingly. I’d been told by humans that drinking blood was erotic. For me, that wasn’t the case. It could add to passion, but the act itself was a basic life necessity. With Logan, everything was more passionate. I bet he could make coffee sexy.
* * *
I comforted Phobos in the back as Logan drove us to Lilly’s house. Phobos was extremely discouraged that I wasn’t able to save Deimos last time and I was pretty sure he wouldn’t show improvement until they were reunited.
“We need a better plan,” Logan said. “Last time was a complete failure.”
“I wouldn’t say that,” I argued. “Laura survived.”
“The demon knows how to fight us, but we only learned that he needs darkness to come and go and that he might hate iron.”
“We have iron and the trap,” I said. Logan had been pretty busy throughout the day and attained iron rings, bullets, powder, and shackles. “What would really help is magic.”
“If I took off the chain, I would be at least pose a threat to him.”
“Let’s save that as a last resort. You told Marluk to go ahead and kill me, only to change your mind at the last second.”
“I did change my mind, nonetheless.”
“I have an idea on how to get him into the trap. Let’s try that first.”
“As you wish.”
When we got to Lilly’s house, it was around midnight. Logan knocked on the door and Lilly opened it. “Thank you for coming back,” she said, stepping aside so we could enter.
“Where’s your mother?”
“Asleep in her bed.”
“And your father?”
“Still at his brother’s wedding. Where are Deimos and Phobos?”
“Deimos has been captured and Phobos is in the car, healing. We’re getting Deimos back tonight. I’m going to keep your mother out until we’re done.”
“Can you keep her out for a month?”
“If you want to feed her, hydrate her, change her, and turn her every two hours, all day and night, every day and night.” I went into the mother’s room and sat on her bed next to her. The whispers started up again, but instead of pushing them away, I relaxed and listened to them. After a moment, they faded.
When Meredith woke, she met my eyes easily. I unleashed my power on her. “You will not wake until you hear me say to do so. Until then, anything you hear will just be part of a dream.” I left her and returned to the living room. After explaining my idea to Logan and Lilly, they got to work making the trap. I went outside. My plan was simple in theory, but not simple to execute.
* * *
Once the trap was set, we dusted all exits, including doorknobs and windows with iron powder. I had shackles in my pocket. Then I allowed Meredith to wake when it felt natural. It would have been easier to keep her asleep, but Lilly had seen her die in the kitchen and we didn’t want to risk changing the circumstances and losing what little advantage we had. We considered setting up a bunch of lights, but decided it would have just been a liability, since the demon could flash them on and off at his will.
We waited in Lilly’s room as the night wound down. Logan taught me the banishing incantation. To be honest, that was something I should have learned after the first demon attack. We messed around with Tarot cards and chatted about paranormals until Lilly fell asleep at two in the morning.
When we heard Meredith get up, we quietly followed behind her, not closely enough to get caught. We listened for a sign of the demon. When a mug shattered, I threw open the door. The shadows were converging on Meredith, but she didn’t scream. Logan grabbed her arm and pulled her away from a tendril of darkness that was nearly touching her.
“Logan! What are you doing here?”
“Saving your life.”
“And… Aurora… from the church?”
“Actually, I’m Aurora from the northeast. We can talk about it later if you survive.”
“What’s going on?”
“Again, now isn’t the time.”
“A demon named Bob is after your soul because you made a deal with a different demon,” Logan said easily.
“Or now works, I guess,” I said. “I thought we were busy saving her life, but whatever.”
“No! You can’t bring that stuff here!” Meredith insis
ted. “I’m done with demons!”
“Show yourself, Bob,” Logan demanded of the demon, ignoring his mother.
The shadows converged into the demon. “My name is not Bob,” he said. “You have been a thorn in my side for too long.”
“Shut the fuck up and give me back my wolf,” I said.
Bob didn’t care when Meredith ran past him to escape the kitchen. He smirked. “I’ll make a deal for him.”
“You’ll give him back.”
“Or what?”
“That wasn’t an ultimatum, it’s a fact.”
“I’ll give you an ultimatum,” Logan said. “Give her back Deimos and we’ll only banish you.”
The demon laughed. “What an empty threat. You act like you have me trapped.”
“We do, as a matter of fact,” Logan said. The demon gestured to the trap he wasn’t inside of. “Try it. Disappear or cast a spell that would prove you are free.”
Slowly, the demon’s expression fell. “That’s impossible.”
“Not at all. I’m sure we’re not the first people to outsmart you, nor are you the first demon we have outsmarted.”
The demon’s face reddened with anger, which was Logan’s goal. “I will destroy you all.”
“That’s not likely.”
“How many shadow walkers are there?”
“Thousands.”
I smelled that he was lying. “If you don’t want to tell the truth, it’s fine with me. It has been two long since I’ve enjoyed a kill.”
“You have no idea what you’re dealing with.”
“I’m dealing with a deranged demon who can barely do magic.”
“How did you do it? I’m not in the trap.”
“I trapped the entire house, then put this one here so that you would avoid it and not worry about what else there was,” I said.
He narrowed his eyes at me. “You remind me of someone, vampire.”
“Give me back my wolf.”