Second Alliance_Ember Lane

by Kelly Goode

  ‘Colleen?’

  ‘She came to me afterwards because she couldn’t live the guilt. She told me she loved him and she was carrying his baby.’

  ‘What did you do to her, Ava?’

  ‘I wanted to kill her right there and then, but I couldn’t do it. I’d already summoned the demon and hadn’t included her name. The rage ate away at me until one night, I snapped. I followed her from the coven meeting and ran her down with my car, but the bitch didn’t die. She begged for her life and the life of her baby so I stripped her powers and made her wear my wedding dress. I wanted her to see what she’d taken away from me. It should have been me. I wanted her to suffer, as I was suffering. You weren’t supposed to investigate her death. Why did you come looking for me?’

  ‘Colleen scratched my name into her arm. She was trying to warn me.’

  ‘It didn’t work,’ Ava said coldly, before addressing the demon. ‘You have your three souls. Our deal is complete.’

  The demon nodded in agreement.

  ‘Go,’ he said.

  Ava moved towards the back door and opened it. Immediately, a loud growl filled the conservatory as Perry, in his wolf-form, stood guarding the exit.

  ‘The house is surrounded. You can’t leave,’ I reasoned. ‘Turn yourself in.’

  The demon advanced on me and grabbed my arm, twisting it painfully behind my back. His claws pierced my skin, deep enough to draw blood.

  ‘The werewolf will not stop you,’ he said. ‘Go.’

  Ava didn’t look convinced, but my heart sank as I realised Perry was growling at me and not her. He could smell my blood, and it was driving him crazy. He couldn’t get in because of the barrier, but it wouldn’t stop Ava from getting out.

  ‘Listen to me, Perry, you fucking arsehole,’ I shouted. ‘She’s the one we need. She summoned the demon. Don’t let her pass…’

  The demon twisted my arm again, preventing me from finishing my sentence.

  ‘The other two didn’t talk as much as you. Maybe I’ll sew your mouth shut before I start the ritual.

  Ava kept her back pressed against the conservatory wall as she edged around the animal. Perry’s growling increased as his ears stood up. He snarled and snapped at me, leaving Ava free to sneak out into the garden. She gave me one last malevolent smile before climbing a neighbouring fence and disappearing from sight.

  67

  The demon released me and I collapsed on the floor. My shoulder throbbed from the unnatural position he’d forced my arm into. His claw marks stung like hell but I was more worried about Sophia. She hadn’t moved in the last five minutes. She’d curled into a ball beside me and I reached out with my uninjured arm to check for a pulse in her neck. I released the breath I’d been holding as I felt the barest throb beneath my fingers.

  ‘Let Sophia go,’ I demanded with more bravado than I felt. ‘You said yourself that she’s not on your list. She needs medical attention.’

  The white demon inclined his oversized head. Although he was mainly human-shaped with arms and legs, he reminded me of a reptile, especially as he only had two dark holes where his nose should be and cold emotionless eyes.

  ‘She can’t leave. The little witchy cast her spell after you stepped inside the house. No one else in or out; only demons.’

  ‘Why are you doing this?’

  ‘It’s nothing personal, Ember. The little witchy summoned me and I cannot return home until the ritual is complete. You’re the final piece. Shall we begin?’

  The demon reached down and picked me up by the scruff of my top. I wriggled and lashed out in order to free myself but he slapped me hard across the cheek. The blow was enough to send me crashing to the floor again.

  ‘Metamorphose, transmogrify, alle modifica.’

  The demon’s words covered me like a blanket. My eyes watered and my head started to spin as each syllable draped over me, weighing me down. The air swirled, throwing shards of light across my body until I was covered in white.

  Like a bride.

  ‘This really isn’t how I envisaged my wedding day,’ I said through gritted teeth. The dress covered me from shoulder to ankle, and I knew I’d find some sort of veil when I touched the top of my head.

  The demon smiled, revealing sharp teeth.

  ‘Beautiful,’ he hissed. ‘Probably the most beautiful one yet, but I always do try to leave the best until last.’

  He lifted his hand and a thin piece of wire materialised from his wrist. My survival instincts kicked in as I visualised Colleen’s crime scene and remembered how I’d found the wire burrowed deep inside her neck. I thought about Carter finding my body posed on Hampstead Heath. There was no way in hell I was becoming another corpse-bride on the incident board.

  ‘No,’ I said, pulling myself to my feet, which was difficult enough without the bridal gown prohibiting my movement.

  ‘Your name has already been bestowed to me - Mary, Katrina, Ember. Those three souls are mine.’

  The demon grabbed me around the neck with one hand. I couldn’t kick out at him with the stupid dress, and I couldn’t ignite the fire with my hands. Ava’s incapacitation spell was holding strong.

  ‘Colleen,’ I wheezed, clawing at the demon’s hand.

  He loosened his grip. ‘What about her?’

  ‘What happened to her?’

  ‘The little witchy strangled her, and then begged me to help her cover it up.’

  Before I could properly process that piece of information, there was a loud bang above our heads. We looked upwards in surprise. I could no longer see the setting sun through the glass roof of the conservatory as a huge black shadow now covered it.

  A shadow with wings.

  It took several more bangs on the roof before I realised that whatever was up there, was trying to get inside.

  ‘Shit!’ I cursed.

  The roof shattered and it seemed as if the darkened-sky fell inward, as a creature swooped into the conservatory. Shards of glass showered down and the demon released his hold on my neck to cover his head with his arms. I heard him roar as the glass cut through his skin, drawing green blood before he disappeared from sight.

  I expected the glass to cut me to pieces too, but when I looked up, a huge, black wing covered me like an umbrella.

  The creature had saved me.

  I followed the contour of the wing back to the creature’s broad shoulders. It was definitely male with a lean, muscular torso. Muscles bulged from its arms and legs too, and its skin looked like black leather.

  The creature’s dark gaze connected with mine and my breath caught in my throat, causing me to swallow the air and cough.

  Harvey.

  I didn’t realise I’d spoken aloud, until the creature flinched as if I’d struck it. Then its eyes turned from black to blue, something that I’d seen happen on many occasions to Harvey

  We continued to stare at each other, until the creature’s attention suddenly switched to something over my left shoulder. It lunged forward and grabbed me. I screamed, as I thought it was going to hurt me, but it twisted its body, moving me out of the away just as the white, demon materialised again and swiped his claws at me.

  68

  Harvey was a passenger inside his own body. Only it wasn’t his body anymore. It belonged to his demon. He didn’t look like himself, and yet Ember had still recognised him. He could hear the rapid thump of her heart as his demon kept her shielded beneath its wing. Her fear was making it hard to control the rage, and for the first time in a long time, the two sides of him were in perfect harmony, feeling the same thing, wanting the same thing.

  Harvey had been convinced his demon would take advantage of its newly acquired freedom, but it had flown to the coven’s house instead. That might have made sense if it wanted to hurt Ember, as it had threatened in the past, but surprisingly it had protected her.

  Harvey’s demon retracted its wing and moved closer to Ember. She looked beautiful in the bridal gown, just like an angel with flaming red hair
. The creature reached out to touch her face with his clawed hand, but she didn’t flinch or pull away, which confused Harvey. She should be scared of this beast. It was unpredictable and dangerous.

  ‘I know you’re in there, Harvey,’ she said, as if reading his mind. ‘I’m not scared. I trust you.’

  She lifted her hand and placed it against the creature’s black, leathery chest, covering the burn mark she’d made, which was still visible even though he’d changed forms. His demon closed his eyes and sighed, plunging Harvey into darkness. Her touch roused a gentle longing in the creature, and it felt as if all the years of hate, death, and destruction disappeared for a few seconds.

  Harvey felt it too, as he lingered in the dark nothingness, waiting for his demon to open his eyes again. Ember’s smile was the first thing that greeted him, but his attention quickly switched from her face to the ball of shimmering air over her left shoulder.

  His demon noticed it too and extended its wings, beating them as a warning. It seemed both of them had momentarily forgotten about the other monster hiding in the room.

  Ember’s smile faded as a white, clawed hand appeared from within the ball of light. It grabbed her long hair, pulling her back to him. Her green eyes widened as she screamed, and the sound cut through Harvey like a knife.

  ‘I told you to let me finish my ritual and then I’d disappear for good,’ the white demon said, as he materialised from the shadows. ‘But you just couldn’t stay away.’

  The look of frustration on his bulbous face was plain to see.

  ‘I will not let you hurt the girl.’

  ‘Is this Harvey talking or his demon? I can’t believe she’s managed to tame both of you. An assassin turned soft by a fire-witch. I never thought I’d see the day.’

  ‘Keep talking like that and I’ll rip your tongue from your mouth.’

  ‘You’ll have to catch me first.’

  The demon flicked his wrist, expelling a length of wire, which he wrapped around Ember’s neck and pulled tight before pushing her to the floor.

  ‘The ceremony has begun.’

  69

  I couldn’t breathe. The pain in my neck was excruciating. I tore at my skin, trying to get my nails under the wire to loosen it even a fraction. Blood dripped from the groove the wire made. My hands were so slick that my fingers kept slipping. I wanted to scream but couldn’t. I thrashed and kicked, until my limbs felt too heavy to lift.

  From my position on the floor, I was vaguely aware of the black, winged creature trying to catch the white demon. It flapped its enormous wings, as it lashed out but never once connected with the disappearing demon. Laughter echoed around the conservatory, taunting the creature and making it roar in frustration.

  That creature was Harvey.

  I sensed it wanted to protect me, but it was so caught up with fighting that it didn’t realise that all the white demon was doing was keeping him busy while I choked to death. My eyes stung as I tried to suck in breath after breath that never reached my lungs.

  I remembered the grim details of Colleen’s autopsy report, how she’d ripped at her own flesh in an attempt to release the choking pressure around her neck, and now here I was, going through the same thing.

  It terrified me, as I knew what was coming. In a few minutes, the force would be too much and my eyes would pop and leak blood. Eventually, my brain would starve of oxygen and I’d die a corpse-bride. Just like the others.

  The white demon disappeared and reappeared next to me this time. He bent his head and licked the blood from my collarbone.

  ‘We can’t have you ruining your dress,’ he hissed. ‘Now this is the fun part. For me. Not you. Prepare your goodbyes, while I claim your soul.’

  His claws punctured my chest, and I screamed in pain. The words he chanted were lyrical but not English, and caused the floor to vibrate beneath me. After a few seconds, he withdrew his hand and looked down at me with a mix of fury and confusion.

  ‘It didn’t work,’ he said, letting out a strangled cry of exasperation. ‘You’re not even a witch.’

  I might have laughed if I wasn’t in so much pain. Sophia had said the same thing. She’d told me I was something more powerful than magical, and for the first time in my life, I was grateful for the mystery surrounding my abilities.

  ‘The little witchy deceived me. You’re no good.’

  I wanted to tell him to go to back to hell, but that required breath, which I didn’t have. The white demon snarled at me. The dark holes where his nose should be, flared in frustration.

  ‘Looks like I’ll have to kill you and find me another witch to complete the triangle.’

  The white demon lifted his clawed hand, ready to strike, but the winged creature flew across the room and knocked him out of the way. He must’ve realised he was beaten as he snarled one last time and then vanished.

  The creature landed on its knees beside me and took my hand.

  ‘Stop struggling,’ it ordered, enveloping us both beneath its wings like a shield. ‘You’re safe now.’

  It was dim in the cocoon-like space between its wing and his body. Its voice was deep and richly comforting, but my fear was out of control as I squirmed and fought for air.

  ‘I’m not going to let you die,’ it continued. ‘This is an anxiety noose, an old demon trick. The more you struggle against it, the tighter it becomes. That monster was never going to kill you before it completed its ritual, so just relax. Everything will be ok. I promise.’

  I looked up at the face that hovered just inches above me. The creature still resembled Harvey in some ways, but its forehead was higher and its cheekbones more prominent. Now I was closer I could see its skin was softer than I’d first thought. More like black velvet than leather. I reached up tentatively with my free hand, and slid my fingers against his jaw and then over his lips which were smooth and warm.

  ‘What are you doing?’ it asked me, its dark eyes connecting with mine. ‘You shouldn’t touch me like that.’

  ‘You told me to relax.’

  My voice was still a little strained but as predicted, once I’d stopped tugging at the wire, it had loosened enough on its own for me to answer. The creature released its hold on my other hand and snapped the wire in half with its claw.

  I drew in a painful breath and coughed, which hurt even more. I grabbed the veil from the top of my head and scrunched the material into a ball. I held it against the cut on my neck, trying to slow the blood flow.

  The creature remained silent although I noticed his dark gaze fixated on my wound.

  ‘Is my blood affecting you?’ I asked, much more calmly than I felt, as I noticed the sharp tips of its fangs beneath his lips.

  ‘Yes,’ the creature replied. ‘But not in the way I’d expected.’

  It retracted its wings and I winced at the sudden thrust from dark to light.

  ‘I understand now why he wanted to keep you away from me.’

  ‘Harvey?’

  ‘Yes. He thought I wanted to hurt you, but that was before I met you. Now he needs to worry about something completely different.’

  The creature didn’t elaborate on that sentiment. He looked up at the broken conservatory roof, spread its wings once again, and bounded into the sky.

  70

  I pulled myself to my feet. The veil was soaked with blood but I continued to push it against my neck. I felt a little giddy as I looked up at the sky, trying to follow the creature’s progress. It flew higher and higher until it was nothing more than a dot against the moon.

  What the hell had just happened?

  A low groan cut through the silence, wrenching me from my trance.

  ‘Sophia,’ I gasped, rushing to the old woman’s side.

  ‘Ember?’ she croaked. ‘Where’s Ava?’

  ‘She’s gone.’

  Sophia grabbed my bicep, her eyes widening in alarm as she took in the blood dripping from my neck.

  ‘It was her. All her. The demon. The murders.’

 
; ‘Shhh, don’t talk. Save your strength.’

  Sophia shook her head.

  ‘She’s in danger. We need to find her before that demon does.’

  I helped Sophia into a sitting position. Even after the ordeal of being throttled, there was a steely determination in her eyes. She inhaled deeply and held her hand out to me.

  ‘Help me reverse Ava’s spell so we can get out of here,’ she said.

  ‘I’m not a witch.’

  ‘A fact that neither Ava nor that hideous demon realised, but one that ultimately saved your life. Take my hand please.’

  I did as she requested, immediately feeling a flood of warmth radiate up and down my arms. A flame flickered between our joined palms as she chanted a spell and after a few seconds, my hands no longer felt like ice cubes.

  ‘The shields around the house are proving a little trickier to break,’ Sophia said, sweat glistening on her top lip. ‘She used a spell much darker than I ever taught her, but I nearly have it.’

  I knew the exact moment she successfully removed Ava’s fortification spell as chaos erupted like a volcano. I got to my feet as figures streamed into the house like lava, most of them kitted out in black riot gear with Carter leading the stampede. He scanned the room for danger before his gaze fell on me.

  ‘Fucking hell, Ember,’ was all he managed to say, as he holstered his gun and pulled me into his embrace.

  I relaxed against his solid chest, feeling the tears burn my eyes as I finally dropped the pretence that everything was ok.

  ‘Don’t cry,’ Carter murmured against the top of my head as he held me. ‘It’s over. You’re safe.’

  I pushed away slightly so I could look up into his eyes.

  ‘It’s not over. The demon escaped. Where are the others?’

  ‘Perry ran off like a coward, but Ghent is helping secure the perimeter. I saw that huge, winged beast fly up from behind the house, but by the time I’d drawn my gun, it was gone. I’m sorry.’

  ‘That wasn’t the demon. Well, I mean, it was a demon. It was Harvey, or at least some part of him. The demon we want is white. He dressed me in this stupid bridal dress, but the ritual didn’t work.’