by John Corwin
Mom seemed to rip her eyes from him. She gripped my hands. "Do you remember everything Cinder told you?"
I nodded. "Are we sure she'll go through with this?"
"She won't have a choice." Mom kissed my cheek and her grip tightened on me.
"Don't worry," I said. "Even if things go horribly wrong, I think Dad and House Slade will back me up." At least I hoped that was the case. If I screwed this up, Daemos social codes might prevent them from coming to my aid.
Kassallandra reached the ritual altar and offered a curt bow to a male and female standing there. The woman wore a red robe; the man's was blue. According to Cinder, they were the Paetros and Maedras of another Daemos house and would lead the ceremony.
The murmuring of the crowd dropped to a hush. My father stopped at the edge of the crowd and knelt. I had to get close to that altar without being found out.
I glanced back at one of the unconscious hellhound men and made a quick decision. I touched the Templar armor to the hellhound's suit. The disguise enchantment switched to match the bodyguard's.
Elyssa looked me up and down. "Do you really think they'll let a hellhound get close to them?"
"It's the only choice I have." I gave her a kiss on the lips and left the protection of the garden walls. The brick wall ran along the side of the crowd wearing blue. I stayed close to it and made my way down the side, looking around as if I were patrolling the place. None of the Daemos so much as looked at me. Their arrogance offered me the perfect way to hide. The faint burnt odor of succubus pheromones tickled my senses as I passed by the crowd. The last time I'd been this close to so many Daemos had been during the Battle of Bellwood Quarry in the Gloom. It was a bit unsettling.
I watched as the female ritual leader said something to Kassallandra. My father's bride took the woman's hand and pressed it to her forehead. My gut knotted as the female ritual leader raised her face to the crowd. She said, "Are there any here of worth who denounce this unification?"
Almost there. I hurried my steps and reached the front of the crowd just as the intense odor of brimstone hit my nose. Everyone else seemed to sense it at the same time.
"I denounce this traitorous whore!" A female screamed. The garden wall to my right exploded and a demon scorpion the size of a car plowed through the crowd, sending wedding guests flying everywhere.
The last time I'd seen a scorp that size had been in Kobol Prison guarding Daelissa's Seraphim resurrection project.
Something became clear to me in that instant. Kassallandra hadn't been the one helping Daelissa. This mystery woman was the traitor.
Chapter 2
A wave of bricks whooshed past my head. I dove to avoid the scuttling legs of the massive scorp. Where claws and a stinger tail would be on a normal scorpion, this monster had giant mouths full of jagged teeth. Where the eyes should be, a human face pressed against the black chitin like someone trying to escape from a black plastic garbage bag. The face screamed and the jaw-claws snapped.
A tall, thin woman with black hair ran past the scorp and kicked the stunned ritual leaders backward off the altar. Kassallandra lay stunned under a pile of bricks. I spotted my father carrying two Daemos to safety while some ran in panic and others morphed into their half-demon forms as if preparing for a fight.
The woman gripped Kassallandra's tresses and jerked her from beneath the bricks. I heard howling and rolled on my back as a large pack of hellhounds charged down the aisle at the giant scorp. The giant scorp screeched. The face trapped beneath its chitin opened its mouth wide and a swarm of small scorps crawled down the face and piled on the ground, forming a ball of legs and black exoskeletons. The ball skittered toward the pack of hellhounds. The two forces met in an explosion of fur and screeches. I tried to pick myself up off the ground when another weakened portion of the garden wall fell. I rolled on my side, but a chunk slammed on my leg. I stifled a shout of pain.
Yelps and whines filled the air. I rose to my knees in time to see the scorps churning through the hellhounds like butter in a wood chipper. A ball of fire blazed through the air and exploded against the scorps. I spotted Elyssa and the Templars herding stunned Daemos from the courtyard while Mom scorched the scorps using Arcane spells instead of Seraphim channeling. I'd learned the hard way scorps could detect incoming blasts of Brilliance or Murk and dodge them easily.
"You will die as my mother died!" the attacking female said.
I crept up behind the altar, desperate to keep the giant scorp from spotting me. The attacker looked vaguely familiar. Her long, thick hair was black, and something about her face reminded me of someone—I just couldn't put my finger on whom.
"Aerianas," Kassallandra said, her voice betraying no fear. "I thought you were dead."
Vadaemos and Orionas's daughter? That's the chick who seduced Shelton!
Aerianas flashed a manic smile and punched Kassallandra in the face. Blood sprayed from the redhead's nose. Aerianas slapped a silver collar around the other woman's neck and threw her to the ground.
By now, a horde of Daemos, hellhounds, and my group were bearing down on the massive scorp. Aerianas's dark eyes glimmered. She pressed a red gem on a circlet at her throat. Something hummed to life and the static feeling of aether pressed against me. Mom and the others bounced back as they ran into an invisible barrier.
The male ritual leader rose from the ground and tried to grab Aerianas. She flipped the Daemos over her shoulder. Before he hit the ground, she spun and kicked him hard toward the giant scorp. One of the massive claws caught the man and cleaved him in two. A thin, flexible tube shot from the scorp's underside and slurped the remains until there was no trace but a splash of crimson on the ground.
Kassallandra lunged toward Aerianas, but fell to her knees as the collar around her throat flashed. Aerianas raised her hands into the air. "Enjoy your final pain, Kassallandra. It is payment in full for hunting my mother like a dog and killing her. As for killing my father, there is no price you could pay to atone for that."
"I didn't—" Kassallandra couldn't finish her sentence as a black inky pond formed beneath her. Dozens of arms jutted from the tar-like substance, hands grasping at Kassallandra as if trying to pull her into the ground while at the same time throwing her into the air. She screamed in such pain, I had to cover my ears.
Do something, Justin!
I had to act now while Aerianas was preoccupied. Gathering my courage, I dashed forward and dove at the woman. A giant scorp claw batted me. I tumbled through the air and smacked into a blue-tinged shield. I saw Elyssa's horrified face on the other side. She pointed frantically behind me.
I regained some of my wits and rolled away just as a giant jaw claw crushed the stone pavers where I'd been an instant before. On instinct, I shot a searing beam of Brilliance at the creature, but it scuttled aside with horrifying speed for something so large. My attack splashed harmlessly against the shield.
I didn't have a wand or staff with me, but I tried casting an Arcane spell with my hand anyway. A fireball exploded from my fingertip. Searing pain shot up my arm. The scorp threw up a claw. The fireball exploded against the chitin, but seemed to do no damage.
"Anyone have a can of bug spray handy?" I shouted as I backed away from the quickly advancing monster.
"Spawn, Justin!" Elyssa called over Kassallandra's cries of agony. "Use brute force!"
I saw my dad kneeling on the ground, his face dripping with sweat. A crack formed in the ground and rammed into the shield several times. He looked up. "She's running this shield on the mansion's own aether generator. It's too strong for an earth elemental to break through."
"Can it go under it?" I asked.
He shook his head. "The barrier is a bubble."
"Where's the generator?" I asked.
He pointed to a cottage-sized brick building near the garden wall. "It's inside the shield with you."
I flipped backward to avoid another claw smash, turned, and ran to give myself some distance. As I sprinted, I rea
ched inside for my inner demon and let it surge free from its cage. Muscles coiled around my arms, my legs, bulking me to preposterous proportions. I grew taller and felt a tail pressing against the Templar armor. The cloth grew to accommodate the extra appendage. My feet widened and the boots grew longer to allow for claws forming where my toenails had once been. I touched the seams of the armor at my ankles and wrists. The armor retracted from my feet and hands, revealing blue, scaly skin and black claws.
Piercing pain exploded in my forehead as my horns formed. Flames flickered into my eyesight. My inner demon reached the boundary between completely losing myself and retaining control. I slammed a wall of will between my remaining consciousness and the infernal spirit vying for everything I had.
Fire coursed through my veins. I spun around and faced the giant scorp. A claw lunged for me. I leapt, landed on top of it, and ran up its arm. Its other claw snapped at me. I jumped straight up, splaying out my legs to avoid losing any tender bits. The scorp's claw crunched into the chitin on its other arm, sending green gunk splashing on the ground. The creature shrieked. I landed on the other claw. The flexible feeding tube shot out from its underside. I gripped it and held the tooth-lined orifice away from me as it made sick sucking sounds. Squeezing with all my might, I crushed the semi-rigid tube and tied the end in a knot.
The scorp let out an ear-piercing screech. I jumped from the claw. Swung on the feeding tube like a vine. It took me under the belly of the beast and between two of its many legs. When I reached the apex of the swing, I flipped backwards and landed on the scorp's back. It scuttled in a circle, one claw snapping at me, but its arm was too short to reach me. Unfortunately, its exoskeleton was slick and I went down on my side. I heard a whoosh of air and rolled to the side just as the scorp's tail lashed at me. It crunched hard into the creature's own back.
Gripping a seam between the plates of chitin on its back, I managed to hang on. Rolled over. With an effort of will, I channeled a beam of destruction at the base of the tail.
"Dodge this, you bastard!" I shouted as a sudden surge of malicious glee raced through my veins. The energy sliced through the chitin. Green blood bubbled like lava from the wound. The scorp's tail lashed at me again, but the damage was done. With a satisfying crackle, the tail toppled like a felled tree and slammed into the ground. The scorp retaliated by spinning in a dizzying circle. My hand slipped until I was only holding on by my fingers. For some reason, laughter burst from me.
I think I just seriously pissed it off. My inner demon seemed amused.
There had to be a way to bring this thing down faster than cutting off its limbs one at a time. The scorp didn't exactly have a head or a brain, but if it had a vulnerable spot, it probably had something to do with the awful face on the front. Holding on with one hand, I used the other to blow chunks from the scorp's armor with spheres of destruction. Using the divots in the armor as handholds, I dragged myself closer to the dome of its head.
Even with all the noise from the scorp, Kassallandra's screams still rose above the fray. I glanced toward her and saw the infernal black arms still grasping at her body, drawing her closer and closer to the inky pond. I'd seen a lot in my short time as an incubus, but I'd never seen anything like what Aerianas was doing to her.
I reached the dome of the monster's body and gripped another chink in its armor. I saw the huge face pressing against the chitin, its mouth peeled back in a rictus of pain. Squeezing my knees tight against holes I'd burned in the armor, I pressed both of my hands together and took aim.
"Did somebody call bug control?" I shouted. Summoning all my effort, I channeled a thick beam of Brilliance right into the gaping mouth. Ecstasy flooded my senses. I felt as though I could take on an army of giant scorps.
The scorp's shrieks turned to gurgles and its body shuddered violently. I jerked back to reality. Things were about to get really messy. I turned. Ran down the thing's back. Leapt from the side. My demon-sized feet thudded into the ground but I didn't stop running.
I looked over my shoulder and watched the corpse of the giant scorp implode. It slammed to the ground hard enough to shake it. Green guts fountained across the courtyard.
Aerianas, who'd, up to this point, been so consumed with whatever she was doing to Kassallandra, looked up in alarm and saw me running at her. I had to stop her.
Or do I?
I actually hesitated. Kassallandra's death might save my father from the farce of a marriage she was forcing on him. Even so, there was no guarantee her successor would join in the fight against Daelissa. A part of me really wanted the problem to just go away. That part of me wanted to give Aerianas a thumbs-up.
Shut-up, evil Justin.
Fortunately for Kassallandra, that part of me was small.
"Stop what you're doing," I shouted in my deep demonic basso.
"Who are you?" the woman screamed.
"Justin Slade," I said. "Looks like I'm Justin time to kick your ass."
Nobody laughed.
Aerianas's face went crimson. "You're the one who captured my father. You're the reason Kassallandra was able to kill him!" The tar pit of hands bubbled down to a simmer and vanished. Kassallandra stopped screaming and fell to the ground in a heap as Aerianas turned her wrathful gaze on me.
Her thin figure burst into full demonic form within an instant. Her black dress shredded and hung from her, leaving nothing to the imagination. Aerianas's skin was smooth, purple, and devoid of scales. She easily towered over me. Black wings, like those of a bat, spread from behind her back, each joint boasting razor-sharp talons. With a flash of brilliant white fangs, she spoke in a voice like a banshee. "I will kill you, boy!"
I remembered with horror when I'd fought her father, Vadaemos. He and I had both spawned to demon form. He'd kicked my ass so hard, I hadn't known which way was up. There was absolutely no question in my mind he'd taught his daughter everything he knew. Even with all my improvements, this fight would be tough.
Aerianas blurred toward me. I resisted the urge to run and stood my ground, calling upon every ninja move Elyssa had taught me. I'd actually beaten my girlfriend in a few sparring matches and prayed to the almighty she hadn't just let me win.
Please let me have actual skill.
I twisted away from Aerianas's attack. Spun. Slammed a kick into her back. Aerianas grunted and flew forward. She face-planted with a thud and slid a good twenty feet.
"That's my boy!" I heard my father shout.
"Destroy the generator!" I heard Elyssa scream.
I turned toward the building some thirty yards away and aimed at it. My guts slammed into my ribs as something huge butted me. Sharp pain dug into my back. I tumbled along the ground and hit the shield barrier with my back. Through a haze, I saw Aerianas gloating.
Rage boiled through my veins. I leapt to my feet and braced for impact as she charged. I dodged right and tried to clothesline her with my arm. She anticipated my move, grabbed my arm, and twisted. I planted a foot into her stomach. Rolled backward and vaulted her over me. I twisted around and saw her wings catch the air. She glided to the ground and slammed her fist to the stone. The earth came alive around me. A stone hand erupted, spewing rock and dirt. It gripped my body and squeezed. Air exploded from my lungs. Rough grit tore at my flesh.
Aerianas threw her head back and laughed. "No Daemos can best me."
I struggled in the stone grip. I couldn't breathe. Couldn't move. The hand squeezed and I heard my bones creaking. This might be it.
"Justin!" Elyssa screamed. "Fight!"
"Get off the ground," my father shouted.
How the hell was I supposed to get off the ground with a ton of earth holding me captive? My legs were still free. I bent them and tried to leap. I heard the groan and crackle of stone, but didn't budge an inch. My legs flailed in desperation as I tried again and again to leg-press free. My oxygen dwindled. My lungs burned. Spots danced before my eyes.
Mom's voice cut through Aerianas's laughter. "Use a shield, J
ustin!"
I didn't know how a shield was supposed to protect me from something already holding me, but one last desperate idea came into my head. Channeling Murk, I willed it to flow from every inch of my skin. Ultraviolet energy shimmered before my eyes. The rough stone grip left my flesh. I willed it to push outward.
My brain felt as though it were being squeezed by all the force pressing against my barrier. The weight against my chest suddenly loosened. I sucked in a breath of sweet air and roared with effort. I felt the barrier expand. Heard the cracking of rock. I added Brilliance to my channeling and pushed again.
My inner demon suddenly surged with joy as if I'd just fed it puppies and kittens for breakfast. I felt heady with power. I felt indestructible. As if I could melt the world. I channeled more Brilliance and my demon side surged. Burn! Kill! Destroy!
Aerianas stopped laughing. I saw sweat pouring down her purple skin. Her expression of victory morphed to uncertainty. I flexed my muscles and with it, the barrier around me. With a great snapping sound, rock exploded and sprayed across the ground. Aerianas gasped and naked fear showed on her face.
"What sort of perversion are you?" she shrieked. "Monster!"
The urge to gloat was almost irresistible. I wanted to laugh in her face as I burned off her appendages one by one. Immolate her! Char her to ash! What the hell was wrong with me? I fought back, reasserting my will.
"Aerianas, you have betrayed Eden by fighting for Daelissa," my demon voice boomed. "Give yourself up or face annihilation." Kill. Kill! KILL! I felt warmth blossom in my palms, looked down and saw spheres of Brilliance growing.
"She told me I could have my vengeance!" The Daemas wailed. "Kassallandra took everything I loved from this world!"
Images of Aerianas screaming as white flames consumed her flashed through my mind. I saw myself picking her up by her throat and squeezing the life from her. I gritted my teeth and fought my demon for control. "I don't condone what she did to your mother," I said with great effort, "but your father devoured the souls of the innocent and turned you into his accomplice." I felt my arms rising. Saw the glow of destruction in each palm. Somehow my demon was controlling me. I roared and fought back.