“Seventy,” I said automatically. “Give or take a few. Okay, maybe I do remember a bit from school. The five sources must be spread out like the points on a pentagram, otherwise the portal wouldn’t work.”
“That’s way too far apart,” Rachel said. “The city… he’d need to connect the sources to make them join.”
“He has a whole team of celestials,” I said. “And he’s in the glass, powering it himself. I don’t know which demon realm he plans to link to, but it doesn’t matter. He’s already here.”
He’d always been here. I’d been chasing an enemy who didn’t exist, when my real nemesis—the demon who’d ruined my life—had never left at all.
“What about the humans with demonic power?” asked Rachel quietly. “You don’t think he’ll use them?”
“He would if he could,” I said. “But I don’t think he can when he has no body and little power. When he comes back, though… it’s the bloody saphor demons all over again.”
“He’s not exactly like a saphor demon, though, is he?” said Rachel. “They don’t harm humans. I don’t think his magic can actively harm the people it infected. Otherwise, it already would have.”
“True.” I sank onto the sofa. “I guess it’d be a different story if it was celestials he’d infected, but he knows I can drain the virus out of them and I can probably do the same with his influence. It’s the fact that he’s stuck in the demonglass that’s tripping me up. He shouldn’t be able to move around like that.”
“He can’t,” said Nikolas, returning to the living room with an armful of books. “Even with saphor demons, the person has to have actually made physical contact with the demon—or its egg—to be infected with the parasite. The only demonglass he’s actively had contact with are the pieces that came directly from the sources he’s stored around the city.”
“Yes, but I can’t destroy them without shadow power,” I said. “Unless there’s another way. I’m all ears. Walking back into Casthus’s realm is at the bottom of my bucket list, believe me.”
Rachel’s mouth twisted. “They can be used as sources, right? Individually? Couldn’t you open a portal on top of one of them, drag the source into another realm, and then close it before it does any damage? Even getting rid of just one source would stop him from linking all five of them.”
“It’s not possible to open a portal of that size without something getting through,” said Nikolas. “Not an arch-demon, but a demigod, for sure. And that’s assuming that activating one of the sources won’t trigger the others to switch on, too. Don’t forget, they’re already arranged in the form of a pentagram, if we take Devi’s theory as correct.”
“So… you don’t think I’m talking crap?”
“No, it makes sense,” said Nikolas, holding up a faded map of the city. “No arch-demon can enter this realm without a source to sustain them, not without causing damage to this realm and the one on the other side of the portal. I would hazard a guess that he plans to link up his own realm with this one—”
“I never should have left those fallen there,” I said. “But—he can’t get into that realm from Purgatory. It’s not possible.”
“The demonglass didn’t come from his own realm,” Nikolas said. “Did it?”
Now I understood. “It came from Pandemonium. And that realm was definitely linked to Lythocrax’s realm. Twice over.”
My hands curled into fists. I didn’t have a damned clue how Lythocrax’s ability to survive death actually worked, but if he could transfer his consciousness between bits of demonglass, there was little doubt he could hop through a portal into another realm, too. And with his own realm one step away, rebirth would follow.
I got to my feet. “I don’t see a way out of this. I can’t single-handedly destroy even one demonglass source that size. I suppose since that source was fixed in place with magic, the others will be, too?”
“Do you want the ‘Fiona’ answer or the ‘Rachel’ one?” asked Rachel.
“Ha.” I lay back down on the sofa, exhausted beyond measure. “To be honest, there aren’t all that many places you can hide a massive treasure trove of demonglass. Someone else might be able to find them. But—”
“Nobody else can destroy them.” Nikolas flipped through the book in his hand. “Devi… I wish I had answers. Your own power comes from demonglass, too. Maybe there’s a way to leverage that and use it against him.”
“I already tried that,” I said. “Didn’t quite work out as planned. Besides, he’s in the glass. I’m what, a Grade Three demon, magically speaking? He’s an arch-demon.”
“He’s also literally in pieces,” put in Rachel. “You know, I think he’s in the process of regenerating from scratch. That takes time and a hell of a lot of power. If you can keep him from linking to his own realm, stall for time, maybe you can stop him regenerating.”
“If his power is inside the source,” said Nikolas, “can’t you drain it yourself like you did with the vampire virus?”
“I tried draining whatever magic he put in the glass,” I said. “Didn’t work. He’s too strong. I doubt I can do what I did to the saphor demons with magic on an arch-demon’s level. And if the humans’ power upgrades… I can’t stop him from hurting them, too.”
“Put the humans out of mind,” said Nikolas. “When you destroy Lythocrax, they’ll be fine.”
I sat upright again. “He even shut me out of Purgatory. I wonder if Clover knows he’s alive. I guess he’s the disembodied ghost Harvey keeps talking to.” I forced a brittle laugh. “And he made him into an angel. Why did I ever think I’d killed him for good?”
“He shouldn’t have been able to do that,” Rachel said. “He’s an arch-demon.”
“Once a Divinity,” I said. “Light and darkness were both divine… he claims he still has his divine magic. I guess that’s what he meant.”
Nikolas turned the page of the book. “According to all sources, the realm with the most demonglass on it is Pandemonium. There’s nothing here about storing magic in the glass, though.”
“Maybe Zadok knows,” I said. “He stored his own power in demonglass cuffs when he took Abyss’s throne. Hell, maybe he knows how to reverse the process and drain someone else’s power out of the glass. I sure as hell don’t.”
“He can only do that with his own magic,” said Nikolas. “I did look into how he did it. He siphoned off his own magic—which is extremely dangerous, I might add. Not his consciousness. Few demons would take the risk and store their magic in a proxy, let alone separate their consciousness. The saphor demons that become parasites usually die off quickly.”
“Lythocrax’s magic is mine, though,” I said. “I still couldn’t drain his power from the glass. Pretty sure I’d need to be the same level as him to do it.” I could store a little arch-demon magic in my demon mark, but not much. Not enough to drain the consciousness of an arch-demon determined to cling to life. Lythocrax’s will to live was too strong to break.
No… the only way to wipe out that demonglass was to risk ticking off the shadow arch-demon who’d barely spared my life when I’d swiped the fallen out from under his nose.
I stood. “All right. Let’s go visit Casthus.”
“No,” said Nikolas. “It’s too risky—he’ll kill you.”
“Relax, I’ve got this. I’m not going to him directly, except as a last resort.”
I drew on Abyss’s power, calling to mind the overwhelming sight of the shadow arch-demon the first time I’d seen him. I wouldn’t forget his face in a hurry. Two eyes, burning in a shadow-black aura…
Shadows blurred my vision, and then pain shot up my spine, as though I’d trodden on an open wire. I yelled and fell to my knees, pain racking my bones like an electric shock.
“Ow.” I groaned, rising to my feet. “Okay, that went wrong.”
I called on Abyss’s magic again, willing the shadow arch-demon’s form to take over me. Again, pain speared me through the lower back, spreading to each limb. Like
someone was trying to pull my bones out of my skin. I let the magic go, gasping for breath.
“Devi, stop,” said Nikolas. “I don’t think it’s going to work.”
“Why can’t I turn into him? It worked with Lythocrax.”
“Lythocrax isn’t a typical arch-demon,” said Nikolas. “His power is in your demon mark. Maybe that’s why you can turn into him and not the others.”
“Great.” I sat back on my heels. “Would have been nice if Abyss had told me that. I guess if we want Casthus’s magic, we’ll have to sneak up on him. Or make a deal with him, but that never ends well.”
“No,” said Nikolas. “Absolutely not.”
“The world dies in two days if I don’t destroy that demonglass,” I said. “Unless I make a deal with another demon, but who could possibly know how demonglass works except for Lythocrax himself?”
“Turn into him again,” Rachel said. “Maybe he’s hiding more secrets.”
“I don’t think it’s doing Devi any good to keep using that power,” Nikolas said.
“That’s what he wants me to think,” I said. “He wants me to feel helpless. But the first time I met face to face with him, I was weaker than I am now. I won’t be afraid of him. I can’t afford to be.”
I let Abyss’s magic flow from my demon mark, and became the arch-demon once more.
Lythocrax’s thoughts swamped me, as potent as ever, yet hard to grasp. Almost as though his mind was… split. Like his consciousness. Tell me how you did it. Tell me how to beat you.
Images flickered through my mind, of portals and pentagrams, celestials surrounding pieces of glass. “Ow,” I groaned. “I was right, he’s planning to use the city, all right. Not that it matters if I know where the sources are if I can’t destroy them.”
No… only he could destroy them. He was inside them, after all.
I swore loudly. No. There’s got to be another way.
I dove deeper into his mind, past the pain, past everything. Anger flared, and fear, and pain. Decades of it.
“Devi, are you okay?” Rachel’s voice sounded distant, like it came from far away.
“Yes,” I said. “Damn, he’s pissed that Abyss gave me her magic and let me access his thoughts like this. I’m not sure even she knew I’d use her power to steal his secrets. Or maybe she did.”
“Right,” said Rachel. “Can you please stop making those faces? He’s hideous and freaky enough without you making it look like he’s about to wipe us out.”
“Ah. Sorry.” I turned back into myself again, sifting through the information I’d gleaned. “He survived in the demonglass, but I think it cost him the best part of his power. He’s breaking apart, but I—I can’t find any other way to destroy the glass than using his own power. And I already tried that. It didn’t work.”
I turned into him again, gritting my teeth. It was harder this time, as though part of him was actively fighting against me trying to gain control. My voice was my own when it tore from his mouth—“He turned himself into a parasite at the last moment, but I don’t think losing his body was part of the plan. He’s not in all the demonglass, only the bits he’s touched. Those five sources. And I can’t destroy them with my own power. It’d just end up giving him more.”
As I’d feared.
“Devi,” warned Nikolas. “I wouldn’t hang onto his mind for too long. He’s an arch-demon—”
I let go, turning into myself again. “Damn. You know, I was wondering if he left part of himself behind on his own realm, since he needs to go there to reform, but now I think about it, part of him must be on Purgatory. Has to be. Harvey’s wandering around talking to himself like a crazy person, and someone’s definitely giving them orders.”
Small problem: the damned place was completely locked up.
“Then we’ll go there tomorrow.” Nikolas tossed the book onto the table and pulled me to my feet, his arms steadying me against his body. “Not Babylon. You know Casthus will see it as an act of war if you step into his realm, let alone take his power.”
“I bet that’s why Lythocrax wants to force me into it,” I said. Divinities above, it felt good to be held like this, even if the world was breaking apart. “He wants me to ask the one person for help who’d wipe out Earth on a whim without even giving me a shot at a deal.”
It wasn’t like I had a bunch of celestial rogues to manufacture a distraction this time around, either. Unless I asked Zadok, which was extremely unlikely. He wanted to stay away from Babylon, probably forever.
Nikolas’s arms tightened around me. “Devi. We’ll figure this out.”
“He has us backed into a corner,” I murmured. “Either we tick off the shadow demon or we sit here and wait for Lythocrax to regain a body with no way to stop him.”
“There’ll be another way,” he said. “You’re worn out, and I guarantee that the solution will come to you if you give it time. You always think of something.”
“We’re a little short on time at the moment, to say the least.” I looked around the living room, my gaze snagging on the lab set up on the table. Everything I’d invented had started as nothing more than the spark of an idea. Since a demon of creation had marked me, no wonder I’d always felt an affinity for invention. But I couldn’t for the life of me figure out how to concoct a way to make a shadow arch-demon bow before me or stop Lythocrax from returning from death. “I wish a full-body blister attack could destroy the bastard.”
“You’ll think of something,” Nikolas repeated. “I’ve asked my warlock advisers to question Talon closely, so we’re likely to be able to track down the other sources by tomorrow. And after that, we’ll work out how to destroy them.”
“Yeah.” Rachel yawned. “I’m going to sleep. Try not to invite any more demons into the house.”
She made for the stairs, while Nikolas continued to hold me against him. I rested my head on his chest, wishing I could stay here and someone else could sort out the demons’ mess for a change. “Bloody arch-demons. Who made me the only person who can keep them out of the city?”
“You’re not alone.” He swept my hair over my shoulder with one hand, leaning to brush his lips over mine. “I have every confidence in you.”
“What are you doing?”
“Distracting you. You can’t help the world if you don’t help yourself.”
“Hmm.” I kissed him back, enjoying the feel of his arms around mine, chasing away the threads of Lythocrax’s presence. “Maybe you’re right.”
“I’m rarely wrong.”
“You have enough self-confidence for both of us.” I stepped back from him, aware I was still wearing my jacket. Demonglass and all. I shrugged it off and threw it onto the sofa. Behind it was the picture of the Northern Lights I’d moved here from my room at the warlocks’ old headquarters. “I should move the rest of my stuff here.”
“What, from your flat?” he asked.
“Yeah, all the stuff I bought when I used to travel for the guild. Sentimental value is stupid, but…”
But we might die in a day or two. I’d danced on the edge of danger since I’d joined the guild, but it’d been a long while since I’d had so much to lose.
“Are you implying that you want to relocate here permanently?” Nikolas said, one eyebrow raised. “You might want to make it clearer.”
“You’re supposed to ask me that,” I said, smiling despite myself. “It’s that or get our own place… I’m assuming you mean to say you’re not completely opposed to the idea.”
“Oh, I’m absolutely horrified at the idea of spending any more time with you than I have to,” he said.
I swatted at him. “Ha ha. I practically live here anyway. And I won’t be spending any more time than I have to at the warlocks’ new headquarters. Not sure what to tell Fiona, but she mentioned moving to another flat, closer to this part of town. She still hasn’t been able to find another job in the human world since she got her demon mark.”
“I thought so,” Nikolas said. “T
hings are still a little volatile with the new warlock council, but if she wants to continue teaching the humans magic, I can make it into an official position.”
“I’ll see what she thinks of that,” I said. “With her demon magic… I know she wants to use it. Demon magic doesn’t give you a choice. Look at me.”
“And what do you want, Devi?”
“I want…” I paused, trying to get my words in order. “I don’t want to work for the warlocks. Not the way Javos ran things, anyway. And I’m not working with the celestials, either. Not sure I’m cut out for a quiet life, to be honest, but there aren’t a ton of options that won’t piss off one side or the other. But I would like to be able to afford to travel again. And not just to the demon realms, either. I miss it.”
I missed waking up to a new sight every morning. I missed every day being full of possibility, not the potential end of the world.
Nikolas frowned. “I wouldn’t stop you.”
“It’s not you,” I said. “It’s the paperwork.”
His mouth curved in a grin. “Really.”
“You know, I didn’t hate being a freelancer,” I admitted. “I just wasn’t great at it. My skills weren’t in high demand.”
“They are now,” he said seriously. “People know your name. I think you could make a go of it, if it’s what you want to do.”
“Yeah… I think it is.” I’d got one thing right in the last two years: I never wanted to be tied to the guild, or any other organisation again. “Not that I’d object to you helping me out if necessary,” I added. “Got to keep up good relations with the warlocks.”
“Very good relations.” His hands slipped around my back. “Why would you think I’d stop you?”
“Force of habit,” I said. “I spent most of my adult life trying to wriggle out of being controlled by the guild. Being a celestial soldier was supposed to be my life’s calling. I have no family. Aside from Fiona, I have no human friends. And I can’t—” I broke off. “You know celestials and warlocks can’t have children, right?”
He nodded. “I assumed you’d bring it up if it was an issue for you.”
“It isn’t. Can you imagine me hauling a kid around when dodging rogue demons?”
Celestial Storm Page 14