The Devil You Know (Jacob Graves Book 3)

by Sean Stone

  ‘Yeah, but we both know I can’t,’ I snapped, anticipating more mockery.

  She ran her tongue along her front teeth whilst she ruminated the possibilities. ‘I can help you with that.’

  ‘How?’

  ‘I may not be a god yet, but I’m pretty damn close. I can open up certain channels within you to make it a little easier. I’ll talk you through. If you ever want to live up to Tristan then you really need to figure this stuff out.’

  Tristan was the first wizard of Sangford. He’d started the Hall of Wizardry about two-thousand years ago. He was long dead now but his name kept popping up recently. Mainly because I happened to have a striking resemblance to him. The only difference was that he had ginger hair and mine was dark brown.

  ‘What do you mean by that? What is my connection to Tristan?’

  ‘All in good time, Jacob.’

  ‘Now is the time, Jasmine. Tell me.’

  ‘Do you want the ring or do you want answers? You’ll only get one,’ she said, suddenly stern and deadly serious.

  ‘I’ll take the ring for now. You can give me the answers later. Or maybe I’ll just ask Marie.’

  ‘Marie doesn’t know. Mother hasn’t told her. She’s only told me. Now shut up and get over here.’

  I crossed the space between us and wished I hadn’t when she resumed her whispering act again. Even if I was horny this was hardly the time for seductive behaviour.

  ‘This will only take a minute or so.’ She took my hand and placed my index and middle fingers on the cool metal of the ring. All you need to do is imagine the power going into the vessel.’

  ‘I kind of feel like Lord Sauron,’ I said, unintentionally whispering too.

  ‘Yeah, you wish.’

  ‘I’m surprised you know who Sauron is.’

  ‘You don’t think I read? I’m over two-thousand years old, I’ve picked up a book or two.’

  ‘Alright, alright, no need to get defensive, grandma.’

  She sighed loudly and chose to ignore my comment. ‘Can you feel the power Thor left in this place?’ she asked, bringing us back onto topic.

  I closed my eyes and concentrated. I wasn’t very good at feeling for power. It was fine when I needed to convert energy from direct power sources, batteries, lights, cars and such, but when it came to feeling out raw energy like Thor’s now was, it was a completely different kettle of fish.

  ‘Open your eyes,’ Jasmine said gently. ‘And look into mine.’

  I did as she commanded. My lids flicked up slowly and gazed into her stunning blue eyes. Her stare ensnared me at once. The blues of her irises seemed to move. They danced and sparkled as if they were made of water itself. I watched the colours flick around, turning and twisting like I was looking through a kaleidoscope. And then I felt a heaviness in the air around me. It was like the kind of hot humid feeling you get before a storm.

  ‘I can feel it,’ I said. I didn’t break the eye contact and neither did she. Whatever Jasmine was doing was working. I’d achieved more than I’d ever managed before. Every time I’d tapped into natural energy it had been a fluke, I didn’t remember much about it. This time I could feel the energy before I took it. This time I was in control.

  ‘Good. Now pull it to you and channel it into the ring.’

  ‘How?’

  ‘Just do it. How did you learn to convert magic in the first place?’

  ‘Visualisation.’ Drew made me visualise the energy flooding into me and converting over and over again until I got it right. It had only taken half an hour.

  ‘Then visualise it.’

  Still holding the eye contact, I imagined a small stream of power floating down from above. It entered through my head and flowed smoothly through my body and out through my fingers, fusing itself into the particles of the ring. In my head the ring was glowing with blue energy, burning a circle on Thor’s chest. I could feel the power flowing through me too. It was like electricity was shooting through me, zapping my insides. It didn’t hurt though, it was tantalising. Almost refreshing. Until it came out through my fingers. As the last vestiges of the god magic faded, I felt my limbs sag wearily.

  ‘Oops,’ Jasmine grabbed my shoulders and stopped me from collapsing. ‘That will pass,’ she promised, helping me back into the chair. Within moments of sitting down my energy began to return. The heaviness left my limbs and I felt ready to go for a run. Not that I was going to.

  ‘That was unpleasant.’

  ‘Yeah, god power can do that to you. Imagine if he’d been in his prime.’ Her eyes twinkled at the possibility. ‘Anyway…’ She tossed the ring to me. It was not the same ring she’d taken from me. Lightning cracks of blue ran around the silver band. It actually looked pretty cool. I slipped it onto my finger and a pulse of electricity jolted up my arm and took me by surprise.

  ‘So, I can convert magic from natural energy now?’ I asked with excitement. Drew would be so pleased that I’d finally cracked it. I had no intention of telling him that Jasmine helped me cheat.

  ‘No. Only if you want me to help you each time. You still need to figure out how to do that on your own. Consider this a lesson though. All I did was relax and guide you.’

  ‘Oh,’ I said, my hope plummeting like the Titanic.

  ‘Now, if that will be all…’ she snatched her Versace handbag off the dresser and made for the door.

  ‘Actually, there was one more thing.’ She glanced back over her shoulder, one eyebrow cocked intuitively. ‘I need you to get me an audience with the Fae.’

  Her eyes darkened and she turned back around to face me. ‘You have got to be kidding me.’

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  I explained to Jasmine that I wanted to see if the Fae could help stop Magraval from using portals. She still thought it was a bad idea, but agreed to do it anyway. Within minutes I was sitting with her in the back of her Rolls Royce, enjoying a rum and coke and listening to all the rules about visiting the Fae.

  ‘You do not speak unless in response to a question. Only ever give the bare minimum of information. Fae are sneaky, if you accidentally let something useful slip they will utilise it. Remember, every conversation with a high-ranking Fae is like a game of chess to them. They always seek to come out of a conversation with more than they went in with. Give nothing away. Do not eat or drink anything they offer. And do not, under any circumstances, agree to any deals,’ she said, finishing the list by taking a delicate swig of her gin.

  ‘Sounds like I should just say nothing at all,’ I muttered.

  ‘You shouldn’t be going there at all. This is reckless. Oh, and do not mention the treaty or anything about it. That is strictly Leah’s jurisdiction. I can’t be seen to be getting involved.’

  I nodded, knowing full well that I was going to have to break one of Jasmine’s rules. I needed the Fae to help me stop Magraval and there was no way they was going to do it for free. ‘If this is Leah’s jurisdiction then maybe we should stop off and pick her up,’ I suggested as the car crossed the river into the posh part of the city.

  Jasmine looked at me out of the corner of her eyes, refusing to face me directly. There was a flicker of hurt that she quickly concealed with her usual expression of superiority. ‘Am I not good enough for you, Jacob?’ she joked, but it wasn’t really a joke. I’d hit a sore spot.

  I looked about awkwardly for an appropriate answer but found none. ‘Of course you are,’ I said at last, unable to think of anything better.

  ‘It’s okay,’ she said with a small shrug of her shoulders. ‘You don’t have to try and make me feel better. People have always been more interested in Leah. She’s the pretty one.’

  I nearly choked on the rum that was half way down my throat. ‘Are you serious?’ I asked, resting my glass safely in the holder by my side.

  ‘Why wouldn’t I be?’ she asked, looking at me evenly, failing to mask her own unaccountable insecurity.

  ‘Jasmine, you are one of the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen,�
�� I said softly, and honestly. Leah was better looking than Jasmine but not by much. If people preferred Leah over Jasmine it wasn’t because of looks. It was more likely because one of them was significantly less bitchy. Of course, I had no intention of telling her that. I needed her protection from the Fae and if I insulted her like that she’d probably just toss me in the Fae Woods and leave me there.

  ‘I’ve heard that before. I’m good enough for a shag but nothing more than that. That’s the gist of it, right?’

  ‘I don’t…’ I said helplessly. ‘Where is this coming from?’ I had way too much going on to have to deal with a semi-deity’s romantic insecurities.

  ‘When we slept together. You used me.’

  ‘I was wasted when I slept with you.’

  ‘But you still used me. Didn’t you? You used me to push Leah away because you were scared she was getting too close.’

  ‘Jasmine,’ I said, trying desperately to find something to say that would help me. The problem was she was right. That was exactly what I’d done, drunk or not. ‘You’re the one who told Leah about us. Not me.’

  She laughed humourlessly. ‘Yes, I did. But that doesn’t mean I’m wrong.’

  I sighed, wondering why she couldn’t have started this discussion on the way back from the Fae. I had to be very diplomatic in handling this situation or Jasmine would throw a tantrum and leave me to fend for myself. ‘You weren’t exactly innocent in the situation, Jasmine,’ I said as tactfully as I could.

  ‘No?’

  ‘No. You slept with me to hurt Leah so she’d run home.’ I’d thought about it a lot in the weeks since it had happened. I kept asking myself why Jasmine would ever have been interested in sleeping with me in the first place. Then I thought about what she wanted and what she stood to gain and I put the pieces together. I’m not as stupid as people seem to think I am.

  Jasmine turned away to look out of her tinted window. The Rolls Royce Phantom stopped outside a mass of trees, beyond which we would find the Fae Woods. Jasmine pushed open her door and then looked back over her shoulder at me. ‘I may have slept with you to force my sister to return to the path set for her, but that’s not why I’m here now.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  Jasmine shook her head before replying, ‘Come on, I sent word ahead. The leader will be waiting and he is not known for his patience.’ She pulled herself gracefully out of the car and then slammed the door in my face. Well, this was going to be fun.

  The woods looked pretty normal from the outside, but that was because the Fae border was further inside. The City Council had very clearly marked the border with several signs warning people they were forgoing any form of protection if they crossed the border.

  Jasmine’s car was parked on the grass at the edge of the woods. I thought it would look pretty funny if anybody happened to walk by. How often did you see a white Rolls Royce waiting at the woods.

  I decided not to try and resume the conversation we’d been having in the car. Instead I followed her into the woods in silence. Several times as we walked through the trees Jasmine’s shoe caught in the mud, or some sort of plant life.

  ‘For goodness sake!’ she cursed as her shoe got stuck a fourth time and her exposed ankle twisted.

  ‘Perhaps stilettos were the wrong choice for this expedition,’ I suggested. She wasn’t exactly dressed for a tromp through the woods. She was all in white and not a single item of her clothing was worth less than a grand.

  ‘I wasn’t aware I’d be venturing through foliage when I got dressed this morning,’ she retorted.

  ‘Fair point,’ I conceded. I had asked for this favour out of the blue.

  I saw the warning signs ahead, each of them about twenty feet from each other. Behind them loomed the Fae Woods. The trees seemed to stand taller than the ones on our side of the border. They were closer together too making the whole place darker. Each tree was gnarly and twisted, looking down menacingly on everything below. I could see very little sunlight breaking through the canopy of dark trees.

  ‘Remember the rules?’ Jasmine asked, looking my way.

  ‘I do,’ I replied, knowing full well that I was going to have break one of them.

  ‘Good.’ She took a long stride that carried her over the border from normal woods into horror movie woods. I took a moment to check that I definitely wanted to do this and then I followed.

  The air was thicker and heavier. Breathing was more of a chore. Jasmine seemed to have no trouble at all. The Fae Woods only seemed to affect humans. Blue mist crawled across the woodland floor. My heart started to pick up as I thought the dullahan had followed me here, then I remembered the blue mist was normal. I’d been in these woods once before about a month ago. There had been blue mist then too. As well as a lot of very creepy eyes staring from the darkness. I glanced around but nobody was watching me this time.

  I carried on after Jasmine, sometimes struggling to see more than a couple of feet ahead of me. Jasmine’s white attire suddenly seemed like a good thing, it meant I could see her moving in the dark. Last time I’d been here I hadn’t made it beyond this point before I was surrounded by Fae who were none too pleased by my trespass. This time I was expected and I assumed Jasmine was taking me to wherever it was in this dank place that the Fae actually lived.

  I’d seen only one confirmed Fae in my life and that had only been a week or two ago. She’d looked pretty human until she’d got angry, then her glamour had fallen away to reveal her true self. She wasn’t a pleasant looking creature. I remembered learning about Fae when I was kid. There wasn’t much to learn because they’re a secretive race so human scholars haven’t managed to study them as thoroughly as they have other creatures. One thing I do remember learning was that there were many different classes of Fae and their appearance varied.

  ‘Jacob,’ Jasmine said as she stopped just ahead of me. ‘Although people often call him the Fae king, do not call him that to his face.’

  ‘Why?’ I asked in confusion. Surely it was a sign of respect?

  ‘The Fae do not come from this realm. They come from a realm called Faery.’

  ‘Yes, I know that,’ I said impatiently. This was just the first thing I had to do today. I still needed to prepare for Magraval’s attack tomorrow.

  ‘But do you know the reason the Fae migrated to our realm?’

  ‘Because their magic is very potent here?’ I said, unsure of the real reason.

  ‘That is the reason they chose this realm to seek refuge in, but not the reason they left Faery.’

  ‘There are Fae colonies all over the world. Surely they didn’t all leave home for the same reason.’

  ‘No,’ she said with a quick shake of her head. ‘But this particular group left because they hated serving under a monarch. The titles of king and queen have been dispensed with in this place. Do not use them or you may well be attacked. And there’s only so much that I can do to protect you. Remember that before you do anything stupid.’

  ’So what is he then? If he’s not a king what do I call him?’

  ‘He doesn’t have a title. A title would give unsatisfied minions something to rally against. He is simply their leader. His name is Cheirvorn.’

  ‘That’s a shit name,’ I said on instinct.

  Jasmine stopped and planted her hands on her hips. ‘I will turn you around right now. Do not think for one second that there aren’t ears all around us and eyes watching our every step. If Cheirvorn finds out you mocked his name you’ll never this place in one piece.’

  ‘Calm down!’ I said, throwing my hands up in surrender. ‘I’ll keep my opinions to myself until we’re safely out of here.’

  ‘See that you do or your opinions will ensure that you never leave here.’ She turned back in the direction we’d been travelling and took off again. After a few minutes she came to a stop. ‘We’re here,’ she said.

  I stopped next to her and looked at the unusual structure that stood before us. Brambles had risen up from th
e ground, tangling and twisting together, knitting with the branches that crept down from the trees. They came together to create a fantastical domed structure that was covered in moss and leaves that shielded the inside from prying eyes. There didn’t appear to be any entrance to the Middle Earth-like structure but there was one hooded figure standing guard. Other than the lonely figure, no other guards were in sight. The building didn’t need guarding because the woods were guarded sufficiently. We’d only made it this far because we’d been allowed to. Last time I’d come to these woods I hadn’t made it anywhere near this place before the Fae stopped me.

  ‘Princess River,’ the hooded creature said as we approached, it inclined its head ever so slightly. Its voice was croaky and broken and it was impossible to tell which gender the Fae was. If it was either. For all I knew there could be hundreds of Fae genders. Hell, even humans had more than two genders these days.

  ‘Please, I prefer Princess Sanguis, or Jasmine if you like. Princess River is neither my name nor title,’ Jasmine said. When I’d been here with Leah they’d called her Lady River. Leah hadn’t bothered to correct them. I wondered what title they’d come up with for Marie.

  I shuffled closer to Jasmine and lowered my voice in the hope that the bouncer wouldn’t hear me. ‘If they hate monarchs so badly then is it a good idea to mention that you’re a princess?’

  Jasmine smiled in pity. ‘They only hate answering to a monarch. They do not answer to me. My sisters and I are little more than advisors in the eyes of the Fae. Although, my mother did have the same concerns as you which is one of the reasons Leah was assigned to the Fae and not myself.’

  ‘But isn’t she technically a princess too?’

  ‘Not by our rules. By human rules any child of a monarch would be a prince or princess, but by our rules only the next in line can claim the title. That is why Leah is called the Lady of the River. But we don’t have time for this.’ She diverted her attention back to the thing in the hood. ‘I apologise for that. My associate is unfamiliar with how these matters usually play out.’