Dark Hunt

by Kim Richardson

  Scanning the Seal of Solomon with everything in place, I noticed only one thing left to do. My favorite part. Once again, I yanked out my soul blade and lifted my left palm. That got Jax’s attention as he snapped the book shut, leaped to his feet, and came to stand next to me. My skin pricked at his nearness.

  The pressure was on now with two extra people witnessing my talents in summoning. I would have preferred to be on my own in case it didn’t work. But in case it did work, having Tyrius and Jax as backup was a better option.

  My hand shook as I stared at the small white line across my left palm that had been open and spilling blood just yesterday. I took a breath and, using the line as a guide, slashed through the soft flesh. It stung, but I keep my face blank as I squeezed some blood into a small puddle on the floor.

  Using my own blood like ink, I wrote the name Degamon on the mirror, careful to spell it out correctly. Writing the name incorrectly would have disastrous consequences—like not working at all or giving the summoned demon free reign over the summoner. Not good.

  Wiping the blood from my hand with a cloth, I leaned back. “Water and blood for angels… mirrors and blood for demons.”

  Tyrius’s ears swiveled above his head as he looked at me, his tail lashing behind him. “What about the incantation?”

  “It’s coming.” I stood up and regretted it almost immediately. My head swam, and my hands started to sweat as an uncomfortable sensation of being both hot and cold overcame me. My pulse pounded behind my eyes. I took a moment to steady myself, and hopefully it looked like I was preparing myself mentally for the final spells. If Tyrius knew I felt like I had the flu, he wouldn’t let me continue. A wash of angst took me, but there was no turning back. When the dizziness subsided, I took five steps back, my soul blade hanging in my hand.

  Jax followed my exampled and moved back too. “When do we kill it?” He rested his hand on the hilt of his soul blade, a slight tremor in his fingers.

  My pulse quickened as I stared at the flickering candles. “After it answers my questions. We need to know why it’s killing. Why it’s targeting us. Because even if we destroy it, who’s to say that another one won’t take its place? Cindy and I won’t be safe until we know for sure.” My gaze moved over his face. “You’re going to be okay with this, right?” I said, not liking the tension I read over his face and body. “You’re not going to lose control and do something stupid, right? Because this Greater demon is far more powerful and evil than a vampire. We can’t screw this up. We might never get another chance.”

  “I won’t.” Jax’s eyes grew intense. “I won’t do anything until you tell me to. I promise.”

  I frowned. “Why am I not convinced?”

  Jax exhaled and turned his body to me. “I know what I did was stupid. I’m sorry.”

  “You almost died.”

  “I almost died,” he agreed. Jax took a breath and then let it slowly out. The guilt in his eyes told me he’d regretted his recklessness. “I know I was an idiot. I won’t let my emotions get it the way again. I promise you. I know how important this is, and I won’t screw up again. I swear it.” I could tell he was being truthful, or at least he believed he was.

  His eyes caught and held mine. I felt a warmth that had nothing to do with my fever. His confident grin told me he knew something I didn’t want to admit to myself.

  I stilled my emotions as I stared at him, feeling my heart pound. “Good. Remember, the demon will be bound to me, bound to the circle, but it’s still very dangerous. Don’t get too close, and whatever you do… don’t give it too much personal information about yourself. This is a Greater demon. It’s got thousands of years of cleverness over us, and it’s going to use it.”

  “Some demons are known to break free from the circle, Rowyn,” said Tyrius, his eyes on the Seal of Solomon. “And drag the summoner with it back into the Netherworld.”

  “That’s why we have our soul blades, in case something should go wrong. But it won’t.” I didn’t like the fear in his tone, but I was more irritated that he didn’t think I could do this. “I have the demon’s true name, and that’s power. Once I summon it, it can’t hurt me.”

  “Maybe,” said the little cat. “But I’ve seen my share of disastrous summoning with witches. I’d hate for you to spend eternity being tortured in the Netherworld as a demon’s slave. The horrors they could do to your soul… to your body…”

  “I’ll kill it before it touches Rowyn,” said Jax, and there was a dangerous note in his voice. I looked at him, surprised at the fierceness I saw in his eyes.

  “I applaud your courage, young mortal,” said Tyrius, his voice tight, “but if the demon latches on to Rowyn,” his eyes flicked between me and Jax, “there’s nothing we can do to stop it.”

  “I’m not dying today,” I said, swallowing hard and doing my best to ignore the past few hours of uncertainty and fear as I had prepared the summoning ritual.

  Tyrius lowered his eyes, his ears swiveling back. “There are worse things than death, dear Rowyn.”

  “Maybe you should let me be the judge of that.” Fear licked down my spine making me shiver. “It’s not going to happen,” I said, my voice not sounding as convincing as it did in my head. The thought of me or my soul as some demon’s sex slave made me want to vomit.

  “Can’t you just banish it with a spell and be done with it?” questioned Jax.

  “No,” I breathed. “It doesn’t work that way. You need to summon it first and then banish it.”

  Jax scrubbed a trembling hand across his face and said, “Then, I want to know if it’s the same demon that killed my sister.” His expression was unguarded, stripped of its usual distance, and he looked both very young and very old. He lowered his hand and curled his fingers around the hilt of his blade, his eyes moist.

  Adrenaline shot through me, making me shake. I reached inside my pocket and pulled out the scrap of paper I’d written the two spells on, in case my nerves might make me forget. “Ready?” I looked from Jax to Tyrius.

  “For the record,” said Tyrius, “let me say again how incredibly stupid this is.”

  “Noted.” My chest clenched in guilt at the sight of real fear in the baal’s eyes. Tyrius was acting like an overbearing parent because he was scared and because he loved me.

  I took a slow breath, fighting off another spell of dizziness, and read the spell again in my head. Then I hid it in my pocket. Maybe this was stupid, maybe I was stupid, but I’d rather meet the demon face to face than wait for it to jump me while I was sleeping.

  I swallowed as I let the words flow through me. “Voco super daemonium Degamon ut esse subiectum ad voluntatem animae meae,” I called, my heart pounding. “Degamon meum et vocavi te in spatio et in conspectu oculorum meorum.” And then for good measure because I really didn’t want to mess this up—and all without taking a breath—I repeated the spell in English. “I call upon the demon Degamon, to be subject to the will of my soul. Degamon, I summon you in the space in front of me.”

  My heart was beating fast, too fast. I felt like I was about to throw up. Swell. I wasn’t sure why but I preferred to fight a demon than be sick in front of Jax.

  I took a calming breath. My gut clenched when a small gust of wind broke through my apartment, just like when I’d summoned the archangel. With my gaze fixed to the name, I waited.

  The breeze lifted my hair around my face and then died almost as soon as it had risen.

  A frown creased my brow. “I think I did it wrong,” I said, reaching inside my pocket for the written spells. “Just a sec—”

  “Shit,” Jax swore, and my hand froze. “Something’s happening. Look!”

  I looked up to find him staring at the floor. The hair on the back of my neck pricked. My bruise gave a pulse before my wrist flamed.

  The blood with the name Degamon written in it bubbled and steamed above the mirror, the cloud of reddish vapor billowing up to follow the confines of a body not yet taken shape. I waited, my tension gr
owing. I had no idea what shape the demon would take. I’d never heard of it. The demon could look like a great big worm, a giant hairy spider, or a little old lady. I opted for the old lady.

  The mist whirled, taking on what I could see was definitely a human shape. The red mist coiled and then coagulated to reveal the demon.

  My breath hissed in through my teeth.

  But it wasn’t a demon. It was my dad.

  19

  “What the in the world?” Shocked, I stood goggling like an idiot at the creature that was my dad.

  The demon straightened and said, in my father’s voice, “My darling daughter, how nice to see you again,” sending chills fluttering through me.

  Standing on the mirror was my father’s doppelganger. He looked exactly the same, had the same scar just above his eyebrow that he’d gotten when he’d fallen as a kid, the same thinning streaked gray hair and matching beard. He hadn’t aged at all in the last five years, as though he’d been frozen in time. He wore the clothes I’d last seen him in, beige khakis and a polo shirt.

  But his eyes… those weren’t my father’s hazel eyes staring back at me…

  “You’re not my father,” I said hesitantly, my grip slipping on my soul blade as I tried to recover from the shock of seeing my father again. The familiar scent of rotten eggs and death rose thick and musty, overpowering the stale air from my apartment. “My father doesn’t have black eyes, demon. Or should I call you by your true name… Degamon?”

  My demon-father pressed his hands to his chest, and the familiar motion sent a spark of torment at my heart. “You wound me. How I’ve missed you. You’re the splitting image of your mother when she was your age. Did you know that? Oh, she says hi, by the way… she’s with me, you know, in the Netherworld… waiting for her only daughter. Your mother loves you very much. Don’t you want to be reunited with her? Don’t you want to join us?”

  “Shut up! Just shut up!” Shit. Shit. Shit. This was not going like I had planned. Sweat poured down my temples and forehead, and I rubbed it with the back of my arm trying to remember what I was supposed to be doing. What’s wrong with me?

  “That is not your father,” warned Tyrius, and then a deep growl formed in his throat as the demon grinned at him. “Don’t listen to it. It’s just trying to confuse you. Don’t forget why we’re doing this. Why we’re here.”

  “This is so messed up,” said Jax, and I recognized the fear on his face because it mirrored my own; he feared that if the demon decided to turn into his sister, he would lose it.

  The adrenaline seemed to push my fever down for the moment as I gathered myself and straightened. The demon would not get the best of me, not while I still drew breath.

  “Why did you take the shape of my father?” I asked, with a terrifying calm that surprised me. “What do you know of my parents?” I hissed, my pulse thumping against my forehead.

  Degamon grinned to show startling white teeth, chilling me with its confidence. “I know they suffered an untimely death.”

  “How do you even know that?” Rage rose up in me in such a mighty wave that I had no thoughts in my head other than wrath.

  “I share a direct link with my summoner,” said the demon. “With your blood, I share your memories, your fears, your most intimate thoughts. Oh, my, my, my… how naughty.” Its black eyes went to Jax and I felt my face burn. Hopefully, Jax and Tyrius hadn’t noticed.

  “How nice,” I grumbled.

  Degamon leaned close. “Humans who summon demons are bound to them, usually in exchange for eternal youth, eternal life, fame and fortune... but that’s not why you summoned me, is it?”

  “Enough with the chitchat,” I commanded, afraid of what the demon might reveal next. But the fact that I was staring at my father was creeping me out. “Degamon. I need information. Questions need to be answered… and you’re the one to answer them.” No need to tell it I was planning on banishing it, if it hadn’t already guessed or read those thoughts. “Why did you kill all the Unmarked? Why are you hunting us?”

  A smile came over the demon. “Did you know that your blood is unique? Tasty with subtle flavors I don’t recognize.”

  “Then you don’t deny it?” I took the demon’s silence as a yes, wondering if it could see the mark left by the archangel on my wrist. “Why? Why are you doing it?”

  Degamon tilted its head thoughtfully. “Presuming I have this information you require, what is it worth to you?”

  I scowled. “I’m not giving you my soul, demon. You can just forget it. So, what else do you want?” I knew this was dangerous territory. Offering something to a demon was never smart since if things went south, the demon could always use it against you.

  But nothing would go wrong this time. I had its true name. It was bonded to me, not the other way around.

  Degamon pulled up its head and smiled. “Give me your name, and maybe we can negotiate?”

  “How stupid do you think I am?”

  Degamon tugged on his shirt. “About as stupid as all the rest of the mortals who summon me.” My demon-father grinned. “I have to assume you know the basic rules. You do not call upon me lightly. The possible dangers are far too great. A favor for a favor. It’s how it works.”

  Jax shifted next to me. He looked wary but not frightened, and I drew some courage from that.

  I stood my ground, feeling the effects of the adrenaline diminishing. “I do know the rules, Degamon. One, which all Netherworld beings are obliged to follow when summoned, is to offer assistance to the witch who called them.”

  “You’re not a witch.”

  “I know that,” I answered, a little peeved. “But here we are—and you get little me. Are we going to do this or not? Answer my questions and I’ll send you back.”

  The demon said nothing as it crossed its arms over its chest, mimicking my father’s character. Its black eyes roved from Tyrius to Jax and finally rested on me. “Does the council know of your dealings with demons? Not only are you acquainted with this demon Pokémon—”

  “Did you just call me a Pokémon?” growled Tyrius, his ears back. “No. You. Didn’t—”

  “—but you have summoned a few other lesser demons in the past,” informed Degamon. “I know the council laws. Death, should they learn that you have willfully brought demons into the mortal world.”

  “What do you want in exchange for the answer?” I demanded. Blood gushed to my head and I felt it might explode. “Answer me!”

  “You are an aggressive bitch, angel-born.” Eyebrows raised, the demon glared at me, its black eyes gleaming with sudden ire. “Once I am free of this magical circle, I will kill you. Just as I killed the others.” The demon glanced over my apartment with open curiosity. “I know you are not well versed in the dark arts,” it mused aloud as it raised its arms and motioned to the Seal of Solomon I’d drawn. “But I’ll give you one for free.”

  “That’s crap. It’s trying to trick us,” breathed Jax. “No demon would give anything for free.”

  I knew Jax was right, but I still waited to hear what the demon had to say before I banished it.

  I felt Tyrius shift as he said, “I’ll show you… Pokémon… you no good sack of demon crap…”

  The demon’s face was empty of emotion, and for a moment I thought it wasn’t going to answer. “I’ve killed the Unmarked because I must,” began Degamon. “Because I am commanded to do it. Because I am compelled to do so. I must kill all the Unmarked… including you.”

  Fear cascaded over me, and I shook. “You mean… someone else has summoned you?” My fear shifted to anger as I put the pieces together. Someone wanted us dead and had risked invoking a Greater demon to do so.

  “Who summoned you? Was it a witch? A warlock?”

  The demon smiled. “No more freebies, darling. If you want more, you need to give me something in return. Your name—”

  “No.”

  “A piece of your soul, then,” said Degamon with a grin. It shrugged. “I have to ask. I am
a demon after all.”

  “No,” I panted, half with panic, half with rage. “I told you—you can forget it—”

  “Well, I can’t give you what you want if you don’t give me what I want” said Degamon. “You got the first one free. The rest, well, they’ll cost you.” It sighed at the look of horror on my face. “It’s how it works,” it said pointedly. It put its hands on its hips. “Really, what do they teach angel-born these days?”

  “I’ll do it.” Jax’s face was void of emotion. “I’ll give you my name if you tell us who summoned you and the name of the demon who killed my sister.”

  “Ahhhh,” breathed Degamon, eyes gleaming. It pressed the tips of its fingers together with both hands. “Now we’re getting somewhere. Interesting.”

  I whirled around. “No way.” Panic spiked through my veins. “I’m not letting you do this.” If anyone could resist the ramifications of giving their name to a demon, it was me. I was already damaged. I could take it.

  “It’s fine,” said Jax, though the creasing of his brow told me otherwise. “I want to know if it killed my sister. I’ve spent most of my life looking for her killer. This is my chance. I’m willing to give up my name to find out.” The pain in his eyes wrenched at my heart.

  “Besides, I’m not the one who summoned it, so it can’t break free from the circle, right? I’m the only one who can. I have to do this.” Jax gave me a look, and I could tell he believed the demon’s claim on his name would disappear as soon as I banished it. But it still made me nervous.

  “What will it be? Hmmm?” prompted Degamon.

  “I hope he knows what he’s doing,” whispered Tyrius, his brow creased in concern, but Jax didn’t take his eyes off the Greater demon.

  Me too, I thought, my heart pounding.

  Jax ran his eyes over the demon, and I saw only pure hatred there. “Just so we’re clear, I’ll give you my name if you tell me the name of the demon who killed my sister and the person who summoned you to kill the Unmarked. Agreed?”