Minor Magics: The Demon Code

by Sara C. Roethle

  I walked past them to the fridge/freezer and pulled out a box of plain frozen waffles. “I wouldn’t get your hopes up.” I gestured with the box toward Chase, who nodded. Out of the three of us, Dorrie was the one with the sweet tooth.

  I stuck the waffles in the toaster, then took a seat at the table, wishing our old coffee pot could brew a little faster. “Do you want to go with us to the warehouse?” I asked, my gaze on Dorrie.

  She shook her head. “I’m going to work, Pumpkin. We can’t just leave the office abandoned for days on end. What if a potential client shows up?”

  I doubted any clients would be banging down the door, but she had a point. I turned to Chase, feeling like I should say something about how we’d left things the previous night, but before I could, he stood and walked toward the coffee pot.

  I turned in my seat and watched as he withdrew three mugs from the cabinet. He filled each with a splash of the heavy cream already sitting on the counter, then added three scoops of sugar to one cup before filling them all with coffee. Holding two mugs in one hand and one in the other like a seasoned pro, he brought them to the table, setting the sugar laden cup in front of Dorrie.

  It didn’t bother me that he remembered how we both took our coffee. Not. At. All.

  I glared down at my cup.

  “I’m sorry about last night,” he said as he sat. “I shouldn’t have joked around about paying you.”

  I could be such a jerk sometimes. “Don’t worry about it.” I took a sip of my coffee, then offered him a smile.

  “Well kiddos,” Dorrie said as she stood. “I’m going to go get dressed.”

  I took in the red blouse and charcoal slacks covering her white glittery skin as she walked off with her mug in hand.

  “Is it just me,” Chase began, “or is she already dressed?”

  I scowled, knowing Dorrie had always hoped Chase would come back into our lives. I’d have to withdraw my earlier thought about her being a good roommate. “You know Dorrie. She rarely makes any sense.” I glanced back at our waffles as they popped up. “Let’s eat on the way out.”

  Chase fetched the waffles while I poured our coffees into travel mugs, then we headed out. I opted to leave Alexius behind this time, because I really didn’t think we’d find anything. We’d probably just need to head back to the mortal realm to check in with Jason and Devin. Hopefully they’d found a lead for us to follow. I really was the worst detective ever.

  I grabbed my black winter coat on the way out, then Chase handed me a napkin-wrapped waffle, and I handed him a travel mug as I switched my breakfast from hand to hand maneuvering into my coat. I didn’t bother locking the door since Dorrie would allegedly be heading out soon . . . not that locks did much good against demons. If it wasn’t against demon law I would have tried to bring a witch down to ward the house. As a half-demon, the wards didn’t bother me as much as they would a pureblood. Of course, getting a witch to agree to visit the underground would be another story entirely.

  Chase was quiet as we walked past the other houses on the street, some like normal human houses, and others with curves and accents that looked like something out of a Dali painting.

  Having seen the houses countless times before, I turned my attention to Chase. “You worried?”

  He nodded, his waffle and coffee both seemingly forgotten in his hands.

  I took a bite of my own waffle, then pressed, “You know I’ll help you go on the run if it comes to it. I won’t leave you stranded down here.”

  He shook his head. “That’s not what I’m worried about. I’m worried about dragging you down with me.”

  I waved him off with my travel mug. “Nah, the Council loves me. You need to worry about yourself.”

  He glanced at me, then turned his gaze back to the street ahead. We were reaching the more busy part of town, but it was early enough there weren’t too many demons out. “The Council has had an eye on you since you were a teenager, Xoe. They would have loved to recruit your father, but I think they want you even more.”

  “Yeah, portal-making demons are rare, but I don’t think we’re really that coveted with the travel spheres around.”

  He gave me a look that said I was being stupid. “Your portals can take you to the Dream Realm. It’s a place few can go.”

  I took another bite of my waffle. What he’d said wasn’t entirely true. I knew the Council employed a certain type of demon called a Dreamer. Those demons could visit the Dream Realm in their sleep all they wanted. The only difference was that I could go physically, and I could take others with me.

  “Okay,” I sighed, “so maybe the Council has very good reasons for wanting me, but they can’t force me to do anything.” I sidestepped around a female demon with glistening green skin and perfectly round blue eyes, giving her a wide berth. I’d run into her kind before, and their skin was just as slimy as it looked.

  Chase watched the demon move past, then continued, “They already are forcing you to do something. They’re forcing you to involve yourself in the matter with the witches and vampires.”

  I took a sip of my coffee, stuffed the rest of my waffle in my mouth, then shrugged as I chewed. “Yeah, but I would have done that anyway. As much as Rose might hate me now, I would never just let her deal with the vamps on her own, and if anyone threatens the wolves, I’ll be there to back them up.”

  “And the Council knows that.”

  “Hmph,” I replied, not wanting to discuss it further. So what if the Council knew I would help my friends? How could that possibly be held against me?

  Don’t answer that.

  I sipped my coffee as we neared the street leading down to the docks. If we didn’t find anything there, we’d be heading straight back to Devin’s.

  I glanced at Chase’s rumpled clothes. Maybe we’d head back to his place, then to Devin’s.

  Chase stopped in his tracks. “What did you do with the knife?”

  “What kind of amateur do you take me for?” I scoffed. “The knife is safely hidden in a place no one will ever find it.” Okay, it was hidden in my messy closet, but still.

  I was ready to continue being offended by his assumptions, but his gaze had narrowed at something in the distance. The scent of smoke hit my nostrils.

  I groaned. “How much you want to bet the warehouse will be a pile of ash by the time we get there?”

  He shook his head. “I can’t bet you. Dorrie made it quite clear you’re broke.”

  I scowled at him, but didn’t argue as he started forward again. We hurried the rest of the way down the street and onto the docks. It didn’t take us long to reach the fire.

  I stared at the burning building, wondering where the crate of spheres might be now.

  Chase glanced around at the gathering crowd. “There goes any more clues.”

  I nodded. “We really need to find Nix. I have a feeling if we find Nix, we find the demons who did this.” I gestured with my mug toward the burning building.

  More demons drew near, lured by the fire. They muttered amongst themselves, not paying us any mind. I half expected to see black hoodie guy around, but it was probably just wishful thinking.

  “You mind if we stop by my house before we head up?” Chase asked, drawing me out of my thoughts.

  “Sure,” I said distantly. What could have been in the warehouse that they didn’t want us to find? Whoever they were, they had to know we’d already seen the spheres, so why not just take them? Why burn it down?

  I felt a hand alight on my shoulder. I turned to look up at Chase.

  “You alright?”

  “I’m fine.” I turned back toward the burning building. Things weren’t quite adding up, and there was one other little thing bothering me.

  I was the one who was supposed to light things on fire.

  Chapter Eleven

  I ran my hand across the clean countertop at Chase’s small apartment. He’d retreated to the bedroom to pack a bag, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I walked arou
nd the counter then opened a drawer, wondering if it was the drawer where they’d found the alleged murder weapon. If Chase really didn’t know about the spheres, then why set him up? Why plant the knife at his place?

  “You ready?” Chase asked, reentering the room with a duffel bag slung over his shoulder.

  “As I’ll ever be.” I held out my hand to him.

  He closed the distance between us and took it. “Do you think the Council knows you’re including me in your new traveling privileges?”

  I blinked at him. “I actually hadn’t thought about it. I know they can track when we travel, but I have no idea if they can tell when we take someone with us.” I frowned. “In that vein, I wonder if they could track when Sam traveled.”

  Still seemingly absentmindedly clutching my hand, he shook his head. “I doubt it, unless they can track ghosts. Sam didn’t use his own magic to transport himself, he used theirs.”

  My frown deepened. Sam had always been a pain to nail down because he could quickly escape with the ghosts he could summon with a thought. They could hide him in plain sight too.

  “What is it?” Chase pressed.

  I shook my head. “Just wondering what sort of demon finally got the jump on Sam. The only way we were ever able to pin him down was to use witches to summon him.”

  His brow furrowed. “Do you think it was witches who killed him? Not a demon?”

  “That doesn’t explain how someone got into your apartment in the underground to plant the knife.”

  “Unless they were working with a demon,” he countered.

  I thought about what he’d said. We really had no reason to believe witches were involved, except that Sam would have been difficult to contain long enough to be killed. “Witches working with demons,” I mused. “They’d have to be pretty desperate.”

  “It’s happened before.”

  Yeah, it had happened before, when a demon named Bartimus had manipulated a group of witches and werewolves into sacrificing other supernaturals. Most of them ended up dead.

  “Speculating will do us no good now,” I said. “Let’s head up and see if Jason has learned anything about the innkeeper. Maybe he’ll have a lead on Nix.”

  I turned to find Chase watching me intently. “You two seem pretty chummy again.”

  I glared at him. “Who I’m chummy with is none of your damn business.”

  The corner of his lip quirked up. “Well in case you were wondering, I haven’t been getting chummy with anyone.”

  “I wasn’t,” I grumbled, focusing my thoughts on the picture of Devin’s front door I had in my mind.

  We were surrounded in a burst of smoke, then seconds later, appeared on Devin’s gravel drive where we were pelleted by stinging cold raindrops.

  Ducking my head, I dropped Chase’s hand and rushed toward the house, seeking the refuge of the awning. We reached safety together, then both turned to peer out at the rain. It was cold enough it was probably just on the edge of turning into snow. There were two cars parked further down the drive, letting me know both Devin and Jason were home.

  “I really wasn’t wondering,” I reiterated.

  “Sure you weren’t.” He turned and lifted a hand to knock on the door, but it was already opening.

  I took in Jason’s bruised face and torn clothing. “What happened?”

  He glanced past us warily, then opened the door the rest of the way, inviting us in. “I went to speak with the innkeeper one more time, just to see if I could get anything else out of her, and I was jumped by four vamps.” He shut the door after us, then turned to Chase. “They had a message for you.”

  I put my hands on my hips, my gaze intent on Chase as he lowered his duffel bag to the entryway tiles. “Is there something you want to tell us?”

  He shook his head and sighed. “Do you honestly think I know something about the vampires that I haven’t told you?”

  “It’s not like that,” Jason interrupted. “The message was for me too. They said that any demon or vampire working with the wolves has until the full moon to reconsider their allegiances.”

  Of course it was the full moon. Vampires were always so . . . old school. “So the message was for me too?”

  Jason shrugged. “They didn’t mention you.”

  I stroked my chin. The only time Chase had been seen by anyone with a wolf was at the inn, and I’d been seen there too. Why wasn’t I included? “So what happens if you don’t reconsider your allegiances?”

  Jason raked his fingers through his hair, stopping halfway through with a wince. Vampires healed faster than most other supernatural races, but the injuries still hurt until they were gone. “I didn’t exactly have time to ask questions, but I assume that’s when they’ll make their move. They’re going to start the war, and are giving us a chance to defect to their side.”

  I leaned my back against the wall near the door. “Great, just great. War is just what we need right now.”

  “I imagine they saw us at the inn,” Jason added, “and suspected we’d return. I wonder if they know something about what happened to Nix.”

  Chase nodded. “Or they’re the ones who took her, though who knows how they found her. I wonder if our witch theory might actually prove true.”

  “Witch theory?” Jason questioned, lifting an eyebrow with a deep gash in it.

  “We were just thinking that maybe witches were involved in killing Sam,” I explained. “He wasn’t an easy demon to catch. Now the vamps, or whoever took her, were able to track Nix. Witches are the best trackers when there’s no scent trail to follow.”

  Devin walked in from the direction of the kitchen, a steaming mug of coffee in his hand. “So Sam was involved not only with the vampires, but the witches?” He turned his questioning gaze to Chase.

  “I don’t know,” he sighed. “Please stop looking at me like I was somehow involved in all this.”

  “Well,” Devin said, gesturing with his mug toward me, “you did leave our poor, sweet, defenseless Alexondra all on her own so you could gallivant about with your criminal brother. You cannot blame us for being at least slightly suspicious.”

  “Now, now,” I said, glancing at Chase, then back to Devin. “You forgot beautiful, charming, and more clever than the most ancient of demons.”

  “Yes,” Chase mumbled, “no reason to stand up for me, it’s fine.”

  I was ready with another sarcastic remark, when a knock sounded at the door.

  Jason moved past us and opened it. “Can I help you?”

  “No,” a woman’s voice hissed, “but I can help you. May I come in?”

  Recognizing the voice, I hurried toward the door, shoving my way past Jason. Audrey, the innkeeper of the Pinetop, stood framed in the doorway. Raindrops glimmering on her red hair and navy trench coat.

  I pushed the door wide open, then gestured with a dramatic bow for her to step inside.

  She walked past me into the house. “Must demons always be so utterly infuriating?”

  “No,” Devin replied, still standing further in the entryway sipping his coffee. “That is a talent exclusive to Xoe.”

  Audrey looked to each of us as Jason shut the door, her gaze lingering on him as he moved to stand at my side. “My apologies. I take pride in my establishment being a safe place.”

  I raised my brows. “Safe? Someone just got kidnapped from there only yesterday.”

  She sneered. “I told you I don’t involve myself in the affairs of demons. Wolves and vampires, on the other hand, I must deal with on occasion. I have remained neutral in their affairs until now, but the vampires crossed a line this morning.”

  I glanced at Devin’s mug, wishing I had a cup, then back to Audrey. “Does this mean you’re now willing to tell us who took Nix?”

  She gave me a long appraisal. “No, as I said, I do not associate with demons.” She turned toward Devin. “I’ve simply come to offer you a warning. The vampires are planning something big. I believe this war you’ve been expecting is about
to begin.”

  Devin tilted his head. “And how would you know anything about it? You are neither vampire, nor werewolf.”

  “Yeah,” I butted in, “what the heck are you?”

  She gave me a look of distaste, then answered, “I am Fae.”

  It was probably good I didn’t have that cup of coffee, or I would have dumped it in surprise. “Are you kidding me?”

  “The Fae went extinct centuries ago,” Devin interrupted. “Do not take us for fools.”

  “You think we went extinct,” she countered, “and that is how we like it. Disguising our scents and magic is simple glamour. We’ve no need for policing by the Werewolf Coalition, and we’d rather remain under the radar of the Demon Council,” she said pointedly, turning back to me.

  “Then why did you tell us your race isn’t extinct?” I looked her up and down, wondering if the Fae appeared any different from humans. I knew next to nothing about them, given they’d disappeared long before I’d been born.

  She sucked her teeth, shifting ever so slightly from foot to foot. “Because the vampires figured it out, and now they’re trying to blackmail me. I refuse to be threatened by the undead.”

  “So you’re not really here to help us,” I observed. “You’re here because you want us to help you.”

  She gave a curt nod.

  “Okay,” I began, mulling things over, “Tell us what happened to Nix, and maybe we can discuss how to get you away from the vamps.”

  “Xoe,” Devin hissed. “You should not enter into deals with the Fae so lightly.”

  “One might say the same of entering into deals with demons,” Audrey countered.

  I stepped toward her. “So are you saying we have a deal?”

  “Xoe,” Chase cautioned. “Nix might not be worth this.”

  I glanced over my shoulder at him. “No, she really isn’t, but you are. I might be mad at you, but if we don’t figure things out soon you’re going to die.”

  “I told you I won’t involve myself in demon affairs,” Audrey growled, bringing my eyes back to her. “I’ll tell you what I know of Nix’s . . . situation, but my involvement with demons ends there. This is about the vampires.”