Minor Magics: The Demon Code

by Sara C. Roethle

  The whispers got closer.

  I waited until they reached the street. “Whose vehicles are these?” a female voice asked.

  Another female voice replied, “Does it matter? Let’s just find Nix and get out of here.”

  “I’m not sure,” the first voice said, clearly just on the other side of the SUV. “We don’t know how many vampires could be in there.”

  “It doesn’t matter, I can take them all out. We just have to be quick.”

  It was then that I lost any doubt of who these two whisperers were. I stood, spotting them across the hood. “You know there are probably other demons in there too. If you rush in you’re going to get yourselves killed.”

  Rose and Mel both turned toward me, horror clear in their expressions. They were both dressed all in black, like cliche spies.

  “Don’t look at me like that. I’m not that scary.”

  “She’s here to protect Nix,” Mel hissed.

  I leaned my elbows on the hood. “No, actually I’m here to find Allison. How did you find this place?”

  Mel simply glared, but Rose answered, “I scraped some metal from that blade. You know I don’t need much to track a demon.”

  So Nix really was here. Interesting. “So what? You thought you’d just charge right over, kill Nix, and get off unscathed.”

  The witches both shrugged. “Pretty much,” Rose answered. They both whirled around as Jason and Chase jogged out of the woods behind them.

  Mel turned around to glare daggers at me. “You may be a demon, but don’t get in our way. I can take you.”

  “I doubt that,” Jason commented as he walked past her around the hood of the SUV. He reached my side. “This whole area reeks of vampires. I think this might be the actual lair, or at least one of them. And Chase thinks Sam might be here. He can still sense the ghosts.”

  “I thought he was dead,” Rose and Mel said in unison.

  “Keep your voices down,” I chided. I turned to Chase. “What do you want to do? If we’re going in there, I’m calling for demon backup.”

  Mel charged around the SUV. “Don’t you dare. You’re not calling any more demons in here to protect Nix.”

  Chase stepped between her and me, facing Mel. “Actually, the demons she’d be calling would likely imprison her to await trial, but I don’t think we should call them just yet. I don’t want to risk Allison’s life by charging in blindly. Jason and I will sneak in and try to find her.”

  I lifted my eyebrows at his back. “Like hell you will.”

  “You don’t need to do that,” Mel argued. “I can knock out any vamps in a thirty foot radius. They won’t stay out for long, but long enough for you to find your friend, and for us to find Nix.”

  I didn’t argue with her about Nix. One demon at a time, as it were. “Okay, new plan. We won’t call the demon backup yet. Mel,” I looked to her around Chase, “you take out the vamps. I’ll go in the front and distract any demons inside. Rose, Jason, and Chase,” I looked to each of them, “you find Nix and Allison.” I hoped my silent eye contact would be enough for them to catch my drift. One of them could get Nix out before the witches killed her.

  Rose seemed unsure, but Mel nodded her agreement. “I’ll need to get near the house to make sure I get them all.” She glanced at Jason. “You might want to be far away for this first part.”

  “Alright,” I sighed. “I suppose it makes sense for you and I to go together. Everyone else, be ready.”

  Mel didn’t wait for me before she started walking. I had to jog after her, though I had half a mind to let her ass get killed by vamps on the way. She should have known better, even if she could handle a few vampires, because she was forgetting one important fact.

  If the vamps don’t get you, the demons will.

  Chapter Twenty

  Mel rushed on stupidly ahead of me. She might be able to disable vampires with a chant and a thought, but she obviously hadn’t dealt with a lot of them. At this rate, they’d hear her coming from a mile away. I pushed myself to run faster, then grabbed her arm, spinning her around.

  Her eyes widened. I’m not as strong as a vampire or werewolf, but I’m far stronger than your average human girl.

  “You better slow down, you’ll get yourself killed before you can do your little chant.”

  She tugged her arm free of my grip. “I know what I’m doing.”

  I grabbed her again. “No, you don’t. I may not particularly like you, but I’m only saying this to keep you alive. So stay by my side and keep quiet.” I let go and walked past her, turning my attention fully to our surroundings.

  She followed silently behind me.

  The house ahead was in even worse shape than the old Victorian I’d visited earlier that night. Hopefully Stanos and the other ancient vampires weren’t here. I wasn’t sure if Mel’s spell would work on them. She didn’t speak or try to take charge as we neared the house, but I knew it wouldn’t last for long. She was even more foolhardy than I was.

  I stopped and hid behind a tree near the street.

  Mel’s shoulder brushed mine.

  I glanced at her. “This is as close as we can get without alerting anyone. Our only advantage is that they don’t know we’re coming, and I’d like to keep it that way.”

  She nodded, then closed her eyes. Her voice went deeper with her chant, Latin I guessed, but I’ve never been good with other languages.

  I waited while she chanted. I could feel magic curling off her, like twisting tendrils of smoke. It made me uneasy. Most witches needed a coven to perform any meaningful magic. They needed tools, ritual, and the combined power of a group. Mel was different. Hell, Mel might not even be entirely human. Too bad I didn’t have anyone to ask about it, though maybe Abel would know.

  Mel’s breath hissed out at the end of her chant. “It’s done, they should be out, but we have to hurry. The more powerful ones won’t stay out for long.”

  “I’ll go first. If there are demons inside I’m more likely to survive their attacks.” I stepped out around the tree and marched toward the house. The time for stealthiness was over, we needed to get in, get Nix and hopefully Allison, and get out.

  I spotted the shadowy outlines of Jason, Chase, and Rose heading toward the back of the house. At least I hoped it was them. No time to find out.

  I reached the front door and tested the doorknob. It was loose, the screws holding it in place worn over time, but also locked. I lifted my foot, then kicked the door in.

  Mel reached my side. “I didn’t know half-demons could be stronger than humans, physically I mean.”

  “I didn’t know witches could cast powerful magics without a coven.” I didn’t wait for reply. Instead I took my cell phone out of my pocket and used the flashlight function to light my way. Stupid Ethan, the phone he gave me had no flashlight. He really expected me to be stuck with only that?

  The floorboards creaked loudly under my weight, loud enough that I began to worry the floor wasn’t stable. Maybe Chase was wrong, maybe he hadn’t sensed ghosts and he’d taken us on a wild goose chase. The house seemed empty.

  Mel’s “Eep!” was the only warning I had before a man dove forth out of the shadows. I could’ve sworn he hadn’t been there a moment before. My breath went out of me as we both hit the ground with me on the bottom. I grabbed on to him, summoning my magic, then the place filled with the stench of burnt flesh.

  He screamed and rolled off me, running toward the edge of the room. There weren’t any doors that I could see, but the shadows there seemed to swallow him.

  I hurried to my feet, grabbing my cell phone where it had fallen before shining the light in his direction. Suddenly he was revealed.

  “He can work the shadows to hide him,” I called back to Mel.

  The demon looked side to side for a way to escape. He was young, with shaggy red hair, baggy pants, and a holey shirt. It seemed Stanos wasn’t above recruiting teenagers, though I suddenly realized I was above killing them.

&nbs
p; “Things are about to go south, kid.” I gestured toward the door with my free hand. “This is your one and only get out of jail free card, but I better never see you again.”

  He took one last glance around the room, then ran out the door.

  Mel stormed up behind me. “He was a demon!” she hissed. “How could you just let him go?”

  I snarled my lip at her. “He was just a kid, and just half demon, maybe less. The vampires probably forced him to work with them, just like they’re trying to force you.”

  I bumped her shoulder as I walked past her further into the house, preparing myself for the next attack. The space wasn’t large, we wouldn’t have far to search, but I was really beginning to doubt there was anything to find. A true lair wouldn’t have just a young, inexperienced demon guarding the door. This was just like the last place. Had Stanos known I’d come here too?

  I aimed the light of my phone at a noise down the end of a long hall. It illuminated Jason, behind him Rose and Chase.

  He raised his hands in surrender. “No fireballs please, what happened? We heard a scuffle. A vampire ran past us out the back. He didn’t even try to fight.”

  “Demon kid,” I explained as I approached. “No vamps in the front. I’m beginning to think we have the wrong place.”

  Chase’s gray eyes seemed to reflect the light of my phone. “No, I still sense ghosts. Follow me, we have to be quick.”

  I walked beside Jason, and Rose fell into step beside Mel as we followed Chase down another hall. It ended with a closed door. Chase kicked it in, then rushed down the dark stairs with Jason hot on his heels.

  I looked at the stairs before rushing down. Of course it was a basement. There was always a basement.

  I hurried down. If Sam really was alive, we had to catch him before he could escape with his ghosts.

  The first person I spotted in the light of one dull, glowing bulb was Sam, alive and well.

  Clearly startled, he looked to his brother and Jason, then to me. The witches he ignored. He turned to Nix, who stood beside him unharmed. “I told you I heard something.”

  The two vampires, one male and one female, were silent behind them. The rest of the room was well-stocked. Three beds lined one wall. A mini fridge, camp stove, and large basin sink were along the other. A few duffel bags and some clothes were scattered about. This had clearly been a hideout for a while. Probably since Sam had first disappeared.

  I moved to Chase’s side.

  His entire body seemed to tremble. “Sam, what the hell is going on?”

  Sam raked his fingers through his black hair, cut shorter than Chase’s. Their faces and eyes were similar, though Sam was a few years older, and a few inches shorter. His white T-shirt and black jeans were clean and he was well fed. He wasn’t a prisoner in this place. He was working with the ancient vamps.

  Nix looked well too, if a little battered and bruised. She still wore the green flannel I’d last seen her in when Jason and I dropped her off.

  Sam watched me more than anyone else as he backed away toward the vamps.

  I lit a ball of fire in my hand. “Don’t even think about it. You were there at that house tonight where we met Stanos. Where is Allison?”

  He smirked. “I’m a demon, Xoe, the most you’ll do with that is light my clothes on fire, and you’re not close enough to burn me with your hands.”

  He was right, his demonic aura would protect him from my fireballs to an extent. I’d need to actually be touching him to do serious harm.

  The room went cold as he summoned his ghosts. The gray and white phantom shapes swirled around him. You couldn’t really see them, not really. If you looked right at them maybe you’d see some mist, but if you looked out of the corner of your eye, the phantoms actually took shape.

  Chase stepped forward. “I don’t think so. I’m owed an explanation.” He lifted his hands and the ghosts seemed to dissipate.

  My jaw dropped. I knew he’d come into his powers a bit in our time apart. He’d been able to sense ghosts before that, but he could never control them. I doubted he had Sam’s level of control, but if he could stop him from escaping, it was enough.

  Nix backed up, her eyes darting back and forth like a cornered animal. She’d clearly expected to escape with Sam, which meant she was working with the vampires now too.

  “Was that phone call just a trick?” I asked. “You made it sound like you been kidnapped.”

  “She was,” Sam explained, “just not for the reasons you might think. We want to work with the half-demons, not kill them.”

  I let my flame go out. If I wasn’t throwing it right away, there was no point to maintaining it. “How about you get to telling us those reasons, though I’d primarily like to know how you could allow your brother to be framed for your murder. The Council would have killed him had he gone down for it.”

  “They still might,” Chase added bitterly.

  The two vampires, silent until now, looked at each other.

  “I don’t think so,” I warned. “The time has come for answers. Where are you keeping Allison?”

  “Stupid girl,” the woman said, her voice thick with a French accent. “We can easily cloud your mind. You cannot keep us here.”

  I edged a little closer to the landing, just in case they tried to rush past me. “Yeah, maybe I can’t keep you here, but I have a feeling you fled here with these two when we showed up at the other house,” I nodded toward Sam and Nix, “and you’re probably not supposed to let them out of your sight.”

  The woman’s pouty lips sealed into a tight line. She stepped back. “Hurry it up then. Stanos may want you alive, but he does not care about your friends.”

  Rose and Mel were arguing quietly behind me. I turned, having a feeling they were about to do something stupid, but I was too late. Mel muttered a chant, then extended something long, thin, and covered in crystals that I could only think of as a wand toward Nix. There was no rush of light or sparks or anything you might expect from a witch’s wand, in fact you couldn’t see anything at all, but Nix screamed and crumpled to her knees.

  Ignoring Nix’s screams, Sam stepped toward his brother. “This is going nowhere. I’m sorry Chase, I had no idea you would be framed for my murder. In fact, I framed someone else, just to make sure nothing happened to you. I infused a demon construct with my blood, and killed him with the knife I planted in the warehouse. It should have been a simply case. I don’t know who would want you to go down for this.”

  Chase shook his head and stepped back. “I don’t care what you thought would happen. I was still going to go down for your death, and I still believed that my own brother was murdered. How could you do this to me?”

  Nix had stopped screaming, reduced to a panting puddle on the floor. The vampires stood back and watched quietly.

  I stepped toward Chase and put a hand on his arm before he could throttle his brother. Not that I didn’t want him to throttle his brother, but I had a question to ask first. I looked to Sam. “You were trying to frame Nix, weren’t you? You ran off with her money, and wanted to make sure she’d never be able to figure out you were still alive, so you planted that bloody knife in the warehouse. You knew it could be tracked back to her.”

  Sam rolled his eyes at me. “Do you have to always be such a pain? I tell you, the day you and my brother broke up was a wonderful day.”

  My body seemed to move of its own volition as I marched right up and punched him in the jaw.

  He rocked back from the force of the blow, then dabbed at a bit of blood at the corner of his lip. “I see you still haven’t managed to control your temper any better either.”

  “No. It’s gotten worse. Now where is Allison?”

  He lowered his hand from his lip. “You’ll have to speak with Stanos to find her. I don’t know where the vamps took her.”

  Mel was beginning to chant again. Nix still hadn’t managed to stand.

  I pointed a finger at Mel. “Mel, hit her again and I will light you o
n fire. The adults are talking right now, so you are just going to have to wait your turn.”

  “You were trying to frame me?” Nix rasped, her pained gaze on Sam.

  Sam didn’t even have the grace to look the tiniest bit guilty. “You were an easy target. I really didn’t expect Xoe to take an interest in you. That put a kink in my plans.”

  “That’s enough talking,” the male vampire cut in. “Stanos will tell the demon what he wants her to know.” His gaze flicked upward. “I think someone else is here.”

  “Sorry, brother,” Sam said just before he cocked back his fist.

  Jason was just a blur of movement, shoving Sam aside before he could hit Chase. All hell broke loose. I tried to track the ancient vampires’ movements, but couldn’t follow them. Before I knew it, the two vamps and Nix were gone.

  Sam and Jason tussled on the floor for a moment, then Jason pinned him.

  Sam stopped struggling. “You don’t understand.” Panic strained his voice. He turned his head toward Chase. “If the Council finds me, I’m done for. They know I stole their travel spheres. That’s a death sentence in and of itself. If they find out I’m working with Stanos—”

  Footsteps sounded at the top of the stairs behind us. I doubted it was the vamps and Nix coming back. I wasn’t even the least bit surprised when Ethan, Legs, and Mouse entered the room. I didn’t know where Chuckles was, but couldn’t say that I missed him.

  “Damn it,” Sam cursed.

  Jason climbed off of him while Mel tugged Rose to the back corner of the basement, away from the newly arrived demons.

  Ethan stepped into the room, straightening his suit coat, though it didn’t need it. “Witches, werewolves, vampires, and demons. You really do get around, Ms. Meyers.”

  I put my hands on my hips. “There aren’t any werewolves here. How did you find us?”

  Mouse and Legs stood behind him like double shadows. “You were supposed to call me when you had another lead.”

  I stared at him, waiting for an answer. Sam had climbed to his feet, but he hadn’t summoned any ghosts to carry him away. Chase might’ve been stopping him, but I thought it more likely that one of the Demon Council was doing it. I knew even after everything, Chase wouldn’t want his brother to die.