Demon Slayer

by Linsey Hall

  I was familiar with that, being in the info business myself. “Thanks.”

  “No problem. I’m going to go tie us off.” She let go of the wheel and passed by me, hurrying to the bow and jumping off as the boat drifted gently into a little space made just for it.

  I followed, leaping off before she had the boat tied up, and gave her a quick wave. “Thanks for the tip.”

  “No problem. Good luck.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Oh, hey.” She turned to me. “That angel couldn’t keep his eyes off you. And if I were you, I don’t think I’d say no.”

  Neither did I. And that was the problem.

  I just nodded and turned, hurrying down the dock that bobbed underfoot. It was still dark out, but dawn would come soon. I hoped Florence was out.

  Declan was nowhere to be seen, unfortunately.

  About fifty yards later, after I’d passed a half dozen houseboats of varying sizes, I spotted a small woman sitting at the front step of her immaculate houseboat. It was shaped like the sun, perfectly round and bright yellow. Flowers tumbled from window boxes.

  Thank fates Florence was an early riser.

  The woman’s dress was bright purple, and her hands flew over needles that knitted yarn that looked like liquid silver. I stopped in front of her. “Florence?”

  She looked up, eyes bright. “Yes?”

  “The ferry captain said that you’re the person who sees everything. I wondered if you noticed a demon pass by here a few hours ago.”

  Her eyes sharpened. “Big one, gray horns, and a green gem in its forehead?”

  “That’s the one.”

  She shook her head. “Nope, didn't see him.”

  “But you just described him!”

  She grinned. “Just keeping you on your toes. Yes, I did see him.”

  “Where did he go?”

  She laughed. “As if I’d give away that information for free!”

  “Payment?” I could work with that. “What do you want?”

  “Let me read your fortune.”

  “That doesn’t sound like payment. Sounds like I’m getting a twofer.”

  “Do you want your fortune read?”

  “Well, no.” I really wasn’t into that kind of thing. What if it were bad?

  “Then it’s not a twofer.”

  “But why do you want to read my fortune?”

  “I’m bored.”

  I frowned, not sure that I liked her reasoning. “What else do you want? How about money?”

  Mari and I charged so much for our blood sorcery business that I could afford it.

  “I already said what I wanted.” She kept knitting, her attention wandering from me.

  “Fine.” I knelt at her side and held out my palm. “Have at it.”

  “I’m no charlatan.” She dropped her knitting needles and gripped my temples, lifting my face up so I was forced to look into her eyes.

  I jerked back, hard, but her grip was too strong. My heart thundered in my ears as her pupils grew wide and consumed her irises. My whole body began to vibrate, as if she were reaching into my soul and shaking me.

  Holy fates!

  I struggled, trying to break free, but it was impossible.

  As quickly as it had started, it ended. The woman removed her hands and sat back, looking younger suddenly.

  “Hey!” I stood. “You didn’t read my fortune. You stole energy.”

  It was an uncommon type of magic, and only a few species had it. I couldn’t tell what she was, but I was feeling a bit more tired. And she looked a hell of a lot perkier. Magical energy was finite. After using it up, one had to rest. This was the last thing I needed on a demon hunt.

  “Tsk-tsk.” She shook her head. “I did read your fortune, dear.”

  “But you also took energy.”

  “That too.” She smiled. “Don’t you want to know what I saw?”

  “Not really.”

  “Not the future but the past. You are from Grimrealm.”

  My skin chilled. “You shouldn’t be able to read the past.”

  That was an extremely rare talent. Even rarer than the energy sucking. What was she?

  “Well, I can.” She gave me a hard look. “You’re hunting the demon with a man.”

  “Not with a man.”

  “That’s what you think. But you’ll only succeed if you’re together.”

  Yeah, I didn’t like the sound of that.

  “And you’ll want to succeed, dear. Oh yes, you will.” Her eyes gleamed with warning.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Now you’re interested?”

  “You’re really laying it on thick, you know. Of course I’m interested.”

  “If you don’t catch the demon, the secret of your origin will be revealed to the world.”

  I shrugged, but I doubted I was able to hide the fear that probably shined in my eyes. “So what? There are a lot of people from Grimrealm.”

  But still, I didn’t want it getting out far and wide that I was from Grimrealm, not considering that my family was still alive and hunting me and Mari.

  “Not that many Dragon Bloods from Grimrealm.” Her eyes twinkled, but it was more malevolent than cheerful.

  “I’m a Blood Sorceress.” The words almost shook as I said them. “I have no idea what you mean by Dragon Blood.”

  “Whatever you say, dear.” The woman shrugged, and I really didn’t like her.

  Since there was no convincing her away from the truth—she’d seen it herself, after all—I needed to move this conversation along. “The demon? Where did he go? I’ve given you what you want, so it’s your turn.”

  “He went to visit Marie, the voodoo priestess. I don’t know why.”

  “Where do I find her?”

  “Three docks down, four over. Cross the long bridge. She’s at the end. But be careful. It’s not easy to get to her unless you’re invited.”

  “But not impossible.”

  “Not impossible.”

  I nodded, not bothering to thank her. Quick as I could, I nicked my finger with my sharp thumbnail and let blood rise. Then I lunged, swiping the white blood across her forehead. “Forget of me, I will of thee.”

  Her eyes glazed over, and the swipe of blood on her forehead faded. Satisfaction suppressed some of the fear that shivered through me. At least she wouldn’t remember what she’d seen. Before I’d turned away, she’d already started working on her silver yarn again.

  I left her where she was, knitting away, and hurried down the dock. Her directions were easy to follow—three down, four over. I passed by houses that bobbed gently on the bay, all manner of style and color. It was a pretty fantastic place, really.

  By the time I’d gone the three over, the atmosphere was distinctly different. There were no more houses, and the dock that stretched out in front of me was long and lonely.

  A house sat at the end, a tall three-story structure that leaned slightly left. Green and purple magic swirled in the air around the roof, and it was clear that Marie was up to something. Also, she didn't like neighbors.

  I stepped onto the dock that stretched toward her house and jogged over the long expanse. I’d only gone about five meters when it began to undulate beneath my feet. I stumbled, barely managing to catch myself before going into the water.

  The dock moved like waves on the ocean, up and down, and it took everything I had to maintain my balance. I so did not want to get wet. It was one thing to swim in the ocean. It was another thing to get the wet rat treatment.

  Soon, the dock was undulating ten feet in the air.

  Ah, crap.

  I dropped to my hands and knees and crawled as I clung to the slats. Slowly, I inched over the wobbling bridge.

  When the dock flipped over, my heart leapt into my throat. I hung on tightly, my legs dangling over the water as my breath heaved. Beneath me, silver fish rose to the surface, snapping their jaws.

  Ah, crap.

  This was not piranha t
erritory, but that didn’t mean these fish couldn’t eat me alive. I began to swing, finally managing to get my legs up onto the dock and pull myself around onto the top side.

  It was arched ten feet in the air when it began to flip upright, and I dropped to my hands and knees then scrambled around so I was on top of it as it slammed back into the water. Cold ocean splashed up on me, and the dock began to rise once more.

  Holy fates, this had to stop.

  I looked around, but saw no one.

  Carefully, I slit my finger with my sharp thumbnail. Blood welled, along with my magic. I envisioned breaking the charm on this bridge, forcing it to lie still and normal.

  I needed to be very careful with this blood magic. It was rare I’d use it three times in a day, but desperate times and all. This was still a slippery slope, creating new magic. As long as I kept it tiny and temporary, I should be okay.

  And I had to catch this damned demon.

  “Crack and break, my will to make,” I murmured. I let my blood drip onto the dock, imagining the spell breaking. Magic snapped in the air, and the dock lay still.

  Thank fates.

  The fish still snapped their jaws on either side of the dock, but I ignored them and scrambled to my feet. I sprinted toward the house, determined to get this over with.

  When the first fish flew out of the water, I didn’t see it until it smacked me in the cheek, slicing my flesh. Pain welled.

  Freaking fantastic.

  More fish.

  Another one flew out of the water, leaping toward my head. I ducked, but a third had jumped for me, its sharp fins slicing my arm.

  “Ouch!” I winced. My jacket protected against small blades, but these guys were sharp.

  “Back off or I’ll turn you into sushi.” I drew my mace from the ether and calmed my mind, making it easier to see and sense the fish as they flew at me.

  The spiked ball was a blur as I swung it at them, smacking the fish as they flew through the air. By the time I reached the house at the end of the dock, I was wet and speckled with fish blood, my breath heaving. Fish were impaled on the spikes of the mace.

  Ew.

  This was not going well.

  I stopped in front of the door, dunking the mace in the water a few times to dislodge the impaled fish. Once it was clean, I stowed it in the ether. Before my fist could make contact with the door, it swung open.

  A beautiful woman leaned against the doorframe, her arms crossed over her chest and her brows raised. Her dark skin glowed with a beautiful light, and her black hair was a riot of curls around her head. The red dress that clung tightly to her figure made her look like she should be walking the catwalk somewhere.

  “Marie?” I asked.

  “The one and only.” She leaned over to look at the dock, which now lay still. “I see you made it all the way here. That’s unusual.”

  “Quite the protection setup you’ve got going.”

  “You must be desperate.”

  “I usually am.”

  Marie chuckled. “You don’t feel dangerous. What do you want?”

  “I’m looking for a necromancer demon. He’s dangerous.”

  “Of course he is. It’s in his name.” She looked me up and down. “And you’re covered in fish blood.”

  “Better than fish guts.” I gave a weak smile.

  She waved a hand in front of her, murmuring something low under her breath. Magic filled the air, the sound of revelers followed by the taste of cognac. My skin tingled, and I looked down.

  All the fish blood was gone.

  I looked back up at her. “Thanks.”

  “I had to. Can’t let you in otherwise.” She turned and waved me inside. “Come on.”

  I entered a house that was a riot of color. She led me to a room that was laid out similarly to my workshop at home, though it smelled different. The fire crackled, shedding light on the jewel-tone jars that sat on the shelves. I didn’t recognize a lot of the ingredients, but then, she was a voodoo priestess and I was a Blood Sorceress.

  “Can you tell me where the necromancer demon went?” I asked.

  “For a price.” She sat in a big chair by the fire and crossed one leg over the other. “What are you?”

  “’What can you do for me?’ Is that what you mean?”

  “Exactly.”

  “I’m a Blood Sorceress.”

  Her brows rose, and interest gleamed in her eyes. “Excellent. If you make me a concealment charm—a really strong one—I’ll help you.”

  I frowned. “You could probably make one, though, I bet.”

  “I could. But the person I’m hiding from has the same magic I do. He’d be able to track it and break it.” Her dark eyes took on a haunted look, and her skin paled slightly. I decided I hated whoever she was hiding from. Clearly, he’d hurt her and scared the shit out of her. “I need a type of charm he can’t detect.”

  I nodded. Made sense. It’d be tough, though. I chewed my lip, hoping I could pull it off without Mari. We normally worked as a team, and it helped. “Is that why you have the crazy dock that leads to your house?”

  “Precisely.”

  “Okay, I can do a charm if you have the ingredients.” I walked toward her shelves, wondering how she made a living if she was hiding out here, away from the rest of town. Maybe her customers had invitations. “Do you have any root of Hesperus?”

  “Blue bottle, bottom shelf.”

  I bent down and grabbed it, then kept searching. “So, who is this guy? Ex-boyfriend?”

  I didn’t like the idea of her hiding from some ex. That was a shitty way to live, always hunted, ever on the lookout.

  I’d know.

  “Long ago,” she said.

  I turned to her. “I could kill him if you like.”

  I wasn’t big into killing, but I’d take out an abuser with a smile on my face. So okay, I was kind of into killing. Killing the right sorts. The sorts who had lost their living privileges, as I liked to call it.

  She grinned. “I like you.”

  “I like me, too.” I studied her. “So, that’s a no on the killing?”

  “Maybe if he gets past this concealment charm. But I’ve got a feeling you want to keep hunting this demon of yours.”

  “True.” I did need to catch this bastard, and a deviation to kill her ex didn’t fit into my schedule, no matter how fun it would be. I turned back to the shelves and found a few more ingredients that I needed. There was no time to dawdle.

  I set my cache on the table in front of the fire and looked at her. “This will be stronger if you have some of his blood on hand. He really won’t be able to find you, then.”

  She smiled, a bloodthirsty grin, and rose to move quickly to a box that sat on a table on the far side of the room. She withdrew a small dagger and handed it to me. “Will this do?”

  I inspected the dark stain on the steel. “Sure will. Too bad you didn't kill him with this, though.”

  “You’re telling me.”

  I worked quickly, pouring tiny amounts of the liquid ingredients into a small onyx bowl. I turned so that Marie couldn’t see and sliced my finger with my thumbnail, used to the pain by now. A few drops of white blood dropped into the bowl, hidden from her view.

  “And for the final touch…” I picked up the blade that was coated in the asshole’s blood and dipped it into the liquid, then stirred slowly. It began to smoke and sparkle, smelling strongly of lilacs and gasoline.

  A weird combo, but it told me it was working.

  Once the smoke had turned a dark black, I hovered my left hand over the concoction, feeding my magic into my palm until it glowed a pale white. My magic was in my blood and my soul. Once I combined those two—along with a few select ingredients—things really got hopping.

  The smoke rose faster, coalescing beneath my palm until it formed a small silver ball. My vision began to darken as I fed more magic into my palm.

  Whew, this is hard without Mari.

  Normally, we combined ou
r magical energy. Doing it alone was tough.

  Finally, the ball dropped into the wooden bowl. I grinned and set the blade on the table, then picked up the ball and held it out to her. There was a hole through the middle so she could thread a chain through it.

  “Keep this on you, and he won’t be able to find you.” Some charms could be imbued into a person’s soul, but I didn’t have the time or ingredients to make one of those.

  She smiled and took it. “Thank you.”

  “Now, where can I find the necromancer demon? And what was he looking for?”

  “I didn’t give him anything, if that’s what you’re asking.”

  “But you did tell him how to find what he was looking for.”

  She shrugged. “He paid.”

  “Where did he go?”

  “Up the mountain to the sacred pool.” She walked toward the door and opened it, pointing up at the mountain. “See that path there? You follow it up the road and onto the trail. Then through the tunnel and forest until you get to the gorge at the top. There, you’ll find the pool.”

  I could just barely make out the path that she’d indicated. The sun was about to rise, which would give me more light soon. But it looked like a long way.

  “What’s in the pool?”

  She shrugged. “Stuff.”

  “Stuff?”

  “People say it will give you whatever you want. I don’t know though.”

  But the demon was definitely after something. He’d collected two ingredients from Snakerton, and now he was after something else. This had all the hallmarks of him gathering ingredients for a spell. A big one.

  “Thanks.” I stepped onto the dock, then turned back to her. “You didn't happen to see a dark-haired guy, did you?”

  Her eyes gleamed with interest. “The sexy fallen angel.”

  Damn. “I suppose you told him how to find the demon too?”

  “I did indeed.”

  “What did he pay with?” No way he had anything as good as my blood sorcery.

  She said nothing. Instead, she smiled enigmatically and shut the door in my face.

  Annoyance flared. I didn’t want to think about what he paid her with, since her smile made it clear enough.

  7