“Please don’t tell Dottie that!” I begged. “If she knew that talking to me put a big fat glowing target on my back, she’d never forgive herself.”
“Wow,” Logan said, giving me a half smile. “That’s really...nice...of you to look out for her like that.”
“Oh. Um. Thanks,” I muttered, fidgeting uncomfortably as I caught Rego’s suspicious glare. “But it won’t really matter, will it? I’m gonna get kidnapped and end up in some demonic version of Holy Ass.”
“Look, Paige, no one’s going to get you.” Logan crouched down again so we were eye level, his voice low and sincere. “Two demons down. I’ve only got two more to kill.”
“They’re the new kids, right?”
Logan nodded. “Della’s a lust demon—she’s here to assist in your capture. She can simulate feelings of attachment, make you think you want to go with them. Aiden’s a Regent.”
Seeing my confused face, Ajax oh-so-helpfully explained, “They’re the most powerful ones. Regents are the ones in charge.”
My panic at hearing that a member of the dominant demon race was hunting me must have shown on my face, because Logan quickly grabbed my hand, giving it a squeeze. “I know how to kill a Regent. Trust me, I can protect you.”
I took a final gulp from my soda and slammed it on the table, which tilted, and a lone scroll rolled off and hit the floor.
“No.”
“No?” Logan’s eyes widened, and he dropped my hand and stepped back.
“No?” Ajax repeated. “Did you hit your head, and did all your common sense fall out?”
“No—I mean, teach me. Teach me how to defend myself against them. Please.” I waved my hand toward the living room. “You have a billion weapon-looking things in there. Give me a sword. Teach me to fight. Please.”
“While that’s admirable, this isn’t your war. Now it’s time for you to step back and let Logan do his job,” Rego said, a bit condescendingly. Logan didn’t even acknowledge that his uncle had spoken, and just continued to stare at me.
“Give me a fighting chance,” I pleaded, trying to make my voice sound strong—which was a futile task, considering how much it was trembling. “What if you’re not around?”
“I’ll teach you,” Ajax offered, hopping off his perch, only to rest his elbows against the counter behind him, stretching his legs out and crossing his ankles.
“Where? In the kitchen?” Logan scoffed, rolling his eyes at Ajax before turning back to me. “I’ll help you,” he said, and Rego scowled.
“Logan, if she wants to help, she can by opening portals for me. Having an untrained civilian battling demons is not beneficial to our efforts to take back control of the throne.”
Logan stood, turning to face his uncle. “She wielded my sword and killed the incindia. I think Paige can handle it.”
“Paige isn’t the one I’m concerned about,” Rego said coolly. “You don’t need the distraction.” His last word was overflowing with innuendo, and I tugged at my skirt self-consciously, trying to make it longer. Jeez, what did he think I was, a lust demon? I wanted Logan to show me how to use his sword, not show me how to use his man sword.
If Logan picked up Rego’s insinuation, he ignored it. He turned to face me. “Start tomorrow?”
I gave him a grateful smile and whispered, “Thank you.”
“Just let me know if you need a sparring partner,” Ajax said flirtatiously, and Logan shot him a withering glance.
“What?” he asked, blinking his eyes innocently. “She’s going to be fighting demons, might as well practice on one.”
“Practice on one?” I repeated, staring at Ajax, who raised his shoulders, giving me a guilty smile.
“Wait...you’re a demon?” I gaped at Ajax, who watched with mild interest as I shot out of my seat, scrambling backward and knocking over my chair. It hit the floor with a loud bang, and Ajax, Logan and I all startled at the noise. Only Rego remained unflustered, his arms folded as he watched the scene with mild interest.
“He’s not going to hurt you,” Logan said, coming to stand between us, and Ajax shook his empty bag of chips, frowning.
“Oh, I don’t know,” he sighed. “I could kill for another bag of chips.”
“You’re not helping,” Logan groaned.
“Paige, please, rest assured, Ajax is a trusted comrade, redeeming his reprehensible demonic nature by helping us. He’s a double agent, if you will,” Rego said, standing up and righting my chair in one swift, smooth move.
“It’s because I’m doubly adorable,” Ajax said playfully, not seeming at all offended that I’d freaked out when I found out he was a demon. “But perhaps I should leave. My good looks are already terrifying enough—I don’t want to give the poor girl a heart attack.”
Ajax bowed my way. “Goodbye, dear Bliss. I hope to see you again.” Ajax nodded at Rego, promising briskly, “I’ll be in touch.”
Ajax slapped his palm against the front door, repeating the words Logan had used. But instead of a white light, the entrance was framed in a purple glow before the door fell in ribbons, revealing a murky, swirling darkness. I could barely make out the faint outline of a hallway; it was like I was staring through polluted, cloudy water. With a crisp salute, Ajax stepped into the abyss, his form obscured by the muddy atmosphere before the door shimmered back into place.
“Where did he go?” I asked nervously.
“Back to his world,” Rego said matter-of-factly. “He’s got work to do.”
“His world? I’ve never been to Europe, but now I’m in an alternate dimension?” I squeaked.
“You aren’t in the Dark World,” Logan reassured me, fighting back a smile. “Rego set this place up as a meeting point—but you can’t actually use it to cross over.” As Logan spoke, he tapped the tips of his fingers together to illustrate his point. “Here, the worlds touch, overlapping in a way. It’s useful when you’re trying to get allies in both worlds together for strategy sessions, pass supplies along...watch someone eat all your potato chips. But if we tried to follow Ajax through the doorway to the Dark World, we’d be stopped by an invisible barrier.”
“So it’s like standing on the border of New York and New Jersey, talking to each other?”
Logan grinned at my analogy.
“Something like that. Except the New Yorkers stay in New York and vice versa. Rego will unlink the worlds when we leave town.”
“Any other surprises?’ I asked, turning to Rego warily. “You’re not a zombie, or a vampire? You’re just a wizard?”
Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say. Rego frowned, looking insulted, and his nostrils flared so wide I could have driven a truck through them.
“I’m not just anything, little girl. And witches and wizards are inhabitants of your world who play with potions and perform parlor tricks,” Rego corrected me. “Warlocks are an otherworldly race, the true heirs to the Dark World throne. And we will be on that throne again, once this war is over.”
He pounded his fist on the table for emphasis, and the rickety old thing wobbled on its shaky legs.
“Sorry,” I muttered. “I didn’t know any of this existed until a few hours ago.”
“And if Logan had done his job correctly, you wouldn’t know it existed at all. But what’s done is done, and we’re here now.”
Logan tilted his head toward the door.
“Paige, if you’re ready to go, I’ll take you home now.”
I nodded and stood up, wincing slightly when I pulled my backpack on. And then I had to face Rego.
“Thank you—for everything. I really needed to know. It was...it was hard not knowing the truth,” I finished lamely, unsure of what to say to him. Rego was probably the most intimidating person I’d ever met, but then again, he was a warlock fighting to overthrow a demonic dictators
hip. I couldn’t imagine that kind of life turned you into a warm little cuddle monkey.
“It was enlightening, Paige. Perhaps you can be a useful ally in our fight.” Rego shook my hand and bowed majestically, and I was surprised to hear that he sounded sincere.
I nodded and followed Logan, who did the same trick to open the front door, and we walked into a brilliant white glow. Once we stepped through the void, I looked behind me and was surprised to see the metal apartment door back in place. I touched the painted surface, half expecting my hand to go through an illusion. But the brown door was solid underneath my fingertips, the gritty imperfections in the cheap paint job scratching my skin.
“You doing okay?” Logan asked.
“I can burst into flames. Warlocks are real. There’s an alternate universe full of demons and monsters. And I’m really freaked out by the fact that I just sat across from another demon while he stuffed his face with potato chips.”
“Ajax is harmless,” Logan said with a dismissive wave of his hand.
“A demon tried to kill me today, and more want to kidnap me. I’m sorry if I’m not super trusting of them.”
“I’ve known Ajax for years.”
“How do you know for sure that you can trust him?” I asked, my hands balling into fists. “He’s a demon, and he knows what I can do. What if he’s just using you to get to me?”
“We didn’t even know you existed when I met him. You didn’t exist—not as a Traveler, at least, when I met him,” Logan explained, sighing heavily as he leaned against the hallway wall. When he saw I was waiting for him to continue, he took off his hat, staring at his hands as he rolled the brim between his palms.
“Out of all the demons I’ve ever battled, only three have gotten away. Ajax is one of them.” Logan finally met my eyes, and an embarrassed look spread across his face.
“Look, I don’t really talk about this kind of stuff, but I’m telling you because I want you to know you’re safe, okay?”
He waited until I nodded before he continued talking. “Before I met Ajax, I’d killed every demon I’d faced. And I wanted to make Rego proud, make him see what I could do, you know? So when he got word of a hive of demons in the next town over, I snuck out and attacked them. Solo mission. I thought I was a badass.” Logan rested his head against the wall, his eyes studying the ceiling as he remembered. “There were ten. I killed seven. I thought I had gotten away with it until someone grabbed me around the throat in a choke hold. I thought I was done for. Dead Logan, bye-bye.” He laughed, and I gaped at him, astonished at the casual way he discussed his near-demise. “It was Ajax. He just kind of stared at me for a minute, and then slaughtered the other two demons who were racing toward me. He killed them, just like that,” Logan said, snapping his fingers.
“Then he said he wanted to join up with us. I arranged a meeting for him with Rego, and he’s been feeding us information ever since he crossed back over years ago.” Logan grinned, his eyes lighting up at some memory. “It took him forever to find the portal back, too. It’s his own damn fault for partying too long in Puerto Rico and bringing along rum punch for the trip.” He paused, shutting his eyes and chuckling at some memory. “Ajax really likes this side.”
“What was he doing in Puerto Rico?”
“Oh, sorry—I didn’t explain. The portal’s in the western part of the ocean—in the Bermuda Triangle.”
“The Bermuda Triangle?” I repeated, my eyebrows practically shooting off my face in surprise. “The real Bermuda Triangle, where planes and boats and ships disappear?”
Logan just nodded. “Yeah. Ajax and two warlocks Rego was sending over to infiltrate the Dark World had a lot of fun before crossing over. Ajax calls it his Spring Break, but I think he was just stalling, because crossing over is supposed to be so painful,” Logan revealed.
“I can’t believe the Bermuda Triangle is real.” I ran my hands over my face and stared at Logan, who just gave me a self-conscious smile.
Who would have thought that the quiet, sweet pen-stealer would be a font of supernatural information with a demonic BFF? I mulled over what Logan had just told me and realized one bit of information wasn’t making sense.
“You said he crossed back over years ago?” I repeated, and Logan nodded.
“So, when did you meet him?”
“I was about thirteen.” His tone was nonchalant, as if he were sharing what he’d had for lunch. “Ajax was seventeen.”
“You were killing demons when you were thirteen?” I yelled in shock.
“Keep it down, I do have neighbors.” Logan huffed, adding with a hiss, “Normal, human neighbors.”
“I’m sorry,” I hastily apologized. “Just...thirteen. You were a little kid, fighting monsters.”
Logan pushed himself off the wall, holding his palm out as he began leading me down the hallway. “Give me your bag. Don’t think I didn’t see you wince in there,” he added, tactlessly changing the subject, his tone brisk. “You should have put on the healing balm. Trust me, it works.”
I wondered how many times Logan had used the healing balm and how young he started needing it. I snuck a look at his profile as we walked—there was nothing menacing about him, even with the tense set of his jaw. And it’s probably tense because you just insulted his childhood, moron. He’s a demonslayer, he’s probably been killing monsters since kindergarten.
I slid the bag off my shoulder and held it out, but kept a tight hold on the strap as Logan grabbed it, and he gave me a questioning look.
“Hey, I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to sound like I was judging the way you grew up.”
The guarded expression slid from Logan’s face, and for a moment he looked lost and so deeply sad. But he quickly flashed me a grin.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said, tugging on the strap. “Now, let go and give me the bag. I can be really annoying and persistent when I want something. Just ask Rego.”
I dropped my hold on the bag as Logan pushed open the front door of the apartment building, holding it for me.
“Your uncle Rego. He’s...interesting.” I kept my voice causal as we jogged down the short stoop to the sidewalk. I didn’t want to accidentally offend him again, but I was curious—really curious—about who Logan really was.
“I know he can seem difficult, but you have to understand, Paige—Rego is a warrior.” Admiration for his uncle colored his voice. “He’s a soldier—no, he’s more than that. He’s leading the charge. He’s doing what’s right. And what’s right is to put a warlock back on the throne.
“But,” he added, giving me a sly sideways glance, “I could see where he’s an acquired taste. Rego totally has a chip on his shoulder.”
He has a whole family-size bag of chips on his shoulder. But I kept my thoughts to myself and just nodded as we continued to walk.
“I don’t understand one thing, though.”
“Only one thing? You’re handling this better than I thought!”
“Okay, I don’t understand a lot of things,” I admitted, shoving my hands into my coat pockets. “But this one is screaming the loudest for an answer.”
“What’s that?”
“What’s with all the comments about you not doing your job? I mean... You. Saved. My. Life.” I paused between each word, trying to drive the point home. “From where I’m standing, still breathing air in a human world, you did your job.”
Logan glanced at me, an embarrassed smile on his face as we turned south on Amsterdam Avenue. I was relieved to see fewer fire trucks clogging the street.
“I have a confession to make,” Logan said guiltily, looking down at his sneakers as we walked. “I stole your bracelet this morning.”
“What? Why?” I asked, stopping short on the sidewalk, pulling Logan off to the side in the alcove of an apartment building.
“Rego had a very clearly defined plan—one I was supposed to follow,” he explained, leaning against the glass door. “Find out who’s the target, cast a protection spell on something they wear every day that makes them undetectable to demons. Then, I’d pick off the demons, and once you were safe, I’d go wherever Rego needed me next. I’m pretty much his go-to assassin,” he added casually, like he’d just described his day shift at the local fast-food joint. Flip a burger, stab a demon, same difference.
“Just like that?” I asked, snapping my fingers.
“Just like that.”
“So, what happened?”
“I had a particularly nasty battle with a rage demon in the school basement this morning. I was late in returning your bracelet to your locker after I put the protection spell on it.” Logan scowled at the memory.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Just hit my head a little.”
Before I could stop myself, my hand reached up to touch his face. Clearly, my hand had a mind of her own, and she was a big, face-touching flirt.
“Don’t worry about me,” he insisted, grabbing my wrist to stop me. Once his fingers had circled my wrist, he gave me a disapproving look.
“Paige, where’s your bracelet?” Logan asked, exasperated, giving me a hard look. “Make it a little harder on me to fight off demons, why don’t you?”
“Because I knew that when I took my bracelet off, right?” I retorted, pulling my wrist back and shoving my hand back in my coat pocket. “I thought the clasp was broken. Or maybe that I had imagined taking it off in the first place. Everyone thinks I’m crazy, Logan. I guess I started to think they were right.”
I stared at the buttons of his coat as it hung open, embarrassed by my outburst.
“Sorry,” I muttered to the scratched third button on his coat. “I didn’t mean all that.”
I felt his fingers underneath my chin, and Logan lifted my face to meet his.
The Dark World Page 9