“It helped, didn’t it?” Gregory asked.
“Yes, it did. I always have trouble with that one. That’s the best I’ve ever done it.”
Gregory smiled. “Why don’t you try something else?”
I started to pull magic into me again, but Ian’s voice stopped me.
“Serena, we need to go. Kellan asked to see you.” Ian came running up to us and stood protectively in front of me. I moved around him to say goodbye to Gregory, but Ian didn’t let me get very far, putting his arm around me and pinning me to his side.
I smiled at Gregory. “Thank you for helping me. I hope we get a chance to talk more.”
“We will.” He looked at Ian. “I’m not going to hurt her.”
“You better not. Until I’m sure you aren’t in league with John, I don’t want Serena alone with you,” he looked at me, “or anyone.”
Gregory shook his head, amused. “She’s stronger than you think, Ian. You can’t always be there to protect her.”
“Maybe not, but I can now.” Ian tugged on me, and we walked back toward the compound. I snuck a peek over Ian’s arm and saw Gregory watching us walk away. He smiled when he saw me watching and gave a little wave. I waved back as Ian tugged me along.
“What were you doing out here alone?” he asked me.
“Molly was with me. She didn’t think it was dangerous.”
“That doesn’t mean you should wander around with strangers. I told you before, be careful of Gregory. I think he’s on our side, but I don’t want to take chances. What did he want with you?”
“He wanted to help me control my wild magic. He told me how my mom controlled hers. It worked when I tried it.”
“You did magic in front of him?”
“Yes, but I was very careful.” Ian didn’t say anything else about Gregory, but I could tell it bothered him. “What does Kellan want?” I asked, changing the subject.
“Nothing. I made that up so you would come with me.”
I smacked his arm. “Ian that wasn’t nice.”
“I know, but Kellan did have interesting information. There will be new guardians coming into the compound over the next few days.”
“What for?”
“They’re the victims from the compounds that were taken. Many have called in and need a place to go. Kellan has invited some here.”
“Is that a good idea? What if they’re pretending?”
“He knows the ones coming here and can vouch for them.”
“So you think all the guardians who sided with John are gone?”
“I hope so,” he said quietly. “Kellan has sent a few guardians away that he couldn’t trust. Everyone else seems to be on our side. Kellan wants us to go out and look for more summoners in the town.”
We got our stuff together and headed for the gates. As we drove through, the air turned a slight blue. Molly lifted her head, huffed, and laid back down. We spent the rest of the day searching the town. I used the magic that my dad taught me to search for the summoners in different spots throughout the town, but I couldn’t find anything. After searching for another hour we finally went back to the cabin.
Kellan called everyone together the next morning. We met at the front of the main building and waited for him to arrive. When he did, he wasn’t wearing his customary clothes. Instead, he was dressed like Ian and the other guardians. He had a large sword strapped to his back, and the other council members walked out dressed the same.
Everyone was preparing for a battle. We knew the rogue guardians would come, most likely with the demons, but we didn’t know when.
Kellan tried to sound sure of our chances of winning, but with demons fighting for the other side, we had a fifty-fifty chance of losing. Everyone was broken into small scouting groups. Kellan wanted us sweeping the area every five minutes overnight. He didn’t trust the spell that my dad gave us. I wasn’t sure I did either. The demons could find a way to break through.
Ian, Jabari, and Evelyn were in my group, and we split off from the main group to take our posts. We would be one of the groups watching through the night. We would switch off in the morning to get some rest and then start all over again.
There wouldn’t be any more training until the rogue guardians were found and stopped. I saw other groups working their way around the compound, getting into their own positions. All the guardians were spread throughout the compound, some were even posted in the trees.
Molly stayed close to me, and occasionally I would see one of the other hounds running across the grounds. They were keeping an eye on everything too. Twice throughout the night, someone thought they saw something and the alarm was sounded.
Both times the area was checked out, but nothing was found. I worried we were missing something. Even Molly was tense. She didn’t stop pacing after the second alarm and howled to the other hounds more often, checking in on them.
When morning came, we were exhausted. We trudged to our cabins and fell asleep. I didn’t even bother taking my clothes off. My adrenaline had been going all night, and I needed the rest. The alarms went off once during the day, but before we even made it out of the cabin, the false alarm was called. We went back to bed, and this time I curled up with Ian and slept for hours.
I wanted this to be over. I was already sick of waiting for the rogues to strike. Ian must have felt the same, but he never complained as we got ready for another night of patrolling. I was still tired, but I followed him out to patrol our area. Jabari and Evelyn looked as tired as I felt, but we were ready to fight if we needed to.
I walked into the cabin with Ian after our patrol, but before we could even turn on the lights, we heard a loud pop, and someone appeared in the kitchen. I shrieked, and Ian grabbed his sword spinning around to point it at the intruder. I flipped the light switch on and stared at my father.
“What are you doing here? How did you get in?” I asked.
“The spell was designed so I could get to you if I needed to.”
“I knew that spell was too good to be true. What about the other demons? Will they be able to get in?” Ian asked.
“No, the spell was designed to only let someone with Serena’s bloodline in.”
I looked him over as he talked. Something was wrong. He was disheveled compared to usual. His shirt was only partially tucked in, and his hair was standing up in places. It looked like he had been woken up quickly.
“Why did you come?” I asked. “What’s wrong?”
I heard a scratching and a quick bark at the door. Molly had stayed outside after our patrol. She must know that my father was here. Ian opened it, and Molly ran directly to my father. She huffed and yelped at him until he shushed her. She let out a small growl and turned away from him. She padded back to me and sat down at my feet.
“She really likes you,” my dad said, smiling at us. “She may not leave your side after this is over. She won’t want to come home.”
“She lives with you?” I asked, forgetting about our situation for a minute.
“Not with me, but she has a home in Vammoriel. She has other homes in different realms too, but she usually stays in Vammoriel. Now you need to listen to me. We have a problem. Mr. Blake is back in your world. I don’t know how he got here so fast. The summoners must have sacrificed a lot of nary’s. Has there been a recent accident that killed a lot of people? That would be the easiest way for them to do it.”
“I haven’t heard anything, but I haven’t exactly been watching the news. We’ve been trying not to get attacked by the rogues,” I said while Ian pulled his phone out to look. “I don’t think The Guardianship has been able to focus on the nary’s with everything going on.”
“There was a disaster a few towns over,” Ian said slowly. “A rockslide hit the road at the wrong time. It took out two buses and a few cars. Another bus was able to brake but slid out and fell over the side of the street down a thirty-foot drop. Only a few survived. It looks like the death toll was almost one hundred people.”
“I need to call Kellan and tell him about this. I don’t know if any guardians were on the busses, but I know two guardians are scheduled to arrive today. Kellan will have to look into this.”
“With that many deaths, they would have no trouble summoning Mr. Blake. They may have summoned another demon, too, especially if guardians were killed. My spell will hold up, but you need to stay inside the compound. Don’t leave.” He cocked his head listening. “I need to go,” he said.
I thought I detected a small hint of fear in his voice when he said it. “What is it, Dad?” I asked.
“Nothing for you to worry about. It’s demon business.”
“Is someone after you? Are you in danger?”
He laughed. “I’m getting ready to fight a war with wrath demons. Of course, I’m in danger. You don’t need to worry about it though. I’ll try to contact you again in a few days. I’m sending more help to you. He’ll be there shortly. Don’t let your guardians hurt him. He’s coming to protect you from Mr. Blake in case they find a way through the spell.”
My dad reached out and gave me a big hug before disappearing.
“Who’s he sending?” I asked Ian.
“I don’t know, but I have a pretty good idea it won’t be a magi. We need to go tell Kellan that a demon is coming to help us.”
I sighed and walked back out of the cabin. It was going to be a long day, and we had to patrol all night. I hoped I would get a chance to get some sleep before then. We waited in Kellan’s office for longer than I would have liked. I was dozing by the time he came walking in, Councilman Gregory behind him. I looked at Ian. He was scowling and didn’t say anything until Kellan called his name.
“Ian? What do you need? You guys should be resting.”
“We have important news to discuss privately with you.”
“We can talk in front of Gregory. He’s loyal to us.”
“It’s a more delicate matter,” Ian said, glancing at me.
“Is this about Serena’s father?” Gregory asked. “Don’t worry. I know he’s a demon.” He winked at me. “Not much gets past me. You hide your powers well, but you’ve used them each time you fought the demons. Pair that with the hellhounds you call friends, and it was obvious what you were hiding. At this point I think most people know or at least have guessed that Serena is part demon.”
Kellan smiled. “We hid it for a while, but it’s time to be honest. With everything going on, we need to be able to trust each other.” I nodded. I trusted Kellan, and Gregory had helped me.
“Fine,” Ian said. “Serena’s dad stopped by for a visit.”
“How?”
“He has the power to jump from realm to realm. The spell we used allows someone from Serena’s bloodline to pass through in order to find her. He came with a warning about Mr. Blake. He’s back in this realm. We think the summoners caused the avalanche a few towns over and killed a lot of nary’s. There may have been guardians on the busses that were hit. Serena’s dad is guessing that they pulled another demon over too. And he’s sending his own demon to help us.”
“I’m sorry, what?” asked Gregory. “Who exactly is your father? If he’s sending a demon, he must be more than an average demon.”
“He’s the pride demon king,” Ian said.
“No wonder he has so much power. I don’t know if the guardians will like working with a full blooded demon,” Councilman Gregory said.
“They aren’t going to get much choice. He’s coming to protect Serena. Her dad doesn’t want anything happening to her. Molly and this demon are here to keep her safe.”
“As long as she’s with us, they’ll protect us too,” Gregory said.
“Exactly. I think that’s what her father is hoping. It helps you but also keeps her even safer since the guardians won’t want her getting hurt or kidnapped either. We can’t fight two demons with extra powers and rogue guardians at the same time.”
I looked around at the three men. No one seemed to know what to say. I didn’t understand the big deal. I had been chased by demons my whole life, and I was willing to work with them, so why wouldn’t the guardians? It was the only way they might win.
“We need to tell the guardians so they don’t attack as soon as he appears,” Gregory said.
Everyone agreed, and Kellan called for everyone not on patrol, to meet us at the steps in front of the main building. I waited off to the side with Molly while Ian talked to Kellan. Kellan lifted his phone and sent off a quick text to see if he could contact the guardians who would be arriving today. He didn’t get a response and frowned. It looked like my dad may have been correct.
Things were not looking good for us, even with a demon on my side. I wasn’t sure when the demon would be arriving, but I was nervous. The only one I had met who I liked was my dad. Hopefully, this one would be like him.
Once most of the guardians arrived, Kellan began to speak. When they found out who my father was some of them eyed me with distrust, but many of them looked relieved. Having a demon on our side would be helpful. I saw Gregory writing something down out of the corner of my eye and questioned him about it after Kellan finished talking.
“It’s a list of the people who looked upset when they found out what was going on. We’re going to have to keep an eye on them.” I nodded, and he followed Kellan into the building, while I headed to the cabin with Ian.
On our walk back to the cabin no one bothered me, but I saw a couple of groups looking at me suspiciously. Molly stayed by my side, refusing to leave me. When Ian opened the door to the cabin, Molly darted in and jumped on a demon sitting in the living room.
“This is getting ridiculous,” Ian said. “My house has become a revolving door for demons.” He scowled as the demon stood up. He had a similar look to my father and didn’t seem nearly as threatening as the wrath demons did.
Molly was yipping and running around the demon’s legs. She really liked this demon, so I took a deep breath and shoved my fear down. I stepped forward and held out my hand, trying to introduce myself. Instead, he stepped around the couch and grabbed me in a bone-crunching hug.
“I’ve been waiting for you to get back. I’m Thurron. One of the hounds told me you would be back soon and to stay here until then, or I would cause you trouble,” he said, releasing me before Ian had time to react.
I rubbed my arms, where bruises were probably already forming. “Thanks for waiting here. I’m Serena.”
“I know who you are. Dad told me all about you. I’m so happy that I was given the job of protecting you, little sister.”
“Little what?” I asked, stunned. I noticed he looked like my dad, but I thought that was a pride demon thing, not a father son thing. “I’m your…” I couldn’t say the word.
“Yep. You’re my little sister. I was just as surprised as you are when Dad told me. When I found out what those wrath demons have been doing to you, I begged Dad to let me come protect you. He didn’t want me leaving the kingdom, but you’re family, and who can you trust more than that. He knew I would take care of you better than any of the other princes.”
“Do I have any other siblings that I’m not aware of?” I asked.
“Technically, we’re half siblings, but I don’t care about that. I’m your only brother that I know of. Your mom could have other children though. Dad never checked. Said it was too hard to see her when he couldn’t be with her.”
For demons, they were really touchy feely about stuff. I was having trouble changing my perspective on them. My dad told me they weren’t all bad. Maybe he was right. I needed to stop being so judgmental. So far, I met two very nice demons. Mr. Blake was obviously a bad demon, and so was the one from my dreams, but that didn’t mean they were all bad.
I gestured toward the couch. My brother sat down, and so did I. We spent the next hour talking about family stuff before my eyes started to close.
“Go to sleep, lit
tle sister. I’ll watch over you until you wake up. I think your mate wants to talk anyway.”
I looked at Ian. He didn’t look sleepy at all. I wondered how he wasn’t yawning. He hadn’t gotten a lot of sleep either lately. I shrugged and headed to bed. If he wanted to stay up and grill my brother, he could. It was his cabin, after all.
Mr. Blake is here
Thurron was waiting for me when I got up. He told me Ian left to talk to Kellan a while ago. I made some coffee and sat down across from him. I had a lot of questions, but I didn’t know where to start. I didn’t want to offend him, so I started small, asking him about Vammoriel and where he lived.
When he talked about Vammoriel, it didn’t sound like such a bad place. There were forests and rivers similar to here. The only difference was the color. Most things in Vammoriel were dark blacks, blues, and purples. There were a few pink flowers that grew near his palace, but they were rare.
Even the sky was darker and the sun didn’t shine like in the human realm. He told me about a few of his friends and how they spent their days when they could get away from work. He liked to hunt noobans, a type of creature that only exists in Vammoriel. It was like a boar but twice as big with eight tusks that could easily gore a demon.
Bringing such a creature back was considered good luck, and he tried to hunt one down every year. The more I listened to him, the more I felt like Vammoriel wouldn’t be so bad to visit. Some of the creatures he told me about were terrifying, and demons didn’t exactly have the same moral code as I did, but it wasn’t the hell I pictured. Maybe one day, I would get to see his palace.
He was telling me about the time he had to kill another demon for touching his property when Kellan and Ian walked into the cabin. I was glad for the interruption. I didn’t like hearing about my brother killing for such small reasons, but that’s how Vammoriel was.
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