by Meg Xuemei X
The buggers had also underestimated me. They’d thought their twin fires would barbeque a dinner. But the pair had been quite good. It’d been a close call. I’d felt the heat of their fire.
Circe whimpered while my body still shielded her.
I was up in an instant and gave her a hand. She scrambled up when Jasper reached us.
We didn’t take time to savor our victory or regard the fallen shimeras with my arrows pierced through their skulls.
Circe and I quickly stuffed our hunt into a backpack while Jasper stood guard. We were ready to leave the forest before the witch’s spells lost effect and the bigger predators followed our trail.
I grinned at Jasper and Circe. We would have full stomachs tonight, and we could trade the other shimera for a loaf of bread and a bag of potatoes.
Despite the fact that the three of us could hunt, we kept it to once a week. We were the only hunter team in Crack that still came out of the woods, and none of us wanted to take more risks than necessary.
The thought of dinner made my stomach grumble. Circe smirked at me, elbowing my belly teasingly, and Jasper rolled out his pink tongue, his way of laughing.
Suddenly my back stiffened.
Foreboding sent a chill up my spine. Then a heat wave, like invisible fire, chased away the chill that had so quickly sunk into my bones.
The sensation was so unfamiliar and terrifying that for a moment, I almost thought I had magic.
The stench of brimstone, sulfur, and acid hit my nostrils. Jasper stared at me with a question. Then next, he tensed, his light amber eyes turning dark.
Something was hunting us.
I straightened slowly, my eyes searching the dark. Even though I was a human, I seemed to have better night vision than average.
I met a pair of red eyes between the brown trees.
Darkness whirled in the demon’s eyes, hungry to devour every light and possess every bit of soul until the monster had drained his victim completely.
I swallowed with difficulty.
I’d survived the streets on my own until I was ten, when Vi took me in and trained me to be a hunter. She’d drilled the necessity of staying the hell away from both demons and gods and never ever letting either one get close.
I’d never questioned her edict. What Vi had warned me was common sense—even a fool would avoid this planet’s two top predators.
Thinking of Vi brought a sharp pain and longing to my chest. She’d given me, a stranded street rat, a home. But after four years, she’d disappeared without a word, leaving no trace. I’d searched the entire Crack for her and almost hadn’t made it out when I’d then scoured the forest.
Gradually I’d accepted that I’d been dumped again, just as my parents had abandoned me to the streets before I was old enough to remember them.
I’d inherited Vi’s old library since then, and her ward had prevented anyone or any creature from getting into it except the ones invited by me. After living and hunting alone for two years, I’d rescued Jasper and Circe from a brutal criminal lord, who no longer breathed, and they’d become my people ever since.
I dragged my memory away from my old guardian and the aching sense of loss she’d left behind. Across the dark space, I stared at the demon.
He had long, dark horns, black eyes, and red lips.
This was a grade three demon in their power hierarchy. The highest rank was ten, and that would be Lucifer. I blinked, not sure why suddenly I had this knowledge, since it was the first time I’d seen a demon so close.
His obsidian gaze met mine, and shock flitted by his eyes.
He sniffed the air, and a dark mass swirled out of the pits of his eyes, hunger and craving sparking like hellfire in them.
He fixated only on me, not bothering to even glance at Circe or Jasper.
They’d both spotted the demon and frozen in fear.
“Retreat slowly,” I whispered and led by example as I backed toward a tree.
Circe blinked, as if waking up from a trance at my order.
“Conceal. Uttar Sloan Samish Rota conceal,” Circe murmured her chant frantically, trying to get us to melt into the trees and thus avoid the demon’s detection.
The demon grinned at me and uttered a demonic word, which blurred into the black wind. It sounded familiar, but any chance at comprehension was drowned out by the pounding rhythm of my frenetic heartbeat in my ears.
Circe’s concealing spell evidently had no effect on the creature since he kept stalking toward me, sniffing the air as if it was filled with nectar.
Stop! Demon, stop! I hissed silently.
The demon halted for a second, as if confused or uncertain.
Circe repeated her chanting and tossed out a few spells, which appeared around us in the shapes of balls and stars. The demon shrugged them off and flicked his claws to show us what he had.
A demonic power, also familiar, like something once featured in my nightmares, exuded from him. Its dark force drew us toward him, like a spider that intends to numb its victims before consuming them.
If a third degree demon could do this, what chance did we have to fight a full-blown demon? Horror flickered through my mind. Vi hadn’t been wrong to warn me to stay clear of Lucifer’s pawns.
Circe and Jasper now both glided toward the demon as if in a dream. The Hell-creature widened his grin.
“What on Earth are you two doing?” I yelled at them. Our cover was blown anyway. I pinched Circe on the arm and swatted Jasper’s snout. “Run! Like your asses are on fire.”
If the demon possessed any one of us, all three of us would be done for.
I dragged Circe and kicked Jasper. Relief wound through me as they returned to their senses, and three of us darted away between the trees in a mad dash.
The demon gave chase, giggling.
He zoomed in on us.
Jasper raced beside me, keeping up, but then we both realized that Circe had lagged behind. Terror hit me, and I turned just in time to see the demon rake his claws toward Circe’s neck.
“You won’t hurt her!” I screamed in rage and flung up my hands toward the demon, even though I was ten yards away and had no magic.
It was an instinct, a reflex. I reacted in panic.
I’d lost Vi. I couldn’t lose either Circe or Jasper. They were all I had.
A blast of dark flame materialized above the demon, descending upon him before he could flee. The fire engulfed the creature.
It shrieked, and I clenched my teeth as his screams beat into my eardrums.
“Shut the fuck up and die!” I yelled.
The blaze plunged to the ground, sinking under and dragging the demon with it. Or maybe the flame actually burned the demon to ashes.
I didn’t see a pile of cinders on the forest floor, though there was a circle burned into the ground, indicating where the magical conflagration had taken down a demon.
I sprang toward the young witch.
“Are you all right, Circe?” I asked, sounding like a mother even to my own ears.
She threw herself into my arms, trembling.
I stroked her back gently.
“Shush, you’re safe now,” I said. “We’re all safe. Now let’s get out of here.”
I pulled Circe to sprint with me since her legs wobbled. Seeing the demon had shocked her. I didn’t blame her. The appearance of the demon had shattered me as well.
Jasper kept pace, guarding and protecting us. His piercing wolf eyes darted around, his ears pricking backward as he scanned for any new danger.
I didn’t allow us to slow down, even though the scent of smoke lingered on my tongue and the air burned in my lungs.
As soon as we shot out of the last line of trees, crossing the boundary into the town’s territory, Jasper shifted. I knew he wanted to talk and demand answers regarding the flame that incinerated the demon, but I was just as baffled as he was.
One second he was still a wolf, then the next he was a good-looking teenage boy.
; I glanced at him enviously. Being a shifter must be amazing.
The monsters usually didn’t cross the boundary of the forest into the town’s land during daytime. I’d wondered if Vi ever set a ward along the boundary.
Circe tossed Jasper a stack of clothes from the outside pocket of her backpack, and he snatched them from the air. In no time, he had his trousers on and his muscled chest pressed against an old T-shirt.
The witch’s gaze lingered on his cut chest a bit too long before she tore it away. The shifter was eye candy with dark, curly hair and rich brown eyes, and he always had a good laugh.
She’d developed a crush on him after her seventeenth birthday two months ago. It was fine with me if they hooked up. I couldn’t think of a better man to protect her.
I sighed. They’d grown up, and I was getting older.
Jasper didn’t notice Circe’s heated gaze before she disguised it. His concerned, sharp expression fixed on my face, uncompromising.
I waved a hand to signal for him to let me have a break and set my palms on my knees to brace myself. I bent from my waist, panting laboriously at the ground. Circe did the same. I took a little comfort that, even though she was younger, she was breathing louder.
When I finally straightened, I grinned at them. We’d survived once again, together.
“Guys, do you want to high five or a group hug?” I asked.
My motto was that every victory, no matter how small, should be celebrated so we would prowl on through life and never get beaten down.
Circe rolled her eyes. In her delusional mind, she thought she was more mature than I. But I understood that she wanted to keep that image in front of Jasper. At some point, I might need to talk to her, as she considered me competition more often than not.
Perhaps that was the problem with only one male in a pack.
Jasper obliged me and hit my palm with his rough one for a high five before we jogged down a long street toward the old, abandoned library—our residence—several blocks away.
The metal dish glinted in autumn’s sunlight at the top of the brown building, beckoning us to return home. That was always a comforting sight.
“We’ve never had a demon in this forest before.” Jasper started, strolling to my left.
“We almost became the demon’s snack today,” Circe said, large eyes peeking at Jasper. “Did you hear its laughter? It chilled me to the bone. If any more of them come, Crack won’t be safe for us anymore. Where can we go next?”
Worry knotted in my stomach.
We’d never lingered in the forest long enough for any monsters to ambush us. Each of us played a different role—Jasper flushed out game, I shot them, and Circe used her spells to cover our scent so we could leave the scene quickly once we’d grabbed the game.
We’d never had a demon complication before.
We weren’t equipped to deal with a demon. We might not be lucky again if another Hell-creature, especially a more powerful one, showed up in town.
However, the flame had appeared out of nowhere and burned the demon. The demonic being had vanished without a trace after it screamed, as if it had been dragged back to Hell.
But the realm of Hell had already merged with half of Earth’s surface, which was Lucifer’s greatest achievement. Somehow he’d broken the seal and the boundary after eons of confinement in the endless inferno. And now he sought to bring the full Hell to Earth. Only the God of War and his four demigods held on, refusing to give up their reign on the other half of the planet.
“You have magic, Marigold,” Jasper drawled. “It was powerful enough to banish a demon. And all this time you thought you were just a human.”
“But I am a human,” I said, staring down at my hands and willing a spark of fire to manifest, to give some evidence that the flame had indeed blasted out of me and prove that I might be something more.
I’d felt energy surge through me when the flame appeared, but it could’ve been my imagination. I’d tasted fire and smoke on the back of my tongue, but it could’ve just been the burning air.
Right now, not even an ember answered my call.
I shook my head. “I couldn’t have the kind of fire that could burn a grade-three demon.”
“How did you know that demon’s power grade?” Jasper asked.
“Uh...” I blinked. “I thought everyone could tell.”
“We couldn’t,” Jasper said. “I think your need to protect us and your intense reaction to the demon threat brought out your power.”
“Or the flame could have come from Circe,” I said, turning to my witch friend. “Did you feel like it generated from you? You’ve been practicing fire spells.”
She bit her plump lower lip and mused for a second before she nodded. “It could’ve. I’ve cast fire spells before, though nothing as big as that. But when facing the demon, I could have enhanced the flame. I felt the power blast in the air. Everything happened so fast I couldn’t trace my spells. I need to practice more on my power to conjure up fire at will.”
I nodded in approval. “You’re a natural, Circe. We can clean up the courtyard for you to practice.”
Circe beamed.
Jasper gave me an unreadable glance, but he didn’t look convinced that the flame was Circe’s witch fire.
“What do you guys need?” I asked, changing the subject. “You two go ahead and stew the shimera.” Jasper was the best cook among us, so cooking was his lot. I grabbed my backpack. “I’ll go take the other shimera to the market.”
“Maybe I should go to the trade?” Jasper said, concern in his brown eyes.
“No way,” I said. “I’m the best trader, and you don’t even bargain much.” I knew he was worried that I might get attacked alone. I grinned at him. “I know all the shortcuts, and I run damn fast. No one enjoys messing with me.”
Jasper gave me an appreciative look. “You’re a vicious fighter, and everyone who isn’t awfully dumb has learned that you’re also vengeful.”
“Hey, be careful with my reputation,” I said.
“You can take me with you, you know,” Circe said. “I can watch your back.”
She wanted to escape the chore of skinning the shimera.
I smirked. “Go home, kids.”
I waved goodbye.
The next second I tensed, sensing a new threat.
Jasper growled as if he’d felt it, too—the looming of predators.
Circe widened her nervous eyes. “What now?” She grabbed the three remaining spells from her pocket. “We can’t deal with another demon attack.”
“Run!” I yelled.
All three of us burst toward the warded library.
Only a few more blocks and three more turns and we’d reach the building. We had more weapons in our dwelling.
Movements blurred all around us.
A pack of six werewolves intercepted us from two opposite corners, four of them in werewolf form. As one, the three of us swerved in another direction, only to meet a gang of a dozen armed humans blocking the other end of the alley.
Crack wasn’t a bad place to live, as it wasn’t in the grasp of either the demons or the demigods. The only downside was that horrible humans and rogue supernaturals kept migrating to this settlement, and some decided to rule this patch of land.
They usually fought in the town’s center. Few of them ventured into the edges where monsters took the dark forest and the three of us occupied an abandoned library.
The old gangs basically left me alone, my crazy reputation encouraging them to give me a wide berth.
But this time, instead of avoiding me, they’d decided to gang up on me.
The three of us halted in the middle of an ambush and pressed our backs against each other.
Snarling, Jasper tore his T-shirt off and shifted in an instant.
Circe hissed, her shaking hands tight on the three spells she had left.
I flashed my usual syrupy smile, regarding the werewolf pack that appeared to be a bigger threat before fl
icking my reckless glance toward the human gang who still feared and resented me.
“Hello, David, right?” I purred, making eye contact with a rough-looking human leader in his thirties. His left ear was missing, and I might have had something to do with that. From how he glared at me, I’d bet he hadn’t forgotten the incident and he wasn’t going to forgive me any time soon.
“I see you don’t wear a hat anymore,” I continued. “And you’ve made new friends. How courteous of you to introduce us to your big ass supernatural friends.”
The scar on David’s left cheek twitched, and I might have contributed to that long scar, too. Well, he wasn’t friendly to many women. I’d gotten caught up in the moment and defended them after I decided that he couldn’t be persuaded to be a bit more polite.
“Shut up, you crazy bitch!” David spat, but he had bad aim, and his second-in-command—what was his name, Jason?—was a bit too slow to avoid getting hit.
Jason winced and subtly withdrew a half-step, not interested in a second serving from his unstable boss.
“Today is your doom, bitch!” David declared.
“Haven’t heard the B word for a while,” I said, stalling so Jasper could have more time to recover and gather strength from his shifting and Circe could find a better chanting spell. She didn’t do well under stress, so I had to keep this as anxiety-free as possible. And I was still eyeing all the possible exits. “I kind of missed the name calling. By the way, have you heeded my advice and given the name David to someone else? David is a nice, meek male name that only suits—”
“Enough!” the werewolf alpha barked. Just like any alpha male, he wasn’t keen on letting someone else take the limelight.
I slid him a sidelong glance.
In his human form, he was bulky and shorter than I expected for a pack alpha. He also had greasy hair, which I didn’t like. Man, if you wanted to lead, at least set an example for your minions on hygiene.
But voicing that opinion would get me attacked right away.
He pointed his thick index finger at me, and the tip was a bit yellowish. “Is this the nasty bitch you told me about, David?”
I sighed audibly. So far, I’d smiled at all of them, and my smile was sweet. I knew that since I’d practiced it before the mirror. So it wasn’t me. It was them.