by Eve, Jaymin
Tyson's face darkened. “I'm not comfortable leaving you all here without the power of our dragons. What happens if there’s an entire army of demons inside? You'll be dead or possessed before you know it.”
“We’re not without our own skills,” Grace reminded him, and of all people, he paid the most attention to her. “The four of us carry jewels and powers from our lands, Lizzie is as strong as Louis, and you know better than to discount Jess and Misch.”
Maximus snorted. “What about me?” he grumbled. “Am I just the token guy in this situation?”
Mischa reached out and patted his thick biceps. “Don’t worry, hon, I’ll keep you safe.”
He shook his head. “Our women definitely rule this pack. But let’s not forget that I have some skills.”
Grace waved a hand in his direction. “Yes, we also have Max and his … skills.”
I wanted to chuckle at their gentle mocking, because the very powerful men they were mated to probably did need to be pulled down a few pegs at times, but this was not the sort of situation for laughter.
Tyson, Braxton, and Jacob all wore the same expression, none of them happy that our plan included separating, but they didn’t argue again. No doubt they were hoping that in the end they would be the ones in the most danger.
The three of them stepped back and quickly shucked their clothing off. No one bothered to look away; nudity was not a big deal in the supe world. I was too old to give a shit about seeing a few guys’ junks—the fact I was even saying the word “junk” told me I’d been hanging around my Alaskan shifter friends for far too long—once you'd seen some junk, you'd pretty much seen it all.
Well, sorta. The Compasses were pretty impressive in their nakedness—even if they were years too young for me, and all mostly in true mate bonds—and they were even more impressive when they turned into massive dragons.
Jessa let out a wistful sigh. “Some days I miss Josephina so much it’s actually painful. I miss having her close to talk to, and her power and protection. Especially now that I have children, being able to protect my pack seems more important than ever.”
I couldn’t even imagine a loss like that, something so fundamental to yourself. No wonder Jessa was so strong and resilient. She might be young, but she’d been through a lot.
Mischa and Grace wrapped their arms around her, and the three remained close as they watched the giant beasts rise up into the air. The lights that had been swirling around the circus turned in their direction. Braxton, a black-and-blue-scaled dragon, roared before flames spewed from his jaw. His wings flapped lazily, sending plumes of dust across the arid landscape. The other two flanked him, one a sleek green beast with scales that sparkled with an extra oomph of intensity, while the other was tawny and broad, and the glint of intensity in its large eyes told me that Tyson was just as determined in dragon form.
If not more so.
Three plumes of fire filled the sky, and more roars from the beasts. The lights were now all moving in their direction, which allowed us to creep forward in the shadows. Demons poured from the circus, heading toward them. They seemed to think that in large numbers they might have a shot against the dragon flame.
“How many demons exist here?” Justice whispered, ducking down as we hurried forward. “Like … are there millions?”
“No way to really tell,” I said, sliding under an open doorway of a nearby tent-like structure. “I would guess, maybe … a hundred thousand. The numbers increase as more supes ... and humans … find their way to the dark side. This land will not be able to contain them all one day.”
Cam shivered, her hands tightening on the sapphire stone she had clutched close to her chest. “They scare me,” she admitted in a whisper. “I have nightmares about being taken over by the darkness that we fought back in Faerie. Of falling like Grace did.”
It sounded like she’d been holding that fear inside. She looked astonished that she had admitted it out loud. Gretley reached out and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close. “I have the same nightmare,” she murmured into the top of Cam's head. “I'm not sure I'll ever be able to close my eyes and not see that shadow again.”
My heart ached for all of them. I’d been young when my life fell apart too, but at least they had each other. These close family ties would help them get through it all.
“It’s only been a few days,” I said softly. “Give yourself time. Trauma does not heal overnight.”
Or even in a few decades. But it did get easier to live with.
We were all inside a huge tent now, and it was hotter in here than it had been anywhere else in this land. I continued to follow the pull of Louis’s power. Sticking to the shadows, I kept my senses alert for any demon presence, but it felt like this area was clear. That was, until we found ourselves on the edge of a red flame, one that reached all the way to the ceiling of this “tent.”
The wall of flames was different to any other fire I’d seen before. It was smooth, no flickering or surging, and it circled around something. The heat it emitted was intense, and whatever was inside the circle with Louis was dark. Like … fifty demons dark. “It feels like Louis is being held in here,” I said. “But there are also a lot of demons inside.”
Running my hands close to the fire, I said, “I’m going to try and blast a small hole through it so that we can enter.”
“Are you sure he’s in there?” Maximus asked.
I nodded. “Yep, definitely.”
To double-check, I walked the full circle of the flames and found no other trace of Louis outside of this spot. The others followed me until we ended up back in the place we started. “He's definitely inside, and the darkness I feel in there is growing.”
“I can feel it too,” Grace choked out. “It’s just like the shadow energy back on Faerie.” She lifted the crystal to chest height. The diamond was starting to glow in a way it hadn't since she picked it up from her land. “The jewels are responding.”
“Could there be a shadow here?” Cam asked, her eyes wide.
No one answered, because we really didn’t know what was inside. Shadows had started as upper-level demons, so while the one inside might not be exactly like the shadow she had fought in Faerie, it didn’t mean its power wasn’t similar. And there might even be more than one in there.
“We have no choice,” Jessa said with force. “We’ve left Louis too long as it is; who knows what he’s been suffering here at the hands of these demons. If he’s on the other side, I will not walk away now. I don't care what we have to fight to get him back.”
“This is why we had to be here,” Gretley said, straightening. I was starting to see that she was quiet and brave. “The jewels are designed to fight darkness. It's literally what our people have been doing for a very long time. We’re the best defense against the upper-level demons.”
“We're not trained though,” Cam reminded her, still looking fragile and scared. “We have no freaking idea what we’re doing.”
Justice shook out her hair, the red and orange of the fire reflecting off the white strands. “We need to stick together and go on instinct. It’s helped us defeat evil in the past, and it will help us again.”
Her reassurance seemed to instill a sliver of confidence in the others, and I didn't think they even realized it, but they all moved a little closer to one another, needing the comfort of their bond. Jessa met my gaze and smiled. “We got this,” she told me.
I was old enough to know that too much confidence could be lethal. You went in cocky, you didn’t plan enough, you got dead. But … we didn't really have another option. Louis needed us. He was right there, and I was channeling Jessa when I said, “Let's do this. The demons are going down, and Louis is coming home with us.”
As soon as we freed him from whatever they were using to hold him here, his soul would return to its body. It was not meant to exist here; it still had a vessel.
“Well, if you’re ready, I'm going to break through this flame,” I said, gath
ering almost all of the energy I had left inside. Had to save some to return us home. “It’s probably going to drain me considerably, but know I will do everything I can to assist you with whatever waits on the other side.”
I’d never worked with this sort of flame before, but I had an idea what it was. Hellfire. Designed to burn souls as well as the flesh, it was no doubt the very thing keeping Louis trapped here. I closed my eyes to focus.
Lestinae fortuna legresia momentum. I let the spell swirl around my mind, and my power surged up, rising from my center. Resista flamina.
My skin grew hot as my body vibrated. My parents had always joked that I was too small to contain so much magical essence, that one day it would burst my skin, especially if I ever released it all without the help of a ley line to filter it.
Looked like we were about to find out.
Maximus stepped in front of Mischa, pulling Jessa into his side just as the spell reached its full potential, crashing out of me with the force of a tsunami. The jeweled princesses lifted their stones, and light shone out in a protective glow around them. My arms shook as I struggled to keep the focus of my spell. I needed all of it to stay on the flames. It was the only way I could guarantee to split the fire.
For a brief moment I didn’t think it had worked, because the red remained unbroken, and as sweat beaded on my forehead I shook with the force of maintaining the power. Then, hope infused in me when the smallest of gaps appeared.
“You got this, Lizzie,” Jessa yelled, her voice barely penetrating through the magic roaring around me. “Don’t give up.”
I wouldn’t give up, but I also wasn’t near a ley line. Eventually my own magic would run out, and if the wall wasn’t parted by then, we’d never get to Louis.
“Once it’s open,” I gritted out, projecting my voice, “get in there straight away. We won’t have much time.”
My voice sounded labored, and I pushed myself harder because I needed it done.
The fire split further and further, inch by inch, until there was a doorway big enough for me. Of course, outside of Cam, I was the smallest one there, and I couldn’t risk this fire touching any of them. It was not a burn supes could heal from.
I dug even deeper, searching for hidden strength. I could do this, I knew I could do it, but before I could release any more energy, a shadow darted across the entrance I’d created.
I froze.
Demons. Shit. Shit. They were already coming for us.
I’d figured they wouldn’t even notice us until we were inside, but I hadn’t taken into account how much time it would take to break the hellfire. An inky energy, darker than any I’d ever felt, pushed through the doorway, blasting all of us back. I used magic to stop myself from hitting the ground, skidding on my boots instead. My eyes immediately shot to the fire, and I could have cried when I saw it whole and unbroken.
All that work for nothing. We hadn’t gotten to Louis, and I’d only succeeded in letting out an upper-level demon. We were now in very real danger, and I wasn’t sure I had the energy to break the wall again.
Before I could worry about that though, there was a demon to deal with.
I stayed still, half hidden in the shadows, my eyes the only things moving as I tried to track the darkness. It felt like it was everywhere, and so freaking strong that my teeth were actually aching from the energy.
“Lizzie!” Jessa shouted. “Are you okay?”
“Yes,” I called back just as quickly. “There’s an upper-level demon in here, so be aware.”
A specter appeared in the center of the space, and a dozen or so lights focused on it. The gasp fell from my lips before I could stop it, and I swear my heart stuttered out of rhythm.
“Louis?” I choked out.
He might have been in soul form, but it was clearly the sorcerer. I would recognize him anywhere, even mostly translucent and coated in swirling darkness. Jessa and Mischa rushed to my side, both of them reaching for me. I grasped their hands, pulling them back.
“It’s Louis?” Jessa asked, squinting as she tried to see through the inkiness that surrounded him.
I nodded, swallowing hard. “Yes. That’s Louis’s soul. And—”
“Something happened to him,” Maximus bit out, his body growing larger. He vamped out, his fangs appearing as his eyes darkened. “He’s demon touched.”
I shook my head. “No, no, that’s not right. He isn’t demon touched. He has no body to be demon touched. It’s something else…”
Louis laughed then, and it brought every hair on my body to attention as a shiver ran down my spine. Holy gods. This was bad. This was really bad.
“My family,” Louis said, waving his arms in our direction. “Here to save me.”
Jessa released me, taking a small step toward him. “Louis?” she questioned again.
Some of the joviality slid from his face. “You don’t recognize your own brother?” His tone was harder, the darkness swirling higher.
“You’re covered in what looks like a demon, dude,” Jessa shot back, no fear in her tone. I could tell this was stressing her out, though. Her nails appeared to be actually drawing blood in her palms. “What happened to you?”
Louis laughed again. This time it was a roar of sound as he sent power flying around the room. “I embraced the dark magic inside. You know all magic users have it, but we are taught to suppress it because they want us weak.”
Yeah, no, that wasn’t the reason, Louis. It was because magic users turned into evil assholes without morality or empathy when they embraced the darkness of their magic.
His eyes met mine, and it almost looked like flames flickered across his face. “What are you doing here, Elizabeth?”
The anger in his voice was real, and it sparked my own anger. I had never done anything to Louis that warranted his hatred of me, but still, he’d cut me out of his life like I was nothing. Like we hadn’t shared so much, lost someone we both loved, and somehow made it to the other side.
He’d just cut me out.
“I’m here to help save your sorry ass,” I all but shouted at him, losing control of my emotions. He did this to me every damned time. “Your soul wouldn’t have gotten out of the fire if I hadn’t spelled it apart.”
He laughed again before zooming forward, his speed so rapid that it was only an instant before he was towering over me. For the first time, I felt true fear as he stared down at me.
“I could have split that fire without breaking a sweat. I was just curious to see if you could do it.” He shot me a cold look. “I never expected to see you again. The bringer of bad memories.”
His words triggered something in me, a deep-seated fear that had held me immobile for years. “You wish I’d died instead of Regina?” I choked out, tears burning the back of my throat and eyes. “You’ve always wished that.”
I waited for him to confirm it, but he just sneered. “I’m ready to return to my body now,” he told me softly. “And I’ll finally have the strength befitting a sorcerer of my level. I’ll finally be strong enough to ensure that no one will be taken from me again. Ever.” His whisper turned insidious. “If you think you can best me, then bring your A game. Because I’m stronger than I’ve ever been.”
Fear held me as I tried to process what was happening here. How had Louis gone dark like this? I didn’t understand. The natural light of all mages kept our darker instincts under control, and Louis, more than anyone, was filled with light energy.
What did the demons do to him? How did they break him like this?
Jessa opened her mouth to say something, but Louis was so focused on me he didn’t see it. Before she could speak, there was a pop, and the specter that was Louis disappeared.
I cried out, falling to my knees. Mischa dropped down next to me. “What just happened?” she asked, reaching for my arm.
My chest heaved as I fought for breath. “Louis … he’s embraced dark magic,” I said in a strangled voice. “We all have dark in our magic. Yin and yang. It�
�s important for balance, but we are taught from a young age to focus on the light, which is naturally a little stronger. Whatever happened here, Louis has lost his balance. He has embraced the dark side.”
“Where is he now?” Maximus asked, his voice thundering.
“Back,” I whispered, forcing myself to my feet. I felt weak and fragile, like a strong breeze would just carry me away. “He’s gone back to his body, because there was nothing more holding his soul here.”
“With a demon?” Jessa screamed. “He’s gone back with a demon in his soul still?”
“No…” I shook my head. “There’s no actual demon inside of him. This is Louis’s own darkness, the energy that had always been in his soul. In his magic.” They weren’t magic users, they didn’t understand. This was not an evil entity that we could exorcise from Louis; this was his own power.
Jessa looked confused, but Grace, who was nearby with her sisters, nodded. “Yes, it’s true. I was worse than most because I had an actual shadow inside of me, but there’s always darkness in magic. It’s just usually beaten back by the light in our souls.”
“Louis’s soul was hurt, tortured, broken down in so many ways that the light dimmed.” I realized the truth of this even as I spoke it out loud. “And now he’s back in Stratford.”
“We have to get back too.” Jessa was already moving. “We left our entire town there, vulnerable to Louis.”
There was a noise nearby, and I spun around, prepared to battle, but it was only the other Compasses. “Jessa already told me everything,” Braxton said. “What can we expect from this dark Louis?”
I shook my head. “I have no idea. I’ve never seen a sorcerer as powerful as he is go dark. I’m guessing something akin to Kristoff.”
“But he was demon touched,” Tyson said, his eyes blazing with a mix of color. “Louis doesn’t have a demon inside.”
“Kristoff didn’t start demon touched, though,” I reminded them. “He started by embracing the darkness. Once they’re demon touched, they’re completely unreachable. Louis … he should be more reasonable. Nothing is controlling him yet. It’s still Louis, just a Louis who is easier to anger and hungry for power and energy.”