Touched by Fire: Magic Wars (Demons of New Chicago Book 1)

by Kel Carpenter

  “War,” he said quietly. “And rage. You can’t smell it because it’s magic. Only a demon can scent rage.”

  He released me as quickly as he’d pulled me to him. Lucifer locked one of his arms through mine, and took Natalie’s, then continued forward as if nothing had happened.

  He led us to a section in the back of the club. Somewhere that was quieter. The people were few and far between, but the magic was stronger. On every table, sticks like incense burned. I knew better, though, when the need was clawing through my body like an untamable beast. My palms sweat. Goosebumps broke out over my arms. The hair on the back of my neck prickled when we came to a stop beside a section of couches.

  Three people were seated. A woman with long blue hair and black eyes, along with two mostly naked males at her feet.

  “Tatiana,” Lucifer said with a drawl of delight.

  “My lord,” she hummed. Tatiana stood and lowered her head. Both her men, which I assumed were slaves given the collars around their necks, bowed, flattening themselves to the ground.

  Lucifer seemed pleased with her display, and said, “Please, my dear, take a seat. Let us talk like . . . friends.”

  She lifted her head and then dipped it in thanks, but still waited for him to take a seat opposite of her before sitting herself. Lucifer dragged both Nathalie and I down with him, and then lifted his arms to rest at the back of the couch. Magic oozed from his pores at this proximity, and my breath was becoming shallow.

  Nathalie looked like she was handling it better than me, but still not well. My . . . affliction made magic and its side effects worse. More pronounced.

  I panted softly, and my fingers curled to bite into my palms.

  I let myself think back to a decade ago. To what I did. To what happened after.

  Images flashed through my mind, and the heat cooled.

  But my anger didn’t. That was only beginning to surface.

  Lucifer lifted the hand to hail down a servant walking around with a tray. The man paused in his steps and leaned forward, inclining his head as he presented the items on the silver platter.

  “My lord,” the server said solemnly, echoing Tatiana’s words from only moments ago.

  Lucifer didn’t respond as he took a cigar from the selection. The servant made scarce quickly. I didn’t see a lighter around, but when he snapped his fingers and a small flame appeared on the tip of his thumb, I was reminded of a time not long ago.

  When I sat at a booth in his casino and scolded Anders for trading three days of his life to buy that magic. Now I was wondering if Lucifer was who he’d bought it from.

  The Demon King of the Underworld put the cigar to his lips and inhaled, blowing out through his nose.

  “Tell me about the shipment,” he said, after a moment.

  It only took a moment of hearing her speak that I figured out what the shipment was.

  People. Young boys and girls, to be specific.

  “None of them are older than twelve,” she said. “A few are shifters. Only one fae. A girl. She’ll fetch a nice price.” Tatiana ran a hand through one of her slave’s hair. She did it absentmindedly, like how one would pet a dog.

  “Any succubi?” he asked, taking another puff from the cigar.

  I wrinkled my nose at the musky smell of it. Whatever it was, it was strong, and had magic woven in.

  “No,” she said.

  He dabbed the end of the cigar in the ashtray and hummed under his breath. “Good.”

  Good?

  There were only a few reasons I could think of any kind of shipment like that, and none of them were good.

  Yet, he was happy there were no succubi.

  I thought back on the pussy cats and frowned.

  Before I could blank my face, Lucifer lifted an eyebrow in my direction. “Something to say, toy?”

  I scowled at the name. “No.”

  “No?” he asked, mockingly.

  “Yes.”

  He narrowed his eyes, then leaned in. “What are you thinking about, Piper? What is going through that mind of yours that made you frown?”

  Magic coated his words, and if I really fought, I knew I could overcome it.

  But this wasn’t something worth fighting for.

  “I’m confused about how someone trafficking children is happy there aren’t any succubi.”

  He didn’t say anything for a moment, and Tatiana had grown quiet as well.

  “You really think me as horrible as the legends say, don’t you?”

  He didn’t use magic this time, and I wondered if that was because he didn’t truly want the answer. I gave it to him anyway.

  “Yes.”

  Lucifer leaned back and snorted. “Tatiana, meet my new toys, Piper and Nathalie,” he said, motioning to each of us with a turn of his head.

  “They must be new,” she said diplomatically. A nice way of saying I wasn’t broken in yet.

  Lucifer grinned. “They are. Perhaps it’s time for a little show of obedience, then. What say you?”

  Tatiana smiled and my stomach plummeted.

  Lucifer rubbed his hands together in anticipation.

  “Nathalie, go sit on Piper’s lap. I want you both to give me and Tatiana a show.”

  I blinked.

  He couldn’t be serious. He wanted . . . a tease? A show? A—

  I was jarred from my own surprise when Nathalie straddled my lap. She reached up to curl her arms around my neck. I felt her back bow as her front pressed into mine.

  She loomed closer, and there was a look of apology in her eyes.

  Was she apologizing for this shitty fucking plan I never should have agreed to? Or what came after?

  I wasn’t sure, but the next moment her lips pressed against mine.

  Let it be known, I wasn’t a prude. Most of my fuck buddies had been men, but I did have an occasional dalliance with a woman. They gave better head than any guy I’d been with, so kissing her wasn’t unpleasant, really. She was warm and soft. Her hair easily slipped through my fingers, and the smooth skin and hard muscles of her thighs were attractive.

  She was a pretty girl. A smart girl. Not my usual type, but that wasn’t the issue. There was only one simple problem.

  I wasn’t into her. At all.

  Maybe it was because the first time I’d really seen her was at a demon summoning. Or maybe it was because I kidnapped her, and then she got sick. There was also the little issue of her being a witch. I preferred my partners more . . . human.

  But Lucifer asked for a show.

  And she was a great actress.

  So when Nathalie kissed me, I kissed her back. Our lipstick smeared. She smelled like raspberries and juniper. It was a sweet scent. Pleasant enough for me to easily lean into.

  Her fingers knotted my hair. I gripped her thighs roughly, pulling her against me.

  She made a soft noise that enticed me, and I broke our kiss.

  My lips trailed her jaw and down the slender column of her throat. I pressed a soft kiss there and my eyes slanted open. Tatiana was absorbed in our show. One slave at her feet had moved between her legs, eating her out. The other had turned to fucking that one from behind.

  The muscles of his backside went taut as he thrust into the other man.

  As far as situations to land myself in, a demon orgy was pretty high on the list of places I didn’t want to be. Not much could make it worse.

  Movement behind Tatiana made me frown. I pulled back from Nathalie just a fraction as a sense of knowing came over me. My blood recognized him a second before I did.

  Ronan stepped out of the crowd.

  24

  Black fire reflected in his gaze.

  My body froze. Nathalie instantly stopped what she was doing, as if sensing the change in me.

  The music in the Seventh Circle still boomed. People danced. People drank. Tatiana was still writhing as she was being pleasured, and the men fucking were still chasing release. I almost wondered if I was the only one that could see h
im and the smoke drifting in wisps from his suit . . . if I was the only one that could feel his power growing, amassing, the volatile churning beneath his flesh form.

  Then Lucifer spoke.

  “Harvester.” For once, there was none of the pleasantness. None of the mania. He was ice, but fire was upon him, bearing down with its smoldering heat.

  Ronan stopped behind the couch Tatiana was on.

  He let out a dark chuckle. My skin pebbled.

  “Lucifer,” he said. “I should have known. Still pining for Aeshma? It’s been a few thousand years, hasn’t it?”

  Nathalie pulled away, and I turned sideways to eye the demon next to me. His lips were pulled back in the makings of a snarl. Hatred burned in his cold eyes. His magic snapped in the air like a whip. Desire burned in me that was not my own.

  And yet it was.

  “She was my atma,” Lucifer said softly. “Mine.”

  Ronan smiled cruelly, and that wickedness pulled at the threads of my careful composure. Adrenaline was flooding my system.

  There was something in what Lucifer said that made me pause, though.

  Was.

  Not is.

  “I see you’ve figured it out,” Ronan said softly. “So why is my atma sitting beside you?”

  Lucifer stilled, then his gaze slid sideways. First to Nathalie, then to me.

  For the first time, true surprise that he couldn’t mask filled his features.

  “That’s not possible,” he whispered. The words were meant for Ronan, but his eyes were on me. “Piper is mine now, and I’m not letting you corrupt her like you did Aeshma.”

  If it were possible for fireworks to explode in my head and temporarily blind me, it would have happened then.

  Lucifer knew. He knew Aeshma was gone.

  Dead.

  But he kept me under the guise of finding her.

  What’s more, he was claiming Ronan would corrupt me. The irony wasn’t lost on me.

  Lucifer. The Lord of the Underworld. The Morningstar. The Devil.

  He was worried about Ronan corrupting me.

  There was history there. Did I dare hope it was enough so it would come to blows?

  Yes. Yes, I did.

  Lucifer’s arm curled around my shoulders, pulling me in.

  Nathalie tightened her hold on me. Her hands slipped from my hair to my shoulders.

  “She carries traces of Aeshma, but she is not Aeshma. You’re confused, Brother.”

  Brother? Wait a second. He was—

  My head tilted to the side as dark power began building within him. I sensed it from the little bit of blood that mingled between us. He was prepared to end everything. The club. The city of New Chicago. Certainly Lucifer, if it meant getting to me. It was enough to distract me from learning both of the alphaholes being related.

  Sixteen-year-old Piper would have thrown herself at him like the lovesick, romantic fool she was. I tried dating vampires and getting them to change me. I went looking for shifters on full moons. I wanted eternity and power because I viewed those things as safety.

  But power came at terrible costs.

  Last, I went to the witches for it, and they gave it to me.

  That’s why I was here now. That decision was the fucking gift that kept on giving.

  “One never confuses the scent of their atma. We know it in our blood. Our soul. Her magic sings to me. I will not give her up.”

  Ronan sighed, then reached up to undo his cuff links.

  “That’s unfortunate.”

  Lucifer frowned. Nathalie’s nails bit into my skin. The second my blood welled beneath the black dress, both demons froze. Their nostrils flared. They looked at me.

  The hunger in their gazes was enough to scare the shit out of me.

  All hell broke loose.

  Nathalie tried to pull us to the side, off the couch. Lucifer was faster. He grabbed me roughly, pulling me into him. My waist twisted and body contorted as my face was pressed into his collarbone. The arms around my shoulders became a steel band, keeping me there whether or not I wanted it.

  “You made a mistake coming here, Brother,” Lucifer spat the familial term at Ronan. “I’ve been on earth a long time. I’m not the weak angel you remember.”

  I couldn’t see much with the way my face was smashed against his chest and trying to pull away wasn’t getting me anywhere. My heart started to race, and this time I didn’t attempt to calm it. I just had to hope my other self was enough to get me out of here.

  If the crash didn’t claim me first.

  I writhed, and the arm tightened further, threatening to crush my ribs.

  “Just remember, Luci, I gave you a way out.”

  Magic thickened, and I knew I had seconds at most to make my move before Ronan and Lucifer would fight. Resorting to the only action I had left that might work on him, I opened my mouth.

  Then I bit him.

  My teeth sank deep into his flesh.

  The scent of his blood hit me as the first drops welled against my teeth. Lucifer groaned, but it wasn’t in pain.

  Blood touched my tongue, and the ichor consumed me. It tasted different from Ronan’s. Like bliss. Like the best sex of my life. Desire clawed at me.

  Heat enveloped me as ice tried to crawl through my veins. My inner fire fanned hotter. Brighter. It started to burn with a dull ache in my chest.

  I shuddered, taking another long pull from his neck. My senses heightened, and the feel of him pressed against me blurred my racing heartbeat with the sounds and smells of the club.

  It thumped in my ears. Faster. Faster. Fa—

  Silence.

  My heart stopped.

  And then came the rage.

  I shuddered as magic poured through my veins. Strength that no human or supernatural could compete with filled me. Fire touched my vision, staining it red.

  I reeled back and Lucifer couldn’t stop me.

  Despite my great efforts, his blood called to me, making me pause, not even for a full second. I didn’t have a chance to process the all-consuming need I saw in his expression. A hand grabbed at my own and pulled.

  I looked away, and the trance was broken. Nathalie stood there tugging at me, like I was an immovable statue, but by god she was going to try anyway. I jumped to my feet and ran like my ass was on fire.

  Like the beasts of Hell itself were chasing me.

  They kind of were.

  We darted around the couch, and my longer legs and enhanced speed quickly overcame hers. The club was packed, but no one seemed to notice us. They were all facing toward Ronan and Lucifer.

  We only made it to the first raised platform when magic erupted.

  It’s a strange thing not seeing something but feeling it in the air.

  It shouldn’t have a scent, but it smelled like darkness and light. Fire and ice. Chaos and desire.

  Lucifer said that humans and supernaturals couldn’t smell magic. Only demons.

  I tried not to think about that as I dodged a waitress dressed like a pinup girl. There was just one tiny little problem.

  The goddamned heels.

  My ankle twisted, and a snap took me down. I dropped to one knee, and a shadow of pain lanced through me. It was there, but also distorted, as if I were feeling it through a barrier.

  I reached down to take the heel off, and Nathalie dropped to her knees beside me, pulling at my other one.

  “You’ve got a lot of explaining to do when we get out of here,” she said under her breath. She was faster at undoing the straps. I got frustrated and pulled, the thin strip of leather ripped in half, and I wrenched my foot out of it.

  “If we get out of here,” I corrected.

  Nathalie snorted. She tugged at my hand, and I clambered after her, better now that my own two feet were on solid ground again.

  I swore right then and there I was never wearing heels again.

  Ever.

  Roaring filled my ears even as we got further away from the two demons having a p
issing contest over me. I wasn’t sure if it was my own blood in my ears, or them. I sure as shit wasn’t turning to see.

  Racing up the concrete platforms as fast as my legs would carry me, I searched for the door I’d noticed when I’d descended the stairs. We had to get out of the Seventh Circle and into the rest of the Underworld to even stand a chance. Once there, we could find one of the doorways out of here and into the rest of New Chicago.

  I pushed myself harder, pulling Nathalie behind me. The exit door loomed, already open, which made it that much easier. We burst through it, landing disoriented in the middle of a street in the Underworld. The buildings were dark, the atmosphere gloomy beneath the full moon. Cold nipped at my bare skin and creeped beneath the piece of fabric I’d been dressed in.

  I didn’t recognize the location, not that I expected to, given my last trip to the Underworld was over a year ago. “Come on,” Nathalie said, tugging me to the right. I didn’t have the time to question her. I followed, and we ran.

  How she was doing it in heels was beyond me.

  “We’ll never make it to the doorway in time,” she panted. “We need to find a place to lie low and see if either of them make it out alive.”

  “If we don’t get to the doorway, it’s all over. You saw them. They’ll never let me go, and if I’m in the Underworld, they’ll lock it down,” I said, breathing much easier than her.

  “That’s if they make it out.”

  My stomach turned at her comment. I ignored it.

  “That’s a big gamble,” I said. “We need to get back to the car and get the hell out of here. Fuck them both. If I have to run for the rest of my life, I will, but I won’t be captured and held hostage by a demon. You can either come with me, or this ends now.”

  She sighed, then threw her head back and groaned.

  “We’d better hurry up, then. They’re going to assume we’re going for the doorway.”

  She wasn’t wrong, but I didn’t say it.

  Maybe it was stubborn. Maybe it was dumb. But I was not letting myself get trapped in the Underworld with two demons that believed I was their atma.

  The further we got from the Seventh Circle, the less magic tainted the air. It was quieter in this part of the Underworld. I wasn’t sure if that also meant it was seedier. Nathalie took two lefts before slowing. She bent at the waist, and I was forced to stop, not knowing where we were.