Arcane Solutions (23 page)

Twenty-eight

“You can’t go in there.” Mitchell’s secretary, a short, gray-haired woman with a stern face, tried to block the doors to the conference room.

“
Move, or I’ll move you.” Nick’s growl bared his teeth, and his eyes changed to gold. She flinched, meeting them, and then slowly eased right, clearing our path. I pushed the double doors wide open, immediately spotting Mitchell, who sat at the head of a long, rectangular table. There were about a dozen other people present, sitting on each side of it.

They all stared as we walked into the room.

“Miss Jones.” Mitchell frowned. “This isn’t a good time.”

“
Too bad. Your wife’s dead, but I’m betting you already know that.” Shield down, I watched him closely.

“
What?” Perfect shock appeared on his face, but his uppermost emotions were anger and worry.

“
You do surprised well, and I’d be convinced if empathy wasn’t one of my abilities.”

Mitchell held the façade, offering wide eyes and a tremble in his voice.
“I don’t understand.”

“
Do you have any idea how hard it is to lie to a psychic?” Giving Nick a nudge, I smiled. “It’s extremely hard. Where is Zoe?”

He flushed as eyes turned his way.
“We hired you to find her.”

“
Your wife hired me. As I recall, you didn’t seem to give a damn about the girl.” By then, Nick was in place behind him. “Where is Zoe?”

I hoped he’d think something about her location, but instead, gibberish rose in his mind. Nick snarled, grabbing Mitchell’s shoulders.
“He’s casting a spell.”

Shifters could feel or smell magic? News to me. The warning was a trigger, sending those at the table scurrying for the doorway. Jostled as they retreated, I lost focus and contact with Mitchell’s mind. What I couldn’t miss was his eyes turning inky black.
“Nick, he’s poss….”

Mitchell lunged to his feet, and the shifter hit the plate glass window behind the head of the conference table. It shattered, and I screamed as he fell out of sight.

We were four stories up.

“
Now we’re alone,” the newly arrived demon wearing Mitchell said. He smirked while straightening his jacket. “Let’s make a deal, little girl. You for the other one.”

“
No way.” Shoving my hand into my purse, I dug for the dagger but didn’t locate it. Instead, I got a clear image of it lying on my kitchen table. “Crap.”

“
You really don’t have a choice.” The demon began walking down the left side of the table.

“
Oh, yeah? That’s what you think.” I waited until he was only a few feet away before teleporting to the window. Then I jumped.

I’d planned and my panic wasn’t strong enough to interfere with my abilities. A cushion of thick air broke my fall, and I landed next to Nick’s sprawled body. Blood spread from underneath his head in a widening pool.
“Oh God. Nick?”

“
How touching,” Mitchell drawled from behind me. Twisting around, falling on my ass, I gaped at him, unable to figure out how he’d gotten there. “The wolf’s dying, just as you will.”

With his first step, a grin stretched across his face. I scrambled away, trying to make it to my feet, and fell again as Leglin appeared from nowhere. The hound growled, his head lowered and hackles raised. It was my turn to grin.
“Meet my friend. He eats demons for breakfast.”

Mitchell wasn’t eager to stick around, and with a ferocious scowl, faded from view.

“Oh, you are the best boy. Steak for dinner.” I praised the hound while crawling back to Nick’s side. “Come here. We have to get him to the hospital.”

With a hand on each, I teleported us to the ER of Santo Trueno General.
“I need help now!”

Good luck was finally on my side, because Dr. Jamison was at the nurses’ station. He’d been one of my doctors during and after my coma.
“What happened?”

“
A demon threw him through a fourth-floor window. He’s a shifter.”

“
All right. Are you hurt?” Jamison checked Nick’s pulse.

“
No.”

“
Then get the dog out of my ER. Is he an associate?”

“
Yeah, Nick works with me.” I bent to kiss the shifter’s forehead. “The boss will take care of the paperwork. Don’t let him die.”

“
Don’t intend to. Dog, out.” He began calling out orders, and grabbing Leglin’s collar, I teleported to the office.

Right into Whitehaven’s office, in front of his desk. He frowned.
“Discordia. Are you injured?”

There was blood on my jeans. The warmth of it made my stomach roil.
“Nick is. Mitchell called a demon and it possessed him. He threw Nick out of the window. Four stories. I got him to the hospital,” I was babbling, and stopped to calm down. “He was unconscious and bleeding really bad.”

The boss already had his phone in hand, and I squeaked as someone touched my arm. It was Logan.
“You all right?”

“
He’ll be okay, won’t he?”

His smile was reassuring.
“He’s a shifter. We’re pretty tough. Sit down and give yourself a few minutes.”

Hand still clamped around Leglin’s collar, I shook my head.
“The sword’s still in his truck, and I left the damn dagger at home. We need them.”

Before he could respond, I teleported.

There were police on the scene, but no one saw us when we appeared next to Nick’s truck. Using telekinesis to unlock it, I decided it shouldn’t be left there. Leglin jumped in, and I began searching for an extra set of keys the second my butt touched the seat.

There weren’t any.
“Crap.”

Digging out my cell phone, I called Schumacher.
“Hey.”

“
Damn it all, Jones. What the hell happened over there?” He sounded relieved.

“
Aw, were you worried about me?” I grinned as he sputtered, leaning forward to rest my head against the steering wheel. “If you’ll shut up, I’ll tell you.”

He mumbled under his breath when I finished.
“All right. Now tell me what all of this shit means.”

“
It means big trouble.”

Sarcasm dripped from his response.
“I realize that much, Jones.”

“
Mitchell’s possessed. My boss said that means his soul is gone, and can’t return to his body. If you see him, shoot him.”

Schumacher grunted.
“Will that work?”

“
Probably not, but it might give you time to run.” That earned a brief laugh. “Where’s Damian? He can banish demons.”

“
He’s,” the detective paused. “Oh shit. He’s here.”

I sat up.
“Damian?”

“
Mitchell.”

“
Get out of there. Everyone out now.” Before I finished, the connection went dead. Punching redial resulted in three rings and shunting to voicemail. Leglin whined.

“
We’re going.” I found the sword, took hold of his collar, and teleported to the lawn of the Mitchell house.

Two cops were down, EMTs bent over them. Shots sounded from inside the house. I released the hound and let my purse fall to the grass. Hefting the sword, I said,
“Let’s go.”

We ran inside, and I yelled at the hound to stay the instant we reached the living room.

“Drop the sword, witch, or one of the humans will die.” Mitchell sneered over Schumacher’s shoulder. His hand was wrapped around the detective’s neck.

There were three other cops, each held by a demon. I could get out, teleport. They couldn’t. I bent and laid the sword on the thick beige carpet.
“All right. Let them go.”

“
You don’t make the demands. Send the hound away.”

“
No.”

Schumacher gagged as the demon’s hand tightened.
“I will kill him. Send the hound away.”

“
You must think I’m pretty damn stupid. They’ll all die anyway, if you work the spell. You have Zoe, so why are you screwing around here?”

Mitchell laughed, a broken sound that grated the air.
“Trying to gather information?”

Demons weren’t stupid. I added that tidbit to my list.
“I know that I can mess everything up, and that’s why you want to kill me.”

“
Send the hound away, and the humans go free. Otherwise,” Schumacher’s face began turning red and a rasping wheeze escaped him. “They die now.”

“
Leglin, go to Mr. Whitehaven.” The hound looked up and whined. “Go to him right now.” He looked at Mitchell, silently baring his teeth, and then disappeared. “Okay, now let them go.”

The four men were released, and the detective stumbled towards me, gasping for breath.
“Jones…”

“
Get out.” Until they were clear, I was stuck. “Hurry the hell up.”

He hesitated for a second longer, and then went. Mitchell was smiling.
“How fortunate that you have some sense.”

“
Depends on your point of view.” The door shut behind me. I dropped and grabbed for the sword, intending to teleport the hell out of there, but a clawed foot stomped down on the blade.

Its mate kicked, hitting me in the shoulder as I rolled away. Before I could leave, another demon had a handful of my hair, and we were suddenly elsewhere. I tried to teleport, and fire raked my brain, causing me to squeal in pain.

“This is our realm, Miss Jones. Your magic won’t work here.”

Blinking away tears, I managed to glare at him.
“Lucky for you.”

“
And not for you. Put her with the girl,” Mitchell ordered, and the green gargoyle began to drag me away.

The only bright spot I could find was that I’d finally found Zoe.

Twenty-nine

The tunnel it was dragging me through was made of the same dark gray stone of the sacrificial cavern. I winced as one of the demon’s claws poked into my arm.
“Hey, watch it.”

“
Hold silent, witch.” Its voice sounded like gravel sliding downhill.

“
I’m not a witch, or you’d be toast. I’m a psychic.” Arguing what I was wouldn’t really help, but might distract it a little. “It’s not magic, but brainpower, lizard face.”

It grunted, a particularly unhelpful response. You can’t argue with something that’s not going to argue back. I pretended to trip, but the demon just tightened its grip and we both stayed upright.

“Ow. Let go, your claws are sticking me.” It was holding most of my weight, so I kicked backwards and landed a blow on its shin. The demon growled, released one shoulder, and hit me in the back of the head.

Dazed, knees giving out, I dangled from his other hand. With a huffing sound, it transferred its grip to my arm and dragged me along behind it. Moments later, it opened a door and tossed me on a pile of blankets. The door clanged shut almost immediately.

Blinking in the near darkness, I resisted the urge to gasp when a pale face swam into view. “Are you all right?”

“
Zoe?”

She backed away, eyes narrowing.
“How do you know my name?”

Sitting up, I checked the back of my skull and found a small lump.
“My name’s Cordi. Your mom hired me to find you, and hey, I found you.”

“
Well, great job there. Now we’re both trapped in this stinking cell.” Zoe crossed her arms, attempting to sneer, but her lips were trembling too much. Pressing them firmly together, she asked, “Now what?”

“
Well, that’s a really good question. The good news is that you’re no longer choice
numero uno
for the sacrifice.” I managed to stand up, and stood wavering until she jumped up to grab my arm. “Thanks.”

“
What’s the bad news?”

“
I can’t use my abilities here. I’m a psychic.” Pointing to where I thought the door was, I said, “I need to check out the door.”

The girl led me over.
“A psychic? Mom hired a psychic?”

“
I’m also a private investigator.” The door was solid metal, no handle, no opening whatsoever. “Crap.”

“
That man she married did this. Did you find that out?” Zoe helped me back over to the pile of blankets.

“
Yeah.” I didn’t bother mentioning that I’d just figured that part out. “Let me think for a minute.”

“
Sure.” She sat down next to me, pulling her legs up to hug her knees to her chest.

I didn’t want to be the one to break the news her mother was dead. There had to be something I could do to at least get her out.
“Wait.”

What had the boss told me the day Thorandryll brought the hound to me? Something important.
“There’s…oh. I remember.”

“
Remember what?” Head turning, the girl looked at me with eyebrows raised.

“
I’m going to get you out of here. Promise. But I need you to do something for me. Tell the people who’ll be there when you arrive that I can’t use my abilities because I’m in the demon realm.”

“
If you know a way out, why aren’t you coming with me?”

The smile I offered felt crooked.
“Believe me, I’d rather do that, but I have to destroy the book first, and we don’t know how to get here. Where here actually is. So I have to stay.”

Zoe slowly nodded, brows drawing together.
“Is that all you want me to tell them?”

“
No. These are the really important parts, okay? Tell them to ask the elf when the spell has to be done, and to have him bring some of his hounds so that they can all come when I need them. They need to load up for demon killing.”

She nodded.
“I can remember that, but I know when they’re planning to do the spell.”

“
You do? When?”

My heart dropped to stomach level when she answered.
“Tonight.”

Not much time for preparing.
“Okay, tell them that and then the rest of what I said. Repeat it back to me.”

Zoe did so without forgetting anything. Giving in to a sudden impulse, I hugged her.
“Great. Now I’m going to call a friend who will take you to my other friends. Don’t be afraid of him.”

“
Are you kidding me? If he’s taking me out of here, I don’t care if he’s a snake.” The girl grinned, and I felt about two inches tall for not having broken the news about her mother. After being a prisoner, surely she needed a little bit before that newsflash whacked her over the head.

“
He’s a dog. A big dog.” About to call the hound, I added, “And do me another favor: make sure someone feeds him some steak.”

“
Okay.”

Closing my eyes and breathing a silent prayer, I called the hound.
“Leglin.”

Zoe’s
“Holy shit” was followed by a wet tongue dragging across my face. “Oh, you are a good boy.” I hugged the hound’s neck, and then grabbed his muzzle with both hands. “I need you to take her to Mr. Whitehaven.”

Leglin sat down, tail stilling. Baring his teeth, he sneezed in my face.
“Are you telling me no? Don’t tell me no. I have a plan.”

Lips dropping, he cocked his head to the right with ears perked.
“That’s better. If it doesn’t work, I’ll call for you again, to get me out of here. Okay?”

Gazing into my eyes, the hound thought about it briefly before dipping his muzzle in agreement. I hugged him again.
“Thank you.”

Zoe licked her lips before asking,
“What do I do?”

“
Grab hold of his collar. He’ll take you directly to my boss, and that’s who you need to talk to. Do you remember everything I need you to tell him?” She nodded, moving to her knees and setting a hand on Leglin’s collar. “Good. Leglin, get her out of here.”

“
Wait. Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

“
Yeah, don’t worry about me.” My reassurance held every bit of confidence I could scrape up. Zoe smiled.

“
Okay.”

With a final lick across my face, the hound lifted his head. Both he and the girl disappeared. I sighed, and carefully lay down on the blankets. My head was pounding.

I’d done everything I could for the moment. Eyes closing, I dozed off.

***

“You don’t listen very well.” The old man was back.

“
Excuse me?” I couldn’t tell if I was asleep or awake. My surroundings were the same, and the blankets smelled.

“
I warned you.” He was scowling. “Yet, here you are. From frying pan to fire.”

“
I have a plan.”

“
You’re in the demon realm, girl.”

Sitting up, I scowled back.
“Not news, already knew that. Even know I can’t use my abilities here.”

The old Indian snorted.
“Of course you can.”

Okay, that was news.
“I tried and it set my brain on fire.”

“
Because you aren’t properly shielded. With just a little help, you can use your talents in this realm. However,” he held up a gnarled finger. “This realm will seek to drain you. It hungers for power, specifically, power from other realms.”

“
How do I shield properly?”

“
You’ll need a bit of demon blood.” He shrugged. “Ingested.”

I tried to think that through. What exactly would drinking demon blood do to me? Assuming nothing horrible, like turn me into a scaly thing with horns, how the hell was I supposed to get my hands on any?

“Their throats are the softest, most convenient spots,” the old man said.

“
Oh well then, no problem. I’ll just fuss until one comes to check on me, and then try and bite its throat. Yeah, great plan. I think I like mine better.”

He snorted again, the sound ripe with derision.
“The place they’ll take you rests between this realm and the one you’re accustomed to. Your abilities may work there without the demon blood.”

Because I’d seen human cultists in my visions about the cavern, I’d hoped it was part of my world.
“What if I’m surrounded by a pack of elf hounds?”

He gave a slow blink, mouth working as though he were chewing a tough piece of meat.
“Aren’t you the smart one?”

“
So it’ll work? That would be enough of a shield for me to be able to use my abilities?”

“
The hounds are of mixed blood, and their presence should fully lock that chamber into your realm.” His wrinkles moved, revealing white teeth. “Quite impressive thinking for a child.”

I let him think I’d planned that, even though the thought hadn’t crossed my mind until just a few seconds before.
“Who are you? My fairy god-father or something?”

The old Indian laughed, a surprisingly robust sound.
“Something like that. You may call me Sal.”

Sal seemed like a super dumb name for a fairy god-father, but at least I’d gotten that much from him.
“What else can you tell me?”

He shrugged.
“Not much. There are rules.”

“
Rules?”

“
Don’t get too nosy, kiddo. Telling you much more would land you in a field of trouble you’d never escape from.” Hair rustling, he turned his head to survey the rock walls. “What a dump.”

“
Tell me about it.” I was willing to stop asking questions about him, being in quite enough trouble already. “Can you tell me if Zoe passed on everything I asked her to?”

Sal’s teeth showed again.
“Those who care will be ready to answer your call.”

“
Thanks.” I rubbed a hand over the lump on my skull. “Am I going to be seeing you every time I sleep now, or what?”

“
No, just when the rules allow me to contact you.” He raised a hand. “No more questions, Discordia. You should take what rest you can before the time for action arrives. Sleep.”

Darkness swirled and he faded away.