Arcane Solutions (24 page)

Thirty

A creak woke me, and opening my eyes, I found the demon wearing Mitchell and the green gargoyle walking into the cell.
“Morning already?”

“
Get up. You need to be prepared.” Demon Mitchell was wearing the hooded robe I’d seen in my getting sacrificed vision. “Where’s the girl?”

“
Your buddy whacked me over the head. I didn’t see any girl.” I did sit up, but made no move to stand. “Prepared?”

He gestured, and Green Boy pounced, hauling me to my feet.
“Bring her.”

Turning, Demon Mitchell swept out with an impressive swing of his robes. Walking alongside the other, I glanced at its throat. Tiny scales covered it, and they did look softer than the larger ones everywhere else. For a minute, an attack seemed like a really good idea. But then I wondered if they’d just knock me out. Being unconscious would ruin the plan I’d come up with.

I’d just be dead. Maybe a better opportunity would come along.

We arrived at another rocky opening, but the room beyond it looked as though it had been lifted from a palace. There was a bathing pool in the middle of it, surrounded by marble floor and walls.
“Nice place.”

“
Shut up, witch. Remove your clothing and bathe.”

No way in hell I was getting naked while they watched.
“Sure, as long as you both turn your backs. I don’t do audience participation when nude.”

Demon Mitchell sneered.
“I can have him undress and bathe you.”

Modesty was elbowed out of the way by panicky disgust.
“Guess there’s a first time for everything.”

He laughed. Trudging toward the pool, I began undressing with my back to them. The water was pleasantly warm, but smelled of rotten eggs. High sulfur content. How appropriate.

I scrubbed, washed my hair with stuff from a bottle Demon Mitchell tossed at me, and then rinsed. “Need a towel.”

He pointed, and a stack of thick, blood-red towels appeared on the pool’s wide ledge. Wading over, I grabbed one to wrap around me while climbing out.

By the time I’d finished drying, he’d conjured up a long, sleeveless crimson gown and a black, hooded robe. “These aren’t really my best colors.”

“
Put them on.”

Grumbling under my breath about demonic lack of fashion sense and color palettes, I obeyed. A woman entered the room, carrying a tray with a brush and some other things on it. She was possessed, so no hope of help there.

“Sit.”

“
You are one bossy son of a bitch, you know that? Most people use a little courtesy. You should try it. More flies with honey than vinegar.”

Demon Mitchell snarled, his teeth showing points.
“I am not most people. I am a prince of the demonic realm. Now sit.”

I sat, wondering if that meant he would be more difficult to kill than the demons we’d fought so far. The possessed woman began messing with my hair. She even trimmed the ends and my bangs. After that, she rubbed some sort of oil around my wrists and ankles. It seemed no time at all had passed before she was finished, and was placing a pair of red slippers on the floor for me to wear. Sliding my feet into them, I stood up and turned around.
“So how do I look?”

“
Like the perfect sacrifice.”

I pretended dizziness, leaning back against the table where the tray sat.
“That’s not very gentlemanly.”

Another sneer appeared on the demon’s face, and my hand closed around the scissors.
“Shut up, witch, and come.”

“
I’m not a witch. I’m a psychic. Now, I do know some witches, and I’ll tell you, I can’t do the things they can. There’s this spell they can do that makes a net drop around demons, and squishes them out of existence. It goes like this…”

Green Boy lunged, evidently convinced I knew the spell. Arm swinging, I slashed at his throat. Blood sprayed, but not a damn bit of it landed on me because Demon Mitchell shoved him aside.

He knocked the scissors out of my hand and caught hold of both my wrists. Before I could yank myself free, I was cuffed with manacles that had a short length of silver chain between them.

“
Enough from you. Forward to your destiny, witch,” he ordered, yanking on the chain. Green Boy’s throat sealed shut, and I shuddered at the nasty glare it gave me.

Forward we went, toward what I sincerely hoped was the destiny I wanted, and not the one they were imagining for me.

Just like in my vision, I fought while being led into the cavern and toward the altar. I didn’t see the book anywhere. The cultists who’d taken over leading me lifted me onto it. That’s when my nerve broke. Ready or not, I needed the cavalry. “Leglin!”

All hell broke loose. Cultists screamed as hounds appeared and began attacking everyone in reach. I kicked Demon Mitchell in the stomach, and to my relief, my TK worked. The lock on the manacles clicked. Yanking them away and rolling off the altar, I crouched down. Where was that damn book?

“Cordi! Behind you!” It sounded like David. Turning, I peeked over the altar, and yes, there it was. The book lay open on a short stone pillar on the other side of the altar.

It seemed close, but a red glow of magic lay thick around it, Demon Mitchell was waiting, and the witches were too busy to try breaking it out.

Flames, lightning and bodies flew around the cavern. Dropping back down, I took in the situation as well as possible in the crush. Leglin and four other hounds were keeping demons away from me.

Nick and Thorandryll stood back-to-back thirty feet away, each swinging demon-blood-hungry blades that keened in delight. Percy was screaming obscenities in French as he buzzed demons to distract them so that Kate could cast spells.

Trixie yowled, and I glimpsed Jo throwing a potion bomb and the demon it shattered against disappearing in an explosion of smoke. To her left, David had found some high ground. He was grinning like a mad man, throwing bottles and loading Copernicus each time the raven returned from dive bombing demons like a fighter jet.

Surrounded by blue-green lightning, Damian netted demons too stupid to avoid him. Illusion stood pressed tightly against his leg, barking rapidly. I spotted Ronnie, safe within a circle. Saki, her ferret familiar, sat upon her shoulder, apparently pointing out targets as the blonde witch threw potion bombs.

Whitehaven had made it close to the middle of the cavern, but stalled out, swords flashing as he whirled in a circle. He was wearing a leather outfit that left his arms bare, and didn’t look nearly as gaunt as usual.

A black tiger burst through the demons nearby, and then Logan snarled at my left, huge paws slapping away one demon, claws raking through the flesh of another like scythes. On my right, Leglin echoed the sound, his fangs dripping fiery blood as he dropped an arm he'd ripped off another demon.

I got busy using my TK to toss demons away, but it became obvious that no matter how many we downed, more were steadily arriving to replace them. We weren't gaining any ground and in truth, were barely holding our own against the horde.

Something had to be done before we ran out of steam. Before someone was killed.

I didn't have a friggin' clue what, though. Just realized how incredibly stupid it was to have thought we were enough to take on a whole realm of demons.

Spotting two demons trying to take advantage of Thorandryll and Nick's intense concentration on others, I used my cryo kinetic ability to freeze them. Thorandryll's blade leapt sideways, striking one, and frost-rimmed black fragments flew everywhere.

The sight encouraged me. Concentrating, I began freezing all those within view until David yelled my name. “Cordi!”

He was waving frantically toward a spot I couldn't see.
“The tunnel! Cordi, the tunnel!”

Oh. I moved closer to Leglin, desperately trying to spot the tunnel. The stream of demons arriving through it helped. Focusing, I pushed my CK to its limits and froze a huge chunk of the demonic reinforcements, effectively plugging the tunnel up.

“Thatta girl!” Jo yelled, still throwing bottles.

There were hundreds of demons trapped in the cavern with us. I blasted a few more to frozen stillness, but Mitchell called out something in a sibilant language that made my skin want to crawl away and hide. Flames sparked and
spilled like liquid over mottled skin, instantly thawing out frozen demons. My CK had just become useless.

Panting, I felt panic strike.

Damian and Kate were both retreating to Ronnie's circle, pale faces creased in concentration and their magic barely crackling about them.

A yell from Nick jerked my head around in time to see a demon drawing a clawed hand back and blood spurting from his neck and chest. A curse from Kate had me looking back, just as a clawed hand batted Percy out of the air. The parrot struck her back, sending the witch stumbling forward. Damian turned to confront the demon responsible.

Whitehaven roared something that sounded like a challenge to the demons surrounding him. I saw Thorandryll grab the second sword before shoving Nick toward me. Spinning to put his back to us, the elf had both blades dancing to keep the demons at bay.

I couldn't see David because I was reaching for Nick, who was falling at my feet.

We were all going to die, and everyone who might have been able to break the demon's circle of magic was no longer in any condition to do so. Kneeling beside Nick, my hands warmed by blood as I pressed the slashes in his throat and chest closed, I felt the first cold flutter of defeat.

“
Cordi.” Nick stared, an unspoken plea on his face as he grabbed my wrist. I looked away, my eyes beginning to burn and my lips trembling. This was my fault. They were here because of me. Logan roared, leaping onto a tall demon with wickedly pointed horns. “Run. Get away from here.”

“
I can't.” There was no way I could leave any of them. Anger fluttered in my belly, only to die as he pressed his cheek to the palm of my hand. “I can't, Nick.”

He released my wrist and I rose, flinging away a demon rushing toward Thorandryll's back. The elf had been injured. Blood flowed down his arm from the slashes, but he continued fighting without seeming to notice. Looking at the book, I had a wild idea.

“Leglin!” At my call, the hound released the demon throat he was chewing on and rushed to my side.

“
Cordi!” Nick said, but I was digging my hand under the wide leather collar and concentrating.

It was quiet behind the red haze of demonic magic. I looked at Leglin.
“It worked. You were my key.”

The dog's long tail swept once from side to side. Letting go of his collar, I reached for the book before changing my mind. Instead of touching it, I set it on fire, and it exploded.

Demon Mitchell spun around, his expression shifting from glee to shock. Rage followed quickly on shock's heels and the magic shattered when he charged through it. I threw myself backward. Claws erupted from his fingers as he took another swipe, narrowly missing my throat thanks to Leglin’s timely jump. The dog's teeth dug into the possessed man’s arm, his weight carrying them both several feet away.

Someone screamed my name, but I couldn't tell who. It didn't matter; all that did was leaving this place. Getting everyone out.

Teleporting was a series of blinks. Jo and Trixie. David and Copernicus. Whitehaven. Damian, Kate, and their familiars had already reached the safety of Ronnie's circle, and the pack of hounds was forming another circle around them.

Nick tried to keep me there. Peeling his hands away, I teleported to Thorandryll. The elf avoided my grasping hands.
“Logan's down!”

My heart dropped when I couldn't see the tiger. Thorandryll twisted to sheer off a clawed hand, and then I was stumbling after him while he cleared a path towards a knot of the evil beasts.

The elf fought them away, revealing a torn, still figure. Falling to my knees, I touched the tiger, aware of Thorandryll standing behind me. I couldn't tell if Logan were still alive. A scream that sounded like a baby’s cut through the din, and the elf called out. “Leglin!”

As Thorandryll turned, I grabbed his calf and a handful of thick fur. We landed in the midst of the others and my vision went black for a second, but taking a deep breath, I teleported one more time, determined to leave no one behind.

“Grab on!” I yelled once back among them. Hands obeyed, some latching onto my arms, others onto those I had hold of. I put every last ounce of energy into the effort, but darkness struck before I knew if I was successful.

***

When I awoke, it was to the certainty I'd lost several friends. Losing consciousness while teleporting had to have consequences. Ones that I wasn't ready to face yet—if ever.

Instead, I tried to guess where I was at without opening my eyes. The lack of cinnamon in the air said I wasn't home and the bed was too soft to be hospital issue. From somewhere close by, I sensed movement and heard a soft sigh. Dreading it, but needing to know who'd survived, I turned my head and opened my eyes.