Hot Magic (31 page)

“‘A daughter shall be born in light and shadow, a guardian who rises out of evil. Wild power circles her and chaos will follow her footsteps.’”

Harrison frowned. “Is that from the demon prophecies?”

“No.” Abigor looked smug. “That comes from your own
Words of Wisdom
. Whom could it refer to but my daughter?”

“I have no idea, but those words do not describe Julie.” Harrison knew that with certainty. “Did you stop Julie from taking me with her?”
 

“My daughter may be powerful, but she is unschooled. It was not difficult to grab you from her hold and keep you here. The other two were a political liability and should never have been brought here in the first place. The Skaven should never try to think for themselves.”

“You let Julie leave.”
 

“Julie can not be held where she doesn’t wish to be.” He smiled proudly. “However, I have much to teach my daughter. She must willingly make Gehenna her home. I thought to use Josephius as a lure, but he didn’t appeal to her. You do appeal to her. If you are here, she will stay.” The simple logic sent a chill through Harrison.

“She won’t. Gehenna will never be her home.”

Abigor smiled again. “There’s a human saying that applies to my daughter. Something about home being where the heart is. If you are here, and her mother is here, Julie will be here also.”

He might be right. “I came here in my role as Balance to protest the kidnapping of two members of the Triad and your holding of a third. If you don’t allow my return, your action will start a war far greater than any we’ve witnessed before.”

Abigor didn’t look concerned. “Not if you agree to stay here.”

“I won’t agree.” The fact that Abigor had revealed his plan worried Harrison. He must be very sure of his ability to keep Harrison here.

“I’m a demon,” Abigor pointed out. “I’m very good at making people do things they never thought they would.” He unfolded his arms and stuck his hands in his pockets. He cocked his head slightly as he studied Harrison. “What is the most important thing in the world to you?”

Harrison didn’t answer. Abigor knew what mattered to him—justice, maintaining balance and order, keeping the demons in their place. Julie.

 
“Julie is a wild power,” Abigor said, his tone almost gentle. “Your laws demand that she be banished. She could unintentionally bring death and destruction to your people if she can’t control her abilities. If she is in Gehenna, I can train her, guide her powers. We demons have no desire to destroy the Triad or your Balance, we have internal problems of our own to deal with.”

He referred to Ashakarin. Even though Abigor had managed to send him to Lobolo, a hidden dimension used to house criminals, Ashakarin refused to stay vanquished.

“Stay here, Harrison. This will be your sacrifice for your people, the ultimate expression of your duty. I promise your duty will not be painful.” Abigor spread his arms in invitation, and the plain, white room became the green, sloping fields of England. Harrison smelled the rich air, redolent with grass and wildflowers. How long had it been since he’d walked the hills of Surrey or Kent? A quilt lay on the side of a hill with a picnic lunch spread out, a bottle of wine propped against the basket; a replay of his recent picnic with Julie. A woman—he looked closer—Julie, of course, leaned back on the blanket, her face raised to the sun. She wore a bright yellow, sleeveless sundress that buttoned down the front. Her bare legs were stretched out in front of her, toes cocked to the sky. Several buttons of her dress were undone, and Harrison could see the smooth curve of a bra-less breast. Her bare arms were brown from the sun and looked soft and warm to the touch.
 

“I can make Gehenna anything you want it to be, Harrison. You will save your beloved Triad, you will keep Julie from banishment and you will have my daughter for as long as you live.”

Julie turned toward him. She held out her hand to him in invitation.
 

“Do you choose to be with my daughter forever?”

As Harrison contemplated that question, his gaze locked with Julie’s. He logically worked through the pros and cons, the costs and benefits, of various responses. When he finally looked at Abigor, he knew his answer was clearly written in his expression.

Abigor smiled. “Will you stay in Gehenna, Harrison Chevalier?”

T
he coffee maker had just spit the first of the rich, dark liquid into the carafe when Dorie burst through the back door. “You’re back.” Her strong arms immediately engulfed Julie in a hard hug.
 

She stepped back and eyed Julie carefully, as if looking for signs of injury. “Was that you with the bullhorn outside? You could have set off cannons if you wanted a less obvious way to announce your return.” Dorie had on a pair of sweats and an old T-shirt. The shirt was inside out and the tag was in front.

Cindy Lui ran in behind her, wearing red silk pajamas that had definitely come from an expensive lingerie catalog. “I called the police. They’re on their way. Are you okay?”

Julie opened her mouth. She paused, not sure how to answer. Her head swiveled toward the kitchen window, drawn by the odd vision of lights bobbing in her backyard like fireflies on growth hormones. She closed her mouth and brushed past Dorie and Cindy to lean over the sink and get a closer look. Several uniformed police officers were in her yard, scanning the bushes with flashlights.
 

Okay. She could handle this. She’d just go talk to them and explain she’d been sleepwalking. When they asked why she had screamed, she’d say she saw a giant raccoon. No, that wouldn’t work. It was hard to see raccoons, or anything really, while asleep. Okay, she’d tell them she had a nightmare. She’d had a nightmare about, oh, something totally preposterous like being half-demon. Of course, the horror of that had caused her to bellow so loudly, most of the city had woken up.
 

Satisfied she had a reasonable excuse for her behavior, she pushed away from the sink and took a step toward the back door. At that precise moment, someone knocked loudly on the front door. She stopped, unsure which direction to go in. The police were probably at the front, too. Tasha would answer it.
 

In fact, the police could just take care of themselves for a few moments. Coffee was more important. She brushed past Dorie and Cindy Lui again. Both women were watching her with concerned expressions on their faces. Too bad. If they’d had the kind of day she’d had, they would be whimpering on the floor.
 

She glanced at them again. Okay, maybe not. Dorie had twin boys and had never whimpered a day in her life. Julie wasn’t so sure she’d be able to say the same thing if she had to watch Dylan and Daniel for more than a day. And Cindy definitely didn’t seem the whimpering type. She’d probably have half the demons in Gehenna coming to her Halloween party if she’d been in Julie’s place.
 

And neither woman would have messed up and left Harry behind in Gehenna.
 

Really, could life get any worse? Feeling like a total failure, Julie grasped the handle of her favorite coffee cup just as something silver and slim flashed into her peripheral vision.
 

Marguerite appeared in the middle of her kitchen.
 

Which only proved that, yes, things could get worse. Julie’s favorite cup slipped from her fingers, Cindy screamed and the police rushed into her kitchen from two directions, weapons drawn.

Julie held up both her hands. She knew it made her look guilty, but it was her first reaction. As her mind scrambled to come up with a new explanation that would cover Cindy screaming and Marguerite materializing, she heard a sound that made her forget everything else.

A soft, echoing hoot, coming from the direction of the open back door, slid through the cacophony of noise. She sagged in relief. Bas had finally arrived.

Chapter Seventeen

T
he sleepwalking story worked. Sort of. The police looked skeptical but had better things to do than question a bunch of people who swore nothing was wrong when all that had been reported was a scream. Julie claimed that Cindy Lui had shrieked because Marguerite startled her when she stepped out of the shadows. Never mind that the well-lit kitchen didn’t have any shadows.
 

Cindy looked confused and inclined to argue until Bas knocked on the back door. The sight of bad-boy Bascule, dressed in full leather, seemed to wipe everything else from her mind. The police left very quickly after Bascule arrived, as if pushed out by an invisible hand. Cindy followed after them with a promise to get more Halloween party invitations to all the new people.

No doubt about it, Bas was awesome.

“Where have you been?” Julie asked as soon as the door closed on Cindy.

“You need to get back to Gehenna,” Bas said, not answering her question.

A muffled sob pulled her attention from Bas. She turned to see Luc folding his sister into a bear hug.

Ah, yes. Marguerite.
 

Julie marched to the woman and yanked her out of Luc’s arms. Marguerite gasped, took one look at Julie’s face and cringed. Jeez.
 

“I’m not going to hit you.” Julie held on to both of Marguerite’s forearms. “At least, I don’t think I am,” she amended, impelled by honesty. Squinting, she looked into Marguerite’s thick-lashed eyes, trying to see through into her brain. She raised her voice. “Harry, can you hear me?”
 

“No. He can’t.” Marguerite blinked, tears welling. “There’s been nothing but a wall for the last ten minutes. I don’t know what happened.”
 

Julie felt herself soften at the desperation in Marguerite’s eyes. The woman couldn’t be all bad if she was worried about Harry.
 

“What happens if the Balance dies while I’m in his head? I’m feeling dizzy and my head is pounding.” A tear rolled down Marguerite’s cheek. “Will I die, too?”

Julie dropped Marguerite’s arms and walked away before she smacked the selfish itchbay. That would not be a good example to set for Tash. “Bas. What’s happening? Why has she lost contact with Harry?”

“I don’t know. I do know this is a critical time for Harrison. Abigor is tempting him. If he agrees to stay in Gehenna, he’s lost to us.”

Julie swallowed. “Could Harry be dead? Is that why the curse isn’t working?”

“No one in Gehenna will kill him. If he’s agreed to stay, he will be kept there until his body dies naturally. When that occurs, his soul will be trapped forever.”
 

Icy-hot chills choked her lungs. Her stomach heaved, and she put a quick hand over her mouth. No. Not Harry. If he got stuck in Gehenna, she’d spend the rest of her life trying to get him out. Her coffee cup was placed in her hands and she looked up at Dorie.

“Drink,” Dorie said, firmly. “Pretend there’s whisky in it.”

Bas turned to Marguerite. The woman straightened and sniffed, but seemed to pull herself together. He spoke gently. “You don’t have the power to instigate or sustain this tie on the Balance. I assumed your energy was coming from Abigor, but it’s not, is it?”

Marguerite looked uneasy. Her eyes flitted around the room, not settling on anyone.

“Tell me you didn’t make a deal with Ashakarin,” Bas ordered.
 

“Okay.” Marguerite agreed too quickly.

“You don’t know what you’ve done.” Bas sat down on the table.

“Ashakarin’s the demon who was at war with Dad, right?” Julie didn’t like the look on Bas’s face.

“Is at war is more like it. Abigor currently has the upper hand, but the battle is eternal. They’re like two pit bulls at each other’s throats. The only good thing about it is that they’re so occupied with each other they don’t cause as much trouble on earth as they could. Abigor managed to weaken Ashakarin enough to send him to Lobolo—the dimension of lost souls. Ashakarin has obviously regained enough power to work through Marguerite.”

“I don’t know that it’s Ashakarin,” Marguerite said quickly. “It could be Abigor or…anybody. The demon promised to channel power through me so that I could succeed in tying Harrison to me. As Balance, Harrison has the key to Lobolo. Through him, I can find out how to release my grand-mère.”

“For what price, Marguerite?”

“Price? Nothing has been asked.” She looked at her toes.

Bas shook his head. Even Julie realized how stupid Marguerite had been. Demons didn’t give away anything for free. “You have been tricked, Marguerite. Belle is not with the lost souls. I knew your grandmother and was with her when she died. Her soul is at rest.” Bascule spoke softly.

“No. I’ve had dreams for years. Grand-mère Belle needs me. I have to control the Balance and find the secret of Lobolo to save her. She told me the demon would help me.” Marguerite’s voice took on a note of panic.

“Ashakarin sent you the dreams. He twisted your mind and your will. He deceived you.” His calm tone gave truth to the words. “Ashakarin needs the key to Lobolo to be free.”

“No!” Marguerite shook her head, horror on her face.

“Why did he choose Marguerite?” Luc asked, running a soothing hand down his sister’s hair.