Vision Quest (The Demon's Apprentice Book 3) (5 page)

“We’re not out of the woods yet, are we?” he said as his gaze focused on the gun. I shook my head. Just then, forty feet of pissed-off demon lunged out of the shadows. Where his mount had been a mix of bug and horse, Orlaggish leaned more to the tentacley end of things from the waist up, with what looked like an octopus for a head and a pair of thick tentacles for arms. Black orbs were set above a ring of tentacles around a beaked mouth. I brought the gun up and thumbed the hammer back, then lined the sights up on one of its thick legs. The gun bucked in my hand when I pulled the trigger, and a split second later a gout of flame sprouted from the side of his leg. He let out a trumpeting roar and tried to take a step forward.

Before his off foot hit the ground, he was yanked back by an invisible force and staggered back a step. He leaned into the step and tried again, only to find himself held in place. The stone I had dropped on his shadow was holding him in place like a tether that had reached its limit. I aimed at the other leg and pulled the trigger, but no smoking wound appeared after the gun went off. I thumbed the hammer back again and pulled the trigger once more, this time with better success, blowing a hole in his knee. Smoke started to rise from his skin, and he turned his bulbous head to look back toward the darkness.

“Dude, he’s gonna bolt!” Lucas cried out. I wasn’t about to let that happen. I put another round in his right leg, and he fell to one knee.

“No, he isn’t,” I said, and shot the bent knee. More smoke rose from the exposed skin of his back, and his green skin started to blacken under the sunlight as he flopped on the ground.

“What are you doing?” Gage said from behind me. “He’s trying to get away.”

“You don’t let demons get away,” I said. “Sends the wrong message.”

“Just what message is that?” he demanded.

“Don’t fuck with me. It’s bad for your health.” Flames shot from the middle of the demon’s back, and his cries became agonized screams as the sunlight did its work. One tentacle reached back toward the shadows, gripping the road’s surface and trying to pull the rest of him back to the cover of darkness. Flame engulfed the slime-covered arm, and it was charred to black in seconds.

“Then at least put it out of its misery,” he said. I turned and raised an eyebrow at him, then headed back for the car.

“I think misery’s part of the message, Winnie,” Lucas said from behind me. Gage almost made it back to the car before he threw up. But at least he was quiet once he got in.

Once I got back up to the speed limit, I pulled my phone out and hit the speed dial number for Dr. C.

“What happened?” he asked as soon as he picked up. I didn’t even bother to ask how he knew. We hadn’t been on the road long enough for me to be calling unless something was wrong.

“Someone sent a demon after me,” I said.

“How much of a demon?” he asked.

“Upper Abyssal, servant of one of the Eleven Abominations. Shadow hunter, tough enough to Walk during the day and handle sunlight for about a minute. Think one of the bounty hunters from Empire, only about forty feet tall. Nothing I couldn’t handle.” I didn’t mention his name, partly because I didn’t want his attention on me anymore, but mostly because Dr. Corwyn wasn’t likely to know who he was just by his name. The Magi were still way behind when it came to Infernal politics. Demon lore was pretty much a forbidden subject with them, and all nine Hells worked hard to keep their business away from prying eyes. The only info that tended to get out was what they wanted people to know; just enough to make a deal, basically.

“Where are you now?”

“South of Abilene,” I said. “Whoever sent him is going to think twice about trying again. I made sure he was hurting pretty damn good when I sent him back.”

“Have you contacted your mother?” he asked. I bit my lip for a moment and tried to come up with an excuse that didn’t involve not wanting to make her worry. “That’s what I figured. That’s good. Minimal contact is best. I’ll let her know.”

“Thanks,” I told him.

“I’d tell you to head to Fort Worth to seek Master Moon’s protection, but I know you won’t. I’ll alert the Council. Get back as soon as you possibly can.”

“Yes, sir,” I said. “I will. Poor Winthrop’s going to need some therapy.” I ended the call over Gage’s half-hearted protests and pushed the pedal down a little closer to the floorboard.

“How did you know?” Gage asked after a few minutes, pausing and turning a little pale before he tried again. “How did you know how to kill that thing back there? How did you know its name?”

I glanced over at him and let out a little snort. “They didn’t tell you my nickname when they told you to come watch me?” I asked.

“The demon’s apprentice … I thought that was just an affectation,” he said.

“Nope. Pretty much the only thing anyone ever gets right.”

“It certainly explains a few things,” he said. I turned my head and gave him a full-on glare. “The rough edges,” he explained.

I shook my head and pulled out a CD. “For that, you’re going to listen to the same CD until we get home,” I threatened. The opening notes of Satriani’s Super Colossal erupted from the speakers, and I leaned back into the seat to enjoy what was left of the ride.

Chapter 3

~
Most cowans suspect the existence of the Veil, but fear too greatly the wonders and terrors they might discover beyond it to seek it with great enthusiasm. ~ Ben Franklin, Letters To a Young Mage

“Why didn’t you call me when it happened?” Mom demanded. I sat there and didn’t say a word, feeling like I was six all over again. “Why did I have to hear this from Dr. Corwyn?”

“I thought it was best that he limit contact,” Dr. Corwyn said from where he leaned against the doorway into the kitchen. “It made it harder to track him.” I nodded in agreement, but Mom’s expression didn’t change.

“Tell me why I’m supposed to believe that’s a good thing,” she said.

“You have the most powerful connection to him,” Dr. C said. “If I wanted to scry for him, I would have waited for him to contact you and trace him back through the bonds between you. With him in motion, it would have been the only way to pinpoint his location.”

“You had to choose between limited protection and complete invisibility,” she said. She nodded and her features relaxed a little. “It makes sense, and I would probably have done the same thing. I still don’t like it.”

“For what it’s worth … neither did I,” Dr. C said. For the first time since I’d made it home, his face broke into the barest hint of a smile.

“And I’m fine, Mom,” I said. “The Sentinels caught up to us in Oklahoma City and followed us home from there.”

“You’ll pardon your dear old mother if I don’t find that exactly comforting.” Her tone was only half-joking. Mom had never had much use for the Sentinels. The Conclave’s combination police force and military had technically arrested me twice a few months ago, and I’d faced a death sentence from the Council for the things I’d been forced to do while I worked for Dulka. But keeping me out of a demon’s hands had been their job in the first place, and Mom wasn’t ready to forgive them for failing so spectacularly at that. For that matter, I didn’t have a lot of warm and fuzzy feelings for most of them myself.

“I took care of the one demon on my own anyway, Mom,” I said. “Dr. C left the LeMat with me for the drive home, and I had my paintball gun. And …” I hesitated, not really wanting to say the next part out loud. “Well, Winthrop actually helped. He’s what, a senior?” I asked Dr. C.

“Yes, he’s an upperclassman, in his ninth year.”

“That’s a lot of high school,” I said.

“Magick is a demanding subject. Since you mentioned it, we can’t let your training suffer, especially not now. Winthrop will be evaluating your skill levels, and if he ranks you at anything less than apprentice, the rest of your summer is going to be even harder.”

“Yeah, Draeden mentioned prep classes or something. So, what do I have to do to make apprentice officially?”

“Be able to scribe a spell onto a written medium and cast it, cast spells onto items that remain stable and release them later, cast spells from foci efficiently and consistently, cast a spell with a non-specific tool such as a wand, and cast at least one spell with no tools.” He looked at me as he said the last part with a skeptical expression. From behind him, I could hear footsteps on the stairs, probably Gage coming down to complain about something else.

“I can already do almost all of that,” I said. “I mean, I still need to get my own wand. And figure out the whole casting spells without a focus.”

“Just buy a wand,” Gage said as he slid past Dr. Corwyn. “Unless you can’t afford one.”

“No apprentice of mine buys his first wand,” Dr. C said with a little heat in his voice.

“As you say, sir,” Gage said with a quick bow of his head. “Might I ask how far along your apprentice is in the crafting of his wand?”

“About a day behind where he’s supposed to be,” Dr. C said as he gave Gage a sharp look. I could almost have chipped the ice off of his words. “But that can be remedied, if you don’t mind making a couple of stops with Chance tomorrow.”

“Of course not, sir,” Gage said, sounding like he was anything but thrilled to tag along with me.

“That means you’re going to have to go to Bjerning Depository,” Dr. C said. “You’ve put that off for too long, and you’re going to need the currency.” I opened my mouth to protest, but he gave a tilt of his head that challenged me to even try. He’d already shot down every argument I’d made. Only one in a thousand trees might produce wood suitable for a proper wand, and it might take me months or even years to find one. A wand-wright like Arianh-Rod probably had what I needed on hand. And she would be able to show me the right placement for gems and metals in the piece I did choose. More importantly, her services weren’t cheap, and in terms of the world behind the Veil, I was pretty much flat broke. Except for the six-thousand-plus trade points I had in bearer chits from Bjerning Depository. I took a breath in and blew it out through my lips, down to my only
real
objection. I really didn’t want to go to the Underground. Dr. C straightened his head and frowned, and I understood his argument as clear as if he’d said it out loud.

Deal with it.

I let my shoulders slump and gave him a minute nod before I looked away.

“All right, I’ll go,” I said.

“Yes, you will,” Dr. C said as he straightened and stepped away from the doorway. He pulled a small cloth pouch from his pocket and handed it to me. “Once you’re done there and have your wand blank, come to my place and we’ll get you started on your wand and work on your lessons. I wouldn’t expect him home for dinner for the next few nights, Mara.”

“I usually don’t,” Mom said. “At least you tell me ahead of time.” Dr. C made his exit, and Mom shooed us out of the kitchen. “If Shade comes over, she’s more than welcome to stay for dinner,” she said. “And the door to your room stays open.”

“I don’t think that’ll be a problem,” I said as Gage headed up the stairs. I headed out the back door and pulled my phone out of my pocket.

A few minutes later, Shade was pulling up on her bike and pulling her helmet off. She didn’t even bother with the gate; instead, she just put her hand on the fence and vaulted over it. Her feet had barely touched the ground before I had her in my arms, my lips nuzzling her neck. With a soft sigh, she tilted her head to the side and pressed her body against mine. When my teeth grazed her skin, she gave a short gasp and one hand slid up behind my shoulders to hold me against her. I bit down on the smooth curve where her shoulder met her neck, and she trembled against me, her breath escaping in a moan. Her teeth found my neck a few seconds later, then we were locked in a kiss that was deep enough to drown in.

“I missed you,” I said when we came up for air.

“Mm-hmmm,” she said as she buried her face in my shoulder again. “Noticed that. Gods, I missed you so much.” Her other hand slid up the back of my shirt, while my right hand slid up along her spine. I stopped when I felt her shoulder blades on either side of my hand … and nothing else.

“Are you …?” I asked as I pulled back to look her in the eye.

“Nope,” she said with a wicked grin. She pulled back and took my hand, leading me to the bench swing by the back porch.

“You know my mom wants you to stay for dinner,” I said once we were snuggled up together.

“She always does,” she said. “And you’re going to be trying hard not to stare.”

“Oh, that’s mean,” I said. She made an affirmative-sounding murmur into my shoulder and laid her hand on my chest. A few seconds later, she curled her legs up beside her and wrapped her other arm around my back, then held tight, which meant my ribs creaked for a few seconds. When she breathed in deep, I put my hand on her hair and just stroked gently. Her body relaxed a little as she let out the breath, and she took a few more slow, deliberate breaths.

“What happened?” I asked her.

“Bad dream,” she said. “I shouldn’t have gone back out to the chapel.”

“It’s okay,” I said. I wanted to know more, but I wasn’t sure if I should ask or not. “It was just a dream, right?”

“Does it work when you tell yourself that?”

“Not really,” I said. “Hell, we both need some serious therapy or something.”

“Who’d believe us? You got sold to a demon and I got molested by a perv werewolf. That would get us both a one-way ticket to a padded room at Twisted Oaks.”

“Didn’t say we’d
get
it, I just said we
needed
it.”

“You ever try to talk to Corwyn about it?” she asked.

“Yeah,” I said. “He gets it a little too well from walking around in my head. Half the time it screws him up as much as me.”

“At least we have each other,” she said.

“That’s more than enough,” I said. I felt her expression change against my shoulder, and I guessed she was smiling.

“More than you deserve, too,” she said.

“But not more than I can handle,” I told her as I moved my hand to her side and poked a finger into her ribs. She yelped and jumped off the swing. Of course I chased her. She led me around the big oak tree and back to the swing before she turned and faced me again.

“I’m the Wolf Queen,” she said with a giggle. “I’m more than any mortal man can handle!” She came at me as she finished, and I side-stepped to keep myself out of her clutches.

“I’m no mere mortal,” I told her. “I’m a great and
oof!”
I managed before she pounced on me and dug her fingers into my stomach, the one place I was the most ticklish. “… powerful … wizard!” I said between laughs as I grabbed for her wrists. There was no way I was going to overpower her. If I wanted to carry the day and survive against such a powerful foe, I was going to have to cheat. I let go of one of her hands, and she immediately went for the belly again.

“Ha!” she said as I broke into a fit of laughter. “Great and powerful wizard, my sweet ass!”

I wrapped my right hand in the thick auburn hair at the back of her head and pulled. Almost immediately, her eyes closed and her mouth opened as she bent her head back and arched her shoulders into the direction I pulled her, until she was on her back in the grass.

“I know your weaknesses,” I whispered to her as I rolled onto my side to look down at her. She squirmed a little, but she didn’t try all that hard to get away. Once I laid my left hand on her stomach, she went still, and her eyelids snapped open. Caught between wolf and human desires, her eyes were a deep green. As long as they didn’t go gold, I was still just at the edge of dangerous territory. Her breath came in short little pants, and her gaze somehow managed to be wide-eyed enough to be vulnerable and placid enough to be absolutely trusting. I leaned down and kissed her parted lips gently, then did it again. When her eyes opened after the second kiss, they were gray again.

“And you’re not afraid to use them against me,” she said as she put one hand against my face.

“I’m a bastard that way,” I said, lifting my hand from her stomach to touch her cheek. My lips touched hers again, then I kissed the tip of her nose. “And it is a sweet ass.” Our eyes locked again, and my heart pounded. Suddenly, I didn’t have anything funny or romantic to say, but I wanted to say something, except for the words I was too afraid to just blurt out. I wasn’t even sure if they were true.

The fateful phrase was just on the tip of my tongue when I heard the back door open. Mom’s shoes scuffed on the back porch, and her voice came on its heels.

“Dinner’s almost done,” Mom said. “Alexis, would you like to eat with us?”

“Yeah, Mom, she’s staying for dinner,” I called out as we got up.

“I am?” Shade whispered with a little bit of menace in her voice. The alpha wolf in her wasn’t always fond of being told what to do, and even as her
gothi
, I didn’t get much leeway where that was concerned. An adviser can only get away with so much before wisdom is more wise-ass.

“Yes, you are,” I said. I brushed grass off my pants and stood up. “Unless you want me to end up killing poor Winthrop.”

“Oh, we can’t have that,” she said with a mischievous smile. “I’ll do my best to distract you.” As she said it she arched her back, and I failed miserably at the whole not-ogling-her-thing as her body did interesting things to her shirt.

“By the way, we’re heading to the Underground tomorrow,” I said as we headed for the back door. “And then we’re going to the Hive. I … want to show you … what my world’s like.”

“You mean, when no one’s trying to kill you,” she said flatly.

“That, too,” I said a little too casually and held the door open for her.

Gage skipped out on dinner, and on the rest of the evening, too. He slipped in late, waking up Mom when he rang the doorbell. He was about as quiet as a dump truck as he crept into my room and got in the bed. Junkyard and I laid there, still and quiet, until I heard his breathing slow and fall into the rhythm of sleep. A few minutes later, I closed my eyes again. He yawned and stretched at an unholy hour, and I propped myself up on one elbow. Junkyard got to his feet and headed for the door, waiting to head outside.

“You snore,” I said

“What the ..?” he yelped. He rubbed his eyes, then looked more closely at the blanket I was sitting on. “Is that where you slept?”

“Yeah,” I said as I got to my feet.