Chapter 17

Cain

Cain swung his scythe again.

And again.

He’d been going at it non-stop since Sadie fled, and yet the number of demons didn’t seem to be diminishing. He could only hope she’d managed to teleport to the castle, seeing as how he’d seen a few of those bastards chasing after her. Unfortunately, too many stood between him and her. Maybe she’d figure out how to get her hands glowing again. After all, she had the magic within, if she could get it to obey.

“This is bullshit,” Vance muttered. The man stood at his back, far enough to avoid the scythe, but close enough to prevent any nasty ambushes from the rear. He’d been shooting nonstop, pausing only long enough to reload. So when it got quiet and stayed quiet, it wasn’t surprising to hear, “I’m out of fucking ammo.”

“And that’s the problem with guns.” Cain grunted as he sliced a short and fat demon in half. The chunky ones were rare. His understanding was that sustenance proved scarce in Inferis. In all his life, the only fat ones he’d ever killed were well-established on Earth and feeding on the local populace. So how long had this one been lurking? And where?

“I’ve killed more than you,” Vance stated.

“Says the guy who will die first since he’s down to his bare hands.”

“Have you forgotten who was the better wrestler?” Vance grunted.

Cain whirled in time to see the other reaper grappling with a tooth-gnashing ugly fucker.

“Kick it in the stomach,” he advised.

When Vance’s foot connected, Cain flowed forward and swung down, catching the demon in the chest and ripping it open. Another one dead, too many to go. It had only been minutes since Sadie left, but he began to tire. “Think we can make a run for it?” While Sadie might have taken his talisman, Vance had another.

“I mean, we could try?” Vance didn’t sound so certain.

Given the lull as the demons held themselves back and formed a ring so as to better rush them, Cain dug into his pocket and pulled out a three-inch silver dagger.

“Here, this is better than nothing.” He handed it to Vance, who gripped it and activated the hilt, turning it into a foot-long knife.

“Thanks.”

“You might want to talk to Dustin”—their armorer—“about having some kind of backup weapon.”

“Or I could ask Cecily to shrink a bunch of ammo clips instead so I can stuff more than a pair in my jacket,” Vance countered.

“Real reapers fight with the blade,” Cain argued as he swung and took the head off a demon that came barreling on hands and feet.

“That toxic mentality is going to get you killed one day.” Vance snorted. “Get ready. Here they come.”

The demons moved forward in a wave, a circle of slavering and feral-eyed monsters that closed in, ready to feast on flesh.

Not if he had a say in it.

Cain bellowed as he rushed them before the noose tightened. Claws scraped at his coat, and a few managed to scratch his hands as sheer numbers overwhelmed. He sweated and strained, his arms screaming with the effort. He might have fallen if the cavalry hadn’t arrived at that moment.

Reapers charged in from both ends of the street, men he knew from the castle whom he’d trained with, armed to the teeth and raring to fight. The tide turned quickly, especially since they brought combat witches with them.

But did the monsters run?

Nope. These demons didn’t behave like normal. They remained to fight. Remained despite the number of adversaries they now faced.

Nova barked, “Helen, shield the street from looky-loos. Cecily, help me electrocute them.” The head witch then flung a ball of pure electrical energy. It hit a demon, and it squealed.

The tide turned. The sheer number of reapers decimated the demons that dared confront. When a few fled to the buildings, the reapers followed. They’d have to go room by room to clear them out. Although, given the level of suspected carnage within the apartments, it might be better if the whole block suffered a gas main explosion. Burnt and exploded victims would be easier to explain than ripped-open ones.

Cain and Vance stuck together as a pair, like they used to in training until they went their separate ways because of a witch who, in the end, chose another witch. At times, Cain regretted the fact they’d let a woman get between them. The time to apologize and renew their bond of friendship had long passed, though. While they might not be friends anymore, in a battle, Cain had no trouble trusting Vance to have his back.

The demons died and evaporated. A strange quirk that no one had yet been able to explain. Nova, with her hands planted on her hips, frowned.

“What’s wrong?” he asked as he approached.

“There’s something not right.”

“Like the fact demons decimated an entire city block with no one noticing?” he said sarcastically. Blame his annoyance at getting so handily caught by the ambush.

“That would be because of the daemessorum. Most likely it cast a spell to keep people away from this area until they could spring their trap.”

“Speaking of the demon wizard, has anyone tagged it yet?” Cain asked.

“No. Because it’s no longer here.” Nova’s lips pursed. “One moment I felt it, weaving its dark magic. The next…” She snapped her fingers. “Gone.”

“Gone where?” Vance asked as he joined them.

“I don’t know, but we’d better find it. We can’t have a daemessorum roaming this world.”

“No shit,” Cain muttered.

Vance pointed to the end of the street and Helen with her arms outstretched. “How long can she keep people from wandering in?”

“An hour, maybe two.”

“Not enough to do a proper cleanup then,” Vance noted.

“This massacre is too large for our regular methods. We’ll have to resort to something more drastic.” Nova’s words mimicked Cain’s own conclusion.

“I’ll let Asher know.” The Princep in charge of the reapers. “Once he’s got everyone pulled out of the buildings, we can flatten the area, which will take care of any remaining demons.” Vance strode off toward the pizzeria where the Princep had just exited.

Since it was just him and Nova, Cain growled, “How could this happen? How did none of the witches realize the concentration of demons in this area?”

“The demon wizard, most likely. I never knew they could do that though. Darkness, fireballs, compulsion, and sleep spells, yes. But this level of cloaking?” Nova shook her head. “Unheard of and terrifying.”

“No shit. They’re really determined to get their claws on Sadie.” A woman he barely knew and yet, when danger threatened, he’d been more than ready to intercede. A strange thing for him, as he usually eschewed attachments.

“She is the messovenata, and it appears they will stop at nothing to kill her.”

“Do they want to kill her, though?”

Nova cast him a sharp glance. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“The message at her place of work said find.”

“Find to kill I would imagine.”

Cain shook his head. “I’m not so sure about that. She should have been dead ten times over.”

Nova frowned. “I don’t understand.”

“There were opportunities for the monsters to end her. Vance and I did our best to shield Sadie, but there were just too many.” His coat showed scores of claw marks. “When she ran past a few, they held back.”

“Are you implying they wanted to take her alive?” Nova didn’t hide her incredulity.

“I don’t know what to think, other than she shouldn’t have made it out, not without grave injury.”

“At least she’s safe at the castle.” Nova sighed.

“I need the Regina!” The shrill cry from Mizuki, who shouldn’t have been here, spun him around, but not as fast as Nova’s barked, “What are you doing here? Where’s Sadie?”

“The demons,” the witch huffed as she raced for them. “The demons attacked the castle. We tried to escape, but they found us in the woods. They killed Sadie.”

He went cold. “Are you sure?”

“She told me to leave so I wouldn’t die. There were so many,” Mizuki sobbed.

“I need to go see for myself.” Cain went to reach for his talisman, only he’d given it to Sadie. Fuck.

Nova put a hand on his arm. “You can travel with me.”

“No need.” Mizuki sniffled and held out her hand. “Sadie gave me your talisman. It’s how I was able to find you. I had the amulet return to its last location.”

Cain grabbed it, but before he could teleport, Nova put a hand on his arm. “Wait. You can’t go alone. We’ll need the army.” She uttered a piercing whistle that drew all eyes on the ground. She explained the situation succinctly. “The castle has been breached. We need to return at once. Asher, leave only enough men to get rid of the evidence of the demon attack. Everyone else, we need to go home! If you don’t have a talisman, buddy up with someone who does.”

Upon giving the command, Nova activated hers and with a hand on Cain they entered the cold space before exiting on the dais. A dais void of blood or a body.

Mizuki joined them seconds later, and Cain asked, “Where was Sadie attacked?”

The witch pointed to the left of where he stood.

“You’re sure?” He knelt to examine the ground. “There’s no blood.”

“Because she’s not dead,” Nova intoned. She had her eyes closed still. “Watch.”

The air before her shimmered before coalescing into an image with no sound. It began as an empty clearing. Then Mizuki appeared, followed by Sadie wearing a reaper duster. It oddly suited her. He spotted the demon that emerged from the woods and didn’t realize he held his breath until Sadie had killed it with a scythe.

Clumsy, and obviously scared, but she’d acted to save Mizuki. He saw the moment she realized they were fucked. How she waved off the witch when she realized she wouldn’t be able to escape. And to think Sadie thought she lacked bravery. It took courage to face your own death.

Mizuki disappeared, and Sadie slipped. Slipped, fell, banged her head, and went unconscious.

FUCK!

Only, she didn’t die. The demons, rather than ripping her apart, hopped up and down. As if signaling.

A fat-bellied demon floated into view, followed by an army of gray monsters. It led to murmuring by those who watched.

“Where the hell did they come from?” muttered one of his brothers.

The daemessorum waved its clawed hand, and a dark ring appeared in the air over the dais. It passed through first, followed by demons carrying Sadie, then the rest of the legion.

The image disappeared, and Cain cussed. “They fucking took her!”

It was Vance, who’d arrived while they watched, who asked, “How did they find this place? Or gain access? It’s not as if they’ve ever seen this location.”

Nova’s eyes rolled back, and she rocked on her heels before murmuring, “The daemessorum got a hold of a reaper’s talisman. That’s how he found our sanctuary. Once he came through, he held open the portal to bring through an army.”

“How did he get a…” Cain trailed off before cursing, “Wendell. They must have taken it when they killed him.”

Nova’s lips pursed. “And while a regular demon couldn’t invoke it, a wizard, even a demonic one, most certainly could. This is a serious breach.”

“Which we can discuss later. We need to find Sadie.” Cain remained steadfast in his determination.

“Why did they take her?” Vance asked.

They looked to Nova, who appeared pensive. “This is unexpected. I have no idea what use they’d have for her. Then again, there is little information on the messovenata. Perhaps they think to use her?” Nova’s nose wrinkled. “I just don’t see how given what we know of messovenata has them being the greatest weapon there is against demons.”

“I think the more important thing here is the fact she still lives. We have to save her,” Cain exclaimed.

“Agreed,” Nova stated. “I’ll need my scrying basin to try to locate her.”

Which turned out to take some time because Asher insisted on sweeping the castle first. By all signs, the demons barely breached the front door before fleeing. Most likely because they got what they came for.

With the castle cleared, and the hiding witches and brownies located, Nova cast a spell to try and locate Sadie.

A spell that failed.

As did the attempt to scry for demons. Every time she tried to locate any in Toronto, the liquid in the basin turned murky, a problem unique to Toronto. She cast one for New York and found a few bright spots. Same for Vancouver. But the capital of Ontario? A blotch that told them nothing.

“The daemessorum has cast something over the city,” Nova announced. “Which I would take to mean that’s where it’s hiding.”

“Well, then, easy fucking peasy. Let me just scour the thousands and thousands of possible hiding places,” Cain snapped.

“Don’t take your frustration out on me. This situation is unexpected.”

“Surely there’s a way we can better pinpoint a location.”

Nova shrugged. “I’m open to ideas.”

Only, Cain had none.

But Mizuki did. “If the demon wizard took Wendell’s talisman, then can’t we do a locate on it?”

“No. The cloaking spell will prevent it.”

“So what are we supposed to do?” Cain growled.

“I don’t know.” Nova shrugged helplessly. She rubbed her temples. “This is unprecedented.”

“Um, there is one thing we can try,” Mizuki hesitantly interjected. “The spell of recall.”

“What’s that supposed to do?” Cain asked.

“It repeats the last spell cast.” Mizuki offered a succinct explanation.

“How does that help?” This time it was Vance who questioned.

Nova’s eyes shot open. “Because the last spell cast on the dais opened a portal to where the demons went.”

“Wouldn’t the last spell be the one that brought us back?” Cain’s brow wrinkled.

“No, because that spell is a long-standing one. Built into the dais. But the daemessorum had to create a large doorway, one that would hold open long enough to bring the legion through.” Nova snapped her fingers. “Mizuki, you know what to bring?”

“Yes, Regina.”

“Good. Gather the items while I hit my room for a focus object. I’m going to have to be careful casting. The spell of recall is finicky.” Nova glanced at him and Vance. “Be ready with the reapers. I don’t know how long I’ll be able to hold open the doorway if I can manage to recreate it.”

“Hitting the armory now,” Vance declared, trotting off, whereas Cain visited Devika in her apothecary. Most likely they’d be going somewhere dark, and so he brought spheres of light. Glass balls that when smashed would provide illumination.

With his pockets full of magic, Cain joined Vance and a good number of reapers by the dais. Lined up in pairs, they would start running into the portal the moment it opened. The plan was to have one of them mark the location and return so that Nova could then use it to open a portal for those without a talisman.

The witch sat cross-legged on the edge of the dais, a brazier with a blue flame bubbling something in a small brass pot. Nova’s lips moved, but he couldn’t hear the words, just felt the effect as the air grew charged as if a storm approached.

Only instead of dark clouds and thunder, the space over the dais darkened, a hazy spot forming and growing, the edges of it rippling.

Nova’s head tilted back, and her lips continued to move as the ominous hole in space widened. She whispered, “Now. Quickly.”

Cain and Vance didn’t hesitate. They dove through and found themselves in an underground sewer that reeked with the scent of demon. Cain smashed a light ball to illuminate the area, a dangerous thing that would broadcast their arrival, but there was no choice. They couldn’t see in the dark.

Reapers popped out from the portal, a pair at a time. Six groups plus an apprentice made it through before the doorway closed.

Immediately, the young Herbert activated his talisman to report back to Nova, leaving a dozen against the legion and a demon wizard at least until reinforcements arrived.

Cain didn’t care about the odds. This was what he’d signed up for. He glanced at Vance. “Ready to kick some demon ass?”

“Try and keep up, old man.”

“We’re the same age, asshole.”

“Some of us have better genetics than others, I guess,” Vance taunted.

“You wish.”

“I know.” The banter flowed and helped ease some of the trepidation about being so far underground with far fewer reapers than he’d hoped for.

Cain eyed the reapers, their faces grim but their courage unwavering. “Let’s take back this city.”

With that, they went hunting.