Chapter 17

17

ROMAN

T he demon threw back its head, chowing down on the human.

Yeah. That had been a body.

Penny and Shouty Guy jumped back in their car, firing up the engine and tearing off down the street, triggering the demon to take flight after them.

It all happened so quickly. One minute the car roared, the next it became a pancake as the demon landed on it with a sickening crunch, taking out the two witches.

The demon jumped up and down on the ruined vehicle, flapping its wings with gleeful abandon until its white eyes found me.

I heard laughter to my right and looked up at the roof, spotting a demon monarch. Blond-haired, his skin a rich dark brown, sporting a severely pointed iron crown inset with emeralds.

"Roman Gold," the king said. "You didn't run very far, did you?"

The winged demon took flight, landing on the roof next to the house it'd already damaged.

"Did you enjoy that?" the king asked the winged fucker.

It made a strange sound somewhere between a purr and a pigeon's coo.

With no towers—because of the lack of magic—demons were free to do whatever they wanted.

Yippee.

Front doors and windows opened, the sounds of panic kicking in around the neighborhood.

Oh, God. This king and his pet were about to?—

A man ran out of the house the winged demon was perched on, and called for his family to follow. Four kids and a woman followed in their dressing gowns.

The king laughed as his pet jumped from the roof, snaring the woman in its beak. It swallowed her whole as her family screamed in terror.

I sprang into action, trying to help. Forgetting my useless self.

Fuck!

"Run!" I yelled. "Get out of here!"

But the family huddled together helplessly. Easy prey.

The demon ate them all within half a minute, leaping back onto its perch to coo at the demon king.

I retched, shaking. "Oh my God." My headache returned, slamming my skull with a sledgehammer.

No one else came out of their homes.

"Call the ADU!" I bellowed.

Please let someone be doing it already.

The king pointed at me. "You are an easy witch to sniff out. My darling here found you in no time."

I wiped rain from my eyes, the downpour intensifying. "What are you doing here?"

"Why do you care? You are useless now."

"But you cared enough for your dog to sniff me out."

That didn't please the prick. "My darling is no dog. She is magnificent. I am here to watch you, to see what you do next."

If only I had the means to remove those nosy eyeballs from his smug face. "And Ismael is okay with it?"

He snarled. "He does not rule me. I am king. I will always be king."

Dissention in the ranks already. Nice. I mean, with all those monarchs believing in their right to rule, there was bound to be problems. Lots of egos, power struggles, all that crap.

Fingers crossed it caused absolute chaos.

The king lifted his arms. "This is only the beginning, Roman. My darling will feast, and I will sweep across these lands. Humanity's days are over. You cannot stand against the might of the demons now. Arcana is long dead, and witches no longer have the power to suppress us. Say goodbye to all you have ever known." His arrogant laugh poked the bear that was my fury.

Damn this not being able to climb up there and kick his head in.

ADU sirens came to life nearby, cutting off the chuckling.

The king looked to the right as the blue lights of the ADU vehicles flashed.

"Go!" he ordered his pet.

She took flight in the direction of the cavalry.

"What will you do, witch?" the king asked me, calmer than expected. "Stand by and watch your world fall? Or will you find some dark corner to weep for your?—"

A whooshing sound silenced him, and his pet blew up in a spray of black blood and flesh. It splattered the houses, the cars, flecks of gore raining down on the street.

"Whoa…" I took a defensive step back.

"Darling?" the king said, bemused. "Are you… What happened?"

I looked up at him. "She's dead."

He stared at me as if he were incapable of comprehending reality. I knew that look, having been there many times myself.

"She can't be dead. She doesn't die. She's a demon. She's invincible. There is no such thing as…" Reality crept into his features then, his white eyes wide with satisfying horror. "Demons can die."

"There you go."

His lips curled into a snarl, a long finger pointing at me. "This is because of you."

"Butterfly," I corrected him.

"But you are his machine."

I fell into a fighting stance as boots pounded on the asphalt. ADU agents were charging up the street with their guns.

The king spat in my direction, his phlegm barely clearing the roof. "My darling will not die in vain!"

He jumped off the roof with a maniacal cry. Now, I wasn't sure what skills he possessed, but they failed him. He landed wrong, breaking a leg with a snap to curdle my insides.

I winced while he screamed.

"You did this!" he wailed. "I will?—"

An ADU agent put a bullet between his eyes.

"As easy as that," I said.

The witch agent aimed her gun at me, decked out in her red-and-white unform. "I know you, right?"

The rain came down in heavier sheets, the dust seeming to fall thicker.

I pointed at my forehead. "Witch. You don't have to point that at me."

"Some witches have decided to be turncoats."

Three more agents showed up, inspecting the dead demon king. Others swept the area, the street going into lockdown.

"I'm not one of them," I responded.

She eyed the dagger in my chest. "What happened?"

"Long story."

"Looking forward to hearing it. Eric?"

A guy joined us with some handcuffs.

"Come quietly and you won't get hurt," the woman added.

"Too late," I answered, letting Eric try cuffing me.

"What the hell?" he said. "He's a ghost."

The woman cocked an eyebrow. "You're dead?"

"I'm potential hope," I countered.

"Meaning what?"

"Meaning I'm done here."

The two agents looked at each other, unsure of how to proceed.

"Don't worry about me," I said. "Stay alive. Keep fighting, and?—"

"We are here, Shadow."

I yelped, spinning to see Margarite and Lizard Guy standing there. Rainwater sluiced down their faces, the glitter gone from their bodies, too.

"The queen!" Eric yelled, drawing his gun. "Demon!"

Oh, God.

"The Shadow," the woman agent said. "I knew I recognized you."

"Hello," Margarite answered pleasantly.

Lizard Guy bowed at the agents.

What the fuck?

"Shit," the woman bit out. "What the shitting hell is this?"

Okay. Time to cool things off. "Listen, I know this looks crazy, but I need you to look the other way. We're not the problem here, including the demon. He's already dead, and so is the queen."

No answer, just guns in our faces.

"I killed them. They work for me." Uh-huh. That would really put out potential fires.

"They're dead?" Eric asked.

I drew attention to their wounds. "As doornails." Hmmm. "Listen, things have gone seriously bonkers, but I can make things better. You just have to trust me." I flinched at the t-word. "Which is asking a lot."

"You're right," the woman said. "It is a lot."

"You killed the queen?" Eric questioned. "What the hell?"

"The queen is my daughter," Margarite chirped.

The two agents looked at each other.

"Queen Piper," I said unhelpfully.

"We know!" the woman snapped.

"Sorry." I held up my hands, sensing a possible route to Piper here—if I played it smart. "I know you know. She's my friend. I really need to speak to her."

"Your friend, eh?" Eric responded. "Does she know you killed her mum? I'm guessing no. Whatever Queen Margarite was, her daughter won't be happy to know you butchered her mother."

"I wouldn't say butchered," I said. Not-so-smart, too sassy in tone.

"She's got no eyes!"

Without the glittery goldenness, the queen's eye sockets were two round shadows in her head.

"Oh."

The woman sighed. "This is too much. We're wasting time."

"Yeah, we are," I retorted. "Let us go about our business and things can change for the better. You can't arrest me or these two anyway."

God only knew how they were still bound to me, but they were. Which meant they could be useful. I liked useful.

"But I really do need to speak with Queen Piper," I added.

"My sweet, sweet daughter," Margarite said.

Again, the two agents looked at each other. Their comrades were busy with the lockdown, evacuating people from their houses.

"This is just the beginning," I continued. "There's an army coming. I've seen a fraction of it, and it'll only grow. Please, help me help you." Did that sound condescending? I wasn't exactly the best orator. "Please. I don't know what else to say." Well, other than me needing an army of my own to get the jar of time from a purple-haired prick who put a time-bending device in my chest.

Shit. What if opening the jar didn't work? What if this was the real world now? And what if correcting time didn't have any bearing on those already gone?

Oh, God. Was this it now? Would I have to face my sorrow for real without any hope of changing death?

"No…" I whispered. "Please… I can't…" I lost my grip on my already pitiful strength, weakening by the second. Crumbling like ruins, coming apart at the seams. Destined for the pit of heartbreak, the tentacles of grief ready to strangle me.

Nothing short of what you deserve, killer…

"Oh, God…"

"What's wrong?" the woman asked.

Weirdly, her voice slapped me away from the top of the spiral.

I looked up, meeting her hazel eyes. "Thanks." I sniffled, only a few tears breaking free. Hopefully the rain hid those.

"For what?" she wondered.

"Nothing. I?—"

"Listen, this is messed up," she said. "So is the whole world right now. I don't know your full story, but my dad says I'm a good judge of character."

Was she about to give me the smackdown, making it clear she considered me a shady bastard?

She didn't. "I've never been wrong, and I'd like to tell my dad I wasn't wrong this time." She glanced left and right, then pulled out a phone. "Hello? Michelle here. I need a favor. Right. Yes, the street is secure. No idea of casualty numbers yet. Yes. Yes." Nod, nod, a creased forehead. "I need transport into London. I know. Yes. It's important."

I turned to face Margarite. "You're still with me?"

"Yes. When we can serve."

"Absolutely," Lizard Guy said.

"You're still waiting, right?" I asked.

"For your restoration," Margarite answered, pointing at the dagger. "It blocks our help, but not our presence."

Oh, goody fucking gum drops.

"Thanks." Michelle hung up the phone. "Come with me. I've got a car for you. The queen is in London at a secret location. We'll find out where when we link up with my colleague I just spoke to."

Excellent news. "Thanks so much."

"Don't know how long she'll be in the city for, though." She looked me up and down. "Can you use a car?"

"Hope so."

"Okay. Follow me and?—"

"Please! I'm not like them!" Two agents dragged a guy from a house across the street.

"What's going on?" Eric wondered.

The guy in stripy PJs looked my way, showing off his white demon eyes.

"Please! I'm not?—"

One of the two men punched him in the stomach. The demon let out a grunt and bent over. The other man kicked him to the ground, pressing his boot on his spine to keep him down.

"Watch him," the puncher ordered. Other agents surrounded the demon, guns trained on him.

Puncher came over with purposeful strides.

"Clive," Michelle said, her tone clipped. "What's going on?"

"You fucking blind?" he retorted. "Demon. Hiding in a house. Thinks he can live like decent folk."

Clive was one of those humans gunning for war with the demons.

Just like you, Margarite…

He narrowed his hateful eyes at me. "What's this? You dead?"

"I—"

"Demon!" He brought out his gun, popping off a shot into Lizard Guy's head.

The bullet bounced off the demon's head.

Right. Indestructible dead minions. Got it.

"What the fuck is this, Michelle?" the dickhead bellowed. "Why isn't he dead?" Then his attention fell on Margarite. "Your Majesty?" He lowered his gun, bowing his head. "Is it still Your Majesty?"

Margarite simply smiled at him.

"You're hurt," he said to her. "What's going on?"

Other agents gathered round, too many guns in my face. I mean, they weren't effective on me or my followers right now, but that didn't stop them being dangerous.

"It's complicated," Michelle answered. "Stay out of it."

Clive's nostrils flared. "Like fuck I will. You're hanging out with demons and a deposed queen?"

Pfft! What about me?

"Stay out of it," Michelle warned, a bite in her voice.

He brought his gun up again, pointing it at his fellow agent. "I expected better from you."

Michelle didn't seem too rattled. "Likewise. Put the gun down. These people are trying to put things right."

He laughed, some of the other agents echoing him. "Whatever you say." He smiled, revealing a gold tooth in his even set of gnashers. "Let me show you what happens to demons who can be killed. Guys!"

At Clive's call, the agents riddled the demon's body with bullets. It was supposed to be shocking, an act to rattle me. I didn't even blink, so over this bullshit.

The dickhead offered me a smirk.

I kept up my indifference, shrugging for good measure. "What do you want me to say?"

His smirk dropped, and he took a swipe at me.

I folded my arms. "Uh-huh."

His glowering could burn a hole in the planet's atmosphere. "You lucked out, mate."

"I'm not your mate. I'm your hope. Now stop pissing around and leave us to our business. Because our world is going to hell in many handbaskets, and I'm the only one who can stop it."

I think…

"That right?" he answered. "How do I know you're not one of those witches in league with the demons? So many are coming out of the woodwork."

Seriously? "Believe what you want. But there are demons who don't want this, either."

He spat on the ground. "Fuck demons."

I shrugged again. "The more time you waste, the more damage will be done."

Man, I really hated it when I made a point, only for something to crop up to illustrate the damn thing.

Another flying demon tore across the sky, a dragon fresh from an epic fantasy novel. Ruby red, eyes like white fires. On its back rode another monarch—a pale-skinned queen with hair to match her mount. Her copper crown set with rubies looked like spiky fire on her head.

"What the fuck?" Clive bit out.

My thoughts exactly, Clivey.

"Prepare to burn!" she screamed.

What was with these breakaway monarchs all of a sudden? Had there been a sudden mutiny over in the demon realm? Unless this queen acted on Ismael's orders.

The ADU agents fired, the queen flattening herself to the dragon's body. Bullets bounced off the scales as the dragon turned, positioning itself at the other end of the street.

Shit. Here it comes…

"Time to run," I said to Michelle and Eric—for their benefit more than mine.

"Fire the fucking bazooka!" Clive bellowed.

The demon queen howled with delight as fire bloomed in the dragon's mouth. Michelle and Eric barked orders to run, the pair of them dashing into an alleyway between two houses.

I followed, glancing over my shoulder to see the fire exploding down the street in a wave of terrible heat.