Chapter 2

Chapter

Two

" R rreeooow !"

Fennel sprang off the branch and glided through the air like a flying squirrel. He landed on Gnath's head, punching scythe-like claws into his scalp. The demon shrieked and tried to pull Fennel off but only managed to score several puncture wounds in his hand. Steaming black blood poured down the demon's face.

"What is this foul thing?" Gnath stumbled back two feet, tottering but not falling. Another step back, and I'd have him where I wanted him.

Fennel chomped down on his ear, and the demon jumped. Right into the center of the inner circle.

Gotcha .

I stepped out of the shadows.

" I bind you to this circle, Gnath, servant of iniquity, commander of the second brigade of malfeasance, demon of Highway 86. Here you will remain until released. "

The demon attempted to shake Fennel off. "Aww, come on."

"I've got him," I said, "go now. Be careful."

Fennel meowed and launched himself like a furry little bullet off the demon's forehead and streaked through the open gateway.

"Is he going to be okay?" Ida asked.

"Yes," I said, doing everything I could to keep my voice steady.

I hated the way I was doubting myself, but my remaining confidence had followed Fennel through that gateway. I was terrified I'd made a mistake, and Fennel would pay the price.

" You brought a godsdamned witch with you ?" Gnath shrieked at Ida.

"And a magic cat," she said.

"Devil curse me, I have the worst luck." The demon kicked a rock, which ricocheted off the walls of the containment circle and smacked him in the head. "See?"

"Maybe you should look into picking up one of those horseshoes people hang over their doors," Ida said.

"Maybe I should look into ripping your heads from your bodies." The demon rushed the confines of the salt circle but only succeeded in slamming his bloody face into the barrier. He gritted his sharp, triangular teeth. "You will regret this, witch."

"For your sake, I'd better not." I held up a silver chain with a pressed-glass pendant containing a specially calibrated herb mixture and dropped it over Ida's head. "This should help with his hold on you until we get him banished. It's a dissonance charm. It uses sound waves imperceptible to our hearing to cause magical interference."

Ida let out a long sigh. "Whew. Thanks. That was a doozy of a compulsion."

"I did tell you not to engage him in conversation," I said.

"Where's the fun in that?" She looked up from the necklace and gave me a wide smile. "Been a while since I've worked in the field. Felt good."

"Glad to have your help."

"Aww, it was nothing. Besides, I'm the one who told you to take this job in the first place."

"You referred the city council to me because you know I need the work," I said. "Because you care about me."

Gnath made gagging noises. "How revolting . Your repulsive human bonding session makes me want to vomit."

We ignored him.

"How much time does Fennel need?" Ida asked.

"Three minutes." I glanced at my watch then stared intently at the gateway. "Two more."

"Is that enough time?"

"Yes." I hoped.

She glanced at the silver watch on her slender wrist. "Looks like you've accounted for everything."

"Yes."

But had I? I scowled at the opening, tapped one boot heel in the dirt. They were black, with a bit of a heel. Impractical? Yes. But I was an impractical shoe kind of woman. Besides, I'd once tromped through an alfalfa field in them and my ankles were perfectly intact.

The portal cinched inward with a creak.

Good goddess, it was shrinking . I damn well had not accounted for that.

"Hey, you." I indicated Gnath with a chin flick. "Who are you working with?"

"No one."

"Bull." I gestured toward the shrinking portal mouth. "You didn't open this thing. If you can't hold it for even this long, you don't possess enough power to have opened it in the first place."

"Make no mistake. I am powerful enough to open a gateway, earth witch ."

I halted.

There was no way he could have known my element.

Yet he did.

"Rendered you silent, have I?" Black blood dripped from his green brow.

Hardly. I stared into his bottomless gaze as I bent down to take off my boots and socks.

I was born a witch—an elemental. Witches like me had a special affinity with air, water, fire, or in my case, earth.

"Wait. Don't come for me," Gnath said. "It was just a guess, I?—"

" Mercurio ." I walked the perimeter of the outer circle, my bare feet scuffing the loose dirt. Magic rose from the soil and infused me. When I'd completed the revolution, I knelt in front of the demon, though outside the salt circles, and dug my fingers into the cool earth. Its power electrified me. I squeezed the soil and drew even more magic into my body.

The demon's voice trembled. "Wait. What are you?—"

" Fuego ." A ring of liquid silver flames erupted, licking the salt but not crossing it. Quicksilver was one of the few things in the universe capable of permanently injuring a demon.

" Mercury's poison ?" The demon huddled in the center of the circle, terror etched into the harsh planes of his blood-streaked face. "Gods, no. Don't. Please."

I ignored him and sent the flames forward another inch. "Who told you about me?"

"Lucifer's crown, I'm in trouble now." He unfurled like a curled-up spider, one limb at a time, and fixed his gaze on the silver fire. "It's just like Elaine always says. ‘Gnath,' she says, ‘if you listened half as much as you ran your mouth, we wouldn't have been chased out of Hades's court.'"

There was a loud crack, like thunder when lightning's close, and the edges of the gateway inched toward the center. I peered through the opening, saw grass and trees and clean, flowing water.

Limbo, as I'd been told. I breathed a sigh of relief.

Hell vacillated between rivers of fire and ice, and nothing there was clean. Few things grew, and the things that did were terrifying. I never would've sent Fennel into Hell, no matter how well he could defend himself there.

Cats, particularly black ones, were the guardians of the underworld. As a result, they could travel in and out of Hades and Limbo without repercussion. They had power in the underworld, and demons were equal parts disgusted by and terrified of them.

I let the power of the soil flow into my voice. " Who told you about me ?"

Gnath drew back. "Everyone knows your kind, dirt witch. You guys piss a lot of people off."

" Bailar ," I said, imbuing the word with magic. The flames jumped the inner salt line and danced into the circle.

" Stop it ." The silver flames reflected in the black mirrors of his eyes. He held up a clawed green hand. "I'll tell you, all right? Years ago, I was warned that a powerful earth witch protects this region."

"Years ago" meant that the powerful witch he'd been talking about was Mom, not me. Why did that bother me so much?

"You were warned, and still you came," I said.

"A demon hungers for flesh—and you humans are so tasty." He smiled, revealing both rows of sharp teeth. "Plus, the risk seemed low this far from your town. I was mistaken."

The opening shrank another inch.

"You have no idea how mistaken you were." I wiggled my hands deeper into the soil and let magic bleed into my eyes. "Hold your gateway open, fool."

"I am . It's not easy to do." He dropped the evil smile and shrugged. "Look, you were right. I'm not great with doorways, okay? Elaine usually handles them, and she doesn't know I'm here. She's going to be furious."

"Demon, if my partner doesn't make it back through that portal, I'm going to release these flames." A mirthless smile pulled my cheeks tight. "The pain will start slow and won't end for days. Elaine will be the least of your worries."

He gulped. "Don't kill me. Please."

"You'll owe me a favor."

"Yeah, sure. Don't roast me alive, and I'll give you a favor. Great deal. Wish I'd thought of it."

"Are you really being a smart ass with me right now?" I asked.

His eyes widened; his mouth drooped. "No. I mean, yes, I was, but I'm sorry. Favor, you want a favor. Okay."

"So, it's a deal?" Demons used precise language when making a deal, and the only way to hold them to their word was to turn that wording back on them.

"If reincarnation wasn't impossible for our kind, I'd swear you'd been a demon in a past life." He paced to the edge of the circle, avoiding the flames. "Yes. It's a deal. I, Gnath, owe you one favor."

"No conditions."

"Fine." He rolled his eyes, but because the sclerae were completely black, the only way I could tell was that he threw his head back and stared skyward.

"The word you're looking for is yes," I said.

" Yes . I agree to provide you with one favor, no conditions. We can't shake on it, but if you know all that other stuff, you probably know demons don't have to shake on it if we give our word. Son-of-a —" He slapped his forehead again, congealed blood coating his hand. "Shut up , Gnath."

I marveled at how readily the creature had given up his one shot at defeating me. If he'd insisted the deal was contingent on a handshake, I would've had to break the central salt ring or enter it, putting myself at risk either way.

"No, keep talking, Gnath," I drawled. "I'm enjoying your workshop on how to defeat a demon in ten minutes or less. Does the class have a subscription fee, or do you work strictly from donations?"

He snarled and took himself off to the side of the circle furthest from me. I banked the silver flames, retaining the inherent threat yet conserving my energy. A quicksilver spell required a lot of magic. I was already starting to feel drained.

Hurry, Fennel .

Ida seemed to pick up on my fatigue. She tapped the crystal face of her watch. "He's over. We're at three minutes, twenty seconds."

"Release me, and I'll retrieve your—" Gnath's nose wrinkled. "— cat as my favor."

Another crack preceded yet another narrowing of the opening. This was going to be close. Way too close.

" Fennel G. Lennox, move your furry butt, " I yelled.

I clawed deeper into the soil, extracting all the magic it had to offer. If Fennel didn't get out soon, my only option was to go after him myself and, unlike the cat, I couldn't terrify demons with my mere presence. I wasn't even sure I could use my magic in Limbo.

The portal cinched smaller, and my heart beat like a rock-band drum— kick , snare, kick , snare.

Hurry .

"Elaine likely has your wretched feline in her clutches and is just waiting for me to close the portal," Gnath said. "You're right to be fearful. She is the most feared punisher in all of Purgatory."

"That's another thing." Ida regarded Gnath with annoyance. "You made it sound like you were dragging me to Hell."

"Yeah, well, I lied. I'm a demon. It's in the job description." He snorted, crossed his arms tight around his middle. "Besides, Limbo ain't exactly a walk in the park."

"Please. I can see the trees from here," Ida said. "It's literally a walk in the park."

"Not true, elder woman. Beyond those tall green oaks, that crystal clear stream, and the bunny rabbit warren, there's real terror going on."

Four minutes. Fennel, please hurry .

I cursed myself for not maintaining our mind link, damn the magic drain. But it wouldn't have worked. I was already close to losing my grip on the mercury fire. The soil here had plenty of power, but it wasn't my soil, and there were limits to what I could do with it.

"If he doesn't come out in thirty seconds, I'm going in after him," Ida whispered.

"No."

"I can do it, Betty."

"No." Gods, if I lost them both…

Come on, Fennel.

I sat up, pulled a bundle of dried rosemary and a lighter from my back pocket, and began chanting the banishment spell. I couldn't risk the circle falling and Gnath getting loose. A win against an elemental witch would embolden the demon. Innocent people would die.

I chanted beneath my breath, magically preparing myself for the next step—booting Gnath's ass back through the gateway.

And diving in after him to find my partner.

"I know what you're thinking, Betty," Ida said. "Don't do it. You won't survive in there. You're not like Fennel and me. If you won't let me help, then use the favor."

I pushed to my feet. Soil flecked my hands, and my eyes were undoubtedly glowing as silver as the flames in the salt ring. " Gnath, servant of iniquity ?—"

"Wait. Don't banish me. I can help you."

"— commander of the second brigade of malfeasance."

I pulled every ounce of magic at my disposal into my voice as I edged toward the gateway. My throat was on fire and my head pounded. I crouched the way Fennel had before leaping onto Gnath's head and balanced on my fingers, like a runner at the starting line of a race.

"Demon of Highway ? —"

"Betty, no ," Ida yelled.

"Reeeeowww!"

A furry black form launched through the shrinking opening and crash landed in the dirt at Ida's feet, a burlap-wrapped bundle clamped between his teeth.

Relief flowed through me in a rush.

"You're late." Ida patted the purring, bleary-eyed black cat. "What's wrong with you? What's that smell?"

" Me-oww ." He rubbed against her hand.

She plucked a bit of greenery from his fur. Sniffed. "Catnip."

"Told you Elaine got him." Gnath stuck out his chest. "Her garden is renowned throughout the realms. She can grow anything ."

"So I was told," I said with a smile.

Gnath's chest deflated. He shot me a worried look.

"Wait a minute here. She can grow anything, and she chose to grow a harmless plant for cats?" Ida plucked another piece of greenery from his fur. Fennel tried to eat it. "What a goof."

"It's a protection against cats," Gnath said. "It immobilizes them."

"Yet he's here," she said. "Stoned out of his cute little gourd but not immobilized."

"The beast is your familiar. You summoned him, witch ." Gnath flung the word at me like an epithet.

"He's my partner, not my familiar. He comes and goes as he pleases." My relief at Fennel's return faded as all the color leached out of the world. I let the mercury flames burn out to conserve the magic I had left.

Ida gave Gnath a dismissive wave. "Catnip. Pfft . I'm less and less impressed with your so-called demonic setup in Purgatory."

"Elaine grows poisonous plants in her garden, too, you know." The demon's voice took on a deep, hollow cadence. "Noxious, venomous, carnivorous plants."

Fennel flopped over in the dirt and kicked his feet, a wide smile on his feline face.

"Yeah, right," Ida said.

I lit the rosemary and resumed chanting. Thankfully, I didn't need much magic to finish this.

Gnath fell to his knees. "Please don't kill me."

"Good graves, this one's a whiner. I'm embarrassed for him." Ida picked up a very limp Fennel and his burlap bundle and moved away from the containment circle.

"I'm not going to kill you," I said. "We made a deal, remember?"

Gnath climbed to his feet, dusted off his knees. "Then what are you doing?"

"Sending you home."

"Not sure that's much better," the demon said. "Do you have any idea how boring it is in Limbo? At least open a new portal and cast me into Hades. I've got family there."

" Gnath, servant of iniquity, commander of the second brigade of malfeasance, demon of Highway 86, I banish you, body and spirit, to Purgatory ."

I flicked the lighter and set the rosemary ablaze.

His corporeal form faded like a shadow at twilight. One second, he was as close to human as he could manage, and the next he was a ball of green light hovering before me.

"You owe me," I whispered, as the edges of my vision folded inward.

The demon's essence blinked twice then floated like a wraith through the gateway between our worlds. The opening cinched shut, and he disappeared entirely, leaving behind a stench I'd be scrubbing out of my hair for days and a blackened symbol that hung in the air like smoke.

A glyph.

An Aztec skull glyph representing the god of death Mictlantecuhtli, to be precise.

"What the devil was that?" Ida asked.

"No idea," I said.

My vision winnowed to a pinpoint of light, and I dropped like a stone.