A Tale of Two Demon Slayers (12 page)

Okay, so maybe we’d start back with the Healthy Lite dog chow tomorrow.

The trauma of last night had me wanting to appreciate the little things—like giving Pirate a bit of pleasure, or the sweet kiss I gave Dimitri before we headed out. Because what we had faced—and what we had yet to encounter—scared the bejesus out of me.

I touched a hand to my side, remembering the searing pain of last night. I still felt an aching hollowness inside my chest, as if a small part of me had been ripped away.

“Don’t worry Lizzie,” Dyonne said, several steps ahead as we cut across the large lawn at the front of the house. “We will grow stronger and we will find that missing part of you. Then you’ll be safe. I promise.”

“I know,” I said, wanting to believe, as we hurried past the tower that housed Dimitri’s study.

There was no trace of the imp invaders or the slime they’d unleashed. I had to hand it to Dimitri. Griffins sure could do windows, inside and out.

“One question,” I said to the sisters. “When you regain full use of your Skye magic, will you be able to tell us what those creatures were after in Dimitri’s study?”

Diana winced, shaking her head. “No. Our magic works
to protect our family and this estate. It doesn’t reveal motives behind attacks. However, once we have the house and the grounds fully protected, any cursed imps will be in for a world of hurt.”

“Griffin-style,” Dyonne added, the twinkle in her eye giving way to sharp pain as she doubled over, clutching at her stomach. “Sorry. Cramp.”

Diana rushed to her. “For goodness sake, slow down.” She helped Dyonne lean against her and glanced at me. “Our power affects our health,” Diana explained, brushing Dyonne’s long, spiky hair back and out of her eyes. “When we feel good, the sky is the limit. Literally. When we don’t—” Diana struggled to hold on to her sister as Dyonne shook off her grip.

Dyonne’s face had gone deathly pale.

“Look, if you’re not ready—” I began.

“What? Would you quit?” Dyonne demanded.

Good point.

“Got all I need right here,” she said, patting the lump in her pocket. “Let’s go.”

I kept an eye on Dyonne as we continued across the grass. At the far side of the house, the lawn gave way to a rocky warning track about five feet wide. On the other side, sheer black cliffs dropped down into the dark blue waters of the Aegean Sea. We could hear the waves pounding below.

“We like to work at the edge of the cliffs,” Diana said. The wind tangled her dark hair about her face as she drew a line in the rusty soil with her toe. “Oh who am I kidding? We don’t like it. I sure don’t. But it beats the alternative.”

Dyonne gave a wry grin as she looked out at the water,
but I didn’t miss the way her hands lingered over her stomach. “The way things have been going, it’s better for us to practice our magic over the open sea.”

“Let me know if I can do anything to help,” I said, wary and more than a little fascinated. They had grown up in a world I never knew existed. Magic portals? No problem. Levitation? All in a day’s work. It still blew me away.

I was still getting used to the idea of a ghost who liked to play Scrabble.

Diana drew a gleaming aquamarine stone from her pocket. It was beautiful, radiant. I was heartened to see how the stone responded to Diana’s touch.

It hadn’t been half as energized when Amara and Talos tried to use it.

“Can I see it?” I asked.

“Sure, Lizzie.”

It felt heavy and solid in my hand. And I didn’t miss how it lost its radiance the minute it left Diana.

“Show me what you’ve got,” I said, trying to lighten the mood as I returned the stone.

“Okay…well, remember, this is basic,” Diana said, holding her Skye stone out in front of her. It sparkled in the morning sun. “Talos wants us to weave clouds.”

“No kidding.” I had to see this.

The sun hung low over the sea, spending sparkling waves across the water.

Diana spread her feet wide, like a volleyball player getting ready to defend. “It’s kind of like weaving wards.”

“Only clouds won’t implode if we weave wrong,” added Dyonne.

“Are you going to do a pattern?” I asked, trying to picture a giant loom in the sky.

“We’ll start with an
X
,” Dyonne said.

“Ready?” Diana asked.

Her sister nodded.

Diana and Dyonne braced themselves, holding their Skye stones in front of them like offerings to the gods.

They were the last of their kind, the two remaining women of the Helios clan. But they were not alone. I could see it in the way they stood, in the murmured words they used to call to their ancestors. It sounded like some form of ancient Greek, the low, thick syllables blending to form a harmony of strength and love for the family they were trying so desperately to protect.

I’d always understood why Dimitri worked so hard to save them. Now I knew why the clan itself had to go on. This place, these people could not disappear. We needed them and their kind, just like we needed the biker witches and other countless magical creatures who wove their love and strength across the world. Only together could we defeat the forces of darkness.

I squeezed my hands into fists and rooted for them. Not just because they could protect us, and not because we desperately needed to know what had happened last night. I wanted to see them succeed because of who they were. Since I’d become a demon slayer, I’d focused so much on the evil that I’d almost forgotten about the good. We had the right—no, the responsibility—to not only survive, but thrive, live, reach our potential.

Together, we could do it.

It was at that moment, when I truly believed in the possibility of total victory, that a blaze of light shone down from the heavens. Diana held her stone aloft and trailed a thin cloud across the sky. Dyonne wove a similar
cloud to intercept Diana’s. I held my breath and watched the two lines cross.

The clash blinded me. I turned away, pulling my sunglasses down, wrapping my hands around the sides. I saw orange beneath my closed lids and felt the raw heat of it on my back.

The door of the house slammed open. I squinted and saw Amara storm across the lawn, her feet bare.

“Even out the energy!” she hollered. “It’s pulsing. Stop the pulsing.” She ducked as a particularly bright surge slammed down from the sky. “No. Wait,” she said, hands cupping her eyes, running again. “Cut it! Cut it! You’re going to get zapped!”

The stones blazed and darkened in the sisters’ outstretched hands.

“I got it!” Dyonne hollered, struggling to control the fire in her hands.

“No!” Amara dashed straight past me, standing in front of Dyonne and Diana with her back to the cliffs. “You’re stuttering it,” she said. “Push it out like a stream. Don’t let it pulse. You can do this.”

I found myself opening up, willing for them to push through, to own the power that was theirs already.

The sea rose and churned as Amara clenched her body tight, willing the sisters on.

Diana fought as the stone began to flicker rapidly in her hands. With a shriek, she collapsed to the ground.

“Di!” Amara rushed to her.

Dyonne’s stone flickered and died. “Diana!” She dropped her stone.

“What’s wrong with her?” Dyonne dropped to her knees at next to Diana. “What did it do to her?”

“Let’s get her inside.” Amara gathered Diana against her. I took the other side, and together we carried her home.

Talos frowned. “The magic was weak and uneven.”

“Well, sorry,” Diana muttered from under the ice packs piled on her forehead.

Dimitri thought for a moment, worried. “If they’re not ready, they’re not ready.”

Diana cracked her eyes open.

“Um, hello? We’re in the room,” Dyonne said from her sister’s bedside.

“We can do this,” Diana said, her voice surprisingly strong given the massive headache she suffered. It had to hurt to open her eyes, much less talk.

“Tomorrow,” I said, effectively ending the argument.

Darned if the sisters didn’t take me at my word.

The next morning, we marched back out to the training grounds, with Dyonne and Diana in the lead.

“No weaving today,” Dimitri announced. “Let’s start with something simpler. Just create a cloud or two,” he directed them. “Here. Over the cliffs.”

I tried to hide my surprise.

Sure. Just create a few clouds. No big whoop.

But I wasn’t about to question. This wasn’t about me. We were here for Dyonne and Diana.

It had to be intimidating for them to stand in the same place where they’d failed so miserably, but Dimitri’s sisters were nothing if not stubborn. I liked that.

Talos joined us as well. He lingered on the edges, apart from the group. Amara stood next to me. For the first time, I didn’t mind having her around.

“Your dog is chasing bees, Lizzie,” she said, her dark eyes focused on the water.

I glanced over to Pirate, dancing in circles behind us, leaping at the buzzing insects.

“Don’t worry. He never catches them.”

“I heard that!” Pirate said, before flipping over backward into the grass.

The exercise had begun well enough, with a few wispy clouds gathering over our small party. I resisted the urge to cheer. Dyonne and Diana stood deathly still, arms held out in front of them as they focused everything they had on drawing out the clouds.

“Harness it,” Dimitri warned.

Amara stiffened next to me. “You’re uneven again. Draw it out.”

Diana’s stone began to flicker.

Oh no. “Pirate?” I didn’t need him exposed if anything went down.

My dog jumped into my arms as the small cloud above us darkened and rumbled.

“Oh Lizzie.” Pirate pawed at my arms. “What’s going on?”

“Uneven magic.” I just hoped Diana didn’t get zapped again. Dread swelled in my stomach as the lone cloud spit lightning.

It was too familiar. I searched the sky for green as the isolated storm grew in fury. It roiled the sea deep enough to send fish and other ocean creatures crashing into the rocks below.

“Watch out, turtle!” Pirate yelled.

If only the biker witches were here with us to hurl protection spells. “Yikes,” I said. “And there’s a marlin.”

“No, it’s not.” Amara frowned, madly weaving a sea spell. Her arms darted above her head as her brows knit and she murmured something in a language I’d never heard.

When the waves calmed, I saw Amara was right.

A real-life mermaid flopped like a caught fish on one of the flat rocks below.

Amara gave one final incantation before dropping her arms to her sides.

The mermaid pulled her red hair out of her face, gave us the finger and dove back into the sea.

“Some thanks,” I said.

Amara grinned. “Doesn’t matter. I’m just doing my job.”

“I’m sorry,” Diana called, still trying to calm the winds battering the cliffs. She looked more desperate than she had at the start of the lesson. Tired too.

“Is it too soon?” I asked. Maybe they needed more rest.

Talos shook his head. “This is much easier than what they tried yesterday.”

Diana’s shoulders dropped.

“Lay off her,” I said.

I knew how tough it was to push yourself to the limit, to have someone simply expect you to do something amazing. Yes, we were in trouble if the sisters didn’t recover their magic, but this wasn’t going to happen overnight.

“Maybe we do need to give them a break,” Amara said.

“No,” Talos replied, watching them struggle with their stones. “They
must
succeed.” He stepped closer. “They are losing power. At this rate, the wards will not hold much longer.”

Amara nodded. Then to me, she said, “Don’t worry. I’ll be here.”

The worst thing was, Amara’s presence comforted me. She was from this world. She really could help Diana and Dyonne. And for that, I was thankful.

While the days felt normal, at night I could feel the lingering evil. It pressed on the estate like a besieging army, soaking up the energy of the land as it readied the invasion. Dimitri and I searched the grounds twice more, trying to find the woman who had taken my magic. But ever since she’d touched me that night, I couldn’t detect even a hint of her. We couldn’t let her escape.

Dyonne and Diana worked as hard as they could, but after four straight days, things looked worse instead of better.

I wasn’t sure what I could do to change it, but I had to try.

On the evening of the fourth day, I walked to the stables, knowing I’d find Diana there. She visited Zeus every night. He was a Clydesdale, black and completely wild. Well, at least it looked so to me.

Dimitri told me how in years past, Zeus and Diana would race across the estate, her hair trailing behind. She’d laugh and call to him and he’d gallop even harder, like a horse out of Hades. I wished I could have seen it. Ever since Diana had begun training, she had no strength left for anything more than a canter.

It didn’t bode well.

At least tonight I’d be able to bring her some happiness. In the chaos of the past few days, I’d forgotten about the very special memento I’d brought for her.

I ducked into the long building, my hand scraping along the wood as I took in the earthy smells of hay and manure.

The evening light filtered softly throughout. A half dozen or so horses moved and made soft noises in their stalls. I could see Diana toward the end, stroking the nose of Zeus, her head bent as she spoke to him in cottony tones.

I almost hated to interrupt as I reached into my pocket and withdrew a small velvet bag.

“Lizzie,” she said, nuzzling the horse’s muzzle. “I’m glad you came. Would you like to meet Mr. Zeus?”

“Sure,” I said, stopping a few feet away.

My adoptive mother had enough equestrian medals to drown an ox, but I hadn’t inherited her way with horses.

“Come closer,” she said. “He’s very friendly.”

I studied Zeus, considering it. Despite his size and power, Zeus had the prettiest eyelashes I’d seen on a horse.

“Are you a handsome fellow?” I reached out to touch Zeus’s coal black muzzle. He jerked back and so did I.

Maybe I’d just stick to obnoxious Jack Russell terriers.