armor of magic 02 - rising light (15 page)

I looked at Rocco and Asher for some support, but they weren’t touching the conversation with a ten-foot pole. I stood up and took Charlotte’s hand, leading her over to the couch.

“She’ll be fine. Asher, Rocco and I will be cloaked and right by her side. And Asher will glimmer her out of there before anything goes down. Nobody from the Shadow Order will get close to her. Not even Cagliostro. Lilith will be protected. I promise.”

Charlotte gazed across the room toward the closed bedroom door. “Are you sure? I mean a hundred percent sure?”

I was glad Charlotte wasn’t looking at me because she would’ve detected the doubt in my eyes. Nothing is ever a hundred percent. I grabbed her hand and said, “We’ll make it work.” I paused a moment, letting my words sink in. “But we need Lilith to meet with the bounty hunter so the Shadow Order will move in on her. Otherwise Rocco and I won’t be able to move in on them and ascertain Cagliostro’s whereabouts.”

Charlotte got up. “Let me think about it.” She grabbed the shopping bags and crutches from the floor and went into the bedroom to talk to her sister.

I felt a little sick to my stomach. Not because I was afraid we couldn’t pull it off, but because I was afraid that something would go wrong. Because it always does. But we had to try. It was the right thing to do.

Asher put away his phone and joined me on the couch. “I leaked the information. Right now the darknet thinks Lilith is seeking a bounty hunter to go after Fiona. I’m sure she’ll come around.”

I leaned over and kissed Asher’s cheek, hoping he knew something I didn’t.

After some time had passed, the bedroom door opened and Charlotte stepped into the living room with Lilith hobbling behind on crutches. They were chrome with pink leather arm pads, one of them modified to accommodate her missing hand. The sisters had changed into more durable clothes: black jeans, sturdy boots and black satin bombers. They not only looked ready for battle, but very fashionable.

“I guess you’re in?” I smiled, standing up.

Lilith moved back a bit when I approached, scowling. “For the record, I think this plan sucks. The second I’m with that bounty hunter, Cagliostro will have his men snag me or kill me on the spot.”

“Asher’s going to glimmer you out of there the second anything goes wrong,” I said.

“Sorry, Protector, but that’s not at all reassuring. Asher might not be fast enough to get me out of there. I need a better guarantee. Is that too hard for you assholes?”

Rocco stood up. “Hey, let’s stay calm.”

Asher stepped forward, pulling something from his belt. “This might help.” He showed Lilith a black cylinder about eight inches long. I had never seen that before and had no idea what it did.

Lilith frowned. “A miniature billy-club?”

Asher whipped the black piece forward and it extended into a long rod, which got some laughter from Lilith.

“Even better, a collapsible baton,” she sneered.

“It’s a transference rod. Monarchy issue. You touch it to water and you can go anywhere you want and I can track it.” He paused, grinning. “It also does some damage if you strike anyone with it.”

Lilith reached forward, taking the instrument and examining it. Then she glared at me. “Let’s test it out.” She poked the tip against my chest and the thing blasted me across the room. I smashed against the wall and hit the floor hard. Julian’s hotel bill was going to be astronomical with all of the damage I was causing.

“Bitch!” I yelled, running toward Lilith.

Rocco grabbed me. “Easy, Farrow. Save your strength for Cagliostro.”

Lilith chuckled. “Yep. This’ll work. I’m in.”

“Can you two kiss and make up? We can’t go into this thing with hard feelings,” Rocco said.

I stared at Lilith, my chest still burning. A flash of compassion shot through me. Of course she was pissed off. After all, I had maimed her.

“I’m sorry it went down like it did, Lilith. But it could’ve been worse. I could’ve beheaded you.”

“Really? You could’ve beheaded me?
That’s
your apology?” Lilith hissed, holding up the instrument again.

I called on my shield for protection. But Charlotte stepped in between us. “Enough!” she yelled. “Do you know how sick I am of being stuck in the middle of you two stubborn, self-centered bitches?”

What the? Had my best friend just called me self-centered? Stubborn, sure. Bitch, perhaps sometimes. But self-centered? Maybe I was a touch myopic at times, but only because I wanted to do the right thing.

Rocco shook his head and gnawed on a matchstick. “If we can’t get out the door, we might as well call it off.”

“I’m not calling anything off. If Lilith doesn’t want to cooperate, we’ll figure out another way to do this without her,” I argued.

“Oh, I’m going. Nothing would please me more than seeing that asshole go down. But just so you know, Fiona, I don’t like you.”

“I’m not a fan of yours either. But we have a common enemy, so let’s work together to take him down. Deal?” I held out my hand to shake on it.

Out of spite, Lilith held out the arm with the missing hand, forcing me to shake the stub. I guess I deserved that.

twenty-seven

The five of us stood on the balcony, watching the city shift from day to night as we waited for something to pop up on the darknet. The lamps in Central Park lit up and a cold breeze whipped over us.

Around eight o’clock, Asher’s phone started buzzing with notifications and he scrolled through the list. We all focused on him, waiting for the news, the glow from his screen lighting his handsome face.

“Anything?” I asked.

“So far a bunch of nothing,” he replied.

“What if we just drove up to Connecticut and used our powers to track down Cagliostro? I’m sick of sitting around and waiting,” I grumbled.

Rocco grunted under his breath, clearly not approving. The others remained quiet, leaving me to sit there with my heart pounding and adrenaline pumping through my blood. I was ready to go after that demon mage before he got complete control.

“This isn’t good,” Asher said.

“Whaddya got?” Rocco asked.

“The Shadow Order is assuming control in some of the East Coast territories … Chicago … Washington D.C. and New Orleans.” Asher kept scrolling.

“Great. Just as we thought. His power is growing. Still no bounty hunters?” I asked.

Asher glanced up from his phone. “Give it some time. Trust, Fiona. Okay?”

I stood up and began pacing the length of the balcony. Patience might’ve been a virtue, but I was lacking in that department. I didn’t want to sit around while the demon mage gathered more and more power and territories. Every passing second made it more difficult to take him down.

“Can you
please
sit down?” Lilith shouted.

“Huh?”

“You’re making all of us very edgy and nervous,” Charlotte said.

Rocco frowned. “Yeah, we don’t need to bring this kind of energy into our mission.”

They were right. I was acting like I’d never gone up against evil. I had been letting the fear magic get to me. It was like Cagliostro had a stronghold on me regardless of the distance between us. I needed to be strong, cool and collected.

Rocco stood up and put his arm around my shoulder. “Remember, Farrow, the Light’s in you, and you are in it. Trust it. You’re the vessel. Got it?”

I nodded and straightened myself up. “Yeah. Yeah. I know. It’s not like I haven’t gone up against the bastard before. I’m just ready to get this done.”

Rocco grinned, shaking his head. “You gotta let go of that pride, Farrow. It’ll get the best of you. Took me a while to get past that crap. Thinking I had it all under control. Instead of being guided by the Light. Instead of trusting the Light within me. But you’re a Protector, eventually you’ll get it. You make enough mistakes doing this job and you learn what
not
to do.”

“I’ve got it, Rocco. Don’t worry about me,” I said.

“Got something here,” Asher said. “One of Cagliostro’s men is interested in helping Lilith. Wants to meet at a place called the Beast and the Harlot. It’s in a small town close to Mattatuck State Forest.”

I took a deep breath, calming my nervous stomach. It was go-time.

“This seems sketchy,” Charlotte said. “What if this is a trap?”

“It could be. But it’ll get us closer to tracking him down,” I said. “Either way, we’re going to the bar.”

“And you’re sure Lilith will be safe?” Charlotte asked.

“Once we’re inside the Beast and the Harlot, Asher will glimmer Lilith out of there. Or she can use that baton-rod thing. Trust me, it’s powerful.”

Rocco interjected, “Yeah, and then Fiona and I will follow Cagliostro’s cohorts out of there, or brace them on the spot. We’ll see how it goes.”

Hearing it played back, the plan did seem a bit outrageous. There were a lot of variables and “what if” factors. Like what if Asher’s cloak didn’t work? Or what if Cagliostro’s lackeys killed us before we could defend ourselves? And what if we didn’t get any intel on Cagliostro’s whereabouts? But I needed to trust something would come out of our efforts. It was better than waiting around in the hotel suite.

Rocco gave a stern nod. “Let’s go.”

Since we couldn’t risk the Shadow Order minions tracking any of our supernatural activity, we decided to go the old-fashioned route and drive up to Connecticut. We headed downstairs and got Rocco’s sedan from the valet attendant.

twenty-eight

When we pulled away from The Plaza, Rocco used his police light and proceeded to run through every red light to get us out of the city faster. Asher sat in the front seat, and the girls were in the back, with Charlotte wedged between Lilith and me. We crossed over into Connecticut, and Rocco removed the flashing light to keep our presence more inconspicuous. The roads were slippery and wet from the storm, but the rain had let up.

The location of the Beast and the Harlot that Asher had gleaned from his darknet searches was about an hour away. It was a place where demons, witches and warlocks did shady trades with other supernatural beings and humans.

Connecticut seemed like a nice place to live or settle down, maybe have a kid. I thought about Asher and I playing house in New England, and my cheeks heated up. A warm wave rippled through me. Asher glanced over his shoulder and smiled as though he had been reading my thoughts. Or maybe he had felt the blast of my hyperactive hormones pulsating from the backseat of the large sedan.

Glancing ahead to read a passing sign and get my bearings, I noticed something in the distance. Something glowing white and standing right in the middle of the two-lane road.

“Stop!” I shouted.

Rocco glanced up in the rearview mirror. “What’s going on, Farrow?”

“Don’t you see it? It’s a person!” I yelled.

“Your eyes are playing tricks on you,” Rocco said with a nonchalant chuckle.

I leaned forward and pointed toward the figure that nobody else seemed to see. “It’s right there. You’re going to hit it!”

“Back off, Farrow, you’re gonna make me crash!” Rocco barked.

We were only a few yards away from careening into the glowing body when I recognized a wave of bleached hair swooping over the figure’s forehead.

“It’s Julian!” I shouted as I yanked the steering wheel so that the lumbering sedan swerved violently to the right.

Rocco grabbed the wheel, hollering for Asher to get control of me. But the pavement was slick from a light drizzle and the car spun out so that the three of us girls crashed into each other. When we finally stopped, Charlotte and I were piled on top of Lilith.

She shoved us off. “Are you trying to kill us?”

I didn’t stop to answer her, but opened the door and ran out into the street to see if we had hit Julian. A couple hundred yards away, a person lay still on the wet pavement. I ran toward him, ignoring everyone yelling for me to stop.

I dropped to my knees and examined the individual. It was Julian. He was bleeding from his forehead and was coughing up blood. He looked broken in at least five places.

“Julian!” I cried, then looked back to the car and screamed, “Charlotte, he needs help! Hurry!”

Charlotte ran toward me. “What is it?” she shouted.

“It’s Julian and he’s hurt.”

She knelt next to me, looked down and then at me. Why wasn’t she healing him? She was letting him bleed all over the pavement.

I tugged the sleeve of her bomber jacket. “Come on, Char. Help him!”

Standing, she tried to pull me up with her. “Come on, Fiona.”

“What are you doing?” I yelled, pulling away and turning back down to where Julian lay.

But he was gone.

No body or blood on the ground. Just black pavement.

“What the fuck?” I whispered to myself.

“You’re stressed out. Totally understandable, but sweetie, you gotta keep it together.”

“He was here. I held his hand. I know it was him.” But that tightness in my stomach returned and suddenly it became very clear what was happening. I grabbed Charlotte’s hand and started running back to the others, screaming, “It’s a trap!”

As we darted back toward the black sedan using our magical speed, a swarm of demon-bats swept in from the distance like a vicious tornado churning toward us. Fucking Cagliostro and those damn demon-bats.

“Look out!” I warned the others, pointing to the black mass rapidly approaching.

I grabbed Rocco’s wrist. “The Logos,” I yelled.

But before he could start chanting the ancient words, a fireball knocked him down. Fortunately, his breastplate had protected him from death, but he was out cold. Asher pulled me over and folded me against his chest. Charlotte and Lilith ducked beside the car. The demon-bats hovered overhead as if they were waiting for the right moment to strike, while other very creepy scorpion-like demonic creatures hurled more fireballs our way.

“Charlotte!” I pulled away from Asher and ran over to the car, lifting my shield to create a force field around Charlotte and Lilith.

“Fiona!” Asher yelled, running over.

Another fireball flew his way. I lunged forward to deflect the flames, and the two of us skidded across the pavement.