Burning Bright (Ivy Granger) (20 page)

“It’s bad, isn’t it?” she asked.  “I’ve heard sirens, but…I
tried to ignore it.  Up until now, it didn’t seem real.  Like it was happening
to people on television, or a video game.”

I’d always treasured Arachne’s innocence.  It was something
I hadn’t had the luxury of experiencing in my teen years.  My psychic gifts had
blossomed way too soon for that.  But this wasn’t a time for treading lightly. 
Some lessons were best learned hard.

“This is no game, Arachne,” I said.  “Whatever you did,
those fire imps are making a mess of this city.  People have lost their homes,
their jobs.  Before this is over, some may lose their lives.”

She sniffed, eyes red and full of unshed tears, but she
didn’t look away.  Maybe she was tougher than I gave her credit for.

“What can I do to make it right?” she asked.

That was the million dollar question, one that gnawed at me
in the dead of night.  I clenched my jaw and narrowed my eyes.

“You can help us plan the upcoming battle,” I said.  “Tell
us everything you know, and help us with any magic that you can.  Are you in?”

“I’m in,” she said, steely resolve stiffening her
shoulders.  “And there’s something you need to see.”

She got up and strode over to the wall where a backpack hung
from a hook.  She pulled out a sweatshirt wrapped bundle and carried it to the
table.

“I went into Kaye’s office looking for a book,” she said. 
Her eyes flicked to Forneus and she blushed again.  “It was for a love spell. 
It was stupid.”

“Love spells never end well, you know that,” I said.

Damn, how could she be so foolish?  She’d grown up around
magic.  She should have known better than to dally in that shit.  Some forces
are best left alone.

“In my many years of existence, I have never known that
knowledge to stop humans from trying,” Forneus said.  My mouth fell open as the
demon rose to Arachne’s defense.  I hadn’t even been sure that he’d been
listening.  He’d been so wrapped up in watching Jinx.  Apparently, he could
multitask.  “You would not believe the quantity of souls collected in the name
of love.  It can be a great strength, but an even greater weakness.  None of us
wish to be alone.”

“Point taken,” I said.

“So, um, when I tried to open the book of love spells, I
knocked this over,” she said.

She removed the sweatshirt from a brass artifact similar to
the censer that Father Michael used for burning incense in his church.  She set
the item in the center of the table with a thunk.  It didn’t look like much
really, but apparently it was the real deal.

Sparky let out a shrieking wail that sent goosebumps
skittering up and down my neck.  He pulled his long ears over his eyes like a
blindfold and burrowed into my jacket.  I didn’t push him away.  My skin was covered,
and the little guy was terrified.

“They all came pouring out so fast,” Arachne said, voice
shaking.  “I didn’t even react.  By the time I ran out of the office, they had
already gone to ground.  There were just too many places for them to hide.”

“Wait, the shop didn’t fight back?” I asked.  The Emporium
often gave me grief.  It seemed unfair that the shop’s magic hadn’t attacked
the fire imps.

“No,” she said.  “I don’t think it understood an invasion
coming from within.  It just…tried to push them out.”

“If that is the case, then it would have hastened their escape,”
Forneus said.

Arachne gave him a grateful look, but when she turned back
to me there was steely determination in her eyes.

“Help me make this right,” she said.

“Fine,” I said.  I nodded.  “Put that thing away before
Sparky has a heart attack.  We have a battle to plan.”

W
hoever said
planning a battle was the easy part, never had to deal with a vengeful demon
and a guilt-ridden teenage witch.

“You’re going to lure the fire imps to the amusement park
where the carnival fae reside?” Arachne asked.

It wasn’t the first time she’d asked.

“Yeah, I’m going to sick their fiery little butts on The
Green Lady, just as soon as you show me how to use that magic artifact,” I
said.

“Innocent carnival fae could be injured,” she said.

It was a reasonable concern, especially since the kid was
somewhat responsible for this clusterfuck.  Heck, the idea of someone else
getting hurt made my stomach twist into painful knots, but The Green Lady had put
her people in the line of fire as soon as she attacked my vassal.  According to
fae law, her subjects were an acceptable loss—no more than collateral damage in
our power struggle.

I wasn’t so callous, but I would grasp the opportunity to
create enough mayhem to cover my entrance into her territory.  In the ensuing
chaos, I hoped to find the glaistig’s incubus and break his hold on Jinx—with
my blades.  If it gave the faerie queen a headache, then all the better.

“That’s why Ceff’s people will be on fire duty,” I said. 
“The carnival grounds are on a jetty that juts out into the harbor, which means
the place is surrounded by water.  With the kelpies there with their water
magic, we can minimize the damage.”

“Um, okay, I guess,” she said.  “If you think Ceff will get the
kelpies to help.”

“Of course he will,” I said.  “He’s Ceff.”

“Yes, yes, we have all been dazzled by your suitor’s
heroism,” Forneus said, feigning a yawn.  “Can we get on with the killing?”

I sighed, damn that demon.  He wasn’t helping.

“No, not yet,” I said through clenched teeth.

Forneus was as bad as a sugared up kid on a road trip. 
Are
we there yet?  Are we there yet?  Is it time to flay the incubus’ flesh from
his bones?
 Thank Mab, I never planned on having rugrats.  I didn’t have the
patience.

“Not yet, not yet!” Sparky chimed in.

Forneus shot the tiny demon a glare and I covered my laugh
with a cough.

“I still cannot fathom what possessed you to take a Tezcatlipocan
demon as a pet,” he said.

“Tezcatliwhatchamacallit demon?” I sputtered.

Eyes bugging out of my head, I stared down into Sparky’s
smiling face.  Maybe it was the mayonnaise sandwich or the healthy dose of
caffeine that helped to clear the brain fog, but I realized where I’d heard
that name before.

According to Father Michael, Tezcatlipocan demon lords were
the powerful masters of smaller demons.  I also remembered that the Tezcatlipocan
demons were also supposed to be huge, as in bigger than a super-sized bread
basket.  There was no way this little runt was Tezcatlipocan.  Forneus was just
messing with me.

“Stop yanking my chain, Forneus,” I said, rolling my eyes. 
He’d had me there for a second, damn him.  “Tezca-whatevers are giants.  And
this kid is no giant.  Even I can tell that much.”

“No, he is not a giant,
yet
,” he said.

“You mean he’ll get big…like a Saint Bernard?” Arachne
asked.

“I mean, young witch, that if Sparky here were a puppy, he
would grow to become a wooly mammoth,” he said.

My gut tightened and I tasted bile.  There was truth in
Forneus’ words, much as I loathed to admit it.  If I stopped and gave it some
thought, it made sense.  I knew there was something different about Sparky. 
Though there were similarities, he wasn’t quite like the fire imps I’d chased
earlier.  My subconscious had already placed him in a different category
altogether.  Forenus was just giving it a name—one that I’d like to forget.

Fatigue and stubbornness had allowed me to ignore Forneus’
earlier comments, but maybe he was right.  Or not.

“Wooooly mammoth!” Sparky exclaimed, gleefully crawling on
the table holding two pickles to his face like tusks.  Oh yeah, he was an evil
demon lord.  I was trembling in my boots.

Forneus had to be mistaken.  And even if he wasn’t, and
Sparky really was a Tezcatlipocan demon, I just couldn’t believe that the runt
was evil.

“Come on, Forneus,” I said waving a hand at Sparky’s
antics.  “Does this look like an all mighty master demon to you?”

“Well, he is a bit
unusual
, but with enough
training…” he said.

“Exactly!” I said.  “Demon lords aren’t necessarily born
evil.”  Oberon’s eyes, did I just say that?  “It’s that nature vs. nurture
thing.  If he grows up with me, instead of in Hell, then he’s got a chance,
right?  Everyone deserves a chance.”

Okay, some people would say that growing up with me would be
just another kind of hell, but I wasn’t asking them.  If Sparky wanted to stay,
he was staying—come what may.

“Be still my heart,” Forneus said, hand to his forehead,
feigning to faint.  “Are you saying that demons are not inherently evil?  You? 
I can scarcely believe my ears.  What did you put in our tea, witch?”

“N-n-nothing,” Arachne stammered.

“Stop messing around, Forneus,” I said.  “Yes, I might have
been a bit…prejudiced before.  Can you blame me?  My own father was tricked by
the big S man himself, and it’s not like you weren’t a manipulative prick on
our first meeting.”

He raised an eyebrow, but a slow grin slid across his face.

“A manipulative prick?” he asked.  “How gauche of you.  It
is not like I call you a stubborn prude with daddy issues, not to your face.”

My face flushed hot, but I just shrugged.  Sticks, stones,
whatever.

“He’s staying,” I said.  “Get over it.”

To make my point, I picked up Sparky from where he was now
sprawled out on the table and carefully placed the sleeping demon in my lap.  I
slid a throwing knife from its sheath and used it to clean my nails.  The
message was clear; mess with Sparky, mess with me and my collection of pointy
things.  The demon runt was now part of my ragtag family, such as it was.

Arachne’s eyes widened, but she gave me a thumbs up.  It was
nice to have the kid’s support, even if she was obviously freaked out by the
fact that I was willingly touching someone other than Ceff or Galliel.  Oh
well, she’d get over it.  We all would.  Everything was changing, even this.

“Soooooo,” Forneus said.  “Can we go kill the incubus now?”

“No,” I said.  “First I need to know more about how this
artifact works.  If we lure the fire imps to the carnival, can we force them
back inside the vessel—after they’ve caused the glaistig some misery and
provided our cover diversion—and put a cork in it?”

Arachne bit her lip, tugging on a chunk of purple-streaked
hair.

“I can try to compel the imps to follow the artifact, since
that’s the vessel they came from, but I can’t actually stuff them back inside,”
she said.  “I don’t know the original spell.”

“It’s a good thing then, child, that I do,” a voice said
from the door.  “I cast it myself.”

Oh, shit.  Kaye was back.

K
aye’s hands were
moving, tattoos slithering and I was sitting in her kitchen with two demons. 
We were so screwed.

I cursed myself for my stupidity.  I had my back to the
door, leaving myself vulnerable.  The fact that I had brought two demons into
Kaye’s spell kitchen also wasn’t smart.  She was going to be angry as hell, and
pissing off a witch as powerful as Kaye was never a good idea.

I cradled Sparky in my lap with one arm and held up the
other gloved hand toward Kaye.

“Kaye, wait, I can explain…” I said.

Black tendrils of magic sprung across the kitchen to stop
within inches of Forneus, Sparky, and me.  I licked my lips, heart racing.  I
had no doubt that the black mist could claw through our bodies, knocking us out
of this fight, or killing us dead.  Everything depended on what we said and did
next.  I just hoped that Forneus kept his sulfurous trap shut.

“You let DEMONS inside my spell kitchen?” she seethed,
glaring at Arachne.

The young witch blanched and swayed where she sat.  I was
pretty sure the kid was going to faint, but there was nothing I could do.  If I
moved to hold her upright, I’d be in the clutches of Kaye’s magic talons.

The air in the room changed and I heard a moan from the
spell circle. 
The spell circle.
  Mab’s bones, Arachne had lost her
concentration.  The circle no longer held and Jinx was awake.

No, no, no, this could not be happening.

 “What the…?” Jinx mumbled.  Jinx groggily shook her head
and sat up on the cot, eyes narrowing as she caught sight of Forneus. “You! 
You goddamned son of a…”

Jinx lunged toward Forneus.  Thankfully, she was half asleep
and tangled in a blanket.  But she looked determined to kill him all the same.

That probably had something to do with the fact she’d been
violated by a demon.  It hadn’t been Forneus—wrong demon—but Jinx didn’t know
that.  I was working on finding the bastard who did this to her, and now I was
here with Forneus.  That was enough proof for Jinx.

“Yes, yes, I’m a damned son of a demon whore,” he said. 
“You know how I love it when you talk dirty, darling, but now is not the best
time.  Sensitive ears and all that, and I do think you’re supposed to be safely
ensconced inside that spell circle.”

He waved his hand to encompass Kaye, Arachne, and me, but
Jinx only had eyes for Forneus.  It was as if the rest of us didn’t exist, which
was very, very bad considering that Kaye was poised to kill us all and be done
with it.

“Kaye, Arachne, the spell circle,” I said.  “It’s the only
thing keeping Jinx alive!”

Arachne trembled, barely staying upright, her eyes rimmed in
red—no help there.  The kid was too upset.  I turned to Kaye, still managing to
hold Sparky who, thank Mab, was still asleep in my lap.  The witch’s tattoos
writhed up and down her arms and neck, her magic ready to be unleashed.

“Not yet,” she said her tone sharp.

Her eyes flicked to Jinx and I followed her gaze.  Jinx was
reaching for an athame that was on the altar beside the edge of the spell
circle.  Kaye was going to let my friend have her revenge.