Demon Heart (The Darkworld Series Book 3) (16 page)

“Find Jude ourselves?” said Leo.

“What?” I said, staring at him. “Really?”

“He killed our guardian,” said Leo. “I think that’s a good enough reason.”

“Leo,” said Cyrus. “He’s under the control of a demon, remember?”

“All the more reason,” said Leo.

“You’d go after the most powerful demon in existence?” said Cyrus, raising an eyebrow. “Okay, send me a postcard.”

“Please tell me you’re joking,” I said to Leo. “We don’t have a clue what Mephistopheles is planning, but getting Jude to walk openly into the Venantium and stealing a demon heart kinda suggests that he doesn’t fear anything from magic-users. And let’s face it, they know more about this stuff than we do.”

“Too true,” said Cyrus. “Don’t do anything rash, little bro.”

“Well, I’m not sitting back and doing nothing when people are getting hurt,” said Claudia. “Ash? You in?”

“Huh?” The thought of hunting down a demon on purpose didn’t exactly appeal, but there
was
something I could do. When I thought it, it seemed both simple and reckless beyond belief―
I could talk to the demons.

As much as I hated it, they acknowledged me as their superior. They might be irritating and cryptic, but… maybe that was our best chance of getting information.

Are you mad? Demons don’t give information for nothing. They want a deal. They’ll try to get you to set them free.

But I’d resisted them before…

“Who is this Dr. Philips, anyway?” said Claudia. “More to the point, who shoved the stick up her ass?”

“Her brother was killed by a sorcerer,” said Cyrus. “Half the Venantium’s made up of grieving families. That’s why they’re so persistent and unforgiving. Think what it looks like to them for Madame Persephone to potentially be mixed up with Lucifer. Even we don’t really know what she’s capable of.”

How many dark secrets did the fortune-teller really have? She’d had an affair with a demon and apparently helped Lucifer with his schemes. I remembered what she’d said to Jude, down in the sepulchre.
“The past has power. We may not forgive ourselves, but the memory gives us strength. And damn me a thousand times more if I allow you, yet another misguided child of the Seven, to try to take what you have no right to.”

At the time I’d been too scared to wonder what she meant. But now… Had she truly killed people for Lucifer? Summoned demons?

“She’s also on the board of governors,” said Cyrus, who was still talking about Dr. Philips. “She’ll have influenced their decision.”

“So what does the Inner Circle do?” I said.

“It’s unusual for them to show themselves,” said Cyrus. “There are seven of them, including the Chairman. I’ve heard it’s a statement to the demons, since there are seven higher demons, too. The Inner Circle make all the decisions, and pass on the orders to the governors, who pass on their orders to everyone else. It’s a strict hierarchy, and no one ever questions orders from above.”

“Which is bullshit,” said Leo. “Yeah, they maintain the Barrier, but that pretty much runs itself. They just make and impose their laws on all magic-users. And where did the last rogue magic-users come from? Within their very own ranks.”

“Exactly,” said Claudia. “I’m starting to think they’re just as clueless as the rest of us.”

“Damn right,” said Leo.

I just hoped that they’d set the fortune-teller free before anyone else had to die.

This is stupid.

The voice in my head persisted, as much as I told it to shut up. I’d never deliberately tried to speak to a demon before. They’d always come to me―whether I liked it or not.

Now, naturally, as soon as I wanted to find one, they were silent.

I stood in an alleyway in Redthorne, feeling like an idiot for coming. On Sundays, the usual traffic didn’t clog the roads and few people walked the streets. I felt reasonably confident that no one would walk past the alleyway I’d slipped into as soon as I’d stepped off the bus.

I reached out to the Darkworld, my mind exploring every corner I could find. I unconsciously tapped into a sense I barely knew about, a sense unlike sight and hearing but simultaneously a mixture of both.
Where are you?

“We are always here. Need you ask?”

I jumped back as a dark space opened up inches from my face and a familiar pair of violet eyes stared at me.

“Remember me?”

Um…

Truth to be told, I couldn’t tell demons apart. They all looked identical to me, and their “voices” were all equally emotionless and cold.

“What do you want with us?”

I raised my eyebrows. If it wasn’t for the fact that it was in my head, the demon’s voice now sounded exactly like
mine
had the many, many times I’d asked the demons what they wanted with me. It would have creeped me out if the doppelganger hadn’t rendered me immune to the fear of demons imitating me. As it was, I didn’t appreciate being made fun of.

I want to know what you know of the fortune-teller. Madame Persephone. Do you know her? Can you take me to someone who can
?

I realised my mistake as soon as I finished the thought. That was the problem with mind-communication.

Not
take
me,
I corrected.

“You still don’t want to take me up on my offer?”

No, I don’t want to come into the Darkworld. I’d never do that. But she did it… didn’t she?

“The information you ask for is worth more than your life.”

Is it, now?

“Of course, I may be willing to cooperate… in exchange for assistance.”

No thanks. I don’t make deals with demons.

“Your Madame Persephone is in the worst position. She no longer has a choice. But you do.”

I told you, I don’t want anything to do with you! I just want to know if she’s on our side or not.

“It depends what you mean by ‘our’. I am on no one’s ‘side,’ for instance.”

Is she on Lucifer’s side? Or the Venantium’s?

“Surely you already know the answer to that? The sorceress works alone.”

My head felt like it was splitting, as though someone were reaching a hand between my brain and my skull. I switched to verbal communication and said, “I wish you wouldn’t eavesdrop on me.”

“You fascinate us, Ashlyn. A human-demon, poised on the brink of the Darkworld. You could have it all, but you choose to limit yourself.”

“Yes, I do. And you know what? It’s because both extremes would turn me into a monster. I won’t become one of the Venantium, and I won’t become like you.”

“Because of your humanity?”
An almost mocking note coloured the demon’s tone.

“It’s true. I told you. I’m human. And it’s pretty obvious you aren’t going to be any help.”

I glared at the demon, which just grinned back at me.

“Is Jude planning to attack again? Is he the one summoning shadow-beasts?”

“Do you mean the Righteous?”

“Yes. I heard he’s possessed. By… Mephistopheles.”

The demon vanished.

“No! Hey―you can’t run off now!”

No response.

“Dammit.” I kicked the alley wall. The Darkworld responded almost instantly, ice coating my foot, and I fell backwards. Instead of a sharp pain hitting my foot, my hands scraped the ground as I tripped over.

Brilliant.
So much for my bright idea. The demon had given me no clues whatsoever.

“You’re already on the ground? I didn’t expect it to be quite
this
easy.”

Speak of the devil.
Jude stood at the end of the alleyway, smiling an inhuman smile, violet eyes gleaming like knife blades.

ello, Ashlyn,” said the demon in Jude. I’d never seen him smile as himself; now, it looked unnatural, distorting his stern features into something grotesque. His eyes gleamed, alive and yet dead, animated by something that wasn’t of this world. Something with intelligence far beyond humanity’s reckoning.

“You’re… Mephistopheles.” My voice sounded steady, which surprised me. Every nerve stood on end.

I pushed myself to my feet, using the wall as a support, wincing as my grazed hands scraped against the rough brick. The pendant burned cold against the bare skin of my neck, and I felt its vibration in tandem with my quickening heartbeat.

Jude smiled at me. His shirt and jeans were torn and filthy, as though he’d been dragged through mud. I wondered what had happened to him since he’d run away, how the demon had won him over.

“Which of my kin has been telling you tales, I wonder?” He tilted his head, and the way it hung, limp, dead, made bile rise in my throat. “Who were you speaking to?”

“Nobody,” I said.

“Really, Ashlyn? This seems a rather unusual place to have a conversation with yourself.” He smiled again, showing more teeth, and the fear in my veins crystallised. “You know my name, yet you lie to me. A bad idea.”

“I wouldn’t tell you if I knew.” I shook all over, but I couldn’t let the demon gain any advantage over me.

“So you’re as loyal to demons as you are devoted to your human friends? Lucifer will be interested to know that. You intrigue him almost as much as you intrigue me.”

Anger rose within me, sudden and icy cold. “Fuck Lucifer,” I said.

Jude raised an eyebrow. “Well, I happen to know a story or two…”

“Shut up.” Out of the corner of my eye, I saw shadows edging in around me. My heart pounded. I knew goading a demon couldn’t end well, but the presence of
my
demon in the back of my head pushed the fear to manageable levels.

“You’re rather…
bold
, for a human. This one was rather cowardly, in the end. It was most disappointing―one never feels truly triumphant if the victory is merely handed over. But I know I made the right choice because this vessel knew some
interesting
things about you. There is only so much one can observe from the Darkworld, and it does feel oddly satisfying to walk amongst you mortal beings once more. With my own heart.” He tapped the gem in the dead centre of his forehead.

“What do you want with me?”

“Patience, young Ashlyn. Your kind claim it to be a virtue, but I cannot see the appeal, personally… Very well. I want you to tell me where I can find the woman who calls herself Madame Persephone.”