Random Acts of Sorcery (26 page)

Sam fell to the rocky floor in a heap, panting. They seemed to be in some sort of cavern, filled with stalagmites, and Sam supposed he should thank his lucky stars that he hadn’t accidentally been impaled on one.

His father was pacing back and forth, filled with an angry energy.

“I’ll have you know, I had them all exactly where I wanted them. Confused and scared witless, and all I had to do was sit back, watch and laugh. Then you and your stupid theoretical family had to start breaking reality, and things got too serious to be fun anymore,” he said. He sounded almost whiney. “Why did I ever listen to that damned woman and make you? I should have just gotten her a dog. Golden retrievers are cute.”

Sam stumbled to his feet, breathless.
This is it. He’s taken me to Realm, permanently, and I’ll never see Cassie again. Instead of the court forcing me here, it’s him.

He felt himself flush with anger, but a lifetime of habit kept him from the abyss of rage. He’d learned early on in life that he had to control his emotions, lest others get hurt, and his habitual methods of calming himself took over before he could think. But when he looked at his father, who was kicking a rock like a spoiled child, something in him broke.

This is my father; this is a High Lord of Hell. I can’t hurt him. There’s no need to hold back anymore.

“You!” he yelled, and curses burst forth from him. He didn’t even have to gesture; the curses just appeared, seemingly from nowhere.

Sammael summoned a barrier to protect himself, crossing his arms in front of him, and the curses bounced off him harmlessly. Somehow, seeing the barrier just made Sam angrier.

He’s probably channeling the power of about a dozen familiars to make that barrier. And one of them is Cassie.

“Why did you have to bond with her?!” he yelled, sending a second barrage of curses at his father. He didn’t even know how many he was sending anymore; he didn’t care. “You could have had anyone in the world, but you just had to go after her!
Why?!”

Unnatural light bounced off the cave walls as the countless curses ricocheted off his father’s barrier, making it hard to see. At one point, his father winced, and Sam thought he had gotten a hit. But Sammael was reacting to the nature of the curse, not its impact.

“By all that’s holy son, how did you come up with that one? I wouldn’t cast that on anything with an ounce of sentience. You are one nasty piece of work.”

“Yeah well, whose fault is that?” Sam yelled, sending curses his father’s way as fast as he could mouth the words. Strangely, it seemed like his Wordlock was far more flexible here than it was in reality; just one word could trigger countless
spells. He felt strong, too; he felt like he could keep throwing curses all day long and never tire.

I was meant for this. I was made for this.

He reached out with the part of himself that was normally pushed to the back and dormant, and tendrils of unctuous black smoke began to surround his father’s barrier, embracing it tightly. He balled his fist and the tendrils convulsed, shattering the barrier into a million shreds of tainted light, and he heard his father cry out. Elated, he reached for the rock formations far above his father’s head, and found them as pliable as he could have wished. With a sweep of his arm, an avalanche of rocks buried the other man, then fused to become one massive golem. He whispered a word he had never used before, and the golem began to implode, crushing anything within it to a fine paste.

That’s wha
t you get for touching her you slow, stupid monster. I’ll kill you, I’ll kill all of you, I’ll kill everything until there’s nothing left of this godforsaken place than a smoking husk, and then
—

Then he couldn’t breathe, and he realized that his father had somehow gotten in front of him and hit him in the solar plexus. He fell to the floor and cradled his midsection, trying not to whimper at the pain.

His father was looking down at him with a cold expression. “No, your affinity for violence is all on you, dear boy. You and your mother, that is.”

Sam struggled for breath. “You made me this way,” he said, nearly choking on the words.

I didn’t ask to be born. I didn’t ask to be like this. It’s not my fault!

His father knelt down in front of him, his expression surprising Sam. Was that…pity? “You know
that for years—eons, actually— my job was to kill. I killed everyone, everything, old and young alike. How often do you think I enjoyed it?”

Sam was silent, crumpled on the ground in a ball.

Sammael’s face was solemn. “Never. Not even once. It was a sad duty, one I performed strictly out of necessity. That little voice inside of you, that tempts you to curse, tempts you to kill? That’s all you. I have nothing do with that.”

“No,” said Sam. His throat felt sore. “You’re lying.”

“That part of you that finds joy in destruction; that’s the human in you, not the demon. That’s the unpleasant truth of it,” Sammael continued quietly. “But I suppose it doesn’t matter anymore. You’re home now.”

Then Sam blacked out for a while. When he regained consciousness, he was locked up in a cell, not unlike the one where he had visited Serenus just a few days previous. He knew that somewhere down here, they had perfectly modern
prison cells, complete with beds and toilets, but like Ser, he had gotten the medieval dungeon treatment. He supposed it was his father’s way of punishing him.

He struggled against his chains reflexively, but didn’t expect them to give; they were probably enchanted with about 47 different strength-boosting spells. He leaned his head back against the craggy wall of the cell, trying to think. Everything seemed a little fuzzy, and he couldn’t tell if it was from his own exhaustion, or some magical property of the room itself.

Is Cassie safe? The Buckleys will protect her, but for how long? If I don’t come back, they’ll have to find a new master, they won’t have a choice. And even though Arrigio doesn’t believe, the Seraph is still out there….

He tried to reach out with his mind to Miri, but it was no use; wherever he was, he was so deeply entrenched in Realm that he couldn’t sense anyone in his entourage any more than he could see the sun. He could just barely sense the existence of Cassie and Ethan, since they were a part of him, but couldn’t reach them either.

Feeling groggy, he still reached out with his mind, trying to find any foothold in reality he could grasp. Surely he could do something; surely he wasn’t helpless in here. Soon, his eyes snapped open as he made a connection, one he really should have anticipated. There was still one; still one soul that he had access too, still one being so thoroughly his own that no amount of distance or magical interference mattered. It would have to be enough.

Cassie explained everything she knew about Corianne and her trip to the future to Arrigio. The older demon had given up the pretense of conducting court and just listened to her quietly, his arms crossed in front of his chest.

“See, um, she doesn’t see time like other people,” Cassie said, stumbling over her words a little. She had been apprehensive about explaining this to Sam, let alone the entire court. “I don’t know if she really understands that her mother is dead. I think she just looks for me in time, and when she sees me, she does something. It doesn’t matter to her that this version of me hasn’t given birth to her yet.”

The hall was full of worried, confused murmurs, but Arrigio made no attempt to silence them. “What you are telling me defies reason,” Arrigio said finally. “We cannot be experiencing the future from the past; we cannot be affected by someone who does not yet exist. Someone must be toying with us.”

“And who in all creation would have the power to do that?” Yamanaka countered. He had been quiet all day in court, just sitting expressionless on the panel next to Arrigio, but had listened very intently to Cassie’s story. “Don, we all saw her. In a way, she already has been born; she was here, and a visit from a child of the future is now in our past….”

Cassie jumped when Arrigio slammed his hands down on the table before him. “That’s exactly the kind of elliptical, nonsensical thinking we must reject!” he bellowed. Cassie had never heard the man yell like that.

I thought I was bad at wrapping my head around time travel, but he’s worse. He literally cannot deal, at all.

Everyone was silent for a moment at Arrigio’s outburst, even the whisperers in the back. Finally, Arrigio sat down slowly, as though trying to summon every last remaining shred of his dignity, and addressed the room at large.

“Obviously the agenda for this meeting has gone somewhat off the rails, but no more cases are currently prepared. Therefore, I move to adjourn this meeting of the Western Court, until our next regularly scheduled gathering.”

“Seconded,” said Yamanaka.

“We are adjourned,” said Arrigio, banging his gavel lightly. “I would like to encourage you all to enjoy the rest of your weekend here in Las Vegas, and don’t worry too much about what you witnessed here today; we will get to the bottom of all this, one way or another. Good day.”

Cassie didn’t move from her seat in front of the dais as the room started to empty out. She felt tired, as though someone was tapping into her magic; it was possible that Sammael was. At the moment, she didn’t really care.

We got through the hearing,
kind of, but we lost Sam anyway. Will he be able to come back? What do we do now, just wait and hope?

Eventually Jay appeared before her, stooping down on one knee. “Wow, Arrigio is freaked,” he wh
ispered. His eyes followed the Chairman, who was slowly making his way out of the lecture hall with the other board members. The demon stopped for a moment, like he was about to turn around, then thought better of it and left the room through a door near the projection screen up front.

“I know. I don’t know what he’s going to do,” said Cassie, realizing the prospect scared her more than she would have thought. It wasn’t that she lik
ed or particularly trusted the Chairman, but she expected him to provide a kind of rational bedrock for the other demons. If he couldn’t be trusted not to do something rash out of fear, where did that leave the rest of them?

Mike stooped down next to Jay. “Can you sense him? You know, psychically or whatever?”

“No,” she shook her head. “It’s blocked. They’re not going to let him talk to us.”

“Damn,” said Mike, and Jay frowned. “If you could still contact him, maybe he could let us know what’s going on.”

Dwight and Khalil walked into view together, their faces grim.

“Do you think they’ll let him come back?” Khalil asked, rubbing the back of his neck. Cassie could tell from the noise behind her that the room had mostly emptied out; only S
am’s entourage was left. “Daddy-Sam said he’d let him come back if they could put a ‘big leash’ on him, or something. Doesn’t that mean they’ll bring him back, they’ll just put some kind of a collar on him so he can’t freeze time anymore or whatever?”

“I don’t know. I..
.” She didn’t know what she had been about to say, but an overwhelming exhaustion pushed out every other thought. “I need to lie down.”

Wordlessly, Dwight helped her to her feet, and supported her as they walked. As they started up the stairs, Cassie passed John, who looked slightly ill.

“You at least should be happy,” she said, feeling delirious. “You hated him.”

Why am I using past tense? Why have I already given up on him ever coming back?

Her teacher looked down at the floor. “This wasn’t what I wanted,” he said softly.

The Buckleys were standing in a huddle together, talking quietly. Cassie wondered if they were discussing how long they could afford to wait for Sam to come back before seeking out a new demon to serve. Ethan was shaking his head and crying, while Hunter just looked shellshocked. Aeka was off to the side, her face a perfect blank.

Miri saw Cassie and Dwight approaching, and broke away from the vampires to grab Cassie’s arm. “Cass, don’t worry. We’re not going anywhere.”

“For now,” said Cassie.
I have to get to bed. Why does the bed have to be so far away? On top of everything else, my bed is really far.

Miri didn’t respond, but she could sense the vampire exchanging looks with Dwight over her head. Cassie wasn’t sure if she had somehow nodded off while walking, but she had no memory of the trip from the conference room back to her room. Everything had gone gray, silent.

She slept fitfully on the waterbed, half trying to rest and half trying to use her state of semi-consciousness to call out to the Nameless Ones.

Hey, forgotten angels! Are you there? Your precious scion could use a little help here.

But there was no answer, and Cassie wasn’t surprised. The Nameless Ones just wanted her alive; whether she was happy or not, they probably couldn’t care less.

At some point, she woke up to the sound of electronic music, and realized that Hunter was playing a handheld game on the chair beside her bed. “What is it that you have against knocking?” she muttered, slurring her words a little.

The music from the game stopped abruptly. “Are you okay?”

“Just really tired. Lemme sleep.”

“Are things going to go back to normal now?
Now that the demon is gone?”

Cassie turned away from him. “No, they won’t. I’m a witch. Things are never going back to normal for me.”

A pause.

“I don’t like this,” he said finally.

She pulled the pillow over her head. “Yeah, well, join the club.”

She heard him stand up and turn to go. “I hope they don’t kill your boyfriend.”

“He’s not my—” she began, then gave up. She was already falling back to sleep.

When she finally woke up again, it was already dark out. She didn’t know how long she’d been asleep. She just stayed in bed for a little while, staring at the giant dolphin image stenciled on the ceiling.

I should get up. Not because there’s anything I can do, but because at least if I get up, there might be chocolate.

She made her way to the living room, where several people were already gathered; conversation fell silent at her approach. Dwight and Khalil were obviously finishing up dinner, while Aeka was perched in front of the big screen TV, watching some documentary about whales. Miri was lying on the couch, holding a pillow to her chest and looking despondent. She stirred when she saw Cassie.

“How are you feeling?” she asked, standing up. Cassie folded into the nearest chair and shrugged.

“My sleep schedule is all screwed up, but otherwise fine I guess,” she said. There was a menu on the coffee table in front of her, which she picked up and began flipping through. Miri looked nervous, like she didn’t know quite what to do with her hands.

“Cassie, they’re not going to keep him down there, okay? They probably just don’t want him doing massive spells anymore. I’m sure once they find a way to keep him under control, they’ll—”

“I’m ordering a flourless chocolate cake; if anyone else wants some, you better move fast, because I might eat it all myself,” said Cassie, dropping the menu in her lap. She picked up the phone and dialed the number for room service.

“Hey, can you get me an iced cappuccino while you’re at it?” Khalil called.

Cassie rolled her eyes; the world could be ending, and Khalil would still want to take advantage of free room service. It was kind of comforting, in a way. She placed her order and hung up the phone. The only noise in the room came from Aeka’s television show.

Miri bit her lip and walked away, looking dejected. Cassie didn’t necessarily think that Miri was wrong, but she just couldn’t think about what the demons were doing to Sam right now. Thinking about his chances of making it back meant confronting the possibility that he might not come back, and she just couldn’t think about that right now.

“Where is everybody?” she asked finally.

“In their rooms, mostly,” said Dwight, finishing the last of his beer. “John babbled something about checking out the floor and then left, so I don’t know where he is, but I think everyone else is around.”

She nodded, numb; she didn’t even know why she had asked.

I just don’t care, about anything. Maybe I should summon Sammael and ask him to drag me down to Hell too, because I can’t stay like this.

It was an absurd thought, not meant to be taken seriously, but the prospect actually sounded tempting, and that scared her.

No. I’m not going to throw myself away, not for Sam or anyone else. I have to keep moving forward, somehow. Even if they stick me with Nathaniel Lewis, the creep.

After having slept for such a long time, the last thing Cassie expected was to feel groggy, so she was puzzled when her head started to feel heavy. Out of the
corner of her eye, she saw Miri collapse on the couch, and heard Dwight make a puzzled sound as he fell back into his chair. Khalil stretched out on the floor, his iced cappuccino forgotten.

This is a spell. Someone’s putting us all to sleep. I have to stay awake….

But the chair was too soft and comfortable, and before she knew it, she was slipping back into blissful unconsciousness. However, before she could fall completely asleep, a sudden feeling of freezing, painful cold woke her up.

“Aaaaah!” she screamed, opening her eyes to see Aeka standing in front of her, holding an empty plastic container in one hand; the girl had dumped one of the fishbowls over Cassie’s head to wake her up.

That is the second time this week someone’s woken me up by dumping something on me. Why does this keep happening?

Aeka crumpled to the floor in front of her, fast asleep. Apparently, whatever strange spell had been cast on them, Aeka had fought it the longest, and used the last of her strength to wake Cassie. Cassie stood up, soaking wet,
then shivered as she felt a bizarre, disgusting sensation coming from inside her dress; there were not one, but two tropical fish flopping around inside her cleavage. Grossed out, she picked them both out as quickly as she dared.

If we survive this, whatever this latest threat is, I
swear I’m going to kill Miri for making me wear this dress.

“You’re awake? How strange. I suppose nothing ever goes quite according to plan with you.”

Cassie looked up and stared. “You!?”

“Yes,” said Donatello Arrigio, his expression unreadable. He was missing his suit jacket, and the lack of formality made him nearly unrecognizable. “I want you to know, no harm will come to any of your friends. I wish to do as little harm as possible.”

“What do you want?” she said, taking a step back. There was no point in trying to run from him, but she had to move, had to do something.

“I only want for the world to continue to make sense,” he said evenly. “Sometimes, someone in power is forced to do something abhorrent in order to protect the greater good. I find myself at such a crossroads now.”

“You want to kill me,” she said, grabbing a counter for support. She found she wasn’t surprised.

His face puckered, like he was sucking on a lemon. “No. All I really want to do is to make it so that chaos child will never be born. I could curse you with infertility, but then I can’t discount the possibility that you could be uncursed,
someday.” He sighed. “I would rather not kill you, but I admit, I am somewhat at a loss as to how else to proceed.”

He doesn’t really want to do this. I can at least keep him talking for a while…probably.

“It wouldn’t work. Even if you do kill me, that doesn’t change the fact that Corianne was here. She was here, and everyone saw her. She already exists, no matter what you do to me.”

He shook his head. “No. If I…remove you, she will never be born, and the events of earlier today will vanish like a dream. Thus, order will be maintained.”

“You can’t know that!” Cassie yelled. “How do you know that she won’t survive in some alternate dimension, where she can—”

“There are no alternate dimensions!” Arrigio yelled. “That’s a fanciful, boneheaded idea that defies logic. There is only this life, and I won’t see it descend into chaos on my watch.”

You’re very big deciding on what logic allows, aren’t you?

“But they’ve already taken Sam,” Cassie said, feeling desperate now. “Without him, I can’t get married and have that little girl.”

“There’s no way of knowing whether or not he’ll be back,” said Arrigio, moving closer to her now. “And whether he returns or not, I can’t kill him. You, however….”

Cassie grunted as her back hit the wall; she couldn’t back up anymore. “If you kill me, Sam will make you pay. Even if he’s stuck down there forever, he’ll find a way.”

To Cassie’s surprise, his face broke into a weak smile. “You think I don’t know that? It’s not for my own life that I do this, Cassie, but for the people I must shepherd. People who deserve to grow up in a world where magic hasn’t become a vicious cancer that devours all reason.”

She was out of arguments, and from the looks of things, he was mentally preparing himself to actually kill her. She should have been breathing heavily, but instead, she just felt numb.

If I were Aeka, I could knock him out with my bare hands. She would know just where to hit him so that his air would be cut off, and she could get away.

But she wasn’t Aeka, and she didn’t know how to bring down a man without a weapon. She knew she should be fighting, but she didn’t know what to do.

He put a hand on her shoulder, and she shuddered. “I am truly sorry, Cassandra. I had hoped to see you grow into a fine witch someday. I wish it hadn’t come to this.”

He’
s going to do it soon. This is it….

Just then, she saw a blur out of the corner of her eye, and 220 pounds of English teacher smacked into Arrigio, sending him flying into a table. Cassie stood in shock, watching Arrigio struggle to get his bearings; he wasn’t out, but he was clearly stunned.

“Go, now!” John yelled, his eyes bloodshot and frightening.

Cassie took a step towards the door, then thought better of it and reversed direction. She kicked her shoes off as she ran, throwing open the doors to the balcony.

I’ll get farther away if I jump from here to the pool than if I try to navigate the hallways. Besides, there are more people down there.

She hesitated only for a moment before climbing up onto the railing. For once, the stupid dress was working with her; the high slits left her legs unencumbered as she climbed.

The instant after she jumped, she regretted it. The pool seemed much further away than it had whenever she’d looked out the window previously.

If I were Aeka, I could probably grow a big flippin’ pair of angel wings right now and fly away.

But she wasn’t Aeka.

When she slammed into the water, it felt like someone had hit her on the buttocks with a baseball bat. Pain spread throughout her back and legs, but she could ignore it; nothing seemed broken. She grit her teeth as the pain faded into an annoying pins-and-needles sensation throughout her lower body, but still managed to swim to the edge of the pool, relying on her arms.

For the first time in her life, she was grateful to her butt. By taking the jump in the cannonball position, she’d let her fleshy lower areas absorb the impact. If she’d messed up her positioning and belly-flopped, she would probably be unconscious right now, if not worse.

Thank you, butt
, she thought as she pulled herself out of the water, sopping wet in her already skin-tight dress. People were staring and pointing, but that was good; Arrigio wouldn’t kill her in front of a bunch of people. Would he?

She took off from the pool at a run.

I need to get to Op/Dec. It’s close, and it’ll be so chock full of people on a Saturday night that Arrigio won’t even be able to find me, let alone kill me.

As plans went, she’d had worse.