Speak of the Demon by Stacia Stark

6

Danica

Agaliarept’s expression was stone when I arrived at the apartment in Trinity Heights the next morning. I hadn’t been summoned to Monday dinner last night, but I’d made sure I was away from my apartment running errands just in case anyone came for me. Talk about dodging a bullet. Agaliarept had obviously decided to mess with me by threatening me with a dinner at Samael’s tower, and I was definitely going to make him pay.

I glanced up at the apartment building and he gestured for me to precede him inside. In spite of the seriousness of the situation, I had to suppress a smirk. I highly doubted Agaliarept was an old-fashioned gentleman. He didn’t want me at his back.

Was he truly wary of little old me?

“Sixth floor,” he growled behind me and I pressed the button. The doors opened instantly and I stepped inside. Agaliarept scowled, shifting awkwardly, and I jumped as soft feathers brushed my cheek.

He cleared his throat and the sensation disappeared. “My apologies.”

I didn’t inform him I was barely suppressing the urge to reach out and stroke the invisible wings. I could hear them rustle, could see how cramped the demon was in the elevator, and yet they were still hidden.

“Why do you guys use glamor on your wings?”

“It’s not glamor. That’s a fae word. This is… an instinct. When we came through the portal, our wings were invisible. We can lower the veil over them, and sometimes the veil… falls. But most of us prefer to keep them hidden.”

“Why?”

He obviously decided he’d told me enough because he closed his mouth and stepped out of the elevator as soon as the doors opened.

I was guessing there wasn’t enough room for him to allow me to slide in front of him without touching his wings, because he kept walking, allowing me at his back as I followed him down the hall.

The Mistilteinn Dagger let out a sound like a low hum. I was wearing it in a sheath on my belt, hidden beneath my long t-shirt, and I couldn’t be sure if I was the only one who could hear the sound, or if it would be audible to anyone who got too close to me. I frowned down at it, my heart pounding. If Agaliarept found the dagger on me, I was in deep shit. As Samael’s second, I would bet Samael had informed him when the dagger went missing.

The apartment door was already open, and Agaliarept stepped aside, gesturing for me to walk through. From the look on his face, I didn’t want to see whatever was waiting for me in the apartment. I glanced down at the gold mark on my forearm and forced myself to step inside anyway.

My entire body went cold. So cold that I almost expected my breath to turn to fog. My teeth chattered, and I glanced back at the demon. His face was set in its usual inscrutable expression. If he was uncomfortable, I couldn’t tell.

Agaliarept gestured for me to keep walking and I squared my shoulders and forced myself to move. The entranceway opened to a small kitchen, and I noted an open bottle of wine and a small collection of take-out containers on the counter.

The kitchen led to a cramped living room, where three bodies lay in a heap on the floor. I knew what I’d find when I dropped my shields, so I used my eyes first. The bodies were… desiccated. They looked like every ounce of blood had been sucked from them, their jaws open in a soundless scream.

I glanced around the apartment. “Women?” I asked.

“Yes,” Agaliarept replied. “Demon females.” He glanced down.

“What were their names?”

Surprise flashed across his face, but he read the names off his phone. “Tataka, Labassu, and Ahchazu. Labassu and Ahchazu lived together a few blocks away. This is Tataka’s apartment.”

I took a deep breath and gave him a nod, turning my attention to the apartment itself. It was small but homey. Tataka had obviously loved to read, because her living room was lined with bookshelves on two walls, and a stack of books sat on her coffee table next to two glasses of wine. A third glass was lying near the bodies.

They’d been three friends who’d been relaxing together. Maybe they’d caught up after a few busy weeks. Maybe they did this once a week. Maybe one of them had news she simply had to share. Or it was just an impromptu gossip session. I pushed the thought away. What would I know about what women did with their friends?

“Witch?”

I jolted, glancing over my shoulder at Agaliarept. “I have a name.” My voice sounded like it was very far away.

“Danica,” his voice was surprisingly gentle. “What do you see?”

“Three friends catching up. They weren’t expecting their lives to end last night. It was last night, wasn’t it?”

He nodded and I blew out a breath. There was something that hit especially hard about these murders. They’d been relaxing, enjoying their friendship. And something had stolen their lives from them.

I didn’t have friends. Before mom died, it was too dangerous. We’d been on the run, and while we’d been perfectly pleasant to those we came into contact with, mom had made it clear that to invite anyone else into our lives was to invite death. Since I’d been back in Durham, I’d spent all my time working. I had no social life, no real friends, and I doubted I’d have either anytime soon. And now I was spiraling into depression when I should really be hunting down whoever had killed these poor women.

I dropped my shields, ignoring Agaliarept’s indrawn breath. Something about my magic obviously gave him the heebie-jeebies.

Witch life, yo.

There. One entire half of the apartment was just… gone. The shimmering glimmer of magic had disappeared and was replaced by thick black muck.

“What about the apartment underneath this one?”

Agaliarept was silent and I glanced back at him. “The black stain permeates that entire side of the bodies. It’s as if someone sucked the magic out. Oh my god, that’s what they did. They sucked out their magic and used the loss of it to kill them.”

Agaliarept stepped closer, rage written over every inch of his face.

“What. Do. You. Mean.”

“Every creature has some level of magic. The werewolves can’t use magic like mages and witches, but it almost uses them— making them shift and allowing them to see through our magic. The fae have all kinds of magic, depending on whether they’re part of the seelie or unseelie courts. Demons… I don’t know much about you guys, but something allows you to hide your wings and feed on other creature’s… sins? Is that what it is?”

Agaliarept stared at me, mouth pressed into a thin line, and I shrugged. “Never mind. Anyway, humans also have a spark of power. It’s what keeps them alive.” I swallowed and forced my gaze back down at the bodies. “Even corpses have a seed of magic for a few days after death. And yet these women have nothing. If you look a few feet around them— the floor, the walls— they’re magically dead.”

“Magically dead?”

“Yeah. Some witches don’t have enough power to use themselves, but they can channel it through spells. I think… I think if they were standing in that spot, where those poor women are… I think those witches would be completely unable to access any power at all. Because there’s no power left here to be used. But demons… you guys radiate power. Having that cut off would be like becoming brain dead. That’s how these women were killed. The loss of their magic would’ve meant the loss of their lives.”

My dagger’s hum had become more insistent, and I attempted to ignore it.

Agaliarept’s spoke very quietly. “You need to explain this to Samael.”

“Isn’t that your job?”

“Don’t fuck with me, witch.”

I stiffened, but he was already stalking closer to the bodies. He stopped inches from where the black smudge began. Maybe he could instinctively sense it somehow.

“Why would someone drain their magic?”

I shrugged. “It could be a side-effect of whatever killed them. Maybe the murderer required the magic in their victims’ bodies for their attack to work.” The thought made me shiver.

The demon cursed. “Do you need anything else from here?”

The Mistilteinn Dagger hummed even louder and I jolted. It was a warning hum that seemed to burrow deep into my brain.

Agaliarept narrowed his eyes. “What?”

“I’m just tired. Give me a minute.” It creeped me out— the idea that the dagger was trying to tell me something. I shivered at the memory of its voice in my head when I’d stolen it. I’d assumed it was only temporarily sentient— because it’d been kept so close to the dragon for so long.

If it was… alive, I could have problems.

I filed that information away to worry about later. Instead, I scanned every inch of the room, careful not to get too close to the black smudge. I leaned close to the bodies. “Has anyone moved them?”

“No.”

“Can I search under them?”

“Yes.” The demon made no move to help me and I scowled at him. He simply stared back at me.

I threw my shields back up. Knowing the dark smudge was there was bad enough. I didn’t need to see it.

I have my own magic. I can still use it in the black smudge.

I’d never appreciated my magic before— what little of it I had. But the thought of being magically dead— of never being able to drop my shields and feel the gentle breeze of it winding through me… it was terrifying.

One of the bodies had fallen on her friend. I crouched next to her, wondering if she’d attempted to protect her friend from whatever had killed them.

I glanced over my shoulder at Agaliarept. “Were there any signs of forced entry?”

“No. They let their murderers in.”

I sighed and peered beneath the body on top. Better to get it over with. I pushed gently at the husk, attempting to forget that it had once been a person.

“There! Come help me.”

Agaliarept stalked closer, clearly unhappy.

“Hold this,” I ordered, and his growl let me know how displeased he was with my tone. I ignored him since he did what I asked, and I reached for the object.

The dagger let out a low purr in my mind, as if pleased, and I ignored that too.

“It’s a knife.” I pulled it free and Agaliarept gently lowered the body back down. I got to my feet and examined the knife.

“Someone hasn’t been looking after their blade. I don’t know many bounty hunters who use knives with wooden hilts like this because, unless they’re stabilized, they tend to break down over time, especially when exposed to water. You can see it here— see how it’s warped? Sloppy of them to leave it behind.”

“What are those symbols?”

“Some kind of runes. I’ve never seen them before though. I think this knife was used as part of whatever ritual allowed the murderer to drain these women of their magic. Maybe I can find someone who can tell us who it belongs to.”

Agaliarept nodded, then glanced at the bodies. “Demons are vicious when cornered.”

“Yeah. I think they were taken by surprise. Incapacitated by magic. The woman at the bottom of the… pile… she fought back and the others tried to help her but they were too late. The autopsies will tell us more.” I glanced down at the curled black feathers surrounding the bodies, swallowing around the lump in my throat.

I’ll find out who did this to you. And I’ll make them pay.

I hoped wherever these demon women were, all three of them were together.

I turned away. “Show me the apartment downstairs, please.” We filed out, and I didn’t have it in me to be amused by the displeased look on Agaliarept’s face when we squeezed into the elevator again. We probably could have taken the stairs, but I was betting the stairwell was so narrow it would squeeze his wings.

The apartment on the floor below was home to a dark fae woman who introduced herself as Bethaney. She reminded me of Snow White, with her curly black hair, white skin and red lips, and she tilted her head as I explained what had happened above her.

“I wasn’t here last night,” she frowned. “I think I would’ve noticed if the magic was sucked out of my apartment, but you can take a look.”

“Thank you.”

Her entranceway led directly into her living room, and I glanced up.

“Further down,” Agaliarept said his first words and Bethaney waved us on. If the demon wasn’t happy with me behind him, he definitely wouldn’t be pleased as the unseelie fae followed us, but he kept his face carefully neutral as I glanced back at him.

“Nothing,” I said when we got to Bethaney’s kitchen. I glanced up at her roof. Could I see a slight grey smudge, or was that my imagination? I wasn’t used to using my magic, and the strain was giving me a headache.

“Should I be worried?” Bethaney asked, and I shook my head.

“You should make sure you check who’s at your door before you answer it.” But that went without saying. “But so far, it has only been demons targeted.”

I could feel Agaliarept’s displeasure at my admission, but I wasn’t going to make this woman terrified in her own home. He could take it up with me when we were alone.

One awkward elevator ride later, and we were standing on the sidewalk. I’d parked a few streets away, and I eyed the demon as he fell into step beside me.

“Is there a reason you’re following me?”

Agaliarept gave me a look that said, quite clearly, that I was an idiot. “The demon in charge of watching you was called away.”

Samael had someone watching me from afar? And he was making Agaliarept follow me home like a lost puppy?

“Lookit. I’m taking the knife to be analyzed and then I’m going home.”

“Are you going to be difficult about this?”

I glowered at him. “You bet your ass I am.” He raised one eyebrow and I clenched my fists, unreasonably furious at the entire situation.

The world spun around me, and my back hit the sidewalk.