Succubus Shadows (19 page)

“But—”

“Enough.” The word boomed through the store. The salesman looked up, startled, but kept his distance. “I didn’t question your presence before, but now you can go.”

Ostensibly, it sounded as though he were giving her permission to leave. But both she and I could hear the underlying meaning: if she didn’t go on her own, he would “assist” her. She made no more protests.

Jerome returned to Seth. “Georgina’s been taken. We’re going to get her back. And you are going to play a role in that.”

Seth couldn’t speak for a moment, and when he did, it was to utter the most obvious response: “How?”

“To start with, you can stop wasting time here with stupid questions. Come with me, and you’ll find out.” Jerome then made a masterful play. “Every moment you delay, she’s in more danger.”

Nothing else could have spurred Seth into such action. He flinched at the words, and his face ran through a kaleidoscope of emotions. “Okay,” he said to Jerome. “Let’s go.”

“R
eal,” I gasped out. “That was…real. Seth didn’t give in to temptation. Seth stayed with Maddie.”

“Maybe,” said One.

The instinct to claw his eyes out rose within me, strong and sudden. It was animal and rash—and impossible since I had no form here. It was an urge I’d had on more than one occasion with the Oneroi.

“True. It was true.” This was like a child’s game with them, over and over. Or maybe the true/false section on the SAT. Circles. Circles. My life was a circle. “And Jerome…” The end of the dream came to me where my boss had spirited Seth away. “He’s coming for me. He took Seth. They’re going to do that ritual. Erik’s going to set it up.”

“Yes. And he’s going to fail.”

“No, he won’t,” I cried. Every ounce of me had become desperation: voice, mind, soul. “Jerome will come for me. He’ll save me.”

“No one is coming for you,” said Two. “They will try, but they will fail.”

Again, they sent me back to my world, and as much as I yearned for familiar faces, the doubt and uncertainty the Oneroi kept bringing up filled me with a despairing kind of confusion.

I was at Erik’s. And apparently, so was everyone else.

His store had a large back room used for storage that I’d only once caught a glimpse of. It reminded me of a garage, with unfinished cement floors and plain drywall on the sides. A small table held a bowl of burning incense that made the air hazy. The edges of the room were stacked with boxes and crates that appeared to have been shoved to create an empty space around the edge of the room. Also along the edges was the Seattle immortal club: Hugh, Cody, Peter, Carter, and even Mei. Roman was probably there too, hidden because of Mei. In the center of the room, Erik was drawing chalk patterns on the floor. Jerome stood nearby, and Seth hovered uneasily between them and my friends along the wall. I think he was having a hard time deciding who was safest. If not for Mei, he probably would have chosen my friends.

Mei watched Erik and Jerome with disapproval, her nearly black eyes narrowed and brick-red lips pursed. At last, she uncrossed her arms and strode toward the center, her stiletto heels clicking loudly against the cement. Seth scurried out of her way, retreating to the safety of my friends.

“This is ridiculous,” Mei said. “You’re wasting everyone’s time. Even with all of them”—she gestured to the wall gang—“it’s not enough to bring her back. You need to report it and get another succubus.”

“I report it, and there’ll be another archdemon here too.” Jerome cut her a look. “I’m kind of surprised you haven’t done that already.”

Good point. As his underling, Mei obeyed him, but she was ambitious. If Jerome got in trouble for losing me, it could be to her advantage.

“I don’t need to,” she said flatly. “You’ll be telling them yourself soon. Why do
I
have to be here? I have no connection to her.”

“Because I told you to! Stop arguing.” Jerome glared at her, and the two demons locked gazes. At last, Mei gave a sharp nod, but it didn’t seem like she gave in because of his authority. It was more like he’d communicated something, and she was acknowledging it. She returned to the side of the room, opposite my friends now.

Erik had to lean and get on his knees for a lot of his chalk work, something that had to be agony on his back. With a sigh, he finally stood up and examined his design. It showed two large concentric circles, filled and surrounded with a number of arcane symbols. Some I knew; some I didn’t. Jerome studied the pattern too, and for the first time ever, my boss looked…nervous.

“Is it ready?” he demanded.

Erik nodded, one hand absentmindedly rubbing his back. “Barring the spell itself, yes.”

Jerome’s eyes fell on Seth, who flinched. “You,” said the demon. “Come here.”

Seth eyed the pattern almost as uneasily as Jerome had. “What will happen to me?”

“It won’t kill you, if that’s what you’re worried about. And
you
can leave the circle whenever you want. Now stop wasting time.”

I didn’t like hearing Jerome boss Seth around. It stirred up those coals of rage that had been burning within me lately. I even grew angry seeing Seth obey; I kind of wanted him to defy Jerome. A moment later, I tried to banish such thoughts. I needed to save my fury for the Oneroi, not this group. Surely Jerome wasn’t lying. Carter, who’d remained quiet throughout all of this, would have called Jerome on it. I hoped.

Seth walked over to Jerome’s side, careful not to step on any of the chalk lines—like how superstitious people avoid cracks on sidewalks. Erik gave Seth a small smile.

“He’s right, Mr. Mortensen. This won’t hurt you. Though it will be…strange.”

Mei suddenly went rigid again. “
Him?
That’s all you’re using? Jerome, one person can’t—”

“Enough!” roared Jerome. “I’m tired of listening to everyone backtalk me. Can we get on with this?”

Erik nodded and walked over to the table with the incense. There was also a small bowl of water and a long, roughly hewn piece of stone.
Smoky quartz
, I thought. Erik picked it up carefully, reverently. He pushed the tip of the wand into the smoldering incense, and then held it up so the smoke could swathe it. A couple seconds later, he dipped the wand’s end into the water. When that was completed, he began carrying the wand to the circle.

“Wait,” Carter suddenly said. He straightened up from where he’d been slouching against some boxes. “I’m going in too.”

“You’re all crazy,” muttered Mei.

“She has a point,” said Jerome. “If you’re in here—”

“I know, I know,” said Carter, stepping over the lines to join Jerome. “And I also know what might come out.” The two of them looked at each other, more silent messages passing, and then neither spoke again.

Erik returned to the circle’s center, holding the wand up high. Both Carter and Jerome had moved as far from the humans as possible without crossing the inner circle. As Erik’s arms reached heavenward, he suddenly didn’t seem like a weak old man. True, his body was frail and growing gaunter every day, but as he stood there and began chanting, he became so much more than human. Dante was a better magician when it came down to it, but Erik wasn’t without his own power, even if rarely used. If I’d been there in the flesh, I would have felt the magic he was summoning. Knowing it was there almost made me believe I could see it.

He finished his chant, spoken in words I only knew a little of, and then walked around the circle. He touched it in four spots with the wand, all equidistant from each other. The instant his wand touched the fourth spot, every immortal in the room suddenly flinched and looked uncomfortable—even the greater ones. Seth mostly looked confused.

As a disconnected observer, my view was like Seth’s. I saw nothing happen either. But I realized then that if I’d been there, I would have felt what all the other immortals had as well. Erik had locked the circle, slamming invisible walls into place. All magical circles were different, but he’d told Seth that he could cross out—meaning this was a circle to keep only immortals in. It wasn’t exactly like a summoning. Summonings required massive amounts of magic because they were enslaving an immortal against his or her will. This circle was a prison too, but it required less magic because the immortals had entered it by choice. Jerome and Carter had just knowingly allowed themselves to be entrapped.

This was why he wanted Mei around. For an unscrupulous magic user—say, like Dante—this was a golden opportunity. Two imprisoned greater immortals? It had infinite possibilities for a magician. Whatever Erik was doing here, I didn’t believe he’d abuse this situation. But Jerome, being a demon, didn’t trust anyone. Jerome had wanted Mei on hand to do some smiting if Erik wouldn’t release his prisoners. Of course, she would be powerless to do anything until Erik left the circle—which he’d have to do eventually.

If they were all trying to rescue me, though, Erik couldn’t have created this circle with the intent of trapping Jerome and Carter specifically. The angel’s words came back to me:
I also know what might come out.

Erik stood in front of Seth, who was growing more nervous by the second. The strain in Erik’s face showed the power he was keeping in check. He couldn’t play kindly old man right now, but he did what he could.

“Do you care about Miss Kincaid?” he asked Seth. “Do you want to save her?”

“Yes,” answered Seth swiftly.

“Then you must think about her. Focus every ounce of your being on her. Imagine her. Cry out for her. There must be no other thoughts in your head—only her.”

Seth looked puzzled but nodded. Erik turned to Jerome and Carter. “And
you
must stop him from going in entirely. You can’t enter yourselves, but you can keep him here. You have to, or you’ll lose both of them.”

Erik waited for no acknowledgment from the angel and demon. He held up his wand again and touched Seth on his forehead, both cheeks, and chin. Seth shivered.

“Remember,” said Erik. “When the gate opens, think of her. Only her. Reach for her. And when you find her,
do not let go.
”

“Gate?” asked Seth. “What—”

But Erik was chanting again, and a wind emerged out of nowhere, ruffling the hair of those in the circles. His voice grew more and more powerful, and then—

I was back with the Oneroi.

“What happened?” I exclaimed. For the millionth time, I wished I could beat on the walls of my prison. I wanted to claw their eyes out again. I wanted to choke them. “Show me what happens!”

“Failure,” said One.

“They won’t succeed,” added Two. “The demoness was correct. A dozen humans who loved you couldn’t reach you, let alone—”

He stopped speaking. His eyes met One’s, and then both glanced around as though searching for something. I tried to see what they saw or heard, but there was nothing for me. Only blackness and silence.

Then, I felt the stirring of another dream coming over me. The dark world started to go blurry, and both Oneroi jerked their heads toward me.

“No!” exclaimed Two, extending his hand.

Everything grew clear again. I didn’t dream. I stayed where I was.

Georgina.

My name. For the first time in—well, I had no idea how many days—I heard something that wasn’t the Oneroi. It was so faint, a whisper lost on the wind. My name. One of them, at least.

I couldn’t tell where it came from, but every part of me tried to focus on it, to figure out its origin.

Georgina.

“Yes?” I said aloud. “I’m here!”

The world grew blurry again. I didn’t hear my name, but it was like the siren song all over again. Music without sound, colors without description.

“Stop this!” cried One. I had never heard the Oneroi raise their voices. They always spoke in those low, sly tones. But they were pretty upset now.

“Fight it!” This was Two, speaking to One. “Join me! Don’t let it—”

I left them for another dream. Or, well, more like another place. No, it wasn’t even a place. It was like I was floating in space, in a nebula. Perhaps a hurricane was a more accurate way to describe it because things were swirling around me and blowing past. Wisps of smoke. Bits of colors. Brilliant stars. Some touched me. Some went through me. And every time I made contact, I felt an emotion—an emotion that wasn’t my own. Happiness. Terror. With that emotion came a brief flash of an image. A green field. An airplane. A monster. It was a snowstorm of stimuli.

I was lost and adrift, almost more scared than in my prison with the Oneroi. At least that had had some substance, no matter how insignificant. But this…what was this? Every once in a while, it would start to dissolve to black, like I might be returning to the box…. Then, the darkness would fade, again leaving me helpless in this mad riot of sensation.

Georgina.

My name again. And with it, that pull. That pull of familiarity. Though I technically had no body here either, I searched for that voice and that pull, looking through the riotous color.

Georgina.

It was stronger. That sense of summoning. I burned with the need to get to it. It was part of me. It was home. And then, in all that chaos, one light shone brighter than all the others. It was white, pure and pristine amidst the kaleidoscope raining down upon me. I stared at it, reached for it in as much as I could. The world started to fracture to black once again, but it was the last time. I wouldn’t return to the box. Not with this light before me. It’s hard to say if it became brighter and brighter or if it just grew closer and closer, but suddenly it was before me. It was around me. I
was
it.

Just like when I’d brushed against those other dreams, I had a flash of vision that snapped me briefly from the whirlwind. I was in Seth’s arms. Or was I? As he held me, his face seemed to shift over and over to different forms. No, it was him. I would know him anywhere. He was so familiar, and now this close to me, I couldn’t let go of him. He was home.

Georgina.
The voice came again, and it was his.
Georgina, don’t let go.

No. I wasn’t letting go. I was never letting go again….

That brief moment of human contact gave way to the starry field of dreams, but this time, I had an anchor. I was with the light. I was the light. I felt it pulling me, but I needed no urging. I would go wherever it took me. I released all control. I had the sensation of floating, of being stretched and reaching forward. Behind me, something tugged at me, but it wasn’t strong enough. I was moving forward. Forward and forward and—

The sound of screaming filled the room. My screaming. Screaming over the pain of being torn apart and reassembled. Pain from being stripped of all energy within me. I was weak. Raw. Nothing.

What room was this? I saw faces. Faces near me, faces along the room’s wall. They looked at me like they knew me. Did they? Did I know them? My legs buckled underneath me, weak like a colt’s. One of the men standing near me reached out, but I scrambled backward, needing to escape. I couldn’t let him touch me. Of that, I was certain. My mind had been shredded and ripped open. I didn’t want to be touched in any other way. The floor was cold and smooth as I scurried over it, but I was stopped by a wall. At least, it felt like one. I saw nothing there, only a blue line upon the floor. The invisible wall was familiar and triggered fear. It reminded me of the box. I drew my knees up to me, trying to make myself small as I trembled.