30. Leah
Leah
Iclutch my chest, gasping from the impact. It’s like half of me has just been dragged out through my ribs, and it takes me a few seconds to reorient myself again. As soon as I do, the panic starts to set in.
He was trying to warn me about something, and then he was snatched away from me. Did something happen to him back in Malice? Was he attacked?
“Syrus?” I try to call out to him like I’ve done in the past, guiding his consciousness to find mine. But rather than projecting outward, the thought stalls, hitting up against a wall as if there’s nowhere for it to go.
I’m alone again in the chamber, Hathwell’s body lying in front of me, the flow of blood slowing, and a deafening silence in my head. I close my eyes, trying to think. My mind could conjure up a thousand awful reasons why Syrus disappeared, but getting hysterical about it won’t help me.
I need to get back to Infernum. I can’t wait around hoping he or Aster or Viz will come find me. Not when something terrible could be happening to Syrus right this minute.
The problem is, I can’t open a rift back on my own.
Since I’ve started understanding Cyrax, I’ve been able to start memorizing some of the runes needed to create a rift.
Except every set of runes is different depending on where you want to go, and I’ve been spending all my time trying to memorize the ones to get out of Infernum when we’ve gone on our Strata missions.
I need to find someone who can get me back in. And in honor of the demonic forces that created her, I thank the darkness that Aster never fucking shuts up, especially about the hottest social spots across the two realms.
I stand up and throw one last look at Hathwell’s corpse. When he stood across from me in the courthouse and promised to love and honor me, I bet he never imagined that of the two of us, I’d be the one leaving this chamber alive.
That flash of triumph fills me again, and I feel no regret as I hurry from the townhouse.
I head south, toward the river, and only have to ask a few strangers for directions as I go.
Aster told me there are certain bars demons like to hang out in when they visit Strata.
Like with the Aradis rift, the more well-established a haunt is for catering to a specific set of wingers, the less likely that ephilium and demons will run into each other while in Pax, which is best for everyone.
The first bar I go to is alarmingly empty.
Maybe there aren’t as many demons coming to Strata these days, with the soul deals suspended and the patrols on the lake.
Luckily, I spy a woman drinking alone in the corner—not what you’d expect from a human woman at three o’clock on a Tuesday afternoon.
I glance at the barman, but he’s not paying any attention, and I slide into the seat opposite her.
“Hello,” I say. She looks me over, raising an eyebrow.
“Can I help you?”
“Yes, actually,” I say. I don’t have the luxury of being subtle, so I just dive in. “That is, if you are in fact a demon.”
She stiffens, her eyes sliding over to the barman. “Whatever you’re looking for, I can’t give it to you,” she says flatly.
“It’s just a simple favor,” I say. “And I’ll make sure you’re rewarded—”
“Stop,” she holds up a hand. “I don’t care what your sob story is.
I’m not working today. I probably won’t be working tomorrow either,” she sighs with the air of someone eager to vent.
“It’s a fucking joke. But the Lord of Malice commands it, and he’s terrifying, so I’m not risking my neck by disobeying him to make a deal with you—even if I wasn’t saving up what little lake water I have left. ”
“Well, the good news is, I don’t want a deal,” I say. “And I’m working for the Lord of Malice, but something went wrong, and I need to get back to Infernum to speak with him. He’s expecting me.”
She stares at me and then bursts out laughing. “Sure, and I’m Lady Jing’s courtesan. Pull the other horn, darling.” She knocks back her drink, clearly making plans to leave before this lunatic human could bother her further.
I take a deep breath. I’ve not actually tried this beyond a few words, but my gut tells me I can do it.
“If you don’t help me open a rift to Infernum right now, trust me when I say you’ll make an enemy of Syrus Kaldare for the rest of your fucking life,” I say in Cyrax. She goes pale and nearly chokes on her drink. “If you help me, however, you’ll be generously rewarded,” I add.
“Where did you—? How—?” she splutters.
“The Lord of Malice taught me,” I say, still speaking in the demon tongue.
I knew using his real name before would help convince her.
I highly doubt there are many humans who know his history.
“Look, if I wasn’t telling the truth, then the moment I stepped into Malice, you know the wards would be triggered, Malice’s security would turn up, and I’d probably never see sunlight again.
So there’s no risk to Infernum. But I’m not suicidal—I am telling the truth, and as a snare, you more than anyone could benefit from being in Syrus’s good favor. ”
She sits back, digesting this, and I pull out my Infernum knife, laying it on the table between us.
“Look, I can open the rift myself. I just need to know the right runes.”
“All right,” she says. “But when they open the lake up again, I better get the first place in line.”
The castle is always quiet, but now it’s unnervingly so. The snare managed to open a rift onto the bottom of the trail leading up to the castle, but that’s as close as she could get. It’s not like they hand out the runes that lead directly into the Lord of Malice’s home to just anyone.
By the time I’ve climbed the trail and knocked on the front doors, I figure I should’ve seen someone, but I’ve not spotted so much as a guard.
I have to shout and bang on the doors for a good few minutes before I finally get an answer.
“Leah?” Aster’s voice is muffled by the thick wood, but I sigh in relief as I hear various bolts being pulled back and locks turning.
“Yes, it’s me,” I say, pushing my way into the castle as she eases open the door. “What’s going on? Where is everyone? Is Syrus—”
“He’s fine, darling,” Aster says, putting a hand on my shoulder.
“Ajax’s runes pulled Syrus’s consciousness from Strata.
It’s part of all that ‘demon lord’ magic the bastard cast on him,” she says, her voice heavy with disapproval.
“It binds Syrus to the wards, compelling him to the spot whenever Malice’s borders face a major threat. ”
“What threat?” I ask, alarmed.
“There’s been an attack on Malice’s southern border.” She grimaces. “It seems Lord Kaliban has grown tired of Syrus’s refusal to let the snares do their work and is making moves to invade Malice to force his hand.”
At least that explains why he won’t answer me when I call him—I’m not sure whether Ajax’s spell is keeping him from hearing my calls as long as Syrus is compelled to defend the border or if he’s too deep into a battle to safely respond to me, but either way, it could be worse.
“But Syrus is all right?” I ask. “Is that where Quill and the guards are?”
“Yes. Malice’s militia isn’t as big as Rancor’s, so they needed all the fighters they could get. Viz went too. But my dear, Syrus knows war. He’s done this plenty of times before, and it’s what Ajax designed him for, so please don’t fret.”
I sigh and pull her into a hug. “Thank you. I was losing my mind for a moment there.”
“Obviously,” she says, patting me on the back. “Syrus assumed you’d be safer in Strata until this all blew over, but I’m glad you’re here. Holing up behind castle walls isn’t as fun without company. Why don’t we have a drink to tide us over?”
For once, I agree with her suggestion, and I follow her through the corridors as she chatters away.
“I must confess, while I’d hoped you’d been getting fond of us here in Infernum, I didn’t expect you to be quite so worried about us…or one of us, in particular?” She throws a sly look over her shoulder as heat climbs to my cheeks.
“Syrus and I…” I try to think of the words to describe what’s between us. Not just a binding spell. Not just lust. Not just him seeing me more clearly than anyone ever has and still holding me to account, pushing me to stand up for myself and take what I want.
It’s all those things and more, and I didn’t realize how desperately I wanted to hold onto all of it—all of him—until he was pulled so unceremoniously from my mind.
“I guess you could say things have progressed between us,” I say.
She claps her hands together. “Excellent. Viz owes me ten gold pieces.”
“What? Why?” I ask suspiciously. “What did you bet on?”
“Well, obviously when you two would stop dancing around each other and finally fu—”
A boom echoes through the castle, making us both freeze.
“What in darkness’s name was that?” Aster gasps.
“Sounded like it came from the main entrance,” I say, drawing my knife. I beckon to Aster, and we creep back along the corridor. I’m not against us getting the heck out of here, but it would probably be helpful if we found out first exactly who’s here and how many of them there are.
“They really didn’t leave any guards on the castle?” I murmur to her as I check around the first corner we reach.
Aster’s eyes are wide. “They sent every one of them down to the lake,” she whispers. “Quill said if there was trouble, it would be there.”
I peer around the second corner to see one of the front doors hanging off its hinges like it’s been struck with a battering ram. There’s a haze of dark mist in the air, suggesting that someone with powerful shadow magic just let themselves into the castle.
“Think carefully,” I whisper. “Is there anything of value in the building? Anything someone would take advantage of this opening to snatch?”
When she doesn’t answer, I twist around, only to see her in the grip of a huge demon with crimson skin. The hand he has clamped over her mouth is so big it almost covers her entire face, but I can see the fear shining in her eyes over the top of his fingers.