Chapter 27 Des #2
Aurelie saying something under her breath, though he couldn’t make out the words. The demon, as though somehow understanding
her, was cocking its hideous head from side to side. As she skirted the well, the demon approached, placing its forelegs on
the edge as though to leap over it toward her.
It was now or never. Des rushed forward with his sword raised. By the time the demon realized what he was doing, he was upon
it. He drove his sword up through the demon’s chin, releasing a spray of green blood that hissed and steamed as it landed
in the snow. Caught off-balance—though still not disappearing like it fucking should—the demon toppled over into the well
with an ear-splitting screech.
They knew the moment it hit the water, because a massive green cloud of toxic air rose out of the well, causing Des and Aurelie
to reel backward.
Before he’d even had a chance to process, he was running toward her. “Are you all right?” he asked, his eyes skimming every
inch of her for signs of damage.
“I’m okay,” she said, taking a step back, and he realized that he was crowding her.
He forced himself to move away. Somehow, she appeared perfectly fine. It was a miracle she’d been able to throw a blade at all, considering the shape she’d been in earlier.
Which begged the question, where the hell had she learned to throw a blade like that?
Then Gareth, Jasper, and Daisy were all there, crowding around them, Gareth peering into the well and noting that the demon
was gone. As if that hadn’t been obvious already.
Jasper was patting Des on the arm, and Daisy was doing her own assessment of Aurelie, but her eyes never left his.
“Come on,” Des said when his heart rate had returned to normal. “You have more explaining to do. And this time we’re doing
it in your uncle’s cottage. I’m guessing he has a bottle of something a little stronger than tea.”
While Aurelie went to turn on a few gas lamps in the otherwise dark cottage, Daisy started a fire in the sitting room. Jasper
and Gareth went to find something to eat, and Des glowered into the kindling flames.
“You could at least look a little relieved,” Daisy said as she joined him on the settee. “The demon is dead and Aurelie is
alive. And at the moment, no one knows what happened here besides us.”
“A guard is also dead, Daisy. We’re going to have to report it. He probably has a family, maybe even children or grandchildren.”
It was never easy to pass along such news. He dragged his hand down his face. “What if he has grandchildren?”
Daisy patted him on the back. “Well, at least I found this.” She pulled a bottle of amber-colored liquid off a nearby bar
cart.
“First good news I’ve heard all day.” Des yanked out the crystal stopper while Daisy fetched two glasses. “What are we going to tell Commander Yew?”
“Why do we have to tell him anything? Can’t Aurelie do it?” Daisy asked, though her tone lacked conviction.
“Aurelie must decline that particular suggestion.”
Des looked up to find Aurelie standing in the doorway, at least having the decency to appear contrite for a change. Gareth
and Jasper still hadn’t returned. “And why’s that?”
Aurelie glanced at Daisy.
“Whatever you have to say to me can be said in front of Daisy, as well as the others. They know everything I learned tonight.”
“And do they know about my uncle?” she asked, taking a seat in one of the armchairs. Daisy handed her a glass of whiskey,
which she took wordlessly.
“As much as I know. Everard has him, I take it.”
Aurelie nodded, took a sip of the whiskey, and instantly began to cough. Des suspected she’d never tasted hard alcohol before.
“Yes,” she said when she’d regained her composure. Jasper and Gareth entered and sat down on the floor, and Des felt a stab
of affection for his fellow guards. The Iron Guard might be viewed as a form of imprisonment to some, but for Des, it was
family.
“Everard asked me to build something for him,” Aurelie explained. “At first, I thought he wanted it for political reasons.”
“And you were willing to help him?” Des asked, not sure why he still found her actions so appalling. He’d known from the moment
he laid eyes on her that she was trouble.
Aurelie glanced away, taking another sip of whiskey, wincing at the burn. “I was. I didn’t know what he was like, then. But yes, I’m an inventor, and I let my pride get the best of me. I wanted the opportunity to create something great, to change the world.”
Des shook his head, disgusted with Aurelie, and even more with himself. She was the antithesis of what the Iron Guard stood
for. She had put her own individual desires above the safety of everyone in Wisteria, all for grandeur and recognition. And
he had helped her.
“I know what you think of me,” Aurelie murmured. She said it directly to Des, making him feel as though they were the only
two people in the room, especially when her eyes locked with his. He couldn’t help remembering the feeling of her soft flesh
beneath his hands, the way he wanted to sink his fingers into her. How could he desire someone so selfish?
Why would someone so selfish risk her life for someone she clearly despised?
“You have no idea what I think of you,” he rasped.
“For what it’s worth, Everard told me it would be the end of demons in Wisteria. I would never have taken the job if I didn’t
think it would do some good.”
Des wanted to hate her. What kind of na?ve fool would believe such an obvious lie? But it wasn’t entirely her fault she was
so gullible. She’d been shut off from reality her entire life. All she knew was what she’d read in books. Her only real experience
with demons was a small, rodent-like creature that had never tried to hurt her.
He remembered how she’d thrown the blade and knew he was lying to himself. She’d definitely encountered her share of demons.
“How could an invention be the end of demons?” Gareth asked. “I didn’t think that was even possible.”
“That’s because it’s not,” Des muttered. “Everard lied to her, obviously. And now he has her uncle, which means that Aurelie is going to go through with this madness no matter the cost.”
“That’s not—”
“It’s a nice thought,” Jasper said, cutting Aurelie off. “But the Iron Guard exists precisely for this reason. We keep Wisteria safe. And it sounds like if we get rid of this Everard, your uncle will be safe, too.”
Aurelie tipped her head back and groaned in exasperation. “Do you know how many demons are currently in Wisteria? Because
Everard does. Do you know that demons have venom, and that there’s an antidote? Everard has it. Do you know what tenebra are, or that the king could lift the curse on the kingdom but chooses not to?”
Doubt twisted in Des’s gut. He’d never have believed her before. But after what Aspen had told him . . .
“The only thing Everard doesn’t know is that I have more of Mephisto’s seeds, which I’ll destroy tonight.” Aurelie took an
impressive gulp of whiskey and met Des’s eyes. “And if you help me finish the portal, then whatever monster it unleashes could
be the very last demon any of us ever has to face again.”