Chapter 10 Trick of the Light
Chapter ten
Trick of the Light
Magnur
“I’m going there now,” I said, already moving toward the closet where I kept spare clothes. “You stay here. The building has wards. You’ll be safe.”
“Like hell I will,” Jade countered, scrambling after me. “It’s my apartment. My problem.”
I paused, turning to face her. “Jade,” I said. “This isn’t just about your apartment. He’s escalating. This is no longer just harassment.”
“All the more reason I should face him,” she insisted, her jaw set in a stubborn line. “I won’t hide while you fight my battles.”
I crossed the room, closing the distance between us. I cupped her face between my hands.
“Do you understand what will happen if I find him there?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. “What I might do to someone who threatened you and violated your space?”
Her eyes widened slightly, but she didn’t look away.
“I need to know you’re safe if I’m going to think straight,” I continued, stroking my thumbs across her cheekbones. “If I’m worried about you or think you’re in danger, I won’t be able to handle this.”
My hands flexed against her skin involuntarily as I imagined Trevor in her apartment, touching her things, violating the sanctuary she’d built for herself after escaping him.
“Trevor is human, but he’s done something that is intended to harm you,” I explained, forcing my voice to remain steady. "I need to understand what we’re dealing with before I bring you anywhere near him.”
She studied my face for a long moment, her eyes tracking over features I knew were shifting slightly toward my true form despite my best efforts to maintain my human appearance. Finally, she nodded, her shoulders dropping in reluctant surrender.
“Fine,” she conceded, reaching up to cover my hands with her own. “But you keep your phone on. And you come back immediately.”
Relief flooded through me, though I kept my expression neutral. “I‘ll keep my phone on,” I agreed.
“And you won’t do anything reckless,” she pressed, her fingers tightening around my wrists. “Promise me.”
I hesitated. Years of survival had taught me never to make promises I couldn’t keep. “I’ll do what’s necessary to keep you safe,” I said instead, choosing my words carefully.
Her eyes narrowed. “That’s not what I asked.”
“I promise to return to you,” I said firmly, meaning every word. “As soon as I can.”
She sighed, a sound caught between frustration and concern. “Magnur, I’m serious. Don’t hurt him unless you absolutely have to. Don’t—“
“I won’t kill him unless he forces my hand,” I interrupted, the most honest promise I could make. “But I won’t let him continue to threaten you either.”
She bit her lip, clearly torn between her principles and her understanding of what Trevor‘s escalating behavior could mean.
“I’m going to check your apartment, see if I can find anything useful about his intentions, and return,” I said. “You’ll be safer here than anywhere else.”
“And what about you?” she asked softly. “Will you be safe?”
The question caught me off guard. Few had ever worried about my safety, I was the monster, a demon.
“I’ve survived worse than one obsessive human,” I assured her, leaning down to press my forehead against hers. “Much worse.”
“Be careful,” she whispered. “And come back to me.”
“Always,” I promised.
I reluctantly released her , allowing my hands to slide down to her shoulders for one final squeeze before stepping away.
“Lock the door behind me,” I instructed, pausing at the threshold. “Don’t open it for anyone but me.”
The sound of the deadbolt sliding into place behind me was a small comfort as I strode toward the stairwell, bypassing the elevator entirely. My body was already beginning to change, power building beneath my skin as I prepared to confront whatever awaited me at Jade’s apartment.
Trevor had made a grave mistake. He’d threatened what was mine.
It didn't take me long to get onto the roof of my building, the night air sharp and cold against my skin. I rolled my shoulders, feeling the pressure building beneath my skin. The transformation began at my core and spread outward, a rush of heat followed by the exquisite pain of rapid change. My shoulder blades split and extended, muscle and bone reforming as massive wings emerged. With a deep breath, I launched myself from the roof’s edge.
I angled my body southeast, wings finding the rhythm that would carry me fastest through the night.
Below, the city was a grid of lights and dark patches, humans moving through their lives unaware of what passed overhead.
Most never looked up. Those who did might glimpse a shadow against the stars, nothing more.
I spotted Jade’s building, a wisp of smoke curled from one window on the fourth floor but there were no flames visible.
My wings folded tight against my back as I dropped toward the roof, catching myself at the last moment to land silently on the gravel surface.
Something felt wrong. A fire serious enough to trigger remote alarms should have triggered the building’s system as well.
There should have been sirens, sprinklers, evacuation procedures.
I stalked across the rooftop toward the stairwell door, my body shifting back toward its more human appearance as I moved.
The stairwell was dark and silent as I descended, my footsteps making no sound on the concrete steps.
Warning bells rang in my mind as I approached her door.
It hung slightly ajar, the wood around the lock splintered from forced entry.
Smoke seeped through the gap in thin tendrils, curling upward like spectral fingers before dissipating into the hallway, along with a scent that seemed familiar.
I pressed my palm against the door, feeling for heat.
Nothing. Whatever was burning inside wasn’t large enough to warm the wood.
My claws extended fully. If Trevor waited inside, he wouldn’t be walking out again.
I pushed the door, stepping into the apartment with my body coiled for a surprise attack.
The living room beyond was illuminated only by the city lights filtering through the windows and the faint orange glow coming from what appeared to be a metal trash can in the center of the room.
Smoke rose from it and up to the fire alarm.
My eyes adjusted instantly to the low light, scanning for movement, for threats The apartment appeared empty of life, but had been ransacked, drawers pulled open, possessions scattered across the floor, furniture overturned.
It looked like the aftermath of a frenzied search, but something about it felt staged.
The scent I’d noticed in the hallway was stronger inside, something about it tugged at my memories but I struggled to place it.
I prowled through Jade’s apartment with growing unease, I moved to the kitchen, noting how the disorder followed the same pattern, enough mess to look like a robbery but nothing actually broken.
Expensive electronics sat untouched amid scattered utensils and upended containers.
No real thief would leave a high-end tv while taking time to dump flour across the counter.
The bedroom told the same story. The mattress had been partially pulled from the bed frame, drawers removed from the dresser, clothing strewn across the floor.
But Jade’s jewelry box sat open on the nightstand, its contents gleaming undisturbed in the dim light filtering through the window.
No one had touched her valuables. Instead, someone had carefully created the appearance of violation while avoiding actual damage to anything meaningful.
They’d been creating a tableau designed for one purpose, to trigger the security system and draw someone here.
Which meant...
I spun toward the door, my body already tensing to shift back to full demonic form the moment I cleared the building. I needed to get back to Jade immediately. A metallic taste flooded my mouth the moment I attempted to walk through the door.
No. Not this. Not again.
I lunged for the door, claws extended, wings beginning to tear through my skin in desperate acceleration, but crashed against an invisible barrier that flared brilliant blue-white at my touch.
The impact reverberated through my body like striking reinforced steel, throwing me backward onto the floor.
My vision blurred, clearing just in time to see what I’d dreaded most.
Symbols blazed to life along the doorframe, curves and angles and intricate geometries I recognized with horror. Warlock sigils. Binding circles. Containment glyphs. They had been painted in clear solution, invisible to the naked eye until activated, waiting for a demon’s essence to trigger them.
Waiting for me.
The sigils spread like wildfire across every surface—ceiling, walls, floor—their blue-white light illuminating the apartment.
I scrambled to my feet, spinning to check the windows, but already knew what I’d find.
The same glowing symbols formed perfect circles around each potential exit, sealing me inside.
“No,” I growled.
I slammed my fist against the invisible barrier at the door.
The sigils flared brighter but held firm.
I tried the windows next, throwing my full weight against them, claws scrabbling for purchase on the smooth surface.
Nothing. Not even a crack. Whatever had created this spell knew exactly how strong I was and had calibrated the containment accordingly.
As I fought, a memory surfaced, Trevor’s image.
I’d had the nagging sense I’d seen him before, but couldn’t place where.
Now the connection clicked into place. His face carried echoes of another, a warlock from centuries past who had been particularly sadistic in his treatment of bound demons.
One of my former captors. Not identical, but the resemblance was unmistakable once I saw it through the lens of this magic.