Meria was so fast I barely followed her. Within thirty seconds of her first attack, the young demon she fought lay prone on the floor, groaning, while she grinned at me, amber eyes flaring with new power, as if this whole thing was really funny.I wished I could agree with her.My heart clenched as she absently strode over her fallen attacker as though he wasn't worth further notice, an arrogant tilt to her head, shoulders back so far I thought she'd crack in half."This is too easy," Sassy muttered as we followed her. "You're winning far too quickly for a pair of amateurs."Meira turned and glared at him, just outside my door. "I kicked his ass!"My demon agreed with her one hundred percent, but Sassy just swatted at her on the way by, muttering to himself.I spent the rest of the night in and out of sleep, tossing and restless, waking from dreams of my sister attacking me while she laughed. Unsettled and twitchy, I met Meira and Sassafras for breakfast, grunting at Dad as I flo
We were a pretty gloomy bunch when we returned to the lab. Theridialis just shook his head slowly, jowls jiggling a little. Dad slumped into a nearby chair while Sassafras circled the room, tail straight up like a flag waving as he made his agitated circuit."There has to be a way." Dad stood suddenly, brow low over his eyes. "What haven't we considered?""There are more tests I can run." Theridialis didn't seem all that positive, but my need for hope latched onto his words like a lifeline.Sassafras leaped up on the table, daintily weaving his way through the beakers and jars until he stood across from his father."Make me a demon again." He sounded a little out of breath and, to be honest, so was I with that request fresh from his cat mouth.Theridialis met his son's amber eyes. "What good could that serve?""I could fight for the girls." His tail thrashed, knocking over several fragile-looking instruments which I barely caught with my magic. No one else seemed to care or notic
I couldn't make out Sassy's words, but the meaning was obvious. I knew swearing when I heard it in any language.Part of me wanted to join him rather than sit and simmer with my arms crossed over my chest and my face set in a mask of absolute fury. After all, I already knew why he was so angry.We'd been set up. And not in a subtle way, either. Not even close. The attempt to make Meira and I use our foreign magic, illegal on Demonicon, was so blatant if I did start swearing it would be accompanied by some fireballs and the odd explosion for good measure.Meira fumed beside me, and I could only imagine the look on her face mirrored mine. I refused to look at the massive guards surrounding us, to acknowledge them in any way. I was not giving them even a moment of my attention after they clearly abandoned us to be ambushed, only to show up at the most convenient time for our arrest."I thought demons were good at this sort of politics," I finally snapped at Sassafras when he ceased sw
Meira didn't hesitate, rushing forward to hug our grandmother. Yup, hug her. I found myself gaping as I fell in step beside Dad while the tall and imposing Ruler hugged my sister back.I kept going to the place of wondering if she wasn't such a monster after all. Either that or she was just really good at manipulation.I was betting on the latter.Grandmother smiled at me as I stopped a few feet away, Dad at my side, Sassafras still in my arms. It seemed like a real smile, one setting her eyes alight with sparkling good humor."I believe a tour is in order," she said. "Allow me to show you our world as it was meant to be seen."I followed, still a bit hesitant. But Dad didn't seem overly upset, though he frowned to himself, staring at the ground as we walked. And Sassafras was still purring, if softly, almost absently. Meira chattered away about the battle and her part in it as she walked ahead of us, the tall and imposing demon Ruler bending to meet the gaze of her much more dimi
We were almost back to our rooms, Sassafras still in my arms, his weight actually becoming a burden, when Pagomaris appeared with two guards beside her. She looked uncomfortable, as though she was about to do something she really didn't want to, but her smile smoothed out as we approached."I hope you had a wonderful tour," she said, tone bright as ever."Would be better if we knew why it was cut short," I said. No need to be careful what I said to her, at least.Pagomaris hesitated, her smile faltering before it returned full beam. "You've been summoned," she said to me. Meira took a step closer, but the tall demon aide smiled sadly down at her. "Just Sydlynhamitra."I wasn't expecting Grandmother to call on me at all, let alone without my sister. Not after the snarky family comment she made. But the look on Meira's face was even more unexpected. She actually seemed furious with me as she spun and stomped her way into her room, slamming the heavy door behind her.Sassafras squirm
"Welcome." She stood near the sofa as usual, dressed in her silken robe, arms open to Meira who rushed forward to hug her. I took a seat before such a welcome could be offered, though I thought a hug for me would be a long time coming. Meira perched next to Grandmother, helping herself to the snacks spread out on the low coffee table."You're aware Vandelarius is trying to usurp you?" Yeah, she knew already. All of our speculation was dead on from the small, smug grin she suppressed. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, falling into grumpy.Grandmother didn't seem to mind the lack of small talk. In fact, her amusement grew into a full-grown smile at my pronouncement, sitting back with one arm over the back of the sofa, Meira sliding back to snuggle beside her."Of course," she said. "He spoke to you earlier."Not a question. "Told me the civil war going on in one of the cities is our fault."Grandmother snorted, still amused. "I'd hardly call it civil war," she said. "There has be
I left shortly after, unwilling to talk to my grandmother any longer, dragging my sister out with me. She allowed us both to go, though I felt her eyes boring holes in my back as I retreated, head spinning with new knowledge and the fear I really was trapped here forever.Meira jerked free of me the moment we were out of sight of the guards. I turned to her, not meaning to be angry, and certainly not mad at her, but my anxiety had the best of me."We have to go see Dad." Man, was I going to ream him a new one.She glared at me, rubbing at her arm where I'd held her. "Says who?"This was no time for back talk. In fact, the expression on her face reminded me of the brat she'd been after returning from a summer at witch camp, turned to the dark side by the evil of the Dumont family. No way was she regressing to petulant child on me, not with so much at stake."Meems," I said, "what the hell?""Don't tell me what to do." She turned away from me, face set in a pout.If she said I was
There was an odd excitement to falling I hadn't expected once the initial terror burned off. The air rushed past me in a gale, whistling in my ears, though the passion of its passing tore at my clothing and forced my body to ripple uncontrollably. It took me a few seconds to get past the idea of dying before my demon roared and shook me, taking control of our magic, diving for the veil.Only to meet the same stone wall as before, even the rubbery membrane out of reach.This time she wasn't taking no for an answer and neither was I, damn it. Forget this dying shtick-not while I had power to fight it. I reached deep, pulling from all of my magicks, leaning into the veil as hard as I could. Shaylee and my vampire core poured energy into my demon, now more powerful than she'd ever been.And in that moment, while my body slowly spun sideways, as I now faced the ground rushing toward me, what was once tiny and antlike now alarmingly large and growing bigger by the second, I felt the veil