A Familiar Problem Read online

  Brock landed several feet away and the shrieking monsters went very still, watching him with something that looked like awe.

  I was with them.

  In his demonic form, Brock was ten feet tall and had clawed fingers and thirty-foot-wide, sawtooth-edged wings. He was terrifyingly beautiful.

  Power personified.

  He was also in horrible, lung-freezing danger as the things that had been attacking the circle gave up on us and started after him.

  “I’ll draw them off and you run,” Brock growled out before leaping off the ground, his massive wings pounding rhythmically as he rose into the black sky.

  With a final screech, the creatures that surrounded us followed, streaking straight off the ground so quickly it sucked the breath right out of my lungs.

  Panic clawed my chest as the warding dropped away and Deg and Mandy hit their knees, panting and pinch-faced with exhaustion.

  “Brock!” I screamed after him. “He’ll be killed,” I told my friends as I started to run after him.

  Deg shoved slowly to his feet, his face gray with fatigue. “Then let’s not let it be in vain.” He turned to Mandy. “Come on, Witch. Dig deep. We need to get out of here before those things come back.”

  To her credit, the snarky, know-it-all Witch didn’t complain or argue. She allowed Deg to pull her to her feet and, with a final look toward the cacophony of shrieks fading away into the distance, we took off running toward the distant light.

  It seemed like hours before the horrendous shrieking faded away. It was probably much closer to thirty seconds. But every nerve-crawling screech made me want to scream and hurt something. I had no idea what was happening to my friend.

  Brock had basically sacrificed himself so we could live. So we could finish what we’d come to do. If we ever made it home I swore to myself I’d make sure he was honored in some way.

  “There!” Deg pointed toward a single glowing object in the near distance. It looked like the remains of a bush, the barren branches wearing black and orange fire instead of leaves. The flames danced silently, giving off no smoke or any discernable scent. It was magic fire, conjured rather than formed of natural things.

  I realized after a moment that the bush was one of several reaching off into the distance. It was a pathway of some kind, bending up a hill that seemed to rise toward the horizon.

  I jerked to a stop and grabbed Deg’s arm. “We need to figure out what this is.” I threw out my magics and “felt” the area around us for other life. My energy swept away from me in a purple haze that I knew only I would be able to see. It was tracking magic. Very rare in a Familiar and almost as rare in Witches. I’d used it sparingly all my life, knowing that every use of magic required an equal price that needed to be paid. But I’d be damned if I was walking down the path laid out before us without knowing what was there. The energy jerked to a stop a mere fifty yards away. Much too soon. It had hit a barrier of some kind.

  But it seemed to be working inside the limited space. Almost immediately I got the sense of several other creatures. All large, with dark auras.

  “Demons,” I told my friends. “We need to go around.”

  Mandy sighed. “But this is the most direct route.”

  “How many do you sense, LA?” Deg asked.

  “Half a dozen. But I seem to only be able to read a small area. There could be some kind of dampening magic at work here.” I shuddered as a wave of foreboding slipped past, lifting gooseflesh on my arms and bringing the prickling sensation back to rest between my shoulder blades. “We’re being watched,” I told my friends. “I’ve felt it since we left the portal.”

  Mandy nodded. “I have too. But whoever…whatever…it is seems to be tracking us. It might not want to hurt us.”

  “And the demons waiting along that pathway just want to have tea and cookies with us,” I grumbled.

  Mandy frowned.

  I realized I was being bitchy. She probably didn’t know how to react. Being a “Witch with a B” was usually her department. “Sorry. I’m stressed.”

  Her eyes went wide. “Ya think?”

  Suddenly we were laughing together and some of the stress leeched out of the situation. I found that I could breathe and think again. I looked at Deg. “I’m not comfortable taking this pathway without knowing exactly what’s waiting for us. They’ll be able to see us but we can’t see them.”

  Deg and Mandy shared a look. They both started talking at once, then fell into a long, whispered conversation using Witchy type words that pretty much flew past my ears on wings of cotton candy.

  I didn’t understand anything except the words, The Blend, which they kept repeating.

  Finally, I lost my temper. “Hello?”

  They turned to me, grinning. Mandy reached into her pocket and pulled out a small bag filled with prickly green stuff. Holding it up she said. “I brought it just in case.”

  I shook my head. “You want to get high right now? I’m thinking that might be a bad idea. Call me overly cautious.”

  “No LA, that’s not a drug. It’s The Blend,” Deg told me.

  I lifted my brows and he hurried to clarify. “You chew a piece and, as long as it’s in your mouth you blend into the surroundings, invisible.”

  That sounded promising. “Okay. I like the sound of that, but what if it fails. We don’t know how the energy works here. My tracking magics are only half working.”

  Mandy shrugged, unzipping the bag and extracting a short stick of the green stuff, with leaves sticking out of it. “Only one way to find out.” She popped the stick into her mouth and bit down. And shimmered out of sight.

  Deg laughed softly. I gave him a cautious grin. “I’m still not sure…”

  “Come on, LA!” The floating bag said. “This route will save us hours of walking. I don’t know about you but I’m getting really tired.”

  I frowned at the bag. “You could be getting more rest than you want if those demons get hold of you. Like eternal rest.”

  The bag sighed, shimmering on the air.

  “I agree with Mandy,” Deg said. “We’re in danger out here. We need to get to Trudy as quickly as we can.”

  The bag waited expectantly in mid-air. I glanced toward the pathway, still cloaked in oily evil, with a handful of skulking shapes arrayed along its length. Finally, I nodded. “Okay, but I want to go on record as being against this.”

  “Noted,” said the bag. It opened a beat later and a stick like the one Mandy chowed floated toward Deg and another one toward me. The bag disappeared. I assumed Mandy had returned it to her pocket.

  I watched Deg chomp down on his and disappear. I looked at mine, sniffed it, and frowned.

  “Stop being such a baby, LA,” the “Witch with a B” snarled.

  I shook my head, determined that if her magic killed me I’d haunt her until she drooled.

  “LA!” a disembodied “Witchy with a B” voice said.

  “Hold your broom, Witch. I’m gearing up to this.”

  I ignored the sigh and then, closing my eyes and saying a quick prayer, I stuck the thing into my mouth. My fear was that it would taste like dirt. Or bird poop…not that I know what that tastes like. Or tree bark. What it actually tasted like was nothing.

  Until I bit down on it to set the magic into motion.

  Then it tasted like poop. I grimaced, gagging, and wondered how Mandy and Deg could chow down on theirs without throwing up. “Oh, stars that’s awful.” Why hadn’t I thought to bring my invisibilia potion? Oh yeah, because I’d only had enough for one of us. Right at that moment I was thinking “every man for himself” sounded like a good motto.

  “What…?” Deg said.

  “Let’s get going,” Mandy cut him off and I heard the unmistakable sound of her swishing past me. That’s when I realized the next problem. I couldn’t see Deg and Mandy. I assumed they couldn’t see me either. “How are we…” I gagged again as the stick rolled to the back of my tongue. I captured it with my teeth and dete
rminedly held it there. “I can’t see you. How are we going to keep from running into each other?”

  Something warm in the shape of a hand found my arm and slid down to clasp my fingers. I recognized Deg’s delicious sandalwood and wood smoke scent. “How’s this?” He asked in a warm voice that was strangely sans gagging.

  “That’ll work, I choked out. How in the world can you stand…”

  “Hurry up you two,” came a harsh whisper from several feet away. “We have a mean, pinching relative to find and a bunch of demons to evade.”

  I heard Deg sigh. “Remind me that I need at least a month away from her once we get back.”

  “Oh, I don’t think I’ll need to remind you. I’m pretty sure it’ll be written in blood on both our foreheads by then.”

  Chapter Six

  We hadn’t gone very far before the first challenge presented itself. One thing the nasty tasting sticks apparently couldn’t control was scent. The monsters in the shadows could apparently still smell us. And if the taste of the stupid thing in my mouth was any indication, I’m sure we smelled like a freshly minted pile of feces.

  I had no way of knowing where Mandy was. She was somewhere up ahead on the path when the shadows split and two demons stepped into the light, their glowing red eyes searching the night for us.

  Deg pulled me to a stop as the first one stepped right in front of us, its wide, greasy black nostrils flaring and its gaze gliding unerringly toward where we stood.

  My heart pounded against my chest, sounding loud enough to draw the monster right to me. I dug in my toes, on the edge of taking off running when a rock flew through the air and hit the second demon in the head with a resounding crack.

  The thing opened a wide mouth filled with razor sharp teeth and screamed, drawing the attention of the demon standing in front of Deg and me.

  I didn’t hesitate. Tugging Deg’s hand, I shifted to the left of the demon and pulled Deg with me as I started to run.

  Unfortunately, running was a bad idea. Our feet kicked up tiny clouds of black, silty dust, giving the demons a visual road map to follow.

  The one on the path lifted off the ground, his huge wings pounding the air in reverberations so powerful they bent the flame on the burning bushes sideways. Deg and I picked up speed but we were never going to outrun a flying demon.

  And at that point the demon Mandy had clocked with the rock surged into the air, apparently joining the pursuit.

  At the last minute, Deg wrenched to a stop and dove toward the ground at the side of the path, taking me down with him. We hit a prickly brown bush of some kind, the densely tangled branches of which sliced through my flesh as I landed.

  Before I could stop myself, I gave a small cry of pain. The nasty stick in my mouth fell out, disappearing inside the bush.

  It took me a moment to realize what that meant. We were encompassed in darkness, deep inside the painful bush, and I stupidly thought I was safe.

  To be honest, I was relieved to have the hated taste of the thing out of my mouth.

  But then the ground shook beneath a couple of massive feet and hot breath, smelling of sulfur and death, sifted down on me.

  I was afraid to look. My hand tightened around Deg’s and he stirred slightly, as if he was looking up at the creature towering over us.

  Don’t make a sound, LA, he whispered through my mind, clearly shaken.

  Deg shifted sideways, trying to pull me underneath him, but the branches of the bush trembled under his movement so he stilled.

  A deep, moist breathing filled the night air, raspy and unhealthy sounding. The demon grunted softly, then coughed, sending foul smelling droplets over our hiding spot.

  I grimaced as something landed on my arm.

  Holding my breath, I prayed we were hidden well enough by the leafless tangle of bush that the demon wouldn’t see me. Hot breath wafted over us again and the sound of rustling ensued as the demon moved closer. He was so close I could feel the heat from his oversized body.

  It was like getting too close to a fire that was dying down but was still too hot.

  Sweat ran down my face and between my shoulder blades and I tried not to breathe, fearing even the small movement of my chest rising and falling would give me away.

  My first awareness that I was in deep trouble was a painful one. A claw found my throat, scraping a shallow but agonizing scratch beneath my chin.

  The scrape stung like someone had poured salt into it and I had to bite back a scream. The area around the wound grew unnaturally hot, painting the entire side of my face and neck with sizzling pain.

  An enormous, clawed hand wrapped around my throat and wrenched me off the ground. I barely had time to let go of Deg before the demon yanked me out of the bush and lifted me into the air with a joyful scream.

  An answering scream joined the first, then another and another. I clasped the demon’s thick, scaly forearms in an effort not to lose my head as he dragged me into the sky by the throat.

  I couldn’t pull air into my lungs. Though I struggled mightily for a moment, the lack of air to my brain quickly took its toll. The world turned charcoal gray at the edges and bled inward, slowly closing off my vision.

  All around us, the sky filled with black, flying shapes. I realized with horror that Deg hung from the claws of another demon and, in the distance, the strangely writhing form of a third demon probably meant he’d found Mandy. Though she still seemed to be holding tight to her magical little stick.

  My eyes closed as weakness claimed me, and my muscles went limp.

  Deg screamed my name. I twitched but couldn’t find it within myself to look his way. Our mental connection flared briefly, his voice said my name, and then it went quiet.

  I was afraid of what that meant.

  Death called out to me and I was beyond fighting it. I gave up, let go, and waited for the pinprick of light behind my lids to blink out.

  But it wasn’t to be.

  Light and sound burst upon the sulfurous night and blasted against me, warm and comforting. The demon that was holding me stiffened, screaming and writhing as if the beautiful illumination burned, and then let go of my throat.

  I plunged downward, air rushing into my open mouth and filling my starved lungs. I coughed, my eyes coming open in sheer panic as I realized I’d escaped death by the demon’s clawed hand, only to be bashed to pieces on the hard ground below.

  I looked down, squinting against the brutally bright white light filling the entire area, and realized with a start that my descent was slowing.

  My feet touched the ground and I stumbled, more from blindness and exhaustion than because I hit too hard.

  I fell to my knees and half-covered my eyes, peering beneath my palm in an attempt to see the source of the light.

  I thought I saw a small, humanoid shape at the center of the glow, not ten feet away. I tried to climb to my feet. There was no way to know if the creature standing so close was friend or foe. After what I’d just survived, I figured it was prudent to be careful.

  Weakened by lack of oxygen and not a little fear, my traitorous muscles didn’t want to cooperate. It seemed to take forever to get my feet underneath me and when I straightened, it felt like I was standing on a boat in the middle of a rolling sea.

  I nearly fell back down and had to grab hold of a nearby skeleton of a tree.

  The creature at the center of the glow lowered its arms and stood staring at me. From what I could see beyond the light stinging my eyes, the newcomer was small, child sized really, and appeared to have long, golden hair. The slender form was wreathed in shimmering robes that danced on a power-induced breeze.

  Something shifted just behind it, the light glinting off the edges to blind me even more.

  “Do you think you could tone that down a little?” a snotty voice said from not too far away.

  Mandy was apparently safe…if a bit snarky.

  “Oh. So sorry,” said a childlike voice that I recognized. The light dimmed away, u
ntil all that was left was a gentle glow that highlighted a pretty young girl with a sweet smile. “Hello, LeeAnn,” the girl said.

  I almost fell to the ground. My mouth dropped open, probably very unattractively, and I gaped for a full minute, unable to respond.

  “LA?” Deg moved close. “Are you okay?”

  I reached out and clutched his arm, my fingers digging into it with something that felt like desperation.

  The little girl frowned. “Have I done something wrong?”

  I continued to stare at her for another minute and then realized I owed her a response. “Wrong? Maybe. Or not. Why didn’t you tell me?”

  She shook her head, the silky blonde curtain swinging around her face in perfect curls. “I couldn’t. We’ve been under cover.”

  “We?” Then I realized. “The boys too?”

  She nodded. “Ralph hated to fool you. He’s generally very sweet.”

  Deer! Of course. I shook my head. “I can’t believe it.”

  “Are you going to enlighten the rest of us?” Mandy asked, moving into the gentle radiance of the little girl’s glow.

  I looked at her and at Deg. His handsome face wore the first traces of understanding. “You won’t believe it.”

  Deg smiled. “I think I will.”

  “Will somebody tell me what’s going on?” Mandy said angrily. Patience wasn’t one of her better things.

  Silence throbbed between us for another beat. When I realized neither Deg nor the little girl were going to respond, I stared into the child’s face and said. “Mandy, meet Mabel. Our helpful little kitten friend.”

  Chapter Seven

  “So, what are you? An angel?” I asked Mabel.

  “Nephilim, actually. Our father was an angel. Our mother was a Familiar.”

  A light bulb went off in my head. “Ah, that’s why you can shift?”

  Mabel nodded. “We were sent to the human dimension to keep an eye on things…to make sure Trudy doesn’t make any inroads there.”

  I frowned. “But you’re so young.”

  Mabel smiled, her pretty face growing pink. “I’m actually two hundred and twelve. Nephilim age very slowly.”