[Demonata 07] - Death's Shadow Read online

  “You’re getting old and slow,” Meera taunts him. “What now?”

  “The cellar,” Dervish says.

  “We’re going to cage ourselves in and get drunk?” she frowns.

  “It connects with the secret cellar,” Dervish says impatiently. “That’s a place of magic. We can seal the doors and keep our assailants out. Unless they—”

  He’s interrupted by howls from the floor above. The three werewolves have either broken through the door or heard the howl of the one we knocked out. They’re coming. We leap over the unconscious animal and flee for the staircase.

  Racing down the stairs, the werewolves no more than a handful of seconds behind. If there are more on the ground floor, or snipers with a clear view, we’ll be easy targets.

  But luck is with us. We hit the ground without encountering any enemies. The howls and screams of the werewolves pollute the air. It sounds like they’re poised to drag us down at any moment, but we can’t risk looking back to check.

  Dervish hits the light switches as he passes, turning them off, to hide us from the snipers. He hurries to the cellar door, barges through, waits for Meera and me to streak past, then slams it shut and locks it. A werewolf batters into it less than two seconds later. This door isn’t as sturdy as the one in the study. It won’t delay them long.

  We spill down the steps to the cellar, automatic lights flickering on as we hit the bottom. This is where Dervish stores his priceless wine collection. Rack after rack of vintage bottles. Behind one of the racks is a hidden exit and a tunnel leading to a second, secret, cellar.

  Dervish cuts through the maze of wine racks, angling for the exit, but we’re not even halfway when the door above gives and the werewolves roar down the stairs. We won’t make it. And even if we get to the rack ahead of them, the panels won’t close in time. They’ll be able to surge into the tunnel after us. Not much room for fighting in there.

  “You go,” I pant, laying aside my axe and turning to face the werewolves.

  “Are you mad?” Meera shouts.

  “Go!” I yell, grabbing two bottles from a rack. “I’ll follow.”

  Meera starts to argue but Dervish grabs her and shoves her ahead of him. He nods at me to wish me luck, then flees.

  I face the onrushing werewolves. I have a plan. Sort of. Not a very good one, but if it works, it’ll buy us some time. If it doesn’t, the werewolves will soon be tucking into Bec burgers.

  The wine racks form narrow corridors. Wide enough for one person, but two’s tight and three’s a squeeze. When the werewolves see me alone, they go wild and rush forward, getting entangled with each other in the inadequate space. When the dominant male bucks off the others, I toss the bottles at him, then turn and run. I make a left at the end of the corridor, leading the werewolves away from Dervish and Meera—and the only way out.

  Running through the cellar. I’ve managed to keep ahead of the werewolves. If they were human, with full control of their senses, it would be a simple matter for them to ensnare me. A pair could simply circle around and wait for me at the end of any of the narrow corridors. The third could chase me towards the others in about half a minute. Game over.

  But these beasts work by instinct. They can’t think far ahead. When they have the scent of prey, they can only focus on the chase. So they plough along behind me, slipping and sliding in their haste. I grab bottles of wine as I run, lobbing them at the werewolves. They don’t do much damage but every bit helps.

  I run into a dead end. I’d been expecting it. Part of the plan. I stop half a metre from the wall, turn and wait. The werewolves gibber with delight when they see I’m trapped. They inch forward, clawed fingers flexing, drool dripping from their fangs.

  I’ve been working on the spell since I started running. There’s not much more magic here than upstairs, but hopefully the thin traces will be enough. I wait until the lead werewolf is a metre away, then unleash the spell at the bottles of wine in the racks around me. “Fly!” I scream.

  The bottles shake in their holders. The werewolves pause warily. The cork of one bottle pops out. Wine sprays from the neck, showering the female. She cringes, then laughs hoarsely, sucks wine from the hairs on her arms and licks her lips.

  A few more corks pop. The werewolves are being showered with first-rate wine. They wipe it from their faces, scowling but unharmed, and nudge forward again. I start to think my plan has failed, then…

  Dozens of bottles shoot off the racks and slam into the werewolves. The monsters howl with pain and fall to the floor in protective huddles. Glass shatters over and around them, pounding their shoulders, backs and heads. Cuts open and bones break. One bottle smashes most of the fangs in the lesser male’s mouth.

  I make my move, not waiting for the shower of glass to cease. I scurry up the wine rack to my left, using it as a makeshift ladder. I crouch on top, set my hands against the ceiling and strain with my feet, trying to topple the rack. If it was full of bottles, I couldn’t budge it. But it’s mostly empty and it rocks nicely beneath me. I sway it backwards and forwards a couple of times, then send it toppling over the werewolves, further confusing, enraging and delaying them.

  I leap to the neighbouring rack as the first goes over, then hop to the next and the next, like a frog. There’s not much space between the tops of the racks and the ceiling. An adult couldn’t manoeuvre up here, but there’s just enough room for a wee Bec of a girl like me.

  The screams of the werewolves are almost deafening in the confines of the cellar. But to my ears, hopping ever further away from them, it’s like music. The bottles and rack won’t stall the werewolves for long, but I don’t need much time.

  Seconds later I come to the exit. It’s normally hidden behind what looks like an ordinary wine rack. Dervish has opened it and the two halves of the rack gape wide. I can see the secret corridor and Meera lurking within it. Leaping off the rack, I make a neat landing and snap to my feet like a gymnast finishing a complicated routine.

  “Cute,” Dervish grunts, then smiles and waves me through. I push past and he hurries after me. The mechanical rack slides shut behind us, cutting out the cries of the werewolves and sheltering us from the bloodthirsty beasts. We share a grin of relief, then hurry down the corridor to the safety of the second cellar.

  A minute later we arrive at a large, dark door. It has a gold ring handle. Dervish tugs it open and we slip through. It’s dark inside.

  “Give me a moment,” Dervish says, moving ahead of us, leaving the door open for illumination. “There are candles and I have matches. This will be the brightest room in the universe in a matter of—”

  The door slams shut. A werewolf howls. Meera and I are knocked apart by something hard and hairy. Dervish cries out in alarm. There’s the sound of a table being knocked over. Scuffling noises. The werewolf’s teeth snap. Meera is yelling Dervish’s name. I hear her scrabbling around, searching for the mace which she must have dropped when we were knocked apart.

  I’m calm. There’s magic in the air here. Old-time magic. Not exactly like it was when I first walked the Earth, but similar. I fill with power. The fingers on my left hand flex, then those on my right. Standing, I draw in more energy and ask for—no, demand light.

  A ball of bright flame bursts into life overhead. The werewolf screeches and covers its face with a hairy arm. Its eyes are more sensitive than ours—perfect for seeing in the dark. But that strength is now its weakness.

  As Dervish huffs and puffs, trying to wriggle out from beneath the werewolf, I wave a contemptuous hand at the beast. It flies clear of him and crashes into the wall. The werewolf whines and tries to rise. I start to unleash a word of magic designed to rip it into a hundred pieces. Then I recall what I learnt in the hall of portraits. Instead of killing it, I send the beast to sleep, drawing the shades of slumber across its eyes as simply as I’d draw curtains across a window. As it falls, I flick a wrist at it and the werewolf slides sideways and out through an open door, the one it must have entered
through before we arrived.

  Dervish sits up and looks at the door. “We have to shut it,” he groans, staggering to his feet. “Block it off before…”

  At a gesture from me, the door closes smoothly. Blue fire runs around the rim, sealing it shut. I do the same with the rim of the door we came through. “Sorted,” I grunt. “Balor himself couldn’t get through those now.”

  Dervish and Meera gawp at me and I smile self-consciously. “Well, I was a priestess.”

  Dervish starts to chuckle. Meera giggles. Within seconds we’re laughing like clowns. I’ve seen this many times before. Near-death experiences often leave a person crying or laughing hysterically.

  “I wish I could have seen you go to work on those werewolves,” Meera crows. “We could hear it, but we couldn’t see.”

  “It’s just a pity you couldn’t do it some other way,” Dervish sighs. “Some of my finest bottles were stored back there.”

  “You can’t be serious!” Meera shouts.

  “A Disciple can always be replaced,” Dervish mutters, “but a few of those bottles were the last of their vintage.”

  My smile starts to fade, but then Dervish winks at me. “Only kidding. You were great.” He wipes sweat and blood from his forehead, then coughs. “I’m beat. Meera was right—I’m getting old and slow. I need to sit down. I feel…”

  Dervish’s face blanches. His lips go tight and his eyes bulge. He staggers back a step, gasps for air, then collapses. Meera screams his name and rushes to his side.

  “What is it?” I cry, whirling around, testing the air for traces of a spell being cast against us.

  “Dervish?” Meera asks, holding his arms steady as he thrashes weakly on the floor.

  “Who’s doing this?” I bellow. “I can’t sense anybody. I don’t know what sort of a spell they’re using.”

  “Quiet,” Meera says. She tugs her cardigan off and slides it under Dervish’s head. His face has turned as grey as his beard. His eyelids are closed. His chest is rising and falling roughly.

  “But the spell! I must—”

  “There isn’t any spell,” Meera says softly, stroking the tufts of hair at the sides of Dervish’s head. She’s studying him with warm sadness, like a mother nursing a seriously ill baby.

  “Then what is it?” I stumble towards her, stopping short of Dervish’s twitching feet. “What’s wrong with him?”

  Meera looks up. There’s fear in her eyes, but it isn’t fear of demons, werewolves or magic. “He’s had a heart attack,” she says.

  WAITING FOR THE CAVALRY

  Heart attacks were rare in my time. People didn’t smoke (tobacco wouldn’t be introduced to our part of the world for nearly another thousand years) or eat unhealthy food. Most of us didn’t live long enough to suffer the modern curse of middle-age. A few of my clan died of weak hearts, but they were exceptions.

  Nevertheless, I’m a healer. Once Meera has explained Dervish’s condition to me and we’ve laid him in a comfortable position, I set to work. Without touching him, I feed magic to his heart, softly warming it, keeping the valves open. Some colour seeps into his face and he breathes more easily, but he doesn’t regain consciousness.

  “Will he live?” Meera asks quietly.

  “I don’t know.” I study his face for signs of improvement but find none.

  The werewolves are hammering at the door behind us. People are attacking the other door with axes. I direct magic into the wood and walls to keep out the intruders. I also mute the sounds, so we can focus on Dervish and monitor his breathing.

  “Can you look after him by yourself for a while?” Meera asks.

  “Yes.”

  She moves away, digs out her mobile phone and presses buttons. “Hellfire! I don’t have a signal.”

  I consider the problem, then mutter a short spell. “Try now.”

  Meera smiles her thanks, then makes several calls. She doesn’t bother with the police. This is a job for beings of magic—the Disciples.

  Meera’s on the phone for half an hour. I keep a close watch on Dervish. He looks terrible, much older than he did an hour ago. I’ll be surprised if he makes it through the next few days.

  Meera finally puts her phone away and returns to my side. “How is he?”

  “Alive. For now.”

  “Can you use magic to keep him healthy?”

  “I can help. There’s more power here than in the house, but it’s still limited. If he has another attack…” I shake my head.

  “Do your best,” Meera says, giving my arm a squeeze. “Disciples are on their way. They’ll be here within twenty-four hours. We can transfer him to a hospital then.”

  “In his state, that will be a long time,” I tell her. “You should prepare for the worst.”

  She chuckles weakly. “I’m a Disciple, Bec. We always expect the worst.”

  We settle back and watch in silence as Dervish quietly duels with death.

  After a few hours the sounds of the werewolves and their companions fade. Have they left or are they lurking nearby, trying to tempt us out? No way of telling. Best not to venture forth and chance it. Safer to sit tight and wait for help.

  We have to deal with a few practicalities. There’s no water or food. We can go without food for a day, but we need water for Dervish. I try finding a spring in the ground below us. There isn’t one but I sense a pipe running overhead, carrying water to the house. Extending my magic, I pierce a hole in the pipe and draw a jet of water through the ceiling. We fill vases and a few of the larger, ornately designed candlestick holders. Then I plug the hole with dirt and a shield of small pebbles. It should hold for a few days. It’s a plumber’s problem after that.

  We can’t improvise a drip, so I use magic to ease water down Dervish’s throat. Meera feeds it to him from a vase and I make sure he doesn’t choke or swallow the wrong way.

  “I always hate it when a young person has a heart attack,” Meera says. I don’t think of Dervish as young, but I guess in this world he isn’t old. “It seems so unfair, especially if they’re in good shape and have taken care of themselves. Dervish never had the healthiest diet, but he exercised regularly. This shouldn’t have happened.”

  She looks almost as drawn and tired as Dervish. This is hurting her. She still loves him. I know from her memories that nobody ever touched her heart the way Dervish did, even if he was unaware of it.

  “Who did you call?” I ask, to distract her.

  “Shark and Sharmila,” she says. “I tried a few others but they were the only pair who could come.”

  “Will two be enough?”

  “They’re two of the best. Do you know them?”

  “Sort of. Bill-E met them in a dream once.”

  She stares at me oddly, so I explain about the movie set of Slawter and a dream Bill-E, Grubbs and Dervish shared when they thought they were on a mission with Shark and Sharmila. It’s a complicated story. Meera knows bits of it, but not all the details. I fill her in, glad to have something to discuss, not wanting to think about Dervish and what he’s going through.

  A thought grows while I’m talking, and when I finish explaining about Slawter, I make a suggestion to Meera. “I can open a window to the Demonata’s universe. We can take Dervish through and find Beranabus. I’ll be stronger there. I can do more to help. Beranabus could help too.”

  “From what I know of Beranabus, he’s not the helping kind,” Meera mutters, considering the plan. “Could you find him immediately? Take us straight to him?”

  “No. We’d have to go through a couple of realms, maybe more.”

  She shakes her head. “We should stay. Dervish can’t fight and we don’t know what we’d find. There could be demons waiting for us there.”

  “I doubt it.”

  “There might be,” she insists. “We don’t know who was behind this attack. Maybe it was Lord Loss.”

  “I don’t think so. I touched one of the werewolves. I… I have a gift. I can learn things about people when I
touch them.”

  “What sort of things?” Meera frowns.

  “I read their minds. Access their secrets. Absorb their memories. I’ve been able to do it since I came back to life.”

  “Have you read my mind?” she asks sharply and I nod shamefully. “How much did you learn?”

  “A lot. But I’d never reveal what I know. I wouldn’t even have taken it, except I’ve no choice. Every time I touch someone, I steal from them. I can’t stop it.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” Meera asks, looking more confused than angry.

  “I would have eventually, but there was so much else to deal with…” I shrug it off. “Anyway, I touched one of the werewolves and saw into its mind. It was a jumble, shards of memory all mixed up. I couldn’t make sense of most of what I saw. But I learnt his name, who he was before he changed and who he was passed on to.”

  “Well, come on,” Meera says when I hesitate.

  “His name was Caspar,” I tell her. “He was a Grady. He turned into a werewolf when he was fourteen. His parents did what many of their kin do, and turned him over to the family executioners—the Lambs.” I know about the Lambs from the memories of Bill-E and Beranabus.

  “But the Lambs didn’t execute him,” Meera says, her expression fierce.

  “No. I’m assuming the other werewolves were family members scheduled for execution too. But all of them wound up here.”

  “The guys with the guns…”

  “They were probably working for the Lambs.”

  We stare at each other, then at Dervish lying unconscious by our feet. And the temperature of the room seems to drop ten degrees.

  Meera doesn’t understand why the Lambs would do this. They sometimes keep werewolves alive, to experiment on them in an attempt to unlock their genetic codes and discover a cure. But only with the parents’ permission.

  “I can picture them keeping the beasts alive on the quiet,” she says. “Very few parents care to commit their children to a lifetime of laboratory misery, even if they’ve turned into werewolves. It’s no surprise if the Lambs told them their kids had been executed, then kept them alive to study.