Dearest Mother of Mine

I stood and saw a shimmer as a portal opened just beyond the trees on the road. Black-clad Templars poured from within, spreading out, and running until I lost sight of them in the tree line. I heard a whoosh. Something slammed into my back. I smelled burning cloth as I slid face-first down the roof straight toward the gaping maw of the fire demon. The ice creature lunged for me. I pushed my hands against the roof, flinging myself in the air at the last minute, flipping upside down. Time seemed to slow. I saw the ice demon's claw swiping for me. Saw the fire demon's gaping maw opening to swallow me. The sky came into view. My back slammed onto something hard, and time flickered back to normal. Searing heat crackled into my flesh. My hand caught on a fiery horn just before I slid off the head of the fire demon. I twisted, trying to ignore the furnace boiling against my skin, and gained my feet.



A roar ripped from my throat. I gripped the horn and jerked. The volcanic flesh around the base cracked. My tail wrapped around the other horn. Ignoring the sizzling of my own flesh, I bellowed and jerked on the first horn with both hands. The horn tore loose, blood like lava dripping from the root. The fire demon screamed and swiped at me. Jerking hard, my tail instinctually whisked me backward. The creature's fist slammed its own head. My feet lost purchase, and I dangled upside down by my tail. I saw the ice demon's blank face. It lunged for me, claws whistling through the air. Somehow, I pushed off the fire demon's face with one hand, swinging away just in time. The ice monster's blow caught its sibling in the top of the head. Rocky flesh crumbled away, revealing glowing orange lava beneath.



Still hanging on with my tail, I planted my feet against the fire demon's head and swung myself around the remaining horn. At the peak, I jumped, reversed the grip on the uprooted horn, and drove the point into his left eye. Orange fluid jetted from the burst orb. In my peripheral vision, I saw blue claws swinging toward me. Gripping the fire demon's remaining horn with both hands, I jerked hard, baring the monster's face.



Icy blue claws gouged chunks from its face.



The fire demon had apparently had enough. Ceasing its attempts to grab me, it gripped its fellow monster by the throat and slammed it against the side of the mansion. Steam hissed as ice and fire came into contact. The mansion's stone façade could take no more and cracked. As the demons fought, I leapt to the deck, my feet crushing a table beneath me.



Remembering the effort the demon summoners had put into keeping the ice demon from beating on its comrade, I knew the fire demon controllers must be struggling with their monster right about now. I climbed to the roof and raced along it. At the far end, I leapt to a tree, dug my claws into the wood, and slid down, shedding bark and drawing deep gouges. I hit the ground in front of a startled battle mage. He fired a stream of blue orbs at me. I ducked and rolled beneath. Came up beneath the man and hit him with an uppercut.



Bones crunched and his body flew up about twenty feet before thudding back to earth in a lifeless heap. I had no time to feel guilt as a beam of light splintered a nearby tree. A moggie streaked past me, taking the attacker down in a flurry of claws, fangs, and a spray of blood. A wave of screaming energy from an unseen attacker ripped into the giant cat, shredding its flesh like moldy cloth. Dark blood spurted from the feline as the death wave ripped through it. The moggie made a horrific mewling sound before collapsing.



Pro tip: Stay out of the way of those death waves.



I dodged through trees, found another man hiding, and bashed his head against a stump. Ahead, I saw the demon summoners, teeth clenched, eyes squeezed shut as they fought to regain control. I picked up a nearby log a few feet in length, and hurled it at the man on the left. It slammed into his chest, knocking him backward into the brush. The other man's eyes flashed wide, and he screamed. A ring of energy from the summoning rune pulsed outward, cleaving trees, and slicing the man in half like deli ham.



Flicking into incubus sight, I watched as the glowing tether crackled with energy. The rune might hold the demon from wandering far, but no one controlled it now. A bellow rose from the direction of the house. I looked in time to see the two demons clawing at each other with raw abandon, everything else forgotten. Lightning flashed from the vortex beneath the ice demon, spraying shards of volcanic flesh from the fire demon through the air.



Templars appeared from the trees, lancers and swords at the ready. They saw me, but thankfully seemed to know I wasn't a threat—just a demon boy in the most ragged jeans a designer could ever hope to fashion. A beefy figure appeared and touched his neck. The mask peeled down his face, vanishing to reveal the square jaw and piercing violet eyes of Michael Borathen.



"We incapacitated the summoners on the other side," he said. "We have to hope the demons engage each other until their power runs out and banishes them."



"Sir," said a female voice from one of the Templars, her face hidden behind the mask. "Exorcists are on the way. They should be able to control the demons until they expire."



Michael nodded, sparing words as usual.



My shoulders sagged with relief. I suddenly felt so very tired. But I also felt safe enough to push back my own demon, shrinking down to my relatively diminutive six feet. Michael tossed me a black belt from within his pack. I secured it around my waist with one hand, and touched the hem. Nightingale armor flowed down my legs beneath the jeans, and I tore off the ragged remains with a grunt, letting them fall to the ground after retrieving my phone from a pocket. Maybe they'd be useful in a Paris fashion show, but I was done with them.



"Where are the captured mages?" I asked, my mind suddenly flicking to the mastermind behind this assault. "Is Maulin Kassus here?"



"I don't know," Michael said. "The OPFORs fled when we engaged. Some escaped."



"No, he's got to be here," I said. "He's got to!"



I raced through the woods, looking at the scattered bodies of brotherhood members. I found a gaggle of bound and unconscious battle mages in a makeshift Templar holding area. It only took me a minute to realize Kassus wasn't among them.



Exorcists—apparently a division of the Templars designated to counter demon threats—appeared moments later. They contained the raging demons by draining the power from the runes until the monsters howled and collapsed, their bodies crumbling to elemental forms, as their demon spirits were sucked back into the demon realm.



Despite my exhaustion, I combed the woods, looking and hoping to find the man responsible. Elyssa found me, took me by the arm, and directed me back to the house. I was too weak to resist her. As night settled in, Michael came inside and reported.



"Maulin Kassus isn't here," he said. "He must have escaped."



"No, no, no," I groaned, feebly attempting to pound the table. The world blurred, and I slumped, fatigue weighing heavy in every inch of my body.



"Justin, you need to feed," Elyssa said. "Please."



Fighting back useless anger, I nodded. It was over. We had won.



But we had also lost.



Chapter 37



It took all my effort not to drain Elyssa. Her shoulders shuddered as she fought the sexual urges caused by my voracious feeding. Despite the still-clawing hunger, I stopped, afraid I would hurt her.



"Are you better?" she asked, panting, tears glistening in the corners of her eyes.



I managed a nod, and must have fallen asleep right after.



I jerked awake. Looked wildly around the room, and found Elyssa sleeping next to me. Daylight streamed through the window. I was famished in more ways than one, my stomach growling for food, and my demon snapping for sustenance. I didn't dare feed from Elyssa. Her face looked too pale for her fair skin. She must have been exhausted when she offered herself to me last night. I'd drained her too much. My stomach knotted as I kissed her forehead.



She moaned and continued to sleep. Ordinarily, she would have sprung awake. She needed blood. I ran downstairs, fetched some blood packs and boiled eggs from the refrigerator. Upstairs, I sat next to Elyssa, nomming on eggs and waiting. She stirred. Blinked sleep from her eyes.



"Justin?" she asked in a weak voice.



I pulled the tab on a blood pack to heat it up. Propping her up with my hand, I held it to her mouth. Her nostrils flared. Fangs protruded from behind her lips. She grabbed the pack and drained it. I opened the other one and handed it to her. This one she sucked on in a more controlled manner.



"You know how to make a girl feel good," she said with a smile, licking blood from her full lips. "I was too tired to move last night."



"It's my fault," I said. "I took too much from you."



She smiled, caressing my jaw with her hand. "Anything for you, my hero."



"Are you bound by an oath not to feed from people?" I asked. She usually refused when I tried to return the favor.



Her eyes went distant. "I used to think it was evil. Then again, I used to think a lot of things were evil before I met you." A smile graced her face.



"Now that you know real evil, will you please feel comfortable taking blood from me? I hate seeing you so tired. You've told me before blood packs don't taste very good."



She nodded slowly. "We'll see."



I leaned back and groaned, rubbing my face. "I can't believe we went through so much and still lost Kassus last night."



Elyssa lay her head on my chest. "He probably left the minute he saw things spin out of control."



"I'm going after him," I said. "Today. Even if I have to march down to Darkwater headquarters and take him by force."



"You'll do no such thing," Elyssa said, turning hard eyes on me. "My father now believes the Templars have jurisdiction to go after him. They'll arrest him and bring him in."



"Really?" I asked. "But won't Kassus claim it's an internal Arcane matter?"



"He and his men attacked supers who aren't Arcanes, including you," she said. "Kassus crossed the line."



"He's attacked me before. Why didn't your father arrest him then?"



"Because it wasn't in public. This time, there were plenty of witnesses. It's a slam dunk." She raised an eyebrow. "I say we sit back and relax while he does his job. You'll have Kassus's blood by this afternoon."