The Demon's Game (41 page)

“Yeah, women can do that. Speaking of women, I haven’t
seen Meri in more than a week and I was only supposed to be gone a few days.
I’m going to go inform her that I’m still alive. I should be back in an hour or
so.”

“Okay. Say hello to her for me.”

He agreed and left me alone in the room. Divina
appeared a few minutes later and sat on the bed next to me. “Ghidorah is taking
care of it?” she asked.

“Yep.”

“Good, because if a woman ever kisses you again, I
will kill her. Painfully. Repeatedly even.”

“I know.”

“I couldn’t find Nila or his guard. What I did find
was Vretial’s energy all over the place.”

“Why would he prevent you from finding Nila? What
does he even know about the High King?” I asked.

“I don’t know. I’ll try again in a little while. I
assume they won’t starve in the next two hours.”

We both sat in a comfortable silence. I felt Mordon’s
trepidation a good ten minutes before he knocked on the door. I sighed, for my
life would never be easy. “Yes?” I asked.

He entered the room and held out a crinkled note.
“Taylor is here. They killed Jeffery. They also left a note, which Taylor read
to me,” he said, handing it over.

Did you really think it would be that easy? Meet
me in the woods behind the hospital or the children will be next.

I sighed and handed the note back to him. “Is Taylor
okay? Is Jeffery’s family okay?”

“He didn’t have a family. Taylor gave him a few days
off and went over this morning to check on him. Do you think you can handle
Ilea today?”

“I don’t really have a choice. Let’s go get the
kids.”

The seven of us planned our course of attack, but it
mostly consisted of them treating me like spun glass. With the bracelet
stopping me from using magic, I was virtually useless, but they didn’t need to
make it so blatantly obvious. Luckily, nobody brought up my cat.

Everyone broke up the meet to get their last minute
preparation done. I knocked on Ron and Hail’s door a little while later and
opened it. Hail was sitting on Ron’s bed, leaning back against the wall. Ron
was lying with his head in Hail’s lap. I knew he was still very upset over the
balance taking control of him.

“Hell, can I talk to your brother alone for a
minute?” I asked. My older son nodded, scooted Ron off of him, and left the
room. I closed the door behind him. “Do you know that when Mordon and I were on
Skrev, I was a cat?”

“Yeah. It was Ghidorah’s magic. He gave you a beast
like Mordon had Rojan.”

“Did you know that my cat and Mordon’s dragon tried
to fight?”

He shook his head. “I don’t see how that could
happen. I mean, I guess your cat and his dragon are excluded from the balance
that you and Mordon have.”

I sighed. “Then if you don’t know why, I can’t risk
it. I can still shift into the cat, and I’m afraid if I do, he’ll try to hurt
Mordon. I need you to destroy the cat. Can you do it?” I asked. I could feel
the creature in question in the back of my mind try to fight the mental caged I
had him in. I hated this, because he had saved mine and Mordon’s life… but he
had also attacked Mordon.

Ron’s eyes widened, but he nodded. “Your cat can save
you from---”

I reached out my hand and focused on the image of
Mordon’s dragon in my mind. My fingers instantly shifted into claws and the
cat’s anger bubbled into a hiss until it burst from me. Pushing him back was
even harder this time. “He saved my life and I am grateful, but unless there is
a way to prevent him from ever being able to hurt Mordon, I cannot take any
chances. Destroy the cat.”

“I don’t want to do it. You have another advantage
against the enemy and I don’t want to take that away. I… don’t want to kill the
cat that saved you.”

“I know.” I sighed and ran my fingers through his
hair. Unfortunately, I knew with every fiber of my being that the cat would
come out without my control eventually. That was one thing I could never afford
to lose; control over myself. “Please do it.”

Ron put both his hands on my chest and the energy
that entered me was icy cold. I fell to my knees as my body grew numb and I
realized why the cat could never live with Mordon. The cat was created from a
part of me I never wanted to exist; a creation of the ferocity and wildness in
my soul. He was an image of everything in me that didn’t want to be protected.
Somewhere in my heart, I had the potential to snap and kill anyone who pissed
me off. The cat would do just that.

Mordon, on the other hand, would never let that
happen. His dragon would kill so I didn’t have to and he would smack me if I
tried to do something stupid. Mordon was everything he needed to be to keep
that side of me at bay. Of course the cat would hate him.

But he still saved our lives. The cat yowled one last
time.

Edward

The energy of Duran surrounded me the instant I
returned to my world. I breathed in the scent of the forest as I absorbed the
energy. My cabin before me was as it had been for many years because although I
rebuilt it when it was damaged and replaced worn parts over the years, I never
changed the layout or appearance of it. I liked my cabin. It had everything I
needed and nothing extra that could be a hindrance.

The door opened and Meri stepped out. She looked so
relieved to see me that I didn’t know what to say. After a few minutes, she sat
down on one of the chairs at the porch.

“Well, sit down,” she said. I walked up the steps and
sat in the chair next to her. “You were supposed to be back days ago.”

“I know.”

“I woke up this morning and heard a knock on the
door. My first thought wasn’t that it was you but Dylan coming to tell me you
didn’t make it.”

This is it. This is how it always starts.
“Are
you saying you want to go back to Kahún?”

“Absolutely not. Knowing you’re out there endangering
yourself is agony, but it’s worth it when you come home. When you fight your
enemies and make this world a better place, I want you to know someone is at
home, waiting for you. I want you to know my heart will be crushed if you
died.”

“You’re not going to tell me to leave everything to
Dylan and stay home with you?” Every woman I was with wanted to be the center
of my world. In fact, most
expected
to be. They wanted me to give up who
I was to be their husband, and although it hurt, that was never an option for
me.

“I would never suggest that. I knew when I first met
you what kind of man you were. I know this is too important to you, and more
than safe, I want you to be happy.”

This was where Meri differed from every single woman
I was ever involved with; she was willing to put my happiness ahead of hers.
“Are you happy?” I asked her.

She put her hand on mine. “When you come home. Have
you seen Dylan lately?”

“Yes. He’s having a problem with some demons. I’m
thinking maybe you should go back to Kahún for a few days, where you will be
safe.”

“Since magic has returned to Kahún, I wouldn’t call
it very safe. It is nice to be able to do magic, but after growing up hearing
that it was wrong, I find it difficult to adapt to. It is sort of like my
entire life up until that point was useless. My knowledge, my career, and my
contacts were all the best around, but now none of them mean anything. I’m fine
with it, because I know life can be better for my people. There were many
wizards of Kahún who suffered without understanding what they were missing.”

“I imagine it was very confusing for them,” I said.

“How did you hide yourself from Azenoth?”

“I’m not sure, really. Everyone at that time was
having trouble with their books. Rasik lost his and then I lost mine. I don’t
believe the connection to my book was truly severed because I think I would
have died in that case, but it was very nearly so. I was able to use it to my
advantage in hiding from the gods. It was pretty fortunate that I was lost on
Kahún.”

“So, how was that different than when the gates were
opening?”

“It wasn’t much different. The opening gates were not
what attacked us or caused Shiloh to lose his powers.”

“Did you ever find out what it was?”

“All we know is that it was someone powerful enough
to spy on us. Most likely, it was someone we all knew, because we were targeted
differently. Nano, who is known for being an informant, disappeared. Shiloh,
who has access to the most technologically advanced weapons in this universe,
lost his powers. Rilryn, the escape artist, was left abandoned in the Land of
the Iadnah.”

“So you don’t think any of the Guardians betrayed the
gods?”

“We were all there on Duran when we were spied on. That
was when Dylan and Mordon saw it become dark. I still don’t know why they saw
it as dark and we didn’t.”

“Who was missing at that moment?” she asked.

“Emrys, but we found out Dylan sent him to Lore.”

“Who else? Was anyone else missing? Think back. Picture
the moment in your head. Where was everyone?”

I sat back in my chair and tried to remember the
details of that moment. “I was facing Dylan. Mordon was on his right and Rilryn
was on his left. The griffins were there, too. Ghidorah was to my left. I can’t
remember anything else because Samorde was freaking out.”

“Why was he singled out?”

“Samorde, Rasik, and Rilryn are always getting in
trouble. Rilryn used to get into trouble with Ronez, but they could handle
themselves. Samorde and Rasik are usually the first to be singled out by the
enemy. Nano and I used to have to save Rasik at every turn, while Shiloh and
Ghidorah protected Samorde.”

“You could use them as decoys,” Meri suggested. When
I frowned at her, she shrugged. “I’m not saying you should put them in danger,
but there is no denying that sometimes giving the enemy a hostage can be a
fantastic trap.”

It hit me like a ton of bricks and I stood quickly
enough that the chair I was sitting in was knocked over. “I know who betrayed
us. I have to get to Dylan.”

“Kiro!” Meri screamed. Before I could react, the
porch was engulfed in deep shadow. I felt the presence behind me and drew as
much energy as I could manage in an instant. Forming lightning in my fists, I
started to turn… and everything was dark.

Dylan

Ilea and her entourage of demons were waiting for us
when we arrived. I only had Mordon, Xul, and Divina with me, as Ghidorah was
babysitting and Edward was still visiting his girlfriend.

When Ilea killed Jeffery, it was just to get my
attention. She must have known it would get to me, which meant it was my fault.
It was a waste for him to die like that. With this in mind, I faced her with
the intention of ending this once and for all. Like my cat, I had no mercy.

But then I saw the demons around her. They all had a
reason for being on her side, and I considered it for the first time. All the
demons of this town were born here, however; these invaders had a reason for
being here as well. Xul was willing to make a deal with me for just about
anything in order to stay out of the void. Perhaps some of these demons really
didn’t care about fighting me; they just wanted to escape eternity in the
abyss.

“I’m shocked you had the balls to show up,” Ilea
laughed. “I thought I would have to kill every one of those vermin you rescued.
But hey, whatever, I’ll kill them after I’m done with you.”

“What did you promise your flock to make them follow
you?”

“That I will crush the pathetic mortals and conquer
this realm. Those who serve me will thrive with me.”

“That’s a tall order. Why didn’t you ask me to join
you?” I asked. Her startled expression was exactly the reaction I was looking
for. “Were you too afraid to come to me? I have a phone, you know. You could
have hit me up… maybe ‘hey, Dylan, I’m conquering Earth, want to join forces?’
No, what I get is a dead body and a half-assed invitation to a duel. But I’m
not bitter. Here, I’ll show you: Join my side, and I won’t send your sorry ass
back to the void where you belong.”

They all stared at me in confusion. Two demons in
particular kept glancing between Ilea and me. These two caught my attention
because they were identical in appearance except for their hair. They both
appeared to be in their early twenties with almost too thin bodies, bright blue
eyes, and short, shaggy hair. The only differentiating feature in the two was
that one of them had vibrant blue hair and the other had deep red hair with
flaming yellow streaks.

“No, I’m serious. I am legitimately showing mercy
right now. Come to the good side. My son is an awesome baker, so we have
cookies and everything.” I looked at the red-headed demon. “Has she offered you
cookies?”

He shook his head and stepped closer to his brother.

“None of my men are foolish enough to listen to you.
You would just turn around and kill them if they joined you.”

I looked at Xul, who stood diligently to my left.
“How many times have I killed you since you joined me?” I asked.

“I can’t recall, master.”

“See? He has no complaints. Really, you don’t even
have to fight in this battle. All you have to do is not attack me or my side,
and agree not to hurt or kill people. I’m not even asking for anyone to serve
me. If you agree not to hurt or kill people, you don’t have to return to the
void. Call it a ‘three-minute immigration’ day.”

“Really? We just have to agree not to kill anyone and
we’re free? We don’t have to fight your battles or anything?” the blue-haired
demon asked.

“That’s right.”

Ilea snarled and turned to attack them, but my wife
was faster in putting a shield around them. Ilea’s magic rebounded and hit one
of her demons, who instantly burst into ash. The twin demons ran to my side and
hid behind me.

“We promise not to hurt or kill anyone,” they both
chorused in unison.

“Welcome to Earth. You’re free. You can run off to
safety and I’ll find you a nice apartment or house in town as soon as we’re
done here.”

They didn’t argue, but they didn’t run away, either.
Two more demons ran to my side, afraid of being attacked by Ilea. When they
pledged not to harm anyone and I told them they were free, they ran as fast as
they could. Others looked like they were considering it, but none of them
acted.

“You free them, yet you keep
him
as your pet?”
Ilea asked, indicating Xul.

He smirked. “I would take being his pet over yours
any day.”

“You are weak.”

“And you are a bitch. With demons foul as you ruling
our race, no wonder humans believe we are from Hell. It is
you
who makes
it Hell, at least for me. You can’t imagine how sick I felt thinking I would
have to see your haggish face every single day of eternity.”

“No worse than I felt knowing the best our race could
offer was you. I would have been better off mating a minor demon.”

“You would have been lucky to marry an incubus. You
think I couldn’t smell him on you? You are not that sly!”

“What are you talking about?!” Mordon asked.

I scoffed. “They’re mated,” I said. “I’m just trying
to figure out how.”

“That’s how things work in the void; it isn’t about
love. The strong mate with the strong, whether we like each other or not. Why
did you think I didn’t want to go back there?” Xul asked.

Before I could respond, Ghidorah appeared with the
boys. Without saying a word, he pushed the Guardian pendant around his neck. My
pendant lit with a bright red light to tell me one of them had been activated.

Shiloh, Azyle, Nano, and Samorde appeared. Since
Rilryn, Rasik, and Emrys were absent, I assumed they were too busy to show up.
However, Edward didn’t appear either, which was suspicious.

“I haven’t exactly been sitting around idle while you
prepared to fight by yourself, Dylan,” Ghidorah said.

Then others started appearing; Vivian, Nila, Tomie,
Krael, Deona, Mai, Ket, Dyeba, Ishte-mor, Krayer, Shinobu, Hobbly, people I
worked with in town, the people and demons we rescued… even my mother appeared.
There were people I hadn’t seen in ten years and people I came in contact with
but I didn’t get their names from multiple worlds. The incoming grew faster to
include those I was sure I never met until I thought the woods would be filled
to the brim. Then my father appeared, along with many more demons. Finally,
just when I thought it was over, each of the gods except for Vretial appeared
to form a solid line of support at my back. These people were all here to back
me up.

I turned to Ilea, who stared in absolute shock with
the rest of her army, and raised my fist to show off the bracelet. “This is my
power. Not my energy,” I wiggled my wrist with the bracelet. “My power is my
friends and family. You cannot beat me because I am more than magic. I will
fight for what is right whether it’s difficult or not. I will never betray my
friends, I will never turn my back on those who need me, and I will never let
this universe be conquered. This realm is ours! If you want to live here, you
do it by our rules.”

“What gives you the right to make the rules?” she
asked.

“I didn’t make the rules.”

“We did,” Regivus said. “We created these worlds with
our magic and our work. We created our people with patience and skill. Our
Guardians defend it, Dylan more than anyone else. Dylan has our full support.
It is his heart, however, that garners the loyalty of nearly everyone he comes
by. Even the family and friends of those he helps are willing to stand by him.
That should tell you something.”

“He has no power.”

“You are wrong,” Divina said. “You can block his
magic, but not his heart. These people don’t care about his magic; they care
that he helped them when they needed him just because he could. His power is
something that can never be defeated. Even if you could kill him, more and more
people, beasts, and demons, will riot in his name.”

“And I hate riots, so please don’t test that
hypothesis,” I said. I could feel Mordon roll his eyes.

“You think you won, but you have traitors among you,
mortal,” the demon sneered.

“You mean Nano? Nope, he was on my train the whole
ride.” That caught her off guard and I knew I was correct.

“Dylan, how did you…?” Nano trailed off.

“It’s obvious,” I said. “Vivian has been crying and
she and Nila are both covered in reddish dirt, while you’re clean as a whistle,
but dressed in black. Ilea had a split second of relief on her face when she
saw you, while Vivian had a mix of horror and heartache. I know you wouldn’t
actually betray me, because that would mean betraying Vivian, who you love more
than anyone. I also know it takes a lot to make Vivian cry. Therefore, it’s
obvious that you’ve been playing the demons and haven’t been able to tell
Vivian for her own sake.” They all stared at me, so I looked at Mordon. “Wasn’t
that obvious?”

He patted me on the shoulder. “Sure it was, buddy.”

“Your offer for mercy… that extends to me, too,
right?” Ilea asked slowly. I could see it behind her eyes that she was looking
for a way to manipulate the situation to her advantage.

Mordon opened his mouth and I patted his hand to stop
him. “If you promise not to harm anyone, you will be welcome here for as long
as you keep that promise. That includes forcing others to do your bidding.”

She smiled brightly, but I knew that particular smile
from dealing with Emiko. “Then I surrender. And I offer you a gift. Since these
two so readily pledged themselves to you, I think it’s only fair to make up for
destroying Janus. You two, kneel before Dylan,” she barked at the red and blue
haired demons. As if acting instinctively, both demons came forward and knelt
on the ground as ordered. “Choose the next guardian of the void. Whoever you
don’t choose will be killed immediately.”

“They have both already been freed,” I explained to
the stubborn demon.

“We choose to serve you, Dylan. We prefer balance to
mercy and for your pardon, we wish to make it up to you,” the blue-headed demon
said.

His brother looked suspicious. “But we’re not going
to be your pets.”

“Why would you choose to be guardians of the void
when you were just freed from it a few minutes ago?”

“Until Janus is found, someone must guard the
barriers in his stead. Without him, there will be nothing left here.”

“Zeb, are either of these demons powerful enough to
control the others?” I asked.

“No, master. Ilea would have either one chasing his
tail in no time flat. It is her intention to make you think you are in charge
while she acts behind your back.”

“What about them together?”

He considered it. “That would be possible.”

“You can only choose one,” Ilea snarled.

“Master, I believe she’s forgotten who she is talking
to. Would you like me to silence her?”

“No need,” Divina said, but it was Ron who stepped
forward.

My nine-year-old’s eyes had changed from their bright
green to an eerie milky green color and his expression was cold. “Demon, by
making peace with Dylan specifically for you own gain, you have threatened the
balance.”

“How have I threatened the balance?”

“You seek to rule the realm with Dylan’s magic. There
are many paths ahead where you could betray the balance. I cannot let this
pass.”

I tried to stop my son, but the bracelet sparked
against my skin and my magic failed to respond. White light shot from Ron’s
hand and Ilea burst into ash. Apparently, she hadn’t inhabited a body like the
other Ancients preferred to.

Then Ron turned to me and there was no recognition in
his eyes. Hail and Mordon both tried to force themselves between me and Ron,
but I pushed them away. Although Hail was clearly talking to Ron through their
bond, Ron wasn’t having it. Divina put a shield over me, which I knew wouldn’t
hold up against the balance.

Mordon pushed me away and I actually lost my balance,
but Ghidorah caught me. God, the guy was huge. When Ron raised his hand to me,
Hail wrapped his arms around Ron from behind. Ron hesitated and his eyes
started to change back to their darker color.

Suddenly, Ron shook his head and collapsed in Hail’s
arms. Ghidorah let me go, but as he tried to steady me, his hand closed on the
bracelet… and pulled. The metal cuff snapped off easily and I just stared in
shock as it hit the ground.

I was so stupid. Ghidorah’s judgments were acts of
the balance. Ghidorah was, if anything, a servant of the balance; he could have
taken it off at any time.

The rest of the demons either returned to the void or
waited patiently to pledge not to harm anyone. “Zeb, take care of them,” I
said. Realizing the danger was over and we had won, the gods began returning
the people to their own worlds. I wanted to thank them, but they seemed to be
in a hurry and I was more worried about Edward.

“You need to know the names of your two new demons,”
Xul said. “If they are going to keep the demons of the void in line, they will
need your support and guidance. They are both young and need training. They
could also do with a secondary name, like how I go by Zeb.”

“I will support them, but I have someone else in mind
to train them.”

“Hello, son.”

I turned to see my father, who was nearly identical
to Edward. Every time I saw him was bittersweet, because I knew he was dead and
lost to me. “Hi,” I said weakly. He hugged me and I couldn’t get my arms to
move to hug him back. Mordon stepped behind my father.

“You’re doing it wrong,” he whispered and took my
arms to forcefully wrap them around Ronez.

We both laughed and separated. “Do you think you can
train these two to take Janus’s place? Is Janus really even dead?” I asked.

“I don’t think Janus is dead, but he certainly is
missing, and the void needs a warden. I can shape these two up, but your demon
is right; you need to know their names. Without it, if they get out of line,
you cannot do much.”

I looked at the two demons who were both still
kneeling in the dirt. A word whispered across my mind, as foreign as the
Enochian language, and the blue-haired demon raised his eyes. I nodded that I
heard him. His brother met my eyes and another word appeared in my head. Both
of the demons were skittish, but they were honorable according to their
customs.