The Raven's Shadow: The Aegis of Merlin Book 4 Read online

  “I can smell you, mortals. Wherever you’re hiding, I’ll find you.”

  Nothing that evil should have such a beautiful voice. The demon could have been a professional singer. Maria choked off a hysterical giggle when she imagined the monster on one of the popular singing competitions. She had to focus.

  “Hurry,” Dad whispered. “There’s a right turn just a little ways further then a ladder down.”

  She made the turn a moment before another explosion sounded behind them. Dad urged her on and Maria broke into a trot. If the demon had found the hidden passage there was no point in keeping quiet.

  “So we have rats in the walls.” The demon’s voice echoed through the passage. “Good thing the exterminator’s here.”

  Maria tried to swallow, but her throat was too dry. The ladder was just ahead. If they put some distance between themselves and their hunter, maybe they had a chance of escaping. She put her foot on the first rung and clambered down. Aside from a slight vibration the ladder was secure.

  She made it to a small chamber at the bottom. There didn’t appear to be an exit.

  Her breath came in ragged gasps as she scrambled around for an exit. There had to be one. Dad wouldn’t have led them to a dead end.

  Dad hit the floor beside her and went directly to a section of wall no different from any other. He pressed a particular spot and a panel slid up revealing a number pad. When he input the code another door slid open.

  She darted through it and he joined her a moment later. Another long hall greeted them. They’d barely taken a step when something heavy landed in the now-empty chamber. Maria froze, terror gripping her heart. It was a magical effect, her rational mind recognized that, but her primitive mind screamed at her not to move. If she held still maybe the monster wouldn’t see her.

  The muffled ring of a cellphone broke the spell. It was clearly coming from the other side of the door. What she couldn’t understand was why a demon would have a phone in the first place and where the naked creature kept it.

  “I’m a little busy right now.” Maria heard the demon just as plain as day.

  Silence, followed by, “Are you certain? Hold on. No, I don’t want to disappoint Lady Dragon.”

  More silence.

  “Very well. My rat problem will keep for the moment.”

  The clang of the demon’s feet on the ladder climbing back up out of the hole set Maria free. She leaned against the wall and tried to calm her still-racing heart.

  Dad rubbed her back. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah. What was that about and who’s Lady Dragon?”

  “I couldn’t tell anything from the demon’s side of the conversation, but Lady Dragon is the leader of the Le Fay Society. She’s the one that delivered the ultimatum this morning. No one knows her true identity. If you’re up to it we need to move.”

  Maria pushed away from the wall and took a step down the hall. Ahead of them a panel clattered open.

  She took a step back before Angus’s white-haired head popped into view. “Thank god. I was beginning to think I’d never find a way out of these cursed passages.”

  Conryu draped his arm across his eyes and tried to sleep. The back seat of a car wasn’t the best place in the world to rest. His knees were almost touching his chin, the seatbelt was digging into his hip, and the sewer stink still lay over everything. Assuming they lived through the next day Conryu was going to have to spring for an auto detailing for Mrs. Kane. At least Kelsie’s lap made a good pillow.

  The car stopped and he looked out the window. Nothing but concrete walls and a pillar filled his vision. “Where are we?”

  “Parking garage.” Jonny switched the car off. “Figured it would be more out of the way than an open lot. Anything I can do?”

  Conryu covered his eyes again. “Not right now. Once I get my strength back we need to go to St. Sara’s Cemetery.”

  “No sweat, bro. Just say when.”

  Conryu raised his fist and Jonny gave it a bump.

  He didn’t think he actually slept, it was more a half-awake sort of thing. Conryu’s mind wandered, trying to make sense of the situation he found himself in. Sometimes it felt like only days ago when the government wizard told him he had wizard potential and other times it felt like a whole different life.

  “Master, I sense many people approaching.”

  “Probably shoppers returning to their cars.” Jonny yawned. “There’s a mall connected to this garage.”

  A gunshot rang out and a bullet slammed into the car. Conryu sat up, a blast of adrenaline washing away his exhaustion.

  More shots clattered against the door and windshield. Ten guys with machine guns and bulletproof vests were advancing up the ramp toward them.

  “How the hell did they find us?” Jonny had slid over into the passenger’s seat and hunkered down amidst shards of the window.

  “Beats me, but we can’t stay here. Kelsie, scoot out the door. Careful not to expose yourself.”

  She opened the door and slipped out. Conryu crawled across the seat and dropped to the ground. Jonny joined them a moment later. “What now?” he asked.

  Conryu flinched as a bullet ricocheted a little too close for comfort. “I was hoping you’d have a suggestion. You’re the soldier.”

  “Sorry, dude. Soldiers have guns and armor. I’m a civilian today.”

  “Master, this may prove to be a fortuitous turn of events.” Prime floated inches off the floor.

  “What?” Kelsie’s voice had turned shrill with fear.

  “Those men will provide you with an excellent source of life energy. You can put them out of commission and restore yourself at the same time.”

  He wasn’t thrilled about the thought of draining the life out of anyone. Another burst of gunfire made him duck. He wasn’t thrilled about getting shot either.

  Jonny lay on the ground and looked under the car. “They’re almost on us. Five seconds and we’ll be surrounded.”

  Kelsie clutched his arm. “Conryu.”

  This was no time to be squeamish. He eased free of Kelsie’s grip and focused. He wanted to drain the police enough to knock them out, not kill them. “Fingers of the Reaper, black and twisted. Reach for my enemies and claw the life from them. Feed me their souls that I may be strong, Reaper’s Grasp!”

  A wailing moan filled the air and black spirits exploded from Conryu. The nearest cop came around the car just in time to have a formless cloud of darkness pass through his body.

  The cop collapsed, twitching, to the concrete. Beyond the car the frightened cries mingled with the spirits’ moaning. Full auto sprays of gunfire went off seemingly at random.

  He sensed the first spirit returning before he saw it. The apparition slid through the car door like smoke and slipped into his chest. First cold then heat assaulted him. He stiffened as one after another of the spirits entered his body.

  Weakness was burned away and a power unlike anything he’d ever experienced filled him to bursting. When the final bit of energy entered him he gasped and leaned forward. “What a rush.”

  Jonny peeked over the hood. “I don’t see anything moving. I think we’re good for now.”

  Conryu pulled himself to his feet using the bullet-riddled car for leverage. He glanced at the collapsed officer. The man’s face was ghost white, but he was breathing which was more than they were willing to allow Conryu.

  He helped Kelsie to her feet. When she looked over the car roof at the bodies sprawled across the pavement she buried her face in his chest. He held her for a moment then stepped back. “It’s okay. I didn’t kill any of them.”

  Jonny cleared his throat. “I don’t think we should hang around here.”

  “Good call. Think you can find us a car?”

  Jonny grinned. “No problem.”

  While Jonny went car shopping Conryu sat on the hood of their current ride. Prime flew up beside him. “Are you well, Master?”

  “Better than that. I’m so buzzed I think I could tea
r that zombie thing apart with my bare hands.”

  “That’s a side effect of this particular spell. It’s also highly addictive. More than one dark wizard has fallen from the righteous path on a quest for ever more life energy. I wouldn’t recommend using it more than necessary.”

  Jonny pulled up in a beat-up blue coupe that looked older than Conryu. “Jump in.”

  Conryu grabbed the handle and gave it a yank. It came free in his hand. Jonny leaned across and opened it from the inside. It was so tight Kelsie practically had to sit in his lap.

  “Is this the best you could do?”

  “Give me a break. All the new cars have antitheft devices. This was the only one I could hot-wire. Beats walking, right?”

  “Barely.”

  Jonny shot him a middle finger and took off. They hadn’t gone a hundred yards when they found a heavy truck with police emblems on the side blocking their way.

  “Think they left the keys in it?” Conryu asked.

  “I’ll check.” Kelsie hopped out and ran over to the truck. A few seconds later she was back. “No dice.”

  “Looks like we’re walking after all.” Jonny reached down to untwist the wires.

  “Wait.” Conryu focused on the ground under the truck. “Reveal the way through infinite darkness. Open the path, Hell Portal!”

  The familiar black disk appeared under the front half of the truck. It teetered and fell in. The instant the rear end fell out of sight the portal snapped shut.

  Jonny grinned and they bumped fists. Conryu turned to Prime as Jonny drove off. “The demons won’t get mad if I drop a truck in their realm, will they?”

  “Hell is infinite, Master. The vehicle is a speck in an endless ocean. I doubt anyone will even notice it.”

  Conryu hoped so. The fine for littering in Hell was probably stiff.

  7

  Demons at the Department

  Terra stopped in front of the sealed storage room door and panted for breath. It had been a long run and she wasn’t as young as she used to be. At first she’d been concerned that the imposters had ordered everyone home early, now the empty halls came as a relief. The only way this could be worse was if she had to worry about the staff getting caught in the crossfire.

  Shizuku stared back the way they’d come. Terra sensed no pursuit, but the light magic user was more sensitive to dark magic than her. “Anything?”

  “It’s faint but getting closer. The male is definitely on our trail.”

  Terra swallowed a curse, placed her hand on the metal plate beside the door and spoke the release spell. The door popped open revealing shelf upon shelf covered in magical artifacts.

  “What is this place?” Sho asked.

  “Storage. We keep potentially dangerous or valuable magical items here.” She went in and soon came up with the Flame Fist Gauntlet. “This, for instance, will increase my fire magic a great deal.”

  The gauntlet was still sized for the biker that had last worn it. Terra slipped it on and like all magical items it altered itself to fit her hand as if it had been made for her.

  “Anything in there for light magic?” Shizuku asked.

  Terra rummaged around, looking for the crystal amulet they’d brought in last year. She knew it was here somewhere.

  Behind her Shizuku said, “Hurry, Terra, it’s coming.”

  Her search grew more frantic. Where was it? Something flashed in one of the bins. There! The clear crystal amulet had sunk to the bottom of the container. She fished it out and stepped into the hall.

  “Here.” Terra handed the artifact to Shizuku who slipped it over her neck. The demon was so close now Terra sensed it even with her limited awareness of dark magic.

  “This is a potent item.” Shizuku fingered the central gem.

  “Yeah, if we live through this I’ll tell you the story of how we ended up with it. Lin, Sho, stay behind us.” When the men had moved a safe distance back she said, “You bind it and I’ll burn the bastard to the ground.”

  Shizuku nodded and raised her hands. The heavy thumps of the demon’s tread vibrated the floor. It rounded the corner, its head brushing the ceiling. Had it gotten bigger? Muscles rippled under red skin stretched so tight it looked like it might tear.

  Shizuku chanted in Angelic. Light gathered around the amulet and when she finished, the light released. White portals appeared all around the demon and golden chains shot out, wrapping up its arms, legs, and neck.

  It thrashed and roared, snapping one of the chains immediately. Shizuku gestured and a new chain shot out to replace the broken one.

  Terra clenched her gauntlet-covered hand. “Flames of deepest earth consume all things in your path. Flames of creation and flames of destruction rise and devour, Volcanic Core!”

  She opened her hand and thrust it toward the ceiling. The floor trembled and tore open under the demon’s feet. White-hot flames spewed forth, hiding the demon from view. Terra squinted, but her focus never wavered. Deep in the heart of the inferno a dark figure struggled.

  The demon pressed through the flames, breaking more chains as it went. It was going to escape and if it did they’d never stop it before it tore them all to pieces.

  The steel beams her spell exposed twisted and wrapped around the demon, keeping it from moving beyond the fire. Shizuku sent still more chains. Despite all that it continued to struggle to free itself.

  Terra focused her will on the gauntlet and demanded it give more power. She had to end it now. The flames intensified until she couldn’t even make out the shadow of the demon.

  The floor above came crashing down, smashing through their floor and continuing on until the debris hit the lobby. Terra ended the spell. Nothing of the demon remained.

  On the opposite side of the hole she’d burned in the floor stood Clair who, despite the danger, wore a huge grin. Terra understood completely. The moment the metal twisted she’d known Clair had regained her magic. For a wizard there was no greater joy.

  “Excellent timing.” Terra blew out a sigh and started to pull the gauntlet off.

  Lin laid a hand on her shoulder. “You should keep that until we deal with the one upstairs.”

  The one upstairs. For half a minute she’d forgotten the succubus. She tugged the gauntlet back on tight. Dealing with that one would be tricky since it was holding the mayor hostage. She certainly wouldn’t be able to use Volcanic Core on her.

  “Maybe you’d better fill me in,” Clair said.

  “We’ll talk as we walk. I need to check on Orin and Maria.” Shizuku made no move to take off her borrowed amulet.

  It went against protocol to let her keep using it, but under the circumstances Terra figured it was the best option. “Let’s go.”

  Maria’s heart about stopped when Angus’s head appeared in the passage. She was starting to think she really wasn’t cut out for adventure. A quiet little business far away from anything anyone would ever want to hold hostage sounded really good right now. She brushed a cobweb aside and did her best to ignore the musty, stale air.

  “Angus.” Her father had assumed the lead since he was the only one that knew his way around the passages. “How did you get in here?”

  “I found the hidden access one day quite by accident when I stumbled against the wall and it slid open. Imagine my surprise. I had no idea the Department building even had hidden paths. I never did anything about it, but after I called Conryu it occurred to me that making myself scarce would be a prudent decision. I retreated to my office and entered the passages whereupon I got utterly lost.”

  “Don’t feel too bad. I spent the better part of three weeks memorizing the layout of these passages. They’re designed in an intentionally haphazard way to make it hard for those not familiar with them.”

  “I’ll happily attest to their effectiveness. By the way, how is Conryu?”

  “Okay as of a couple hours ago,” Maria said. “He’s disabled at least one of the artifacts and most likely a second by now.”

  Angu
s shook his head, sending white hair waving in every direction. “The boy’s a marvel. Just imagine, after he saves the city he’ll be even more famous. A true hero in every sense of the word, just like Merlin.”

  Maria wanted to slap him for bringing up his pet theory even when they were running for their lives. The last thing Conryu wanted was to be more famous. He was only doing this because no one else could.

  An explosion sent dust raining down on her. “Dad?”

  “Sounds like your mother and the others are back at it. Let’s pick up the pace. I don’t want to be in here if something collapses.”

  “Like what?” Angus’s question came out as more of a croak.

  “Like the building.”

  “What?” Angus staggered against the wall when another blast shook the floor.

  Maria knew enough about the design of the Department’s wards to know the odds of the whole building coming down on their heads was vanishingly small. She allowed herself a small smile. It was good that her father could still tease Angus, even in these circumstances. For some reason that, more than anything, made her believe they had a better chance to win this than they probably did.

  They went down another floor before Dad finally led them to an exit. They stepped out into an office filled with books and papers. A green-and-red tartan hung on the wall above a cluttered desk.

  “You found my office.” Angus rushed over to his chair, slumped into it, and let out a groan. “God, that feels good. I was afraid if I didn’t get off my feet soon I was going to faint.”

  The two guest chairs were filled with notebooks and papers. Maria cleared them off so she and her father would have a place to sit. “What are we going to do now?”

  “That depends on Terra and your mother.” Dad took the laptop and opened it. He searched through the various camera feeds until a smoke-filled image filled the screen. “Uh-oh.”

  A huge hole had been blown in the floor. There was no sign of Mom or the others, but there weren’t any bodies either. That was something.