Spells & Ashes Read online

  “Spare me, Faris,” I sighed, though heat rushed to my face. Why was it always about sex with this demon? “My grandfather is right there,” I said, angling my head to the left.

  “And me,” commented Poe, ruffling his feathers as though he were trying to shake something vile off of him.

  Faris made a face, his eyes to my left. “Gordon,” said the demon in way of greeting. “I see you’re still around. Haven’t kicked the bucket yet, eh, old boy? And still wearing your hospital gown, I see.”

  “It’s a bathrobe, you half-wit,” growled my grandfather.

  Faris’s smiled widened. “Honest mistake.”

  My grandfather’s face darkened. “Why don’t you choke on a cauldron, Demon.”

  The demon raised his hands in mock surrender. “Oh, dear. I’m shaking in my pants. At least I have the decency to wear pants.”

  “Faris,” I exclaimed, trying to keep the anger in my voice to an acceptable limit. This was going to be a very long night. “Give it a rest. Will you? I need your help.” I opened my mouth and closed it again. “Is that... is that lipstick on your chest?”

  The demon smiled, revealing his straight, pearly whites. “Why yes, darling. I was in the middle of a performance, if you will. The ladies loved it.” He looked down at his crotch. “Standing ovation.”

  God help me. “That’s nice.” Not really. “Listen, I didn’t summon you here to hear about your... whatever it was you were doing. I called you because I need you to look at this, and tell me what it means.” I handed the demon my phone.

  Faris took the phone and began to scroll through all the pictures. “Who’s the dead kid?”

  Right, I had taken a few pictures of Julia too. My chest tightened at the memory of her neck snapping again. “Her name was Julia. I tried to perform an exorcism on her, but it didn’t work.” I didn’t see the point in lying to Faris. Besides, he had a knack for seeing through my lies.

  The demon raised his brows. “Obviously.”

  Now he was starting to piss me off. “What can you tell me about those symbols? I’ve never seen anything like them before.” I took a breath and added, “Do you know of any demon that resisted an exorcist lately?”

  Faris looked up from the phone. “And what do I get in return for my... services?”

  I rolled my eyes. “What do you want?”

  The demon’s face lit up. “You know what I want.”

  “Something else,” I warned and heard my grandfather mutter something under his breath. When the demon said nothing, I added, “Please, Faris. This is important. I can’t have a demon going around possessing little girls and killing them. It’s bad for business when my skills as an exorcist are being questioned.”

  “Naturally,” muttered the demon. “And what else?”

  “And,” I continued, suddenly feeling tired and hungry again. “I want to be prepared the next time I face the bastard. Because I will go after him.” I swear it on the cauldron. “I want to know how to kill him. No fooling around. The next time I see the son of a bitch, I’m going to fry his ass back to the Netherworld. No. I’m going to kill him.”

  Faris flicked through the pictures on my phone again. “And you’re sure the demon’s a he and not a she?”

  “Yes.” I don’t know why, but I knew the demon who’d possessed Julia was male.

  Faris looked questionably at me. “What else can you tell me about the girl’s death. Were there any other demons involved? Was she the only victim?”

  “I’m not sure,” I answered truthfully. “The angel-born said he’d followed a trail of bodies, but I’m not sure if he meant that the demon possessing Julia killed someone or more possessions had gone bad—”

  “What angel-born?” shrilled Poe, coming close. “Have you been holding out on me?” The hurt in his tone had little daggers of guilt stabbing me. Why hadn’t I told Poe?

  “You never mentioned anything about an angel-born?” My grandfather’s face pulled into a deep frown, making Faris’s grin widen with interest.

  “Uh, yeah,” I said, remembering the pretty Operative and how he’d placed himself in front of me to protect me from the demon. “I don’t know who he is. He just appeared while I was trying to cast the demon out. If he knows something, he didn’t want to share. He left before I could get anything out of him.”

  “Awww. The angel-born,” said Faris and he shivered, “don’t like to play with others.” His dark eyes met mine. “Not like my Sam. Right, Sam?”

  This was taking too long. I stifled back a sudden burst of anger. “Come on, Faris.” I put my hands on my hips and exhaled long and low. “If you know something, tell me.”

  “And you’ll give me what I want, yes?”

  “If it doesn’t have anything to do with me naked, then yes.”

  Faris shrugged, a wicked gleam in his dark eyes. “You don’t have to be naked.”

  “Samantha,” warned my grandad, but I waved him off with my hand. I could handle this mid demon if things didn’t go as planned. It wouldn’t be the first time either.

  “No sex of any kind, Faris,” I cautioned. “Then, yes.” I hope I’m doing the right thing.

  “Fine.” Faris straightened and handed me back my phone. “I want the night out.”

  Damn. Not this again. “You want out of the summoning triangle. Out of the binding contract?” Shit. And from the satisfied smile on Faris’s face, he knew I had no choice.

  “Yes, darling,” he drawled and brought his hands together before him. “Out of the confinements of my triangle, if you please.”

  “Absolutely not!” My grandfather appeared next to me, pointing a finger at the demon. “You foul abomination! How dare you ask for such a thing. You belong in the depths of that pit you call home!”

  Faris regarded my grandfather like he’d just soiled his nice shirt. “Think your old age can save you?” sneered Faris. “Think I won’t kill an old man?” He made a show of his hands. “Let me out of this triangle, and I’ll show you the depths of my pit.”

  My grandfather didn’t move. Then he clapped his hands together, muttering some incantation. Blue sparks flew about his hands and then balls of blue fire hovered above them. The smile he gave the demon said it all; I might be old, but I’m still a badass witch.

  I smiled. Loved my granddaddy.

  My eyes flicked back to Faris. Emotions crossed his features too fast to be recognized.

  “I’m not asking for a bloody virgin to be sacrificed at the altar,” said the demon, smoothing out his features. “I just want a night out into town. No big deal.” He blinked, his expression cold and calm. “Do you want my information or not?”

  I thought about it. “Just one night?”

  “One night.” Faris’s dark eyes were fixed on mine. “That is all.”

  Every summoned demon experienced the twin problem of having no free will and being constantly in pain. Their slavery and suffering fueled their desire to go back to the Netherworld or Earth. One method, and the most direct, to return home involved killing the summoner.

  My pulse slammed against my chest and I felt suddenly hot. My armpits were moist, damn it. If I let a demon out of its binding contract, I was responsible for it. If the demon I released into this mortal world went on a rampage and killed thousands of humans, including children, I was responsible.

  Too many witches had succumbed to the promise of power, seduced by their summoned subordinate demon to let them out of their binding contract. So they did. And then the demons in turn killed and tortured and wreaked havoc in the mortal world, killing thousands of innocents, draining them of their life forces and their souls—right after killing their summoner. Yeah, the witches died. But then, they’d been stupid witches.

  For that simple reason, it wasn’t allowed. The Coven Law forbade it. But I didn’t care for laws or rules. Never had. Never would.

  I knew Faris. I’d known him for more than a decade. Yeah, he was a demon, but that didn’t automatically make him evil. I hope.
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  Over the years, Faris had asked to be let out of the binding contract many times over, and I’d always turned him down. But this time was different. If he could help me find this demon, it was worth it.

  “You’ve got till the sun is up.” Shit, did I just agree to this? What did I just get myself into?

  The demon looked shocked for a second but quickly recovered. “Excellent. Thank you, darling.” Faris smiled and motioned to the drawn triangle around his shoes. “There’s nothing like the present.”

  The air moved next to me, and I looked over to find my grandfather standing there.

  “Samantha,” he said, worry pinching his brow and his eyes wide with fear. “It’s forbidden. You can’t do this. Think of what he’ll do. Think of the innocents he’s going to kill.”

  “Oh, come on,” expressed Faris, rolling his eyes. “You’ve watched too many movies, old man. Newsflash. Not all demons want to spend their time torturing and killing innocent humans. I prefer the company of humans, with a little drinking and lots of sex. Maybe a little role-play. All consensual. Okay? That’s all.”

  “Samantha. Think of your reputation,” shrilled my grandad.

  “Think of my reputation,” voiced Faris, which awarded him a laugh from Poe. Great, now they were bonding.

  I looked into the worried eyes of my grandfather, my gut clenching. “I trust him. God help me, but it’s the truth. He won’t harm anyone.” My eyes found Faris. “Don’t make me a liar, Faris. You screw up, and I’ll find you. And then I’ll kill your ass.”

  The demon grinned and then shivered in delight. “Sounds exciting. Will there be some foreplay? A little spanking, perhaps? Oooh. I do love spanking.”

  “Faris,” I growled. I took a breath, my harsh words hesitating on my lips.

  The demon had the nerve to shrug. “You’ve got nothing to worry about, Witch. I promise.” He’d said the word witch like it was something he’d like to play with.

  Right, like a promise from a demon meant something.

  I’d done my share of stupid things in my life, but this one topped my stupid list. “Okay,” I said, willing to risk my reputation at the memory of the fear on Julia’s face before the demon dragged her away. I knew I’d never get over something like that. Her eyes would haunt me until my very last breath.

  My eyes found Faris. “Tell me about the runes and the demon.”

  “The demon you’re looking for is, without a doubt, a Greater demon,” he said, dark brows rising.

  “By the cauldron!” shrieked my grandfather. “Why would a Greater demon possess a little girl? I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

  “I don’t know,” I said, my voice hard. “But I’m going to find out.”

  “This is ill business, Samantha.” My grandfather’s voice was worried, and the few bites of my sandwich churned in my stomach.

  I looked at Faris. “Do you have a name?” Please, give me a name.

  The demon shook his head. “I can’t tell you which one from just looking at a picture on your phone. But it’s definitely a Greater demon. Your exorcism sigil would have cast out a lesser demon. That, I am certain.”

  Shit. I hated being right. “What about a mid demon?” I asked, seeing a flinch in his expression.

  “A mid demon would have succumbed to your magic, Sam,” answered Faris. “The real indicator is that only Greater demons have the power to trap a mortal soul and take it back to the Netherworld. That’s real powerful stuff.” Faris twisted his face up, impressed. “Even I can’t do that. Any lesser demon would have fed on the soul. It just proves that you have a Greater problem on your hands.” The demon flashed me his teeth.

  Ah, hell. A chill rolled up my spine and settled around the back of my neck in tiny pricks. A Greater demon was running around Manhattan, killing innocents and possessing little girls for fun. It was worse than I thought.

  Greater demons were the princes of the Netherworld, of Hell. They were next in line with archdemons, the most powerful of all the beings in the Netherworld. I’d sent my fair share of demons back to the Netherworld, casting them out during ritual exorcisms. I’d even vanquished a crap load of them too, giving them a true death by killing their demon soul, the very essence of what made them demons.

  But as far as I knew, a Greater demon couldn’t be killed. Not really. I could kill its temporary body, its shell, but it always returned to the Netherworld.

  “What about the runes? The symbols?” I was hoping to get some answers with the symbols. Or at least figure out what the hell the Greater demon was doing.

  “It’s Mesopotamian,” said the demon, his voice flat, as though commenting on my decor.

  My face wrinkled into a frown, trying to make sense of what Faris had just said. “Isn’t Mesopotamia the birthplace of religion? Where the first written records of religious practices were found?”

  Faris raised his brows, seemingly impressed. “Yes.” His eyes widened, matching his smile. “Yes, it is.” He lowered his eyes. “You sure you don’t want to have sex? I have a thing for nerdy girls.”

  I stared at Faris, my pulse hammering. I was suddenly nervous but I didn’t know why. “The demon was performing some kind of religious ritual.”

  “It appears so, yes.”

  I bit my bottom lip, shaking my head. “I didn’t think demons believed in religion, it being man made and all.” This was getting more and more confusing.

  Faris adjusted the collar of his shirt. “They don’t. Demons believe in demons. That is to say, power and domination, and then some more power.”

  I looked at my grandfather, his face cemented in confusion mirroring my own. I flicked my eyes back to the demon. “What did the symbols say?”

  Faris lost his smile. “Forgive me, but my Mesopotamian is a little rusty. I could only make out a few words.”

  “Which are?”

  “Darkness, death, destruction, and war, I think.”

  “Demons,” I growled, and my grandfather nodded. “Why does it always come back to them fighting their stupid war? What the hell am I supposed to do with that?”

  “No idea,” answered Faris.

  I let out a long breath through my nose, feeling as though this had been a giant waste of time. Worse was that I had agreed to something that might come and bite me in the ass later, literally.

  “Pagan rituals aren’t my forte,” informed Faris after moment. He tugged at his sleeves and said, “You’re better off asking one of your elder witches. Preferably really wrinkled and bald. The bald ones always know more.”

  I sighed. Why me? “I’ll take that under advisement.”

  Faris rubbed his hands together, a giant smile returning to his face. “Your turn, my little witch. A deal’s a deal, Sammy.”

  “Don’t call me that.” Bracing myself and ignoring my grandfather’s wide eyes, I stepped out of my circle and stood before Faris as the demon finished buttoning up his shirt, looking way too pleased.

  There was a sudden flap of wings, and then Poe settled on my right shoulder. “You sure, Sam?” he whispered in my ear. “You don’t have to do this. It’s not like he gave us much.”

  I swallowed. “I’m sure.”

  “Samantha,” urged my grandfather, looking like he was about to throw up. “If the dark witch court finds out about this, you might lose your place here. There are repercussions for going against our laws. You’ll be shunned.”

  “What? And lose all those warm welcomes they’ve been giving me every day of my life? It’s not like they love me anyway. I wouldn’t be losing much.”

  But he wasn’t giving up and got right in my face. “You will lose a lot. Believe me. You know what they can do to you.”

  I sighed. I didn’t like seeing him all worked up like this. “It’ll be fine,” I soothed. “Faris’s not so bad.” God, I hope I’m right.

  I pulled my attention back to the mid demon, my insides twisting like a tight rope. I knew what I needed to say and do. I just needed to say three words.


  With my pulse jackhammering, I opened my mouth and said, “I release you.” And then I dragged my foot across the chalk-drawn triangle, breaking the contract and the binding.

  The effect was instantaneous.

  Energy flashed through me, expanding upward from the triangle I’d drawn on the wood floor. My aura touched it, and the power flowed out of the triangle and into me. Lessening my will, my hold, I let go of the energy.

  The pulse of energy faded, and Faris stepped out of his confining triangle.

  “Much better,” said the demon as he shook and shivered like a wet cat trying to get the water from its coat. He looked at me, his lips forming a devilish smile. “Thank you, darling.”

  “I’m not sure I should say you’re welcome,” I said, and my grandfather scowled. Damn, I’d really done it this time. I stifled a nervous giggle. I’d either really cursed myself or I’d just made a friend for life. I scrunched up my face, not appreciating the swagger in the mid-demon’s steps, like a predator on the hunt for new prey, knowing it was right around the corner.

  Poe rubbed his head against my cheek, seemingly trying to calm me after having probably sensed my tension. It wasn’t working.

  “And Faris,” I called as the demon strolled toward the door. “Try not to impregnate anyone, okay.”

  The demon flashed me a brilliant smile and said, “Can’t make any promises.”

  And with that, a mid demon from the Netherworld, that I’d just released into our world, vanished through the door.

  6

  I’d barely slept last night. I kept tossing and turning with images of Faris drinking the essence of some poor naked and drunken female—possibly females. But even releasing Faris from my summoning triangle—which, if found out, would probably grant me a spot on a burning stake—couldn’t remove the real issue here; the Greater demon that had left a trail of dead bodies had been performing some ancient pagan ritual and had killed Julia to steal her soul. Not ingest it, not feast on it like all normal demons, but had actually taken it back to the Netherworld.