Rival Demons (16 page)

Drawings I would work on while I sat up there
for hours.

I used to love to draw. Before I came to
Peachville, I would spend hours working on drawings of my mother or
trying to draw things I'd seen in my dreams. Since I joined the
cheerleading team, I'd barely taken the time to draw much of
anything. It might be nice to sit up here on this balcony and get
back into it.

The next morning, I woke up early and made my
way to the hidden spot on the balcony. This early, there was never
much activity in the marketplace. Mostly, it was just quiet and
peaceful. A bakery somewhere on the south side smelled of heaven.
My mouth watered, but I was anxious to get in place. I didn't want
to miss anything.

I carried a blank notebook today. I didn't want
anyone to question me and find that I had been taking notes and
drawing maps this whole time. I needed my drawing excuse to look
legit if someone saw me.

An hour passed before anyone made a move toward
the wall. I didn't recognize the robed man who went inside. I'd
never seen anyone dressed that way, and I wondered if he was one of
the elusive scholars Essex told me about. No one else went through
the wall for another hour or so, but I recognized the woman who
went in next.

Ourelia. Andros' wife. She was alone, but in an
obvious hurry. In her hands, she carried a couple of bags, but I
couldn't see what might be inside of them.

Throughout the day, more demons came in and out,
sometimes in groups and sometimes alone. There seemed to be no
rhyme or reason to the times of day they chose. Everyone seemed to
come and go as they pleased.

The first day, there was no sign of Jackson or
Lea.

Day two was much more informative. Jackson,
Andros, Lea, and Jericho all walked into the corridor together
relatively early in the morning and didn't emerge until well after
dinner time. What did they do in there all day?

On day four, I was tired of waiting and ready to
make my move. Luckily, no one had noticed me on the balcony. I did,
however, have several nice drawings of the marketplace that had
kept me from being too bored while I was staking the place out.

I left my notebook behind the fourth morning. I
waited until the area near the door was completely abandoned, then
I made myself invisible and hid off to the side next to the
blacksmith's tent. Within half an hour or so, an elderly demon came
up to the door alone. Quiet as a whisper, I fell in behind him and
stepped inside undetected.

When I stepped into the corridor, the tiny hairs
on the back of my neck perked up. Instantly, I knew something was
different here. I could feel it in my bones. The hall was wider in
general, and I think the ceilings were a little higher here as
well. But more than just the way it looked, it was all about the
way it felt. There was the feel of magic in the air.

I followed the old man until the hallway came to
a cross with long corridors stretching out in front and behind and
on both sides. The man turned left and disappeared behind a door
about ten feet from where I stood watching. There was no other soul
to be seen down any of the passageways.

Following some unknown instinct, I walked
straight ahead. Instead of lamps, the hallway here was lit by
glowing stones embedded into the rock walls. There was something
almost holy about the quietness of the place.

I didn't pass a single doorway that I could see,
but up ahead, at the very end of the hallway, a door appeared.

My heartbeat sped up as I approached. This door
was different from any of the others. First of all, it was a very
tall, very wide door made of pure green stone like an emerald.

I paused when I reached the end, looking behind
me to make sure no one had followed me down the corridor

I was completely alone.

I hesitated as I stared up at the huge door. Was
this the council's meeting chamber? If I tried to open the door
would an alarm go off?

I knew it was risky, but hadn't I risked
everything already? What if the spellbook I'd been searching for
all this time was just on the other side of this door?

I had to know.

I placed my hand on the cool marble and
pushed.

Nothing happened.

The door wouldn't budge. I looked for some kind
of handle so I could try to pull it open instead, but the surface
was flat. There was nothing to grab onto that I could see.
Disappointed, I stepped back and studied the entire area around the
door.

That's when I heard them.

Voices on the other side. Getting closer by the
second. My breath caught in my throat and I looked around
frantically for a place to hide.

The door began to swing open very slowly, and I
ducked behind it, hiding in the shadowy space between the door and
the wall.

"This is an interesting proposition," a man's
voice said. "But it's also extremely dangerous."

"But you have thousands of followers here.
Enough that you could build an army."

I gasped, then quickly covered my mouth with my
hand. Jackson. I'd know his voice anywhere. No wonder I'd been
drawn to this hallway. I should have recognized that it was his
closeness I was feeling. I pressed even closer to the wall, hoping
I was well-hidden.

"We've been through this. Even with thousands of
us fighting together, how could we hope to defeat an organization
as powerful as the Order? They have more than twice our numbers,"
the other man said. I couldn't be sure, but it sounded like
Andros.

The group leaving the room was far enough away
now that I could see their backs as they walked down the hall.
Jackson, Andros, Lea, and another man I didn't recognize.

"We're forgetting our power here," Lea said. "If
we train and apply ourselves, I know we could come up with a plan
that would succeed. Besides, we do have some human witches on the
other side who would fight with us."

"If the Order doesn't kill them all first,"
Andros said, bitterness dripping from his lips. "I think it's
better for us to wait. See what happens to the Order over the next
fifty years. Watch them closely and see if we can find a weak spot.
Remember, we have something they don't have."

"What's that?" Jackson asked.

"Time," Andros said.

"Not all of us have time," Jackson protested.
"My brother, for example. What will happen to him when he's bound
with a different family line? One who isn't as opposed to slavery
as Harper?"

"Your human girl? This Prima?" the stranger
said.

My mouth went dry at his mention of me.

"You're sure her loyalties are with you? It's
not possible she's a spy for the Order? If bringing her here has
compromised our secrecy, we could be in danger as we stand here
talking."

At that, I nearly came out from the shadows to
give this unknown man a piece of my mind. I had nearly died for
this cause. How could anyone think I could be a spy for the Order?
But I held back, figuring that jumping out of the shadows wouldn't
exactly make me look more trustworthy.

Luckily, I had Jackson there to stand up for me.
"There's no chance that Harper would ever betray us," he said.
"I've told you this before over and over. She wants to see the
Order ended every bit as much as we all do. She may have a mind of
her own when it comes to following the rules sometimes, but you can
trust her, I give you my word on this."

I relaxed slightly. It felt good to hear him
defending me still.

The voices faded as the group walked further
away. I nearly screeched as the marble door began to close. Any
second, I would lose my chance at getting into that room. But how
could I be sure I would ever be able to get out? What if I got
stuck inside for days?

Panic shot through my stomach. I didn't want to
lose this chance at getting inside. Without really thinking it
through, I quickly slipped around the open door and into the
darkness of the room beyond it.

Seconds later, the heavy doors closed, leaving
me completely alone in the black.

I couldn't see anything, but I knew I had found
the room. I could feel it in my bones.

Trembling, gratitude washed over me. After all
this time, I was finally here in a room filled with priceless
information about the Order.

First things first. I needed light. Blindly, I
felt along the sides of the door, looking for a crystal or
something that might give off light.

No luck.

It could take me all day to find a light in this
place. I definitely didn't have the time or the patience for that.
I created a small orb of dim light and held it up, stepping
forward.

Rows and rows of intricately carved bookcases
lined the room. Ancient tomes filled the shelved from end to end,
top to bottom. I swallowed, feeling my heart rising. There were
more books here than I ever dreamed there would be. I'd been
expecting a row or two, but this? This was over a thousand
books.

Were they all captured from hunters?

I made my way slowly through the stacks, looking
for any kind of organizational system that might help me figure out
which books held the spells. Instead, what I quickly came to
realize was that many of these books were written in a language
completely foreign to me. Apparently Joost's magic potion did
nothing to translate words on a page the way they did the demon
language.

In the center of the room there was a large
black circular table that reminded me of stories I'd read of King
Arthur and the round table. Was this where the Underground's
council met? It was completely clean of papers or notes except for
a single book sitting on one of the chairs. I picked it up and ran
my hand along the binding.

I couldn't make out what it said, but the words
were written symbols like hieroglyphics. I laid it on the table and
flipped it open, letting my orb hover over the book. Inside was
more of the same, only symbols, all handwritten very neatly in a
dozen rows. I flipped it closed and sat down. How was I going to
ever find the hunters' spellbooks in all of this mess?

Randomly, I walked around the room, pulling
books from the shelf and peeking inside to see if it was written in
a language I could understand. After more than a dozen tries, I
finally gave up. It would take me forever to go through all of
these books.

The library was floor to ceiling books in a room
that was bigger than Shadowford's entire downstairs. I couldn't
even begin to estimate how many were here in all.

I wanted to lay my head down on the table and
just give up. After all the weeks of training and studying and
planning, I was drained. Totally burned out.

I wasn't sure I had the energy to go through
every row in this room, book by book. This room held answers, I
could feel it. I just wasn't sure how in the world I was supposed
to find them on my own.

Deep in thought, I almost didn't realize the
door to the library had begun to open. Had they come back?

My pulse hammered in my veins. I had to
hide.

I scrambled to my feet and ducked behind the
next to last bookcase. The orb disappeared, but I had no idea if
I'd gotten rid of it fast enough. Even the tiniest light would make
an impact in this stark darkness.

My heart rose into my throat. I held my breath.
If I was caught now, none of the demons here would ever trust me
again. Why had I risked this?

Footsteps sounded against the marble floors. I
jumped as the entire library lit up in a blaze of lights. I
squinted up toward the ceiling, raising my arm to shield my eyes
from the sudden brightness of it. Up in the air above the top of
the bookcases, more than a hundred lit candles floated. Well, no
wonder I hadn't been able to find the light.

I pressed my back deeper against the bookcase,
wishing I could just disappear into the books.

I listened. From the sound of the footsteps,
only one person had entered the room. Slowly, they seemed to be
making their way through the center row of stacks. I estimated that
I had about sixty seconds before they reached the end of my
bookcase, where I would be very easy to see.

I summoned my power and quickly disappeared into
nothingness, standing completely still.

That's when the person in the room spoke,
freezing me to the spot.

"Harper? Are you really going to make me search
this whole place?"

My shoulders slumped and I let my head fall
back, heavy with both regret and relief. Jackson. How had he known
I was here?

He was probably going to kill me.

Reluctantly, I dropped my glamour and stepped
into the middle aisle. Jackson stood about fifty feet away, a frown
on his face.

"What were you thinking?" he asked. "I don't
even know how you managed to get in here, but this is completely
insane. How could you do something this risky?"

The anger in his voice made my stomach
twist.

"I'm sorry," I said, unable to come up with
something better to defend myself.

"You're sorry? You don't even know the first
thing about being sorry," he said, his face red with rage. "Do you
have any idea what would happen if someone else had found you in
here?"

I hung my head. I didn't know what he wanted me
to say. That I knew they would call me a traitor? A spy? Probably
kick me out of this place.

Or worse.

"I felt your presence in the hallway earlier.
Believe me, I rushed back here as soon as I could get away," he
said. "The demons here don't know you like I know you. They
wouldn't be so forgiving."

I crossed my arms over my chest. "And how do you
think they are going to get to know me when all I do is sit in a
room all by myself all day?"