The Angel's Fall (The Fay Morgan Chronicles Book 6)
Read The Angel's Fall (The Fay Morgan Chronicles Book 6) Online
Authors: Katherine Sparrow
6 Kill Anything and Everything
The Angel’s Fall
The Fay Morgan Chronicles: Book Six
Katherine Sparrow
Copyright 2015, Katherine Sparrow
All rights reserved.
This novel is a work of fiction. All characters, places, and incidents described in this publication are used fictitiously or are entirely fictional.
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, except by an authorized retailer, or with written permission of the publisher. Inquiries may be addressed to [email protected].
Editing by Erica Satifka.
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1
The Door Opens
“Morgan and her man,” hissed
an inky voice
. The Marid stood before us, tall enough that his head grazed my store’s ceiling. “I think it’s time you went to Hell.”
He raised his blue palm, holding aloft a bright blue topaz that shone with an inner light. The stone began to hiss like a scorpion and spin. It filled with a strange kind of djinn magic I didn’t understand, and I watched it until it grew sun-bright and made a popping sound.
The Marid’s palm lay empty, and behind him the door to Hell appeared.
We had been waiting for this door to appear on Earth, ever since Lila had disappeared through it. Why had the door that usually always existed on Earth disappeared? One more mystery, among so many, that we would have to unravel today.
The door to Hell made a groaning sound and then slowly, inexorably began to open. A billowing blackness fell out and pooled on my concrete floor. There was no seeing beyond that darkness to get any sense of what lay on the other side. Only the deep and beckoning black. There were other doors that led to other realms hidden across the Earth, but this one held onto its secrets more than all the others, for all the legends said once you entered, you would not be coming out again. And if you did? A plague upon your house. A salt pillar made of true love. Eternal curses and torture.
I stood rooted to the ground and did not move toward Hell's threshold. Just like jumping into ice cold water, or falling off a cliff, the first step forward unnerved me.
“Here we are, witch. Here and nowhere else,” Merlin murmured. He kept his gaze focused on the darkness.
“Move, you lily-livered malingerers,” the Marid said. “I would push you through, if it worked like that. But you must choose.” He growled, low in his throat. “Would that I need not rely on two humans to bring me back my offspring.” Waves of magic rolled off his body and were absorbed by the door as he held it open. “Get on with it.”
At his command, I felt a clenching move across my body as the compulsion spell he had put upon me tightened. He had bound me with a spell, bound me well and good, to go to Hell and bring his daughter out. Even though his spell tried to force me to run forward into that blackness, I gritted my teeth and held my ground. “I will bring Lila out, as you command, and you will finally pay for all that you have done to your children.”
The Marid licked his lips with a pointed and blue tongue. “Words. Brave words. Stupid words. Humans love their words as though they have any effect on the likes of me.” A bead of sweat fell down his face. “Hurry now. This door does not wish to stay open.”
As much as I would have liked to stay there and watch him struggle, it was time to go, and I wanted to be in Hell as much as the compulsion spell wrapped through me.
Merlin’s hand slipped into mine. We both stared into the doorway and a fluttering of memories moved through me, of all the times we’d stood together on the cusp of doing something ill-advised. My fingers gripped his. There was none other I would rather have beside me then my wizard.
I slid one foot forward, and another, until I inched my leather-clad toes across the threshold. The darkness swallowed them. Every animal and witch instinct within me screamed to turn back while I still could.
“Oh, and I almost forgot,” the Marid said. His eyes glittered. “A boon.” Clearly he had been waiting to make sure we were actually going through the door before he gave us this thing.
“It will open the door again. It will let you leave.” He held out a piece of blue topaz, a match to the one he had used to open the door.
“Morgan le Fay and Merlin Ambrosius should have no problem leaving Hell whenever we wish,” Merlin said icily. “We have no need for your damned trickery.”
“Trickery?” The Marid laughed. “Take the boon, small man. You will need it. Huge powers guard the gates of Hell. Do you have any idea how many years I schemed and searched for a way out? Take it.”
I eyed the stone. “And when has a Marid's boon ever come without inlaid tricks and barbs?”
He smiled. “Rarely and only through the most careful wish-making. Though in this case, my tricks are known. You will find my wayward daughter and bring her out of Hell. When you do, I will devour her.” He smiled.
Again, the spikes of his compulsion spell tightened and bit me. Through gritted teeth, I said, “When next we meet, we will all destroy you.”
I grabbed the topaz from his hand and slipped it into one of my many pockets. One spell upon my person among many, and perhaps we would use it, or not. We had plenty of our own spells to help us on this journey.
The Marid licked his lips. More sweat fell down his forehead. “May Hell not destroy you so thoroughly that you fail.”
“May you drop dead from a dozen horrible diseases before ever we see you again,” I said.
“Good thing only one of us has the power to grant wishes,” he said with a laugh.
“Come, lass,” Merlin said, looking away from the Marid and into the billowing darkness of the door. “Our journey begins.”
Hand in hand, we stepped over the threshold into Hell.
2
A Three-headed Dog
Dazzling sunlight shone from all directions, so bright that the world was too shadowless. We blinked, trying to get our bearings as we stood on… grass. Green and long. The sky above stretched wide and cornflower blue. Not far from us, a slim river, a couple steps across at most, flowed with clear and swift water.
“Black sparrows and burnt offerings, it’s Morgan le Fay,” a man's voice called out from the far side of the river. He sighed, loud enough to be heard over the running water. “And here I was told someone important was coming through today. Shouldn’t have bothered getting out of bed. And who’s the boy?”
Merlin stood tall and gave him a long look.
“Oh. Merlin, right? I was tasked with bringing the new arrivals safely in. Obviously, there’s been some kind of mistake. Nobody cares that you are here. You will be devoured, shortly.”
As I blinked and my eyes adjusted, I saw that across the river stood the demon I had met once before in Seattle when he’d been working to lure unsuspecting unders into Hell. He looked utterly modern, dressed in skinny black jeans and a tight t-shirt that hugged his thin frame. All the better to blend into Earth’s realm and trick humans into coming into this one. He also still wore sunglasses to hide the pits of despair that lay where his eyes should have been.
“Greetings, Azurez,” I said.
“High Demon Knight Azurez,” he said. “Cross over already. I haven’t got all day.” He took a long drag from his cigarette and then flicked it into the grass. “None of us do.”
Merlin and I moved closer to the river. As we did, the world went… strange. Charcoal streaks ripped across the sky and the land pulsed, laced with danger.
A moment later, it all turned back to summer and brightness again.
“Odd,” Merlin whispered.
“Cross the river already,” Azurez called out. “You’re not going to let a little thing like realm instability stop two great and mighty magicians like you two, are you?”
I eyed the flowing waters. Every story of going to Hell always required crossing some water. We walked, matching strides, closer to the shallow stream.
As we did, three dogs, large black Labradors with slobbering tongues, bounded toward us. No. Not three. But one dog with three heads, I saw on second glance. He stopped a couple of feet away from us and sat down, wagging his tail and watching us with all six of his eyes.
“You too, Cerberus,” Azurez said. “Finally time for you to cross over. Here, boy. To me.” The demon spoke with a deep affection I would not have thought possible of his kind.
The dog cocked one of his heads and looked at the demon.
“Let them pass, even though they are not as flawed as some. You don’t need to guard the crossing any more. Come.” Azurez knelt, and the three-headed guard dog of Hell bounded across the stream, splashing water and bowling into the demon, who laughed and scratched each of his heads. Azurez hugged him as Cerberus thumped his tail on the grass. Two of his heads gazed adoringly at the demon while the third turned back toward us and gave us a clear
what are you waiting for?
look.
As Merlin and I stepped into the water, the stream swelled and turned into a swiftly-moving river.
“A spell to ease the way?” I asked. We took another step, and the water grew wilder.
“I don’t think so,” Merlin said. “Realms often have these sorts of things. A gate within a gate. They are not easily thwarted.”
He had more experience with other realms than I did.
Merlin’s hand gripped mine tighter as we pressed forward into the foaming and raging waters. My feet went icy cold, and then the numbness climbed up my calves and thighs. The water, like a living thing, tugged hard and tried to pull us down the river. We took another step forward, and another.
The water climbed up my chest. I clenched the muscles of my hand, barely able to feel Merlin’s fingers that clutched back just as hard.
We took another step forward, and went fully underwater. We kept our footing by the grace of the weight of our shoes and clothes. I opened my eyes but could see nothing beyond the rush of water. I stepped forward, but lost my balance and tipped into Merlin. He pushed back against me, against the rush of water all around us.
Together we moved, both of us crouched down and fighting against the water that sought to drag us away. My lungs burned. I had no sense of how far we'd gone, nor how long we'd yet to go.
My breath became a wounded thing clawing up my throat and seeking to break free. I made myself take another three steps forward, and then stood, seeking air, even if the motion might sweep me away.
My head broke free of the water. I gasped and saw the demon lean out over the water and reach for me. He grabbed my shoulder.
“Pathetic,” he muttered. He dragged me in, and I in turn pulled Merlin, out of the water.
We fell onto the grassy shore, sopping and heaving in great gulps of air.
“Never known the river to do that before,” Azurez said. His forked tongue flicked out and tasted the air like a snake. “Almost like it wants to keep you out. Things change. It’s time to go.”
The demon turned and walked away down a trampled path in the grass.
Merlin and I helped each other stand up. I wrung water from my skirt. He ran his fingers across his head to slick back his wild hair. We stared at each other and looked around. Neither of us voiced the thought that we'd been here mere minutes and already we were half-drowned and exhausted.
“And now?” Merlin whispered.
