Angie Fox - The Last of the Demon Slayers

“That smells like horse poop.”

“It is horse poop,” she said, unwrapping it into my injured hand.

“Urkle,” I fought the nausea crawling up the back of my throat.

“Technically,” Battina continued, “its manure mixed with herbs. Would you like to see your Great Aunt’s recipe?”

Did she even need to ask me that?

Frieda held the light. I held the dung as I examined my Great Aunt’s notes.

Evie’s Best Portal Charm

Mix eight parts horse dung with one part mint

Yeah, well I didn’t smell any mint. I could see it, though, threaded in the dung.

One part garlic strewn with salt

One Mugwort leaf

One soul flower

Mix well and apply straight over the heart. Keep back at least six feet as impact winds will be extreme. Remember to utter the words: Demons Out.

I like that. Nice and simple.

Demons out.

As for the rest of it?

“What’s a Mugwort leaf?” I asked.

“Anti-demonic,” Bettina shrugged. “I always carry them. Now add the soul flower.”

I closed Evie’s book and shoved it into the back of my pants for safekeeping. Then I used my thumb to split a hole into the manure ball. Ant Eater handed back my flower. “Why horse dung, Evie?” I muttered to myself.

Bettina shrugged. “We could probably use modeling clay or some kind of epoxy these days, but why mess with the formula?”

Why indeed?

Because Battina didn’t have to fling horse poop.

Well you could bet that if we survived tonight, I’d be developing my own recipe. I covered the flower with the muck, shaping it like a baseball. “Is everybody ready?”

We had less than two hours before Zatar showed up and we needed to know if this was going to work.

“There should be plenty of jars for you, Dimitri,” Grandma said. “We put out two dozen. Six by the mattresses. The rest are scattered in the field, in case you need one on the fly. Here are two more to keep on you.”

“We’re only talking about one dreg, right?” I wanted to be clear here. Evie’s portal would strip the dreg that had infected Roxie.

“Yeah. One dreg,” Grandma said. “But it’s good to have a backup plan, right?”

Oh my word. Was I actually having an impact on these people?

Dimitri planted a kiss on my head. I turned and gave him one on his shoulder before he trotted out to the pile of mattresses on the far end of the field.

I hadn’t even asked him how he felt about battling a demonic dreg. We’d just assumed it was his role. It tugged at me, this whole idea of Dimitri, always stepping in. What did he really know about demonic dregs? He’d simply acted when I was in trouble. What he’d done out of love and desperation had suddenly become his job. I just hoped he was up to it.

And while I was wishing for things, I said a small prayer that this plan would actually work.

Roxie emerged from the cabin, wearing a mass of pillows and blankets. A woman with gray dreadlocks chased behind her, fluffing her padding. It had to be Neal’s other flower-power buddy. I’d give them points for enthusiasm.

“So there you are.” Roxie gave me the stink eye.

Yeah, well we needed less grumbling, more magic portaling. Although I supposed the other slayer deserved a break. She’d made it this far.

“Hold still while I banish you to the other side of the field.” And get rid of that dreg.

“Hold up, Lizzie!” Dimitri called. He’d grabbed a torch and headed for the landing zone.

Sticks and dirt now topped the mattresses and pillows.

“Oh hey, Lizzie!” Pirate called as Flappy dragged an entire tree across the field. “I taught him to fetch!”

That would require Pirate having the upper body strength to throw a tree. But I didn’t have time to explain it to my dog. Pirate had been much better at “keep” than he’d ever been at bringing things back.

“Take the sticks off the pile,” Dimitri said, pulling some of the bigger ones off himself.

We needed to get moving here.

Pirate ran in circles around him. “But sticks are crunchy and soft. You can use sticks. It’s like a nest.”

“Pirate,” I admonished as Dimitri pulled the last of the logs off the landing zone. He wouldn’t be able to do much about the dirt. It clouded in puffs around him as he worked.

Roxie frowned. “You need to get a better handle on your animal.”

If she only knew. “Hush up and let me throw horse poop at you.”

Hmm…perhaps this would be fun after all.

“Ready?” I asked the witches as Roxie moved into position over an “X” on the ground.

Dimitri gave me the thumbs up as Flappy and Pirate trundled into the woods, off on another adventure.

The witches backed away. The smart ones stayed behind me. This probably wasn’t the time to tell anyone that I stunk at softball.

The bandages didn’t help either – or the burns.

“One,” I said, testing the weight of the portal charm.

“Two.” I drew back to fire.

I focused hard on the pile of softness at the end of the field. Thoughts of Dimitri crept into my consciousness and I immediately shut them down. No. Think about the spot at the end of the field. The soft spot. The spot where Roxie must land. See it. Feel it. I could almost taste the dirt on those mattresses.

“Demons out!” I hit Roxie smack dab over the heart and she hurtled backward. Wind tore at my hair and the kickback sent me flying.

I landed on my butt in the dirt. Roxie hit halfway between me and the mattresses. She rolled sideways, in obvious pain as the dreg spun out into the night.

“Catch it!” I scrambled to my feet.

The dreg skipped sideways like a tiddly-wink. No telling what it could do to one of the witches – or to Roxie if it entered her a second time. I couldn’t touch it.

Dimitri raced for the dreg, jar in hand. The plastic disk caught in midair as if on an invisible wind. It heaved and morphed into a flying insect.

Oh heck.

It dive bombed straight at Dimitri. He met it halfway, jar in hand as it zagged around the trap and burrowed into his neck.

He gave a hoarse cry.

I started running.

“Lizzie, no!” Grandma hollered, hot on my heels.

I couldn’t touch it, but I had to grab it somehow. I couldn’t let that thing take Dimitri.

He dropped to his knees. I watched in horror as Dimitri dug the creature out of his own flesh. Wide eyed and panting, fingers bloody, he mashed it into the jar and twisted the lid.

“Dimitri!” I fell to my knees next to him, examining his wound. It was raw and ugly. “Are dregs poisonous?” I asked Grandma. We knew what they did to demon slayers, but what would happen to a griffin or a witch?

Grandma tightened the lid on the dreg. It screeched and flung itself against the glass. “I don’t know. I didn’t see anything in Evie’s diary about it.”

“But you didn’t read Evie’s entire diary,” I said, probing the wound.

“Ouch,” Dimitri pushed my hands away. “I feel fine.”

“No, you don’t.” His eyes looked glassy and he was still breathing hard.

I reached into my utility belt for a healing crystal. Closing it in both hands, I thought about his strength, his love and the devotion this man had for me. The clear stone glowed with pure light.

He closed his eyes, his jaw working as I touched the stone to the wound at his neck. It radiated with positive healing.

“How do you feel?” I asked, amazed as the raw wound began to heal.

“It’s better,” he said, wonder in his voice as his warm chocolate eyes opened and he touched his fingers to mine.

Roxie towered over us, holding her arm. “I’m fine, by the way.”

“Are you?” Grandma asked.