Angie Fox - ADS 03 - A Tale of Two Demon Slayers

Oh no. “Pirate?” I didn’t need him exposed if anything went down.

My dog jumped into my arms as the small cloud above us darkened and rumbled.

“Oh Lizzie.” Pirate pawed at my arms. “What’s going on?”

“Uneven magic.” I just hoped Diana didn’t get zapped again. Dread swelled in my stomach as the lone cloud spit lightning.

It was too familiar. I searched the sky for green as the isolated storm grew in fury. It roiled the sea deep enough to send fish and other ocean creatures crashing into the rocks below.

“Watch out, turtle!” Pirate yelled.

If only the biker witches were here with us to hurl protection spells. “Yikes,” I said. “And there’s a marlin.”

“No, it’s not.” Amara frowned, madly weaving a sea spell. Her arms darted above her head as her brows knit and she murmured something in a language I’d never heard.

When the waves calmed, I saw Amara was right.

A real-life mermaid flopped like a caught fish on one of the flat rocks below.

Amara gave one final incantation before dropping her arms to her sides.

The mermaid pulled her red hair out of her face, gave us the finger and dove back into the sea.

“Some thanks,” I said.

Amara grinned. “Doesn’t matter. I’m just doing my job.”

“I’m sorry,” Diana called, still trying to calm the winds battering the cliffs. She looked more desperate than she had at the start of the lesson. Tired too.

“Is it too soon?” I asked. Maybe they needed more rest.

Talos shook his head. “This is much easier than what they tried yesterday.”

Diana’s shoulders dropped.

“Lay off her,” I said.

I knew how tough it was to push yourself to the limit, to have someone simply expect you to do something amazing. Yes, we were in trouble if the sisters didn’t recover their magic, but this wasn’t going to happen overnight.

“Maybe we do need to give them a break,” Amara said.

“No,” Talos replied, watching them struggle with their stones. “They must succeed.” He stepped closer. “They are losing power. At this rate, the wards will not hold much longer.”

Amara nodded. Then to me, she said, “Don’t worry. I’ll be here.”

The worst thing was, Amara’s presence comforted me. She was from this world. She really could help Diana and Dyonne. And for that, I was thankful.

While the days felt normal, at night I could feel the lingering evil. It pressed on the estate like a besieging army, soaking up the energy of the land as it readied the invasion. Dimitri and I searched the grounds twice more, trying to find the woman who had taken my magic. But ever since she’d touched me that night, I couldn’t detect even a hint of her. We couldn’t let her escape.

Dyonne and Diana worked as hard as they could, but after four straight days, things looked worse instead of better.

I wasn’t sure what I could do to change it, but I had to try.

On the evening of the fourth day, I walked to the stables, knowing I’d find Diana there. She visited Zeus every night. He was a Clydesdale, black and completely wild. Well, at least it looked so to me.

Dimitri told me how in years past, Zeus and Diana would race across the estate, her hair trailing behind. She’d laugh and call to him and he’d gallop even harder, like a horse out of Hades. I wished I could have seen it. Ever since Diana had begun training, she had no strength left for anything more than a canter.

It didn’t bode well.

At least tonight I’d be able to bring her some happiness. In the chaos of the past few days, I’d forgotten about the very special memento I’d brought for her.

I ducked into the long building, my hand scraping along the wood as I took in the earthy smells of hay and manure.

The evening light filtered softly throughout. A half dozen or so horses moved and made soft noises in their stalls. I could see Diana toward the end, stroking the nose of Zeus, her head bent as she spoke to him in cottony tones.

I almost hated to interrupt as I reached into my pocket and withdrew a small velvet bag.

“Lizzie,” she said, nuzzling the horse’s muzzle. “I’m glad you came. Would you like to meet Mr. Zeus?”

“Sure,” I said, stopping a few feet away.

My adoptive mother had enough equestrian medals to drown an ox, but I hadn’t inherited her way with horses.

“Come closer,” she said. “He’s very friendly.”

I studied Zeus, considering it. Despite his size and power, Zeus had the prettiest eyelashes I’d seen on a horse.

“Are you a handsome fellow?” I reached out to touch Zeus’s coal black muzzle. He jerked back and so did I.

Maybe I’d just stick to obnoxious Jack Russell terriers.

“Oh Zeus.” Diana rubbed him along the snout as he turned his head into her and snuggled her like a cream puff. “He just likes to be dramatic.”

Oh my. As if we didn’t have enough drama queens. Biker witches, Harleys and now a crazy horse.

But that wasn’t the reason I came out to see Diana.

“I have something of yours,” I said, tipping the velvet bag. Out slipped an intricately woven hairpin. At its tip, a gold griffin snarled, its orange eyes flashing despite the dusky light in the stable.

Dimitri had given it to me shortly before we faced the demon who had cursed Diana and Dyonne. But it had always been Diana’s.

She gasped. “Lizzie! I thought I’d lost this.”

“Dimitri had it,” I said. “He gave it to me for safekeeping.”

“My mother had this made for me before she died. There’s only one other, and that belongs to Dyonne. My mother said these jewels would remind us of our family and of everything we’ve worked so hard to achieve.”

I watched her slip it into her hair. If possible, the griffin eyes sparked even brighter. “Is it magic?” I asked.

“No,” she said, “but it is a most cherished gift.”

“It’s beautiful. Although I have to say, reminders of your clan and your heritage are all over this place, from the mosaics at the entrance to the family villa to the Helios crest carved into the stable door.”

Diana gave a wry grin. “I know.” She shook her head, her playfulness dissolving. “It makes it even harder to forget the fact that we’re failing.”

“It’s only been a few days,” I said, knowing at the same time that the sisters should have progressed further. They should have been gaining strength.

Diana rubbed Zeus, her eyes filling with tears. “I don’t know what to do.” She shook her head, “I don’t know what’s wrong.”

“Practice,” I said softly.

She closed her eyes, forcing the tears back. She brought a hand up to the coral necklace at her throat. “We shouldn’t need this much practice. The magic is already in us. The stones just help us draw it out. I don’t know what’s wrong.”

I didn’t know what to say.

“Dimitri told me that he brought you to the altar at the Callidora.”

“Where the women of your family made the final sacrifice.”

“There are generations of power stuck in that altar, and we can’t get it out. That’s how I feel. I have all of this power in me and I just can’t get it out. I don’t know what I have to do to unlock it. And every minute I wait, the wards on this estate grow weaker.”

I tried to hide my reaction.

“Yes,” she said quietly. “I know about the wards. Talos tries to protect us, but I know what’s at stake. That’s why I let him sneak away with my Skye stone.”

“You trust him?” I asked.

“He’s sworn to protect this estate and everyone on it. Griffin pledges are unbreakable.” She gave a small smile. “Just as I pledged to find my power again.”

My heart ached for her. “I understand exactly how you feel.” To sense greatness, to know it was within your grasp, and to be unable to make that final move to seize it, to make it your own.