Rival Demons Read online

  The rocks flew through the air at lightning speeds. Before anyone could react, the white twin was crushed and buried between a mound of rock six feet high.

  The sister threw herself onto the pile, screaming and clawing at the rocks. When I realized what I had done, I lowered my hands and fell to my knees. I had killed someone.

  The strength drained from my body, leaving only an empty shell.

  I struggled to stay upright, but suddenly, I was falling down, down into a sea of never-ending blackness.

  The last thing I heard before I slipped out of consciousness was the sound of Jackson calling my name.

  For Forever

  A fire roared nearby, sending shadows dancing across my eyelids.

  My eyes fluttered open, protested against the light, then closed again. I moaned, my body aching against the hard rock.

  A warm hand touched my cheek.

  Jackson.

  I didn't even have to open my eyes to know it was him. His hands were slightly rough and smelled of evergreens and firewood. I smiled, my dry lips cracking painfully.

  "How long have I been asleep?" I asked. My throat was sore.

  "Almost two days," he said.

  That woke me up. My eyes flew open in surprise, and I struggled to sit up.

  "Whoa, take it easy," Jackson said, his arm slipping around my back. "You've been through so much in the past couple weeks."

  Every muscle in my body protested as I came to a sitting position. Ouch. I guess lying on a cold stone floor for two days straight hadn't helped the situation. To be honest, it wasn't much better than the torture room they'd held me in at Shadowford. At least here my hands weren't shackled. I rubbed my wrists absently. They were still sore and bruised from the chains the Order had kept me in.

  Then, I remembered.

  The twins. Mary Anne.

  I teetered backward, my stomach turning. Jackson's strong arm held me up.

  "Thanks," I said, tears stinging the corners of my eyes. I looked around the dimly lit cave. "Is Mary Anne..."

  Jackson motioned toward the back corner of the cave, and relief filled me as Mary Anne came into view. She was lying down, but there was no mistaking the rise and fall of her chest with each breath.

  "She's going to be okay," Jackson said. "She has a pretty mean scratch across her face and a bite on her side, but she's going to be okay. A few scrapes and bruises, but she'll heal. Like you."

  Would I heal? I stared down at my tattered and bloodied dress. Yes, the wounds on the outside would heal, but I had killed someone out of hatred and anger. That was going to take some time to deal with.

  "The twins?" I asked, my voice cracking.

  Jackson reached into a black backpack and pulled out a large bottle of water. "Here," he said. "Drink this."

  I stared down at the backpack. Had he brought that with him through the portal? I hadn't noticed it before.

  The water was lukewarm, but beautiful. It slid down my sore throat like rain on a barren field, healing all the cracked parts. By the time I finally came up for air, there was only a small sip of water left in the bottle.

  "Thanks," I said.

  "Do you want some food?" he asked, avoiding my eyes. He rummaged through the backpack instead.

  My stomach growled at the thought. I was empty. A shell.

  But I wanted to know the truth about what happened. About all of it.

  "Just tell me," I said. "Did I kill her?"

  Jackson paused, his head hung low. The fire crackled. "You can't blame yourself for what happened," he said. "She was going to take you back to the Order. You had no choice."

  I shook my head, the tears coming now. "That isn't true. You guys weren't going to let her take me back," I said. "I don't know what got into me. When I saw Mary Anne there on the ground, I just snapped. I never meant to kill her, I swear I didn't."

  Jackson wiped away a tear as it slid down my cheek. "I know you didn't," he said. "She wasn't a good person, Harper. She was evil, just like the rest of them. And if she'd had the chance, she would have killed us all."

  I knew what he was saying was true, but it didn't make me feel any better. The power I'd used to move those rocks had come from a deep dark place, and I never wanted to go there again. I'd completely lost control.

  "What about the other one?"

  Jackson sighed. "When you collapsed, all I cared about was getting you to safety," he said. "The other twin was out of her mind, screaming and pulling on the heavy rocks. I knew once she saw her sister's dead body, she would come after you. And I had a feeling she wouldn't care about the Order's rules."

  "So you just left her there?" I asked.

  He nodded. "I don't even think she noticed we'd gone," he said. "I scooped you up and Lea grabbed Mary Anne, then we came here."

  I studied our surroundings again. We were in some kind of cave. Behind Jackson, there was a small opening, and I could see Lea sitting at the entrance keeping guard. A warm fire blazed in the center of the room. The walls were made of the same black rock we'd seen on the ground near the portal, so I guessed we were still somewhat close to where we started.

  "Where are we?"

  "We're on the coast, a couple of miles from where the portal to Peachville opens," he said. "We couldn't risk taking you too far with both of you injured. Lea and I know this place from when we were kids. We'll be safe here for a little while."

  I put my hand on his knee and his eyes flickered toward the entrance. Toward Lea. Awkwardly, he shifted away. "I'm really glad to see you awake."

  "Awake and very hungry," I said with a nervous laugh. I had a feeling I still didn't understand everything that was happening here. Why had he moved away from me?

  Jackson reached into his backpack and handed me some crackers. "Take it slow," he said. "You haven't eaten in a while and if you eat too fast, it's just going to make you sick."

  I looked at the bag of crackers in my hand. Then, I lifted my head and studied the rest of the cave. Several blankets were laid out like sleeping bags. Lea's duffel bag full of swords lay toward the back of the space. The food, the water, the supplies. How long had they been preparing for this trip to the shadow world?

  I took a bite and chewed slowly, questions swirling in my brain.

  "What exactly happened back there? In Peachville?" I asked.

  "What do you mean?"

  I shook my head, trying to find the right words. "I mean, one second I thought I was going to die and the next you were there, pulling me through the portal. Was that planned? Or just some rash decision?"

  "After the Order took you away, we searched for you," he said. "We thought they might take you to the headquarters for the Order, but we couldn't find you anywhere. No one had heard or seen anything. Then one day at school, Mrs. King pulled Mary Anne to the side and warned her that the Order had locked you away on the third floor of Shadowford. They had the room heavily guarded at all times. We tried to find a way inside, but they placed a strong seal against the door inside Shadowford and there was no way in. Luckily, Mary Anne overheard Mrs. Shadowford talking to the priestess about their plan to take you to the ritual room and transfer the line."

  I nodded, listening. I tried not to let him see that my hands were shaking.

  "That's when we knew the ritual was our best chance," he said. "We knew that if we rescued you and tried to run, the Order would find us eventually. You weren't safe in the human world. Here, though, we would have the upper hand. We knew we could find a way to keep you safe here."

  "So what's our plan?" I asked. "Now that we're here? Do you think they'll send anyone else through after us?"

  Jackson took out a bag of chocolate and popped a few pieces into his mouth. "We're pretty well hidden where we are right now. I don't know if they've broken through the portal just yet, but you can bet they'll have someone looking for us. If not one of the witches from their side, someone on this side for sure."

  I frowned. "This side?"

  "Yeah, they have lots of
servants on this side, both demon and witch," he said. "If I had to guess, I would think they'll be sending hunters after us."

  "What are hunters?"

  "Witches who have been here for over a hundred years," he said. "They're the ones who decide which demons are taken to be slaves in your world."

  "So they're humans?" I asked, confused. "How do they live so long?"

  "They were human at some point," Jackson said. "But I wouldn't really call them that anymore. They've performed dark magic for so long, they've been corrupted by it. Plus, time is different here in the shadow world. Humans who are bound to demon energies will live a lot longer here. And the hunters, sometimes they're bonded to more than one demon."

  I shuddered. More than one demon? That had to make them both extremely powerful and extremely evil. I didn't like the sound of someone like that hunting me in a strange world.

  "How long do you think we'll stay here?" I asked.

  Jackson looked toward the mouth of the cave, his gaze lingering on Lea. "Another day or two, max," he said.

  I leaned back against the wall of the cave and ate a few more crackers. We would probably have to stay out of Peachville for a long time. At least until we could figure out a way to either defeat the Order or free Aerden. But at least we'd be back in the human world soon.

  "Then what?" I asked, hoping he'd already come up with some kind of brilliant plan for getting back without the Order finding us.

  "Then we're heading to a place called the Underground," he said. "We'll be safe there as long as we can convince them to let us in."

  "Why wouldn't they?"

  Jackson shifted uncomfortably. "The demons in the Underground aren't exactly fans of most humans considering most of the humans they've ever known were members of the Order," he said. He looked at Lea again. "I'm sure we'll be able to get in though. Lea has some pretty serious connections in this world."

  I paused. "Wait, so this place isn't back home?" I asked. "It's here in the shadow world?"

  Jackson's shoulders slumped and he bit his lip. "Harper," he said, pausing as if to find the right words. "You can't go back home. I thought you understood that."

  I stopped mid-chew. What was he talking about? I studied his face, trying to make sense of it. Then, my hands began to tremble. "For how long?"

  It took him a long time to answer, and when he did, it cut me straight to the core.

  "For forever."

  How Can You Be So Sure?

  Had I heard him right? There was no way he expected me to live in the shadow world for the rest of my life. That was ridiculous. I must have misunderstood.

  "What do you mean forever?"

  "I mean you can never go back there, Harper," he said. "The Order of Shadows is too powerful. They'll find you no matter how far we run."

  "So we find a way to fight." I pulled my knees up close to my chest. Despite the fire, I was shivering. "And what about Aerden? Do you just plan to leave him over there all alone? Eventually I will die, you know. Even here. Then what?"

  Jackson closed his eyes, his jaw clenched as if trying to keep himself from saying something.

  "I won't just sit back and let them win, Jackson."

  His left hand balled into a tight fist. "You're not listening to me," he said. "They'll kill you. Or did you forget everything that happened a few days ago? If we hadn't shown up and brought you here, they would have killed you."

  "But you did show up," I said. "Alone, I might not have a chance, but if we all stick together-"

  "We barely made it out of there alive," Jackson said. "We didn't even have the power to fight them all. They're too strong. All I did was freeze them just long enough for us to pull you through the portal. If we had stayed to fight, we'd all be dead right now."

  "Maybe so," I said, practically shouting at him. "But it was four of us against a few dozen of them."

  Toward the back of the cave, Mary Anne shifted and moaned. I took a deep breath and lowered my voice.

  "What if we built an army?" I asked. "If we find enough witches and demons to fight with us, we could win with sheer numbers."

  "And how are we supposed to do that?" he asked. "Every time we get a coven of witches on our side in the human world, the Order kills them all without hesitation. And here in the demon world? There's a handful of rebels, but most demons are under the rule of the King of the North who would rather ignore the Order's entire existence while our citizens are stolen out from under us."

  "Maybe we could talk to the king. Reason with him. Tell him what we've seen the Order doing to the demons. Maybe he just doesn't understand."

  "The king isn't going to listen to a human," Lea said, taking me by surprise.

  I hadn't heard her move from her spot at the mouth of the cave. She stood next to the fire and nudged a log with the tip of her boot, sending sparks up into the air.

  "Then maybe he'll listen to you and Jackson," I said.

  "We are the last demons he would listen to," she said. "Besides, he isn't going to change his mind about the Order. He's a coward when it comes to fighting them."

  "How can you be so sure?" I said, lifting my chin defiantly.

  Lea laughed and shook her head.

  "Because he's my father."

  Rivals

  "You're a princess?"

  "You say that like it's so hard to believe," Lea said with a sly smile.

  In her leather pants and tight corset top, she didn't look like any princess I had ever imagined. Plus, she didn't exactly seem refined and regal. She was definitely more biker chick than royalty. Of course, I had no idea what royalty even meant in the shadow world. Maybe their princesses were supposed to be tough and snarky and difficult in every way.

  "Close your mouth," she said. "You look like an idiot."

  I hadn't even realized I had my mouth open. I shut it quickly, embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I'm just surprised I guess."

  "Don't be," she said. "My father didn't think I was good princess material either. I was a constant disappointment to him and my mother both."

  "Is that why you left?" I glanced from her to Jackson. I had a feeling I knew why she left, but I wanted to hear her say it.

  She shrugged and sat down. "Partly, I guess." She looked down at her boots. "And partly because Jackson had gone. Aerden was my friend too, you know. We all grew up together. And my father? Well, he refused to help after Aerden went missing. He was too scared of what the Order might do to his kingdom if he invaded their territory."

  I bit my lip. She'd gone because of Jackson, not his brother. I felt pretty certain of that. "So your father is the king of the entire shadow world?"

  "No," she said. "The world is divided into two kingdoms. The north and the south. My father is the King of the North."

  "And what about the King of the South?" I asked. "Would he be willing to help us?"

  Jackson and Lea exchanged silent looks.

  "What?" I hated it when they did that. It always made me feel like they were keeping things from me. Or maybe what really bothered me is that they were obviously sharing in something I couldn't be a part of.

  "Forget about the entire Southern Kingdom," Jackson said. "They won't help us."

  His answer wasn't good enough for me. I knew he wasn't telling me the whole truth. "Why not?" I pushed.

  "Because the two kingdoms are rivals," Lea said. "Enemies of the worst kind. If anyone so much as crosses the border between lands, the king has them thrown into his dungeons to rot. Wars have been fought in the lands between the kingdoms, leaving nothing but ghosts and monsters. Even if we wanted to, we'd never make it there alive."

  I swallowed nervously. The way Lea's voice cracked a bit when she said ghosts terrified me. If it was something she was this obviously afraid of, it was something I wanted no part of.

  "Does the Order take demons from their side of the shadow world too, then? Or is it just the north?"

  Another look passed between Jackson and Lea. I wanted to confront them about it, but
I was so tired of being angry.

  "We don't know," Jackson said. "I would assume so, yes. But there's been no communication between the two sides for a very long time. The Southern Kingdom is completely separate from us, as if they were a part of a completely different world."

  "I never came across any demons in the human world who were from the south," Lea said. "But that's not saying much, especially since I couldn't find a way to communicate directly with any of the demons who were already slaves. It was rare to find a free demon like Jackson or myself."

  "So it's possible that the Kingdom of the South would want to fight against the Order," I said. "Even if it meant pairing up with some of the demons in the north for a little while."

  Lea rolled her eyes. "You don't know what you're saying," she said. "This rivalry is ancient. There is a hatred so strong between my father and the King of the South that nothing, not even a common enemy, could bring them together."

  Frustrated, I leaned back against the wall of the cave. How would she know if no one had ever tried? If no one had talked to the demons in the south for more than a hundred years, how could they possibly know what was going on over there?

  "It's complicated," Jackson said. "Don't forget that demons are immortal in this world. We don't pass into the Afterworld unless we choose to here, or unless our lives are wrongfully taken from us."

  "Immortal means forever," Lea said. "And trust me when I say that forever is an awfully long time when it comes to holding a grudge."

  I had so many more questions, but I was having a hard time keeping my eyes open. Besides, it seemed like each answer just led me to another question. And since we weren't leaving this world any time soon, I figured I had time to ask more questions later.

  "I'm going to lay back down," I said. I curled up close to the warm fire and willed my mind to stop spinning.

  Lea got up and walked back toward her post at the cave's entrance.

  Jackson leaned over me and placed a warm kiss against my forehead. "When Mary Anne wakes up, we'll try to get on the road," he said. He placed a blanket over me, and I pulled it close. "Get some sleep. I'll be up front guarding the entrance to the cave if you wake up and need anything, okay?"