Damned and Cursed (Book 9): Witch Trial Read online

  He approached the closest wall he could find, belonging to a hair salon, and pulled a copy of the photo Leese had taken of the boarding school.

  "Let's go save Alex."

  CHAPTER 27

  Kevin wanted to race, wanted to hurry, but kept his emotions under control. Leese stayed close through their slow trek of the boarding school, their shoulders touching. The photo he'd used for a portal took them over previously covered ground, starting back at the room where Leese was first attacked.

  There were no demons.

  He wondered if the glasses were broken in some way. The walls were still translucent, revealing the skeletal backbone, and a mass of long-forgotten, decaying rooms, but all the demons were missing.

  He wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing.

  "What's going on?" Leese whispered. "It's too quiet."

  "I know."

  They passed the ladies' bathroom, where they had the earlier battle. Evan was still there, trapped in ice.

  The demons that were frozen previously were gone as well.

  Leese squeezed his arm.

  "Kevin," she said.

  "Yeah. I'm freaked out, too."

  The magical trinket Martha and he created earlier was still in the bathroom corner, although the red glow seemed weaker than he remembered. He took a step past, but stopped and stared at Evan a moment longer.

  Sighing, he stepped into the bathroom.

  "What are you doing?" Leese asked.

  Kevin threw a fire potion at the base of the ice prison. Only half the ice melted before the magic wore off, so he threw another. One day, he'd learn the trick that Aggie used to instantly dissolve it.

  His thoughts drifted to Aggie, and all the terror she caused. Ruining Martha's home, taking her hands.

  All because his parents were witches.

  Evan coughed as he collapsed to the floor. Free from the ice, he pushed himself away from Kevin and Leese, against the wall. He looked about wildly, trying to figure out what was happening.

  He lifted the gun, still in hand.

  Leese gasped, but Kevin already his hand raised. The three bullets stopped near his palm before falling. He pulled a potion and handed it to Leese as Evan reloaded. Evan's hands shook. Kevin didn't bother lowering his ring. Gunfire from one handgun wasn't a problem, didn't cause much pain.

  "Drink this," he said.

  "Okay. What is it?"

  "It counters this."

  He tossed the vial at Evan. It shattered against the wall next to him. Evan smiled, as if Kevin missing was a victory of some kind. He aimed, but his muscles went limp before firing another shot. Only the wall held him up.

  "Sleep potion?" Leese guessed.

  "Memory," he corrected, holding up a finger. "One year. Gone. Maybe it will get him away from all this."

  They made it to the next hall, where visibility was terrible. He left mothballs in the air above them as they walked, lighting the way. Part of the wall and ceiling had collapsed years ago, nearly blocking their path. Kevin climbed over the mess first, then held Leese's hand to help her.

  "Can you see Michael?"

  He could, although he wasn't sure he trusted his eyes. Michael was still in the lecture hall, another hallway over. Alex was still on the table, not moving.

  Michael sat on the floor next to him. The distance and blurred walls made it difficult to pick out details, but it looked like he was crying.

  "Yeah."

  "And Alex? Is he okay?"

  "I'm really not sure what I'm looking at here."

  They approached the open doors. Leese stopped him before he could walk inside.

  "Wait," she whispered. "This doesn't feel right. Are there any traps? Any demons hiding in the corners?"

  "I don't see any." He pulled off his glasses and unsheathed the appropriate potion. Humans needed extra magical help to use his glasses. "You can look, if you want."

  "No, I trust you. I just…don't know what's going on. I mean, what are we doing? Are we going to kill him?"

  "We're going to get Alex out of here. Then we'll figure the rest out. I'll go in, invisible, and then—"

  "Hey," Michael called. "They already told me you're here. Just come in."

  Neither Kevin or Leese moved. After ten seconds passed, Leese shrugged, and nodded toward the doors. They walked in, side by side.

  Michael had indeed been crying. His eyes were red, and not from the typical effect that a demonic human possessed. Leese gasped at the sight of Michael's new wings. She hadn't seen them until then. They were extended straight out, as if he were in mid-flight, instead of folded behind him. One twitched slightly, knocking over one of his extinguished magical wards.

  He couldn't control them.

  "Who is they?" Leese asked.

  "My family." He spit the word. "They're coming and going, between the three realms. Just having fun. It's…it's a mess." He squinted as he stared at Kevin. "How did you get here, Kevin? I thought you and Alicia broke up?"

  Kevin was taken aback at hearing his name, and details from his life.

  "Do I know you?"

  "No, but I know you."

  "Alex!" Leese called, taking a cautious step forward. "Are you okay?"

  "He can't hear you. He's…hibernating, or something." Michael rose to his feet and moved about nervously. His wings knocked aside various objects as he turned. An old desk, a chair, a chalkboard. "I can't completely drain him. It's just not working. I have no idea why."

  Kevin and Leese shared a glance. Their own magical trinket was in effect.

  Or there was more to Alex and his ties to the demon world that no one knew.

  "Where did you get all this?" Kevin asked, eyeing the magical notes nearby. He shook his head, deciding the answer wasn't important. "Listen, magic and the demon world. That's a bad idea."

  Michael laughed.

  "I've been studying magic since before you were born. Please, don't tell me your limited opinion."

  "Yeah, well, I am a witch, and believe me, I haven't seen many spells about demons."

  "You haven't been looking in the right places."

  "Okay, then, tell me," he said, gesturing about. "How is all this working for you?"

  They were stunned when Michael's face twisted into a deep sadness. He turned his attention to Leese.

  "Tell me, is this what Alex sees? All the time?"

  "What do you mean?"

  He broke down.

  "I see them. The people that were killed here. The children. Dying, over and over. It's like I'm there, right next to them. It's horrible. And then the demons, they've taken some of them. Brought them back, hurt them more."

  "You can't control them?"

  "No. They won't hurt me, or Alex. I gave Evan a concoction to make him invisible to them. I guess you've already dealt with him by now."

  "He'll be okay."

  Michael was quiet for a moment, deep in thought.

  "All I wanted was to not be alone anymore. I just wanted my family. But…they don't care about me. They keep calling him—" He pointed to Alex. "Master. After everything I've done, all the research, all the sacrifice, they still love him." The sadness changed to anger. "This is all his fault."

  "No," Leese said. "We can fix all this. Put it back how it's supposed to be."

  The few remaining jars flickered wildly, casting odd shadows on the walls. The air turned cold.

  A low, guttural growl filled the room.

  "Supposed to be? No human should be able to do what he does. So, you want him dead? Is that what you want?"

  The shadows started moving. Leese pressed closer to Kevin. Their eyes drifted around the room.

  "Ah. Looks like they're back again. There's only one way to fix this."

  Michael pulled out a gun.

  "No! Don't!" Leese shouted.

  She was already running forward when Kevin pulled the magnet from his pouch. He threw it at Michael, over Leese's shoulder. Michael's gun-hand yanked upward roughly, toward the magnet,
as it sailed past him. A round fired off. The gun flew from his grip and smacked the magnet, falling to the floor.

  Leese was nearly on top of him. She jumped in the air wildly, screaming. Michael spun and struck her with a wing, throwing her aside.

  Mangled, twisted heads and hands stretched their way through every surface, reaching out. The demons were coming.

  Michael grabbed a nearby broken chair and raised it over his head. His eyes gleamed of hate and anger as he stared at Alex. Gun or not, Michael intended to kill him. Kevin threw a potion he hadn't yet named. In shattered near Michael, and repulsed everything nearby. Desks, chairs, debris, all scattered. Alex fell off the table and landed on the floor before sliding into the wall. Michael was right behind him, the claws on his wings scratching the wood. It was overkill for the simple goal of disarming Michael, but effective.

  Watching Alex, one idea finally came to mind. Kevin didn't know how Michael, a human, had acquired magic to steal demonic powers, but there was one thing that always made Alex feel better.

  Kevin threw a fire potion across the room. The flames engulfed Alex and started to spread. Michael backed away, tripping over an old cabinet, to escape the fire. Apparently, for all the bragging he did about research, he didn't know fire wouldn't hurt him.

  "Kevin!" Leese called.

  He turned to see her in the corner. A pair of demon arms were wrapped around her waist. A third arm reached out from the shadows and clutched her leg. A fourth snaked around her neck. Finally, a head emerged above her. It opened its mouth, ready to sink its teeth into her throat.

  Kevin ran and aimed his flashlight, striking the demon's eyes. It recoiled back into the darkness with a wail. Leese was gasping for air when he reached her.

  "Are you okay?" he asked, pulling a vial of water.

  She nodded, then her eyes grew large. There wasn't time to warn him.

  Michael had pushed his way through the growing horde of demons. He stabbed Kevin in the back with a broken piece of glass. Then a second, and third time. Kevin stumbled forward, dropping the water, and fell into Leese's arms. She caught him as they fell to the floor together.

  Michael loomed over them. His outstretched wings, with a blazing fire behind him, made him look like the demons he wanted to control.

  "I didn't want to hurt you, Alicia. Any of you. But you just won't stop."

  He raised the broken glass, ready to kill Kevin.

  Leese grabbed Kevin's hand, still holding the flashlight. She aimed it back over his shoulder, drawing a shout of pain from the man she never wanted to hurt. The move worked, though, as the light found Michael's eyes. He stumbled back, his wings flailing wildly.

  "Hold on," Kevin said.

  She shouted as they started to float. They wrapped every limb around each other. Kevin squeezed the feather tighter, and they picked up speed. Michael's wing struck them as they went past, spinning them in circles. Leese screamed as she squeezed tighter. Kevin was in agony. He was bleeding badly, didn't know how much longer he could hold on. The spinning didn't help, making him nauseous. The room below looked like a scene from Hell. Demons ran amok. Some seemed to attack and feast on entities Kevin couldn't see. The other spirits Michael talked about?

  Kevin made sure he smacked the ceiling first. Dizziness settled in along with nausea. Leese gripped the ceiling and flipped them, so she was on top. She felt along his ribs, bringing an odd sensation of being tickled mixed with pain.

  "Don't go nowhere, sexy," she said, pulling a vial of water.

  His words were slurred, slow.

  "Sexy. Haven't heard that…in a while. You're sexy…wearing that magic."

  She noticed the glazed look in his eye.

  "Shit. How much blood did you lose?"

  She carefully touched the water to his finger. His grip slipped, and Leese nearly lost the vial.

  "I think I'm going to puke."

  "Drink this first. Then puke."

  Some water dribbled down his chin, but he drank half. He squeezed Leese tighter as his strength returned. She stared into his eyes, giving him that smile of hers.

  "Better?" she asked.

  "Yeah. Thanks."

  "What do we do now?"

  He turned his head to see demons had gathered beneath them, pawing and licking at the dripping blood. They looked up, snarled, then went back to their feast.

  Michael had recovered from Kevin's blinding light. He watched them as he was pushed about by demons. Finally, he pulled his wings in behind him.

  "That is what you waste your time on? Floating? Bright lights?"

  Kevin brushed a strand of hair away from Leese's face. A streak of his blood ran down her cheek.

  "Do you have any more fight left?"

  She was tired. Healing magic took care of the body, but the mind also had its limits. Leese had been fighting longer than Kevin, been through so much more.

  She nodded.

  "I'm with you," she said.

  "I guess I'd better figure out how to use these things," Michael said, moving his wings. "I'll come up there and get you."

  Kevin ignored him.

  "Okay. The big pouch on your right hip, there's a plastic bottle cap in there."

  "Seriously?"

  "Yeah. Take it, and just drop it—"

  A collection of growls below cut him off. He turned to see the horde looking about, growling, clawing at something unseen.

  Their eyes shifted to Michael.

  "What are you doing?" he asked.

  His wings were gone.

  They slowly approached him, a terrible look in their eye. He had nowhere to run. The circle grew smaller and smaller.

  Their harmonic voice shook the lecture hall with a simple statement.

  "You. Not. Master."

  Michael screamed as he disappeared into the mass of claws and fangs. Demons fought each other to get to him. The sound of flesh being torn made them cringe.

  "I can't believe I'm saying this. We have to help him," Leese said.

  Kevin agreed. Victoria, Jack, possibly even Alex would disagree. But there were ways to deal with enemies other than letting them get ripped to pieces by monsters.

  Before he could think of a plan, a voice rose above the growling.

  "Stop!"

  They looked across the hall to see Alex, resting on one knee. His clothes were a burnt mess, scraps and pieces hanging from arms and legs. Confusion was etched on his face, as he tried to piece together what was happening.

  "Alex," Leese called.

  He looked up at his little sister, frowned once more, and waved politely. Even knowing a witch, seeing two people clutching each other on the ceiling was an unusual sight.

  The demons backed away from Michael and parted, like soldiers opening a path for their king. Alex jogged, nearly stumbling once or twice, before finding his footing.

  Wings sprouted from his back, a familiar sight.

  "He's back," Leese said. "We're safe."

  Kevin wasn't entirely sure. He released two fingers from his feather and pushed away from the ceiling. Gravity slowly reclaimed them. They landed next to Michael as Alex joined them. Leese hugged her brother.

  "Are you okay?" she asked.

  He nodded, but clearly wasn't entirely himself.

  "Yeah. Whatever he did, it's gone now. I could hear everything going on, just couldn't do anything." He nodded at Kevin. "That fire bath did the trick."

  The voice made the hair on Kevin's arms stand.

  "Masssssster."

  Alex ignored the horde around them and focused on Michael.

  The man who tried to take everything from him lay on his back, blooding running from his mouth. He was still alive. His arm was severed from the elbow, his nose missing. His right leg was bent backward, bone exposed.

  "Is there anything you can do?" Alex asked.

  Kevin prepared a vial and dropped to one knee. Michael reached up and snatched his wrist, startling him.

  "No."

  "It'll heal you.
"

  Michael coughed and spit up more blood.

  "I know what it is." He knocked the potion away. "And…no."

  "But you'll die."

  "Yeah. I'll die." He looked at each of them. "If I had a family like you…." He didn't finish the thought. "Make sure you always appreciate each other." He weakly motioned toward the demons. "Even them. And keep Cindy close. You'll never find anyone like her."

  He reached into his back pocket.

  "Just one thing," he said, pulling out a page from his notebook. "Can you tell me what this says?"

  Alex took the page and glanced at it. He offered it to Kevin, who shook his head. Neither of them had any idea what it said. It was symbols, but nothing they recognized.

  "No."

  "Shit. Maybe they'll tell me when I'm dead."

  He let out a laugh, which turned to tears.

  "Ham and cheese sandwiches are her favorite," he said. "But no crust. Make sure you tear off the crust."

  His body went still. He stared straight ahead, at the ceiling. Kevin had spent half the night fighting him, but still felt horrible. There wasn't a sense of winning a great battle, of conquering a great evil. They'd merely outlasted a lonely, determined man who'd gotten a hold of magic.

  The three said nothing. Leese reached for Kevin's hand. Alex stared at Michael's face, lost in his own thoughts.

  Then he jumped to his feet, staring at something only he could see.

  "Alex?" Leese said.

  He said nothing. The demons reacted as well, snarling and bearing their teeth.

  "You…want to go with them?" he asked.

  Silence. Kevin and Leese watched the one-sided conversation. Was he talking to Michael? For all the magic he possessed, Kevin would never be able to peer into the spirit world.

  "Look," he gestured around him. "I control them, yes. But only here. In their world, I don't know—"

  More silence. Alex shrugged his shoulders reluctantly.

  "Okay. I guess…good luck." He nodded to the demons worshiping him. "It's time to go."

  "Massster—"

  "It's time."

  One by one, the demons started to vanish. There were moans and more calls of Master while they went. Only the three of them remained in the lecture hall, along with Michael's corpse. They were quiet in the suddenly still boarding school. Only the sound of the spreading blaze was heard.