Women of the Otherworld 10.5 - Counterfeit Magic by Kelley Armstrong
Authors: Kelley Armstrong
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walk-in closet and eased the door shut. Then I used a spell to unlock a second door, this one leading to a cupboard barely big enough for me to squeeze into. A decent hiding place. But what I wanted was what we kept in this hidden cubby—our ritual materials.
I’d only tried demon exorcism once. Lucas was more adept at it, but even he couldn’t always manage the tricky ritual.
At the thought of Lucas, I hesitated. If Adam was possessed, could Lucas be, too? No, he drank a weekly potion to guard against it. So did I. Adam was supposed to, but he swore the brew gave him a headache, reacting to his demon blood. Besides, as Adam argued, demons rarely possessed the children of lords. Too many political implications.
But even if Lucas wasn’t possessed, maybe this was still connected and he hadn’t really—
A thud as the demon pounded on the bathroom door. “Come out, you little bitch! I made a bargain and I’m damned well going to keep my end of it.”
I started gathering everything I’d need. Dragon’s blood, buckthorn— I pulled the box for buckthorn off the shelf. It was empty.
Empty? Who the hell would leave —
Savannah.
Goddamn it! Taking the last piece of bread and not putting it on the grocery list was bad enough. We were going to have a talk about this. Right after I had a talk about Adam not drinking his anti-possession brew.
“Do you think I can’t break this door down? You have three seconds to come out, or that’s not all I’m breaking!”
Okay, forget Savannah and Adam. First, I had to survive long enough to chew them out.
I grabbed more boxes from the shelves, ripping off lids, praying Savannah had just misplaced the buckthorn.
“Three, two, one…” A crash as he kicked in the bathroom door.
Face it, I wasn’t finding the buckthorn. Not in time anyway. What other ritual could I use? Would rituals work against him if my spells didn’t? What if—?
“Where the hell are you hiding, witch?”
His footsteps thundered down the hall.
I grabbed vervain from the shelf. It was for banishing ghosts, but it might weaken the demon enough for my spells to work.
My hands trembled as I poured the dried herbs into a censer. As the demon thumped into the bedroom, I lit the censer. He went straight for the closet, and ripped open the door.
A grunt, as if he could sense me inside, but couldn’t figure out where I was hiding. Hangers clicked as he searched. Then, with another grunt, he found the inner door. He kicked it in. Splinters rained down on me as I blew hard on the vervain, sending a cloud of smoke into his face.
The demon coughed and swatted at it. The yellow glow in his eyes dimmed.
“Vervain?” he said. “Do you think I’m some lowly shade to be banished with— ”
I hit him with a knockback. He barely teetered, but his eyes widened as he realized I’d weakened his immunity.
I launched an energy bolt, then a knockback, then another bolt and he stumbled back, dazed. I hit him again—this time with my hands—and dodged past him into the bedroom.
“You’re only going to piss me off, witch,” he yelled as he came after me. “And that’s not something you want—”
He stopped. Still running, I glanced back to see him frozen in place. Then I smacked into Savannah as she rounded the top of the stairs.
“That’s not—” I began.
“Adam. Yeah, I know. He was acting weird at the office. Avoiding me, which is weird for Adam. I knew something was up, but when I went to confront him, I found myself trapped. Bastard jammed a chair under the doorknob. Unlock spells don’t really work well on that. I tried calling you, in case he was coming here, but I guess he’d already arrived.” She glanced over at me. “He hasn’t been taking his anti-possession brew, has he?”
“Apparently not. I cast a demon reveal, thinking I could get into the storeroom and whip up the
I’d only tried demon exorcism once. Lucas was more adept at it, but even he couldn’t always manage the tricky ritual.
At the thought of Lucas, I hesitated. If Adam was possessed, could Lucas be, too? No, he drank a weekly potion to guard against it. So did I. Adam was supposed to, but he swore the brew gave him a headache, reacting to his demon blood. Besides, as Adam argued, demons rarely possessed the children of lords. Too many political implications.
But even if Lucas wasn’t possessed, maybe this was still connected and he hadn’t really—
A thud as the demon pounded on the bathroom door. “Come out, you little bitch! I made a bargain and I’m damned well going to keep my end of it.”
I started gathering everything I’d need. Dragon’s blood, buckthorn— I pulled the box for buckthorn off the shelf. It was empty.
Empty? Who the hell would leave —
Savannah.
Goddamn it! Taking the last piece of bread and not putting it on the grocery list was bad enough. We were going to have a talk about this. Right after I had a talk about Adam not drinking his anti-possession brew.
“Do you think I can’t break this door down? You have three seconds to come out, or that’s not all I’m breaking!”
Okay, forget Savannah and Adam. First, I had to survive long enough to chew them out.
I grabbed more boxes from the shelves, ripping off lids, praying Savannah had just misplaced the buckthorn.
“Three, two, one…” A crash as he kicked in the bathroom door.
Face it, I wasn’t finding the buckthorn. Not in time anyway. What other ritual could I use? Would rituals work against him if my spells didn’t? What if—?
“Where the hell are you hiding, witch?”
His footsteps thundered down the hall.
I grabbed vervain from the shelf. It was for banishing ghosts, but it might weaken the demon enough for my spells to work.
My hands trembled as I poured the dried herbs into a censer. As the demon thumped into the bedroom, I lit the censer. He went straight for the closet, and ripped open the door.
A grunt, as if he could sense me inside, but couldn’t figure out where I was hiding. Hangers clicked as he searched. Then, with another grunt, he found the inner door. He kicked it in. Splinters rained down on me as I blew hard on the vervain, sending a cloud of smoke into his face.
The demon coughed and swatted at it. The yellow glow in his eyes dimmed.
“Vervain?” he said. “Do you think I’m some lowly shade to be banished with— ”
I hit him with a knockback. He barely teetered, but his eyes widened as he realized I’d weakened his immunity.
I launched an energy bolt, then a knockback, then another bolt and he stumbled back, dazed. I hit him again—this time with my hands—and dodged past him into the bedroom.
“You’re only going to piss me off, witch,” he yelled as he came after me. “And that’s not something you want—”
He stopped. Still running, I glanced back to see him frozen in place. Then I smacked into Savannah as she rounded the top of the stairs.
“That’s not—” I began.
“Adam. Yeah, I know. He was acting weird at the office. Avoiding me, which is weird for Adam. I knew something was up, but when I went to confront him, I found myself trapped. Bastard jammed a chair under the doorknob. Unlock spells don’t really work well on that. I tried calling you, in case he was coming here, but I guess he’d already arrived.” She glanced over at me. “He hasn’t been taking his anti-possession brew, has he?”
“Apparently not. I cast a demon reveal, thinking I could get into the storeroom and whip up the
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