Ruby Shadows Read online

  “I don’t think so,” he snarled. “You’re to be held here for the hearing. After that, the Council of Elder Demons can decide what to do with you.”

  “But you can’t do that to me,” I protested, feeling panic well up in my throat. “Laish specifically told me to come back to you so that you could send me home.”

  “Lord Laish is not here anymore, thanks to you,” the old demon said stiffly. “For the sake of his memory, I will allow you to stay sequestered in his rooms here at the top of the Citadel until the hearing instead of locking you in the dungeon. But that is the last kindness you can expect to get from me or anyone by invoking his name.”

  “But—” I began but he was already calling for some guards.

  “Conduct Ms. LaRoux to Lord Laish’s private living quarters,” he instructed the burly demon who came at his summons. “And then stand guard at the top of the stairs and see that she does not leave.” He turned to me. “Your hearing will be held at first light tomorrow. I suggest you enjoy your comfortable quarters while you can. I very much doubt you can expect such living arrangements when the Council hands you over to Druaga.”

  Before I could answer, he swept out of the library, leaving me alone with the burly demon guard and a very, very bad feeling in the pit of my stomach.

  ~ ~ ~

  “My Lady Gwendolyn? My Lady Gwendolyn, are you there?”

  The soft knocking at the door of Laish’s living area got my attention. Not that I was doing much more than staring at the pattern in the thick carpet and wondering how in the Hell—no pun intended—I was going to get out of here before the travesty of a trial began. If Druaga got his hairy hands on me…but no, I couldn’t think about that. I couldn’t.

  “My Lady Gwendolyn?” came the squeaky little voice again.

  Sighing, I got up and went to open the door. Standing there, bowing and nodding anxiously, was Bobbin, the little imp I’d befriended the last time Laish and I were here. Which seemed like an eternity ago now, even tho it had barely been two days.

  “Yes, Bobbin, what do you want?” I asked.

  “Oh, my Lady Gwendolyn, it’s not what I want but what do you want?” He searched my face as he tugged nervously at his sharp little horns. “Master Belial says you’re to have anything you want for dinner—anything at all. So what can I get for you from the kitchens?”

  I frowned. Belial knew full well I couldn’t eat anything from the Infernal Realm—not without getting caught here indefinitely. Yet he had sent Bobbin to taunt me with the offer of food. He might as well have sent the little imp with a note telling me to give up—that I was going to be stuck here forever.

  “Nothing—I don’t want anything from your kitchen here,” I snapped.

  Bobbin’s little face fell. “All right, my Lady. Please forgive me for disturbing you.”

  The dejected look on his little face was more than my conscious could take. Yes, I was being held prisoner in Hell and I had little chance of escape but it wasn’t right to take it out on someone who just wanted to help me.

  “Wait, Bobbin, I’m sorry, it’s just that I can’t eat food from Hell.” Suddenly I had a thought. “You said I can have anything I want?”

  “Anything! Anything at all.” Bobbin looked up at me, his eyes shining hopefully.

  “Well, I don’t know if you can get to it but Laish left me a supply of the food I can eat,” I said. “They were in Kurex’s saddlebags—you know, the big horse we were riding?” Just thinking of the massive Demon-steed made my heart ache. Where was he now? I hoped resting quietly in the stables. I couldn’t bear to think of him being mistreated by his huge demon master.

  Bobbin was already nodding his head eagerly.

  “Yes, yes, the saddlebags! I know where they are—I can get them for you!”

  “Well, as long as you won’t be putting yourself in any danger,” I said hesitantly. I could just see one of Kurex’s big feet coming down by accident and squashing the little imp.

  “No problem, my Lady Gwendolyn—no problem at all!”

  Eyes bright with excitement, he turned and scampered off, happy to be sent on a mission.

  I barely had time to sit down and worry about him before Bobbin was back, lugging the heavy saddle bags behind him. I thanked him very much and gave him a kiss on the cheek which made him blush with pleasure. Then, as soon as he scampered off again I pulled the heavy bags to the couch in the living area and started digging for the food Laish had left me.

  Luckily it looked like nothing in the bags had been disturbed. Even my battered plastic Zephyrhills bottle and the books Laish had let me pack were intact, as was the food.

  I hadn’t meant for Bobbin to bring me everything but now I blessed his curly little head. At least I wouldn’t be thirsty or hungry and the books gave me a way to pass the time while I tried to think of a way out of here. I wished one of the spells might help me get out of my sticky predicament but since giving up my virginity without forming a soul bond had halved my powers, that was out of the question. Still, at least looking through the books was something to do besides brooding.

  I leafed through the spell book I’d picked, looking at spells at random. There were the usual suspects—love spells, charms for good health and hexes for your enemies. Also an interesting spell for warding and protection of the innocent—that one must be to use on children to keep them safe. Then I came to one I’d been looking at before—a spoken spell to bring hidden things to light.

  “Hmm,” I muttered to myself. Some of the words were written in curling, archaic handwriting that I would have had a hard time understanding if I hadn’t studied Grams’ grimoire so thoroughly. She had lots of old fashioned spells like this. Without even thinking about it, I whispered the words under my breath.

  “As ye be lost, so be ye found.

  As ye be hidden, so be made known.

  As ye be cursed, so be set free.

  By the power of the Goddess

  By the rule of three

  I invoke thee, I invoke thee, I invoke thee.”

  As I finished speaking the words of the spell, a surge of power went through me, surprising me.

  “Oh!” I gasped. But I didn’t have time to wonder at the electrical rush that still tingled in my fingertips. Something fluttering near the corner of my eye caught my attention. Eryn, my pet moth, had risen from my shoulder and was beating her wings wildly in agitation.

  “Hey, little girl,” I said, worried about her. “Are you okay? You—”

  But I never got to finish the sentence. For at that moment, Eryn landed on a spot on the floor right in front of my feet. Then she began to grow and change so rapidly that if I would have blinked, I would have missed it.

  One minute there was a postage-stamp sized moth with tiny, feathery wings sitting by my feet. The next, a girl with long, pale blond hair and frightened purple eyes was staring me in the face.

  I recognized her at once—it was the girl I’d seen in the Mirror of the Eye and she was standing right in front of me.

  Chapter Thirty-three

  Gwendolyn

  “Gwendolyn?” she asked, looking at me. “Oh, Gwendolyn, thank you! I thought I’d be a lily-moth forever.”

  “Eryn?” I stared at her blankly. “Is that you?”

  “It is.” She came forward and took me by the hands, looking earnestly into my face. “Ah—I knew I’d be able to touch you, even in my true form,” she said, smiling. “Your heart is pure, then.”

  “If you say so.” I shook my head. “But I don’t understand. How…why…?” There were too many questions—I couldn’t get them all out so I just shook my head and decided to start from the top. “Who are you?” I asked.

  “One who has been lost for a long time.” She made an expansive gesture with both hands and the feathery cape she wore around her shoulders rustled. I stared at it, my mind working on something I couldn’t yet name.

  “Wait a minute—that’s no cape. Those are wings,” I exclaimed. “You…you’re an�
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  “An angel.” She smiled at me. “I was dragged down from Heaven—trapped in a cruel snare set by the demons to take angels unawares. There is nothing they like so much as despoiling innocence.” She shivered. “When I found you at the Hotel Infernal, I had almost given up hope. But you were kind to me and let me ride on your shoulder. I tried to talk to you but most of the time you couldn’t hear me.”

  The penny finally dropped, as Grams would say, and a shock of understanding burst through me.

  “Wait a minute—an angel…one who’s been with me since I left the Hotel Infernal…” I jumped to my feet, pointing at her. “You’re the one—the thing that Druaga says I stole—the thing he wants back so badly.”

  “You won’t give me back to him, will you?” Her huge purple eyes grew wide with fear. “Oh, please—you don’t know the horrible, sick things he wants to do to me!”

  “I can imagine,” I said grimly, thinking of the disgusting boar-headed demon with his gleaming gold tusk and his oversized equipment.

  “He wasn’t able to touch me before because only one with a purity and love in their heart can touch an angel,” she went on quickly. “He was working on a way, though—he’d almost found the solution when I finally managed to take my other form and escape. But then…I got stuck. I couldn’t leave my moth form no matter how hard I tried. If you hadn’t spoken that spell just now I might have remained that way forever.”

  “You’ve been talking to me all along, haven’t you?” I asked, feeling stupid. “That was you in the Tunnel of Sighs. And that was why you got so excited over the Angel book in the library. Only I was too preoccupied with myself and Laish to pick up the clues.”

  “I do not blame you,” she said gently. “I’m grateful you were willing to let me travel with you. And…” She bit her lip. “I am sorry about Lord Laish. I knew him in Heaven you know. Before…before the Fall. He was the most magnificent archangel—he burned with a pure, white light more brilliant than the sun.”

  I thought of the being Laish had become—of his flaming eyes and hair and the vast, black wings. I thought of him telling me that he loved me and how I would never see him again…

  “Oh, I’m so sorry,” the angel said anxiously. “I did not mean to make you cry! Of course, I should not have mentioned him—not while your grief is still so fresh.”

  “No, no…it’s all right.” I wiped at my streaming eyes. “I just…miss him so much. Despite what he did right…right before he left. I…I guess I love him. Loved him, I mean.” I blotted my eyes on my t-shirt. “But it doesn’t mean I don’t want to talk about him—tell me more. Why did he leave? Heaven, I mean.”

  “There were many reasons why a third of the Heavenly Host decided to defect to Lucifer’s side and make war against the Creator,” she said, frowning. “But if I remember correctly, Lord Laish left for love—or for the possibility of love, at least.”

  “Love?” I raised an eyebrow. “The voice in the Tunnel of Sighs said it was pride.”

  “Well that is the root of all sins—pride in thinking you are right in your views, no matter what,” she pointed out. “But it was love, I am certain. You see, we angels are not attracted to one another for the Creator made us to be sexless beings.”

  “Really?” I eyed her skeptically. For an angel, she was no skinny minny. In fact, she had full curving breasts and hips that would have done a Plus-sized model proud back home. “No offense but you don’t look like you’d be sexless,” I said.

  She blushed, her pale cheeks turning a sweet, innocent pink.

  “Well, not all of us are. Some have urges and…and cravings. But just because one has urges does not mean one has to act on them.” She cleared her throat. “And as I said, we are not attracted to each other. But then the Creator made man and some of the male angels, well, they found the daughters of Eve lovely to behold. And they…” She blushed again, even harder. “They wanted to lie with them,” she almost whispered.

  I almost laughed—no wonder Laish had become a demon of lust!

  “So you’re saying that Laish got kicked out of Heaven because he wanted to get some from a mortal girl? Who did he fall for? What was her name?”

  “Oh no, you have mistaken my meaning.” She shook her head quickly, her wings rustling. “Some of the other angels did have relationships with mortal females. But Lord Laish did not. He only wanted the right to have such a relationship. But the Creator would not consent to it. It was and is still forbidden for an angel to have relations with a mortal being.”

  “Is that right?” I frowned. “And I’m guessing that an angel and a demon doing the nasty is off the table too, right?”

  She shuddered delicately. “As if anyone would want to lie with a demon! Well—not Lord Laish, I mean,” she said hastily. “I could understand that—even as a demon he was magnificent. But that beast, Druaga…”

  “It’s okay, you don’t have to explain—I understand,” I said. “And I completely agree with you—he’s disgusting.”

  Her purple eyes widened again.

  “If I hadn’t left just when I did he would have despoiled me and I would have been stuck here forever. Once an angel has been well, penetrated, she can no longer return to the Heavenly Realm and resume her duties as an angel.”

  “Well, Druaga’s not going to get a chance to despoil you,” I said firmly. “I promise you that…uh…You know, I’ve been calling you Eryn all this time but I just realized I don’t know your real name,” I said.

  She smiled sadly.

  “Neither do I. I believe I spent too much time in my moth form because I cannot now recall it. I do like the name you gave me, though. Eryn is a lovely name—you may keep calling me that if you like.”

  “All right. Well, Eryn…” I squeezed her hand. “I promise you’re not going back to that…that pig. We’ll find some way to keep you safe.”

  “Maybe another spell from your book,” she suggested eagerly.

  I thought of the spell I’d seen to protect the innocent.

  “Maybe,” I said cautiously. “But I’ve only got half my power now—I gave up half when Laish and I…when we, uh, lay together.” Was that the right way to say it? I didn’t want to offend her delicate angel sensibilities but she only nodded.

  “I understand. But maybe you could just try? In fact, maybe you could find a way for both of us to escape from here and go home.”

  “Open a door to another realm we could both go through on only half power?” I gave a short laugh. “Hardly. That would take two or three times the power I used to have. In fact, I don’t even know how I got the spell that turned you back to your normal self to work.” I frowned. “It’s weird—I wasn’t even trying.”

  “Maybe you have more power than you think.” Eryn looked at me hopefully. “Please, Gwendolyn?”

  “Well, there’s no harm in trying, I guess,” I said. Picking up the ancient spell book, I began paging through it again until I got to the spell for protecting the innocent. I read through it twice, very carefully.

  “Well?” Eryn asked eagerly, her face shining. And I mean that—she was literally shining with purity and light. I was guessing that angels never needed flashlights or light bulbs since they were their own light source.

  “It might work,” I said slowly. “If only I had the right materials to set it up. But I don’t have…” I stopped myself. “Wait a minute—let me look.”

  I dived for the voluminous saddle bags and started digging through them again. Sure enough, I found all the spell casting equipment Laish had brought with us for the summoning spell tucked neatly away in one of the large pockets. Okay, so I did have the necessary equipment—but did I have the power?

  I looked at the spell again and my heart sank as a detail I hadn’t noticed before caught my eye. This spell was meant to be worked by an entire coven—three or more witches at least—at once. Even a witch with Grams’ power and experience would have had difficulty getting results flying solo. And I was not Grams—even on
my best day I didn’t have her level of control and skill. Not to mention that now I only had half as much power as I’d had before.

  “Well?” Eryn asked again and this time there was a note of worry in her voice.

  I opened my mouth to tell her there was no hope but I couldn’t do it. She and I were facing the same awful fate at the hands of Druaga. I couldn’t just sit there like a lump moaning about how awful it was without even trying to do something about it. Even a failed attempt was better than giving up.

  “I’ll try,” I told her at last. “I’m afraid I can’t promise anything but I will try.”

  “Oh, thank you, thank you! That’s all I ask.” Her eyes were shining with gratitude I hadn’t earned. Half power or not, it made me determined to do my best. “Come on,” I told her. “Let’s get to work.”

  Some time later, I looked around, checking the circle I’d made on the thick carpet. I looked around, checking the circle I’d made on the thick carpet. With no other way to draw on it, I’d had to use some perfumed talcum powder I’d found among the bath things Bobbin had brought to me back when Laish and I first stayed here.

  Just the thought of Laish made my eyes burn and my throat feel tight but I went on resolutely, putting my grief behind me, at least for a little while. I had a job to do here and though I had no idea how I was going to do the work of three witches when I only had half the power of one, I knew I had to try.

  “Here we go,” I told Eryn. “Now you stand here, in the center of the circle while I call the corners. And after I speak the spell, be ready in case it works.”

  “What is going to happen?” She looked at me uncertainly.

  “I’m not sure,” I said truthfully. “It’s a spell for protecting and warding the innocent—I think it was originally used for children. Maybe to put an invisible wall of protection around them. Or ward them some other way in times of danger. I’m only able to use it on you because you’re a virgin.” I raised an eyebrow at her. “Um, you are a virgin, right?”