Page 27 of Princess Avenged

He picks up one of the largest books and reads the title, engraved and inlayed with gold on its side.

“That one contains information about other realms,” I tell Crusher.

“Realms?” His head cocks to the side. “You keep using that word as if we should get what you mean.”

“Dimensions?” I sit in the worn leather chair in front of the book I was reading when I was interrupted. “Humans have yet to fully understand their entire world. In fact, not many vampires or other supernatural creatures even appreciate the scope of the existence we inhabit, never mind those that run parallel to ours.”

“There are worlds running parallel to ours?” Flame leans onto the chair beside me. “Cool.”

“Is that proven or theory?” Crusher frowns.

“Oh, very proven. The magic keepers uncovered these secrets—at least some of them—thousands of years ago.”

“So, we need to talk to a magic keeper.” Crusher drops the book, and it lands with an echoing thump. “Why waste time with books, if we can just ask questions?”

“Crusher.” Flame leans over a railing two stories above us. “Don’t you know those words are like a stake to Blade’s heart.” Grinning, he winks at me.

I didn’t even notice that he’d gone up there and, as he makes his way around the bookshelves, lights come on to illuminate each section he enters.

“No offense,” I tell Crusher. “It’s a good question. Unfortunately, The Council of Magic Keepers are not exactly generous in sharing information. Especially not with vampires.”

“That sucks.” Crusher pulls another book toward him. “But I have ways to make people talk.”

I shake my head. “Threats and violence won’t work with magic keepers.” I push the book about portals and other realms toward Crusher. I’m hoping we’ll find a way to kill this demon in our own realm, negating the need for portals, but I need to give Crusher a job to keep him quiet, while I research.

“Take a look through this for me,” I ask him. “It’s in Latin. You remember how to read Latin, don’t you?”

He shrugs. “A bit.”

The Master gave us some basic education, but I was the only one of the four of us who showed much interest in learning anything that didn’t involve our main subjects of study: getting stronger, mastering combat skills, and learning the best ways to kill.

“That book has basic information about other realms,” I tell Crusher as he traces the embossed lettering on its cover. “If nothing else, it’ll help you understand where the demon came from.”

Frowning, Crusher nods. The legs of his chair scrape over the mosaic floor, then he sits and opens the book.

I return my focus to the section I was reading when we found out about Phil, and a chill traces through me. I’ve been trying to push what I read out of my mind, but now that I continue, it’s worse than I thought. Every detail fits.

There is a particular type of demon—the loose English translation is Pain Monger—and it’s the closest match to what we’ve seen yet.

This demon gains power through pain, particularly the pain of women. I continue reading and it keeps getting worse. According to this book, if this demon chooses a mate, causing her pain will give the demon power to control the minds of all beings on earth—especially after he implants his chosen mate with the seed of evil.

And when the demon’s mate bears children, not only will that cause her tortuous pain, her offspring will also be demons. And they will spread the seed of evil, until all the minds in this realm, human or beast, are commanded by the Pain Monger’s will.

At this point in the book, there’s an illustration so horrific I close my eyes. I know it’s just an imagined future, but the images of torture and flames and cruelty are revolting to fathom. My blood turns to ice, and sweat rises on my skin.

“What’s wrong, buddy?” Flame’s hand lands on my shoulder.

Snapping shut the book, I shake my head.

“Too many horror stories? You know you won’t sleep.” Squeezing my shoulder, he grins, but this is no joke.

“Any of those books have pictures?” Flame glances toward the stacks on the table. “Any with weapons? Let’s see if I can find out more about that dagger.”

I draw a deep breath to calm myself. I love how much Flame wants to help. And how proud he is that he was the one who found the illustration of the dagger Rasputin used to mark Phil.

Thinking of Phil brings on a new wave of grief, almost like I’d forgotten he was gone for a second. I stare at the book’s cover, worn brown leather embossed with gold, and as soon as Flame finds a book to look at, I open it back to the same page. Now I’ve discovered what kind of demon we’re facing, I hope this book contains insights on how we can kill it. But given it still exists in this realm, after the magic keepers expelled most demons…

“Blade?” a voice comes from the side of the room, and I turn toward it. It’s the archive assistant who helped me find all these volumes. She gestures from one of the doorways leading out of the main research hub.

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