Page 80 of The Misfit Mage and His Darling Demon

She shook her hand loose, blowing on the pooled blood on her thumb. A toothpick fell from the loose, frayed sleeve of her dress, and she eyed it, then me. Right. Magician’s sleeve was code for something. She had a plan. I just didn’t understand a single part of it, and considering this was Kell, I couldn’t be certain she knew a single part of it either. She planned on shooting the demon with a grenade launcher—a literal fucking grenade launcher—and wanted me to stab it with a toothpick opposed to my actual dagger?

I knelt to retrieve her secret after-dinner weapon and sighed. I was going to die, either at the hand of this demon, a misfire by chaotic Kell, or an untimely demise by whatever she’d spelled on the toothpick. The magic radiated off it in waves, unlike her actual weapon.

“Get ready.” She smeared her bloody thumb on the side of the grenade launcher, willing the essence to obey her, and guided it with her hand toward the barrel.

“What’re you doing?” I asked wide-eyed.

“In case he tries dodging.”

The demon extended all six of his arms, letting out a deranged cackle. “Please. I have no fear of anything mortal or magical you throw at me. Hit me with your best shot.”

“Sure thing, Pat.” Kell fired a grenade.

It let out a loud pop, whooshed ahead, and hit the demon’s chest. Kell grinned when it bounced off and immediately burst into a huge explosion of black fire.

The demon belted out a deep, pained roar and an anguished shriek. His two voices screamed in a disharmonious melody cracking the actual air in the engine room. Black static popped, making each inhale hot and dry as the atmosphere changed.

I understood. Kell didn’t only use the essence to ensure it’d move fast enough to catch the demon if he fled but to augment the explosive power with something that’d burn up his essence.

“Anytime, Wally.” Kell whistled.

Right. I picked up the toothpick, completely unsure what to do until the bristles tickled my palm. Seriously? Kell used size distortion to warp a broom into a pocket-sized tool. That was such an advanced spell. Geez—I really needed to step up my game. I squinted, then scratched off a sigil. When the broom expanded to full size, I straddled it and waited for Kell to hop on before zipping away from the black flames engulfing the railing.

“Not that I don’t like your surprisingly well-thought-out plan, but we don’t exactly have a lot of flying room.” I whipped a sharp turn once we reached the ceiling and flew along the top of the engine room, keeping an eye on the flaming demon.

“All I need is a bit of distance.” Kell wrapped an arm around my stomach and waved her other, aiming the grenade launcher.

“We’re gonna die.” I squeezed the broomstick tightly, steadying the turbulence caused by frantic mana casting.

“Maybe, but that’s half the fun.” She popped off another two rounds, propelling grenades directly at the demon still ablaze with black flames.

He vanished, refusing to allow another explosive shot to hit him. I jerked the broom handle, flinging us around to scan the room. The demon’s screams raged from one end of the engine room all the way to the opposite side as he used his six hands to smother the traces of fire that clung to him despite zipping back and forth.

“It won’t work now that he’s aware.”

“Wait for it,” Kell whispered.

A second fiery eruption hit the demon in the back, swallowing him in black fire.

“I’m willing the essence to track him, target him.” Kell giggled. “Way better than heat seekers. He can outrun my fraction of essence, but this small space doesn’t give him a lot of options.”

Wow. She’d accounted for everything.

By the time the demon had gathered his bearings and zoomed away from the fire, the other grenade gave him chase, forcing him to move at blurring speeds to avoid a third strike. Chunks of scorched flesh fell to the floor, discarded remnants of the Fae body the demon wore. A trail of glittery blood, black flames, and sizzling essence zigged and zagged throughout the engine room in every direction. It didn’t matter. The explosioncaught him, lopping off one of his arms and throwing it into the air. It flopped onto the ground, lifeless and severed.

I squinted, having trouble seeing without my glasses, but it looked like a straight cut, much cleaner than I expected from a grenade.

“We’re not trapped in here with some dull demon,” Kell said, aiming her grenade launcher. “He’s trapped in here with a wicked witch and a misfit mage.”

I surged with mana, absorbing the confidence radiating from Kell. Saturating the dry air, I laced it with magic which offered more mobility and control during flight as well as making it easier on our breathing.

Kell popped two more shots. “Gotta reload.”

I muttered incantations, preparing a barrier and counterattack if the demon attempted to chase after us. But I wouldn’t let that happen. I continued flying circles around the engine room, tracking the freshest paths of carnage made by the demon as he avoided Kell’s last two grenades.

Another explosion hit, far to my right, farther than I realized he’d moved. I stared at the fire burning his chest, centered and controlled by telekinesis the demon cast. It charred his skin, but he kept the flames contained with his remaining five hands, working tirelessly to condense the fire, intensifying the heat into a tight ball.

Shit. I knew what he was going to do, and I wouldn’t let him use the same trick Kell used on the first demon we encountered.

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