Page 103 of Kiss of Magic

“Well, no, not me personally. We’re taught it in schools but I never really paid attention.” A thought occurred to Kam. “You’re speaking it now, aren’t you? How is it I understand you?”

“Because I desire it. How then are your ancient books and scriptures deciphered?”

“We have scholars who study the language.”

“I see.” A fleeting look of amusement crossed Zeferestiel’s face. “I fear there may have been some loss in translation. The ‘key’ in this case is not a simple locking tool.”

“It isn’t?”

“No. It is something which needed time to mature. Five thousand years, it seems. Only now is it strong enough to do the job for which it was intended. That is why the seal opened – because the power of the key is finally sufficient.”

Kam was mystified.

“Sufficient? Sufficient for what?”

They both turned as they heard a sound. Beautiful yet impossible to define. A long, crystalline note of inexpressible sweetness. A thousand silver bells chiming at once. Or a choir of angel voices singing one long note.

It lifted Kam’s heart, though he didn’t know why. His despair thinned and faded, to be replaced by hope.

A golden sphere of light suddenly appeared in the air above the ruins of the Gilded Palace. A sphere that glimmered and spun, shining like a beacon in the darkening skies of Nush’aldaam. Kam couldn’t take his eyes off it.

“Is that…?”

“The key, yes.” Zeferestiel nodded. “But not a key for a lock. It is so much more than that. This key was not designed to seal away the demons.”

“Then what? What is it for?”

The sphere seemed to shine brighter. The glow was reflected in the angel’s gaze and it seemed to Kam as if his very words hung in the air as he spoke them.

“It is the key to their destruction.”

The light exploded.

And in the mortal realm, Dani’s body thudded back onto the altar stone.

Forty Nine

The outer edge spread in an ever-increasing circle, rushing through the realm in a golden wave. Arjhan, Nurhan, Valkar, Feyir – every part of Nush’aldaam felt its magic.

It touched each inhabitant, be they fae or jinn, bestial or witch, dryad or nymph, jotnar or troll, or any of the hundreds of species that populated the plane. None escaped its reach. But only the demons felt its wrath.

As the expanding edge of light swept through them, they imploded. Every shred of bone and muscle dissolved in an instant. Every atom was destroyed.

Fae and jinn who witnessed the annihilation cowered in terror as the leading edge of light reached them – but it passed through harmlessly, leaving nothing more than a tingle.

In Nurhan, Shade watched in disbelief as the demons were vanquished in an instant. In Valkar, Salaq opened his eyes to find the creature about to eviscerate him had gone.

Kam watched the golden light pulsate over the city and turned to the angel.

“All of them?” he asked. “Every demon?”

“Dead. Gone.”

Kam’s immediate joy was tempered.

“I don’t wish to sound ungrateful but some of my friends are shaitun. Lower demons.”

“They will not be affected.”

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