Page 79 of Demons Treasure Warlocks

He'd been in so much pain back then. Now he was going to fix everything. The how was another question. The one part of his plan that had Darius stumbling was the implementation. He couldn’t figure out how to block Hastur from returning. Every sliver of a possibility he thought of was excluded because of some weird loophole Hastur could use to his advantage.

“Tell me you know what you’re doing,” Bale said as they hurried across the grass. Bale’s hold on his hand was slippery. Was it Darius’s sweaty hand or Bale’s? “I was hoping for a bit more of a cartoon figure map…thing.”

“I know. I’m sorry, but he forced my hand. I realized if we kept waiting for the right moment, it wouldn’t happen.” Darius rapidly pulled his hair back in a bun and tugged the collar of his jacket up.

“Stars, this is going to be a disaster.” Bale’s heartfelt sigh rankled. It wasn’t as though Bale had just dropped into the centre of this. He’d been at the centre since day one.

“Listen, Bale. I have tried. Okay? I have been working this out in my head for a while now, and nothing seems to matter. We have one shot to get the drop on him, and if I can’t, we’re fucked.” Darius stopped dead and scowled at Bale. He needed to have Bale on board for this. There was no way he could do anything without Bale.

“Okay, then talk to me. What’s going through your mind?” Bale asked, kissing the back of Darius’s cold hand. “You should wear more coverings.”

“Really?”

The tear, the crack, the portal—however you wanted to call it—was tiny compared to the other ones. It was a mere blip, and it was the doorway that had allowed Darius home. It didn’t have emotions like the others seemed to. It was quietly there.

“This is it. How do you know if we destroy this one the others will close as well?” Bale asked. Darius shook his head, staring at his destiny.

“I think we need to recreate the acts from the night of the Red Storm,” Darius murmured, constantly discovering ideas. It made sense. Reverse the spell and reverse Hastur’s hold on their dimension.

“We don’t have Trey or Adam. How can we get them to do their part?” Bale opened his wings to shelter Darius as he thought out loud.

“Get Eye to call them.” As he spoke, his half-baked plans sorted itself into place. “Have them to go to the trail head and move toward us. Like before.”

“Darius, I’m not leaving you alone.”

“I swear to you, my love, on my soul, I won’t do anything stupid for the brief five minutes you’re gone.” Darius placed a fist over his heart and bowed.

Bale glared at him, suspicious and unhappy, before kissing him roughly. “Don’t you even think of it, or I will haunt you.”

ChapterThirty-Four

Darius took a deep breath and threw his shoulders back. He drew every magical particle in his body to the tips of his fingers. His whole being thrummed with untapped magic, and it made him wild.

Sending Bale away briefly was part of the plan. Recreating the night when their spells converged into one mighty storm was a way to permanently shut the bigger portals down. Isaac could handle that challenge. Darius had to turn off the tap though. It was tricky because he was sure it was attached to Hastur. How else did the demon manage to consistently have power to do shit?

The land rose in agreement, filling him with conviction. It agreed with his assessment. It needed Darius to do whatever possible to remove Hastur from the energy source. The constant drain was killing it.

“My darling Darius.” Hearing the odd blend of Jenkins and demon grated on the ears, but it was welcome.

“Hastur.”

“Did you get my little message? Is that why you came?” Hastur stepped through the air as though it were curtains. His tentacles writhed on ground before rearing back in distaste. “What did you do?”

“Nothing. Haven’t done a thing yet. Was still trying to figure it out.” Darius shrugged. The ground beneath their feet sent out tendrils of electricity toward Hastur, creating what seemed like biting grass. The land knew Hastur’s tricks. And it made Darius smirk.

“Have you come to surrender, admit you’re outgunned? No one likes you, Darius. You’ve failed in rallying your troops. Hell, you even lost one member of your team. How do you feel?” Hastur rose off the ground, his tentacles dangling as he grew more demonic and truer to himself.

“Means nothing. He had a crisis of faith. We all do. I believe in my friends,” Darius said. He hoped that Isaac managed to phone Adam and explain what the plan was. Darius trusted Trey. He was going to show up.

“I doubt he believes in you.” Hastur glanced around dramatically. “Where’s my Balor? Has he decided you weren’t worth it? Or is he one of mine once more? Must be so hard not having confidence for the love of your life. Always worrying he’s going to double-cross you.”

“Bale will do what he thinks is right. I have every faith in him.” One of the truest statements Darius had said that evening. If Bale showed up at Hastur’s right shoulder, he’d understand.

“Why won’t you admit you’ve lost?” Hastur scowled. He circled Darius in the air, trying to spook him.

“Because I haven’t.” Darius kept his eye on the prize, the small crack hidden behind Hastur’s moving body. “Even if I was standing here alone, with my friends gone, I’d still believe I had a chance. You’re the one who can’t admit that they’ve been outmatched. You’ve never managed to solidify a true power base here, on a weak-ass, puny human dimension. Your buddies in the Elder Demon convention hall all must be laughing at you.”

A tentacle lashed out at Darius, striking the side of his face. But Darius stood his ground. The air around grew hazy and dark as Hastur gathered his energy. This was what Darius needed, for Hastur to be distracted.

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