Page 117 of The Demon's Discovery
“The maze is where the portal was,” I instructed, leading us all through the backyard. We divided, half taking one entrance and half the other. The moon was bright enough to help light the way, along with some lanterns we’d taken from the kitchen. Footprints in the grass were easy enough to follow the center.
“Nothing unusual,” Rylan reported, both of us taking in the statue and the fountain. “That’s… certainly something.”
I couldn’t help but smile, remembering Greta’s face when she’d told me about this place. “He’s handsome enough… for an angel anyhow.”
“Says the demon who looks like one,” Rylan teased. “Is that her old work area?”
“Likely,” I said, taking in the worn wooden table that was less than half the size of the one she had at d’Arcan, and the clever storage boxes she’d used underneath. I pulled the boxes out, sorting through the useless contents quickly. They’d certainly not provided her with anything worthwhile during her time here, not that I was surprised.
“Where was the wormhole?” Magnus asked.
“Here,” I said, approaching the section of hedge where I’d last seen them.
Rylan and Calla set to examining it, but they had just as little luck as I’d had.
“I can smell the magic,” Calla said, “but it’s… I don’t know how to describe it. Flat. Like the energy has all disappeared from it. It was here and left a trace, but it’s not active any longer.” She frowned, her dark braid slipping over her shoulder as she bent down to look closer at the foliage.
The beat of wings drew our attention, and Rylan straightened as Archimedes flew in from overhead. As he flapped down to land on the shoulder of the angel statue, a man walked into the maze.
“Seir?” I blurted, immediately recognizing the familiar features of my brother. “What are you doing here?”
“Have you missed me?” He sighed, a grin on his face despite the harsh words he was offering. He opened his arms and stepped forward, wrapping me in a quick embrace, then Rylan. He appraised Magnus, who looked down at him with a raisedeyebrow and a face that dared him to try the same thing with him. Magnus only grunted as Seir wrapped his arms around his ribs but started to chuckle.
“You’re all mad,” he grumbled.
“Definitely,” Seir confirmed. His golden eyes glowed, and his smile revealed several additional pointed teeth.
The stone kin cat that usually followed Calla around trotted in after him.
“There you are, Morticia,” Calla greeted the cat, who rubbed around her ankles. “Where have you both been? Has Belmont been with you?”
Seir watched their interaction with interest. “She’s quite the creature. Found me and sent me on my way with efficiency. Though I’m betting she’s still cross with me for being able to move as quickly as I do. Being able to appear just about anywhere I like within a few moments definitely has its advantages. At least coming here, I was able to bring them with me.”
Calla glanced up, acknowledging his commentary, but she was clearly focusing on whatever the cat was trying to communicate to her.
“How did you know to go there?” she asked the cat, then turned to Archimedes who seemed unusually tired. He had already tucked his head under his wing as if to catch a nap. He hooted a series of soft sounds, making Rylan frown.
“The demon hordes that popped up within the city walls came through portals, not rifts between the worlds,” Rylan said. “Someone let them through intentionally.”
Magnus swore. “I knew there was something suspicious about all that. Gaius should never have been injured so badly, either. There’s a troublemaker on the inside, just as we suspected. The more I learn about the council the angrier I get.”
“Why did they come to you?” I asked my brother.
He splayed his hands wide. “They stopped off to see Tap first, naturally. He’s the one who guides familiars, after all. And manages all the doors.”
“Where is Belmont?” I asked.
“In the fae realm,” Seir confirmed. “Tap sent him directly.”
She had some help already, then. My chest loosened a fraction.
The tip of Seir’s prehensile tail reached over to give Morticia an affectionate pat on the head. It had a tufted end, and she leaned into it, her eyes closing. That was one of the only features I’d been sad to lose when I’d made the full transition from Hell to Earth.
“Not that we’re not glad to see you, brother, but why did Tap send you?” Rylan asked.
Seir smiled. “You know he can’t leave his post. Things get all twisted up when he steps away from the gates. He’sstillcleaning up the shitstorm that was waiting for him when he got back from your wedding,” he gestured at Rylan. “So he sent a portal with me so you can get where you need to go.”
I exhaled at his assertion, my relief palpable. “What are we waiting for then? My mate is in danger.”
