Battle With Fire (Demon Days & Vampire Nights)

“We are ready, my lord,” one of the women said.

Lucifer checked the circle, noting the correct use of the symbols. He stepped inside and waited while the women started to chant. The writhing was a bit dramatic, but whatever kept them answering summons…

The magic swelled and he had a brief feeling of falling. Blackness rushed in around him. Air pressed against his body. In a moment, his feet touched down on marble, driving his weight down to one knee.

He blinked and stood, glancing around his monitoring chamber. Images flickered of the various areas of his kingdom. His assistants waited to the side.

“Welcome back, Great Master,” Victoria said, its legs a little shorter than usual, likely because of all Reagan’s taunting. “How did it go?”

“Better than expected.” He started forward. He had a lot to do. “She will come back here, I have no doubt. Not until after the war, though.”

Victoria followed him closely. “Did she share her plans?”

“No, but my resolve is unchanged. If she is in any danger at all, she’ll be removed and taken to safety. I will not lose her. I can crush the elves without her, and any others foolish enough to stand in my way. Tell Vlad time is up. Get his vampires down here and whatever other creatures he is able to secure. We will get ready to move.”

“Yes, sire. I will put the plans into effect.”

Penny startled out of a deep sleep as a warning thrummed through her body. She sat up in a rush, Emery doing so a hair later. The ward!

She leapt out of bed in one of Reagan’s spare bedrooms—she had three after the latest upgrade—and hurried to the window, ripping back the blackout curtains. The morning sun glowed in her face, making her squint. Nothing moved along the side of Reagan’s property, the budding day still and quiet. On this side of the house, anyway.

Another warning blared through her, locking up her joints for a moment and slithering down her back. Someone was using magic to poke at the ward now, trying to figure out a sneaky way through.

“Are they mages?” she asked, suddenly out of breath as she pulled on sweats.

“It’s impossible to say. The elves have a lot of powerful creatures at their disposal, and they’re experienced in dealing with wards and spells. I ran from more than you can count.” Emery shrugged into a shirt and grabbed his shoes.

The warning came again, manifesting in slight physical pain. They were working at tearing down the ward.

“It’s a solid ward,” Emery said as Penny threw on a sweatshirt. “It’ll take a long time for them to get through. We should be okay.”

“It won’t take nearly as long for Reagan to burst out of here and attack whoever is on her property.”

Penny threw open the door and rushed down the hall to the master suite. Once there, she didn’t bother with theatrics—she cranked the handle and pushed the door open just as Emery swung around the top of the stairs and took them two at a time. Inky black greeted her, zero light making it into this room.

“Reagan,” she said, closing the door behind her and fumbling for the light switch.

“Yes.”

Sheets moved in the darkness. A hand slid under Penny’s, reaching the switch first, and she flinched away. The light flicked on, and there was naked Darius, much too close.

“Good God—” Penny pushed to the other side of the closed door.

Reagan pulled on her leather pants. “What do you have?”

Darius zoomed across the room, glancing at the clock before pulling on his clothes. He wouldn’t be able to do anything, though, not at this time of day.

“We don’t know. Someone’s trying to get through the ward, kind of sneaky-like.”

“Sneaky-like, huh?” Reagan said with a little grin. That meant terrible things. “I wonder if it could be a coincidence that this is coming so soon after Lucifer visited…”

She pulled down a sports bra and shrugged into a tank top. She didn’t bother with weapons, just snapped her fanny pack into place and headed for the door.

“Should I call someone in?” Darius asked, dressed and in the middle of the room, probably feeling helpless.

Grateful not to be in that position for once, Penny pulled the door open a crack and stepped into the still-dark hallway.

“Nah,” Reagan said, following her out. “If they’re trying to be sneaky, that means they’re not ready for a serious altercation. Surprise! I’m always ready for a serious altercation.”

Penny hurried down the stairs, Reagan behind her. The feeling of the ward being tampered with dug between her shoulder blades—someone was pouring substantial power into breaking the spell.

Emery stood in the hallway by the back door, looking their way. He pointed, his gaze on Reagan. She nodded, and Penny had a feeling he was silently communicating something.

Reagan flattened her back against the door, looking to her right at the curtain covering the thin back window. Emery stepped up to Penny and leaned in close, his lips to the shell of her ear.