Faerie Mage: An Urban Fantasy Novel (Vampire's Bane Book 1) by Marian Maxwell

Author:Marian Maxwell [Maxwell, Marian]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3, mobi
Publisher: Blackwater Press
Published: 2016-10-23T20:00:00+00:00

18

The shadow demon leveled his staff and the ghouls relaxed into a hunched posture. Mona didn’t know which was worse: their scimitars, long fangs, or the putrid odor emanating from their oily, matted fur. The black magic of a necromancer had transformed them from humans into beasts loyal to their master. Mona’s parents’ bodies had never been recovered. The thought of them shambling around the Nine Hells at some monster’s beck and call set her trembling.

“The behelit,” the demon leader hissed. “Lord Korka demands it.” A bolt of raw magic arced out from his staff and blasted the ground by Mona’s feet. “Our Master does not like to be kept waiting.”

Mona rubbed the front of a cold foot against the back of her calf. It was a fine mess she’d gotten herself into. Should I message Kelendril and tell him how I screwed things up? Doing so would disrupt the parley and make the fae suspicious. Plus, Kelendril and the councillors would think she was a massive idiot and never trust her to be alone. After hearing their eagerness to sell her to the fae, Mona wasn’t exactly keen on going back into their custody. Every minute the fae went without hearing her name was another minute of freedom.

At least that’s how it was supposed to be. Mona cursed under her breath as the shadow demon stepped in front of her and flared his wings. “The behelit!” he bellowed. “Or die!”

“They keep it in the Headmaster's tower,” Mona said, cringing back. “Please, don’t hurt us. I’ll show you the way.” She hadn’t decided yet if she telling the truth. No, the seed wasn’t in the Headmaster's tower, but she would take them to where it really was if it meant saving the students. It was a question of how long she could keep the demon and his ghouls on a wild goose chase.

A plan began to form in Mona’s mind like frost spreading on a windowpane.

Oh, I’ll lead them somewhere. I have the perfect place in mind for dealing with hell spawn. And saving the students, too.

“This way,” Mona said, almost adding “precious” at the end. She felt like a good little Gollum, sweet treachery flowing through her veins as she scampered along the roof. This way, little hobbitses. You can trust Smeagol.

The students, shadow demon and his ghoul minions went trotting after her.

“There,” Mona said, putting one foot on the ledge of the roof and pointing straight at the Headmaster's tower—or what was left of it. Once standing twenty stories high, it now lay in scattered piles of rocks across the Academy grounds. “Your lightning really did a number on it. You should be more careful with magic, you know.”

The shadow demon looked down on Mona with a flat, unblinking gaze. “It was not my doing.”

“Oh, sure!” Mona said, firing up the theatrics. “No one wants to take responsibility when things get damaged. Haven’t you been attacking us for the last three days? Who else would it be?”

“The storm, was it not cast by your magi?”

Mona squinted at him.

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