Brad Magnarella [Magnarella - Druid Bond

I knocked twice and hid my sword behind the left drape of my open coat. Above a televisions murmur, heavy shoes paced toward the door. Seconds later, a shadow occluded the disc of light in the doors peephole.

Who is it? a voice barked.

I cleared my throat. Pizza delivery.

I raised the large, grease-spotted box for easier viewing. A moment later, light returned to the peephole.

Someone order a pizza? the voice asked.

A muffle of negatives responded until one voice rose above the others: Just take it.

Bolts thunked and the door opened until I was looking at a gaunt, whisker-faced kid in a black denim jacket and combat boots. The eyes that squinted back at me were raw. I tried not to react to the foul odor coming off him as I consulted the ticket still taped to the box.

Lets see Thatll be twenty-four even.

I have a coupon saying its free. A switchblade popped from his fist.

Whoa. Guess you do.

He grinned with crooked teeth as I held the box toward him, yellow flecks glinting from his eyes. That cemented it: I had my man. When he grabbed the weightless box Id foraged from a Dumpster behind the building, his smile staggered.

The fuck is this?

My turn to grin. Return to Hell day.

I drove my hidden sword through his gut and shouted, Disfare!

White light flashed from the blades topmost sigil. The demon had time to release half a hoarse scream before the banishing enchantment blasted him from his host in a cloud of sulfuric smoke. At the same time, healing energy drew around the blade, and I slid it from the kids stomach. I hip-checked him so hed land in the hallway and willed a shield of crackling light around myself.

Inside the apartment the four remaining demons launched from couches and easy chairs. They had been watching The Price is Right on an old cathode ray TV, no doubt awaiting their masters next marching order.

Reaching into a coat pocket, I fisted a handful of vials and, shouting another invocation, slung them into the room. The vials exploded in pops, showering the hellion crew with holy water. Screams went up along with hissing bursts of steam. The demon closest to me reared back, fists grinding into his bleeding eyes. I drove my blade through him and performed my second banishment of the morning.

Something crashed over my headthe coffee table, judging by the raining glasssending me into a stagger. Id let a demon circle my blind side, dammit. Pieces of splintered frame crunched underfoot as I recovered my balance. Another demon palmed the television and hurled it toward me.

Respingere! I called, sending a bright pulse from my protective shield.

The pulse smashed into the TV in a geyser of sparks. The force also blew through the three remaining demons. Still weakened from the holy water, they rag-dolled over furniture and into walls. A heavy bookshelf toppled, burying a demon in magazines and an impressive collection of glass bongs.

Have to be careful. Dont want to cripple or kill the hosts before expelling the demons.

I grabbed the nearest two demons with shaped forces and pulled them onto my blade for banishments three and four. Pre-possession, the gang of denim-clad teens had been using the apartment as a crash pad. The demons had claimed them wholesale, maybe to better disguise themselves. They had escaped magical detection, thanks to their passage through the Harkless Rift, but they still behaved like demons. Some demons were also known to have giant appetites. Disappearances around the building coupled with a high volume of jumbo pizza deliveries had led me to this unit.

I looked toward the fallen bookcase now and swore. The final demon wasnt there anymore.

I blocked the doors and windows, I called, turning in a circle. No way out. Might as well take your medicine like your friends.

I opened my wizard senses until the astral plane bloomed into full view. Faint void-like trails streaked the apartment, all filling in except for one. It trailed from the mess of the toppled bookcase, where rank bong water was spreading into a pool, to the back of the couch. Thin tendrils of steam rose past a set of drawn curtains above the couch: holy water wounds.

Using magic, I swung the couch out. The exposed demon tried to skitter for cover, but I hardened the air, pinning him to the threadbare carpet.

Do you know who youre fucking with? he spat toward the floor.

No, tell me.

He rotated his head. Dank, dark hair dropped across a face highlighted by glowing yellow eyes. The eyes grew as they stared, pulsing brighter. Looked like the demons master was coming through for a visit.

Good.

Despus, he said in a voice that was suddenly deeper.

Sorry, but is that supposed to mean something?

He snorted. Youre in over your head, wizard.

And yet youre the one making love to the floor.

I could feel hints of the demon masters power, but he was too large to breach the rift that my Order was defending and repairing. His presence, mediated by this minion, a lesser demon who had bum-rushed the rift with hundreds of others in Arnauds wake, was just a sliver of the actual demon master.

Release me, he said, and Ill forget this happened.

Despus had been lucky to get five minions into the world, and now it looked like he was down to his final one. He knew that keeping him here was critical if he hoped to claim souls and maintain his place in the underworld hierarchy, never mind moving up. That gave me a powerful bargaining chip.

Im already on the shit list of a demon lord, I said, referring to Sathanas, whom Id banished from St. Martins Cathedral two years earlier. So being on yours isnt exactly tremor inducing. Youre going to have to do better than that.

Despus hissed and went into a fit of writhing against his containment. I crossed my arms and leaned against a wall. Within seconds, the demon came to a panting rest, sweat streaking the sides of his face.

Release me, and Ill make it worth your while, he amended.

Too vague.

He wriggled his fingers, releasing currents of infernal energy. His transparent confinement rippled with the collision of magic, but I could barely feel it.

You done? I asked.

He swore and dropped his hand. What is it you want?

Information.

Ill tell you whatever I know after you release me.

Before, I countered. And I wont release you, but Ill agree to postpone your banishment for seven days, provided your information is useful. That would mean extending the hosts servitude for another week, but I didnt feel too bad. According to the police, these guys had been far from Boy Scouts.

No deal, Despus said.

I strolled toward him, looking up and down the length of my blade. Youd rather I banish you now?