Eddie did as he was told, watching his fractured blob consume more and more wraiths as it moved toward the mountain top. The wraiths seemed unable to avoid the thing as it pulled them into its orbit and sucked them up.
My eyes widened. I couldn’t tear my gaze away from the train wreck of a magic bubble. It had grown as big as my car and was still growing. “When will it explode?”
Eddie shrugged. “Pretty soon, I think. That mountain’s going to be too much for it to consume.”
My lips flapped like a fish’s. “It’s going to eat the mountain?”
“It’ll try,” he responded, watching his handiwork with as much fascination as I was.
A loud click preceded a gasp of sulfurous air. The ward was broken. “There!” Osvald said, his tone self-satisfied. He turned the knob and pushed the door open, stepping back and giving a bow and a flourish. “After you,” he told Archie.
Archie squeezed Osvald’s shoulder. “It’s good to have you back, old friend.”
A happy light came into the ugly professor’s eyes. “It’s good to be back, old friend.”
With an impatient sigh, Sebille pushed past the two men. “Join a knitting circle, you two. Geesh.”
I laughed softly at the looks on their faces and followed the sprite inside.
Eddie was on my heels, followed by Narina, who was chuckling, and then Archie and Osvald.
Our smiles didn’t last long. In fact, they dropped dead as we stepped into a large, well-apportioned kitchen. Killed by the scary-looking woman wearing the scarlet robes covered in pink hearts.
“Thar she be,” I said, channeling my favorite deceased pirate parrot. I’d know that clothing color scheme anywhere.
The demon princess, Desiree.
20
Is There a Book for That?
“Well, well, well,” the princess said in a condescending tone. “What have we here? An assembly from that busybody Lovelace, I presume?” Her smile was mean. “Or simply a group of the love-less?” Her laughter was husky, the sentiment behind it mean.
Archie stepped up behind me, Osvald loitering near the door.
Narina and Eddie took up places at each of my shoulders. Their presence felt like a buffer against the evil I could feel coiling around our hostess. Or, should I say, Dacara’s visitor. Taking strength from my family surrounding me, I notched my chin upward. “Where’s Dacara?”
Desiree’s head tilted slightly, reminding me of a curious bird. Her waist-length, mahogany hair hung in glossy waves around her face, slipping past her plump shoulders to curl around her waist. She wasn’t slender by any stretch of the imagination. In another time she would have been called Rubenesque. The demon princess set her pale, beautiful features into a pleasant mask. Her skin was flawless, her cupid’s bow lips red, and the purple of her eyes was so dark they looked black when the light wasn’t hitting them.
I could feel the rage and malevolence pulsing on the air around her, along with a phenomenal magical energy. She was a very powerful creature.
In that moment, I wished I’d left the only artifacts I’d found in that castle intact. The Ferryman of Hades’ scythes, used to ferry the dead across the River Styx, would have come in handy about then.
“The dual sorceress is…resting. She wasn’t in the mood to be helpful so I’ve given her some time to think about it.”
“Helpful?” Narina asked. “With what?”
The princess looked down her nose at my mother, her lip curling just the tiniest bit. “That’s my business.” Her gaze slid to Eddie and she smiled. The sight of that smile made my bowels twitch with fear. “But since the inspiration for that business is standing right there…” She licked her lush lips.
Archie, Narina, and I all moved closer to Eddie.
Energy flooded from my brother at the feral look on Desiree’s face, biting at my skin.
I rubbed my arm and forced myself to hold my ground. If Desiree wanted to hurt Ed, she’d be going through me, my uncle, and my mom. And judging from the page flipping sounds behind us, Osvald too.
“Stand down, peasants.” Desiree laughed. “I have no desire to dominate the handsome sorcerer, though I would enjoy playing with his scrumptious magic.”
Eddie tensed, his power level rising until my hands were rubbing frantically against my arms.
He glanced at me, frowned, and said, “Sorry. I’m a bit tense.”
Fotunately, he tamped his energy down a few ticks.
“I merely wanted to question the Dual Sorceress about the devotion magic she’s been working on. I understand it’s quite powerful. Not as good as love, of course, but good for a start.”
I frowned. “Devotion? Why would a demon love princess need that kind of spell?” Unfortunately, I knew why Dacara thought she needed it. She’d likely been creating it to use against my brother. Dacara had always wanted Eddie for her own. Or at least she’d wanted his magic. After experiencing even a small amount of that magic, I could understand why.
“That, also is no concern of yours. A much better question is, why are you here?” Desiree demanded, her dark-purple eyes narrowed in obvious anger.
“We’ve come to take back the serum,” I said, fighting to keep the wobble out of my voice.
“Serum?” Two lines dented the pale flesh between Desiree’s slender, arched brows. “What serum?”
A soft, derisive snort sounded somewhere above me.
I stilled, hoping Desiree hadn’t heard the sprite. As before, Sebille had come into the castle incognito and in sprite form, so she could be our backup plan in case things went mammaries up, as they tended to do when Sebille and I went on an adventure together.
Desiree’s gaze narrowed, lifting toward the sound, and I spoke quickly to distract her. “The love serum. It belongs in the vault at the artifact library. As Keeper of the Artifacts, it was under my protection. You removed it from the library. I’ve come to get it back.”
Desiree’s expression turned mulish. “That serum belongs to my people. We created it. We’ve used it at our wish and will for millennia. You have much nerve coming here and demanding my
