“With what?” This came from Daniel, who looked a little wide-eyed, like he was wondering whether he’d have to open an investigation.
“Not actual blood. Well, not these days, not with modern spellcraft. Blood of an Evil Man is a type of spell, an intensifier that adds power to whatever magic you’re working with.”
“So you don’t really use blood?”
“Well, you can. Some old-school witches and sorcerers probably still do. But we’ve got better methods now to achieve the same effect. Cleaner. And blood can be hard to get.” Roxana laughed, showing her white teeth, and Daniel smiled back. “People are often reluctant to part with it.”
“Especially evil men, I’d imagine.”
Roxana laughed again. “True. And how many people do you know who walk around going, ‘Oooh, I’m evil’? Makes it hard to advertise for blood donors.”
Daniel looked right into her eyes as they laughed together. Pretty rotten of me to break up their party. Or not. “Could we get back to the shield, please?” They both turned to me with the faces of scolded children who didn’t feel one bit guilty. It was annoying. “So, Roxana,” I said, “what you’re telling me is that there was nothing special about the timing. The shield could have been breached any day of the year.”
“Not by a Hellion. Not that, ever. But we never expected a magical attack. So you’re right in a sense. After the thirtieth—huh, that’s today, isn’t it—the shield would have been much harder to damage.” She flipped a strand of hair back over her shoulder. “It’s back to full strength now, though. Daniel told you we repaired it, right?”
“You what?” A hot, sick feeling possessed me, like I was suffocating. “With the Destroyer running around Boston? Are you crazy? You’ve sealed it inside!”
Those stupid witches. They’d trapped Difethwr inside the very city it promised to destroy. Which meant it was only a matter of time until the Hellion razed Boston, killing hundreds or even thousands of people. It didn’t need a legion. It could do that all by itself.
What if I couldn’t stop it in time? Those witches had sentenced half of Boston to death.
The sick feeling was swept aside by an electric jolt. My fist clenched, and along my right forearm, the scar itched and burned. I made the mistake of looking at Daniel as the demon essence flared, and I wanted to pound his smiling face into his desk over and over and over, until not even his damn wife would recognize him.
Whoa. Not that. I closed my eyes and forced my clenched fingers to open. They fought me, and my arm spasmed. I pushed the image of Daniel out of my mind and focused instead on opening my hand. If I could do that, I’d be in control. Me, not the demon mark. Come on, Vicky, I thought, focus on the real enemy. Face up to what you’re really afraid of. Difethwr. Sealed inside the city. Your city.
The thought was terrifying. And rage felt way better than fear, so I let it flow. The mark pulsed as I allowed the rage to flame around the edges of my mind. The demon mark’s pulse was slow and steady, nothing like my crazy-fast racing heartbeat. Instead, some deep, ponderous rhythm of Hell was coming alive in my body. No! I turned my rage toward that, toward the Destroyer itself. The demon that had killed my father and marked me for life. It was in the city, and it was trying to use its essence to control me. I wouldn’t let it. I’d just have to kill the thing. That had been the plan all along, hadn’t it?
My fingers flew open.
I inhaled deeply, then exhaled. I opened my eyes. Roxana was gaping at me, looking nervous. “We had to repair the shield, Victory,” she said. “We’ve sensed a spike in Hellion activity; the Destroyer is assembling a legion. If we don’t keep them out, there will be hundreds of Hellions attacking Boston, not just one.”
It made sense. I didn’t like it, but it was the less terrible of two really bad choices. And it was true that if Difethwr couldn’t get out of Boston, it couldn’t escape me. Not that it had been running away from me so far.
“We need to find out who breached the shield in the first place,” I said, surprised that my voice sounded normal. “Who knew it was due for renewal?”
Roxana frowned. “That’s what bothers me. Only the Witches of the Shield knew. We’re all sworn to secrecy, and we take that vow seriously. The only reason I’m able to tell you and Daniel all this is because we had an emergency meeting and voted to cooperate with the authorities.”
“It doesn’t matter, you know,” I said, deciding to clue her in after all. “About the date, the timing. Those spirits are always around. Halloween is just the day humans decide to notice.”
Roxana’s face clouded, and then she smiled. “Of course,” she said. “So we can renew the shield whenever we want.” She was quick; I liked that.
“And you can keep the new date a secret, or even change the date each year.”
“Excellent.” She beamed at me. “You’re already helping us stay one step ahead of the demons.”
“Except for the one we’re dealing with now. So let me see if I understand what you’re saying. You think it was a witch who made the hole?”
Immediately, the clouds returned. Her violet eyes now holding inexpressible sadness, Roxana nodded. “It had to be. Who else would know the date? Who else would know the charms we used?”
“What if a witch told somebody else?”
“Like who?”
“Like a sorcerer. The Destroyer didn’t just show up. Somebody called it, then bound it. It has a master. No offense, but I’ve never met a witch powerful enough to do that.”
Roxana nodded thoughtfully. “I see what you mean. It might have been a witch and a sorcerer working together. Or maybe one of the witches let some information slip.”
“Hang on,” Daniel said, jumping in. We both looked at him. At least I didn’t want to smash his face anymore. “There’s a difference between a witch and a sorcerer? I thought they were just different words for the same thing.”
I shook my head. “A witch does magic by working with the energy of the earth. A sorcerer conjures demons and forces them to obey his or her will.”
“Witches,” added Roxana, “are forbidden to use their magic to cause harm, to themselves or others. Sorcerers don’t have any such scruples.”
“No kidding,” I said. “How can you ‘do no harm’ when all your magic is tied up with demons? Sorcerers may fool themselves into thinking they command demonic servants, but the truth is that no demon ever served a human without taking a bite out of that human’s soul.”
“Wow. Okay, thanks.” Daniel slouched in his chair as if trying to fade into the background again.
Roxana turned back to me. “I was afraid it was one of us. So at our last meeting, I put everyone under a truth spell, including myself, and asked each witch if she’d damaged the shield. Everyone said no. Now, it’s possible to create a counter-charm that lets you lie under a truth spell, if you prepare it in advance. But I’d called the meeting with only an hour’s notice, and I didn’t sense that kind of magic happening. I’ll try again, but this time I’ll ask if anyone gave an outsider any information about the shield. Even if it was by accident, even if they’ve forgotten, the truth spell will bring it out.”
“Kind of like hypnosis, huh? That’s a good idea,” Daniel said. “Let me know what you find out.”
Roxana nodded. “I’ll call another meeting today. In fact, I’d better get started. But before I go, Victory, I’ve got something for you.” She dug through her purse for a moment, then pulled out a clear stone attached to a leather cord. “This amulet will call the Witches of the Shield to your aid when you next encounter the Destroyer.”
“Thanks,” I started, “but I don’t—”