The Demon King and I (14 page)

I took a deep breath. I would never say it out loud, but I was scared to death. If he lost control—

“I will not fail you, Gillian.” His lips were so close to my ear it felt like a kiss. He’d used my name. Hands sliding to my neck, his body pressed against the back of mine. Hard muscles and strength, it took all my wits to keep from leaning into him.

“Close your eyes, and move forward.” I did and I felt his warmth wrap around me. I was no longer frightened. I’d been surrounded by a warm glow of comfort. I took a few steps and suddenly my body was weightless in the air. I kept my eyes closed, but I heard strange noises, and it was difficult not to look.

“Listen to my voice, Gillian. A few minutes and you will be home.”

A child yelled and reflex made me glance ahead. A man held two children by the scruffs of their necks. He shook them as if wanting to break their bones by the force of it. They didn’t cry, but both had fierce expressions on their tiny faces.

For some reason I knew it was Arath and his brother and I wondered if their father had been cruel. I wanted to reach out to the children and take them with me. In fact, I wanted to do that more than anything.

“Do not hesitate,” Arath’s voice chided. “Move forward; you see only what the energy wants you to see.”

I closed my eyes and this time it was a woman’s scream that made them open. I saw Markie, her chest bleeding. “Gillian, help me, please.” Tears streamed down her cheeks and I couldn’t keep from calling out to her.

“Markie. I’m so sorry.” My arms reached out of their own volition. I started to move toward her. The blood poured from her chest and I knew I had to stanch the flow if she were to survive.

“No!” Arath’s voice bellowed. “Your friend is already dead. You cannot help her. These are tricks. Keep moving forward, Gillian. Whatever you see it is not real. Send your mind forward. You are almost there.”

The demon king was right. Markie died days ago. These were illusions. It was difficult but I shut my eyes again. The screaming stopped.

A pain shot through my back as a force pushed me through something. I felt cold steel and pushed against it. The force shoved me through into the control room. I was home.
Thank you, Arath.
I knew that last bit of force came from him.

I turned sideways to keep from hitting the wall across the room head-on and crashed into it with my shoulder.

“You always do know how to make an entrance, Gilly.” Bailey shot a hand down toward me. “Come on, we’ve got work to do.”

CHAPTER 16

“Where the hell have you been? Mom was about to
call for reinforcements.” Bailey tried to drag me out of the control room.

“Hold on, little bro, I’ve got to unload my weapons.”

He looked down to see I held the new guns he had developed.

“Oh, fun. Did you get to use them on the demon hordes? And what the hell kind of portal was that you came through? I thought it was going to suck the house through it, it’s so strong.”

“No to the guns. Sorry. The way things are going, I’m sure I’ll get to use them soon. As for the portal”—I put my sword and harness back on the wall—“it was a Vex.”

His head snapped back so fast he looked like Linda Blair in
The Exorcist.
I hated that movie.

“Mom’s going to be royally pissed.” He shook his head. “I don’t think I want to be in the room when she finds out.”

I shoved him out the door and into the hallway. “Thank you for your support, but it happened to be the only way I could get home. There’s some nasty black magic causing havoc in the universe.”

He held up a hand. “I know. That’s why I’m supposed to take you straight to the conference meeting. Ginjin is here from Xerxes. They were attacked and from the sound of things it was bloody as hell. Alex and Mom are in there getting the details. They said for you to come in immediately and report about what’s happening on Maunra.”

I sighed. Ginjin was a dragon warrior whose army had never lost a battle. If there was a problem on his planet, all hell really had broken out. I also wasn’t looking forward to being in the same room with Ginjin and Alex. The tension alone would be suffocating. After the last three days I needed a break.

“Do they really need me? I can send them both e-mails. I have a ton of work to do at the office.”

He snorted. “Sure. Why don’t you just stop in and tell Mom you’re defying a direct order?” Bailey turned to smirk and almost tripped on the carpet.

“Ha. Karma got you.” I smirked right back. “Fine, take me to the war room, but I swear if he starts breathing fire like the last time we tried to have a meeting with him, I’m liable to kill him.”

Bailey had the nerve to snicker. “Remember what happened to your eyebrows?” He couldn’t see me glare at his back, but I’m sure he felt it.

“Who else is in there?”

“Jake, Marcel from the council, and some guy named Nabobi. I’m not really sure who or what he is. He looks human, but my spidey sense says nope to that. He and Marcel seem to be pretty tight.”

Marcel was one of the more persuasive council members and a good friend of my mother’s. I was certain that was why he’d been called in. He also had a way of calming down the room when things were heated. I had a feeling his services would most definitely be needed with Alex and Ginjin sharing space.

 
 
Dead silence. That was what met me when I walked
into the room. My mother glared, and everyone’s attention turned to me as I entered.

“Nice of you to join us, Gillian,” Mother bit out. Notice I say “Mother.” It’s hard for me to call her “Mom” when she’s in full bitch mode, and she was definitely that.

“There were problems on Maunra when we shut down the portals. The black magic that is seeping in is strong there,” I said quickly. “I was able to shut down all of their portals, but then it created a problem for me returning. I ended up having to come through a Vex tunnel.”

Mom’s angry stare became a frown. There was concern there.

“You know you aren’t supposed to travel through the Vex tunnels. You could have been killed.” Alex stood and hugged me. “My God, Gilly, what were you thinking?” The ends of her long black ponytail had been singed and she smelled of smoke. Whatever had been going on, she’d been in the middle of it. I checked her over to see if she had any wounds.

At first glance she seemed okay, but I never knew with Alex. She was good at hiding her pain. I shrugged. “That I had to get home, because I’m not supposed to be protecting Maunra. That’s King Arath’s problem. It was his idea for me to travel through the Vex.” I didn’t mention that if it hadn’t been for him, I wasn’t sure I would have made it.

Mom’s fist came down on the table. “We will discuss this later. Gillian, take a seat next to your sister. You mentioned they had problems there. Perhaps you’d care to elaborate.”

I looked around the table to once again find all eyes on me. Nabobi, who was the only one I hadn’t met before, had an intense look. He was humanlike, but his body looked as though he’d spent some time on the rack. He was reed thin and pale, with one blue eye and one yellow one. Other than that, he looked like anyone else you might see on the street.

Marcel was a Loundan. His world, Sclocner, had been one of the few places where beings from several species had lived in harmony. But rebel forces from another dimension blew the planet to bits with a powerful weapon before anyone even knew the bad guys had arrived. Marcel and a few others survived because they had been visiting other planets.

I cleared my throat. “The black magic encircled all of the portals and King Arath says that several of his subjects are being controlled by whatever it is. There was a battle just before I left between Arath’s forces and demons who tried to take over the castle. Ar—the king says that the demons were controlled by whatever this magic is. The same thing happened with the demons who came here to steal the treasures. They were controlled by something from the outside.”

Marcel clasped his hands together in prayer position. He happened to be slightly furry, with his whole lycanthrope thing happening, but he had always been kind and thoughtful. He looked a bit like a human bear with long robes. “This is disturbing, and Ginjin has given the same kind of report. His own soldiers turned against him.”

I’d been avoiding looking at the dragon warrior, but I glanced his way. A large gash went from the top of his forehead to just above his right eye, and his shoulder looked injured. His long silver hair was matted with blood.

While he looked human now, when his wings came out of his back his face transformed into that of a dragon, though he could breathe fire in any form. “Are you okay?” I couldn’t help but ask. He looked pretty darn mangled.

Alex shot me a glare.

“I don’t mean any disrespect,” I added. “I only wanted to know if you were—I’m sorry. It’s none of my business.”

Ginjin stared at me for a moment. “I am alive, Guardian, but I am worried for the welfare of my people. I should be there instead of here babbling about things that do not concern me.” He glared at Marcel and Mom.

I saw Alex make a slight movement with her hand, as if she were touching his knee to calm him down. He glanced over at her and nodded.

Hmmm. I’m definitely going to have to ask her about that.

“What is happening concerns the entire universe, Ginjin.” My mother’s tone was firm and to the point. “From what Gillian tells us, the magic is incredibly strong in Maunra, too. We have our mages on your planet now, and our forces are working furiously to establish peace. When you return you will see this.”

The dragon warrior stood. “Talking solves nothing. We need action. I understand the council’s position and I know you want to help, but if we don’t work quickly my planet will no longer exist. My people will kill each other.” In that moment the fierce dragon warrior look defeated, and his voice grew hoarse.

Alex had nothing but concern in her eyes.

Yes, I most definitely have to ask her about that.

“We have our plan in place,” my mother said. “We will focus on Xerxes for now. The only other world in immediate danger is Maunra and it sounds to me as if King Arath has that under control.” She stood. “Gillian, I’d like you to keep in contact with Arath. We are opening a new portal tomorrow, which is being designed by the mages to be protected from the dark magic. Alex, you and I will follow Ginjin home to see what we can do there. Marcel, if you will, please advise the council about what we have learned concerning Arath’s planet. He may have already sent a report, but since communication is difficult, let’s make sure.”

Marcel nodded. Nabobi followed him out.

“Hey, Gilly, I need to talk to you.” Alex stepped toward me. “You missed your fitting in Milan for your dress for the ball. I had a few shipped here, so you’ll need to decide which one to wear and have it fitted. Cherise said for you to call her when you get back.”

Only Alex could talk about saving the world one minute and fashion the next—with equal importance.

I tried to interrupt to ask about the dragon warrior, but she held up a hand. “I know you have questions, but I don’t have time right now. Everything is set for the party. Georgia has everyone’s numbers and there shouldn’t be any troubles. I confirmed the guest list last night. The caterer will be working on-site, as will the designers. I called Colin in for some last-minute help. He’ll make sure it all goes off without a hitch. I’m going to try and make it back, at least for a little bit. We need to make appearances whenever possible.”

I nodded. “Thank you. I’m sorry I couldn’t get back to help you out.”

She hugged me. “I’m just glad you’re safe, and stay away from those damn Vex tunnels. I’ll tell you more about”—her voice became hushed—“Ginjin later. All you really need to know is he’s pissed because I saved his life.”

I laughed. “You’re always so damn inconsiderate.”

She smiled. “Tell Mira and Claire that I’ve also had their dresses sent here. And I bought Bailey a new tux. The man has at least twenty of them and he still shows up crumpled. Maybe we should just hire him a full-time valet.”

“Personal assistant and stylist,” I added.

“Takes a village to raise a Bailey.” She snorted and we both giggled.

“Alexandra.” Mom’s sharp voice pierced our fun.

She rolled her eyes. “Gotta run.”

I waved good-bye and then went to see what she’d put together for my party wardrobe. It sounded crazy, considering the state of the universe, but I was kind of excited to see the dresses Alex had picked out for me. A little frivolity would do me good. Trying on evening gowns and designer shoes was exactly what I needed.

CHAPTER 17

After a quick shower I called Mira and Claire. Like
I said before, the best thing about being a Guardian was traveling across the universe in a matter of seconds. Mira had been at a medical conference in New York, Claire in Fiji scouting locations for her new documentary. A few minutes later we were gathered in my room with our dresses hanging in every doorway.

“My God, she really did go overboard this time,” Mira laughed.

Between the three of us a good portion of the hottest designers were represented. Alex was so good about knowing exactly what looked best on our bodies. I knew from a quick glance at the hangers that all three dresses would be amazing on me. The hardest part would be picking a color.

“I know it’s lazy, but I may have Charise and her team tailor all three so I don’t have to make a decision today.” I pulled my hair into a ponytail. “You know me, I sort of go with my mood and lately I never know what state of mind I’m going to be in.”

“I hear ya,” Claire said as she stepped into a pink Carmen Marc Valvo number. “Lately, I have so many wounds, I never know what I’m going to need to cover up.” With her hair, the soft pink dress looked incredible on her. She scrunched up her nose. “I don’t know about pink. I’m trying to look mature so the Hollywood crowd takes me more seriously.”

I snorted. “Hey, baby, with that crowd youth is everything. I think you should play it up big time. Be the wunderkind that you are.”