Page 1 of The Demon's Fire
Prologue
If left unbroken, the chains of the past will shackle the present.
—Ohngel
Wales, One Month after the Karmic Schism of AD 452
The wind howled, whipping through the branches of the trees. As frenetic leaves danced, dust devils stirred the forest detritus. In a dark hooded cloak, the witch Niviane trudged forward, stumbling, forcing a bent arm in front of her face to block volatile debris. She leaned into the gale, one foot pushing stiffly ahead, the other leg struggling to catch up. Her progress was slow, laborious, determined.
And emboldened by fear.
At the door of a run-down cabin, she knocked. As she glanced over her shoulder, the moon caught her eyes, aglow with a fierce intensity. Realizing she might not be heard above the storm, she pounded harder. When an aproned female answered, the frightened traveler drew a bundle from beneath her cloak and thrust it into awaiting arms.
“Take her!” Niviane shouted above the turbulent wind, rushing past her sister to gaze out a window. “He may have tracked me.”
The aproned female looked down at the swathed child who was unaware of the role she would play in the Aeternals’ history. “The Cambion is a little crazed, is he?”
Though still unnerved, Niviane turned from the outside view, eyeing her babe and the blazing fire beside which sat two comfortable chairs. She removed her cloak before she collapsed into one of them, exhausted from her arduous journey.
She rocked back and forth, exhaling a labored breath. “I shared his lofty mission when we began the quest. The Prophecy of Karma could not come to pass. It is true. Aeternals have grown savage. Left among mankind, we would eventually extinguish their species as predicted. That is why two other mages and I lived among the uncivilized Celtic Gauls for a hundred years to study their ancient elemental invocations. When we returned, we joined others of our coven who had also traveled afar to gather mystical knowledge. In the cavern, we commingled our blood and cast our spells. With the Cambion’s final offering, the Karmic Schism was complete. From one world, we created the three realms of Earth, Scath, and Darque.”
Niviane stared into the fire. “To signify our success, a bright-feathered Phoenix, a good omen, carried off the prophecy grasped in its talons. But the Cambion had one more request. Nay, command. He ordered our Blood Coven to scatter across Earth with our offspring, to hide among the humans, to be forever ostracized. We were forbidden to travel to Scath with other Aeternals. If there, he claimed powerful mages could use us to unravel what we had done. They could dismantle the portals, dissolve the Whorl, and re-unite the realms. Once again, endangering mankind.”
She rubbed a palm across her forehead, twisting toward her sister. “I will not isolate my daughter from our mage breed. I will not chain her gifts. Beloved sibling, take my child to Scath with you.”
At the sound of her mother’s voice, the babe cooed.
“Is the Cambion aware he is the sire?” The aproned female looked down at the bundle in her arms.
“No. He has neither touched me nor been close during my bearing season. When I have seen him, I have hidden my belly beneath layers of clothes or heavy cloaks.” Niviane shifted to perch on the edge of her chair. “I trust you to do as I bid.”
“Your faith is warranted.”
Niviane rose to approach the infant cradled by her sister. She stroked the child’s cheek, innocence staring into her mother’s violet eyes. “Farewell, my Seraphine. May your life be full. May your spells be potent.”
The sister encircled Niviane’s neck with her free arm, whispering a goodbye along with a blessing. “I will raise her well among our breed, speaking your name around the fire, telling of your sacrifice. All will understand your power runs through her veins.”
The Blood Coven witch gripped her sister’s forearm, her eyes sparking with fear. “Never. No Aeternal can know I am her mother nor the Cambion her father. Promise me this.”
“I so promise. Nobody shall know the child’s parentage.” She patted her sister’s hand. “Relax, my dear.”
Niviane nodded while she retrieved her cloak, once more cocooning herself in it, preparing to brave the storm. “I must hasten while you must ready for the journey to Scath. Tarry no longer.”
As she flung open the door, a gust of wind roared into the cottage, causing the fire to tremble. The Blood Coven witch cast a glance over her shoulder before she turned her back on her daughter forever.
From the shadows outside a window of the hovel, Ohngel, the fire-winged assassin of the OneCreator, observed the exchange. His hearing acute, he had listened. The Cambion, the warlock he had selected to lead the Blood Coven in its task, had been lonely. In that state, the powerful mage had fornicated with Niviane. Now, she betrayed him, humankind, and her own.
The winds being no problem for Ohngel’s gigantic fiery wings, he masked himself to follow aloft while the witch struggled in the storm. He dropped to the forest floor as she clutched her cloak, trudging along a cumbersome, overgrown path, stumbling forward without the support of her breed or coven.
His feathers pulled tight into his back, Ohngel cast his gaze upward, wondering at the heavy clouds in the sky, the sense of foreboding in the gathering storm. Whatever Niviane’s betrayal presaged, he feared it would alter his plans and the destiny of mankind.
Chapter One
Chicago, IL, Present Day
One moment Skyler Maxwell was standing on the platform at Chicago’s Fullerton Station, mentally reviewing her day’s schedule while she waited for the commuter train.
The next, she wasn’t.
