‘Yeah, there isn't much else I can do here... guess I can go get them. I will call again when I know more.’ Tessa said before hanging up. She looked around the room one last time, noting a slight smell of sulphur, before turning to leave. A spray of pain suddenly radiated across the back of her head, and she fell forward. The last of her consciousness was spent watching her phone crunched under a boot before she was dragged off the dusty floor.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Consciousness eluded Tessa, every time she thought she had a grasp on it, she slipped away again. Dreams and waking moments merged until she wasn't sure which was which. All she knew was pain and despair, a torture that was both physical and mental. Finally, she managed to rouse enough to get an idea of what her environment was like, although all that met her gaze was stone, moss and water. Her vision was still too constrained to see any further than that. The darkness was beginning to settle again when Tessa was kicked in the ribs, feeling at least one snap under the pressure of a massive boot and making her gasp.

  ‘Wake up. I need you conscious to bring him here.’ A vicious voice hissed in her ear. It seemed familiar, but Tessa was too groggy to really place it. She tried to speak but could only groan in response. ‘That's better. It's not your lucky day I'm afraid. I wanted to play, really have some fun, you know? But the powers that be seem to be desperate to get things sorted out, so no more play. Stanrael dies today, witch.’ The voice and the context sparked in her brain, as Tessa's memory fell into place. She looked up to see the blurry outline of Berserk, a hulking mass clothed in black. Tessa was glad she couldn't actually see his face, but she could imagine the expression all the same.

  ‘Why... why I here?’ she rasped, her lungs screaming with the effort. He laughed. He actually laughed at her confusion and agony.

  ‘You are rather stupid for a witch, aren't you? You being in a threatening situation will call Stanrael right here, the blood bond is tight between you, especially as you have clearly shared other bodily fluids. I just have to...’ With that he lashed out, bringing a boot down on her arm before kicking her in the face. Her nose shattered instantly, filling her mouth and sinuses with blood. The urge to scream tore her up inside, but she kept it in, refusing to let him see her pain. Sweet darkness rose again, and Tessa welcomed it's embrace. Why was it always her nose?

  ‘Goddamn you, I told you to stay awake. It’s been hours and Stanrael still hasn't shown. WAKE UP!’ Berserk was screaming at Tessa now, his sharp voice invading her sweet repose from reality. Tessa moved her head slowly, gasping in pain as she felt her ribs shift with the movement. The floor was slick with blood from her nose, which seemed to have stopped bleeding at some time when she was passed out.

  Her eyesight slowly came into focus, at last she could see where she was. Stone walls towered around her, all damp and coated with moss. Tree branches jutted in at some places, and as she stretched to look up, Tessa realised there was no roof, only more branches and a dusky sky. Realising how long she had been here, Tessa felt a panic begin to rise within her. It had gotten to nightfall, and she was missing. Surely they knew there was something severely wrong with her disappearance now?

  Berserk was leaning against one of the cobbled walls, smirking at his handiwork. Tessa looked over to him wishing death upon him and all his ancestors.

  ‘Well witch, now you're finally back with us that pathetic excuse for a demon may show his face. But then again, he may not. Perhaps he doesn't love you enough to risk this little adventure and return to Hel. Now wouldn't that be funny? I would have to hunt him of course, but in the meantime, I would have a pet witch to play with.’ His grin widened as he looked her up and down, leering at every point her clothes were torn and bruised flesh was revealed.

  The idea of being violated spawned pure horror in Tessa, her mind frozen in fear. This truly was her nightmare, a lifelong fear come to fruition before her eyes. She looked up at Berserk, but her eye was drawn to an area to his left, where it looked as if the air itself was bending oddly. Sulphur pervaded the air, and Berserk cracked a smile.

  ‘Finally he ar-’ He was cut off as Lee burst from the shimmering air and threw himself at the enforcer, tackling him into the wall. Taken off guard, Berserk was thrown against the stone, hitting his head and slumping to the floor. Lee pulled himself free from the stunned demon and ran over to Tessa.

  ‘Tess, darling, are you ok? Here, it's the banishing spell, we just need the blood of a witch and her to do the incantation.’ Tessa nodded weakly, holding out a hand to grab the tiny vial. Lee looked as if he was about to force her to let him do it, but Berserk chose that moment to retaliate with a tackle of his own. The vial was knocked out of Lee's hand as he was propelled forward, landing on the stone floor heavily. It flew through the air and, ignoring the pain which blazed through her ribs, Tessa threw herself towards it. She watched in absolute horror as it smashed on the stone floor, sending glass and powdered herbs everywhere. Time seemed to slow all around her, the world narrowing down to one tiny vial that had contained her hope.

  Tessa looked up to Lee, who was grappling with Berserk on the floor. He hadn't yet noticed what had happened. Berserk must have gotten some hits in as Lee bore several rapidly swelling red marks to his arms and face. The enforcer had a split lip and what looked to be a shattered cheekbone, but he clearly had the upper hand. Lee was now pinned beneath him, the older demon using his bulk to incapacitate him while he attempted to strangle him with one hand, the other still landing hits. Tessa could tell that Lee was struggling, the time taken to check up on her causing him to lose his advantage and the fight.

  Lee was going to die, and Tessa could only sit by and watch. She felt a tear crest then begin to roll down her face, futility making her almost hysterical. Lee was retaliating slower and slower, his eyes half shut and bleary. He looked over to Tessa, a glance with pure finality and love. She looked around, desperate for any kind of weapon, until her eyes settled again on the shattered vial. Praying to all and sundry, Tessa slapped her hand down onto the broken glass and herbs, barely feeling the pain as it cut into her skin. The blood from her hand instantly mixed with the herbs and became tacky, so she closed her fist around as much of it as possible and began to drag her body over to the two demons.

  They hadn't even noticed her actions in their battle to destroy the other, so hell bent on it. Tessa inched closer as Lee's eyelids began to flutter, she screamed his name as she brought her hand down on Berserk's back, leaving a wide trail of gluggy blood. Lee roused enough to make eye contact.

  ‘Incantation?’ shouted Tessa as Berserk threw her off him and sent her skidding across the floor. Initially Lee could only manage a slight gasp, but he cleared his throat and tried again.

  ‘Expelle daemonem coercitor in potestate terrae matris.’ Berserk stopped moving, a sneer on his face as he laughed loudly. Tessa drew on every ounce of power she had before she opened up to the Earth, feeling deep into it for the power of the Mother. A ley line answered the call, filling her with a shimmering magick, with a wildness that threatened to overwhelm her.

  ‘Expelle daemonem coercitor in potestate terrae matris!’ She wailed desperately, feeling the Earth magick overflow and flood the room around her. The words gave way to a simple scream of power, Tessa hoping beyond hope that there was enough of each of the herbs in the mix on Berserk to respond to all this power.

  For a second, nothing happened, they were simply bathed in an overwhelming amount of power, but a second later the mix activated, and light shone forth. The sneer on Berserk's face turned to confusion and then anger when he had realised what had happened. Light overwhelmed him, first as an aura, then his entire being turned to light. It became so bright that Tessa had to shy away from it. A smell of sulphur sharply rose, making her gag and shooting pain through her injured nose. As quickly as it rose it was gone, leaving sunspots on her vision and them alone in the room.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Tessa slumped to the floor beside Lee, who lay prone with his eyes closed. She reached out a hand to gently touch his face, fearing the worst. Seconds passed, feeling like years to Tessa, but slowly his eyelids began to flicker as he came to. She breathed a long sigh of relief and pulled herself closer to cradle his head.

  ‘Well he is gone my love, I am so sorry it took me so long... if you... it will be my fault.’ Tears began to fall down her face as Lee began to stir more, clearly upset at what Tessa was saying. He began to slowly shake his head. ‘It's true. And now I don't know how we are going to get out of here. It's so cold... I'm so tired. We are going to die here. I can’t walk myself, let alone carry you. No one knows where we are.’

  Lee began to shake his head again, easing something out of his pocket. It was a tracker, with a beautiful red flashing light.

  ‘A-gen-cy,’ rasped Lee, smiling up at Tessa as best he could. One whole side of his face was unable to move. She couldn't believe it. They were saved but had survived the battle to lose the war.

  Now that the Agency knew she would surely lose her job, and Lee would be sent back to Hel. The worries ran through her mind as her head began to sink, the exhaustion and pain finally catching up to her.

  Lights began to flash over her eyes; muffled voices and the smell of disinfectant began to overwhelm Tessa as she ducked in and out of consciousness. She was vaguely aware of being moved again and again, being poked and prodded and plenty of pain. Passing out again was a sweet relief, but it didn't last long.

  The room was quiet when Tessa woke and could finally force her eyes open, the dim light only slightly painful. It took a few moments of blinking for her blurry vision to clear, but she was clearly in some kind of hospital. She could have cried with relief when she realised the rocky dungeon was gone. The room was fairly empty, that normal soft blue of an Agency hospital room. Tessa strained her neck to see if she could view the other bed in the room, but it appeared empty.

  Next, she tried to take stock of her injuries, but she just ached all over. She was about to start fussing with the bandages when an annoyingly smiley nurse walked in.

  ‘Well, she lives! How are you doing dear?’ she asked inanely, her smile revealing crooked teeth and dimples. Tessa decided then and there that she hated dimples.

  ‘D- ow... dandy,’ quipped Tessa, cringing at the pain talking brought her. The chipper nurse grinned at her before beginning to look her over, checking various monitors and her IV lines. When she had finished and noted down her findings she left, beckoning for someone else to enter. Sir McAdams hulked into the room, his face darkened with anger.

  ‘Contessa Bale, do you have any idea of the mess you are in?’ His voice was sterner than Tessa thought he was capable of. She looked guilty as sin, shaking her head as her heart sank.

  ‘You have broken both our rules and the law, kept this demon around and jeopardised a mission to do so. The consequences for this may be very far reaching.’

  ‘Sir, I... I don't know what to say. I just... it's love Sir,’ Tessa stammered, trying to think of the right thing to say, but finding nothing. Sir McAdams sighed loudly, making Tessa flinch in the face of his disappointment.

  ‘Honestly, off the record Contessa, I am jealous as Hel. I have never had someone do that for me or cared enough about someone to do it for. It takes guts.’ Tessa sat silently, scarcely believing her ears. She didn't want to speak and interrupt what he was building up to. ‘When that demon contacted me, I didn't know what to think, you had already been gone so long. But I gave him some time. Glad I did now. He managed to find you when we were still at a loss as to what had even happened to you. The warehouse was deserted, and the task force searched the area but found nothing of you or the case. So, the big fella wanders into the Agency looking for me and we did a deal,’ finished Sir McAdams with a knowing smile. Suspicion and curiosity warred within Tessa to be the greater emotion. The mention of a deal, with that smile, was unsettling. She had a feeling that they were now trapped.

  ‘A deal? Which was?’ Tessa chose her words cautiously.

  ‘I give him the spell to defeat the enforcer if he saves my most promising young hunter amongst other things. It was simple really,’ replied the Sir, puffing out his chest with his own sense of self satisfaction. Tessa smiled and settled back into the pillows a little easier now. The 'other things' concerned her, but right now she wasn't willing to look the gift horse in the mouth.

  ‘So, he is... alive?’

  ‘Yes, alive and being healed as we speak. You are both being put on accelerated healing due to the case. The task force who picked you up was sent out under the guise that this was related to the case, not a rogue demon. So now we need to patch you up and get it solved before people ask questions.’ Tessa nodded emphatically, prepared to do anything to keep Lee safe and out of Hel. The motion flared her headache and she winced in pain.

  ‘You will try anything to get out of a press conference, won't you?’ Joked Sir McAdams gruffly. Tessa smiled weakly in response.

  ‘You know it.’ The cocky response was choked out before breaking into a painful coughing fit. When it ceased, she could finally continue. ‘How did that work out?’ This time it was Sir McAdams' turn to wince.

  ‘They ate us alive. Despite the litany of evidence I presented, it was a runaway train. There is already a draft bill being written up to either contain or ban magick, probably along with its users. Soon it will be lynch mobs in the street with flaming brands.’ Sir McAdams finished with a loud sigh of despondence. Tessa had never seen her boss like this before.

  ‘We will get this sorted out Sir, I promise.’ She spoke confidently, stifling the urge to wince again at the effort. Her bravado must have paid off as he nodded, at first slowly and then more assertively.

  ‘Yes, we shall. While you are in here could you please write up a case report for me of everything so far? I shall forward it to Elder Jacksom, who is overseeing all the cases currently being investigated. She is eager to see how far we have gotten, given that political puppets are now involved. I suspect... no, never mind. You focus on getting better.’ He clearly meant to say something, but took it back at the last second. She caught him helping himself to a leer of her in her hospital gown as he left. Tessa smiled at his smarmy reliability and settled back for another sleep.

  Chapter Seventeen

  The report she had typed and sent on her hand-held tablet had taken Tessa hours to write in between sleeps and healing sessions, but by the end of the day she was already up on her feet. The need to escape the nurses and sneak in to see her spunky demon may have had a lot to do with it. He was in the room across the hall from hers and had undergone a battery of healing sessions himself.

  His face was still sallow and dark bags hung under his eyes, but Lee looked utterly perfect to Tessa. She eased herself into a chair by his bed so as not to wake him, then took his hand gently.

  The healers found her sleeping sitting in the chair with her head resting on the bed. She was still clutching Lee's hand. They shooed her back to her own room to heal, but gave up after Tessa was found back by his side another three times. By that stage all she had left was her extensive bruising, while Lee still had a few broken bones to fix.

  When she was finally able to leave the healing centre, she jumped at the chance. She kissed Lee gently on the head before she left, hoping he would understand. It would only be a short trip out, but Tessa had a darkness and an anger in her that was begging to be released.

  Tessa took a taxi to the market place, deserted during the day aside from a few dirty kids playing in the dust while their parents did all manner of deals in the alleys. The door to Damien's rooms was answered as quickly as ever, the usual stupid slab of man protecting the hall beyond.

  ‘Uhrrr Dame don't want no vis'ters.’

  ‘Tough, he is getting one. And he damn well will see me. Tell the pissant to come on out here.’ Tessa tapped a toe on the floor impatiently while the doorman clearly wrestled with conflicting thoughts about what he should do.

  ‘Uhrrr Dame don't want.’ He began to say, but Tessa held up a hand to silence him.

  ‘Ok shut up you big lug and go and get that shit head out of his rat hole,’ stated Tessa, raising her voice for extra effect. Meaty moved to comply, but Damien chose that moment to enter the foyer, his face changing from anger to shock as soon as he saw her face. He dismissed his doorman with a wave of his hand before walking outside to Tessa.

  ‘Tess... I... what? What happened to ye-’

  ‘You happened. Your stupid games did this, I hope you are finally happy with your little revenge.’ Tessa spat each word, revelling in the despair marring Damien's face. He began to shake his head emphatically.

  ‘No, n-no, no, no... this wasn't... it can't be. W-what happenin'? How 'n that happen?’ While he stumbled over his words, Tessa rolled up her sleeves to show all of the bruises present there, and pulled up her shirt to reveal the deep blush of purple over her cracked ribs.

  ‘This? Yes, this is where your attack puppy stomped my face and smashed my nose. This is where he put the boot to my ribs and dragged me across the floor. Did you know that he threatened to rape me? That was pleasant. You did this, you put that sick... thing onto my trail. Hel, you tried to have me killed. Do you know what the punishment is for someone who kills an Agent?’ She said furiously, pointing out each of her nasty bruises for emphasis as she spoke. Damien began to look ill.

  ‘No! No! 'Is ain't right. 'Is ain't how'n it s'posed ter be. Tessie... I nev'r mean fer dat.’ Tessa flinched when Damien used his usual pet name for her but shrugged it off.

  ‘Well you should have thought of that before you paid someone to unleash that monster,’ she responded as way of goodbye, turning on her heel to leave. While she didn't feel a lot better, getting all of that off her chest had certainly helped.

 

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