“Love, which pardons no beloved from loving,
took me so strongly with delight in him
That, as you see, it still abandons me not...”
― Dante Alighieri, Inferno
Frederick was explaining to me how to get to Gjöll and I wasn’t sure if this was happening for real or not. I felt his demonic breath on my neck and his energy colliding with mine, stinging me lightly at my chest. He was standing behind me and probably from the outside this must have looked odd, but I didn’t care. As long as I had the information I needed it didn’t matter if someone thought that I was cheap. Somewhere in the background I kept hearing giggles of the female demons and flirtatious conversations. The other members of the party were getting ready for another game of poker. Obviously all of them were going to play for cash in this round. I was tempted to stay, to show them that I was more than just a sore loser, that I was a skilled player, but I had to get back before the elixir stopped working. When Frederick was done with telling me about Gjöll, he ordered a red wine and then went back to the table. He didn’t even look back at me once. I finished my last shot of tequila as a fresh dose of excitement filled my veins.
Everything he said made sense. I finally knew how I would get to that part of the underworld where Nameless Thief was hiding. I needed to prepare first before I attempted to cross over. Ricky needed to help me out with getting the right elixirs in place, from what Frederick had said there were going to be obstacles waiting for me out there.
Moments later the demon that originally greeted me at the door announced that the second game was just about to start. I grabbed my precious bottle of alcohol and headed out.
Once I took a few generous gulps of tequila I felt invincible. The market was getting less busy now. There were only a few demons walking around and most of the stores had closed down. After all, it was late at night. This market would disappear, and I wasn’t sure if there was any other way out of here than through the store in Camden Market.
I had trouble walking straight, and I wasn’t even high on magic. The human alcohol seemed to be hitting me hard tonight. Deep down I was angry with myself that I had lost so much money. My luck had turned and suddenly other demons that hadn’t been on earth for that long outplayed me. This was embarrassing.
“Hey, pretty girl, have a drink with us,” shouted someone after me when I crossed the road, heading towards the way out. Stupidly I kept thinking about Zach and his proposition. He deserved to know the truth about our world, like Emma did. He deserved to know that his sister was still alive. I had been lying to him for too long.
“Nah, I’m good, heading out, mate,” I said, turning around, eyeing two casual-looking demons from Astaroth faction that were suddenly very interested in me. They approached me from behind and one of them grabbed my elbow. I was too drunk to think rationally and I sensed that one of them was aroused, filled with filthy thoughts that had nothing to do with him being helpful. My head was slightly dizzy, my thoughts were all over the place, and I couldn’t figure out if they were just random demons looking for some fun or typical first timers causing trouble. I hated that any full-blooded demons were able to attend events like this, even the scumbags that were now standing in front of me.
“You’re sweet and pretty. I’ve been stuck in the darkness for too long gorgeous. Why don’t we have some fun?” he asked, eyeing me up and down with that mad gleam in his eye. I tried to pull away from him, but he held me tightly, digging his long nails into my skin. It was time to consider getting violent.
“Do you think that shitty line will work on me?” I laughed, feeling that my fingertips had slowly begun burning, my mongrel’s power was skimming above the surface of my skin, trying to pass through the protective elixir. There was no doubt that the demon in front of me was ready to have me even against my will. He was about my height with shaggy hair and thick black moustache.
We struggled for a bit, and eventually he had me pinned down under his body. His mate laughed, wondering loudly if he would have his turn with me too, later on.
“Oh yes, my little birdie, I want to ravage you, come back with me to the underworld,” he whispered, seriously getting on my nerves. He was high on something, possibly magic or some other herbal elixir. Either way I would need to teach him some manners. I pushed him away, fighting with myself to keep my balance, but he tightened his grip around my wrist, grinning like this was the best night of his life.
“Get the fuck away from me or you will regret that you ever stopped me,” I snarled, wondering if kicking his arse in front of other demons was a wise move. He clearly thought that he scored, surrounding a lonely female demon in the dark street. He had no idea who he was messing with.
“Wow, pretty girl, the feistiness is only turning me on. The market will stay open until early hours; you won’t regret coming with us,” he said, trying to picture me naked. What the fuck was wrong with demons these days? Humans had better manners than those fuckers.
I had enough when I saw his right hand intended dive to my cleavage. I gathered my demonic energy, so I hit him with a dose of purple fire ball. I wasn’t in control of my wrecked body, and I stumbled a little when he slammed back on the concrete. Sparks shot over my arms, igniting the craving for a fight in my belly. The earth trembled under my feet as the fresh energy flew through me. I started taking long pulls of air, attempting to calm the hell down.
The demon on the ground was trying to lift himself up. The other stared at me with a mixture of fear and excitement. The tiny voice of reason reminded me that I wasn’t supposed to use my demonic energy around the market, that I meant to disable my powers.
“You aren’t from hell,” mumbled the shaggy idiot, waving his fists, like he wanted to scare me. I burped loudly and then saw that my precious bottle of tequila was smashed to pieces on the ground. Other demons must have heard my argument because a few of them appeared outside their tents, staring back at me.
I looked around and froze for a second. There was a female demon standing on the other side of the street watching me. For a split second I was certain that she was one of the hostesses from the tent, the one that took my order a few times. I nearly lost my balance when I noticed that her face began changing. Her blond hair turned into red, her shape shifted, and her skimpy top shifted into a long dress. A moment later Alexis appeared in the same spot that the hostess was just standing. I told myself that tequila from the tent was causing this sudden hallucination. There was no way that Alexis had followed me all the way to the market.
“Mongrel! She’s here illegally,” she shouted towards two Watchers that stopped on the other side of the market. Okay, so she was a hundred percent real, most likely ready to execute her master revenge plan. She must have followed me all the way here, but right then I didn’t have time to dwell on her sudden appearance on the street. The Watchers must have sensed that I used magic in order to defend myself. Even completely drunk I knew that I had to get the fuck out of here.
A second later I was running, pushing my achy legs to move. I heard voices behind me, and hard steps. I had to cross several alleys with the tents to get back to Camden Market, but now I didn’t think that I could remember the way out. That bitch got under my skin and for a moment I lost my usual focus. The Watchers were after me. I didn’t even want to turn around to find out if that was the case. My heart was pounding loudly in my chest when I found myself in an unknown alley.
When I heard someone shouting at me to stop, I started running again. One of the Watchers was using his energy to trap my demonic abilities, but he was too slow. I use the elixir that I still had on me, ripping the bag open and spilling its content behind me.
My lungs were burning and I was too afraid to turn around, reaching the corner of a tunnel. I was disorientated, and my legs were trembling, because I had no idea which way to go. After several moments I started to panic, but eventually I recognised the dark alley that would lead me back to the London above. A bolt of white light shot through, hitting the brick wall an inch from my ear. One of the Watchers was getting close. I turned around noticing his face twisted in rage, his energy rippling down his arms.
I stood in front of a tall brick wall and shouted the password, desperately hoping that I didn’t mix up the streets. I spilled some more elixir on the pavement. The entrance gave out and I slid through it, falling into the empty shop, making it to the other side, totally amazed with myself. I didn’t wait around to be captured, so I shot back on my feet, smashed the door with my boot and started running through empty stores. The two Watchers were most likely ready to cross over to go after me.
I managed to get out on the streets, blending in with other humans, mainly fans of heavy metal music that seemed to be everywhere. I kept moving through the crowds that stood outside, queuing to the clubs on the right and left side. I had no idea what time it was on the other side, but the Watchers were most likely aware that I wasn’t supposed to enter the market in the first place. Who knew what the punishment was for entering it illegally? Maybe the demon that had stolen my kiss was somehow influenced by Alexis. I had no idea what to think anymore. Suddenly she was one step ahead of me.
The alcohol slowed me down, and I had a long way back to Brixton. Alexis must have used some kind of spell to turn herself into a hostess. This whole thing was getting out of control and I had to come up with some sort of plan. After some time, when I made sure that no one was following me, I stopped in a local convenience store and grabbed some water. My head was spinning, and my feet were most likely covered with blisters. I wore new trainers; I wasn’t anticipating being on the run today. Somewhere in Regent Park or King’s Cross I decided to get a cab rather than going on foot.
I was still pretty drunk, but somehow I convinced the older taxi driver to get me home with the cash that I had left in my pocket. Sitting in the back, pumped with foreign energy that wasn’t mine, I felt completely drained. By the time I walked through my front door and stripped, I felt like someone had hit me with a hammer. I had a splitting headache.
I collapsed on the bed convinced that I had gotten away, barely. Ricky would have me killed if he knew that I got drunk again and nearly got caught.
I shut my eyes just for a second, hoping to get up and wash the energy away. I ended up falling asleep, thinking that I got lucky maybe for the last and final time.
Something was buzzing next to me, possibly my phone. I must have set up an alarm yesterday and now it was time to move my sorry arse. I lifted my head up an inch and automatically regretted that I moved at all. The dull pain in my head and the achy muscles were a reminder that my trip to the market didn’t go the way I’d planned. There was some magical liquid left in my fridge. Paul once told me that non-alcoholic magic could numb some of the symptoms of a hangover, but right then I felt like a complete train wreck. I wasn’t prepared to experiment with my own health today. My system was filled with a lot of crap as it was.
The buzzing didn’t stop and soon I realised that someone was trying to get through to me. Cursing my inability to actually say no to alcohol, I found my mobile under the covers. My head pounded hard, and my vision was blurry. I tried to swallow, but the dryness of my throat only intensified the pain.
“Yeah,” I answered, not recognising the number.
“Max, what the hell has been going on with you?” a voice that I recognised barked at me, causing a vibration of energy in the room. I wanted to close my eyes, but this actually made me feel worse. Zach was talking to me.
“Nothing, I’m fine,” I mumbled, wondering what the hell he meant.
“I tried to get hold of you yesterday, but the number was constantly engaged,” he said. Why did he need to talk so loudly? “I need to speak to you. There is another possible lead on Nameless Thief.”
Right, I remembered now. The damn letter and Arthur. Also his mother’s affair that no one was supposed to know about. Some things came back to me, along with overwhelming guilt. I had one bloody task yesterday, and I managed to nearly screw it up.
“Meet me in the office in a couple of hours. I haven’t woken up yet,” I told him, rubbing my forehead. At least I still remembered what that demon had said about the entrance to Gjöll. Maybe he felt sorry for me and thought it was the best way to make up for all the dosh I put on the table. Demons were greedy, and human money gave them some advantage, but they didn’t like to use it in the underworld.
“Have you been partying without me again?” he asked, with his flirtatious tone of voice. It looked like the domineering Zach was back. He must have pulled himself back together after his breakdown in the tunnels.
“Sort of, just the usual,” I muttered, dreaming about a warm bath. It was just a shame that I had to get to the other side of town to Ricky’s. Today’s hangover was going to zoom over me for the next several hours. The gloomy reality should kick me in the arse and make me get it together. Why did I have to do this to myself all the fucking time?
“Okay, let’s say three p.m. I’m looking forward to seeing you, Flower,” he added and then hung up.
I kept rubbing my face, hoping that somehow the pain would go away. Last night the Watchers nearly caught me, and Alexis made an appearance. It was just a matter of time before she would find a way to screw me over completely.
I didn’t want to think what would happen if the Watchers got their hands on me. I had to stop thinking about what if. In the end I managed to escape unharmed, only just. It was time to stop draining my sorrows in bloody tequila and track Alexis down. I had quit drinking once, so I could do it again, but in my head I felt like I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Arthur had seeded a hope in me, pulling me back to the world that I so desperately wanted to run away from—the human world.