Blood and Fire Chapter Four The Demon Torc The sky was clear, the flowers were blooming, and the first hints of dawn were showing to the east, the sky painted in pink and gold over the low hill where Flame Song and Aidan made their home. Aidan lay back in the grass and watched the delicate colors. Sunrises and sunsets felt special to him now, and he watched them often. They were a gift, literally. As a vampire he ought to be hurt badly, even killed by sunlight. He had spent several long months confined to darkness, and it had depressed him more than he would have thought possible. He had often wished he has simply died and stayed dead. He'd even contemplated suicide more than once during that time, and only the thought of Flame Song's grief had stopped him. Already those winter months seemed distant, and strange. Why should he want to be dead? He had so much to live for! He had a wonderful, amazing, incredible wife, and a beautiful, perfect daughter, and a great many friends as well. He recalled the day when his protective amulet had arrived, and his delight to finally see the sun again. He recalled also the letter that had come with it. [i]"My dear friends, My heart went out to you when I learned of your troubles. I cannot imagine what it is like for you, Aidan, to have to suffer through this. But know that my thoughts and prayers are with you both. May all turn out for the very best. The gods sometimes know what we need better than we. Know also that whatever happens I and the Queen's Own will be there when you need us. With love, Tara Stargazer" [/i] It was a letter, not of command from a queen, but of caring from a friend. Though brief, it said what Aidan most needed to hear; that, vampire or not, his friends would still be there for him. That gift was almost as as great as the gift of sunlight. From that day on he began to recover and now, some four months later, he felt almost like his old self again. The colors brightened gradually, and finally the sun itself slowly pushed above the distant horizon. Aidan squinted at the brightness. His eyes were still quite sensitive and even though he wasn't looking directly at the sun, the bright eastern sky was almost blinding. "Aidan!" Flame Song's voice floated up from the entryway to their underground home. "Are you coming to bed yet?" "Yeah. I just wanted to watch the sun rise," he called back. He got up and made his way down the hill and inside. Flame Song was cradling Littlespark, who was already dozing off. He kissed his wife, and kissed his daughter too. Flame smiled at him warmly. He trailed after her as she went into the nursery. It had been a guest room, but they'd converted it to a room for the baby, and Flame was already talking about digging out another room, for guests or for when they had a second child. Flame Song tenderly tucked Littlespark into her crib. She was more than a year old now, and growing fast. "Is she asleep?" Aidan asked softly. "Yes," replied Flame, getting to her feet. "And we should do the same." Aidan nodded and they went together into their bedroom. He was already dressed for bed, so he flopped down and watched appreciatively as Flame changed out of her clothing. But by the time she laid down next to him he was yawning, unable to keep his eyes open while the sun was in the sky. So she simply curled up with him. He shifted with a drowsy murmur, putting his arms around her, and she smiled. It was somehow warming and comforting that even half asleep and not really conscious, he still wanted to hold her. He soon drifted off completely, a warm but still presence against her back. It had taken her a while to get used to the fact that he no longer breathed. It had been a little disturbing at first, but by now she was quite used to it. And soon she joined him in slumber, though unlike her silent and still husband she snored softly. Precisely at sundown Aidan opened his eyes to find himself alone in the bed. He yawned and stretched. Flame had probably been up for hours. He had come to terms with the darker aspects of his condition, but some of the everyday consequences were proving to be very annoying. The fact that during daylight had always wanted to sleep was one of the more irritating of them. During the winter it was no bother, the days were short, the nights were long, and he was awake most of the time, but during the summer months it was very inconvenient. Living as far north as they did, the summer days were very long. Sometimes the sun would only slip below the horizon for an hour or so before rising again. During that time of the year Aidan practically hibernated, spending so much time asleep that he wasn't much use to anybody. The year had turned toward winter now, so the nights were growing longer, but he still slept more than he wanted to. He got to his feet, getting dressed for the day. As always he chose an outfit in dark colors, today's being deep navy blue. He adjusted the medallion around his neck that allowed him to go out in daylight when necessary. He could stay awake during the day if he had to, but he never felt as alert as he did during the night. Darkness was his element now, and most of the time he liked it that way. He wished he could see his reflection to get some idea of how he looked. That was another thing he found somewhat annoying about his vampirism, the fact that mirrors now ignored his existence. The little mirror that Flame used was propped up on a dresser at the moment, and it reflected an empty room, even when Aidan stood directly in front of it. He combed his hair and straightened the dark iron collar that he always wore around his neck. Judging that he was ready for the day, or rather night, that lay ahead he opened the door and went out into the main room of the house. He found Flame Song reading Littlespark a story. She was going slowly, sounding out some of the words. "Hi Flame." "Hi yourself," she said, breaking off he story. "I was thinking it was about time for you to emerge." "Yeah, I just crawled out of my coffin. How do I look?" "Handsome as ever, though your sun medallion is on crooked." She got up and straightened it. He smiled warmly at her and stole a kiss while she was so close. He had never thought of himself as handsome. Scrawny was the word he usually applied, if he thought about it at all, but after more than four years of Flame Song saying it he was actually starting to believe it. "Daddy!" said Littlespark. Aidan scooped her up and twirled her around. "Hello Spark. Enjoying your story?" "Wanna spin! Spin, spin, spin!" Aidan laughed. "Okay, but you're going to get dizzy." "Spin, spin, spin, spin Daddy!" Aidan laughed again and obediently spun his daughter around. They whirled until he started to get dizzy himself and dropped onto the low pile of cushions that sat in front of the fire. They were both laughing, as was Flame Song. "I need to go out tonight," said Aidan when he'd recovered from the laughing fit. "Want some company?" asked Flame. "No. I'm just going to get some dinner." "All right. See you when you get back." Aidan gave her a kiss and headed out the door. He went up the sloping entrance tunnel that lay outside their front door. He reached the top and looked out on a cool summer evening. The sky was still light, and the night wouldn't be long, but there was time enough for him to do what needed to be done. He spread his wings and launched himself into the air. He reveled in the flight. Flying was one of his greatest joys. He loved the feel of the wind rushing past, the way he felt completely free of the cares of the world. Just for fun he did a couple of barrel rolls and a mid-air somersault before settling into a pattern of regular wing beats that carried him swiftly across the sky. It didn't take him long to reach his destination. Below him the green of the summer plain was covered in little brown shapes, like a bag of rice spilled out over a green tablecloth. As he swooped lower the shapes resolved themselves into a huge herd of northern elk. Somewhat similar to the caribou of Earth, the elk provided Aidan his primary food supply. He'd been tracking this herd for weeks. They would be around for a month or two more before the turning season sent them migrating south. During the deep winter hunting was more difficult, but now it was almost too easy. Aidan selected his animal, choosing a doe that had wandered a little ways away from the rest of the herd. With practiced precision he dropped from the sky and landed with a flip of his wings right next to the doe. Before the startled animal even had time to move he'd gotten a firm grip around its neck and an instant later his sharp eyeteeth had cut through its skin. The doe froze, unable to move while Aidan was feeding. He drank deeply, taking his fill of the hot red blood. It revitalized him, filling him with a rush of energy more intense than anything he'd known in his old life. When he'd had his fill he released the frightened animal. It staggered away, stunned and slightly weakened, but not permanently harmed. That was the reason he preferred the big northern elk to any other game, the fact that he didn't have to kill to get what he needed. As a monster hell-bent on causing death and destruction, he was a total failure. He was far too softhearted. He wiped a faint trace of blood off of his lips with a handkerchief. Then, tucking it back into a pocket, he spread his wings again and took off into the still night. It hadn't really taken that much time, but with the short summer nights by the time he got back to his home the sky was just beginning to lighten again. He sighed as he looked out over the tundra. Sometimes it was downright frustrating, spending so much of his time out cold. He wished winter would hurry up, though the long winter nights could be lonely, with everyone else asleep. But he much preferred the solitude to this continual sleepiness. [i]Well, nothing I can do about it,[/i] he thought to himself and turned and went inside. "Hi," said Flame Song, who was sprawled in front of the fire in firecat form. "Where's Littlespark?" asked Aidan, sitting down next to her and running his fingers through her thick fur. "She didn't go down for her nap today, so she fell asleep early and I just put her to bed." Aidan continued to run his fingers through her fur, scratching gently along her sides. "Mmmmm... keep doing that, that's very nice." Her eyes closed halfway in an expression of utter feline bliss and she started purring. Aidan leaned against her side, feeling her purr rumble through him. It was an odd sensation, but not unpleasant. Once he'd given her a thorough scratching her purr gradually faded and she sat up. The shimmering blur of shape-shifting surrounded her, and when it cleared she had returned to human form. He puller her close and kissed her deeply. Her arms went around him and she returned his kiss. When she came up for air, she smiled at him and ran her hands along his soft-feathered wings. He stroked her cheek, marveling again at her beauty in both her forms. A strange thought popped into his head. "Flame Song, do you ever wonder what it would be like if you were mated to one of your own species?" "Well... to be honest, I have wondered a bit. Humans do go about things differently, but I don't feel like I'm missing anything. You're pretty amazing, you know." He blushed, and Flame Song laughed. "Guess I've got a reputation to live up to," he said. He pulled her in and kissed her again. Then he broke off and began to work his kisses downward, lingering teasingly, tantalizingly, over the pulse at the base of her neck. He could hear her heart racing, could smell the sweet scent of her rushing blood beneath her skin. Her hand came up to the back of his head, her fingers threading through his hair, and she urged him on with gentle pressure. He responded to her urging and broke through the soft skin at her throat with his sharp eyeteeth as gently as he could. The feelings that filled him as he slowly took her blood into him were completely different than the sensations of his earlier feeding. That had been the mere attaining of sustenance, but this was something far deeper. The blood shared between them created an emotional bond, and as he drank he could feel what she felt. The bond ran both ways and even as he touched her mind, she touched his, their hearts coming together in a profound union of pure love that was far more intimate than any simple physical joining. Afterward they lay side by side in front of the fire in drowsy contentment. Outside the sun was rising and as it came above the horizon Aidan dropped into a deep sleep. Flame simply lay next to him and enjoyed his closeness. After a while she stirred herself and got up. She considered Aidan, who lay perfectly still on the cushions in front of the fire. He would probably appreciate waking up in bed, and besides, if she left him out here Littlespark would want to use him as a jungle gym when she woke. She knelt down and picked him up, giving a slight "oof" at the weight. He wasn't all that heavy with his short height and slight build, but she was no weight lifter. If she had needed to go further than the few steps to the bedroom she probably wouldn't have tried it. She set him down on the bed. He didn't wake, though he stirred and murmured something sleepily. She smiled down at him, thinking again how lucky she was to have him. Eventually she curled up next to him, and was soon sound asleep. ----- She awoke well before sundown. Aidan was still sound asleep. He wouldn't be up for several hours yet. She got up and padded barefoot through the house to the nursery. She was somewhat surprised that Littlespark hadn't woken her. She'd gone to bed so early, Flame had expected her to be up early too, but there was nothing but silence from the nursery. [i]That's odd. She should have been hungry by now[/i]... She quietly eased the door open and looked inside. Everything was dim and quiet. She stepped further into the room and suddenly froze. Her heart skipped a beat, and she caught her breath. Surely she couldn't be seeing what she thought she was seeing? She rushed to the side of the crib and looked in. It was empty. The rails were still up so there was no way Littlespark could have gotten out on her own. Flame Song shifted into firecat form and tested the air. She could smell her daughter's scent permeating the room, but overlying it was a strange, alien scent. A shiver ran down her spine. She knew that scent, but she couldn't quite place it... Somewhere she had smelled it before, and something about the elusive memory made her back fur want to stand on end. But there was no time to try and track down the memory, whatever it was. She rushed out into the main room, shouting "Aidan!" She bounded to the bedroom, calling Aidan's name again. He was sitting up on the bed, blinking groggily at her. "What is it?" "Littlespark's gone!" Aidan snapped awake. "What!?" "She's gone, and I think somebody took her." Aidan got up, grabbing his belt with the twin daggers but not bothering to get his shirt on. "Can you track them?" "Yes." She went back to the nursery with Aidan at her heels. She tested the air and followed the scent out the door. It passed through the main room but did not, as she had first expected, go towards the door outside. Instead it turned into the kitchen. She and Aidan exchanged worried glances. Suddenly she could place that strange scent, and her heart jumped into her throat at the thought of what it meant. The trail led, as she had known it must, down the slanting passage to the cellar. The earthen-walled room was a mess, with the foodstuffs stored there scattered all over, and chunks of dirt strewn over every surface. A hole gaped in the far wall, with utter blackness behind it. They followed the trail into the tunnel beyond. The light faded, but Flame could still track the scent in the dark, and Aidan's eyes were supernaturally good. Flame half expected to see the red glow ahead, to smell the stronger scent of dozens of demons, to hear the distant heartbeat sound, but the tunnels remained dark and silent, and the trail she followed was the only scent besides those of earth and mold. She followed the trail for some time down the tunnels, taking a sharp turn to the side at one point. A little ways beyond the turning she saw a faint glow up ahead. It was a reddish radiance, very much like the glow she had seen the first time she had ventured into these tunnels. Moving more slowly now the pair continued forward. Aidan had both daggers drawn and ready, though he didn't know if they would be any use. They both tried not to think about what they might find ahead. They reached an opening in the side of the tunnel and the red glow spilled out from inside. They approached slowly and at last stood looking into the chamber. It was familiar to both of them. Far too familiar to Aidan. The trench in the floor no longer burned, the room was lit instead with a sourceless red radiance, but the upper halves of the chains still dangled from the ceiling. And standing beneath them, in the center of the room, was a black-clad man with glowing red eyes. He held Littlespark in his arms, and she was limp, her eyes closed. Flame shuddered to see it. She remembered the horrible burning cold of a demon's touch. She prayed that her daughter had been spared that. Aidan stepped into the room. "Asmodeus," he said, and he nearly spit the name out. "I had hoped you would remember me, boy," said the man, and Flame shivered at the buzzing, clicking, hissing sound of demon speech that lay under the words. Her fur was all on end again. "What took you so long?" Aidan ignored the question. "Give her back, demon." Asmodeus smiled, and the glow of his eyes brightened. "You know what I want. You can have the child back if you give me the torc." ----- Aidan glanced at Flame Song. He had known, from the moment they had begun to descend into the cellar, that this was coming. But faced now with his daughter's life balanced against the worldwide destruction a demon king could cause, he didn't know what to choose. "If I agree to give you the torc, what will you do?" he asked, trying to buy some time to think. The demon laughed. "Why nothing at all!" He laughed again, seeming to find something very amusing. "Nothing but watch you die from a death spell, that is. And then I will have my revenge for all the trouble you've caused me. Though it's a shame I won't be able to take the time to kill you slowly." Aidan felt a flicker of an idea starting to bud at the demon's words. "Why should I give it to you if I'm just going to die as soon as I do?" Asmodeus grinned broadly. "If you were a demon, you would not. But I've seen how you weak mortal beings care about each other. You risk your lives for your offspring so readily! I am certain that this child is worth the price of your own life, is she not?" He lifted Littlespark a little higher. The flicker of an idea was crystallizing into a plan. "And how can I trust your word? If I take the torc off and you kill me, what's to stop you then from killing my family as well? Let my daughter go first, and I might consider it." "No, I think not. If I let her go, you have no reason to give me what I want. But you do not know half the powers of the thing you bear. It was meant to help a demon summoner capture and bind demons. An oath sworn on it is binding, to demon and mortal alike. I will swear on it, and you swear as well." "And how can I trust that you're telling the truth?" "If you swear on the torc, I will let your offspring go first," said the demon. So. Truth then, thought Aidan. He turned to Flame. "Flame Song, when he lets Littlespark go, make sure she's all right, and then take her and run. Don't stop, and don't look back. I'll catch up with you if I can, but if I don't, go to Coppertop, warn the dwarves." "Aidan..." Flame's heart was torn. She couldn't bear to see the demon touching her daughter, but she didn't want her husband to be killed either. And she knew as well as Aidan did what a demon king would mean to the people of this world. "Trust me," he said softly. "I know what I'm doing. Just get Littlespark out safely." Flame still looked worried, but she did trust him, so she nodded. Aidan turned back to the demon. He put his hand against the blood-warm metal of the torc. "Very well demon." His face was hard as he spoke, and he found that he was almost as angry now as he was afraid. "I swear by this stone that once you have released my daughter and she is out of this room, I will take off the torc. Will that do?" The glow of the demon's eyes brightened and he smiled in triumph. "Yes, that will do." "Then let her go." Asmodeus set Littlespark down on the floor. Flame Song shimmered into human form, darted forward, and scooped the child up. "Is she all right?" asked Aidan. Flame looked her over, heard the steady breathing of deep sleep. "She seems to be, yes." "Then go. Run," said Aidan intensely. Flame Song turned and ran, Littlespark held close in her arms. She resisted the urge to look back. She could only trust that her husband did indeed know what he was doing. As soon as Flame left the room, Aidan felt a compulsion. He had some experience with fighting such, and so he managed to slow himself, taking time to carefully and meticulously sheath each dagger, then slowly lifting his hand to his neck. He pressed the hidden catch at the back of the torc, and with a click it came free of his neck and dropped into his hand. Asmodeus's eyes were glowing brightly and he was grinning. He watched Aidan intently. Aidan felt a strange sort of chill pass over him, and a lurching sensation in his chest, but nothing else happened. He calmly raised his hand and placed the torc back around his neck. "What?!" The hiss-click of demon speech was stronger under the word. Asmodeus seemed to flicker for a moment, losing control of his human seeming. He went solid again an instant later, and snarled at Aidan. "That should have killed you!" Aidan laughed. "You can't kill somebody who's already dead." His broad grin showed off his sharply pointed eyeteeth. Asmodeus hissed. "So. You're undead. Then I can torment you until the end of time!" "And how will you do that? You can't touch me with your magic, you don't have me outnumbered now, and I'm not a frightened boy any more." "Well I can still touch your family," snarled the demon, his form flickering again. "I think not," said Aidan, suddenly filled with cold rage. He drew both daggers and advanced on the demon. Asmodeus backed up a step, a look of uncertainty crossing his face. People didn't attack demons. People didn't fight demons. People ran away from demons! Aidan advanced again, and Asmodeus fell back once more. Aidan backed the demon into the wall, and then leaped, left-hand dagger leading the way. The battle was brief. Asmodeus couldn't use magic on him, and had no idea how to fight physically. He kept flickering back to his shadow form, but he couldn't even touch Aidan that way, his reaching tentacles simply passing through him with no effect. He solidified and tried to grab Aidan, but Aidan was far faster and more coordinated. He was also an expert knife-fighter, and it wasn't long before he landed a solid blow. Asmodeus shrieked and bled crimson light. "I will torment you for eternity! I will destroy everything you love! I will haunt and hound you until the end of time, and you will never know peace! I will make you wish that you had died here," howled the demon, the sound of demon speech almost drowning out his words. "Yeah, sure," said Aidan. He took a step back and threw his left-hand dagger as hard as he could, the blade burying itself nearly to the hilt in the demon's chest. Asmodeus shrieked again and dissolved into shadows, then reformed, the knife still in place. He lifted his hand and power gathered around it. Aidan stood, knowing that the demon's power couldn't touch him, but the demon didn't cast his spell on Aidan. Instead he sent the power lancing upward, where it hit the ceiling with a sound like an explosion. The whole room rocked and then began to fall in. Aidan spun around and ran for it. The tunnel behind him started to collapse, the roar of falling earth deafening. Aidan ran as fast as he could, and that was very fast, but the whole tunnel was coming down, and the destruction spread faster than he could run. He had almost made it to the place where this side tunnel joined the main tunnel when the falling earth reached him. Loose dirt and chunks of frozen soil rained down around him, battering at him. He fell and the dirt closed over him. The roar of its fall faded, and he was trapped in the silent darkness. He panicked. He had never been particularly claustrophobic, but the earth around him was crushing, suffocating. Though he didn't actually need to breathe, he found himself struggling to do so anyhow. He clawed at the dirt, trying to dig his way free. After only a moment his hands broke through into open space. The collapse had ended where the side tunnel joined the larger tunnel, just a few feet in front of him. Calmer now, he managed to dig himself free of the tumbled chunks of earth. He ran down the tunnel, heading for the dim glow that marked the spot where the tunnel connected to his home. He ran quickly through the empty house. The front door hung open and late afternoon sunlight streamed in. Aidan took to the air as soon as he left the entryway. From above he could see a kind of trench running along a formerly level area, the surface sign of where the tunnel had fallen in below. He could also see Flame, her orange hair vivid against the muted greens of grass and moss. He soared after her. "Flame!" She looked back and halted. "You're alive!" Aidan dived down and landed next to her. He hugged her and Littlespark too. She was awake, and didn't seem to be in any pain. "Daddy!" He smiled at her. "Yep, it's me. Are you all right?" "I should be asking you that," said Flame "You look awful." Aidan looked himself over. He was covered in dirt and dust and his white wings were no longer white, but dingy gray. He shrugged wryly. "Asmodeus managed to collapse the ceiling on me. But I'm fine." "What happened? I thought he was going to kill you..." Aidan laughed. "Sure. With a death spell. But I'm already dead. Every time I've ever heard of an instant death spell, it's been meant to stop somebody's heart. Mine's not exactly beating anyhow, so it didn't hurt me. I couldn't be sure, but I had to risk it, it was the only thing I could think of." Flame Song suddenly laughed too, though there was a little bit of hysteria in it. "You... Oh I don't know whether to hit you or kiss you for that! I was so worried about you." He smiled. "I'm getting better at taking care of myself. I haven't been rescued in ages now." "What about the demon? Is he dead?" Aidan sobered. "I don't know. But considering that he survived being blown to pieces by magic four years ago, and this time all I managed to do was stick a dagger in him I'm not counting on it." Flame held Littlespark a little bit closer. "What are we going to do then?" "The first thing we're going to do is go to the dwarves and insist that they collapse the tunnels," said Aidan. "They should have done it when Tara and the Queen's Own helped them drive off the demons in the first place. The next thing... I think I need to find an expert. I want to find a safe way to get rid of this thing so I can get some peace! I am not going to live with demons constantly threatening my family in order to get it." ----- They reached Coppertop without further incident. Aidan had a very loud and vociferous argument with the dwarven king and his council, who hadn't particularly liked him since he'd become a vampire, but eventually he convinced them to collapse the tunnels. They didn't stick around to see it done, though. They needed to reach the southlands. They made the trek up over the pass to Snowcap easily enough in the warm summer weather. There they waited until they could catch a ship to Porttown. With Littlespark they could not longer make the ocean crossing by air, she was too heavy to carry that far, and asking a baby to stay quiet without food or rest for a day and a half was impossible. As impatient as she was, though, Flame was also glad of the chance to sit still for a time and make certain that Littlespark hadn't been harmed by contact with the demon. But she didn't even seem to remember it. Eventually a ship departed for Porttown with the little family on board. The crossing took only a few days, but they had to wait in Snowcap for nearly a week before there was a ship leaving for the south. They were both impatient, wanting to get to the Tower and get the matter settled. But from Porttown it was nearly a week on foot to reach the Tower. They arrived at last, and went straight to the throne room. It was mid-afternoon and Tara was holding audiences. Ordinarily they might have had to wait hours, but Flame claimed the privilege of the Queen's Own to see Tara immediately. They approached the throne. There was no need to genuflect or bow, Tara had never been fond of such things. Aidan was holding Littlespark, so Flame stepped forward and quietly told Tara their problem. "We need to find somebody who knows about demon magics. I know they're illegal, but surely there's someone who at least has some knowledge of them?" Tara nodded. "There may be. You should speak with Jordanis. He is the best mage in the kingdom, and he's made a study of nearly every sort of magic there is. But Flame... one more day won't hurt. You're tired. Go, rest. Your rooms in the castle should be ready for you. You can speak with Jordanis tomorrow." Flame sighed. She wanted this done with, but Tara was right. "Yes your majesty." Tara chuckled. "Your majesty now, is it?" "You're giving me royal commands." Flame smiled. "But I'll go rest. And thank you." She and Aidan left the throne room and threaded their way through the maze of castle corridors to the wing where the Queen's Own all had rooms. Flame smiled to see that her own was indeed ready. Some alert servant, no doubt, had noticed her arrival. They all three were exhausted. It had been a rough journey. Even Aidan, who didn't tire quite the same way that Flame did, was worn out simply by the need to be out during daylight for nearly the whole trip. The bed there was big enough for them all. Littlespark was already dozing in Aidan's arms. Moments later all three were sleeping soundly. ----- "I can't believe I never noticed it," said Jordanis, staring at Aidan's collar with a kind of startled disbelief. "It doesn't announce itself like some objects of power do, but... I really can't believe I never noticed it!" Aidan shrugged. "We only ever saw each other in passing." He was sitting in a chair in Jordanis's cluttered workroom. He had been there once before, long ago, when he first arrived on Aretha. The portal that had brought him here sat at one end of the room. But he hadn't been back until now. Flame Song sat next to him and held his hand. "So it's an object of power?" asked Flame Song. Jordanis nodded soberly. "Yes. And not a particularly nice one. You're lucky you've never tried to take it off." "Actually, I did take it off, though just the once." Jordanis went wide-eyed again. "Then you ought to be dead!" "That's what the demon said." "Demon? No. Tell me from the very beginning. Tell me how you got it, and tell me everything that's happened since then." Aidan nodded and shared the story. He told how he'd been trying to break into a mage's house. How he'd seen the mage casting some great spell on the torc and how he'd taken the opportunity to steal it and put it on when the mage left. How as soon as he'd left the mage's house he'd been attacked by demons, who tried to get it away from him. He told about his imprisonment and torture, Flame's rescue, and then about Littlespark's kidnapping. When he was finished Jordanis shook his head in amazement. "I don't know if I should be amazed at how lucky you've been, or amazed at how unlucky. If anything had gone even slightly different you could have died so many times..." "Gee, that's comforting," said Aidan. Jordanis laughed. "Sorry! I should tell you a little bit about it. You've heard the sayings about making deals with devils? Generally the idea is that any such a deal comes at a very great price. The torc is, in essence, a deal with the dark powers. I've never seen one in person before, they are not at all common. And they needn't specifically be a torc, a bracelet or an armband or even a ring, anything that encircles part of the wearer can be used. But as I said, I've never seen one, only read of them. As you know, it gives you complete immunity to the magic and powers of demons. If you were a mage, you could also use it in any number of interesting but highly illegal and unethical ways. But you are not, so for you that is the extent of its powers. The price though... The torc's magic ties it to your own life force. That you were able to remove it is only because you are a vampire, and the heart-stilling has no effect on you. If you attempted to actually hand it over to someone though..." He shook his head. "I'm not actually sure if you'd find yourself completely unable to let go of it, or if you'd just drop dead as soon as you did, but there's no way you could untangle it from your life force. And even as a vampire you are alive. Your life force is different from a human's, but it's still there. Ripping it loose will kill you, even if you don't have a heart to stop." "And you can't untangle it, help me take it off?" JJ shook his head. "No. I am a very good mage, but nobody is that good. By putting on the torc you metaphysically agreed to the terms of its spell. That kind of bargain can't be undone, not by me, not by anybody. The fact that you didn't know what you were doing at the time makes no difference to the dark powers." Aidan put his head in his hands. "So I'm stuck with it?" "I'm afraid so." "What am I going to do then? My family... Asmodeus is almost certainly still out there, and he said he'd never let me have peace. I can't live in constant fear that I'm going to turn around and find he's kidnapped or killed my family." "There is something. Recall how the demons only turned up once you were outside the mage's house. They didn't go inside and get it themselves, they had to wait for you to bring it out. There is a spell of interdiction against demons. It can be cast on a place or on a person. I can cast it on you and on your family, and on your home as well. You'll need to renew it every couple of decades, but it will keep the demons from coming within half a mile or so of you. That should be enough." "Thank you!" Aidan felt as if a weight had been lifted off of him. Flame Song squeezed his hand. "I can portal you all back there today, if you like, and cast the spell then." "Well, no reason to delay then," said Flame with a smile. "I'll go fetch Littlespark and we can be going." By the time the sun had set that evening it was done. Jordanis had protected their home and themselves, and returned the way he had come. They breathed a sigh of relief and got on with their lives. The ground immediately to the east of their home was now covered in an immense network of trenches, the remnants of the collapsed tunnels, but that seemed to be the only lingering effect of their ordeal. Littlespark was healthy and happy and there was no sign of Asmodeus or any other demon. That first night home, Aidan woke while it was still dark and tiptoed into the bedroom to look at Littlespark. He knew that she should be safe but he was unable to keep from checking anyhow. When he came back to bed he put his arm over Flame Song and held her close. He felt sometimes as though his life was too good, that he didn't deserve it and that Flame and Littlespark and everything else would be snatched away from him. Now that it had come so close to really happening, the feeling was even stronger. But Flame was there, real and solid and warm next to him, and eventually the feeling faded and he was able to relax and drift off to sleep.