Chapter 2
It ought to be known that the most exceptional magick wielders of the Magicklands took great care in cataloging their spell trails—the sacred components for spells of the utmost complexity and of which yield the most riveting results. This is not to be confused with magicks of every day, like the wielding of elements and mischiefs. It also ought to be known that those who created such spells took even greater care in making sure no one ever found their trails again. Our Lady of Light warns against searching for them... —Ev.
—Passage of History
The Balance of the Realms, Vol. 1
***
“How did you get through the Gate?” Toven asked again. Lance shook out his fist from the previous punch.
The demon’s feathery wings ruffled against the ropes. “That is none of your concern,” he spat.
I gathered the raven skulls back into the leather pouch and clutched them in my palm. Disgraceful, to see such beautiful bones wasted on Akians who would only use them for evil.
“What are you looking for?” she tried. “Azurite? Coal? You know, it's kind of sad that you lot have to come here for resources. Is it that bad over in the Demon Realm? Must be, without your precious Demon King to order you around.”
As of a couple weeks ago, it had become evident to the Fay Human Alliance on the Crescent that the Akian army was following a spell trail. Raven skulls, azurite, coal, I recited the known components of the spell in my head—or at least the ones we had caught the demons tracking—but nothing of any familiarity came to mind. This seemed to be the case for even our most respectable warriors and sages. Whatever ritual the demons were trying to enact, either they were far from completing it or were making it up as they went.
But why come to the Crescent to do it? Surely ravens could be found in the Demon Realm, yet they’d left a blatant pile of beheaded birds near the Gate. A few days after, a ceremony lodge tucked away in the Sandsan forest had been ransacked and stripped of azurite crystals. Though we hadn’t found direct proof that the demons needed coal, our Faylis spies had picked up traces of it in each of the prior locations.
Or maybe they were simply distracting us from our real task at hand: ending their years-long savagery. Either way, we had been running ragged for weeks trying to solve the puzzle, hopefully before something too drastic to fix happened. I itched for some better result than surviving to the next day when others weren’t so lucky. That’s why I was here.
“Wrong answer,” Toven tutted.
Lance shifted his weight and sent his boot slamming into the demon’s gut. The winged male groaned, “rot in hell,” while recoiling and flexing his muscled arms against the fraying ropes.
Spirits above, this is taking too long. I gave Toven a sidelong glance, and she nodded in understanding. Toven approached the Akian, revealing a glimmering knife of her own. Her cloak swayed in a taunting rhythm with her steps.
Her hand shot out and gripped the demon's chin between her fingers. She angled the knife against his ear, tracing the lines of his mark. “Look demon scum, we don’t have time for this. You’re gonna die here today. You and I both know this. But, you can avoid a long and terribly painful death if you tell us what we need to know,” she said, seething. Her red hair glistened in the sun like a smoldering flame. “Or you can slowly choke on your own blood.”
The demon bared his teeth at her, his canines already dripping blood over his lips. A fit of coughing seized him and understanding speared through his eyes.
Toven, who happened to have a magickal affinity for poison, had released toxic smoke through her arrow earlier. Even if the brute somehow did manage to escape, he would die before he made it back to the Demon Realm, however he got through.
He rasped, “Darkness lurks in this land.” His yellow irises shifted between us, catching on me and narrowing. I looked down, letting my hair fall over my face and my own demon mark. “We are warned by it. Curious about it.”
Toven tightened her grip on the blade, baring her own teeth at the male. “The only darkness I see here is you. And it's my job to get rid of it.” She released him from her grip, turning her back on him and nodding. “Very well.”
Before anyone could move, the demon snapped free of the ropes in a flurry of wings and claws, lunging at Toven. A dark blue aura outlined his form, stemming from his right ear—he was going to shift. Without thinking, I slipped a dagger from my sheath and chucked it with deadly precision. It buried itself straight in the demon’s neck. He collapsed.
Lance turned to me with raised eyebrows. “Nice throw.”
I only shrugged as I stepped carefully over the demon’s body and pulled my dagger free of his neck. He writhed and choked, but found stillness as his eyes once again found my face. Or rather, the black lines curling around my left eye. My demon mark. I ignored the pang in the pit of my stomach and watched as confusion mixed with tight pain, and then nothing.
Half-demon though I was, I would never be one of them.
Toven slung an arm over my shoulder and waved us onward, back towards home. “Happy birthday to me,” she huffed.
Lance fell into step beside us, and two shadows eventually flanked our trio. I slowed my pace to allow them to catch up, only to be met with more discontent as one of them handed me an identical leather pouch to the one I now carried. This one was full of coal.
“Found it at their camp over the hill,” one of the twins noted.
The other added, “At least we stopped them for now.”
I nodded to each of them. “Good work, Sienna, Soji.”
“We’ll debrief more later,” Toven called from ahead, now walking backwards to face us. “We have some celebrating to do.”
***
We picked our way through the tropical forests that bordered Sandsa. The sprawling beach town was located on the inner coast of the continent, closer to the southern point, where the Elites had quicker access to the Gate and to Moonhaven—the royal palace. Waterside cafés and pubs dotted the shorelines along with hundreds of docks that stretched out to sea, all the way up the magnificent arch of the Crescent.
The sun was well on its way to setting by the time my squad and I made it back to town. Faeries and humans alike strolled through the streets, heading home for the night or visiting popular pubs and night vendors. Other storefronts would be glowing with candlelight as shopkeepers finished up with last minute customers, but many stayed open most of the night, as was natural in the Magicklands.
My legs ached and strained from the battle, and the rest of my body felt absolutely disgusting. I pictured myself stepping into a steaming hot bath and soaking in all kinds of delicious smelling soaps. Rosewater, mint, calendula, vanilla…
“Whatever you’re thinking about doing when we get home, it better be quick. It's time to party!” Toven declared with a flourish of her hand. We had become accustomed to reading each other’s minds over the years. Her other arm still hung limply over my shoulder.
“I’m thinking about healing your arm.” I would knock her out cold if that's what it took for her to cooperate.
“Please, Brinley,” she shushed me, “I will let you heal it. But it's nothing, I promise.”
Contrary to that belief, my essence could sense the injury pulsing up her arm over my shoulders. But I’d let her gloat if she wanted to.
Faylis Manor loomed just before the dimming lights of the town. The stronghold stood fortified on a grassy outcropping, slightly elevated above the town by a rolling slope. There were no gates or walls surrounding the complex, but the doors and windows magically warded any unpermitted visitors against entering. The mansion had been constructed into symmetrical sections; two identical wings stretched outward at the front, and another two staggered down the sprawling green slope, continuing onto the beach in a series of balconies and stilted walkways.
My team and I veered off the rocky pathway and made our way carefully down the hill instead, circling around to the back of the building. We took an oak-planked path to a staircase that would then take us straight to our rooms.
I sighed at the evening breeze caressing my face. Spears of color shot through the sky in magnificent streaks of pink, yellow and orange. I caught Lance looking at me with a gentle smile, but he only headed in the direction of his room, telling us that he would try to get a good table at Summer’s Edge. After agreeing to meet at the beachside pub as soon as possible, Toven and I strode together to our rooms, and I demanded to heal her arm again. Which she stubbornly dismissed until after she bathed and dressed.
Ego aside, I could tell she was in serious pain when she struggled to turn her doorknob with that arm. I kept my mouth shut and entered my own room across from Toven’s. Faeries.
A bubbling bath already waited for me, wisps of steam misting the room in utter warmth. I groaned in delight and silently thanked the spirits for Elkia– one of the maids for our floor– who tended to most of our needs and then some. I found it considerably hard to get out of the tub once I sat in the tingling heat. The delicious scent of raspberry and lemon soap wafted up my nose, tempting me with sleep.
Instead, I scrubbed the dirt and blood from my skin. By the time I finished scraping the grit out from under my nails, the bathwater was clouded with filth. As I fiddled with my hands, I let glimmering beads of light drip from my fingertips, relishing the feeling of my replenishing magick. I submerged my hair underwater and massaged my scalp at least three times before I felt satisfied with it.
My pale blonde hair fell just over my shoulders after drying it with an herb-enhanced setting oil. Outside the washroom, the beautiful dress I had bought at least a week ago in anticipation of Toven’s birthday rested on my bed. Emerald green silk spilled down into the intricate plaits of the skirts, just below the knees, with mesmerizing patterns of gold embroidered on the hem and bodice. Simple, yet captivating.
Considering what we just spent the better half of the day doing, I wasn’t used to wearing such finery. My arms played with the straps awkwardly for a moment before the bodice settled around my breasts and the skirts at my knees. Gazing into the full-length looking glass propped against the far wall of my chambers, I let myself feel pretty. On any other day, my appearance didn’t matter. At least not to me.
Yet I found myself lost in my reflection; in my mint-green eyes and soft cheeks dusted in an elegant, rosy powder. I frowned.
“You look absolutely stunning, Lady Ashryn.”
I turned around suddenly to find Toven leaning against the doorway to my room. Her blazing hair sat in two perfect buns atop her head, almost like kitten ears. Black kohl lined her eyes, accenting their sharpness and her highlighted cheekbones. She wore a dark maroon dress that flowed down to her heels. How she’d managed to get it on with that arm was beyond me.
I laughed self-consciously. “I look stunning? Well then, I don’t know what to tell you,” I joked, but stepped away from the mirror and embraced Toven. “If you don’t let me heal that arm, you are going to pay for it later.”
“I know, I know. As a matter of fact,” she said, “I was just going to ask you to fix it. You should’ve seen me trying to get this dress on.” She flashed an innocent grin, like I hadn’t been bugging her about it since we left the forest.
I chuffed. “Stubborn faeries.”
I held her arm with one hand on her shoulder and the other bracing her elbow, letting my magick flow. Proving to only be a slight hyperextension and a pinched nerve, the healing was quick and seemed to leave my best friend invigorated. She practically leapt off the side of the stairs that took us down to the beach.
Summer’s Edge rang with party-goers as we approached the shoreline. Ocean water tickled my toes (shoes were a mostly unnecessary commodity in Sandsa), dazzling on the moonlit beach as we got closer to the sounds of lively chatter and music that echoed out into the evening sky. Faeries and humans mingled on the beach as well as the two docks that Summer’s Edge sat upon, some standing idly by the railings while others sat with their feet dipped in the water. I could almost taste the kiss of sea salt on my lips.
Next to me, Toven’s eyes were closed against the breeze. “I love these kinds of nights,” she sighed.
“It’s your birthday, Toven. I’d be worried if you didn’t.”
“That’s not what I mean, and you know it,” she replied, her honey eyes now open and watching the lapping water at her feet.
Across the expanse of ocean, a line of hazy lights twinkled– the only visible sign of a landform. The royal palace of Moonhaven stood on that very island; a towering monument treasured by the Fay and human peoples. Rolling shadows of land cushioned those faded lights against the crashing waves.
I understood what Toven meant by “these nights”. After all, it was the very reason we did what we did. I saw it in the way she fought and trained, in the way she led our squad. I felt it in her essence; an unrelenting storm of strength and power. All to preserve the beautiful place we called home. Witnessing nights like these, it was hard to imagine that villages were being pillaged by demons. Innocent lives were lost every day, all in a war too long-lasting to be considered a war. It was just life here. But it didn’t have to be.
We found Lance waiting for us inside at a long table. Because the Crescent held a tropical climate, some shops and businesses opted out of having windows installed, leaving the frames empty for better air circulation. The cool night breeze floated through the packed room as we sat down.
Platters of various treats and snacks lay spread out on the table. My stomach rumbled at the sight of them. It occurred to me then that the only meal I had eaten today was a meager breakfast before we were sent out on our mission.
“Happy birthday Toven!” two voices exclaimed together from behind us. I hadn’t even seen them follow us in.
Our spies—the Scout sisters. Sienna and Soji Scout were two of the most highly ranked spies among the Faylis Elites. Living shadows, the townsfolk called them. The two acted swiftly and seriously during attacks, leaving little time to converse with them. But their place in our family was separate from our jobs, and like the flip of a switch, their personalities shifted as well.
Toven’s smile radiated through the room as she stepped around the table to hug the twins. Both wore the common black colors most Faylis spies were accustomed to, but they never ceased to wear it proudly. Sienna wore a slim, strapless dress that sat perfectly with her sheet of glossy black hair. A gold necklace with a half-moon pendant bejeweled with diamonds hung from her neck. Next to her, Soji wore a simple leather jacket and pants, paired with a matching gold necklace resting near her heart just below her shorter curls.
A small pile of gift boxes gathered at the corner of the table near Lance. I placed my small wooden box on the very top and took a seat next to him.
“You two look beautiful,” he said, though his eyes never left me.
I tried to hide my blush. “Thank you, Lance. You look quite handsome yourself.”
As soon as the words left my mouth, Lance straightened the lapels of his navy blue jacket and ran a hand through his light hair in playful arrogance.
Toven found her seat in front of a fairly large plate of cream cakes and rolls sprinkled with powdered sugar. We ate and laughed. About halfway through the night, Soji and Lance started a dance pit with some of the other faeries and humans enjoying the celebration. I stuffed my mouth with handfuls of chocolate covered nuts,so much so that I was gifted a generous jar of them by Summer herself. “On the house, my friend. Enjoy them,” the owner had said before disappearing into the crowd.
“All right, I think it’s time for presents, Toven,” Soji called from the bar, where she and Lance were each chugging a glass of water after their dance break.
Toven looked up from her fourth cream cake and whooped excitedly. I choked back my laughter at the splotch of raspberry creme smeared across her cheek. While she cleaned herself up, I lined up the five gift boxes in front of her. Lance and Soji returned to their seats, and we all watched her eagerly. She rubbed her hands together as if she was getting ready to indulge in a feast like the one she’d neglected over sweets and drinks.
“I think I’ll do this one first,” she said, picking up a polished black box tied with a gold ribbon.
Sienna reached across the table and handed her the box that had been beside the one in Toven’s hands. It was similarly wrapped. “These two go together.”
“Oh, I see.” Toven passed one of the boxes to me and we opened them on the count of three.
A golden knife rested in each box. They were small, but Sienna demonstrated how the hilts could be connected to create a deadly, double-sided weapon. The metal was carved with neat runes that webbed their way down each blade. “They’re rune scarred,” Soji explained. “Your essence will bond to the knives when you touch them, so you can arm the metal with any poison you want without the risk of ruining the metal.”
Toven’s eyes widened as I handed her the second blade, and she cradled them carefully in front of her as if offering them to the poison spirit. “Where in Utenki’s name did you get these?”
“Scout secret.” Soji smirked and nudged her sister.
Toven opened Lance’s gift next, which turned out to be a thigh sheath custom-made to hold the new knives, whether it was connected as one weapon or separate. Toven promptly stood up and lifted the skirts of her dress to strap it on. A few weary glances were cast our way from other tables.
After she slid her knives into their new home, Toven picked up my gift. “Brinley, I can totally tell this is from you,” she quipped.
I shrugged inconspicuously, eyeing the wooden box adorned with a garish blue ribbon. Toven hated that color, and I was the only one who bothered teasing her about it. It was our inside joke, of a sort.
Toven huffed and ripped the ribbon off, throwing it over her shoulder where it landed on another couple’s table. She gasped suddenly. “No way. That’s not possible.” She held the small box in her hands and stared at it in awe. Lance begged her to show everyone what it was. She held a tiny glass vial up for all of us to see. I couldn’t hide my smile as my friends beheld what was inside; glistening blue leaves that clung to a single, thorny stem no bigger than my pinkie finger.
Stormthorn. One of the rarest and most deadly poisons in the Magiklands, and maybe the entire world.
Toven held the vial to her chest like a precious treasure. “I should’ve known you guys would do this. But seriously, where did you get all this?” she asked. When no one responded, Toven turned to me and held up the vial. “Come on Brinley, spill it.”
I rolled my eyes and popped another handful of chocolate nuts in my mouth. “Captain Burke contacted one of his sources for my healing herbs and asked if they could hunt down some stormthorn for you. I thought they hadn’t found any in time, but he snuck it to me this morning after he told us about the demon spotting,” I said casually.
“Damn Brinley, you should try being a spy sometime,” Sienna mused.
I gaped and quickly covered my mouth with my hand. “I think I’ll stick to healing, thank you very much.”
Toven leaned over and embraced me again, whispering a quick happy birthday in my ear.
My heart fluttered with warmth. I couldn’t remember much of my childhood, so Toven had agreed long ago to share her birthday with me. Today marked our eighteenth birth year, though Toven had entered the eternal age about three years ago. She stopped aging as quickly as a human would, or a halfblood like myself, though my own magick still had some effect on my aging despite my human side. But days like these always had a strange, bittersweet effect on me, which was why I didn’t like receiving gifts.
Toven placed a gentle hand on my shoulder. She knew what I was thinking.
A sudden wave of uncontrollable laughter overtook me. Lance grinned next to me and popped a sugar cube into his mouth. I poured myself a shot of liquor and downed it. “What the hell is so special about tonight?” I hiccuped in between laughs, “Why didn’t we do this last year or the year before?”
Sienna and Soji shrugged and split another powdered sugar roll. I gave Toven and Lance a tight smile. We did celebrate birthdays every year, but recently it felt as though these moments needed to be cherished, because someday soon we may not get to do these things anymore. We would be fighting. We could be dying.
A cheery servant girl made her round by our table and filled our glasses with sparkling berry wine, wishing Toven a spirit-filled journey and happy celebrations. Before any of us could move, Toven leapt from her chair. “I promise I won’t be sappy, but I’d like to say a few words.”
Lance whistled, “Oh sit down Toven, you can’t toast yourself.”
“I can do whatever the hell I want.” Toven winked at me before continuing, “We have been through a lot together. You guys have been my squad since day one, even before we became Elites. It feels just like yesterday when Brinley and I stepped into Faylis Manor for the first time. But more importantly, you guys are my family. The family I got to choose. I know technically I didn’t choose any of you, but thank the spirits I didn’t get rid of you. Because I need you guys...”
She paused and bowed her head for a second, so I took my chance. “I think what Toven is trying to say is that if she could go back and change any of it, she wouldn’t change a thing. And neither would I.” Toven nodded to me with gratitude shining in her eyes. “The Lyris family and the Faylis Elites have been the only family I’ve ever known, or remember, at least, and I am proud to be fighting under the strongest leader I know.” At that, I raised my glass. The others followed suit, and I caught Toven’s bottom lip quivering a little. “So, here’s to Giala Toven Lyris; our leader, sister, warrior, demonslayer, and my best friend. Happy birthday, and may the spirits watch over you, always and forever.”
“Spirits watch over you,” my squad repeated.
A round of applause rumbled around the table, with some nearby guests joining in as well. I clinked glasses with Lance and Toven before drinking deeply. The sweet wine sent bubbly jitters down my throat and throughout my body, filling me with newfound energy.
The night was still young.
About the Author
I have been writing stories for as long as I can remember, from the first time I stapled some lined paper between two pieces of colored construction paper, to when I got my first laptop. Books have always been a sacred part of my life and identity. They take me on adventures, give me strength to fight epic battles, forge me into a hero. Stories have taught me about friendship, pain, and above all, love. They’ve given me something to strive towards, and I long to do for others what books have done for me.
The creative process of writing has always been a fundamental hobby of mine, and Mark of the Demon came to me during COVID-19, one of the scariest, uncertain times of my life. Writing this novel gave me a place to go when I couldn’t leave my house, friends to talk to when I could only see faces over Zoom, and it gave me hope that better days would come as long as we continued to fight and protect each other.
The story has since changed drastically into a work I’ve never been more proud of as I pursue a career in creative writing. At its heart, Brinley’s story is a complicated one, full of confusion, heartache, growing pains, and battles within and out, but it is also one of self-discovery and forging one’s own identity against all odds.
Much of the process for this piece was creating engaging characters, and perhaps those that break the typical female protagonist stereotypes we tend to see in YA fantasy. The plot continues to be a work in progress as I edit and revise, so that I can achieve the level of mystery and intensity that follows the overarching war going on throughout the story. My work often falls within the genres of fantasy and sci-fi, also dabbling in creative nonfiction, but always championing the magic found within literature.
Instagram Account: @haleymakowski
Cover design made using Canva design tools.