Consumed by Fire

By Kaje Harper

Sometimes you have to fight fire with fire.

Darien's ready for a quiet life— back to studying, sleeping with his ridiculously appealing necromancer, playing magical Fetch with his dog-familar. But breaking the demon portals was only a temporary solution, when there are sorcerers out there rebuilding them. Much as he'd like to shove the rest of the job on someone else, Darien's not willing to see his world burn.

Silas is ready to turn the whole hunting-dark-sorcerers mess over to the Guild. Except he doesn't trust his council members as far as he can throw them, the sorcerer Chicago has sent sets his teeth on edge, and if they get it wrong, Darien's life is at risk. So with Grim at his side, and Pip encouraging Darien, they, Jasper, and Magda will take on one more hunt to find and stop the portal-builders.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kaje Harper
• Release date: Aug 20, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005848989

Kaje Harper

I get asked about my name a lot. It's not something exotic, though. “Kaje” is pronounced just like “cage” – it’s an old nickname, and my pronouns are she/her/hers.I was born in Montreal but I've lived for 30 years in Minnesota, where the two seasons are Snow-removal and Road-repair, where the mosquito is the state bird, and where winter can be breathtakingly beautiful. Minnesota’s a kind, quiet (if sometimes chilly) place and it’s home.I’ve been writing far longer than I care to admit (*whispers – forty years*), mostly for my own entertainment, usually M/M romance (with added mystery, fantasy, historical, SciFi...) I also have a few Young Adult stories (some released under the pen name Kira Harp.)My husband finally convinced me that after all the years of writing for fun, I really should submit something, somewhere. My first professionally published book, Life Lessons, came out from MLR Press in May 2011. I have a weakness for closeted cops with honest hearts, and teachers who speak their minds, and I had fun writing four novels and three freebie short stories in that series. I was delighted and encouraged by the reception Mac and Tony received.I now have a good-sized backlist in ebooks and print, both free and professionally published, including Amazon bestseller "The Rebuilding Year" and Rainbow Award Best Mystery-Thriller "Tracefinder: Contact." A complete list with links can be found on my website "Books" page at https://kajeharper.wordpress.com/books/.I'm always pleased to have readers find me online at:Website: https://kajeharper.wordpress.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KajeHarperGoodreads Author page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4769304.Kaje_Harper

Book preview

Chapter 1

Silas Thornwood looked down his nose with the arrogance he’d spent years perfecting. What do you mean, we need to wait here while you check if we can go in?

The young sorcerer guarding the Guild hall’s meeting room door shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably. Jarvis had to step away from the entry, and he told me to verify everyone with Council Leader Ferngold first… The man’s voice trailed off under Silas’s withering glare.

I am Necromancer Thornwood and we’re the whole reason for this meeting. Step aside. Silas was faintly gratified to see how fast the young man backed off. He reached for the door handle, feeling the wards on the room check his essence, recognize him, and allow him through.

A little testy, Silas? his cat-familiar Grim asked, bumping Silas’s calf with his shoulder.

Silas shrugged. Perhaps the young man had just been doing his job, but Silas was tired of being treated like a nobody in this hall.

He pulled the heavy door open and stepped back to usher in Jasper, carrying Xsing in the crook of one arm. Xsing had tried riding on Jasper’s shoulder at home, but his control of his raccoon form was still too shaky. Darien followed Jasper, with his familiar Pip trotting at his heels. Silas and Grim brought up the rear, pulling the door shut behind them in the face of the young guard.

There were more seats squeezed around the long conference table than Silas had ever seen. Most of the sorcerers waiting for them were members of the council. Ferngold at the head of the table, of course; Worthington, the elderly necromancer, staring at Xsing; Locke, looking fascinated as only a researcher with a new puzzle could; Susan Snow, the Healer, with her greyhound at her feet.

Silas gave Norry a small nod when he spotted him halfway down the far side— after all, holding a grudge for what his old friend did while puppeted by a demon seemed petty, with all the events since then. Norry’s eyes brightened, and the cat draped around his neck inclined her head.

At the foot of the table, Silas was pleased to see his old friend Mrs. Vaughn and her apprentice Magda, along with an unfamiliar, thin, middle-aged man. Presumably someone trustworthy, since he was seated at the council table, but something in his expression made Silas uneasy.

Ferngold raised one graying eyebrow. Here you are at last, Thornwood. Gentlemen, do take your seats so we can begin.

Grim stalked forward, leaped heavily to the polished surface, sat down, and ostentatiously licked one foot.

Jasper eased Xsing onto the table by one of the empty chairs and sat by him.

Xsing looked around. As a researcher, it’s interesting to meet so many human sorcerers in one place. Hopefully, if we each apply our relative expertise, we can prevent disaster.

Wait, Worthington said from his place at Ferngold’s left hand. What disaster, precisely? And what do you mean, researcher? Aren’t you a familiar?

The Professor’s the chief researcher at the Transitional Dynamics Laboratories, Jasper told him, and an authority on world-gating and interdimensional spaces.

Xsing lifted one front paw as if to gesture and tipped sideways on his furry butt. Jasper helped him right himself without comment.

Worthington turned a glare on Silas. Thornwood! Explain!

Silas sauntered over to where Grim had landed, pushed one chair in Darien’s direction, then seated himself. I plan to. It’s a long story. You might want to hold your questions until after we’re done.

Locke, sitting at Ferngold’s right, said smoothly over Worthington’s huffed objection, I admit, I’m intrigued. Do proceed.

Silas gave him a nod; Locke, at least, would put facts and magical theory over council ego, most of the time. Right. Silas glanced around the table at the council, the strangers, friends, at Darien beside him, who’d encouraged Pip to jump up in his lap and had his chin pressed to the top of the small dog’s head. This story begins five days ago, when Necromancer Worthington received— and ignored— a report of a demon materializing out of thin air…

He plunged into the tale of dark sorcerers creating open portals to the hells, emerging demons, a gate in his own cellar, their trip to Home— the world of the familiars— and their destruction of the portals by walking thorough the Veil to cut them.

His audience muttered several versions of Ridiculous, and That’s not possible, before he got even halfway done. Ignoring the council members with a handwave and a quick Hold your questions for now, was satisfying, even if he’d pay for the perceived insolence later. A couple of times, Jasper cleared his throat as if to add something, but Silas barreled on. Any interruption might open the floodgates of slack jaws and grinding teeth and furrowed brows around the table.

He finished, …and once we’d successfully portaled back to my old mentor’s house, I called Sorcerer Ferngold, who kindly gave us a ride home. We took Magda back this morning so she could change and touch base with Mrs. Vaughn. And so we could see Mrs. Vaughn and assure ourselves she survived the collapse of the gate in my cellar. Which brings us up to date. And while the details of what we saw and did are important and no doubt open to endless discussion, stopping the sorcerers who built those five demon gates must be our top priority.

A cacophony of questions erupted around the table as soon as he stopped speaking. Ferngold slapped the tabletop with his open palm to no real effect, but the voices trailed off and died when Mrs. Vaughn’s parrot Troy screeched shrilly. Clicks the gecko erupted out of Ferngold’s pocket, scrambling to the tabletop. This is all most irregular, Clicks said in a high voice. Grim, you should’ve run this ill-thought-out excursion by the rest of us before doing anything so… so revealing. What were you thinking?

Grim’s ears twitched. "I was thinking that you might like to live on an Earth overrun by demons, but I wouldn’t."

Surely there were other options, other solutions, that didn’t involve humans arriving on Home.

Xsing said, No doubt. But time truly was of the essence. And I, for one, am impressed with the ingenuity and skills shown by Grim and his people. Not to mention the amazing opportunity afforded me for study and firsthand research— He cleared his raccoon throat in a faint hiccup. I assure you, Transitional Dynamics Labs fully supports this mission.

Gecko eyes were protuberant anyway, but Silas thought Clicks’s bulged a bit more. "Wait. You really are Professor— What are you doing here?"

Providing assistance, Xsing said. And making mental notes for a whole series of presentations on world-gating and Earth’s magical dynamics.

Grim said, But first we have to find the demon-calling sorcerers before they start rebuilding their portals.

Locke held up a hand. Silas, you said the recoil of your gate being cut caused significant damage to your house?

Yes. The effect took out an interior brick wall. If a shoddily built one. And cracked the foundation and embedded bits of brick in the ceiling. Luckily, my house is rather large and could withstand the damage.

Mrs. Vaughn said, I was upstairs in the kitchen, and it sounded like a bomb going off. Troy did a reconnaissance flight down there and we decided leaving the house would be wise.

"The damage looked like a bomb had gone off, her macaw said. I wasn’t letting Mrs. Vaughn stay there with magic destabilizing the structure of the house."

That’s interesting, Locke said, because I had a report of a gas line explosion in the home of a local practitioner the evening before last. Joel Morrison, a sorcerer of modest talents. There was apparently extensive damage and fire, and the burned body of the homeowner was discovered in a back room by the firemen who put out the blaze.

Darien reared back his head. Dead? You think we got one of them with the backlash?

I think it would be a remarkable coincidence if this was unrelated.

Ferngold shook his head. I know Morrison only slightly, but I’d have rated him both low in power and unthreatening.

Silas glanced around the table. Did anyone here know the man better?

Healer Snow said, I treated him two years ago. Healing’s intimate enough that I’d have known if there was demon taint on him then, and there was not. He seemed an ordinary man.

Doesn’t mean he didn’t take up dabbling in demons later. Silas turned to Locke. Did you send anyone to check out his home? Or view the body? One of the council’s jobs was to send a clean-up team to the homes of deceased sorcerers to remove items that ordinary humans shouldn’t get their hands on.

I was told the house was an unsafe and smoky ruin, Locke said. I decided to wait to remove arcane materials until it was safer to go inside.

Grim flicked his tail. We should remedy that oversight. Immediately.

Silas pushed his chair back and stood, and Darien did the same, setting Pip on the floor.

Now wait a minute. Ferngold thumped the table with his fist. Running off half-cocked may be your style, Thornwood, but that’s what got us into this mess in the first place.

What got us in this mess, Grim countered, "was human sorcerers dabbling in dark magics and getting greedy for power. Silas and Darien risked their lives trying to clean this mess up while you sat around analyzing and researching."

Not that those aren’t also valuable, Silas put in, to placate Ferngold, whose color had gone a bit ruddy. "But we may not have much time to spare. If Morrison was caught in a gate backlash, was he the gate’s builder? An accomplice? If an accomplice, could his confederates already be trying to rebuild the portal? Are there books or artifacts related to demon summoning in his house? Did any demons get turned loose in the explosion? Those are answers we need sooner, not later."

He lived just over in Coilingbroke. Ferngold turned a cold look on Silas. Shouldn’t your vaunted demon map have warned you about him? Or any loose demons?

Silas didn’t want to admit he’d held off reanimating the map that morning to conserve his power. Not necessarily. If he kept a demon prisoner within his summoning circle, unable to perform any magic, it wouldn’t show on the map, other than perhaps a momentary blip on arrival. My spell detects the use of demon magic, not their mere presence.

"If we can use the word mere about demons," Darien murmured under his breath. Pip snorted.

Very well. Ferngold gestured to Locke. If we’re going to wait on essential discussions till you get Morrison checked out, then get to it. Locke, I’ll trust you to be in charge.

Locke said, And we should check the body in the morgue. Susan, that sounds like a job for you since you’ll recognize Morrison’s magical signature from your Healing.

Healer Snow nodded and pushed back her chair. I’ll get right on it. Her greyhound stood, stretched, and left the room at her side.

Worthington? Locke turned to the council’s necromancer. "You’d better come along with Silas and myself. If that was a demon gate, we may want all the firepower we can muster."

Ah. Yes, well, of course. Worthington sounded reluctant, and on close inspection, Silas decided he looked tired. Of course, he and Joanna Spry had apparently dealt with several demons while Silas was gone, so he had an excuse.

Speaking of which— Is Spry around? Silas realized he should’ve suggested she join the meeting.

Probably home sleeping, or out hunting ghosts to refuel, Locke said. She did a stellar job for us the last few days. He scanned up and down the table. Who else is coming to Morrison’s place? We don’t want a huge delegation.

Me. Darien was already at Silas’s side.

And I, Jasper said. The Professor and I being the local authorities on demon gates.

Magda looked back and forth between Silas and Mrs. Vaughn. I should probably go home with Mrs. Vaughn and help make cookies. Just in case.

Ferngold’s, Yes, indeed. Baking, very soothing after all your adventures, drew snorts from Darien and Grim and a hoarse caw of laughter from Troy.

I’ll come along. The thin, dark stranger sitting by Mrs. Vaughn rose and inclined his head toward Silas. Sorcerer Tanner of the Chicago council. Sorcerer Ferngold had planned to meet with us about your local demon problem, but when he called last night with intriguing new developments, I decided to come see for myself. I want to hear the rest of your story, but for now, I’m happy to offer my help.

The man’s confident stance and the fact that he sat on a big urban council suggested he had power, although Silas didn’t see any familiar with him. Silas dropped into his Othersight for a moment and yeah, big bonfire of magic behind some tight, shiny shields. Nothing demon-tainted. No reason for Silas’s initial antipathy. Thank you. We’ll never say no to firepower.

Locke said, And myself. That’s quite enough people to parade down a suburban street. Fortunately, we can pose as insurance adjusters and fire inspectors, should anyone ask. He stood a bit creakily. His owl spun her head around to stare at Silas, unreadable gold eyes blinking slowly, then clacked her hooked beak once. Silas wondered if she was blaming him for forcing her sorcerer to exert himself.

A few minutes later, they’d collected jackets from the front hall and assembled on the steps. Brief discussion divided them up into three vehicles— Darien and Jasper safely with Silas, Worthington and Locke in Locke’s limousine, driven by his apprentice Morley, and Tanner insisting on having his own car at hand.

They headed out in a little cavalcade, following the limousine. Once they’d cleared the town limits, Jasper said, Wasn’t Coilingbroke close to Granny Abels and the loose demon?

Yes. Grim’s tail-flick from where he rode the seatback tickled Silas’s neck. Probably not a coincidence.

Xsing said, The landscape’s very brown and gray out there. In the rearview mirror, Silas saw the raccoon had braced himself on Jasper’s lap with his nose to the side window. I thought Earth was all green.

Give it a month or two, Jasper explained. This is early spring. The leaves are barely starting to come out.

Fascinating. Xsing pressed closer to the glass. I wish this raccoon form had better vision. So much to experience. The sky is also gray?

That’s probably your raccoon senses. It’s actually blue.

I hope we can deal with the fireworld entities swiftly, so I have time and leisure to explore Earth. I have many experiments I wish to conduct.

Darien laughed. Right. So annoying when demons interfere with magical science.

Well, they’re fascinating in their own right, but we now have a captive specimen under study back Home at the Institute, so my time would be better spent on other topics.

Pip said, Will we go see Granny Abels while we’re out this way? I like her. Her potion saved Darien and Silas.

I liked her too, Silas agreed, but I doubt we’ll have time today. Remind me, though. The old herb wife deserved to know she’d given him back his locked-away past and saved their lives.

Up ahead, the limousine made a sharp left. Tanner followed, and Silas brought up the rear. The first houses of Coilingbroke cropped up on either side of the road, ordinary wood-sided ramblers. They passed a few small stores and trailed Locke through a series of turns before pulling up in front of a bigger house. Or what remained of it.

Darien gave a soft whistle. Yeah, if that’s gate backlash, it didn’t do that place any good. His tone sounded darkly satisfied.

Silas eyed what had been a good-sized two-story home. The front wall was blackened and none of the front windows had glass left in the frames. The south side had a large chunk of the wall gone. Scorch marks climbed the siding to the roof.

They all got out and joined Locke, Worthington, and Tanner on the sidewalk. Locke said, Let’s check the back.

A narrow gate led into an overgrown yard where dirty snow still lurked under the bushes and along the fence. The back door didn’t look touched by fire, but it hung ajar with a thick yellow ribbon tacked across the frame. The small roof over the door sagged and the window beside it had cracked all the way across.

Are we going in? Darien asked.

Silas glanced around to make sure they were screened from neighboring eyes, then tossed a demon find rune. The green shimmer floated to the back door and sparked before fading. Some demon activity, but not recently.

That doesn’t mean it’s safe to go inside. Worthington eyed the house skeptically. It’ll do no good if the place falls on our heads.

It’s been more than a day since the explosion, you said? Silas asked Locke, who nodded. If the roof hasn’t fallen by now, it’s probably not going to.

Locke said to the owl now perched on his leather-clad shoulder, Greyla, would you do a flyover?

The bird leaped and took silent wing, banking up and over the roof, then circling back to them to land in a small tree. The roof’s intact, she said. No big cave-ins. I’ll keep watch for anyone approaching.

Silas said, Thank you. We need to check the interior. He led the way toward the back door, with Darien and Jasper close behind and the older men bringing up the rear.

Worthington plucked at a section of the shiny yellow tape that blocked their way. What’s this?

Police tape, Darien said. Haven’t you seen it before? It’s supposed to keep people out of unapproved locations. He ducked underneath the ribbon and stepped inside, his voice echoing back. Pity it doesn’t work.

Grim leaped after him, saying, Wait. Let me check for stability first, and Pip scurried in on his heels.

Darien leaned back out. Smells awful, but this back part doesn’t seem too wrecked.

Silas unstuck the band of tape and looped it out of the way. Darien stood looking around a smoke-tarnished kitchen. Silas moved to his shoulder, eyeing the ceiling and walls. Despite the damage done by water and soot, Darien was right— this section of the house looked solid enough. Jasper and the other three sorcerers had followed Silas in, with Xsing cradled in Jasper’s arm. Pip and Grim came trotting back from deeper inside.

We found the source of the damage, Grim said. Undoubtedly also the remains of a gate, and probably Morrison’s work room. I think it was once the parlor.

Any sign of demons? Worthington asked.

You’d know better than I would, Grim told him. Come on, this way. Watch where you walk.

They followed Grim through the kitchen and out into a hallway where the reek of smoke hung thick on the air. Silas coughed and heard Tanner do the same. The far end of the hallway showed much more damage, with the ceiling cracked and half fallen. Drywall to their right had blown out of the framing.

Grim stopped and ducked through a hole in the stud wall. This room here. You’ll want to come through this hole. The door end’s a mess.

Darien eased through the gap quickly, Silas ducked under a blackened wire running between the studs to follow him, and Jasper joined them. As the others squeezed their way through, Silas turned on his heel to survey the room.

He immediately saw what Grim had noticed. One wall of the room was much cleaner than the rest, intact and free of holes but marked by a perfect blackened arch. The rest of the room was a shambles of overturned furniture, charred books, dented walls, scorch marks, and soot. It looked as if the end of a blast furnace had emptied out toward the front of the house and the whole room reeked of charcoal and sulfur.

Locke picked up a book from the floor. "Oh dear, that shouldn’t be lying around." He opened the shopping bag he’d brought and put the scorched, leather-bound tome inside.

We should check all the books— Worthington began, then he stopped abruptly, head up as if sniffing the air.

In the same moment, Silas became aware of a chill running across his skin. Ghosts, he said. More than one.

A flicker of gold ran over Darien as he shielded strongly, then it vanished as he pulled his shields down to skin level. Pip jumped to Darien’s side, sniffing the air. Where? How many? What can I do?

Silas scanned the room with his Othersight. Slowly, one after another, wisps of ghosts filtered up through the floor, in through the walls, and out of the one standing bookcase. Silas counted seven. No, eight. Maybe more.

Worthington cleared his throat. Are you seeing them too, Thornwood?

I detect at least eight. He sent a tendril of power out, but they ducked away from him. None had a face or a shape or much humanity left. What the hells was Morrison doing here?

Chapter 2

The ghosts drifted aimlessly from one shielded sorcerer to the next, no doubt drawn by their power. Silas saw Darien shudder, but his shield looked solid. As Silas reached in his pocket for chalk, a big book flew off its shelf and arced across the room, aiming for his head. He ducked, his heart hammering, and it smashed into the wall behind him, raising a puff of dust and soot.

Locke whirled to look at the bookshelf. Poltergeist? A second volume worked itself free and sailed at Silas, answering that question.

Where’s the ’geist? Silas powered up a seeking spell, ignoring the pings of the lesser ghosts, looking for a bigger power source. Where, where… there! A thick clump of ghost energy flickered in and out of the bookcase. You, ghost. Come out. Silas switched his magic over to a lure, thinning his shields as he approached it, trying to seem vulnerable and appealing. Here, I’m here. What do you need? Come tell me.

Worthington said, It comes and goes.

In and out of the bookcase. I see that. Silas wondered what room was behind this one. He raised his voice, pushing power and appeal into it. You’re angry. You’re furious. He could