The Trouble With Demons -- Plot Synopsis

As promised, here is the complete plot synopsis for The Trouble With Demons. Scroll down to yesterday's post for all the details as to why I'm posting it -- basically, it's a teaching tool for those of you "pre-published authors" who will need to know what one looks like and how to write one. And as always, if you have any writing-related questions afterwards, please ask. That's what I'm here for.

SPOILER ALERT: If you haven't read The Trouble With Demons yet, and want to find out what happens in your own good time -- stop reading now and avert your eyes.

Here goes. . .

My name is Raine Benares. I'm a seeker--and then some.

Two weeks ago, I found the Saghred--an ancient stone of cataclysmic power, a stealer of souls, eater of spellsingers, the bane of my existence. The soul-sucking rock attached itself to me like a psychic leech. My magical skill level used to be marginal. Now I don't think I have any limits.

So I came to the only place with people who could possibly help me.

The Isle of Mid is home to the most prestigious college for sorcery, as well as the Conclave, the governing body for all magic users in the seven kingdoms. My new powers put me at the top of every power-hungry mage's most wanted list. I want to get rid of the Saghred. They want to kidnap and use me, or keep me locked up for the rest of my life.

It didn't help my case any that last week I'd stepped hard on some faculty toes, assaulted the number two mage on the island (he started it), single-handedly stormed the elven embassy, then topped it off with a walk on black magic's wild side with a sexy goblin dark mage.

This week a gang of demons mugged an elven mage in broad daylight.

The demons want something and they think the mage has it. I'm a sucker for people in trouble and try to help. Turns out my help isn't enough. The demons kill the mage and their leader tells me, "We only do your will, my lady," in front of a crowd of gawking onlookers (now convenient witnesses) before he and his minions vanish. So guess who's left standing there with one dead body and all of the blame?

Those demons didn't get to Mid by boat like the rest of us. They came through a hellgate, a tear between their dimension and ours. A dark mage has sliced himself a hellgate somewhere on the island, and entirely too many accusing fingers are now pointing directly at yours truly. So before you can say exorcist, I've gone from being a magical must-have to public enemy number one.

I didn't open that hellgate--but I know who did.

Rudra Muralin is the most powerful and dangerous shaman to ever to wield the Saghred. He's also a thousand-year-old, psychotic goblin teenage spellsinger who wants his rock back. He doesn't have it, and he blames me. Like a bad rash, he won't go away, and now he's recruited some like-minded mage friends on Mid. Allies who are stupid enough to think he'll share his power with them, or arrogant enough to think they can take the Saghred's power for themselves.

Unless I get the Saghred for them, Rudra Muralin and his mages will open the hellgate wider, releasing larger and deadlier demons--demons who will eat most any human, elf, goblin, or dwarf they can get their claws into. Demons come in all shapes, sizes and destructive preferences; some possess bodies, others slurp souls, all leave death and desolation in their wake. A fully open and stable hellgate could release legions of demons, overrun Mid's defenses, and put the most magically gifted young people in the seven kingdoms at the mercy of the worst the lower hells can spit out. Muralin says if I get the Saghred for him, it will all go away--including him.

Right. And I'll bet he has a bridge in Laerin he wants to sell me.

Rudra Muralin is just one of my problems. The Conclave's mages and faculty have gone into witch hunt mode and my name's at the top of their list, but two other names are keeping mine company.

Tamnais Nathrach is a goblin dark mage, a semi-rehabilitated practitioner of black magic, and former chief shaman and magical enforcer for the late goblin queen. I'm a member of the most notorious criminal family in the seven kingdoms. A dark mage and a Benares make a convenient pair of scapegoats. Last week, we used some heavy-duty magic to stop Rudra Muralin from sacrificing six spellsingers to the Saghred. We'd done what needed to be done, and we hadn't been quiet when we did it.

Tam and I have known each other for years. Now thanks to the Saghred, we're psychically inseparable, which makes us about as intimate as two people can get and still keep their clothes on. Tam and I have become umi'atsu, which translates from the goblin language to "life twins," a bond conceived between two mages, binding them first through their magic, then hearing, sight, and finally their minds and souls. After that point, an umi'atsu bond can only be broken by death. The level of magical power Tam and I generated to save those spellsingers forged that bond.

Unfortunately umi'atsu bonds are notorious for attracting demons, which just tosses more fuel on the Raine-opened-the-hellgate fire.

I'm notorious enough for attracting trouble, and not just to myself.

Piaras Rivalin came to Mid to study spellsinging. Thanks to the Saghred and me, he and his voice have attracted the wrong kind of attention from the worst kind of people--people who recognize Piaras for the dangerous weapon he is, and each one of them is determined to possess that weapon for themselves. White magic, black magic, and every kind in between--rumors are flying around campus that when Piaras comes into his full spellsinging voice, he'll be able to do them all.

I knew he could do them now, and so do too many other people.

The Saghred responds to Piaras. Now it's seeking him out in his dreams and waking thoughts, terrorizing him and attempting to influence his actions. I know who's behind it--Sarad Nukpana, a sadistic psychopath and goblin grand shaman whose soul is imprisoned inside the Saghred.

Nukpana wants out, and Piaras is somehow a part of his plan. And when Piaras uses his voice against some demons and saves dozens of his classmates, all he gets are accusations that he's a budding dark mage who's been corrupted by me and the Saghred and should be locked up. Taltek Balmorlan, an inquisitor for elven intelligence, wants Piaras taken away for the agency's use.

Leading the mob of our accusers is Carnades Silvanus. He's on the Conclave's Seat of Twelve. Last week, Archmagus Justinius Valerian had nearly been assassinated. This week, Carnades went from second-in-command to sitting in the big chair until Justinius recovers, and he's determined to turn his temporary promotion into his permanent job. He wants absolute control of the Conclave--and the Saghred.

Carnades sees himself as the champion of the elven people, so it's no surprise that his main supporters are in the elven military. Some elves and goblins get along. Most don't. And the ones who carry the biggest prejudice chip on their shoulders are also the most powerful and influential. Whoever has control of Mid gets control of the Saghred--and will have their enemies at their mercy. When word gets out that Rudra Muralin could be hiding among goblin students, racial tensions on campus go from already strained to a powder keg waiting to explode.

Not if Mychael Eiliesor has anything to say about it.

Mychael is commander and paladin of the Conclave Guardians, and he's declared martial law on the island. The protection of the Conclave mages, the students, faculty and citizens of Mid are his responsibility. Those protective instincts--and more personal feelings--extend to me. Mychael had his hands full with managing me as the keeper of the Saghred; now he has to contend with demons running amok, mages scrambling for power, Carnades determined to replace him as paladin, and a soul-sucking rock that eats through every containment spell the best of his Guardians can wrap it in.

And to top it off, Mychael has a price on his head. There's an assassin on the island, and whoever hired him is getting their money's worth. Rache Kai is the best. Good thing is, I know how he operates. Bad thing is, I used to date him. I broke up with him, and let's just say it could have gone better. Mychael should be watching his own back, but instead he's watching mine.

Mychael has vowed to break my bond to the Saghred--and to Tam. My safety is one reason--his growing feelings for me is another. Tam's a dark mage; I'm the keeper of the Saghred. We're the last two people who need to get tangled up in an umi'atsu bond. Tam doesn't want our bond broken. Any attempt to break an umi'atsu bond risks destroying the powers of both partners--turning a pair of powerful mages into two mere mortals. Tam has enemies from his time in the goblin court. If he's magically defenseless, he'll be dead within a week. And with my popularity at an
all-time low, I'll be dead within the hour.

So rather than breaking the bond, Mychael says he'll attempt to slow its progression. He doesn't tell me the details of what he's going to do. I should have asked. Mychael establishes a bond of his own, essentially leaving behind a part of his magic and his essence to stand guard over my soul. The link that now connects me to Mychael is every bit as powerful as the one I have with Tam. Not only is it dangerous for Mychael to do, it's forbidden for a paladin since the link works both ways--my link with the Saghred exposes Mychael to the Saghred. It also connects Mychael to Tam. A link that close gives a whole new meaning to the word threesome. If people like Carnades found out, they'd strip Mychael of his office, arrest him and probably execute him. Mychael has just laid his career and his life on the line to protect me.

I'm in way over my head, and I'm about to drag the people I care about down with me. I need expert advice, and I need it now. When most girls need advice, they go to their dad.

The Seat of Twelve has forbidden me to go anywhere near the Saghred, and Mychael is duty-bound to enforce their edict. I don't have a problem with that since I don't have to be anywhere near the rock to talk to my dad. With virtually no containments spells to hold it, the boundary between me and the souls inside the Saghred is virtually non-existent. My father, Eamaliel Anguis, is an elven Guardian whose soul is trapped inside the stone. He'd been the Saghred's protector until about a year ago when the rock decided to turn its protector into its next meal.

Sarad Nukpana is imprisoned inside the Saghred because of me. He doesn't want me dead, just tormented for eternity. But he's willing to put all that aside for a chance to destroy Rudra Muralin--and to get out of the Saghred.

My father knows about severing bonds between magic users. He also knows what the demons wanted from that elven mage in the alley. What looks like a small, silver dagger is actually a key to open the Saghred. Rudra Muralin opened the hellgate and released the demons as a distraction to get the Saghred. What he got was competition. Muralin and his allies want to use the Saghred.

The demons and their queen want to open it.

Sarad Nukpana, my father and thousands of Saghred sacrifices aren't the only ones inside the stone. The demon queen used to have a demon king; that is until the Saghred made His Demonic Majesty its very first meal. My father isn't the only one who knows about the dagger. Sarad Nukpana wants me to find it before the demons do, and use it to set him free. If I don't, he'll use the Saghred to tighten his grip on Piaras's mind until Piaras no longer has a will of his own, or any mind left.

It's time for me to find that dagger and turn Sarad Nukpana's plan sour--and Rudra Muralin's. I'm a seeker, one of the best there is. I'm going into the tunnels under the island, find that hellgate, slam it in some demonic faces, and I don't care what it takes to do it. As to finding that dagger, finding shiny valuables is what a Benares does best. And double-crossing a goblin shaman who threatens someone I love is what I do best.

I track the dagger to a surprising place--Carnades Silvanus's townhouse. The house is trashed, the dagger's gone, and so is Carnades. From the looks of things he didn't go quietly. The remains of several demons tell me who did the trashing, stealing and kidnapping. Carnades's study is filled with display cases full of small, ornamental daggers. Only one is missing. I'm betting Carnades didn't even know what he had. He thinks the Saghred is a "filthy goblin rock," so I can't imagine him intentionally having a demonic key to unlock the thing lying around.

Though I've been wrong before.

The demons are taking that dagger to their queen. If that's where the dagger's going, that's where I'm going. But to find the hellgate, I need help. Specialized help. I need the most elusive quarry I've ever had to locate in my entire seeking career: a virgin on an island full of college students.

Fortunately, I find one quickly. Unfortunately, Piaras is less than enthused about his role in our expedition. Me, Piaras and a professor from the demonology department find the hellgate--and the last two people I expect to see chained with magic-draining manacles and laid out on slab of rock like demon snacks: Carnades Silvanus and Rudra Muralin.

The demons have been busy. The floor of the cavern is littered with eggs--and only half of them have hatched. Remains of bodies and shredded mage robes among the eggshells tells me that their first meal was Rudra Muralin's now-deceased allies. The unhatched eggs are glowing, cracks are appearing, and things are squirming inside. Not good. The professor has one demon trap; I have her spare. Not enough.

With Muralin chained and his allies eaten, the demon queen standing on the gate's threshold is the only thing keeping it open for the arrival of her legions. The recently hatched young demons have gone, and taken the dagger with them. The queen says they're doing what they do best--crawling through sewers and air ducts. Last week, Piaras's voice carried through an air duct into the Saghred's containment room and put the stone to sleep. Right now those tiny demons are infesting the citadel's sewers and air ducts on their way to the Saghred. If the demon with the dagger reaches the Saghred, the souls of the demon king, Sarad Nukpana and who knows what else will be free to take over the first bodies they find--and those first bodies will be Guardians.

The queen intends for Carnades to be the demon king's new body and Rudra Muralin his first meal. I don't know if the demon king's first-day-out-of-jail plans include coming home to his wife, dinner, and a new body, but I have to convince her otherwise. The quickest way to close that hellgate is to get her to step over the threshold or break her concentration. If I can do either one, that gate will close and the trap I have should do the rest--if I can get it close enough to catch her before she kills me. I know, that's a lot of "ifs"; but I have to play the hand I'm dealt, crappy though it is.

So I remind the demon queen that her king has been penned up in the Saghred for a couple thousand years, peppering my speech with words like "nubile co-eds," "virgins," and "seven kingdoms at his mercy." From the reaction I get, it's apparent that fidelity has never been high on the demon king's list of personal attributes, and it's even more obvious that I might have overdone it. The demon queen not only steps through the gate, she comes after me, slinging molten brimstone and promising me eternal torments. I'm diving for cover--and tossing a trap at her feet.

The professor's contraption actually works; the queen is inside, but the hellgate doesn't close. It's unstable but still passable. On the other side of the gate, newly arrived demons are struggling to get through, and all around

us, tiny claws are slashing their way out of eggs. We need to leave now, but I can't leave that hellgate open. Rudra Muralin opened it; he can close it. I give him a choice: he closes that hellgate or I leave him for demon food. Problem is, I have to unlock his magic-sapping manacles so he can do it. Question is, will he close the gate or kill me? My bet is that he'll try both, but he'll save his own skin first by closing that gate.

The instant Rudra Muralin closes the gate, he turns his power on me and Piaras. I just smile at him. The goblin's triumph turns to pained confusion as he crumples to the floor. Muralin's magical muscle is no match for a petite professor packing a big rock.

Have you ever heard the saying: "I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy"? I have, and I wish I hadn't. If Carnades Silvanus isn't my worst enemy, he's at least in the top ten. I'd like nothing more than to leave him right where he is, but I can't. I may not be a particularly nice person, but I'm not a murderer. At least I only kill people who try to kill me first. Besides, as much as I hate to admit it, we need Carnades's help. Piaras's purity led us to the hellgate, and we could get out the way we came in, but that'd put us on the other side of the city from the citadel, and we'd get there too late to save anyone from everything.

Carnades knows the way through the tunnels to the citadel. I don't.

So to keep the disembodied souls of the demon king, Sarad Nukpana and the worst that can ooze out of the Saghred from possessing the bodies of Guardians, thereby turning the most elite magical fighting force into the most elite and evil magical fighting force, I have to save Carnades. Irony sucks.

I unlock his manacles, and know I'm going to regret it.

Carnades immediately blames me and the Saghred for everything. I remind him that it's his dagger that's on its way to unlock the rock. Carnades suddenly gets real cooperative. Though it's probably the swarm of newly hatched (and hungry) demons snapping at our heels that does the trick.

The citadel is quiet. Way too quiet. Either nothing has happened yet, or everything already has. I have to hand it to Carnades. He's an uptight, self-righteous, narrow-minded jerk, but he knows how to get men moving. The Guardians are duty-sworn to obey him, so I let Carnades do his thing--until he tells me I can't go into the citadel.

Suddenly there's demonic chittering and screeching from inside followed by shouts and sounds of fighting. I shield myself and take off running, figuring that Carnades can't stop what he can't catch. And the Guardians' efforts to prevent me from getting down to those containment rooms are half-hearted at best. They like me more than they do Carnades. And besides, they've got demons to fight. Obeying Carnades's orders to arrest me is way down on their list.

In the containment rooms all hell is literally breaking loose--and Mychael is in the middle of it. When we get into the Saghred's room, a little blue demon is squatting on top of the stone, Carnades's dagger clenched between his needle teeth, surrounded by four dead or dying Guardians. In the next instant, the little bastard plunges the dagger into the Saghred up to the hilt. I backhand the demon, knock him off of the Saghred, and grab the dagger to pull it out.

Bad idea. I feel the souls flowing up the blade, breaking free of the Saghred--and worse, I can't pull the dagger out of the stone. Elongated shapes of dark shadow and silvery mist take to the air around us, circling, searching.

Oh hell.

A hand closes over mine. It's Piaras. One tug and the blade slides out, and the gash in the stone seals itself. Mychael pulls both of us close, extending his shields to add to our own. The shadows escape through the air duct.

A sliver of silvery mist remains, settling into a young, dead elven Guardian. Within moments the elf takes a shuddering breath and opens his eyes. He looks directly at me with a weak smile.

"Daughter," he whispers.

The voice belongs to the now-living elf. The soul looking out through his eyes is my father.

The hellgate is closed. The demons that are trapped on the island are being hunted down. But an unknown number of souls have escaped the Saghred--souls that must find bodies to possess in order to survive. My father took a newly dead Guardian as his new body. The young elf's soul had already moved on. My father knows who escaped before Piaras pulled the dagger out of the stone. Sarad Nukpana and others like him who will possess one body after another, keeping themselves corporeal until they can infest people with enough magical power and influence to be useful to them--making the souls of their victims prisoners inside their own bodies.

I didn't think it could get any worse than demons. I was wrong.

The students are afraid. Smart kids, they have every reason to be. Some of them have already contacted their parents. The students who have the most to fear are the goblins. The Saghred is a goblin artifact; Rudra Muralin, whether dead or alive, opened the hellgate; Sarad Nukpana is out there somewhere. So right now on the Isle of Mid, if you're a goblin, you're guilty. The parents of those goblin students are aristocrats, old blood, with old hatreds for elves and humans alike. Prejudice, centuries of racial hatred, fighting for power and control over your enemy. The Saghred has become a reason for the powerful and bloodthirsty, goblin and elves alike, to take those first steps toward something worse.

War.