Devil's Punch by Ann Aguirre

spell I had practiced often because we lost power a lot, and so it flared to life smoothly. The result was a white-hot glow at the top of my knife, far brighter and more piercing than anything technologycould kindle. The pain I ignored and swallowed, like a large pill down my throat. I’d gotten good at pretending magick didn’t burn me from the inside out like a live coal. This was a small price to pay for using it, and Tia had said it didn’t seem to be doing me any harm. She’d worked at first to see if there was a way to mitigate it, but eventually she just shook her head and said,
Everything comes at a cost
.
    Chance drew in a breath. “Wow.”
    â€œI have a few tricks up my sleeve these days.”
    â€œSo I see.”
    I still hadn’t told him about the demon summoning. I
should
. God, after my lectures about transparency, and how people should have the right to choose, I should be ashamed. He needed to know what I’d done to survive and how it had changed the way the world reacted to me. Then he could make an informed decision about whether he still wanted to be with me.
    Soon,
I promised myself.
    The path lay before us, rocky and uncertain. Farther on, it narrowed and became impossible for a car to pass. I’d stopped, in fact, at the last point where a vehicle could turn around and head back. The whole area gave off an
abandon all hope
vibe. The light made us easier to track, which set my nerves on edge, but I wouldn’t dare move without it. One wrong step could send us tumbling down the side of the mountain. Good thing Butch was opposed to nature hikes; he dozed uneasily in my handbag, as usual.
    To make matters worse, I was stiff from driving, exhausted, and worried. Not in top fighting form. Maybe it wouldn’t come to that.
    â€œWe’re heading the right way?”
    Chance closed his eyes, and the air around him crackled as if with heavy static electricity. When he turned his luck to a problem, he received a sense of whether the set course intersected with the desired result. “Yes. It’s not far. Less than a mile.”
    He took my hand then, interlacing our fingers, and he led the way, sensing that fear and weariness made it hard for me to act decisive. If we took turns leading, as truepartners, that’d make me very happy. I focused on walking, picking my steps with care. When we approached the rendezvous point, I had five spells locked in my head. I’d prefer if we arrived first so I’d have time to lay a circle, but from the smell of sulfur and brimstone, I could tell I wouldn’t be so lucky.
    Chance sniffed the air and glanced at me with a raised brow. “Seems like we have company. What do you want to do?”
    â€œGo forward. We have to, for Shannon.”
    â€œDo you have any idea what they want with you, Corine?”
    â€œIn Peru I fought a demon. A Knight of Hell, actually. I wounded him pretty bad, stole his true name, and banished him. If I had to guess, I’d say revenge.”
    â€œA Knight of Hell,” he repeated. “Like the ones my mom summoned to witness her pact with the Montoyas.”
    â€œYep.”
    â€œAnd you fought one?”
    I flashed him a smile. “I didn’t just fight. I won.”
    His muscles coiled as if in protest of that revelation, but he let me take the lead. I went up the path the last few steps, and found a single demon waiting. It was unlike any I’d seen before, with an odd, marine-animal look. It had gray, scaly skin, side-set eyes, and a tremendously narrow skull with two rows of teeth. The thing was naked and showed no genitals, but its chest moved, breathing the air. I saw no gill slits. Its hands were elongated like paddles, tipped with wider fingers. I couldn’t imagine what purpose that design served.
    The demon offered its hand, evidently knowing that much of our customs, but when it registered my repulsed fascination, it drew back. The face did not