“You guys are funny,” I replied sarcastically, gaping at the agitated demons in front of me.
I spun on my heel, seeking out Chase. It had become far too quiet. Not more than a few feet where Mom still lay, he had Alastair in his clutches. From where I stood, I could feel a fierce power open up in Chase—a rage so intense, it reached deep inside me. He wanted to release all that pent up anger on the man who had brought this life upon him, but there was just a sliver of reason that held him at bay.
It wasn’t just enough to send Alastair back to where he’d come from. He needed to be exiled—forever. He needed to be locked away, where he could never hurt Chase or anyone I loved again.
Slamming Alastair to the ground with rocketing force, Chase stood over him. I don’t where he found the restraint, especially now that his demon was almost in complete control. His amber eyes blazed. His fisted knuckles turned white. Chase ground his foot against Alastair’s neck. “Would you like to do the honor?” he asked me, angling his head.
I stepped forward with an army of demons at my back, ready to defend me if I willed it. I didn’t want to overthink the darkness that thrived inside me. All I could think about was getting my mom out of here. There was nothing Alastair could do now. I had taken the control out of his hands and turned the tables on him, stripped him of his devious plan.
Crouching, he glowered up at me, disdain radiating from his blackened eyes. “You will never be able to stop the darkness inside. It will consume you.”
True, but I was going to stop him. I could only conquer one lunatic demon at a time. “I might be the keystone to Hell, but I won’t let you use me to live here. Go back to where you belong and stay there. You, Alastair, are banned from Earth, never to step foot here again in any shape or form.” I could feel the influence of my claim punctuate each word. It buzzed inside me.
His body trembled on the cold, hard ground once, and then again. A red light started to shimmer inside his chest, burning brighter and brighter until he burst into flames, leaving behind nothing but grey ashes.
I turned, and with a will I wasn’t aware I had, I sent Hell’s army packing. “Leave this place.” With the same iridescent blue spark as when they had appeared, the demons returned to their domain—a realm I hoped to not see any time in the distant future.
“Okay, that was some weird shit,” Travis said, coming up from behind me.
I shook my head. “You’re part demon, and you think I’m the weirdo?”
He gave me a one-shoulder shrug. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Emma’s the oddball here.”
“Hey,” Emma chimed in. “I am actually the only normal one.”
Snickers and snorts erupted all around. There was definitely nothing normal about any of us. Who were we kidding?
From the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of my mom sitting up with a cranberry blanket wrapped around her shoulders, staring wide-eyed at us. I had no time to wonder what was running through her head, or if she thought she was dreaming. Or worse dead. I had not a clue what she had seen, but surely she was struggling to find some kind of rational explanation to what her eyes had witnessed.
It was just another bullet point on my list of shit to tell my mom.
I was looking forward to that conversation as much as I was looking forward to dealing with Chase and my decision to rescue my mom on my own.
Ugh.
If only I could hit the fast forward button and skip to the part where we kissed and made up. And kissed a whole bunch more.
Chapter 28
Getting my distraught and fuzzy mom home was a trip. It was a good thing she was still in shock, but by the time I pulled into our driveway her eyes had cleared. Killing the engine, I sat for a moment, unsure what to say or where to start.
Chase of course had to make an awkward situation that much more uncomfortable. “Do you want me to…?” He waggled his dark brows.
I glanced in the rearview mirror at Mom curled up in the back seat. “No. I’ve got to do this. It’s been a long time coming.”
He nodded in understanding. We couldn’t keep screwing with her memories. There was bound to be some form of long-term side effect someone failed to mention. “Do you want me to help?”
It was so tempting to let him take the lead, explain the crazy world we lived in, but if she did freak out or didn’t believe me, I didn’t want him there. Who knew what kind of reaction she would have, especially after whatever Alastair had put her through. “No. This is something I need to do alone.”
He gave me one long apologetic look and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “If you need me…”
“Trust me I’ll call.”