23
A shuffle down the hall behind us was the only warning we had before a woman stepped around the corner, her hands lifted as she prepped a spell. I lunged at her, my blade catching her just in the crook of her left elbow, slicing deep down to the bone. I followed up the slice with a kick to her hip, She dropped to the floor, and I pinned her head down with my foot. Of course, it would have all been good if she’d been the only one.
“Let her go, Rylee.”
Blinking, I turned to look into Milly’s face, her eyes hard as she held a deadly spell just inches from my nose. I could see the black spiral of the death magic quivering in her hand, but even so, I had a hard time putting two and two together. O’Shea moved up beside me, a steady presence that helped me get my bearings. Of course, both Milly and I knew the spell would likely dissipate around me. But the other woman, who was nodding at Milly, didn’t know that.
The woman under my foot snorted a laugh. “You heard her. Let me go.”
I lifted my foot. “Milly . . .”
She raised her hand, black energy sparking with the movement, the threat clear. This had to be a show for the other woman, there was no other explanation.
It took everything I had to step away from the witch I’d injured. India, That was what we had to focus on.
“They’re going to let a demon possess India if we keep standing here.” My emotions finally starting to shut down. I could be cold, hard, just like I needed to be. A whimper caught my attention and peeking around the corner was a familiar pair of amber eyes.
“Milly mean,” Alex whimpered, and my heart broke a little to see my own pain reflected in his eyes.
“Stay there,” I said, not wanting him anywhere near what was about to happen.
Milly stepped up to the door and the other witch let her lead.
O’Shea lifted an eyebrow at me, and I shook my head.
My used-to-be best friend put her hand on the knob and twisted, yanking the door open. A blast of energy swirled out, and I didn’t think. I just moved, jumping across the gap and pulling Milly out of the way.
A massive crash resounded through the castle as the wall directly behind where we’d just been standing melted into a puddle of molten rock, bubbling and slithering toward us.
I yanked Milly to her feet while she glared at me, but all I could see was the child sitting in the center of a pentagram carved into the floor, her body naked except for the blood that had been poured over her.
“O’Shea!” I bolted into the room, registering the faces of the black Coven. Surprise, anger and fear mingled with a sense of evil so heavy I actually stumbled right before I reached the auburn-haired little girl, her hazel eyes wide and dilated. The smell of opium was heavy on the air, as was the scent of something akin to road tar, which I knew could be only one thing: Demons. Seeing the vacant look in India’s eyes, I understood why I couldn’t get a bead on her emotions; they’d drugged her. At least, that’s what I was hoping.
A blur of a sword and large male body charged up behind me, deflecting blows, keeping me safe as I reached for India, trying to pull her off the pentagram without actually stepping on it myself. Which would be bad, like really bad.
“Get down!” O’Shea’s warning came a split second too late. One of the black Coven members physically slammed into me and spun me out toward India, right into the pentagram.
“Two is always better than one,” he laughed, as fear spiked through me.
The last thing I saw before hitting the pentagram was Milly battling with three witches, two men and a woman, and O’Shea to one side of me, blood seeping through his white shirt. Then I hit the floor.
The demon trying to possess India had been invisible to me while I was outside the confines of the pentagram, but inside was a different thing. It was shaped like a large ant, with multiple limbs, but stood upright like a human, balancing on a tail that was far too reminiscent of a scorpion for my liking.
I looked down. My body lay prone on the floor, my hand around India’s bare ankle.
“We are here in spirit,” the bare whisper of a voice said. India’s spirit crouched behind her sitting body. “We can’t get away.”
Swallowing my fear, I cracked my knuckles and faced the demon. “That isn’t true. We just have to send this ugly bug butt-face packing. Then we can leave.” I gave her a wink, turning my back on the demon for a split second, which I knew better than to do, but I needed to reassure her. Even if I was wrong.
The demon grabbed me around my upper body and lifted me into the air. No weapons on me, I kicked out, catching it in the thorax. There was the crunch of cartilage and the demon dropped me to the ground. There was hope yet; if I could hurt it, then I could kill it. A second kick drove my foot into its chest, forcing it back a step.
“Our master wants to speak with you,” it said, mandible clicking back and forth. “You will be rewarded greatly for coming to him of your own free will.”
Three more successive kicks and finally the thing stumbled back. “Nope, not interested.” Grabbing the closest appendage, I twisted hard, breaking it clean off, a spurt of clear liquid shooting out toward me, hitting me in the face. I swiped off the clear goo, gagging on the scent of rotting meat assailing my nose. F*ck, that was nasty.
Blinking, I caught the movement a second before it struck—the scorpion tail lifted high, then shot toward me with a blinding speed. I rolled to the left, stumbling over my own body. The stinger came down, burying itself into my prone form. That couldn’t be good, but there was nothing I could do about it now.
The demon jerked its stinger out and advanced on me. Dodging and ducking, I managed to keep the stinger from hitting me, but there wasn’t a lot of room.
“Put the stinger into the pentagram!” Milly shouted, distracting me.
I didn’t ask how she could see the demon, but I took her at her word.
The demon’s mandible chattered, its frustration coming through and its attacks redoubled. The stinger flew toward my face at a speed I could barely dodge. Sweat rolled down my face when a black blur leapt onto the pentagram, a snarl on his misshapen lips.
“Mean to Ryleeeeeeeee!” He howled as he hit the demon from behind, his teeth sinking into the creature’s neck, snapping the head off completely.
Dropping to all fours, white goo covering his muzzle, the werewolf looked down at his paws and the demon’s dying body twitching beside him. “No more mean to Rylee. Only good.”
“Rylee, the demon, before it fades—use the tail or you’ll be trapped!” Milly screamed, her words followed by a thud I didn’t want to analyze. Grabbing the demon’s tail, I jammed the stinger into the pentagram. A bright burst of light shattered around us; the barrier that had held us inside the confines of the pentagram vanished. I let out a groan, my body and spirit once more attached, a large furry body covering mine, pinning me to the ground. Where the stinger had gone into my physical body from the spirit plain we’d been on, there was a dull throb, but thankfully nothing more.”Alex, get off.”
He crawled away from me, but not too far. I sat up to see the battle still raged. “Help O’Shea,” I said to Alex, who bounded off after the agent, taking a witch out at the knees in the process.
I scrambled over to India and scooped her into my arms, the buzz of holding the missing child I’d connected to giving me a burst of energy. I slipped off my shirt and put it on her, covering her body. Shy hazel eyes lifted to meet mine. “I knew you’d come for me. I saw you, in a dream.”
I nodded, not really understanding why I’d connected so strongly with her over any of the other children I’d sought out. “Come on, kid. Let’s get you out of here.”
Thanking the heavens we’d made it in time, I started us toward the open door. “O’Shea, Alex, let’s go, the party’s over.”
A quick glance showed there were only two members of the black Coven left standing, and both were engaged with Milly. I wanted to stop and help her, but knew that not only would she not appreciate my help, but she might just turn on me completely.
O’Shea was sweaty, his breath coming in big gulps, but again, his eyes glittered. Yup, he really liked this action-packed life I led. I couldn’t stop the snort that escaped me.
“What?”
Clutching India to me, I ignored O’Shea. “Hang on, kid,” I said into her hair. She smelled of baby powder and blood. One more person’s innocence down the drain of life.
I turned my back on Milly, did my best not to see her strain to keep the two Coven members from her, watched in anger as her own Coven member stood aside and let her fight on her own.
“You aren’t going to help her, are you?” I asked, already knowing the answer.
“You have the child, I suggest you leave.” The woman I’d bled answered me in a tone that brooked no argument. Except, I wasn’t real well-known for backing down from an argument’.
“What, you planning to kill her and blame it on the black Coven?” As the words escaped my mouth, I knew that was the truth of it, saw it flash in her eyes.
I put India down. “O’Shea . . .”
“Go save your friend.”
A half-smile was all I could manage. Pulling my sword, I ran toward the woman who would be Milly’s death if I walked away.