Fast didn’t come close to describing how Labre moved. One second he was in front of Victoria. The next he was in front of me. I didn’t see the uppercut coming, caught completely unaware. I soared through the air, hovering above the ground like a New Year’s Day parade balloon, and landed flat on my back several feet away.
Labre was on me before I could move, pinning me beneath him as he brought his hands to my throat. The amulet wasn’t enough. I needed more if I was going to survive.
Far more.
I slammed my hand over the amulet, evoking more of its power, and did the only thing I could—by taking the energy from all the vampires in the room. They groaned as I absorbed their strength, their cries in unison. I brought my palm up and slapped it against the demon’s chin, stunned at the strength behind the blow. It hit him hard enough that this time he took the trip above and beyond.
I had to get him into the circle—now.
He was too overpowering, impossible to defeat. The only way to force him back to Hell was to get him into the area that belonged entirely to me and demand he depart. As I made it to my feet, I saw Labre had done the same. We faced off, gazes locked.
“This is a fight you can’t win,” Labre said, but I was relieved there was a lack of conviction in his statement.
“We’ll see,” I wheezed, thinking ahead as I lunged to the left toward the circle.
Obviously he didn’t feel threatened by my magic. I groaned when he missed the circle, forcing me to endure another bodily clash. Fucking hell, the bastard was huge: at least three times my size. I managed to duck under his arm and get away. I made a beeline for the circle again, almost running through the damned thing. As I spun around, I saw Labre had followed and inadvertently placed himself right where I wanted him.
I held my breath, allowing the radiating thrum of the amulet to grow. It felt was if the amulet was merging with me, becoming a part of me. My necromancy and magic built and increased. I willed the circle to remain mine, to be the one area inside the room no other could overtake. It wasn’t until Labre tried to take a step forward and hit an invisible wall I realized I’d done it.
Thank you, God.
The bastard was trapped.
“What is this?” he snapped. “What do you think you’re doing, Rhiannon Murphy?”
“Banishing you back to Hell,” I answered, focusing on my power, calling on it. “By strength of my will, I order you to depart.” I basked in the hum of energy wafting off my body. It sizzled through me, a radiant and beautiful fire.
“I do not answer to you.”
“Yes, you do.” I made my way to the circle, the waves of power like liquid ecstasy, and pulled out Sucker. I turned the blade so Labre could see his reflection, creating the mirror that would send him back to Hell. “Depart now. Heed my will. Do as I command.”
And it was my will, my command, that compelled him—steely and unbreakable.
This was the real deal. What I could expect if I sought the full power of my necromancy, if I rode the waves of darkness within me.
He roared as he started to fade, sinking to his knees as I shoved the blade toward him. It wasn’t large enough for him to pass through in his whole form. Instead he seemed to lengthen and contort, like Mister Fantastic stretching his limbs beyond their limits. Inch by inch he vanished into the knife, until he passed through the reflection and disappeared.
I was so caught up in the moment that when the power abruptly vanished, I collapsed in a heap. The world started spinning, the walls appearing to move. In an instant, everything stopped. But it wasn’t a good thing. For one, the hum from the amulet was gone. For another, the vampires in the room were no longer looking at me in fear.
Their gazes, once was threatening as lambs, were now fully coherent and livid.
Sweet baby J. Now I’d gone and done it.
Why did I have to discover a demon banishing was the one thing that would drain the amulet beyond its limit? Now? When so much was on the line?