She shrugged. “Although I am disappointed, I can’t ignore the look in your eyes. You seem so happy.”
“You know, I think I am.”
She abruptly clapped her hands. “On another note, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about getting a leadership position again in the coven. When you get claimed, you are going to be way too powerful to be just a regular member. You have the ability to do so much, like your father. I just want you to think bigger when things settle down, and you get used to your omega status.”
I gave her a tight smile and a nod. She sounded just like my father. He was proud I was a doctor, but he wanted so much more for me as a witch. I was no disappointment, but he wanted me to lead. He left me that grimoire for more than just telling me about the alphas. I wished I had the confidence to think I would be an effective leader. I thought I was better behind the scenes.
A chorus of screams hit the air before I could say anything. We both jumped up and raced out of the office toward the reception area. The receptionist and several others faced the elevators, hands and wands out in attack. Magic swirled around us like a thick heat. I took a step forward and saw they were pouring their magic out at what looked like ten ogre demons. They were humanoid but looked like walking lizards with horns, fangs, tails and reptilian gray skin. They had to be over seven feet tall, looming over us as if we were children.
How the hell had they gotten up here? So much for security. They hadn’t taken the elevators up, so I was sure the stairwell had been their entry, and I only hoped no one got hurt running into them.
I joined the group of witches as the demons raced toward us. They tackled some unlucky souls and began biting and clawing. A demon stomped in my direction, and Chilli and I pushed out our magic, blasting it back against the elevators, leaving a dent in the steel doors upon impact. Before I could turn my head to manage the next attack, the demon quickly jumped up, regenerating in rapid time before our eyes.
An icy streak of fear rolled down my spine. This was not going to be easy if they could heal so quickly. We ran the risk of burning out before they did.
There weren’t that many of the witches in the office right now, but we still outnumbered the demons. However, we were losing. Our bodies were still fragile, and we had to use spells to heal while they had bodies that looked like armor and could regenerate automatically.
The only way to stop them was to do killing blows. If we directly killed them, we’d be out of power for a while. Magic was great, but it had its costs. The more we used it, the more we got drained, so rest was important. And the more potent the use, like killing in one go, the quicker the drain. However, this situation warranted it.
“Aim for the heart or the head!” I shouted amongst the chaos.
Another demon ran at me, and I raised my hands in the air and then balled my fist, whispering a magic word. The demon exploded in front of me, sending blood and gore everywhere, including on me.
I stumbled forward, and Chilli grabbed my elbow, pulling me to the side. She looked at me with wide, shocked eyes. “You need to hide. You’re out of energy.”
I felt a little weak but not totally out of energy. It seems like the boys were giving me a power boost. I’d never killed anyone with a killing word before. Actually, until recently, I hadn’t killed anyone at all. “I’m okay.”
She looked back at me, her hands pushed out and ready to attack. “How did you kill it with just one word?”
She looked at me with so much shock. Was it that odd? “Dad taught me. Although, it never worked before.” I just had hopes that my bonding with the guys had given me a little boost in that direction as well.
“Even I need to use a whole spell to kill.”
Well, now I understood the shock. My father failed to tell me that not just anyone could do a one-word kill spell. And how could I do it but not Chilli? I knew I was strong but had no clue the level. I would have to think on that another time. A time when I wasn’t being attacked by monsters.
I moved in front of Chilli as another demon came at us. A male wizard, David, pointed his wand at the creature, setting it on fire, but the fire blew out. It turned toward David, who backed away. I wasn’t going to let him get to the wizard.
I balled my hands into fists again and repeated the killing word. This time only the demon’s head exploded, but that was good enough. The headless body dropped to the ground with a loud thud.
This time I did feel exhausted. I didn’t think I would be able to do it again. It would be a good time for Kai to appear. It was possible I could get a boost from him to continue. I moved to the wall, and Chilli stood in front of me, pushing off attacks with her power. She wouldn’t use a healing word or spell until the last minute because if she was spent too, we’d both be useless.
A loud shriek hit the air. I wanted to move to see what was happening, but I was too tired. I could barely hold myself up against the wall. The cry sounded otherworldly, and a familiar scent hit my nose. Earth and cinnamon.
Kai.
I moved forward against Chilli’s protest, leaning against the wall until I could see.
Kai stood near the receptionist’s desk, his eyes were blazing red, and he was in his full demon form, horns and all. He was intimidating, but I wasn’t scared. I felt relief.
Only I just now noticed that he was holding in his hand the long bloody spine of one of the demons. Wait, had he yanked out a demon’s spine in one go? He really could back up that earlier threat.
Another demon ran toward him from behind, and before I could yell a warning, Kai spun and punched out a hand. He withdrew his fist, and the giant, black heart of the demon sat beating in his palm.
He turned toward me, tossing the heart behind him as the demon, now dead, dropped to the floor. “Sorry, I’m late, kitty cat. There was a shit load of demons in the lobby.”
He looked me over, his face hard but confident, as if he were just stepping on ants, not giant demons from hell. My core tightened in response. I had issues. I should have been disgusted by the blood and gore, but I was kind of turned on. My incubus was a bad-ass.
He clapped his hands, looking around the space. He actually looked excited, and he only had a few injuries, none serious looking. There were no demons left. There were many injured witches and wizards, but others were already at their side, healing them. I could have helped if I had any magic left to use right now. It would be hours before it returned unless I bummed some energy off of Kai. Until then, I felt like a sweaty, boiling, bloodied rag doll.
