The stones are covered in luminous runes that are glowing an eerie electric blue. Jade is standing in the midst of them with an absolutely crazed look on his face.
Yep. Not good. Not good at all.
“Jade?” says Red.
Jade doesn’t seem to be able to hear him. His eyes are open, but I’m pretty sure he can’t see us either. He is in a trance and muttering under his breath. No, scrub that. He is chanting. Jade is spell casting. Right now. While we are all standing here, doing nothing.
My attention snaps to Gray. He is by far the most powerful one amongst us. But the little demon is watching the proceedings with a vaguely curious expression.
“Stop him!” I hiss.
Gray gives me a puzzled look. “He is not in any danger.”
“He is opening a portal for the fey!” I snap.
Gray blinks slowly. “So?”
Every swear word I know pours out of my lips. I give Mal a beseeching look, but the half-demon merely gives me a malevolent grin in return. He agrees with his mate. He doesn’t care if the fey conquer this realm.
Demon-spawn bastards, the pair of them. I have children. Human children. I don’t want them growing up as fey subjects.
“Pink!” I yell.
He flinches and turns to look at me in alarm.
“Are fey really as bad as the legends say?”
Pink’s eyes widen. He licks his lips. “As far as anyone knows.”
Crap. I glance around at my friends. Blue is off in the ocean. Nobody else is old enough to have been around the last time the fey walked on Earth. Apart from Gray, and he clearly doesn’t give a shit, and I don’t have time to change his mind.
Goddamnit! Where the hell is Baltazar? There is no sign of him.
Fuck it. I’m out of time and out of options.
I take a deep breath and step into the stone circle. Magic coils around me. It’s like static, but far more intense. I can feel it moving my hair. It’s uncanny, but I don’t think it is causing me any harm.
I stride up to Jade and place my hand on his shoulder.
“Jade!”
He ignores me.
“Sithri!”
Shitty of me to use a name he doesn’t go by anymore, but desperate times call for desperate measures and all that. It might grab his attention.
He blinks. His hazy emerald eyes slowly focus on me. He stops chanting.
Thank fuck for that. But it’s not time for a victory dance just yet.
“Please don’t do this,” I say.
Jade stares at me. I don’t think he understood what I just said, he is too spaced out.
Away with the fairies,my twisted mind helpfully supplies and I very nearly let out a snort laugh. Talk about gallows humor.
Suddenly, a movement on the periphery of my vision catches my attention. It’s Baltazar. Finally. But he appears to be alone. Why the hell has he not brought the cavalry? Now is so not the time for power games and political moves.
