I looked up at the shield. The magic was fuchsia, tinged with rivers of red. Although months ago I wouldn’t have believed it possible, most of the power coming from the totems was mine—sort of. I wasn’t sure how to describe it, but the power above us resembled my own energies, but it was different too. Like it was actually coming from another source. Someone a part of me, but stronger than I was on my own.
Morgan Le Fay.
The shield pulsed above us, even more vibrant fuchsia than before. I was on to something.
“Alex is right. We need to send her back.” I gestured up to the shield. “I think we can send her to Hell using this.Itcame from . . . somewhere else.” My words teetered off. I didn’t know where the magic in my totem came from, but surely it wasn’t only my power. “Maybe it can send her somewhere else too.”
Alex’s eyes widened. “You mean using the totem energy?
I nodded, seeing that he understood what I was getting at. Probably because he felt the difference between his magic and the magic of his totem too.
“Smart, but you should do the shield,” Alex said. “It’s more yours than mine.”
“I agree. Let’s slam her together, then you guys hold her off while I manipulate the shield. We’ll be unprotected while I’m figuring it out.”
“You got it,” Hunter said.
I inhaled a massive breath. “Okay. I’m letting the shield down . . .now!” I screamed.
A hole appeared in front of us, and we thrust our hands forward, shooting beams of energy toward Ishtar.
The howls the queen emitted when our magic pummeled her were otherworldly. Even if she had the ability to regenerate, even if she was practicallyinvincible, we were doingsomethingright.
“I’m letting go! Cover for me,” I screamed.
A surge of power came from both guys, and I turned my attention to the magic our totems had generated. It churned above, crimson and fuchsia, in wild and powerful waves.
Please let this work,I thought, as I gathered as much magic as I could muster, combined it with the power from our totems, and hurled it straight at Ishtar.
The combined force of my magic and that of the totems slammed Ishtar straight in the chest. She groaned, and for a second, I thought it wouldn’t work, that we’d given up our best protection for a stupid idea.
But then a black hole appeared and began sucking Ishtar through.
“Noooooo!” the queen roared as her legs disappeared, and the vortex continued to pull her through, inch by inch.
The last we saw of Ishtar before she vanished through the swirling hole of black and fuchsia were the tips of her horns, and one hand grasping for us.
As soon as her body disappeared, I willed the hole to close, and it responded rapidly. It was nearly all the way shut when a chorus of screams cried out from another dimension. The sound of demons welcoming back their queen.
The next second, the hole sealed itself shut, and everything was silent and black.
My entire body went slack as I fell to the floor and gripped my leg where Ishtar had branded me.
“Babe! Are you okay?” Alex fell beside me.
“I’m . . . alive. It looks like she burned a mark into me.” I tried to lift my pant leg, but had no energy to do so.
“We need to get out of here,” Hunter said, and began pacing the room. “I take it that no one knows we’re still alive?”
I shook my head, and a searing pain shot up my leg again as Alex helped me sit up. “I jumped through the hole right before Professor Tittelbaum closed the warphole. They—”
“You don’t have to explain,” Alex said, his jaw clenched. “They couldn’t justify endangering everyone else.”
“Still.” Hunter’s fists clenched, and tears pricked in my eyes for the boys.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “It still sucks.” I sighed. “But we can deal with that shit later. How are we going to get out of here?” I looked around the room that I hadn’t fully been able to take in yet. It resembled a capitol building or some other official structure.
“Where are we?” I croaked, the searing sensation from my leg not letting up one bit.
