He was silent. He’d thought I was in trouble, but he knew I was so angry at him, I probably wouldn’t take his calls. He’d figured he could check I was alive and move on with his day, likely without me even knowing.
My heart hurt. I got the feeling Samael didn’t give his trust easily. And Botis had likely waited until he was distracted. I turned my attention to Botis and he gave me a wide smile. I gave him a cool smile back. I was going to fuck him up if it was the last thing I did.
Every part of my body ached, and my ankle was killing me. I was lying on my side and I glanced down at my ankle. Bone. A compound fracture.
I ignored the urge to curl into a ball and close my eyes. After a few pained moments, I managed to sit up. My vision blurred.
I searched the faces of the witches gathered around me. Most of them were steady and determined, although a handful of them kept glancing at us with wide eyes and pale faces. A few of them had their phones out, recording this little moment. Awesome.
The witches were getting themselves organized, joining hands again as they formed a tighter circle. Someone handed Veronica a grimoire and she ignored us as she flicked through the pages. Panic rose in my chest.
I’d always been taught that demons were evil. That they fed on the suffering of others and didn’t care about anyone but themselves.
But…thiswas evil. These witches were doing this for one reason only: power.
Samael cared about his men. I’d seen the relief on his face when he’d been told Ag was awake. I’d witnessed how determined he was to protect every demon in his territory.
And he’d even protected me. He could’ve insisted I stayed at the tower so his little murderer-finder wouldn’t get hurt. Instead, he taught me how to ward. The moment he found out I had more power available to me, he showed me how to access it.
I wasn’t an idiot– the more powerful I was, the more it benefited Samael. But I’d practice my wards and use what he’d taught me for the rest of my life.
I could feel him gathering power, his gaze on me. I could’ve told him not to bother— there was no way he could break those chains. I reached for my own power but after smashing through the witches’ ward, I was almost tapped out. It answered my call but it was sluggish and slow.
A dark shadow appeared above us and I raised my head. Vas slammed into Botis and they rolled. I used the moment of chaos and reached into my boot. Moving my ankle made me want to pass out, but I’d only have one shot at this. Squaring my shoulders, I threw the knife at Veronica.
It lodged in her throat and she choked, her eyes meeting mine. Samael let out a low laugh and I smiled at Veronica as she fell to her knees. Next to her, Mary rolled her eyes, picked up the grimoire Veronica had dropped, and gestured with one hand.
No one moved.
She raised her head, eyeing the witches, and everyone jumped into action, reforming their circles.
Muppets.
The chanting started again. The bitter edge of black magic brushed at my skin and I shivered. Across from me, Samael was still gathering power. He didn’t have a shot of breaking those chains, but he planned to go out fighting. I could respect that.
Mary raised one hand, her voice turning into a high wail. I lowered my shields for a fraction of a second and almost puked at the magic surrounding her. It was thick and evil, and if she used it on Samael, this world would never be the same.
I was running out of time.
The witches began to sway. My eyes met Samael’s again. His face was a mask of rage as he stared at me, and the amount of power I could feel him gathering would be horrifying if he could actually access it. It was endless. His power made the dark power the witches were gathering look like a tiny ember compared to his wildfire. If he ever let it loose, Samael could break this world apart. I gazed at him and he gazed back, his expression open.
You see who I amhis eyes said. They said other things, too, as he looked at me, but I made myself glance away.
Mary paused in her chanting, staring at Samael. He gave her a vicious smile. She could feel his gathering power, and if she could, the other witches could too.
One of them turned and fled.
Mary shrieked. “Traitor! He can’t use his power, you fool!”
It was too late though. They were getting spooked. The less powerful witches had one thing going for them: they knew their limits. And they’d just had a glimpse of an abyss of power so deep, they likely couldn’t comprehend it.
“We don’t need them,” Mary snapped as a few more broke away, sprinting through the cemetery. Some of the other witches looked shaken, but others merely straightened their shoulders and chanted louder.
As a witch from the inner circle broke her chanting and sprinted, I had a glimpse of Vas, on top of Botis, outside of the circle as he slammed his fist into the other demon’s face. Still alive. I was momentarily lightheaded with relief.
I was going to die here. Mary craved a witness to her terror. She’d been kicked out of her last coven, and this was her chance to demonstrate exactly how powerful she was. Hence the witch still holding up her phone, obviously instructed to record everything.
The moment Samael died, I was dead too. My mind raced as I gathered my own power. Breaking the ward had taken it out of me, but I attempted to coax it to me anyway. When coaxing didn’t work, I reached out with a clawed hand, deep beneath my shield, and forced it to answer my call.
