I spin on my heel, dropping down and out of the demon’s direct line of fire. I put my hand on the ground and pull from the Ley line, summoning power. I wrap my fingers around an exposed tree root.
“Vincti estis!”
The demon’s head lulls back, gray eyes wide with fear. He’s unable to move, but the temporary binding spell won’t last more than a few seconds. It’s more than enough time for Xavier to pick up the dagger and slash it through the demon. It vanishes into thin air.
“What was that?” he asks me.
“Binding spell,” I quickly explain, getting to my feet. “Basically how you would make a haunted object. It’s not strong enough to hold the demon and I don’t have an object to use as a vessel.”
Something crashes through the forest, and we both tense, but it’s only Devon.
“The vanquishing potions,” I tell him, seeing the backpack still on his shoulders. Quickly, he gets it out and tosses me a potion vial. The demon isn’t appearing in physical form. I can’t force it to consume the potion. But we can still get it inside in some way. I pull the cork out of a vial and look at the dagger. Xavier, knowing what I’m thinking, holds it out and I pour it on the blade.
Devon gets the last three bodies, carrying them away.
Energy crackles through the air like lightning and thunder at the same time. The demon reappears, standing at the weakened earth where the Ley line is surfacing. Energy pulses up and light flashes around us.
Pain suddenly starts to radiate from my arm and I flinch, trying to pull away from whatever fiery grasp. But before I can really even react, a sharp twinge in my chest almost brings me to my knees. Xavier catches me, and sees something on my arm.
I follow his gaze, hardly able to make out the red handprint in the dim light.
“He wants my soul,” I say through gritted teeth. “I can feel him trying to get in my head.”
“He’s not fucking getting it,” Xavier growls. “Show yourself, coward!”
“Bold invitation,” the demon says, yet for some reason, only I can hear it.
“There,” I grunt, feebly raising my hand. The demon materializes and lunges toward me, but Xavier is faster. He brings the dagger down on it, and this time, it rips throughthe demon’s flesh. The demon stumbles to the ground, landing against a tree. With its hold on me lifted, I spring into action and dive over, hands landing on the tree’s roots.
“Vincti estis,” I cry and the demon’s body seizes before he’s able to vanish. The dagger pushes through the air, tip of the blade clipping the tree. Demon blood drips from it.
“Holy shit,” I rush out. “That means the vanquishing potion and the dagger together might be enough to stop it if I can get it into a physical form.”
“Can you bind the demon to something?” Xavier asks, holding his arms out slightly at his sides, ready to attack. With his fangs drawn, he looks absolutely terrifying.
“Not with one incantation. Actually binding an evil spirit to something like a doll takes a full spell and even then, it’s not a guarantee it will stay trapped forever.”
His eyes meet mine. “We don’t need forever. We just need a minute so you can kill it.”
“Yeah, but killing a demon like this would mean having it possess someone. Who are we going to find that will willingly let a demon in so I can stab them in the heart?”
“Me,” he says without missing a beat. “The demon can possess me.”
Chapter
Thirty-Four
“That’s a terrible idea,” I blurt, looking at Xavier like he’s fucking crazy. Because willingly letting a demon possess himisfucking crazy. “It will take control of you.”
“I won’t let it.”
“It doesn’t work that way!”
“I can control it. Trust me, Wren.” His head moves up and down. “And trust yourself. Bind us and then you can stab it by stabbing me.”
“Xavier—no. Just no!” My brows pinch together and I shake my head back and forth.
He gently touches the handprint on my arm. “It marked you, Wren. We have to kill it.”
