As soon as we freed him from whatever they were using to hold him here, his soul would return to its body. It was not meant to exist here; it still had a vessel.
“Well, if you’re ready, I'm going to break through this flame,” I said, gathering almost all of the energy I had left inside. Had to save some to return us home. “It’s probably going to drain me considerably, but know I will do everything I can to assist you with whatever waits on the other side.”
I’d never worked with this sort of flame before, but I had an idea what it was. Hellfire. Designed to burn souls as well as the flesh, it was no doubt the very thing keeping Louis trapped here. I closed my eyes to focus.
Lestinae fortuna legresia momentum.I let the spell swirl around my mind, and my power surged up, rising from my center.Resista flamina.
My skin grew hot as my body vibrated. My parents had always joked that I was too small to contain so much magical essence, that one day it would burst my skin, especially if I ever released it all without the help of a ley line to filter it.
Looked like we were about to find out.
Maximus stepped in front of Mischa, pulling Jessa into his side just as the spell reached its full potential, crashing out of me with the force of a tsunami. The jeweled princesses lifted their stones, and light shone out in a protective glow around them. My arms shook as I struggled to keep the focus of my spell. I needed all of it to stay on the flames. It was the only way I could guarantee to split the fire.
For a brief moment I didn’t think it had worked, because the red remained unbroken, and as sweat beaded on my forehead I shook with the force of maintaining the power. Then, hope infused in me when the smallest of gaps appeared.
“You got this, Lizzie,” Jessa yelled, her voice barely penetrating through the magic roaring around me. “Don’t give up.”
I wouldn’t give up, but I also wasn’t near a ley line. Eventually my own magic would run out, and if the wall wasn’t parted by then, we’d never get to Louis.
“Once it’s open,” I gritted out, projecting my voice, “get in there straight away. We won’t have much time.”
My voice sounded labored, and I pushed myself harder because I needed it done.
The fire split further and further, inch by inch, until there was a doorway big enough for me. Of course, outside of Cam, I was the smallest one there, and I couldn’t risk this fire touching any of them. It was not a burn supes could heal from.
I dug even deeper, searching for hidden strength. I could do this, I knew I could do it, but before I could release any more energy, a shadow darted across the entrance I’d created.
I froze.
Demons. Shit. Shit. They were already coming for us.
I’d figured they wouldn’t even notice us until we were inside, but I hadn’t taken into account how much time it would take to break the hellfire. An inky energy, darker than any I’d ever felt, pushed through the doorway, blasting all of us back. I used magic to stop myself from hitting the ground, skidding on my boots instead. My eyes immediately shot to the fire, and I could have cried when I saw it whole and unbroken.
All that work for nothing. We hadn’t gotten to Louis, and I’d only succeeded in letting out an upper-level demon. We were now in very real danger, and I wasn’t sure I had the energy to break the wall again.
Before I could worry about that though, there was a demon to deal with.
I stayed still, half hidden in the shadows, my eyes the only things moving as I tried to track the darkness. It felt like it was everywhere, and so freaking strong that my teeth were actually aching from the energy.
“Lizzie!” Jessa shouted. “Are you okay?”
“Yes,” I called back just as quickly. “There’s an upper-level demon in here, so be aware.”
A specter appeared in the center of the space, and a dozen or so lights focused on it. The gasp fell from my lips before I could stop it, and I swear my heart stuttered out of rhythm.
“Louis?” I choked out.
He might have been in soul form, but it was clearly the sorcerer. I would recognize him anywhere, even mostly translucent and coated in swirling darkness. Jessa and Mischa rushed to my side, both of them reaching for me. I grasped their hands, pulling them back.
“It’s Louis?” Jessa asked, squinting as she tried to see through the inkiness that surrounded him.
I nodded, swallowing hard. “Yes. That’s Louis’s soul. And—”
“Something happened to him,” Maximus bit out, his body growing larger. He vamped out, his fangs appearing as his eyes darkened. “He’s demon touched.”
I shook my head. “No, no, that’s not right. He isn’t demon touched. He has no body to be demon touched. It’s something else…”
Louis laughed then, and it brought every hair on my body to attention as a shiver ran down my spine. Holy gods. This was bad. This was really bad.
