Demons spilled out from every corner, so many that they seemed to flood the cavern, so many that it was impossible for us to have missed them all. Beside me, Liv took a step back, eyes flying wide in alarm. A flash of uncertainty flickered down the mating bond, then was gone behind steely resolve as her features set.
Several shifters with iron weapons stepped forward. I grabbed my own weapon, dropping into a fighter’s crouch in front of Liv, prepared to do whatever it took to keep her safe.
Chapter 23 - Liv
There were more imps than I thought could possibly cram into the cavern. The air and walls seemed to writhe with them as they continued appearing seemingly out of thin air. They cackled even as the wolves began to attack.
“Ignore the wolves for now,” Azaret ordered, sounding almost bored. “Get the witches.”
Demons lunged toward us, sprinting in our direction, so many of them that I knew they would overpower the three of us in seconds, even with the wolves next to us. I glanced over at Emma and Rachel and saw with a twist of dread that they were realizing the same thing. If the demons reached us, it was all over, and neither Rachel’s nor Emma’s magic was particularly effective against the creatures. And I couldn’t imagine my own magic could handle this number of demons. My heart hammered as the realization slammed into me: We wouldn’t be able to protect ourselves this time.
The demons approached, and even as Emma and Rachel conjured their magic, preparing to fight, there was no way we could fend them all off. We’d be snatched in seconds, and after that, who knew what would happen.
An imp lunged toward me, claws outstretched, ready to grab. I thrust up my hands on instinct, not entirely sure what that would even do. I felt a pulse of power ripple out from me, and a furious hiss echoed around us.
“Holy shit,” Rachel said.
“Liv,” Emma whispered.
I cracked my eyes open, not realizing I had closed them in the first place. My eyes bulged as I took in the sight in front of me.
A dozen demons stood in front of us, scowling as they hovered around us. But each of them stood several feet away. Every so often, one of them would push forward, trying to grab for us, only for them to bounce back against something invisible. My jaw dropped open.
“Am I…” I stammered.
“Whatever it is, keep it up,” Emma said. “That’s incredible.”
The problem was, I had no idea how I was doing it, so I had no idea how to keep it up. I thought back to what Emma had said about my abilities being related to air. Had I made a solid barrier of air?
It didn’t matter. What did matter was that we had a barrier. We had something we could use to protect ourselves.
Just outside the barrier, Drake stood next to us, stunned. He stared at me in an entirely new light. Before any of us could do anything else, Elias saw and moved toward us even as he continued fighting demons.
“Can you cast magic through the barrier?” Elias asked.
By way of answer, Rachel thrust out her hand, and a ball of fire flew through the barrier and slammed into a mass of imps, who shrieked and recoiled as it exploded. Elias nodded.
“Good. You three stay behind that barrier and start going for the wraith. Do not go outside it. We’ll handle the demons.”
“Liv, think you can keep it up?” Emma asked.
“Don’t have much of an option, do I?” I quipped, gritting my teeth. The truth was, I had no idea how long I could hold the barrier.
A brush of encouragement and affection rippled through the mating bond. Drake didn’t look at me, too preoccupied with an imp, but I didn’t have to be a genius to know it had been deliberate. A burst of warmth and energy burned in me, and I focused on the barrier. Off to the side, Emma and Rachel began aiming their attacks at the wraith. It kept trying to get away, but with the mass of creatures in the room and the several wolves blocking the tunnel, it had nowhere to go and could only try to dodge Emma and Rachel’s magic.
I glanced around the room, eyebrows knitting together. Where was Azaret? I couldn’t see him anywhere. It was as though he had melted into the shadows. I knew our priority was the wraith, but the fact that I couldn’t see the head demon made my skin crawl with unease. For all I knew, he could appear right behind us, rendering the barrier moot.
But no demon appeared behind us as Emma and Rachel continued hurling spells of water and fire toward the wraith. It hissed in pain, parts of it turning into glass as bursts of fire hit it and other bits turning into mud.
Every so often, one of the imps would break away from the rest of the chaos and lunge toward us, as if hoping the barrier I had put up would be gone. They slammed into nothing each time, getting nowhere near the three of us. A moment later, Drake would lunge at them, stabbing them with his knife. One managed to bat the knife out of Drake’s hand. All that happened was that Drake turned into a wolf and started tearing them to shreds.
Everything was mayhem, but all I focused on was Emma and Rachel as they continued hurling their magic at the wraith. It staggered with every blow from water and fire. Parts of it turned to glass, others into muddy wet clumps. It snarled, continuing to weaken. My head began to pound as I tried to hold the barrier, knowing that I was the final line of defense.
It happened so fast that I almost missed it—a blast from Rachel. The wraith collapsed onto its knees. It howled in agony, stumbling as it glared at us in disbelief and pure rage as it snarled at us, but it knew it was finished. I could see the panic in its eyes.
One final thrust of magic from Rachel and Emma, boiling water shooting toward it, piercing it right where a heart would be.
The wraith collapsed and stilled, and the horrible monster that had been plaguing our pack for nearly a year disintegrated, collapsing on itself until it was nothing more than a mound of sand.
