I opened my mouth to reply but Kai got there first. And, to my pleasant surprise, he spoke aloud the very answer I was about to give.
“We fight fire with fire, all magic blazing, and show the world exactly what we are capable of.” I saw it again, the flash of danger that Kai possessed, something that called like to like with the very same darkness within me.
“And what is that, Kai?” Romy asked. “To me that sounds like giving Tomin more fuel.”
It was my turn to answer for him. “No, he wants us to be monsters. We will prove otherwise. We are capable of saving innocent people from unnecessary danger, with the very thingthey are trying to use against us. Magic. And we do it together, old magic is stronger together then apart.”
“The Coven?” Romy asked, eyes narrowing in on both Kai and me.
I shook my head. “A coven. A true one, just how the old ways suggest. And afuckinggood one at that.”
11
ARWYN
Idreamed of Hector.
His infectious smile that was as rare as the crystals beneath the earth’s crust. His hesitant touch that screamed of desires he was afraid to share. And his eyes—those bright windows to a soul that I wished I was truly worthy of.
But I wasn’t. No amount of pretending or illusions could achieve it again, not now the truth of my darkness was out in the light.
My childhood had been a storm of abuse and lack of love. It had become so normal for me that I never expected or wanted for anything more. Until those weeks with Hector, and now it was like life just wasn’t worth anything without that companionship. And even in my groggy, drugged state I recognised that, sinking unseen claws and refusing to forget.
“He’s awake.”
I struggled out of the half-waking, half-dreaming state, begrudgingly leaving Hector behind. As soon as my body gained some sense of reality, I was aware that I was in a vehicle of some kind. A smooth road rumbled beneath me, the upright fixture at my back rocking to the rhythm as it jolted over a speed bump and pothole.
My eyes fluttered open to find three unfamiliar faces peering down at me. There was barely any natural light, all besides that which haloed the back of their heads. But there was something I recognised, and it was these men’s fear. It was potent as sugar on my tongue as they looked down at me.
“Morning,” I spluttered, lips cracked and throat dry. Damn, I was as parched as the desert, and my head felt like someone had taken a sledgehammer to it.
At least, I wish they had.
“Someone get more of the haloperidol.”
My first instinct, at the mention of my father’sfavouritesedative, was to lift my hand up, wrap it around a throat and squeeze until the life left my victim’s eyes. But that was no good when I realised that I’d been strapped down.
My arms and legs were bound in more than two places per limb, thick leather straps keeping me on what must’ve been some sort of hospital bed. That was when I noticed what was different about the vehicle I found myself awake in.
It was some sort of van. Medical equipment and shelving units throughout. There was just about enough room for the threearmedWitch Hunters to sit vigil at my side, waiting nervously for me to wake.
My sluggish mind took a moment to realise I was in an ambulance.
My second instinct was to reach out with my Gift, encase these men’s minds in some horrifying illusion, and ruin their lives. Before I even reached for it, I sensed the disconnect between me and my power. Not only that, but Bahmet was as silent as ever. And considering, up until now, that was exactly how I preferred the demon using my skin as a puppet, I had never been so desperate for his control.
“Where am… I?” I growled, to the dismay of the three Witch Hunters trying to decide which pre-made needle was loaded with haloperidol, and which was filled with something else.
No one answered, which didn’t surprise me.
“I will give you a second to answer, or I will feast upon your flesh until I need to pick veins from beneath my teeth,” I spat, recognising just how ridiculous I sounded.
It worked though. The three Hunters paused their task, horrified eyes falling back on me.
Illusions were not all about magic. Regardless if I could weave something powerful around them, it was the will of the person creating it that mattered to how believably it manifested. So, I took the fear these Witch Hunters had of me, and gathered it in my powerless palm. For all they knew, my magic wasn’t dampened by thistlebane, or whatever they’d been pumping me with.
I was still a witch… I was still the host of a demon lord.
“Answer me… quickly,” I said with a slow cadence. “I fucking hate waiting.”
