“Stop it!” Kyra snapped. “That’s enough!”
Frederick ignored her outburst, instead reaching over to wrap his hand in her braid. “An exchange,” he began when the Daemon turned his head. “This witch for your knowledge.”
Kyra sucked in a pained breath, almost dropping the candle that still flickered like a heartbeat.
The Daemon paused, his neck turning at an inhuman angle to get a better look. It began to crease, turning almost one-eighty degrees. Nostrils flared, the large horns that curled past his ears growing until they touched his square jaw.
Kyra grunted, her head pulled with enough force her neck clicked. Power tingled her fingertips, her chi awakening but she couldn’t risk fighting back, not with the circle so close.
The roar that echoed made even Frederick recoil. It was too late, the sound so loud it made Faye jump, her arm swinging forward and accidently touching the dome. The circle fell with an audible pop, everyone’s auras rebounding back like an elastic band. Faster than anyone could react the Daemon reached forward, his palm closing over Faye’s face before she could even let out a scream.
A bone curling crunch, and then both the Daemon and Faye were gone in a burst of smoke.
The sudden silence was deafening.
Frederick let go of Kyra’s braid, and her knees collapsed beneath her. She landed heavily, hands slapping against the wood to stop her fall.
“It seems we need to summon someone else to bargain with,” Frederick said absently, wiping his hand against his jacket.
Everyone else remained still, all staring at the space where Faye once was.
The anger that Kyra felt earlier had gone, replaced with a hollow pain. She hadn’t known the young witch well, but no one deserved to suffer.
Bane stepped forward, reaching for the vampire heart that lay untouched in the centre. Kyra had almost forgotten he was even there.
Frederick kneeled beside her, gently brushing the stray hairs from her face. “Don’t worry, I wouldn’t have actually allowed the Daemon to take you,” he whispered before returning to his feet. “You’re much too useful to me alive.”
Chapter5
Kyra
Kyra slowly climbed the stairs, body aching as a result of the black magic that polluted her chi. It never lasted, fading over a few hours as her aura pushed out the poisonous Grimm, a physical materialisation of the magic. It was what made her different to the others, the ability to process black magic without a lasting effect. Others sacrificed their own sanity, the darkness and Grimm slowly eating away at their mind until they were nothing but a hollow shell. It was one of the reasons familiars were first created, so black witches could push that effluence into their pets rather than take the cost. It was also why familiars were quickly made forbidden, because it wasn’t just pets that some witches used.
Her flat was small, which meant it was cheap. There were no lifts, only the gruelling metal stairs that made such a racket, every step rattling down the halls to upset sleeping neighbours. Her knees protested, but she finally made it to the fifth floor, her place the furthest down the hall. She couldn’t complain, the landlord was friendly enough and the flat itself was clean.
Most importantly she had access to natural light, with every room except the bathroom having a window. It was something she craved after being kept in a dark, airless room her whole childhood.
It was her little bit of freedom.
Keys clattered, her hand shaking slightly as she inserted her key into the lock. The front door swung open without any effort, and her heart immediately clenched at the sight of her possessions tossed on the floor.
Her second-hand sofa had been overturned, the cushions ripped to pieces as stuffing left little clouds amongst the glittering glass. She wasn’t sure what the glass was originally considering she had many bottles and vials, but they were quickly forgotten when she noticed the note pinned to her fridge.
Kyra stepped inside, her initial anger quickly turning to dread.
YOU FUCKING WHORE.
I CAN’T WAIT TO BREAK YOU IN MYSELF.
PREPARE TO BECOME MY LITTLE TOY.
The note was the least descriptive she had received, but it had been left inside her home without any evidence of a break in. The large window in her open plan kitchen/living room was still bolted from the inside. Her front door had been double locked and undamaged, which meant whoever had entered her home without permission had a key.
Kyra crushed the broken shards beneath the heels as she moved towards her bedroom, the ward she had carved into the windowsill undisturbed. Her bed had been pulled apart, her sheets shredded and the mattress sliced as if someone was looking for something hidden inside.
The crystals she kept on the dresser were gone, as were the jewellery attachments.
“No, no, no!”
