Rowan opens a bag of chips and offers them around. “We can’t sit on the sidelines simply because we’re under-gunned. We all have abilities. Surely, we can come up with something that doesn’t involve Tharuzel going full nom-nom on the neighbors.”
Sebastian crosses his arms. "Without the right weapons, we could just be sacrificing ourselves for the buffet."
"But Rowan’s right,” Wylder chimes in. “We can’t just leave people to die because we don’t have a way to win the fight. We still need to fight.”
"They might already be dead by the time we get in there." Reid's voice cuts through the noise. When all eyes turn to him, he shrugs without apology. “A major demon is coming to life on our plane, and his minions have set up a buffet line. There’s no saying he didn’t chow down the moment they were taken inside.”
I blink. “Dude, that’s morbid.”
“But not entirely inaccurate,” Sebastian says.
I hate to even consider that as a possibility, but when dealing with demons, things don’t end well. “Then we proceed as if this is a rescue mission until we know for sure that it’s not.”
“Also morbid, but accurate,” Asher says.
I press my palm against my sternum, where the darkness thrums inside me, urging me forward. "I feel him fighting the outer ward. Once he’s through, he’ll consume those people for strength.”
"Then we still have time to wait for Mica." Clara’s hands twist together. "She has access to the Cinderheart Crucible. She might be forging the weapons we need as we speak.”
“But there’s no way to know for sure,” Wylder says.
"We've tried locating her," Clara interrupts. "The forge only exists on the earth plane when it chooses to manifest here. We haven’t been able to track it at all since it took Mica."
"Maybe we portal-hop with Sebastian again until we find it?—"
Sebastian shakes his head. “That would take time we don’t have. And, without Mica, I have no way to track the forge. Besides, I need to be here for the wards. We’re past the point of them containing him, but at least if I’m here, I can keep him locked away a little longer.”
I hold up my hands. “Okay, enough. We’re getting nowhere. Let’s focus on what we can do, and hope that if Mica can get those weapons to us, she will.”
Wylder meets my gaze. "Tharuzel has hostages, so we need to move in. We may not have demon-vanquishing weapons, but we have Wiccan abilities, and each of us has specialized affinities. We’re not helpless."
Agreed.
Then something about the blood-bond connection I share with Tharuzelshifts. The sensation hits like ice water down my spine—a fundamental change in the texture of the magic binding me to him.
Where before it felt distant, muffled, now it sharpens into crystalline clarity. I throw my hand up. "Wait. Something is happening.”
The group falls silent.
I close my eyes, following the vibration of the dark tether to get a better feel of what’s happening. And when I find it, nausea churns violently in my gut and spews bile up the back of my throat.
Tharuzel’s presence is solid and real. His body might have originated as a perversion of shadow and stolen vitality, but he’s manifested in the physical world as flesh and bone.
My eyes snap open.
“We’re out of time. He’s free of the pocket realm and fully physical." My voice comes out steadier than I feel.
“Which means he’s going to eat those people.” Asher pushes off the side of his truck. “Time to get our groove on.”
I turn to Orion. "Call your aunt and alert the pack. If we get our asses kicked, there’s a good chance Tharuzel’s hunger will spill over into Emberwood."
"On it." He's already pulling out his phone.
I scan the group. “If any of you want to hang back and avoid the head-on attack, I totally get it. No fault. No foul. We’re under-gunned and facing an opponent we have no idea how to take down. I believe in what we’re building, but I get that it’s early days.”
Mostly I’m worried about Clara and Izzy. They don’t have the same aggressive drive as the rest of us, and I don’t want them to do anything they don’t feel ready for.
S’Nark stretches his leathery, black wings, grinning with too many teeth. “I've beendreamingabout payback. Count me in, sparkles.”
