The sirens had broken through.
Cass, Molly, and the pack would have to hold them off while I worked to keep the demon army from scampering out onto Earth.
Remember your power, my dad had said.
“Gran, help me,” I muttered, thrusting my arms out and grabbing onto the fast-spinning symbols of the gate. A sharp force jolted through my hands, traveled up my arms, and sliced down my back. I yelped and almost recoiled, but managed to hold on, gritting my teeth as I strained against the magic thrumming through the symbols. They were moving wildly while my hands passed right through them as if I were an insubstantial ghost.
Taking a deep breath and shaking off the electrifying sensation of the locks, I pulled my purple kitsune magic forward, allowing it to flow out along my arms and rest in my palms.
Stop already, you fucker!I cursed in my head, as I pumped my purple magic into the spinning symbols. They crashed against my hand, delivering a deep, vibrating pain with each hit, almost as if they were real, although they looked translucent and spectral.
“Feel the earth beneath your feet,” my father said just behind my shoulder. “Feel the kitsune power, the power of all nine tails.”
My wrists felt like they might snap in half, but the spinning symbols of the gate were finally slowing, becoming legible rather than a green blur.
What I imagined were bodies crashed behind me, and water splashed at my feet. I flinched.
“Don’t worry, Evie. We’ve got your back,” Haru said.
I nodded.
Focus. Breathe.
Shutting out everything outside of me, I pulled, searching for that connection to my magic. Since the day my magic had manifested, it had frightened me a bit. I had a healthy fear of how much it might do if fully unleashed. I’d kept the full extent of my power at bay by only pulling on small parts of it at any given time.
Now I was going to open the floodgates to my magic. I’d need to bring forth the motherload if I was going to close this gate and thwart a war on Earth.
The moment I opened the dam holding back my magic, nausea barreled up my body before sheer power coursed through me, overwhelming the sensation. The baby kicked hard within my uterus; she must have felt it too. But no part of me could ever hurt her. I was sure of it; I trusted my body and its instincts.
With a battle cry, I thrust my hands into the spinning symbols, bleeding so much purple magic that the entire gate was now glowing brightly with the color. A crisp snap punctuated the forest, and the symbols stopped moving entirely.
“You’ve broken the sirens’ spell. Close the gate!” Cho roared behind me.
I risked a glance around the gate. Two large, misshapen demons had just waltzed through it.
Now or never.
Picking up my katana, I inspected the circle of symbols, searching for any type of hole among them that might be a lock I could insert my sword into.
“Feel each one!” my father shouted. He sounded farther away than before. Had someone taken him? God, I hoped not, but I couldn’t focus on him right now. I could only focus on finding this damn lock. Everyone was counting on me.
Running my fingers over each symbol, the tingle of ancient magic spread throughout my body as I caressed this centuries-old gate.
“Hurry, Evie!” Brock sounded like he was in pain, and that caused adrenaline to pump through my system like never before. My hands started shaking as I ran them over each symbol, touching, searching for a crevice or a crack where I could insert my katana.
The fucking gate had a lock in it this whole time! And my katana was the key? I could have tried to close the gate weeks ago!
Frustration washed over me as I scrambled to find the one symbol that contained a hole. I was about to give up and just turn around to help with the fight when I finally felt something. A divot in the edge of one of the symbols.
“I got it!” I shouted triumphantly, my pulse beating excitedly in my ears.
“Now to close the gate, stick your katana inside the lock and turn it,” my father shouted. “Don’t let go until it’s completely shut and locked.”
Easy peasy, baby. This motherfucking gate was about to be closed for business.
A bolt of purple fire flared along the blade of my katana. It was as if my weapon knew what we were about to do. Finding that groove again, I inserted my blade into it and the sword began to vibrate, hard.
Alarm swept through me, but I held firm, and pushed with all my might until the base of the katana slammed flush against the symbol. It was a wonky thing to look at. A gate, invisible to everyone but me, floating midair with my sword hanging out of it. But even weirder was the vibrating. It had spread to my entire body, and even the ground had begun to shake a little.
