Page 67 of Only You, No One Else

Riley nodded. “As soon as we teleported here, I started a spell to track the energy that pushed us out of Damien’s house. I thought that perhaps it was my Grandmother, but it was unlike anything I’ve seen.”

“How did he get out of that place?” Caster asked, still certain with every fiber of his being that they couldn’t trust Pierce. His self-interest was too pronounced.

Riley glanced at Mark. “I suspect the same way Ethel followed Mark into the Underworld.” He sighed. “This is probably a bad idea, but I think we should summon him. He is already here…”

“Are you sure there is no other way?” The King asked, but his tone suggested he already knew the answer, an answer Caster was close to accepting.

Riley shook his head and shifted on his feet, an action so uncharacteristic, Caster’s worry for his friend rose to the fore again. “No one knows her the way he does. His hatred for her is something we can depend on.” He waved a hand over the house. “The protection spells on the house kept him from accessing it; we just need to make sure he never gets in here.”

“He will want something in return,” Caster said. “He wouldn’t tell me why he wants her dead. That may prove a huge future problem.”

His father nodded. “Yes. But for now, his interests and ours are aligned, and given the witch’s growing power, we might need him. Still, we won’t go into it blindly.”

“No, we won’t,” Marcus said. “Riley, how do we protect ourselves from him?”

“We can’t have protection spells on the cabin if we’re to lure the witch and Zeke there.” Riley shook his head. “The protection spells I have on all of you should be sufficient.” He closed his eyes and sighed. “But we have to trust him, even a little. Or at least trust his hatred for Ethel.”

“Summon him, let’s find out what he knows and how much he’s willing to help,” Damien said, and a chorus of agreements rang out in the room.

Riley paused for a moment, glanced at him and then at his father. Caster sighed the moment his father granted his permission. He understood the logic of it. This was primed to be the fight of their lives, and they needed as many allies as they could muster if they were going to survive it. He only prayed the Goddess knew what she was doing and they weren’t trading one monster for another.

CHAPTER 43

Mark was not sure what time it was. The desire to end this predicament for all of them energized the family. They gathered under the cover of total darkness in the same front lawn they’d summoned the spell to travel into his memory a few hours earlier. Total darkness, a full moon that was dipping over the horizon, indicated morning was not too far away. His tired body begged him to find their bed, Caster’s embrace, and drift away. But he was too impatient for this to be over, for their forever to begin.

Marcus had ordered the younger members of the growing family, which included Caster’s younger brother, Ben, and his younger brother, Mikey, to remain in the house. They’d protested, and Mark had been unable to stifle his laugh when Marcus threatened to lock them up. He was right; this was not their fight, and Mark would only be secure enough to be a full participant if he didn’t worry about Mikey.

Riley and Amara nodded at each other and started a chant that would call the demon from his hiding place. It was terrifying to think that he’d somehow escaped the prison he’d been trapped in the last time Mark had encountered him. Mark didn’t know much about demons, except that they weren’t meant to be in the land of the living.

A tempest washed over them as the spell progressed, and he swayed into Caster, grabbing his arm to keep from tumbling into him. Caster held on to him as the perfect synchrony of Amara and Riley’s voices died down to a whisper. A sweet smell, one he couldn’t identify, filled the air, awakening his wolf. The animal sensed the danger, the unknown, and stood guard as the darkness before them seemed to part, an invisible door opening to reveal an unassuming man.

Mark had only seen him for a moment a few weeks ago when he and Riley had traveled into that void to rescue Caster. His dark hair matched his tailored suit, impeccable down to the dress shoes that seemed polished to perfection. It was a ruse, part of his camouflage. Mark’s wolf could sense the danger hiding behind the tall, handsome dark-haired individual before them. The others seemed to sense his immense power. No one dared move, all coiled for action that was certain to be futile against so much power.

His eyes flashed a bright yellow, illuminated by the high moon, and he glanced at Caster. His many growling voices startled Mark enough that he took a step back. “It is nice to see you again, my vampire friend.” By the last syllable, his camouflage was complete. He looked and sounded human. Still, no one moved.

Pierce tilted his head to the side, still assessing Caster. “I see I saved you in time.” Then he bestowed his unsettling attention on Mark. “Thank you for tearing me away from that void.” Then he smiled, and Mark gasped at the pointed, animalistic display that was gone so fast, he was sure he’d imagined it. “Of course, you did it by accident, didn’t you?” He shrugged. “Still, thank you. I am here to repay that debt.”

“You surely don’t expect us to believe that,” Caster said.

Pierce laughed, his many voices echoing through the night. His wolf retreated to a corner, its response natural, but the human in Mark was done allowing the world to control him.

The demon’s movements were casual as he placed his hands in his pockets, a curt nod directed at Riley. “Your witch…” He shrugged. “…witches have the power to destroy me or at the very least send me back to that prison. Ethel did it easily enough, although she had some help.”

“Help from where?” Amara asked.

“I thought that’s why you summoned me.” He took a step closer to Mark, and it took everything in Mark to hold his ground, although he did tighten his grip on Caster’s arm. This time when he smiled, it was a gentle human-like smile, none of the threat of the demon below the surface. “I can show you the source of her power; together we can destroy it and her.”

“But you want something in return?” Cy’s question floated through Mark’s mind as he worked too hard to contain his natural response to the threat in front of him.

Pierce kept his gaze on Mark, as if studying him. “Yes. I wish I had a good heart to act from, but I am a demon.” He stared at Mark for a long moment, nodded as if arriving at a conclusion he wouldn’t share with them, and turned to Riley. “There is a spell that only someone as powerful as you can attempt. Commit to performing it for me, and I will tell you everything you need to know to defeat that little witch.”

“And if I say no?” Riley asked.

His full, unsettling attention returned to Mark. “You can’t control it, can you, Magicae Lupus?” He shook his head, answering his own nonsensical question. “You will experience unimaginable terror again, and another tear in that Veil will appear somewhere else. This time, Ethel followed you through, gathered enough power to replenish her cauldron.” He stepped closer, his voice lowering to a whisper. “That tear is still open. She yet gathers more power from it, and I’m the only one who knows how to defeat her ally.”

“What ally?” Amara’s whispered question filled the ethereal silence that had formed around Pierce’s warning.

He smiled and turned his attention to Riley, raising an eyebrow. “It is a simple spell, my powerful one. You won’t even feel its effects.”