Page 73 of Only You, No One Else

Ethel’s own power surged, and she stepped back as Pierce approached. She gathered her darkness in her hands, the potency in it enough to ignite the air, but when she threw the fireball at Pierce with all her strength, he caught it and laughed again, the sound anything but joyous.

Her whisper of words Mark didn’t understand reached his ears, and her demons appeared, more red-eyed creatures than Mark had ever seen congregated at one spot, as the darkness of midnight covered the day with its toxicity. Night, the unnatural night her power brought, blanketed the front lawn, and he had to strain to see her, although the red eyes of the demons flanking her remained potent. The others stayed within the confines of the house, Pierce having assured them that her ally’s magic wouldn’t cross the threshold. He’d said until he’d dispatched her ally and torn her dark power away, this was his fight.

The demons growled at Pierce, but he didn’t seem fazed. He unleashed more of his power, its scent reaching past Mark’s human senses to awaken his wolf. The animal, sensing a danger it couldn’t fight, retreated to a corner, as Caster dragged him past the threshold of the cabin, back into the safety of the protection spell Riley had begun as soon as the witch had materialized.

In the paltry safety of the house and the growing security of the protection spell surrounding it, Mark watched Pierce step closer to the witch and her demons. The demon’s eyes glowed a deep orange, a roar emanating from them only to die down to a low whine when Pierce held up his hand.

Mark gasped when the red-eyed demons moved away from the witch towards Pierce as a dog would to its master. He glanced at Caster to find the same awe he felt. The demons and the darkness they carried abandoned the witch, light reclaiming the land the closer they got to Pierce. His power surged again once they were within touching distance, and he clenched his fist, reducing the demons to a puff of smoke.

The significance of his action became clear with Ethel’s scream. Her dark power diminished as Pierce continued to destroy its source. The darkness around her lost its terrible hue, a rainbow of colors forming at its edge, swallowing the blackness in a slow advancing kaleidoscope. The colors began a slow dance as Ethel struggled against her considerable loss. She formed more of those fireballs with her hands, throwing each one at Pierce, who all but ignored her as he continued to destroy her demons one after another.

Their whines of pain as they disappeared into the yellow smoke surrounding Pierce seemed to enhance the color collage around Ethel. Her screams gained an otherworldly quality, the same sickening male voice she’d unleashed the last time she’d attacked them replacing the gentle female scream. Its rhythm and volume grew, acquiring the same chorus Pierce’s voice had. Was that her ally?

This time when she gathered her weapon, it was larger, darker, more considerable. She tore her attention from Pierce and his continued destruction of her cohorts and turned to him with such precision that Mark stepped back. Her eyes were gone, replaced by impossible darkness in the bottomless pits they’d become. They didn’t have time to scramble away from the last of her dark power. She hurled it at them with a riotous roar.

Caster stepped in front of him, and a memory of the last time he’d done that flashed in the foreground of Mark’s vision. He grabbed Caster’s arm, and gathered all his strength to draw him away from the surge of the power sailing across the lawn. It hit the barrier that was Riley’s protection spell with enough force to shake the cabin to its foundations.

Mark fell, Caster on top of him. He took a breath, ready to check for any significant injury to Caster when a second shockwave landed with considerable force. The protection spell crumbled as the cabin gave way, crashing on top of them. He braced for pain, but a sweet smell infiltrated his lungs, his stomach flipped, he closed his eyes against his dizziness, and eerie silence took over.

When next he dared open his eyes, Caster’s tight grip on both arms was the first indication he was still alive. They were in Marcus’s study again, all breathing hard from yet another close call with the witch, but all, even Zeke, intact.

The Alpha tried to move, sensing a tiny chance for escape, but Dean was much faster, and Zeke’s fight died in a defeated sigh.

CHAPTER 48

He’d saved them again. Pierce’s power was unmistakable, and as Caster took stock of first Mark’s body and then his own for any injuries, he was grateful to the demon. He sensed the tension in Mark’s body long before he unleashed his anger in a growl so loud, it was bound to alert the whole house to their failure.

Mark snatched his hand away from Caster, unbothered by his nudity as he paced. “She got away!”

His anger was understandable. Their plan had gone off without a hitch, but it was clear they hadn’t counted on Ethel’s desire to keep her power. She’d fought with the force of a thousand armies even as it was clear Pierce had all but stripped her of access to the dark power she’d used to terrorize them.

“I told you she was stronger than you think. I…”

Riley’s invisible bonds tightened around Zeke, cutting off his words. They were true, but unnecessary.

“Yes.” They all jumped at Pierce’s many voices. It was unsettling the way he seemed to appear out of thin air. “She got away. That was my mistake.” By the last word, by the time his particular brand of darkness was done delivering his full form into the room, his camouflage was in place. He smiled, his voice acquiring a more human quality. “But she has lost access to the darkness her ally provided. She is now just another Water Witch.”

“Are you sure?” Riley asked.

Pierce nodded at Caster. “Ask your man Marcus if he sees the cauldron. It was in one of the locked bedrooms in your Uncle’s house, the top floor to the right.”

Caster reached for Marcus, hoping that battle had gone according to plan. Marcus!

What is it? Are you OK? Leave it to Marcus to sense even the faintest of his worry.

Yes. Pierce says to check for a cauldron in one of the bedrooms. Top floor to the right.

There is a bit of chaos here, Caster. Give me a few minutes.

He nodded and glanced at Dean. “The fight is still on.”

“Perhaps we should be there.” The Prime Alpha seemed impatient to jump into that battle.

“No.” Pierce’s denial, like every time he spoke, was devoid of most emotion. His impeccable ability to remain calm was annoying in its consistency. He tipped his chin towards Mark. “The rest of you can go, but not him. Until we are certain of that cauldron’s destruction, he can’t be anywhere near it.”

“Why?” Mark asked.

“You are not in control of your power, Magicae Lupus. That cauldron’s darkness will call that side of you to the Underworld, and you won’t be able to resist. A small tear in the Veil is all it will take for her to regain all the power I just stripped from her.”