Page 88 of Caught in the Devil’s Hand

“Shokushi.” Lightning erupted from her hand, and Shumei screamed Vallen’s name. Please, please let it miss him. If it didn’t, the Touch of Death would—

Vallen turned around just as the bolt from Majo’s fingers hit him square in the chest, and Shumei watched, horrified, as the light left his eyes. His mouth was open, hand still gripped tightly around his bloody sword. He fell to his knees.

“Vallen! No, no,” she screamed. His body slumped to the side, and he breathed his last. His eyes were still open, looking at her.

Only moments ago in their bedroom, he had been holding her, kissing her, loving her. And now he was… He had been human only a day. Three hundred years of wandering the land as the exact thing he’d once fought, and he was… He would never hold her again, never tease her again, never make her heart flip with only a slow smile, never turn a heated look her way.

She would soon be as lifeless as he was, if the agony in her heart continued any longer. She never thought pain alone could kill. It stole her breath and made her want to throw up. She shut her eyes, dug her fingers into the ground, and shrieked. When she ran out of breath, she took in another and screamed again through the harsh sobs that threatened to choke her.

A deep, loud laugh tumbled down to her. She fell silent, shaking, cheeks wet with tears.

“How truly pathetic. You loved him, did you? Even better,” the witch said.

“Champion,” a familiar voice called. Shumei opened her eyes.

“Your friends still seem to be doing well, but we’ll overcome them,” Majo said. The toe of her boot came within a step of Shumei’s dirty hands.

“Remember what I taught you.” She took in a deep breath, aware of fluttering in her belly. Her magic wanted something. “Time is running out.”

“We won’t kill you just yet. We’ll make you suffer first, all of you.” Majo was gleeful, and Shumei could taste her laughter. “I think we’ll start with your lover’s body. You’ll watch, of course.”

“She’s so close, Champion. She’s in your grasp.”

“Then, after we’ve thoroughly enjoyed you,” she continued, “we’ll find a way inside that house and bring out the one you’re protecting. Your brother is my guess. Playing with him shall be fun.”

“No more despair, for nothing is lost. You are my beloved chosen. Everything I have, I give to you.”

“There are still many hours until sunup, and I shall make them feel like an eternity, I promise you,” Majo snarled.

“You will not touch him,” Shumei said, voice hard.

“What did you say?”

“You will touch not Vallen, Rosuke, or Mai. You’ll not even see my brother.” She lifted her head and gave Majo’s marred, angry face her own glare of contempt. “But I must thank you for one thing.”

Majo sneered. “Such brava—”

“Thank you for coming to me.”

She grabbed Majo’s ankle and squeezed as hard as she could, crushing bones. The witch gave a wide-mouthed scream and tried to kick at her with her other foot, but Shumei rolled away and shot to her feet. Majo took a step back, crying out with agony and almost falling as she tried and failed to put weight on her broken ankle.

Shumei sprang at her, and though the demons around them obviously wanted to help, it seemed they dared not interfere. Not that they’d be able to.

“Jouzaikousen,” Shumei barked. The Ray of Cleansing.

Her magic began spinning. Majo whimpered and struggled, but Shumei grasped the witch’s throat to silence her. Heat poured off Shumei, and a hot wind swirled around her. Her magic spun faster and faster. It scraped her insides, curled her hair, and made her shake. Then lightning flashed, and a ray of light powerful enough to turn night to day burst from her body, reaching into every shadow and every tainted soul.

The air was filled with the screams of demons, who burned so hot and bright they turned to ash in a matter of seconds. Majo also cried out in pain, but her human origin kept the light from incinerating her.

“Nikuken,” Shumei invoked, still gripping Majo’s throat as she brought her other hand back. Her magic fed its power into her arm, and her fingers melded together, hardening until her entire forearm had become a Blade of Flesh, sharp enough to slice through a tree trunk.

“No! I can’t fail. D-Don’t send me to him,” Majo pleaded, sounding innocent and human for the first time that night.

Shumei punched her transformed hand into the witch’s chest. Bone crunched and flesh tore. Majo croaked. Her grip on Shumei’s wrist went slack.

Shumei drew her hand from Majo’s chest. Blood ran like water over her magicked flesh, which was already softening into her normal hand. Then, remembering her dead mother, she threw the witch to the ground like so much garbage.

The light of her cleansing spell was fading, but it was still easy to see in all directions, especially after every demon had been incinerated. Blood and ash dirtied Vallen’s fallen form. Weak with despair and exhaustion, she lurched toward him and fell to her knees at his side. She pulled him into her lap with the last of her powered strength spell, but no spell could stop the tears that flowed anew.