Chapter OneMy heart hammers in my chest. It’s racing, beating so fast it should hurt, but everything moves in slow motion. Blood sloshes through my veins and every single nerve in my body prickles with anxiety.How do you plead?I blink, swallow the lump of vomit that’s rising in my throat and look at the witches standing before me. Ruth from the Grand Coven is at the podium at our altar, and the council members behind her don’t look too sure of themselves. Even Ruby Darrows, who’s hated me since the day she met me, is looking at Ruth in question.Ruth crosses her arms as she waits for me to answer her question, only it’s not a question. It’s a confession. One I’m actually completely guilty of.I did show Lucas where the door to the Covenstead was.I do let him drink my blood.The first crime is punishable by death, but the second isn’t. Though I suppose if you combine the two… My eyes slam shut, and I part my lips, but my mouth is suddenly too dry to form words. Somewhere in the bac
Chapter Two“I swear to you,” I start, hands shaking. “I’m not working with the Devil.”“Please.” Ruth pushes off the desk and goes to the fireplace. She waves her hands over the logs, conjuring a small fire. She purses her lips, looking at the small flames in annoyance, and waves her hand over the logs again, doubling the fire. “There’s only one reason you’d find brimstone, and we both know what it is.”“Fine,” I say, eyes going to the large grandfather clock in the corner by the wall. Evander is running out of time before he’s at real risk for damage. “There was a third-hierarchy demon. And I fought it off, but I don’t know how I did it.”“Don’t lie to me!” Ruth hisses. “There is no way you could have fought one off. You’re working together.”“No! I would never work with a demon.”“Lies!”I lean back in the chair, eyes flicking down to the hagstone hexes tied around my wrists. I’m not bound to the chair, but the hexes are magically bound to me until someone takes them off. My lips p
Chapter Three“What do you mean it’s not working?”She lets out a breath. “Nothing we do is weakening the demon.”Fear creeps up my spine at an alarming rate and I feel like I might pass out. I sink back onto the settee and close my eyes. It has to work. Evander has to be okay. I open my eyes and look back at the clock again. He’s been possessed for a few hours now, putting him at risk for aftereffects of possession.“I’m coming with you,” I tell Kristy.She nods and strides forward but stops. “Tabatha sent me for you. I came to undo the hexes but you—”“Binx did it.”“How did you call Binx while you were under hexes—never mind. Let’s go.” She grabs my hand and we run down the hall. Tabatha’s office is at the opposite side of the Covenstead, away from the school and closer to the gathering hall. I had graduated from the Academy by the time she became our High Priestess and have only been in her office a few times.The strong smell of sage hits me as soon as we dash up the staircase th
Chapter FourI lay down on the altar in the gathering hall, carefully avoiding the candles around me. The four students Kristy and the twins woke are sitting around me, holding candles with intricate sigils carved in. They’re a bit excited as well as nervous, since this is beyond any skill they’ve learned in school.“Whatever you do,” Naomi starts, eyes darting from student to student. “Do not break your concentration. Demons are tricksters by nature.” Binx meows in agreeance and settles on my chest. I close my eyes, let out a breath, and start the spell to astral project myself out of my body.I appear in the hall outside Tabatha’s office. Kristy is right outside, waiting for me to open the door. Everything has been laid out, ready for us to try and trick a demon. Naomi’s words ring in my head. Demons are natural tricksters. They’re cunning and think differently than we do, putting themselves before everyone and everything.“The box is directly in front of Evander,” Kristy whispers,
Chapter FiveEverything inside me burns, like my body is covered in tiny cuts and I’m being dipped into boiling hot lemon juice. It stings and aches and pinches and stabs. My body starts to go into shock, knowing something is wrong.I’m being poisoned. Something that’s not supposed to be here is here, and it’s threatening to take over.Trick me, half-breed…I think not! You will stand behind me. You will do my bidding and with you, I shall rule!The demon’s voice echoes in my head. I fall back, head whacking the floor with a sickening thud. Pain radiates through me, mixing with the very real feeling that I’m dying. I fight against it, though I know it’s useless. The demon is in me, and soon I’ll lose my free will.It will take over. Make me use my powers. Kill my friends.“No,” I say through gritted teeth. I push myself up and tendrils of yellow light rise up around my fingers. The only other time I’ve ever conjured yellow light was when I healed the vampire bite on my neck, and that w
Chapter SixLucas looks down at his chest, annoyed more than anything else. “You missed,” he says, and I realize that he let her stab him just to mock her. He knew it would miss his heart.“Seriously,” I hiss, watching him yank the branch out of his chest. “Scared me half to death.”“Sorry, my love.” He holds the makeshift stake up and looks out into the woods. Lucas can see in the dark, and vampires have much better hearing than humans. He’s looking for Ruth, and it’s only a matter of time before he finds her.And she knows it.Binx shadows through the woods, moving so fast he’s a dark blur in the night. He’s trying to draw Ruth out and make her move. And it works. Lucas hears something I don’t, and he throws the branch through the air like a frisbee. It hits Ruth in the head, knocking her to the ground. The invisibility spell is broken and Lucas speeds forward, grabbing Ruth by the shoulders. Fangs drawn, he goes in for a deadly bite to her neck.“Lucas, no!” I shout and run over. “
Chapter Seven“What are you doing here?” I close the book I was skimming and stand up, eyes darting around the store. There are a handful of other customers in here and I am not in the mood to get into anything with Easton right now.Easton holds up his hands. “I just want to talk, I swear.”“Fine,” I sigh, too tired to argue. Easton looks tired too, and though it feels like the fight in the woods happened ages ago, it was just last night. “How’s Melinda?”“She’s going to make a complete recovery, thanks to you.”“And Lucas,” I add pointedly, and Easton does a good job ignoring what I just said. “That’s good to hear, though. You know I always liked your sister.”“I know. Which is why I wanted to thank you in person for everything.”“Thank me?” My eyebrows go up. “That’s a first.”“Come on, Callie.” Easton plows a hand through his hair. He’s only two years older than me but looks much older. The life of a hunter is tiring, stressful, and isn’t always filled with the healthiest choices.
Chapter Eight“Would you like me to make you something to eat?” Lucas slips his arms around me and pulls me to his chest. The builders just left, and we’re sitting on the couch in the living room.“Maybe in a little bit.” I pull my legs up and wiggle closer to him. “Can we just sit here first?”He nods and presses his lips to mine before laying us down. My eyes fall shut and exhaustion takes over. And then I remember the zombie in the attic.“Dammit,” I mutter.“What’s wrong, my love?” Lucas runs his fingers through my hair.“The builders are going to the house and we never took that body out of the attic.”“I did.”“When?”“Last night when I was waiting for you to come back. I couldn’t exactly sit still and do nothing.”I lift my head up and look at his handsome face. “So you buried a body?”“Call it my therapy.”I rest my head back down against him. “I love you, Lucas.”He pulls a blanket off the back of the couch and covers us up. “I love you too. Get some rest, Callie.”Nodding, I