Chapter Thirty-two

“Humans?” I echo. “The woods are enchanted to keep them away. Of course, tonight of all nights they—”

I’m interrupted by a high-pitched scream. My blood runs cold and Lucas and I both take off, sprinting to the door. The group from my house is at the door, and it looks like they just performed the ritual to open it. But no one is going through. They’re huddled around it, hands raised as they cast a defensive circle.

The humans Lucas caught the scent of surround them, and I can tell by their inky eyes that they are possessed. The door is open, and if one of the demons get witch blood on their hands, they might be able to pass right through. They press in, testing the strength of the circle. Brooke and her brother are hiding behind the adults, kept safe by their familiar who’s barking and growling at the demons. They need to go through and seek shelter at the Covenstead.

“Hey!” I shout, conjuring an energy ball. Lucas speeds forward, sinking his fangs into the neck of one demon. He bites down and pulls back, ripping out its throat. He spits it on the ground and fresh, dark blood covers his face. He’s a terrifying and glorious sight. The body the demon had been possessing falls to the ground, blood pooling around it.

I don’t know how to perform an exorcism, and chances are the poor humans possessed are already dead. But seeing the body on the ground makes my stomach churn. I blink, looking away. If I don’t act fast, there are going to be more bodies on the ground.

I throw the energy ball, hitting another one of the demons in the back. It sizzles through him, light pouring out its black eyes.

“Get the kids through the door!” I shout and hold up both hands. My fingers glow with magic. “We’ll hold them off.”

Lucas grabs another demon and two round on him. He brushes them off like they’re nothing at all.

“Go!” I yell and rush forward, holding out my hands and zapping another demon with magic. Brooke’s father turns and scoops her up with one arm and her brother in the other. The boy tugs on his mother’s hand and the four of them step through the door along with their familiar. Lucas kills another demon, punching his fist right through its chest.

The demons turn away from the door, coming after me instead.

“That’s right,” I say, holding up my hands and wiggling my fingers, twirling magic in the air. “Come and get me.”

Daniel turns, yanking Kristy through the door with him. His brother follows, and the two witches from the Council step through next.

“Callie!” Evander calls, holding out his hand.

There are still several demons left, but they don’t offer much of a challenge to Lucas. I turn, watching him rip another’s throat out with his teeth, spitting the rancid demon blood onto the ground.

“Go,” he tells me. “I’m having fun out here.” He flies to another demon, snapping its neck and letting the body slump to the ground.

“They’ve started the ritual to seal the door.” Evander puts one foot through the door. “We have to go, now!”

“Get in,” I order my familiars. Pandora and Freya listen, jumping gracefully through the door. Binx growls, not wanting to go in without me. “Now!” Hissing, he slips through the magical passage to the Covenstead.

I tear my eyes away from Lucas, reaching for Evander’s outstretched hand. His fingers close around my wrist and a loud bang echoes throughout the forest, followed by the sound of chains dragging over the earth.

The Gates have been opened.

“Callie, go!” Lucas growls. The edge of the door starts to fade. Once it’s sealed, I won’t be able to get in, not until a spell is done from within.

“Callie!” Evander pulls me toward him. The chains clang again, and it’s closer. Suddenly, the smell of brimstone fills the air, choking me and burning my nose. Something shimmers out of the shadows stealing all my breath and all the life from the forest around it.

The demon is here.

“Go!” Lucas yells and runs at the demon. The demon, standing tall and dressed in a brown, hooded robe, holds out his hand, summoning an onyx-blade sword. He plunges it through Lucas’s chest.

“No!” I scream and let go of Evander’s hand. I throw my hand out, pushing Evander back through the door. The passage of glowing blue energy fades fast, and the door to the Covenstead snaps shut, completely sealed off.

“Fool,” the demon booms, dark eyes locking with mine. He holds out his hand and invisible pressure crashes down on me, pinning me against the cold ground.

“Lucas!” I scream, trying to get up. I’m trapped against the earth, held down by hundreds of demon hands, and it’s just like in my dream.

And in my dream, I’m about to die.

“Lucas!” I shout again, but my voice is weak. I gasp for air, unable to take a deep breath because I’m forced down so hard against the ground. Planting my hands in the dirt, energy buzzes around my fingers. I try again to push myself up, heart hammering. Not being able to breathe is causing my body to go into a panic, desperate for air.

I let out one final yell before collapsing onto the ground, and the energy leaves my fingers, traveling through the soil and going to the demon. It zaps his feet, and he steps back, eyes wide with curiosity. He didn’t know I could do that.

And neither did I.

It’s enough of a distraction to roll over, and I gasp in air, chest heaving. I scramble up, looking for Lucas. He’s on his knees right behind the demon, pulling the blade out of his chest. A wound like that won’t kill a vampire, but that isn’t any sword sticking through his chest.

“Luc—” I start, running toward him. The demon raises his hand, throwing me back against a tree. “Don’t hurt him,” I beg, eyes filling with tears. “I’m the one you want. Leave him and my coven alone. Just…just take me.”

“How kind of you to offer.” The demon steps from the shadows, brown robes swirling around his feet. He looks shockingly human, with silver-white hair and gray stubble over his strong jaw. But his eyes are glowing red as if I’m looking through them and right into Hell.

I push against the invisible hold, knowing it’s no use but refusing to give up, to go down without a fight. The demon moves closer, stopping just feet from me. The smell of brimstone coming from him is so strong it makes me sick. He tips his head, looking me up and down.

Suddenly he’s before me, with one hand grasping my face. He turns my head up to him and inhales. He holds up his other hand, showing off his long claw-like fingernails. Then he swipes one across my face, tearing open the flesh on my cheek.

He steps back, licking the blood off his finger. “I’ve been looking for you.”

“Why?” Tears well in my eyes. I can’t move, can’t use magic to fight him. I’ve dreamed about my death enough the last few days I should have known it was coming. “Why were you looking for me?”

Lucas rises from the dark, coming after the demon fast. He’s holding the sword he just pulled from his own chest and slashes it through the air in an attempt to cut off the demon’s head. But the blade just passes right through him, as if it’s made of smoke.

The demon turns, extending his hand toward Lucas, and closes his fist. Lucas’s hands go to his neck, trying to break the hold the demon has on him. Lucas drops to his knees, coughing, and blood pours from his lips.

But he doesn’t stop. He staggers to his feet and comes at the demon again, fangs drawn.

“You just won’t stop, will you?” the demon sneers.

“I’ll…never…stop…” Lucas chokes out.

“Very well then.” The demon throws both hands out, sending Lucas flying back into the forest.

“No!” I scream and yank one arm free from the demon’s hold. He rounds on me again, extending both hands and lifting them into the air bringing roots of the tree out of the ground. They wrap around me, binding my arms to my sides and tying me to the tree. I struggle against it, feeling my flesh tear open from the rough bark on the tree.

The demon turns away from me, sweeping his arm out and bringing forth red fire from the forest floor. It circles around us, burning everything in its path. Even though it’s feet away, the heat is almost too much to bear and the smoke fills my nostrils, causing me to cough.

“I’m going to enjoy watching you burn to death,” the demon says. The fire moves closer, burning around him but not catching him on fire. No! This isn’t ordinary fire. This is hellfire and is under the command of the demon. I yank my wrists, trying to free myself. “It’ll be slow.” The demon motions for the fire to crawl around the base of the tree. “I’ll start with your feet.”

I scream as the fire rises and pull against the tree roots.

“And then I’ll move to your hands, making sure your flesh is good and burned before you start choking to death on the smoke.” The underbrush goes up in flames, and the smoke is already wafting in my face. Coughing, I turn my head as tears spring to my eyes. It could start pouring down rain and it wouldn’t matter.

This fire is going to burn until it takes my life.

I conjure a ball of white light. I can’t move my wrist to throw it at the demon, and my feeble attempt just makes the ball fall into the fire. But when the ball of light touches the hellfire, the flames retreat.

“Neat trick,” the demon laughs, raising his hand and making the flames rise higher. “It’s a wonder you went hidden for this long with that much power.”

“Hidden? I’m not hiding,” I say between coughs.

“You don’t even know, do you?” The hellfire reflects in the demon’s dark eyes.

“Know what?” I ask, fighting against the roots. But the more I struggle, the more they tighten around me, squeezing me so tight it hurts. The fire inches closer, flames licking my feet.

“It’s almost a shame.” Flames close around me. “You’ll die without knowing the truth.”

The truth? What is he talking about? But right now, it doesn’t matter, because I can’t breathe. The air is too hot and every breath hurts. There is no way out of this. Squeezing my eyes shut, I turn my head as far as I can to the side, desperate for fresh air.

This wasn’t how I thought things would end. The bad guys aren’t supposed to win. But there is no way out. Smoke fills my lungs, and I’m coughing so hard I feel like I’m going to puke.

The fire creeps up farther, and the heat is too much to take. I can only hope I pass out before my skin starts to burn. My eyes are watering like crazy, and the lack of fresh oxygen is making me nauseous.

This is it. The end. My end.

“Callie.”

A clear voice rings out from beyond the flames. I lift my head up, looking for Lucas. But instead of my vampire, a man with bright blue eyes stands before me.

“This is not how it ends.”

I open my mouth to question him, but the flames rise, and he disappears. My head falls back and I’m sure I’m hallucinating, seeing things since I’m on the brink of death. Everything is so hot. The air. The tree roots are on fire now, and the heat travels through them and burns my skin through my clothes.

I just want it to end now. I want to suck in my last breath and welcome the painlessness of death.

“This isn’t how it ends.”

I force my eyes open, looking for the source of the voice. And then I realize I’m the one talking. “This isn’t how it ends.”

I grit my teeth and squeeze my eyes closed. “I call upon the forces of light.” My voice is barely louder than a whisper. “Defend us in the battle with the darkness. Purge the wickedness.”

The flames start to retreat, traveling backward and circling around the demon. He throws out his hands and tries to command the fire, but it doesn’t obey.

“I call upon the forces of light,” I repeat, voice getting stronger. I suck in cool, fresh air. “Cast this demon in chains and send him down to the abyss!”

The flames start to turn blue, rising up around the demon. He steps back and his robes catch on fire. The blue fire climbs higher and the demon cries out in pain. Horrible screeches leave him as he burns, sounding like a hundred voices crying, a hundred voices begging for death.

And then he collapses into a pile of ash. The blue flames die down, moving into the earth. Everything is dark. The forest is silent, and I stare, wide-eyed at the smoldering ash.

“Callie.”

This time, there’s no mistaking Lucas’s voice. His shirt is covered in his own blood from being stabbed in the chest, but he already healed. He speeds over, yanking one of the roots back.

“Is he dead?” I pant, trying to break free. I just start coughing, lungs still burning.

“I don’t know.” Lucas pulls another root back and tears through a few more, freeing me. I fall into his arms. “But he’s gone.” His dark blue eyes widen as he looks from me to the pile of ash. “How did you do that?”

I shake my head and cough again. “I have no idea…or if that was even me.” The image of the blue-eyed man flashes before me. There’s something familiar about him, something almost comforting.

“It doesn’t matter.” Lucas lowers me to the ground and kisses the top of my head. “You’re alive.”

“So are you.”

“Not technically,” Lucas reminds me with a smile. He gently pushes up my sleeves and looks at the burns on my wrists. “You’re injured.”

“Yeah, though if this is the extent of my injuries, I shouldn’t complain, right?”

“Right.” He cradles me against his chest, kissing the top of my head. “I thought I lost you for a moment there. My heart hasn’t beat in over a thousand years but losing you would break it.” He puts his lips to mine, gently kissing me. “I love you, Callie.”

My heart flutters in my chest, and I let my eyes fall shut. Lucas King has done the impossible, something just as incredible as me commanding the hellfire.

He’s made me fall totally and completely in love with him.

I can’t deny it any longer, and admitting to him means admitting it to myself, which is absolutely terrifying.

I’m alive.

He’s dead.

I don’t know what kind of life we can have together, but I know I don’t want to live this one without him.

My eyes, already watery from the burn of the smoke, fill with tears. One spills over, rolling down my cheek. Lucas wipes it away and rests his forehead against mine.

I slide my hand along his chest, feeling the tear in his shirt, which is still wet from his own blood. He almost died protecting me and wouldn’t have stopped until he was nothing but ash on the forest floor.

“Lucas,” I start, tipping my head to his so my lips brush over his as I talk. “I love you, too.”