He crouched in the back of the small closet, amber eyes alight with fire, body hunched and scrawny. His thin hands made grabbing motions before him as he smiled at me, white teeth flashing. The man who had led the Chosen, the powerful sorcerer who had tried to kill me twice and almost succeeded, was as wasted and pathetic as his followers."Demetrius." The last time I'd seen him, he'd fled with Batsheva. "Where's your mistress?" If that old (b)witch was in on this, I'd be more than happy to make sure she ended up minus a head.He shuddered violently, tears welling in his eyes though his grin, now manic, never faded. "She's gone, gone, gone, gone." He shook like a dog coming out of water, falling to his backside and kicking his feet against the floor, dirty flip-flop sandals flying free. I winced, seeing him crack and break, knew, though he had been mad before, he was now truly insane. His previous madness at least lived behind a veneer of absolute civility, an almost cheerful crazy t
I didn't wait for an answer before firing off another. "Where's Sassafras?" I was already turning, heading for the exit."He went looking for her." Liam moved as if to join me, hesitated."You have to stay," I said. "Galleytrot, watch over them, would you?" I gave Demetrius a gentle push. "Stay here." I met the big dog's eyes. "Keep an eye on him. Don't let him out of your sight."He growled. "Not even for a moment."Charlotte beside me, I barged through the wards and leaped into the veil, a heartbeat of fear all it took to exit the slice between planes, landing in the driveway outside the mansion.Neither of us missed a beat, running for the front door. I opened it with magic, not bothering to knock, freezing as I passed the threshold to the sight of Sebastian standing over Trill, three vampires keeping her contained as he confronted her.His blue eyes met mine as he looked up, lips a grim slash. "We've uncovered an intruder," he said at his most polished. "I assume she's one of
-the battleground. I rise above it, Trill at my side, Iepa hovering before us, infinitely sad.I know you doubt, the maji says, and I can hardly blame you. But please believe, no matter the mistakes my people have made in the past, this one we wish to unmake.A line of demons fall, the ground crumbling beneath them, swallowing them as they scream in agony. Witches shift to save them, earth magic joining with Sidhe.Your father is correct, Iepa says. Not all of us have the best of intentions. Like all races. The formation of the demon planes, the division of their race, was never meant to go on for so long. An experiment? Yes. We've tried for time unknowing to perfect our creations.Witches die under a cloud of poisoned smoke, choking, lifeless even as the Sidhe retreat from the advancing sorcerers. We're losing, badly.This can't happen. The very earth protests, heaving and bucking beneath the feet of the enemy, but for those who fall, ten more take their place.Are there sorcere
-someone was screaming, a name I thought, but it took me a moment to break free of the hold Iepa's vision had over me. As I spun, Trill beside me, half-falling from the stone slab, her arms outstretched toward the exit and the stairs, my body compressed and shifted, power crushing me.Instinct took over, shields snapping into place, reinforced even as I finally realized, in the split second I needed to adjust, it was Trill's high-pitched cry I heard."OWEN!"The chamber was crowded, or felt that way. Hadn't we been alone only a moment before? No longer, not with Liam and Galleytrot staring in horror, Meira holding Sassafras, grim, tears on her cheeks though she stood her ground. Even Sebastian hovered near, his vampire body glowing white.None of it mattered. None of them. Not while the young sorcerer stood at the entry with his eyes pitch black, mouth gaping, a hole of nothing while his power pulled me toward him.Even through my shields, past layers of demon and Sidhe magic, blo
Belaisle smiled at me, hands folded neatly before him, impeccable suit perfectly tailored to his short, slim frame. He looked more like a smarmy executive out to rip people off than the dangerous leader of the Brotherhood. But it was the empty feeling of him, the way his cold amber eyes showed only a shark's interest in prey that gave me the willies."I thought I told you," Sebastian said, deep voice pushing power ahead of it, "you aren't welcome in my house."Belaisle shrugged a little, stroked the shining black goatee on his chin as though he hadn't just been told to remove his nasty ass from the vampire's turf."I'll leave," he said, "when my property is handed over."My eyes flickered to the horizon and the dying night. We were running out of time. Soon the vampires would be helpless, unable to fight, leaving Belaisle and his Brotherhood to do what they wanted.Over my dead body.Gram, I sent. I need the coven here, now, at the mansion. Tell them to be ready to fight.A ment
The library loomed above us in the early morning as I dumped my following onto the grass just past the parking lot. My power wrapped around Trill and Owen as we emerged, blocking off the natural pulse of their magic as we dashed as a group toward the door and down into the Sidhe cavern.The moment Trill and Owen were safely behind the glowing green wards, I ran out into the hall, Liam hot on my heels. He grabbed my arm, turned me back to face him while Meira joined him, taking my other hand."You can't go back." My sister's tone told me she was far more levelheaded about the whole mess than I was. Clearly. Her steady gaze had nothing on the manic need coursing through my veins to go back to the mansion and kick Belaisle's skinny little ass. "Gram will handle it. Syd." She jerked her grip on me, just painful enough to catch my attention. "We need you here."I shook my head, trying to pull free of her. "You're as strong as I am," I said."No, Syd," she said softly, letting me go. "I'
I had to see Gram, even if it was only for a moment or two before running off on yet another mad mission. Yes, I could tell from our mental connection she was fine, but after putting her and the rest of the coven in harm's way, I needed to see for myself.A quick stop at the house found it dark, but only because she was in the basement. And she wasn't alone. I felt them all reach for me as I walked into the kitchen, their relief, the hug of the family magic pulling me close and helping to calm me down way more than anything I could have accomplished on my own.I left Demetrius at the table with Charlotte to watch over him and descended the stairs into the crowd of witches circling the pentagram. My grandmother stood in the center of it, mismatched sweater and very loud pink pants worn as casually as the highest fashion. I knew part of her peculiar behavior was a mask, a way for her to hide from the world just how much of her still lurked inside, but even I had no idea if the brief
I was still trying to decide if marching down to the house was the best course of action when I felt someone reach for me. It was only the barest flicker of a touch, hardly there at all. And if I hadn't been out in the open, mind focused and power gathered, I probably would have missed it.Reaching back for whoever it was gave me nothing."There, see?" Demetrius did a little dance before me. "Told you. Get a crystal now. Then fix me!""Hang on." I waited for a repeat connection. Whoever it was, there hadn't even been enough contact for me to identify the power source. Was I imagining things?Nope, there it was again. I dove after the thin, fragile thread of demon magic, finding Sassafras, Meira boosting him. His power latched onto mine, but so weak, as though he were too far for me to reach.Or behind the Sidhe wards.My heart stopped, pounded once as the thread strengthened and suddenly surged to life, my demon cat yelling my name.Sass. I cut him off. What's wrong? Please, ple