“So why don’t you guys take it?” I asked what I was sure everyone else was thinking.
“Because we can’t be a hunter as well as a witch. That right is only reserved for the descendants. We have to choose, and most of us prefer the use of magic, our heritage.”
“Understandable,” Max said. “I’d prefer magic, too, if I had a choice.”
Mason drew his brows together. “Then shouldn’t I have witch powers as well if our mother was a witch? Wait. Is she a descendant as well?”
“No. Descendants are not hereditary. And as for you being a witch, not all are born with magic within them. Most come in time, usually presenting shortly after puberty. Then there are some that don’t present until much later or never at all.”
“So, you’re saying I might still be a witch?”
“That’s correct. But it is not something we can predict. Finn has already become a hunter, shunning that part of him before he even knew it may have existed. But you are right, you do have a choice.”
“There’s no choice to make,” he said without hesitation. “I may never be gifted with magic, and even if I am, it will be too late. I need to be a part of this—now.”
“Very well.” Nessa handed him the bottle. “Drink up.”
36
Mason opened the lid and downed the contents without giving it a second thought. That was one thing I could always say about Mason; he didn’t do anything by halves. He was passionate to his core.
His eyes widened, taking on a new glow as the elixir spread through his body, morphing it into that of a hunter, blessing him with speed, strength, and healing abilities. A second later, it was gone, having completely merged with his soul. He looked over to me with his knife extended in his hand. “Cut me.”
I scrunched up my face. “I’m not cutting you.”
He shook his head in frustration. “I wanna see how I heal.” When I didn’t move, he added, “Either that or I go for a run or see how hard I can punch.”
I got to my feet. “Stabbing you it is.”
He jerked back. “Who said anything about stabbing?”
I chuckled as I pressed the tip of his knife against his arm. “Relax, tough guy.” I dragged the knife an inch across his skin, my heart aching when he winced. But like the champ he was, he didn’t move, sucking it up and putting on a brave front.
Just like magic, he healed. “This is so freaking cool,” he whispered.
“Okay,” Nessa said, bringing us back to the more important topic. “We need to get moving.”
As I headed out the door, I caught a glimpse of one of the spell books on her bed, making me stop in my tracks. “Is this new?” I asked, staring at the open page, my heart pounding against my chest.
Nessa furrowed her brow. “No. It’s one of the ones we’ve already looked through. I was just…” She trailed off when she noticed that not only I was staring at the page but so were Sky, Almira, Alex, and Kyla. “What is it?”
I looked at the girls, knowing damn well they saw what I did. Hidden in plain sight, scrawled in the pages of the book was writing that didn’t belong. Words that had previously been hidden to us.
“There’s a passage written in different ink,” Almira said. “It’s not the same as the others.”
Alex nodded. “It almost glows.”
“It’s golden,” Sky added.
I swallowed hard, trying to wrap my head around what I was seeing. “And I think it’s the spell to banish the demons from our world—permanently.”
37
I picked up the book, and silence enveloped me as I stared at the page, reading the words that were only meant for us.
Sky leaned over my shoulder to get a look. “What’s it say?”
“It’s telling us to open number five.” I looked up at Nessa. “What is book number five?”
She shook her head slowly. “I have no idea.”
“Wait,” Alex said, rushing over. She flipped the cover closed in my hands, while keeping her finger bookmarking the page, and pointed to the spine. “Number four.”
“Can you all see it?” Nessa asked.
We nodded.
“This is brilliant,” Kade said.
“You’ve unlocked a secret code only the descendants can see,” Nessa said, barely able to contain her excitement. “We have more to thank Lana for than we realize.”
“Here it is,” Alex said, producing a book with the number five scrawled on the front cover and spine.
She sat on the couch, putting the book on her lap, and flipped through the pages. My sisters and I scooted around her to get a better look.
“Not all the pages have inscriptions,” I said, letting the others know what was going on.
Alex paused on a page that contained further inscriptions. “On the day of the reckoning, we bound the demons to the Shadow Realms with the Soul key. Should they ever return, use this key to banish them. By standing together as one, you can control the world, severing the ties that bind our world to theirs,” she said, reading the inscription.
“What’s the key?” I asked.
Alex flipped the page, revealing a drawing of some stone set in a golden pendant. Or at least it appeared golden because all of the writing was made of gold.
“I’ve seen this,” Kyla said, her voice barely a whisper.
Her eyes darted up to mine. “Orphelia wears it around her neck. It’s not gold like the drawing. It’s black, or at least it looks that way at first appearance. But I caught a better glimpse of it one time, and it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before. Orphelia was very cagey about it—even when I was being controlled by the demon. But I saw it. The stone is not black. It’s the shadows within that make it appear that way.”
Holy. Shit.
“How are we going to get it off her?” Almira asked.
“Easy,” Kyla said. “We kill the bitch.”
I ran my hand through my hair then gripped the back of my neck, trying to figure out a way that I could both kill Orphelia and rescue my Mom.
Sky looked up at me and grabbed my free hand, squeezing it gently. “You don’t need to decide. They’ll wait for us. As soon as your Mom is safe, we will storm those gates and bring hellfire to everyone who stands in our way.”
Max nodded. “We need to get your Mom first.”
I spun around to face Kade. “Go bring Ash and Lana to safety.”
Kade stood. “On it.” He gave me a hug. “Be safe.”
I smiled at him. “You, too.”
He left the room with Daniel in tow.
I drew in a deep breath then released it slowly, trying to calm my nerves as I looked up at Finn and Mason. “Let’s go get Mom.”
We piled into the van, Finn in the driver’s seat, Mason riding shotgun, and Joel, Max, Sky, and me in the back. The drive was agonizingly long, and countless times, I thought about ditching the others and traveling the remainder of the distance by foot. What kept my ass in the seat was my family and the knowledge that I needed to get Mom into this van as soon as she came back through the veil.
I also couldn’t stop thinking about Lana and Ashley, hoping Kade and Daniel would get to them in time. I had to trust they would do everything in their power to keep them safe so I could do my job. Then Sky and I would meet up with our elemental sisters and finish this once and for all.
Max spread his hand over mine and threaded our fingers together. “You’ve got this.”
“We’ve got this,” Sky corrected him. “You are not going in alone. I will be there with you every step of the way. We do this together—as one.”
“You know, Sky, I wouldn’t have imagined you’d do this for me. That we’d be jumping into the demon world together.”
“Me neither,” Max said. “I kinda got a different… vibe from you when we first met.”
She shrugged, an innocent look on her face and a smirk playing on her lips. “Told you everyone assumes I’m innocent.”
“We’re almost there,” Finn called over his shoulder.
I twisted my head in his direction, my heart instantly going from the slow, steady beat of a descendant, to that of a girl about to get her Mom back. I felt sick worrying that things wouldn’t go our way, that something would go wrong and I’d lose her forever.
But I couldn’t let myself think that way. Nothing was going to go wrong. I was going to return her to my brothers and my father, and try to mend the screwed-up family we had become.
Scratch that. My siblings and I were finally in a good place, and I couldn’t be happier to work side by side with them. It was just the parental side that needed work. Well, at least the half that already resided in this world.
“Kali?” Finn said. “Is this the area?”
I scooted up to the front cabin of the van and peered through the window. “This is close enough.”
Finn pulled up to the sidewalk and twisted around in his seat. “Be careful.”
I nodded. “Be ready for when we get back.”
Mason swallowed hard, a million emotions flowing through him, which I could now see. “Bring her home safe.”
I gently punched his shoulder. “I will.”
I gave Joel a quick wave before turning to Sky. “Are you ready?”
She stood. “As I’ll ever be.” She opened the back door and stepped outside, giving me a moment with Max.
I leaned my head against his chest, released a shuddered breath, and then tipped my head up so I could look him in the eyes. “Don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone.”
He brushed my hair behind my ear then cupped my face in his hands, caressing my cheeks with his thumbs. “I could say the same to you.”
I bit my lip as I stared into his eyes, trying to contain the emotions swelling in my chest.
Leaning down, he brought his lips to mine, kissing me with a million promises and fears of what was to come. He broke away and drew me into his arms, his warm breath caressing against my ear. “I love you.”
I pulled back and smiled. “I love you, too.”
I kissed him one last time. “I’ll see you soon.” I stepped out of the van, joining Sky, then headed down the road, taking the first street on the right.
We stopped outside an abandoned shop, close to the place where, earlier, I had re-emerged into our world.
Sky grabbed my hand. “Are you ready?”
I nodded. “Let’s go.”
We latched onto a thread of the veil and jumped through to the Shadow Realms.
38
Emerging amongst the rocky terrain of the Shadow Realms, Sky looked around, eyes wide open and hand on her dagger, ready to slay whatever monster came our way. “This place is creepy,” she finally managed to whisper before her gaze fell on me. “Which way?”
My heart pounded as I led her through the sooty terrain, trying to find my mother. I should’ve gone through exactly where I came out instead of thinking I had this and knew where I was going. I clearly didn’t know shit. And Sky’s built-in compass ability didn’t extend to the Shadow Realms.
Almost as soon as that thought entered my mind, I felt her before I saw her.
“Mom.” The word left my mouth as my face twisted in agony.
Standing before me was my mother, eyes wide, mouth open, and a mother-fucking demon holding her captive, his putrid charcoal colored fingers wrapped around her neck, mouth open, spilling black smoke into her mouth.
I stood, frozen to the spot with fear. I was too late.
“No, you don’t.” Sky withdrew her daggers and lunged at the vampire, snapping me out of my frozen state and back into the moment where I could fight for my mother’s life.
This monster would not infiltrate her body. He was not hitching a ride back to Earth with us, and he most definitely wasn’t going to keep his head.
He lifted his hand toward Sky, shooting a slick, wet tendril from his fingers, wrapping it around her neck. He lifted her into the air, feet dangling, unable to touch solid ground as the rope-like substance constricted, choking her.
I withdrew my babies from my back and lunged toward Sky, ready to strike through the cord. Just as my blade was about to connect, I felt something wet latch around my throat, ripping me away from her.
My head jerked back as the slick cord slithered its way over my jaw into my mouth.
I thrust my dagger behind me, hoping I could sever the demon’s tendril, but each blow went unconnected as it tossed me from side to side. Knowing what I had to do, I lifted one blade to the tip of my jaw then dragged it down the middle of my throat, pressing hard enough to draw my own blood.
The demon recoiled but not before I severed a piece of its cord.
Landing on the ground, I snapped my head toward Sky—somehow now free—just as she plunged her dagger deep into the demon’s chest. Then she ripped the blade through his torso as an ear-piercing scream ripped from his mouth, no doubt letting all his other buddies know we were here.
We had to shut him up quickly before the other demons would come rushing to his aid.
Moving with lightning speed, I thrust my daggers through the monster’s neck, severing his head before he could shoot another slimy cord at me.
Spinning around, I saw another demon’s head rolling toward me curtesy of Sky.
With wide open eyes, Mom stumbled forward, spewing the black shadow from her mouth. Catching her before she fell, I held onto her trembling body, my heart exploding at her touch.
No matter how many times I told myself she was still alive, trapped in a world filled with monsters, I always feared it was no more than a dream, that I was going to wake to find she really was dead. No coming back.
“Let’s go,” Sky said, wrapping her arm around my mother’s waist and helping her to her feet.
Holding Mom between us, we turned to leave through the same thread we had entered on when we saw an army of demons charging toward us.
Too late.
Both Sky and I reached for the thread at the exact same time and slipped out of the Shadow Realms before they could reach us.
Stepping back into Earth, Mom jerked back, somehow able to see the demons trapped on the other side of the veil still trying to reach for us.
Not having time to spare, I wrapped my arm under Mom’s. Sky and I practically carried her back to the van where Mason and Finn stood, waiting for her.
Tears welled in their eyes, their jaws trembling with emotion, as they reached out to bring her into the safety of the van and their loving embrace.
My eyes stung as I watched them, seeing Mom for the first time since her supposed death.
Sky and I released our hold, handing her over to my brothers, reveling in the knowledge that she was now safe with us. As much as I wanted to stay with them, we didn’t have time. The demons knew what we’d done. They also knew Sky and I had been in their territory, which meant the others probably would know by now as well.
Max stepped out of the van and swept me into his arms, his body trembling with fear and adrenaline, relieved I was safe.
“We have to go,” I said into his chest.
He released me from his embrace, turned to my brothers, who had Mom safely seated between them, and started to close the door.
I was about to tell him he better get his ass into that van when he said, “I’m not going anywhere without you.”
“Okay,” I conceded, knowing full well I wasn’t going to win this fight. And I didn’t blame him. I would never let him go into war without me. “Where are the other girls?”
“They’re near the Society’s compound, waiting for you and Sky.”
I headed over to the driver’s side of the van, where Joel lowered the window. “Call us if anything goes wrong.”
“I’m sure we’ll be fine,” he said, then added, “But I promise I’ll let you know if we’re not.”
“Thank you.”
Joel pulled onto the street, taking my brothers, and mother, with him.
She was safe, and now it was time to face Orphelia.
I turned around to fac
e Max and Sky. “Let’s do this.”
“First,” Max said, putting his hand into his pocket. “You might want to take some of these.”
My eyes lit up the moment I saw the pills. How he’d gotten more would remain a mystery for now. I rushed over, took them from his hand, divided them in two, and offered some to Sky. “Take these.”
Studying the pills in my hand, she frowned. “What are they?”
“Vampire blood.” I popped mine into my mouth and bit down on them, relishing in the blood spilling over my tongue. I moaned, gaining a curious look from Sky. Then her eyes lit up as the smell of blood wafted through the air.
Taking them from me, she threw them into her mouth and bit down, her eyes glazing over. “Where did you get these?”
“Parker and Joel make them for Kali,” Max said. “I can’t remember the exact details, but they’re basically a concentrated form of blood, mainly the good stuff that gives you the heightened abilities.”
I didn’t care how they made them. I just hoped they’d never stop.
With replenished energy, we set off to meet the other elementals. We raced through the streets, over buildings, not bothering to hide from sight. There was no doubt the Society knew The Circle of Embers had gathered more descendants. They’d also know that we had freed Kyla from the demon.
We arrived in a matter of minutes, finding the girls exactly where they said they’d be.
Alex’s eyes lit up when she saw us. “Did you get your Mom?”
Sky and I nodded. “She’s safe,” we said in unison.
“But the demons know about me,” Sky added. “We weren’t able to go in there undetected.”
“She’s safe, and that’s all that matters,” Max said. “Now, what do you know?”
“Right,” Almira said. “There’s been a lot of activity around the area, but we’ve remained undetected. We’re not sure if Lana has been collected yet, but Ashley is already with Kade and is now being delivered back to safety.”
A sigh of relief escaped my mouth. Two down, one to go. Mom and Ash were safe. Now we had to work on Lana. But that task would be left to Kade and Daniel. We needed to focus on getting that damn stone from around Orphelia’s neck.
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