by G. K. DeRosa
“Then why are we walking so fast?” panted Jay.
I slowed my pace, not realizing I’d been practically sprinting and dragging Jay behind me. All the training had paid off, and I’d finally gotten faster. “I’d rather put some distance between us just in case. Plus, I don’t want to be that late getting back to Darkhen.”
“Okay…”
The Grand Street subway station was only a few blocks away. We just had to make it through this sketchy part of town, and we’d be safe. There were always tourists milling around China Town looking for knock-off designer handbags.
The faint sound of trailing footfalls echoed behind us. I spun around, but with the fading light and broken streetlamps, I couldn’t make out anything more than dark shadows.
I tugged on Jay’s hand and quickened my pace again. “Come on, hurry. I don’t want to miss my train.” Crap, where was the ice prince when I needed him?
“I thought you said it was some sort of magical portal,” he huffed.
“It is. Ugh. Just hurry up, Jay.”
“What’s going on?” He glanced over his shoulder, but he must not have seen anything either.
“I don’t know. I have a bad feeling, okay? Just go with it.”
My friend finally quickened his steps, keeping pace with mine as the approaching footfalls behind us grew in intensity. My heart hammered against my ribs, and it wasn’t from the exertion. I slipped my phone out of my pocket and shot a quick text to Drake.
Flashes of the attack at Madison Square Garden filled my vision. My chest tightened, invisible steel bands clasping around my lungs. What if I failed again? What if I couldn’t protect Jay?
My fingers clamped tighter around my friend’s hand as dark shadows zipped by and surrounded us. When I blinked, they’d coalesced into humanoid forms. Two were the guys from the hookah bar, and the other two must have been their demon buddies. They weren’t quite as human-looking as their friends. One had two short white horns protruding from his forehead, and the other looked like he’d spent a couple too many sessions at the tanning bed. His leathery skin was a dark orangey-brown.
“What the hell?” hissed Jay.
Crapcicles, this was bad. An echo of my fear swirled within. The eight cords wrapped around my heart tightened. It was the oddest sensation, like nothing I’d ever felt before. My palm tingled, and the tiny scar where I’d slashed myself during the binding spell pulsed.
The tall one from the bar moved closer, and his friends tightened the circle around us. “Enjoy your date, half-blood?” His obsidian eyes focused in on mine.
“No, not really. Some annoying demons showed up and ruined it for me.”
The guy’s lips twisted into a sneer. “The dark lord’s been looking for you. She was not pleased when her mark was removed.”
She? Oh, effing eff. Ryder was right. It must be Luxora who wants me dead; how many other female warlords of the Underworld could there be?
I slapped my hands on my hips and puffed out my chest. “I have no idea what you’re talking about? What mark?”
“Please, human. I can smell the warlock blood in you, and there’s something else too.” He tilted his head back, sniffing the air. “You’re exactly as the abacor described, and I can still sense the barest trace of the mark. Whoever removed it was quite powerful. Eradicating the mark of the relix demon is no easy feat. The dark lord was not happy.”
“Yeah, well I wasn’t too happy when it was scorched into my flesh either.” I scanned the circle of demons who’d closed in while we bantered. “So now what?”
“Now we take you to her.”
A strangled choking sound rasped from Jay’s throat. Poor guy didn’t deserve to be caught up in the middle of this.
I stared up at the tall one who seemed to be the spokesperson for the demon squad. “And you’ll let my friend go?”
His broad shoulders lifted. “Sure, why not?”
“Fine. Let him leave right now, and I’ll go with you.”
“No.” Jay jerked my hand, spinning me toward him. “I’m not leaving you here with them.”
I pulled him into a hug, tightly squeezing him. “I’ll be fine, Jay. I swear,” I whispered in his ear. “As soon as I know you’re safe, I’ll whip out my badass magic moves.”
He shook his head. “I can’t do that, Hallows.”
“Then you’ll both come with us for a little trip to the Underworld.” Tall guy ticked his head at the two beastly ones, and they lunged.
“Parem immediatum!” I threw my arms out, and a crackle of electricity streaked from my palms. The two demons froze in mid-air, sharp fangs and claws bared. “Run, Jay!” I screamed.
He glanced at me, then at the paralyzed monsters, and then to the advancing demons. Guilt contorted his features.
“Do it!”
“I’ll get help!” He spun around, but before he made it more than a few yards, demon number two zipped by in a blur and grabbed him. Jay kicked and squirmed, but he was no match for the Underworlder’s strength.
The tall guy waggled his index finger at me. “You shouldn’t have done that. I offered you the easy way out, but now there will be pain.” His hand shot out before I could get the words out to summon my protective bubble. Thick fingers curled around my throat, squeezing. The ground beneath my feet fell away as he raised me into the air. I kicked and struggled, gasping for breath. “First, you’ll watch your friend die, and then I’ll take you to the dark lord.”
“No!” A scream tore from my lips, and a blazing inferno exploded in my chest. A brilliant light burst from my core, funneling out, and a bubble of energy appeared at the end. It expanded until a full-sized portal emerged from the ether. The swirling winds churned, and seven figures coalesced in the center spiral.
Ryder, Scarlett, Triston, and the others spilled out, their sharp weapons in tow. I never thought I’d be so happy to see Raine and Aeria in my life. Aeria’s unearthly tune filled the crisp night, and the demons’ eyes glazed over.
The two that had been frozen must have come back to life when the burst of light sprang from my chest. They moved slowly toward my friends. The team didn’t waste any time engaging the demons as Aeria’s mystical spell worked its magic.
Drake rushed around the corner and lunged at the tall guy, his faery sword slicing the air. Now that my squad was here, the odds were hardly fair—for them. Scarlett tossed me a dagger, and I lunged at the demon holding Jay in a chokehold. A second later, Ryder was at my side, his brilliant yellow irises on full display.
Claws emerged from Ryder’s nails, and he slashed his sharp talons across the demon’s torso. Blood spurted from the five gruesome gashes, staining the sidewalk. The Underworlder’s hold on Jay immediately released, and my friend tumbled to the ground.
While Ryder finished the demon off, I crouched down next to Jay. Deep purple blotches already marred his neck and the skin peeking out from under his shirt. “Oh God, Jay. I’m so sorry.” I pulled my friend into a hug, careful not to touch the bruised areas. “I never should’ve come to see you. If anything had happened to you because of me…” I choked back the rest of the unspeakable words.
“It’s okay, Hallows. I’m alive. And I get it now, why you’d gone MIA for all these past months.”
“You do?” I unraveled my arms from his neck.
He glanced over at Ryder and the demon battling it out a few feet away, then at the rest of my team, finishing off the other two monsters. “Your new world is kinda insane.”
I slumped back, sitting on the heels of my Converse as the chaos unfolded around us. Drake and Triston had the tall demon cornered, and Raf and Zephyr surrounded the horned-one while the girls took turns stabbing its leather face. A part of me felt guilty for not joining on, but from the looks of it, they were doing fine without me.
An unearthly howl sent my head spinning in Ryder’s direction. The demon he’d been fighting was splayed across the asphalt, and a rather large chunk was missing from his chest. Dark blood poured from th
e gaping hole where I was fairly certain his heart should’ve been.
Ryder didn’t spare me a glance as he sauntered toward the others. From beneath the dim light of the only working streetlight, I caught a glimpse of his darkened features and wild irises. The demon he sought so hard to control had broken free tonight. “Finish this,” he hissed at the team.
The Seven linked hands, and I leapt to my feet to join them without thinking. Clasping onto Drake’s palm, a shot of energy zapped through my veins. “About time you showed up,” I teased. Together we muttered the words that would forever be emblazoned in my mind. The dark spell that had first unleashed my powers in Scarlett’s dorm. “Toree fuocum celis demoniom!”
The brilliant blue flames engulfed the three remaining demons, licking across their humanoid forms as their screams tore through the chilly night air. Power flowed from my hands, up my arms and swirled around my center, filling every inch of me. My head spun from the intoxicating rush of magic.
It was incredible.
Raw power coursed through my insides, and it wasn’t only mine. I could almost feel the subtle differences between each of our eight magical signatures. Garrix had been right. This binding spell was going to change everything.
I stopped Jay as we walked up the cobblestone path to his quaint white brick home. Though we’d been friends for almost four years, I’d never spent much time at his house. I doubted his parents would even recognize me in a line up. A twinge of sadness pricked my heart. I wished I’d been better at letting people in. Jay had been my closest friend in high school, and there was so much he didn’t know about me. “I’m so sorry about everything, Jay,” I finally said as he patiently waited for me to speak. “I never should’ve come and put you at risk like that.”
He shook his head. “Nah, it’s cool, Hallows. I’m glad I got to see what you’ve really been doing for the past few months. And I’m sorry I didn’t do a better job about keeping in touch either.”
I snagged my lower lip between my teeth. “I want to keep in touch, I really do, but it’s not safe around me right now.” It was the one time in my life I was happy I didn’t have a ton of loved ones I’d be forced to cut out.
He cocked his head, his light hazel eyes warm beneath the streetlamp. “What are you saying?”
“I won’t be able to visit for awhile. Not until we get this demon stuff under control.”
He folded his arms across his chest and huffed. “Well, that sucks.”
“I can’t risk a repeat of tonight. We were lucky the guys found us when they did, or it could’ve turned out bad, Jay. I won’t put you in that sort of danger again.”
He nodded slowly. He never wanted to be a part of the supernatural world like I did. “I’ll miss you, Hallows. You always knew how to make things interesting.”
I pulled him into a hug, squeezing him tightly. “It won’t be forever, and we can still text and stuff.”
“Sure.” He released me and took a few steps back, his eyes flickering to Ryder who stood at the end of the walkway waiting. “That dude is intimidating as hell by the way.”
I laughed as I glanced over at my bodyguard-slash-instructor-slash-who-knows-what. “Yeah, he can be.”
“You be careful, Hallows, and make sure to kick some demon ass.” With a parting smile, Jay turned up the pathway. My eyes trailed his retreating figure all the way up the steps, and it wasn’t until the door closed behind him that I finally turned back to Ryder.
The tightness in his jaw immediately softened at my approach. “You okay?” he asked, reaching for my hand.
I hesitated for a second before letting him take it. I needed him right now, as much as I hated to admit it. Letting Jay go was the right thing to do, but it was still hard. “I’ll be okay,” I finally muttered.
We walked for a block or more in silence, but it was the good kind. The kind of quiet that wraps you in its warm embrace and soothes all the rattled nerves. I needed to tell him about Luxora and the mark, but I hated to rile him up again. Steeling my nerves, I inhaled a breath. “There’s something I need to tell you. But you have to promise not to freak out first.”
He halted, his face contorted into a frown. “That sounds ominous.”
“Promise.”
“Okay, okay. Now tell me.”
“You were right. It was Luxora who sent the demon to mark me.” I spewed it out in one breath.
A slew of curses tumbled from his lips as he stomped in a circle. “What does she want with you?”
I shrugged. “Her evil minion didn’t go into much detail, just that she wanted me in the Underworld.”
“I promise I won’t let that happen.” He pulled me into his arms, and his lips brushed my forehead. I couldn’t help my gaze lifting up to meet his. His lips were a hairsbreadth away. “There’s something I need to tell you too.”
I stepped back, putting some distance between us. “What?” My voice was way too breathy.
“Well, I guess it’s more of a question.” He smirked. “Do you want to open us a portal here or are you going to make us walk all the way back to Grand Central?”
I stared up at him like he had six heads. “What are you talking about?”
“That portal today that led us right to you, you did that.”
I punched him in the shoulder and chuckled. “Right…”
“I’m serious, Luna. Garrix’s spell worked like a charm. I felt it the moment you were in danger.” His voice lowered, and he rubbed small circles over his chest. “It was one of the scariest moments of my life. I felt everything—your pounding heart, the dryness in your throat, your shortness of breath.”
“You did?” I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. “The others too?”
He nodded. “I didn’t go into all the details with them, but we all felt the pull toward you. Only problem was, we couldn’t get to you fast enough. Cillian was working on getting one of his warlock friends to open the portal when all of a sudden, one appeared.”
I swallowed hard, trying to sort through the jumble of emotions that had been wracking my mind when the demons attacked. There had been that one moment where I’d felt something strange in my chest and the tingling scar. I lifted my hand palm up. “I did feel something. It was like my own fear was magnified for a few seconds, like I was feeling what you guys were or something.” It made no sense, and it was impossible to explain.
“Our bond must have called out to you. Somewhere in your subconscious your magic knew what to do.”
I shook my head wildly. “But I’ve never even studied portal opening. That’s a third year class.”
“No, but Drake has.”
“So maybe he did it.”
“It’s not possible. As powerful as he is, he’s not a warlock and only warlocks can open portals.”
My brows knitted, confusion swirling in my poor little human brain. “But I thought you guys said only males could be warlocks and technically, I was just a witch.”
“That’s what we all thought.”
Chapter 17
With all the drama, the semester flew by faster than a witch on a broomstick. Which actually wasn’t a real thing, I discovered. As I walked Zeus out of the barn, I couldn’t believe it was time for the big race again. It seemed like just yesterday I hadn’t been able to mount the wily beast. Now at least, we were on speaking terms.
I ran my hand over his dark muzzle, and he snorted. Okay, so he was no Lassie, but he hadn’t tried to buck me off in months so that was a definite improvement.
The roar of the audience above intensified the closer I got to the practice field. I tilted my head back, and the floating stadium soared overhead. Like last time, it looked like the entire academy had shown up along with half of the Winter Court. They were all here to see their prince claim the win for the Fae for the ninth time in a row. My fingers clenched into tight little fists around Zeus’s reins as thoughts of the last race filled my mind. The win should’ve been ours. I couldn’t prove it, but I was almost certain Raine
had sabotaged us at the last stretch. One day I’d confront her about it—maybe when I had better control of my powers, and she couldn’t turn me into a toad.
“Hey!” Cinder rode up on Bella and tore me away from my dark musings. “Should we do a quick lap around the field?” As always, she was perfect in her navy jacket, white button-down shirt and slim-fitting riding pants. She looked like she’d just stepped out of the pages of a Polo Ralph Lauren catalog.
“Sure.” I hopped on Zeus and followed her onto the practice arena. All the snow had been cleared away, and a few of my classmates circled the small grassy circle, warming up their unipegs.
From across the way, a flash of dark hair grabbed my attention. Desmond sat atop his chestnut unipeg and wiggled his fingers at me when he caught my eye. I plastered on a smile and turned to Cinder to avoid his dark gaze.
“So no more dates with Des?”
“Not exactly.” I fiddled with Zeus’s reins, glancing down at my fingers.
“What does that mean?”
I shook my head, gnawing on my lower lip.
Her eyes widened, the golden irises sparkling beneath the sunlight. “Are you guys still hooking up?”
I’d told her all about our first date fiasco, but I’d never told her we’d seen each other a couple times after that in the privacy of his dorm room. After Ash, I’d needed an escape, something to keep my mind busy and away from a certain off-limits demon instructor.
“We’ve hung out a couple times, but it’s no big deal.”
Cinder let out a dramatic gasp and clapped her hand over her mouth. “Why, what would Ryder say?”
“It’s not important because he has no say in the matter,” I snapped more harshly than intended. “Sorry. It’s just better he doesn’t know.” The last thing I needed was for his demon to lash out at Des.
“Okay, I get that, but why wouldn’t you tell me?”
I shrugged. I couldn’t tell her… it was too embarrassing.
She nudged Bella closer to Zeus and leaned in. “What?”
“Sometimes I let him bite me,” I whisper-hissed. Heat flooded my cheeks the moment the words were out.