by Aileen Erin
Are you okay?
Yes. You can put me back down.
You sure?
Yes. I was sure. Astaroth could make me feel terrible, but only if I let him. And I wasn’t going to let him. Not again.
And I couldn’t let him take me. Especially since it hadn’t even been twenty-four hours since I’d gotten a dose of Samantha’s blood. Her warning ran through my head and my fear grew stronger.
I pictured a brick wall surrounding my mind as I sprinted for the parking lot, but all I could hear was his laughter. It drowned out everything else.
The sound was coming from inside my head. From inside my soul.
But no one owned my soul. No one but me. I had to keep telling myself that or I’d lose.
I built up the wall around my mind even thicker and his laughing cut off. I wasn’t sure if my mental barrier was actually working or if he’d backed off to make me more confident. It didn’t matter either way. We were leaving, and he wasn’t getting us. Not today.
The alarms were still going, but aside from those of us who were in the meeting, no one was doing anything. The Cazadores had come to check what was going on. They stood at the entrances to the buildings, waiting for the threat to show itself. That was the wrong move.
“Everyone get off this land!” I rolled power through campus, hoping the Weres would hear my order and get the hell out of dodge. Even together, we couldn’t fight Astaroth and win. Not until we had some serious magical reinforcement ready to roll.
I stopped on the beginning of the path to the parking lot and Dastien stopped, too, standing just in front of me as if he could stop Astaroth from getting to me.
I can at least slow him down, Dastien said.
No. He’d kill you. I grabbed his hand and pulled him beside me. We stay together.
He squeezed my hand as he glanced down at me. Always. No matter what. His eyes were glowing amber and I could feel his wolf begging to get free.
The rest of the Alphas from the meeting stopped just behind me. Lucas was carrying Claudia on his back. Her eyes were wide as she clung to him.
Raphael trailed behind us, but he didn’t stop. He kept running to the parking lot and a few seconds later I heard tires squeal as he raced away from here. Which was good. He needed to get gone. Fast.
Mr. Dawson stopped next to me in wolf form and let out a series of howls, two short, one long, three short, one long. The last one was still echoing in the night as werewolves continued to pour from the buildings. Campus had seemed so empty when we got back from our honeymoon, but it was suddenly filled with Weres I’d never seen before. Not just Cazadores in all black, but general staff.
There are less people here with the school closed, but since the Cazadores are still around, they still need all the kitchen, cleaning, and some general maintenance staff.
Right. That makes sense. I wished that there weren’t so many here, though. Getting them cleared out of here was going to take some time.
I just didn’t understand what happened. There were rules as to when and how Astaroth could cross over. It didn’t make any sense.
I turned to Claudia, hoping that she’d have at least some answer. “How did he get here? He was still tied to the circle at the compound. Is there another circle here? And it’s not full dark. The sun set maybe thirty minutes ago. How is he strong enough to break through?”
“I don’t know. Luciana didn’t cast a circle here, as far as I know, but her magic is here.” She tucked her face in Lucas’ shoulder for a second before shaking her head. “Something isn’t right. Even if he could’ve broken free of the circle, he should’ve had to wait until the witching hour. That’s when the veil between realms is thinnest. I don’t know how he’s here.”
That wasn’t the answer I was hoping for. If he could come here now, what was stopping him from following us? Why hadn’t he kept following us when we were leaving the compound? I had to know, otherwise running wasn’t going to do any good.
Shit. I wanted to run, but everyone was taking too long to get out of here. My car was right there. I glanced at Dastien’s glowing amber eyes. I’m sorry. With him here, I can’t leave until everyone from the school is gone.
We’re protecting the pack. It’s what Alphas do. It’s why they stayed. He motioned to the wolves—the Cazadores—that were guarding the way for all the school’s employees. And then to all of the Alphas that were standing with us.
The door to the admin building was ripped off of its hinges and thrown into the quad. The Weres running by dodged it easily.
A figure strolled through the doorway, walking slow, even steps.
Astaroth.
Gray dots filled my vision and I realized I was holding my breath. I wasn’t alone. There were others here ready to fight by my side. “Thank you for staying,” I mumbled to the Alphas.
“We’re in this together,” Blaze said. His tone was easy and light. I didn’t know him well, but I suddenly admired him. He sounded so freaking calm, when I was about to shake out of my own skin. “This is the job of Alphas. And no matter how much of a fight they put up—” He looked pointedly at Lisette and Albert. “We all want what’s best for everyone. They’ll come around and support it. Eventually.”
He’s an amazing fighter, but you wouldn’t know it unless you saw him in action. Blaze isn’t showy like a lot of the other powerful werewolves. He’s incredibly humble and kind.
I really liked that, and having an amazing fighter with us was about to come in very handy.
I watched as Astaroth grew closer. With every step, my heart rate kicked up another degree, until I thought my chest was going to rip open. He was still in the form of the boy, but he was holding something. His too-wide, jack-o-lantern grin started to spread across his face as he held it up for me to see.
The jar from the altar.
“Oh, shit.” I turned to Claudia, eyes wide. “It’s my fault he got here so quickly. I don’t even know why I took it.” I was so stupid. I shouldn’t have touched something I knew nothing about. I’d had it with me in the car, but maybe he needed nightfall or to do some spell to make it work. But that was the key. That’s how he got here.
“There probably was a compulsion,” Claudia said. “Don’t be too hard on yourself.”
I didn’t know if that was possible. I wanted to cry at my own stupidity, but I couldn’t. I had to fight. But I didn’t know if I could ever forgive myself for being so dumb.
Astaroth stopped at the foot of the stairs, watching us.
My chest grew so tight, I could’ve sworn he was already strangling me. I wasn’t sure what he was waiting for. But if he wanted me afraid, he’d accomplished that ten fold.
I could still hear everyone climbing into cars—doors slamming and engines starting. It was going to take a few more precious minutes before the school was cleared out.
“What’s he doing?” Claudia asked.
“I don’t know.” I rubbed my sweating hands off on my yoga pants.
Two things happened at once. Astaroth raised his arms in the air, holding the jar up, and the ground started to rumble.
He was opening a portal. “Oh shit.” This was going to get worse. A lot worse.
“Hurry!” Dastien yelled to the fleeing Weres as Astaroth turned in a circle.
“Be ready,” I said to the Weres.
“We’ve done it before. We’ll do it again,” Dastien said, and I hoped that was true.
“Yeah, except I never wanted to do it the first time,” Chris said. “That chapel in Santa Fe was enough for me.”
“Agreed,” I said. “But then, nobody asked us.” I didn’t have any spells prepared. No weapons, except the small dagger in my pocket. Which I really didn’t want to use. I wasn’t even sure if I should have it in my pocket, but it was too late now.
The wolf begged me to let her out, ready to attack. Fur rippled along my skin and I fought it back down. Not now. Not yet. “We’re holding here. Let them come to us.”
The scent of sulfur burned my nose
as a ring of red light circled Astaroth.
He stepped back as the ground before him shimmered, became almost translucent, and the first demon climbed up. Its wrinkly gray skin shimmered in the moonlight.
I’d seen a variety of demons in the chapel, but these were my least favorite. The sight of them as they crawled along the ground terrified me. They were vaguely humanoid, but their legs and arms had too many joints that could bend either way. The demons could stand on two legs, but they liked to crawl—over each other, up walls and onto the ceilings. Their eyes were twin black pools filled with death and despair.
Where there was one, there would be more, but I still hoped that I was wrong. That only the one would come through.
I wasn’t wrong. A second later, there were ten more squatting next to the first.
And then ten more.
In a few heartbeats, we were so outnumbered, it was stupid. I was stupid. I’d made two mistakes today. The first was taking the jar. The second was not running when I had the chance.
Damn it.
He had an army, and there were maybe twenty Cazadores, my friends and the Alphas made thirty-five, plus whoever hadn’t made it out of the parking lot.
As much as I wanted to run now, it was too late. We couldn’t let these demons loose, and we definitely couldn’t leave a portal to Hell open.
“Hurry!” I yelled into the parking lot as the last of the school employees scurried into cars.
There were so many demons now that I couldn’t see Astaroth anymore. They were all contained in the circle. Climbing on top of each other like a ball of baby spiders itching to break free of their sack.
I shouldn’t have worried about not being able to see Astaroth because a second later, the demons parted and he came through.
“Teresa.” His voice saying my name sent terror skittering through my body.
“Leave me alone.” I wasn’t his. No matter what evil magic Luciana used on me.
“You are mine.”
He was wrong. “Never.” My voice sounded confident and calm when everything in me was screaming to get the hell out of here.
I needed that jar back. It had to be the key. If he used it to get here, then if I destroyed it, he would have to go back.
It was a theory, and the best I could do. I was going to focus on that and shut out all the other noise. Especially anything Astaroth said.
I think that’s a good plan, Dastien said.
There was no time to consult with Claudia. The circle grew brighter, flashing so bright that I couldn’t look at it. And then it was gone.
It took me a second to be able to see, but I could hear the crunching on the grass, feel the ground rumbling under their feet, smell the sulfur getting stronger.
I didn’t have a backpack with supplies loaded in it. I didn’t have any words that would help me fight the demons. So, I used the one weapon I did have.
I yanked off my Uggs, threw my hoodie—dagger still in the pocket—on the ground, and then pulled my shirt over my head as the wolf rose up in me, growling. Between one second and the next, I shifted from human to wolf.
My senses were stronger as a wolf. I could hear more. Scent more. See more.
The wolf was also more confident. She wanted to take on Astaroth. If this was going to be a fight, then I was going to face it. I let the wolf take hold fully and rushed forward.
My teeth slashed into a demon, grabbed its leg, and jerked. Black blood burned my mouth, but I kept moving. I let my claws and teeth do the damage. Dastien had been training me in both forms during our honeymoon, and I was getting better. Much, much better.
I leapt from demon to demon. Ripping off a head at the neck. Clawing through their bodies.
Closer. Foot by foot. I was making my way toward the circle. Toward Astaroth.
I leapt through the air to get to another one, but a demon bit my side. I howled as pain ripped through me.
I hit the ground and power poured into me. I rushed to push the power back to him. No. Stop. Dastien hadn’t been hurt yet, but now his attention was divided. He was worrying about me.
Focus on the fight in front of you.
He ignored my pleas, sending more power. Take it! Get the jar.
Fine. I hated it. But fine. I took the power and the searing pain dulled just enough not to be debilitating. I’d take care of it later. I had to keep moving.
I tore through another demon. And another. And another.
I’d lost sight of Astaroth, but I knew he was here somewhere. But I was getting closer to the circle. I could see the red glow. I ignored the burning in my side as I kept moving faster, faster, faster.
Howls of pain filled the night, and I knew I didn’t have much time left.
One more foot and I could—
A hand wrapped around my throat and I was lifted from the ground. Astaroth had grown taller. His face darkened and shadowed under the hood of the jacket. His eyes were two glowing red orbs.
“Mine,” he said. The power in his voice rattled my bones and his smile yawned in front of me. He gave me a good shake and suddenly I was back in my human form. I was naked. All of my soft human flesh exposed. “That’s better.”
No. Not fucking better. This was bad. I tried to shift back, but whatever he’d done, I couldn’t reach my wolf. I didn’t have fangs or claws to fight with. I grabbed Astaroth’s hand trying to pry his fingers away from my neck, but he just laughed. His dark power slimed all over me into every pore of my body, every nook and cranny of my soul. I’d never be clean again. Never.
“Dastien!” It came out more croak than anything else, but I knew he could hear me. I wasn’t sure what I needed him to do. Wasting power on me right now wasn’t going to do him any good, but I was going to die if I didn’t get away.
A glint caught my eye, and I looked down Astaroth’s body to see the mason jar hanging loosely from his other hand. The spell was glowing inside. One smash and this would be over.
I tried to kick at it, but Astaroth shook me. His laughter pricked my skin.
Get the jar, I sent along our bond, and hoped he could get it. It was our only shot.
Astaroth tightened his grip and he grew larger. My feet dangled over the ground as I fought to get air in, but it was hopeless.
The dread of what to come swamped me. Tears ran hot down my face as I kicked out again, but it wasn’t working. Nothing was working.
You’re mine.
The snap was coming soon and I did the only thing I could think of.
I closed my eyes and started praying. God, please help me. I know I’m not perfect. If I’d had air in my lungs, I would’ve sobbed, but I couldn’t. If it’s my time, I accept that. But please, I don’t want to go with Astaroth. Please, save my soul.
Suddenly Astaroth hissed and the ground slammed into me as I fell.
I opened my eyes to see a light coming straight for me.
“You called.”
“God?” My voice was barely more than a croak. I blinked a few times before I could see that there was a form in front of me.
A rich deep laugh made my skin tingle. I knew that sound. It wasn’t God. It was Eli. “You’re not an angel.” But he looked like one, glowing in the night, somehow hovering off the ground, wearing his white V-neck T-shirt and light jeans.
“No, but I’m not a demon either.”
“Teresa.” Astaroth’s voice beat in my head, and I curled into a ball, covering my ears. My head felt like it was ripping in two, but I tried to look around. I wanted to know if he was coming, but I couldn’t see him. I couldn’t see anything beyond Eli’s glow.
The ground started rumbling again and the scent of sulfur grew stronger.
Eli knelt beside me. “How is he here? It’s not time.” The light around him was keeping the demons away, but they were still there. Fighting the Weres. We had to fix this.
“A spell. In a jar.” My throat felt like it was on fire as I spoke. Astaroth had dropped the jar when he dropped me, but it’d rolled back ins
ide the circle. It was maybe ten or fifteen feet away from me, but there were too many demons between and the jar. “It’s in the circle, but there are too many demons—”
“That’s an easy fix.” The power built around him—making him glow even brighter—until I thought it was going to blind me, and then Eli spread his arms wide. He held them there for a few seconds before swinging them together, clapping his hands. The sound echoed outward, and with it, the power rippled.
It suddenly felt like I was sitting under the sun on a hot summer day, but not too hot because there was an icy breeze that followed the heat.
The demons around us screamed and turned to ash.
My mouth hung open. Jesus Christ. Why had he waited so long to kill them all if it was so easy for him? And where the hell was he six weeks ago when we were fighting for our lives in Santa Fe?
Eli grinned at me. “Because I can only act when allowed. There are rules, which I follow. Unlike some demons.”
Astaroth was back in his circle. The smile wasn’t there, but he was still scary. And from the way he was rising off the ground, I had a pretty solid feeling he was pretty fucking pissed.
Astaroth dove at Eli and they fought. There was a flash of light, and I wanted to watch them, but the jar. I had to get the jar.
I struggled to get to my feet. My side felt like it was getting ripped open. The demon’s bite was still seeping blood and I felt spent. But I had to get up. Somehow. I had to keep fighting.
I took a few steps and then leaped, falling on top of the jar.
Astaroth roared and I looked up just in time to see him coming for me. I froze.
Smash it! Smash it!
It took me a second to process Dastien’s words. I rolled off of the jar, grabbing it, and smashed it into the ground.
Astaroth roared and this time my eardrums burst. Blood dripped down my cheeks and I blinked. When my eyes opened again, he was gone. Astaroth had disappeared.
Oh, thank God. I slumped to the ground, panting, not really believing that it was over. That we’d somehow lived. But Astaroth didn’t reappear. He was gone. Like he and his army of demons hadn’t been here a second ago. Only the sulfur and the pain in my side from the demon bite were left.