Trina had said the same. Said they’d reviewed the binding spell several times, weeding out any potential problems. The less room for misinterpretation from the universe, the better.
Still, his nerve endings burned, making his skin crawl. “None of this feels right. I don’t like not being able to get to Trina once the circle is cast.”
James nodded, his hand scrubbing over his shaved head.
The perpetually-full moon hovered above the horizon, casting Machon in brilliant red light. He checked his watch: 3:06 AM, back home. It was time.
Trina cast the circle, locking the coven inside the protective seal. As long as none of them broke the outer boundary, neither Crowley nor the Watcher could harm anyone.
Lilith started the spell and the coven joined in, “Tanin’iver, Julius Elisha Crowley, I summon thee. To obey all commands made by me. For this we ask or something more, so mote it be, we do implore.”
“Something isn’t right.”
The coven spoke as one, chanting the spell in increasing speed until the words blurred together.
Something more? “Blood-y hell. They’re in trouble.” He started down the hill waving to the other daemons to do the same.
“What?” James jogged behind him. “Why?”
“Why’d they allow the possibility of ‘more’? They’re bringing in a Watcher.”
His gaze locked onto the electric blue seal separating him from the coven. “Stop!”
*****
A chanting summons pounded through Julius’ mind, making his body jerk. The chorus grew louder, became consuming, battering all other thoughts away until he chanted along. The words spilled out faster, building in intensity along with a strange, insistent, pulling sensation. They filled his mind, spilled out of his mouth. “I summon thee. To obey all commands made by me. For this we ask or something more, so mote it be, we do implore.”
Azazel took command of their body, cocking his head to the side. “More, indeed.” A laugh rolled through him, despite the pain rending his body.
It is time, host. I’m so grateful to the coven for freeing me, I think I’ll bring them a gift.
Jesus, the summoning spell, it was pulling him apart. Julius’ mouth opened on a scream, but Azazel didn’t allow any sound to come out.
*****
Trina focused on the summoning circle, trying to ignore the males shouting for their attention. She couldn’t make out their words anyway. They couldn’t stop now.
The hair at the base of her neck stood on end. The air shimmered over the pentacle. Crowley appeared, locked into the pentacle.
He was laughing.
His khakis and white button-down shirt were almost unrecognizable due to the amount of blood covering him. The stuff was caked on his hands, his face. What had he done?
Damn it, he shouldn’t be laughing. Summoning should leave the daemon in agony, immobilizing him and stripping him of any power he had. She’d expected screaming, not laughing.
She exchanged a glance with Lilith. The other witches were doing the same, all doubtless wondering: What did we miss?
Crowley spun his hand in a whirling motion.
The air outside the pentacle began to shimmer. A deep foreboding settled among them as a small black dot appeared mid-air. He pointed, making sure they all saw.
Their voices died as the dot began to grow, changing into a round, black doorway.
Wind whipped through their protected space. “He can’t harm us,” she shouted. “Not here.”
A Nephilim stepped through, covered in blood much the same as Julius.
Then another.
Another.
A dozen more.
Like the start of a rain shower, the first couple drops, fast turned into a deluge. Snarling, Nephilim began filling the circle. The witches backed away.
“It’s all in the intention, little witch.” Julius grinned, the voice coming out of him far too deep, too loud to be his. “I called them forth with the intention of aiding you on your request for . . . something more.”
“Hurry.” Lilith’s voice rose above the animalistic grunts of the Nephilim. “Separate them so we can bind the Watcher before he can do anything more.”
Trina nodded in full agreement. As one they began Psalm 91—the exorcism prayer.
*****
Slowly, Azazel was being torn from Julius, his larger form being pulled through his pores, stretching his skin apart. His vision blackened, but Azazel didn’t allow him to lose consciousness.
I know you’ll miss me, host. But I’ve left my gifts—something to remind you of me. Have fun.
His mouth opened on another scream as he dropped to his knees. With one final, wrenching pop, the Watcher was free.
Julius Crowley slumped to the ground like an old, discarded jacket. He had to get up. He needed to warn the coven. He needed to tell them Azazel’s name.
*****
Had anyone else been receiving the exorcism they performed, Trina would’ve been moved to compassion, but not for Crowley. No, this daemon didn’t look the least bit innocent covered in blood, surrounded by Nephilim. She had too much history with the bastard for even the slightest twinge of sympathy. How could Kat possibly accept him as her mate?
Nephilim crowded in the center of the protected space, blocking him from her view. As more arrived, they pushed the rest closer to the coven.
The Watcher’s twisted, skeletal form rose above them all. Gigantic. Unstoppable.
“Hold your ground,” she shouted. The coven was rattled. They couldn’t see the Watcher, but they saw Crowley drop to the ground, they knew he was free.
“No harm can come to us in the circle,” Lilith reminded them.
As one, the coven moved several feet in from the outer line of the circle.
“Trina.”
She whirled around. Duncan stood on the other side of the shield. “If things go south, you come to me.” She found no give in his steady gaze, only confident assurance. James stood to his left, Harry, Doom, and the rest behind them. Ready. Armed. Waiting.
A siren roared in the distance and more daemons ran to the circle.
She nodded before turning back to their unwelcomed guests.
“Focus, ladies.” Lilith had to shout over the increasing noise. The Nephilim never stilled, shifting, moving, and making guttural, animal-like grunts.
She pulled herself together, concentrating on the banishing.
“Watcher, we bind thee,” Lilith’s voice blended with Trina’s. The coven began adding their voices, their power to the spell. She reached out for Lilith’s hand. They needed to merge into the Original now . . . but Lilith’s hand wasn’t there.
Nephilim pushed them apart. Shoulder-to-shoulder, back to front, they separated her and Lilith with their sheer number. “Lilith!”
They filled every available space, pushing her back.
Suddenly she realized what the Watcher had done. The Nephilim would keep pushing them back until they broke the protected circle.
And without that, all bets were off.
She set her feet hard against the ground, bracing herself against their surging force. They strained against her. She shoved back but it was like pushing against a brick wall.
“Surround the circle.” James gave the command.
“Protect the coven,” Duncan ordered.
Shouts of affirmation sounded off as daemons moved to do as commanded.
The stench of dried blood on the unclean bodies of the Nephilim made her gag as they pressed up against her. They were caked with the stuff. It covered their skin, matted their hair. Their glowing red eyes bored into hers, promising destruction.
Nephilim thrust against her, snarling, hissing, and gnashing their teeth. The Magic preventing the creatures from fulfilling their bloodlust also prevented the coven from destroying them.
Her feet slipped back.
“Watcher, we bind thee.” Their voices trembled as the reality of this insurmountable failure began to register in its
entirety. They couldn’t stop the Nephilim from filling the space. They forced the women back, the words of the spell muffled by the rising animalistic noise filling the circle. “Grigori, we bind thee to your tower.”
The Nephilim surged, forcing Trina back. Her heel passed one of the stones bordering the circle.
“Watcher we . . . ” Her words faded, replaced by her scream of denial. “No.”
The shield went down.
Chapter 36
Duncan grabbed Trina, thrusting her behind him. Somewhere, James surely did the same with Lilith. Now they just had to get the women together.
The whole place erupted into chaos. He stabbed the Nephilim coming at him, backing away. They had to get to the rise. James said he’d bring Lilith there.
Shouts clashed with the growling snarls coming from the Nephilim. Orbs of fire and electricity lit the sky as witches defended themselves. Swords and blades slashed through the air, punctuated by the burst and rain of ash.
Splinters of black stone erupted in front of him courtesy of Trina, skewering the onslaught of Nephilim. The creatures, despite being impaled, grabbed at nearby daemons.
He backed farther, but it was slow going. Daemons ran toward the coven’s stone circle to join the fight, hindering their progress.
A Nephilim lurched past him and grabbed Trina. Duncan wrenched her away from it. Ran it through with his blade. He backed away, forcing her behind him as he fought.
Defended.
Destroyed.
A vampire, an air-walker, rose over the crowd, slashing his blade at those below, geysers of ash spouting up in his wake.
Still more Nephilim arrived, pushing through the portal the Watcher had made. Their number legion, an army of amoral undead with no purpose but to destroy.
Something knocked the air-walker out of the sky. Duncan turned and ducked, pulling Trina under the shelter of his body as the air-walker flew past, landing in a heap several yards behind them.
“What the hell?”
“The Watcher swatted him. I’m keeping an eye on him.” She sent another wall of spiked rock into Nephilim. “I need to get to Lilith to bind him to the tower.”
“Up to the rise, Duchess.”
They fought their way back. Violet joined his side, blasting the Nephilim with orbs of fire. He pushed her behind him with Trina before slashing through one. He kicked another away, stabbing a third with his knife.
There were too many.
*****
Trina looked behind her. They were almost to the rise. James and Lilith stood at the top, waiting. “I see her.” She ran straight up to Lilith. “Don’t resist this time.” Resistance brought pain.
Lilith nodded and Trina wrapped her arms around her friend.
Chapter 37
The coven closed ranks in front of Duncan, slowing the Nephilim, giving him a chance to check on Trina. The women were already together, had already begun melding. Growing. Changing.
Doom led more daemons to where they were, guarding them while they were vulnerable.
His chest seized as the individual women, as his mate and her friend faded. Jesus, he hoped they’d be able to transform back as easy as they united. They changed in shape, growing larger until they blocked out the light of the mammoth moon.
“Duncan!”
He swung around as Nephilim breached the coven’s ranks. Daemons ran past him and the fight started anew. Doom tossed him a sword.
“Thanks.” The sword had a design cut down the center to reveal the wood beneath the silver blade—a larger version of a Guardian knife. He rammed it through a Nephilim and it exploded into ash. Better. Much better.
A tandem roar filled the atmosphere. Everything stopped. Even the Nephilim paused, their animal instincts forcing their attention to the larger predator.
The Original stalked forward, her two heads high above the battle atop long serpentine necks. Iridescent scales, a rainbow of night colors, shone in the moonlight as she roared her battle cry. Minions swarmed the battlefield, brought to heal by her call. Foe and friend alike dodged her claws and her swinging, spiked tail. Fire blasted from her mouths.
“Bloody hell.” A heavy leg stomped by. A scale was missing. “I’ll be damned.” Always did like that table.
He followed her, cutting down Nephilim who got too close. Dragon or not, he was bloody well protecting his mate’s back.
An explosion rocked the area, throwing Duncan from his feet. The Original protected him from the worst of the blast. He struggled back to his feet, saw Kat nearby and helped her up. The other coven members appeared shaken but fine.
“What was that?” Kat asked.
“I don’t know.” Duncan glanced around. “The Wayward Watcher? Crowley?”
Shite. Where was Crowley? He had a clear line of sight to the stone circle. The summoning circle was empty. “Crowley got away.”
Kat brushed her hair away from her face. “One thing at a time. First we deal with the Watcher.”
The dust didn’t have time to settle before the debris from the explosion started shaking, shifting, dragging back the way it came as if being pulled by magnetic force. Everything gathered at a single point, building on itself. Bits of wood, rock, and dirt fused around the invisible form of the Watcher, forming armor around its ethereal bulk. “Yeah. That’d be the Watcher.”
A hodgepodge of rubble made up the creature’s hide. Splintered wood and jagged rock moved with the Watcher as his avatar took the first ground-shaking steps. Seven heads moved in all directions, some low, others high as the Watcher’s avatar searched out prey. Flames leapt from one mouth, another spewed filth. Nothing visible came from another, but as the head breathed out daemons and Nephilim alike fell to the ash-covered ground in agony, pustules bubbling on the surface of their skin. They writhed, screaming, clawing at their flesh.
Duncan backed away from the infected group and found himself next to James.
“He took the form of the Beast from Revelation—Annobapeste.”
“Got a thing for Armageddon, that one.” He nodded toward their mates. “They’ll get him.”
She was closer now, slowed by the daemons at her feet, but steadily marching toward Annobapeste.
Another head descended and the creature’s muck-encrusted jaws parted, loosing a host of winged insects unlike anything he’d ever seen. They attacked everything in sight, landing on each quarry before tormenting their victims with stingers and teeth. The swarm rounded, coming straight for them.
“Shite.”
*****
It wasn’t as bad as Trina had expected. Her thoughts remained her own. She felt her own limbs cocooned within the larger form around them.
What the hell is that? Lilith asked.
Don’t care. Ruins of a tower lay in the distance. You see where we need to push him?
Yeah.
She opened her mouth, blasting Annobapeste with pure blue flame and the head Lilith controlled joined in.
The creature reared back, its multiple heads shrieking in outrage as the Watcher’s avatar ignited like kindling.
She pressed on and the Watcher retreated farther though its seven heads still struck, biting, gnashing, and spewing foulness over their own avatar. There was no pain. She couldn’t feel the scratches and gouges the Watcher left behind.
Lilith spread their wings, making them appear even larger as they advanced. He’s tiring.
His strikes declined in strength as the flames licked over its arborous frame. Dirt, muck, and rocks crumbled from the Watcher’s blazing armament.
Ram him. We’re almost there.
They ran and her chest collided with the Watcher, forcing him back, his whip-like tails flirting with the border of the ruins.
One of his heads turned, as if becoming aware of his jeopardy and he leapt against them in a desperate attempt to avoid the threat of imprisonment.
She and Lilith’s heads descended, growling, roaring. The jaws of both opened and they sank their teeth into the Watcher’s g
rime-encrusted armor.
Pull him apart, Lil.
They raised the writhing creature high in the air before they pulled in opposite directions, ripping the avatar asunder.
Remnants of timber and shrubs along with a mixture of dirt and stones plummeted to the battlefield. The Watcher sagged to the ground. Struggled to get up.
Trina clamped down on his leg and together they dragged the Watcher closer to the ruins.
He’s letting us do this.
Lilith was right, he was. He’d put on a show, displayed his power, but he was allowing them to imprison him. Why?
The ground rumbled and split apart under the ruins, leaving a gaping hole.
Some unseen force lifted the Watcher, tugging it out from their grasp and she released him. Watched as he was sucked down into the hole.
He didn’t fight. Didn’t struggle. The bastard was smirking.
Over the edge he dropped and the ground rumbled anew as his tower rose. Bit by bit, the structure lifted from the ground, rising until it loomed over Machon.
He thinks he’ll get free again.
Never.
Chapter 38
Duncan paused, hands on his thighs as he fought to catch his breath.
The battle was done. Some Nephilim had escaped back through the portal before it had closed. The rest were ash beneath their feet. Minions pounced through the ash, killing off the remainder of the flying insects the Watcher had released. The Original was safe. The Watcher imprisoned, all that was left was to see if Trina and Lilith could unmerge.
She was having trouble, she’d lain herself down, panting with effort.
James ran over to him. “They hurt?”
“Don’t think so.” If what they’d done was anything like shifting, they were safe and sound far beneath the gouges and wounds on the dragon’s flesh. “First shift is hard. It’s one thing to pull armor over yourself when you’re fighting for your life, another to let it go when everything in you wants to hold on.” He wandered closer, between her heads and James followed. “Come on, Duchess. Quit resisting; it just causes pain. You don’t need the avatar anymore. Relax.”
The Shadow: The Original's Trilogy Page 34