“Why? So you could pull your attack dog back?” Easton snips. He’s aged a lot in the ten years since I’ve seen him. The hunter lifestyle is hard, even without all the danger they put themselves in.
“It wasn’t funny the first time.” I bend down and pick up Pandora, who starts purring the moment she’s in my arms. “You’re lucky because the Grand Coven has a zero-tolerance policy against witch hunters. Our High Priestess is especially fond of turning people inside out.”
The younger hunter whimpers, backing away. I’m guessing he’s never come up against a real witch before. My powers exceed that of the average witch, but right now he’s probably thinking we’re all this badass.
And that we’re teaming up with vampires.
I’ll let him believe that for a little while longer.
“We came here for your help,” Melinda says, earning a glare from Easton.
“No, we came here to see why you’re summoning demons,” Easton counters. He’s so arrogant it’s a wonder he hasn’t gotten himself killed.
“Why would we summon demons?”
“Maybe you witches want to go back to your old ways.”
“Oh please. We’re much more powerful without being bound to another asshole man who’s terrified of being shown up by a woman. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?” Binx growls, both threatening Easton and reminding me that there’s a reason the hunters think we summoned demons.
“Demons are coming to Thorne Hill,” I say out loud, finishing Binx’s thought. “And you followed them?”
“They just up and left,” Melinda explains. “We were hunting a banshee after following her feeding patterns for two weeks. She was on the prowl, we had everything set up to kill her, and then she just left. When we knew where she was going, we thought we’d let it be, but then Ricky and Tom—” She points to the younger hunter and the guy he’s standing next to “—had something similar happen to them on a hunt. Same with the others. The demons just up and left, and we knew something big had to be going on.”
“It is,” I tell her. “And I’ll handle it.”
Her eyes flutter closed, and I know she’s fighting hard just to stay conscious right now. “Wha…what’s going on?”
The hunters don’t know about the Ley line, and it needs to stay that way. “Don’t worry about it.”
“It’s a little late for that.” Easton takes off his jacket and wraps it around Melinda’s shoulders. “Someone is building a demon army, and you have the audacity to tell us not to worry?” He gets to his feet, holding his gun out at his side.
“Yeah. I got this.”
“Sure, you do.” He steps closer and all three familiars hiss, making him stop dead in his tracks. “Starting with fucking a vampire?”
“East,” Melinda scolds, voice coming out a breathy whisper. She’s not going to make it much longer.
I roll my eyes. “Yes, Lucas is my boyfriend. We just bought this house together, actually. We’re going to renovate it and live in unholy bliss together, fucking with him drinking my blood and me doing spells and dark rituals. Maybe we’ll do them at the same time.”
“I see you’re the same class act as always.”
“Don’t be jealous.”
“Wait a minute,” the younger hunter says, finding his voice again for the first time after Lucas held him spellbound. “You two dated?”
“Yes,” Easton says at the same time I say, “No.”
I shake my head. “I’m guessing you’re still single them, if you consider taking advantage of a sixteen-year-old’s grief so you can get close and then kill her dating.”
“It didn’t happen like that and you know it,” Easton shoots back.
“Look,” I say, letting out a breath. “It was a long time ago. Don’t try to kill me—or Lucas—and we’ll get along just fine. We need to be on the same team if we want to kill these demons so you can get out of my town.”
“Trust me, we want to get out of here. The whole place reeks like sage and sorrow.”
I roll my eyes and go back to the window again, looking down the driveway. It only takes a few minutes to drive here from my house. What’s taking Lucas so long?”
“Put your petty differences aside,” I go on, looking back at the hunters. “We all want the same thing right now, and that’s to kill demons.”
“That vampire is a demon,” the hunter I hit with the crossbow—who Melinda called Ricky—says.
“Try to kill him again, and I won’t stop him when you fail.” My eyes flash like green glass. “Lucas is mine, and you’re going to leave him the fuck alone.” Shit. I’ve been hanging around vampires too long.
I pace to another window, trying to see through the trees for any sign of cars coming down the road. Biting the inside of my cheek, I go back to the other window. Finally, I see headlights coming down the driveway.
“About time,” I say to myself, sighing with relief. Easton goes to help Melinda to her feet, but she can’t stand. Another hunter rushes forward, scooping her up before she falls. It’s too bad hunters are such old-fashioned pricks. They have strong family values, which is saying something, because most hunters who travel together aren’t related at all.
But they hate witches just as much as the vampires do, to the point where some hunters only go after witches, priding themselves on each and every kill.
Each and every murder of an innocent person.
I hurry to the porch, heart in my throat. Lucas gets out of the Jeep, leaving the engine running, and opens the door to the backseat. Evander is in the passenger seat and gets out and runs up the porch steps.
“Thank the stars, sister.” He throws his arms around me.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, hugging him back.
“I was teaching a lesson on divination, and all my students got the same reading.” He lets me go.
“Let me guess, it warned about my death?”
“Not yours particularly, but when isn’t it you?” He gives me a crooked smile and then notices the others behind me. “Your vampire told me the hunters are back. They must have a death sentence.”
“They’re leaving,” I assure him. “Melinda needs to get to the hospital. Now.”
Evander nods and stands to the side while Easton and the other hunter go to the car, laying Melinda in the backseat. Right as they close the door, an ear-piercing screech sounds above us.
“Banshee?” Evander’s brown eyes widen, and he grips my arm. Lucas speeds up onto the porch, fangs bared.
“Get her out of here!” I shout to Easton. “Go!” He gets in the Jeep along with two other hunters, leaving Ricky and Tom, the young one, here to fight the demons. They’re well-trained and have high-powered weapons, but they don’t stand a chance against the demons tonight.
They’re best bet at survival is staying inside the house, and I know they’ll never agree to it. Maybe Lucas can hold them spellbound again and make them think it’s their idea to say inside and away from the danger.
“What the hell is a banshee doing in Thorne Hill?” Evander goes down the porch steps and looks up. He throws out his hand and turns to me. “Something isn’t right. That thing…that thing has an aura. Demons don’t have auras.”
“It’s not an aura,” I say, heart beating faster and faster, and I move away from the house. “It’s the Ley line.”
“They Ley line?” Evander shakes his head. “How would the Ley line give a demon an aura?”
“It’s not just the Ley line.” I swallow hard. “When that demon came here from Hell, opening the gates created a crack in the earth, and that crack ran straight into the Ley line. I think it’s gotten bigger over time,” I say as it suddenly makes sense. “The Ley line flows like water, and the crack is basically eroding. Shit.” I look at Lucas. “That’s why the blue-eyed man kept taking me back there. He was trying to warn me.” Shaking my head, I look up at the sky. “I could use another fucking clue right about now.”
Evander shifts his gaze to Lucas. “What is she talking about?”
“I don’t have time to explain,” I tell him. “We need to seal this crack before the dam breaks. Because it’s not just the demonic energy from Hell going into the Ley line. It works as a two-way street, and the Ley line is powering demons that have been cast to the pits of Hell.”
Chapter 28
“The wendigo,” Lucas starts. “It came out of Hell.”
“It makes sense. You said it yourself, they’re thought to be extinct, and even if they aren’t, none were ever spotted around here.” My chest tightens even more, and I have to tell myself to pull it together. It’s not just demons flocking to the energy leaking out of the Ley line. Demons long since vanquished and banished are coming back, crawling their way out of the depths of Hell.
Becoming assholes is the least of the people of Thorne Hill’s worries. They’re about to become the feast of a demonic army.
“How do we close it?” I ask Evander, but the only response I get is a blank stare.
“I haven’t the slightest clue,” he finally says. The banshee circles again, screaming so loud it echoes inside our heads, rattling the glass windows of the house.
“Get inside,” Lucas shouts over the screech of the banshee. He’s wincing in pain but is fighting through it. He takes my arm and pulls me forward. I reach for Evander’s hand at the last second. Freya shuts the door as soon as we’re inside.
“Clausus sonare. Angustos lux. Hoc aspectu in domum custodire ab omni malo,” Evander chants, holding out his hands. The incantation to muffle the sights and sounds around us does little good to stop the banshee’s screams.
I grab his hands and chant with him. “Clausus sonare. Angustos lux. Hoc aspectu in domum custodire ab omni malo. Clausus sonare. Angustos lux. Hoc aspectu in domum custodire ab omni malo.”
The ringing in my head is almost too much to bear. Tom goes over to the banister and starts whacking his head against the wood. That’s how the banshee kills you, screaming until the pain is too much to take and you end your own life, so she won’t have to fight you.
“Stop him!” I tell Lucas, who’s hands are clamped over his own ears. “Once more,” I tell Evander, and feel power growing inside me again.
“Clausus sonare. Angustos lux. Hoc aspectu in domum custodire ab omni malo,” we say in unison, and whatever power I was holding onto erupts, sparking around us. The spell goes into effect and the house becomes eerily silent.
“Is it gone?” Tom asks.
“No,” I tell him, letting go of Evander’s hands. “We just can’t hear it anymore.”
“They soundproofed the house,” Lucas says. He knows Latin and understands what we were saying.
“Cool,” Tom says, and the other hunter elbows him. “So…what’s the plan?”
“The plan is for you to stay here and let us handle it,” I tell him.
“Can you handle it?” Ricky asks incredulously.
I cross my arms. “If two powerful witches, three familiars, and one sixteen-hundred-year-old vampire can’t handle it, then we’re all doomed.”
Chapter 29
Lucas dusts off a creaky old chair and turns it around. He sits down, joining Evander and I at a breakfast table left here from the previous owners.
“Our best bet is to leave the hunters here and go back to my house,” I say. “We need supplies to kill the banshee and to set some sort of trap for the wendigo that’ll hold it still long enough for Lucas to cut out its heart.”
“And then figure out how to close the rift in the earth,” Evander adds ruefully.
I nod. “Once we’re back at the house, one of us should astral project to the Academy and alert the coven. Someone there might know something, or at the very least we can cast a collective circle around the area and that will hopefully keep anything else from coming out.”
“You do realize what that means?” Evander leans forward. “Only a few of us know how powerful that demon was, Callie. By telling the whole coven there is a crack from Hell leading to the Ley line, they’re going to know the gates of Hell were opened.”
“And they’ll know you did the impossible,” Lucas finishes.
I look down at the dusty surface of the table, wondering how many family meals were eaten here. I doubt any of them were accompanied by a similar conversation like this.
“If that what it’s going to take to stop this, then we don’t have much of a choice, do we?” I can’t look up at Lucas because I know what he’s going to say. “Demons are coming here, and one already rose from Hell. The whole town will be overrun soon, and other than people dying, a town full of demons is sure to attract unwanted attention. I don’t want to involve your mom any more than she already is,” I say, knowing Tabatha, as my High Priestess, will be held accountable for my actions. Even Evander is at risk for losing his position at the Academy if it was found out he knew the extent of my relationship with Lucas and didn’t do anything to stop it. “But I need her help.”
“Callie,” Lucas starts, reaching over the table and taking my hand. “You are the single-most powerful witch I’ve ever come across. You commanded hellfire. Transfigured a human into an animal by your own sheer will. Broke through a hagstone warding…if anyone can do whatever needs to be done to shut this thing down, it’s you.”
I shake my head, trying not to let him see how shaken I am right now. We didn’t set out here knowing what I know now, and facing one powerful demon was hard enough. A whole army of them…we’re not prepared.
But when are we?
“You said it yourself,” Evander goes on. “If we can’t do this, who else can?”
I turn my head up, smiling. “New plan. We fight our way back to my house. I have a few vials of vanquishing potion left, and I think I have what I need to kill the banshee.”
“Ripping her head off won’t work?” Lucas asks. “From my experience, it’s always effective. Even for vampires.”
“I suppose,” I start as something starts to click into place in my head. “But you’d have to get close, and getting close is risky given the banshee’s ability to make your own head feel like it’s going to explode.” I shift my gaze from Evander to Lucas, suddenly having an idea. “If you guys go after the demons, I’ll deal with the Ley line.”
“You literally just said you have no idea how to deal with it.” Evander slowly shakes his head.
“Lucas gave me an idea, and I think it’ll work.” I stand. “Cut the head off the snake and the body will die.”
“The Ley line doesn’t have a head,” Evander says like it’s not obvious.
“Not a real one, but think about it.” I twist a piece of hair around my fingers. “The Ley line is feeding into a portal to Hell, basically. Or the other way around, I suppose. That’s what’s filling the town with negative energy, and that’s what’s bringing in all the demons. If I can shut down Hell, then the connection will be broken.”
“Callie,” Lucas says gently. “Shutting down Hell is impossible…even for you.”
“I’m not really going to march up to Satan and tell him there’s a new bitch in town, but if I can feed white light into the crack, whatever is seeping from the pit might back off. The Ley line is self-healing, right?” I ask Evander.
“In some ways, yes. Self-preservation is what keeps the Ley line flowing.”
“If you think of the negative energy like a virus, it makes sense to attack it,” I go on. “All I have to do is make it retreat, even if it’s just for a minute, and the energy seeping away from the Ley line will return to it, breaking contact.”
“That makes sense,” Lucas agrees, eyes meeting mine. “But I don’t want you going after that alone.”
“I know you don’t,” I tell him. “And to be honest, I don’t either. But I have to do this.”
“How are you going to do this?” Evander’s face pulls down with worry.
“I’m not sure. But I’ve always been good at winging it, and I haven’t died yet. That’s my plan, you know. Don’t die.”
Evander lets o
ut a sigh that mirrors Lucas’s expression. “Fine. Let’s do this.”
“We’re hunters.” Ricky shakes his head. “We don’t hide from demons. We hunt them.”
“You don’t hunt demons like this,” I press. “Regular lower-level demons typically don’t have powers. These demons do.” I motion to Lucas. “It took both of us to take down a few scrappers. Those are usually a one-and-done kind of take downs.”
“Lower-level?” Tom questions, brows pinching together.
“Yeah, the demons that walk the earth in corporeal form are lower-level demons.”
“There are higher-level ones?”
I let out a breath. “Tons. Let’s hope one of those doesn’t—”
Lucas speeds in front of me and stands in front of Ricky. “We don’t have time for this,” he says and looks into Ricky’s eyes. “You are terrified of the dark. Just looking out the window and seeing the night sky makes you scream uncontrollably.”
“Lucas,” I hiss.
“Fine. You scream internally.” He turns to Tom, whose eyes are squeezed closed. “And you…you don’t want to hunt anymore. You want to go to college and volunteer.”
“Really?”
Lucas shrugs. “I thought you’d like this one.”
“I…I do. It’s just unexpected.”
“I like to surprise you.” Lucas turns away, grinning. “Ready?”
“Yeah, let’s go.” I run my thumb over my fingers, conjuring a string of magic. “You got the knife?” I ask Lucas. He pulls it out of his pocket and flips the blade up. “Let’s do this.”
Freya shadows forward, opening the door for us. We step onto the porch and close the door behind us. I wave my hand over the lock and mutter a spell, locking the house from the outside, making sure those two hunters stay inside where they’re safe.
“Do you feel that?” Evander asks as soon as we go down the porch steps.
“Even I can feel that,” Lucas replies.
The air is electric, raising all the hairs on the back of my neck. “We’ve got to close that rift before it gets any bigger.” I look down the driveway, debating if we should take the road back to my house. With this estate being so far back from the road, it’s faster to go through the woods, emerging into my backyard. Being on the street offers more visibility as well but will take twice as long.
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