Heir of Night (The Thorne Hill)

Lucas goes to pick me up, no doubt to push me through the door, but then hesitates. He looks at me, face pained, but it’s not so much from his own loss but knowing how much I’m hurting right now. The entire forest is dead silent, and I inhale, feeling like I’m going to pass out or puke again.

“Callie,” Lucas breathes, catching me right as I falter. The sadness on his face turns into fear, and he picks me back up, holding me against his firm chest. His clothes are soaked in his own blood, and he’s weak after losing so much. He needs to seek shelter at the Covenstead as much as I do right now.

“Go,” I tell him, fighting just to keep my eyes open. I’ve been weakened as well, but part of me wants to pass out and not have to accept that Julian is gone. “They’re here.” I lift my head to be sure. Pandora shifts into cat form as she jumps through the door. Binx and Freya do the same. “You too, Scar.” I close my eyes, not wanting to see if she bursts into flames. She doesn’t, and Lucas steps through the door.

“Oh, goodness, Callie!” Tabatha and Ruby are right inside the door. They must have gotten my message and have been waiting for me.

“Close it,” I force out, and Lucas sets me down. My lip quivers, and I start crying when Tabatha throws her arms around me.

“Julian,” I start, crying so hard none of my words can be understood.

“Julian didn’t make it,” Lucas tells them, voice low.

Tabatha runs her hand over my head. “Oh, darling.” I sink to the ground, and she comes with me, holding me tight against her. “I’m so sorry.” She holds me for another few seconds and then pulls back, looking at me. The courtyard of the Covenstead is dimly lit with magical fire, glowing in lanterns hanging on posts. “What happened?” She looks up at Lucas, knowing I’m in no condition to talk.

“The Horsemen are working with Paimon. He found the loophole Bael missed and started a ritual to drain Callie of her divinity, using only what the baby has to open the gates and sit on the throne.” Lucas, always stoic and straight to the point, pauses. If he breathed, he would take a breath to steady his emotions. “There was some sort of magical vortex Callie was stuck in. War had me, and Julian got there just in time to keep the demons from following through. He stepped into a circle Paimon had cast so they couldn’t put Callie in instead.”

Silence falls over us. It’s such a shortened version of what happened. So much more transpired.

So much pain.

So much fear.

So many dead humans.

“The kid.” I lift my head and look up at Lucas. “The kid is still in the guest room. And someone is hiding in the downstairs bathroom.”

“Don’t worry about that right now,” Lucas tells me. He means well and is more concerned about me, but there’s a lot at stake there.

“What if he wakes up? Or the lady in the bathroom is still alive and decides to leave now that things are quiet? Our house is full of bodies.”

Tabatha inhales and brushes my hair back. Her eyes are misty as she looks at me. “You don’t worry about it. Let us figure something out.”

“It’s too dangerous to go back to the house,” I rush out, and I’m torn again. This time it’s not physically tearing me apart, but I don’t know what to do. Someone has to go back to the house. The kid and the woman need to be checked on.

The bodies have to be dealt with.

And Julian deserves more than to be left to the insects in my backyard.

I get a flash of his lifeless blue eyes, and my heart breaks all over again. This time it really does twist my stomach, and I move away from Tabatha just in time to throw up in the grass.

“Come, darling,” Tabatha says, holding my hair back. “Let’s get you inside and cleaned up. Evander and I will astral project to your house and see what it’s like.”

I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand and nod. Lucas wraps his arm around me, supporting my weight.

“What are we going to do about the hellhound?” Ruby asks, eyeing Scarlet with a bit of fear. She’s massive and literally demonic. It’s smart to be wary around her, though she won’t disobey my command. “You don’t happen to have her collar, do you?”

“I didn’t think to grab it.”

She gives me a half smile. “I’ll, um, get her set up in one of the storage sheds out back. It’s probably best no one sees her.”

“Yes,” Lucas agrees. “She likes soft blankets.”

“I, um, I’ll find a nice quilt for her. Does she understand English?” Ruby asks.