“But the rain…?”
He sniffed and tossed me the candle. “Black magic doesn’t care about your rain. You’re at the edge of the map, girl.”
“Why are you helping me?”
He smirked. “It might very well be that I’ve helped you consign yourself to an eternity of suffering, the likes of which you cannot fathom.”
“You’re here for Cas. Because you love him too.”
“Love is a strong word and not found in my vocabulary,” Ambri said. “Or in any demon’s, come to think of it. Rather goes against our principles, though I’ll admit to a certain…fondness for him.” He shrugged. “And if I were you, I’d want to have a say in my own fate. But try not to be too hard on him, dove. Casziel wants to protect you at all costs. Shield you—”
“From my own life,” I said. “I don’t want to be shielded. I want to…”
Live. I wanted to live my life, in all the pain and heartbreak and love and joy. I wanted to be the heroine of my own story. To not be rescued again and again by Casziel, if being rescued meant I was returned to my little life, safe and sound, while he suffered or ceased to be. He was worth saving too, even if he didn’t believe it.
Ambri nodded, as if reading my thoughts. “Right, then. Well, I’m off. Take care. Try not to get yourself condemned to hell. It’s not as fun as it sounds.”
“Wait! Stay. Help me summon Ashtaroth.”
“I’ve done all I can. Any more, and I’ll be flogged with burning whips until the flesh is flayed from my body—normally an enjoyable experience… Besides, you don’t need my help. I’m not strong enough.”
“But I am?”
“Humans are infinitely more powerful than my kind.” He leaned on the railing casually, as if we weren’t in the midst of a downpour. “I’ll let you in on a little trade secret: The only way we can defeat you is if you let us. Good luck, dove.”
I watched, awestruck, as he dissipated into a cloud of shiny black beetles that took flight into the night and disappeared.
When Ambri had vanished, I hurried into my apartment and rummaged in my desk drawer for Dad’s old Zippo. Before I could talk myself out of it, I went back outside into the deluge. The rain soaked through my clothes and left me shivering.
I searched the trash-strewn lot and found an old broom someone had thrown out. I cleared a large space in the dirt that was now mud—about eight feet in diameter—and closed my eyes. I recalled the brand burned into Casziel’s back, every line, every swirl. Then I turned the broom upside down and used the end of the handle to recreate the pentagram with its lines and circles.
When it was finished, I tossed the broom aside, set Ambri’s candle in the center, and lit it with the Zippo. There was no earthly reason why the candle flame should withstand the pouring rain, but it stood tall and calm in the storm.
I have to do the same. Be brave. Be brave…
I took a steadying breath to quell my rising fear. But there was nothing to decide. I had no clue what was going to happen next, but I had to do everything in my power to save Casziel. Because it wasn’t too late. If I believed that, we were lost.
I stood at the foot of the pentagram and raised my arms to the sky.
“Ashtaroth!”
Nothing happened. I grit my teeth, ready to try again, when a vapor began to rise. The candle smoked unnaturally, and a foul stench rose with it. Snakes erupted out of the mud as if a pipe had burst underground. They slithered in writhing waves from the center of the pentagram to every corner of the lot, curling around my ankles.
It worked.
The plume turned into a cloud, the scent of rotting things growing almost overpowering. I fell back, my arm over my nose. Snakes hissed as I trampled them, and my heart tried to climb out of my chest at what I’d done—the evil energy I’d summoned that was literally writhing at my feet.
The cloud dissipated, and Ashtaroth was there.
At the wedding, he’d been wearing a human suit but now he towered over me in his terrible, demonic glory. Rainwater glistened off his black horns. His wings brought the night early, beating enough to keep his rotting body a few feet off the ground. An immense sword was in his hand, and he looked terrifyingly happy.
“I knew you’d call, my pet.”
Terror wracked every part of me, but I recalled Am
bri’s words: The only way we can defeat you is if you let us.
I stood straight, chin up. “I summoned you. You have to do what I say.”