“Funny, because that’s what will happen to you. It’s what happens to them all.”
“And that’s why I’m here, to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
“That’s what they told me the last time.” I need to say the spell and get out of here. Kornath is stalling me on purpose making it harder for Devin to keep the door open. She’ll either trap me in here with her or get out. “And then I heard the knocking.”
“Well, your master didn’t quite finish the job of breaking you out.”
“Master?” Kornath tips her head, and her long, flowing hair falls to the side. “My master is dead. Bael…he made mistakes. Mistakes I intend to avoid when I take his place. There’s a vacancy in Hell and how can I rule when I have no one under me.”
She points, and her hand starts to shift into that of a wraith with shriveled skin and long, bony fingers. “You’re not like the others. You’ll make a good acolyte.”
“I am nobody’s acolyte, B itch,” I shoot back and swallow hard. It’s not or never and I reach deep inside, feeling Ethan’s hold not only on my hand, but on my heart. I’m going to need him, now more than ever.
Without hesitation, I summon fire, balling my fingers into a fist and throwing it at Kornath. It hits her right in the chest and she screams, the long, billowing gown catching on fire.
“Spiritus lucis, spiritus aterni, Te voco, ut teneas per orbem,” I read, holding out my hand, gathering energy. It leaves my fingers and I envision it wrapping around the field. “Spiritus lucis, spiritus aterni, Te voco, ut teneas per orbem!” The grass around Kornath starts to burn, traveling fast across the field. Shit! I drop the paper and run, hoping I can be faster than the wildfire I started.
Ethan! I turn and trip over a tangle of weeds, hurting my knees and scraping my palms. Kornath shifts back into a wraith, floating above the grass. Embers fall from her, and another line of fire travels right for me. She shrieks before succumbing to the flames, falling in a heap of ash on the ground in a whoosh, sending red hot embers soaring across the field. Closing my eyes, I hold my hands out in front of me and think of Ethan, feeling him tighten his grip on me, saying my name.
The world spins again and I fall forward again, but this time, I fall right into Ethan’s arms. Heart hammering, I push myself up. “Close it!” I yell. “Close the door.”
Devin lifts his hands up and pieces of ash start to fall from a black shadow that’s forming right above us, chanting. “Stamina obstringere, claude portam,” Devin exclaims, and the black cloud folds in on itself with a crackling hiss and then dissipates to nothing. Ethan’s arms go around me and I let out a breath.
“Are you okay?” He sits me up and looks me up and down and then pulls me in for a hug. It feels so good to be up against him.
“Yeah. That was close.” We get to our feet and I brush ash off my arms. I can’t be certain Kornath is dead. If it were that easy, certainly the witch who put her there would have killed her instead of locking her up. “I recast the circle,” I tell everyone, blinking and seeing an image of Kornath’s body on fire. I want to tell myself there’s no way she could survive, but deep down I think I know all I just majorly pissed off a power demon of fear.
Here's to hoping the door holds for another century.
“Thanks,” I tell Nik and take the glass of iced tea. “I think I inhaled burning demon bit s.” Sitting on the couch, I lean back and tell everyone what happened.
“Vacancy in Hell?” Sam echoes. “What does that mean?”
“I have no idea,” I go on. “But I guess it doesn’t matter, right? The demon is dead and the pocket dimension is nothing but ash at this point.” I take another drink and put my glass on the coffee table.
“Is this a normal Saturday for you?” Laney watches Ethan sweep up the circle of salt from the floor.
“I would say no, but, yeah. It kind of is.” I look at Steph. “Though, um, holding a hunter hostage is new. What are we going to do with her?”
“David and Julia are on their way,” Sam says. “Julia will make sure all footage of you using magic is wiped clean, and David will see that Stephanie is disciplined.”
“Good,” I reply, liking that she’s going to be off our hands soon. I have a feeling she’s still going to be trouble.
“And Harold is already presenting the Order with all the files about the wraith as well as the under the table selling of dark objects.” Sam looks up from her phone. “He’s almost there now. We think the administration was aware the deaths were connected to the dark objects and they tried covering it up with a literal witch hunt.”