Then he’s by my side, gently scooping me up. “Callie,” he breathes.
“I’m okay,” I tell him, feebly wrapping my arm around his neck. “Are you?”
“I am. What the fuck? I leave you for half a day and come back to you fighting an army of tree-monsters.” He brushes my hair back.
“Root-monsters, if you want to get specific.”
His blue eyes meet mine, and it’s then I realize the sun had just sunk into the sky when he arrived at home. He risked burning for me.
Again.
Without another word, he takes me inside, picking up the sword on the way. My familiars and Scarlet come in behind us. Kristy slams the door shut behind me, and both she and Ruby seal the house with a protective spell.
The TV is on, and I hear Disney music coming in from the living room. Right. My one-year-old niece is here. Abby rushes into the kitchen, face pale. She freezes, looking at Scarlet, who’s standing perfectly still, holding her collar in her mouth.
“You’ve never seen her like this before, have you?” I ask, trying to get out of Lucas’s embrace. He gently sets me down and puts the sword on the table. “Come here, girl,” I say, wincing as I bend over and put the collar on my hellhound. The air vibrates, and only a second later, the scary two-hundred-pound hellhound is a cute fluffy puppy again.
I sink onto the ground, and Binx shifts from shadow to cat-form. He steps into my lap, purring and rubbing his head against me.
“Good boy,” I tell him. “You were all very good,” I tell the rest of my familiars. Scarlet whimpers, and I give her a half-smile. “You were good, too.”
“Is everyone all right?” Lucas asks, reaching for me again. He pulls me to him and runs his hand over my messy hair.
“I think so,” I say, hooking my arms around his shoulders. I turn around, looking at Ruby. She’s in the house, standing frozen by the kitchen sink. It looks like someone started to clean the cut on her leg, as her pants are rolled up. “Right?”
“Yeah,” Ruby says, voice shaky. “Are they gone?”
“I killed the last one,” Lucas tells her. “But I should do a sweep of the woods to be sure.”
“No way,” I tell him and hold on a little tighter, as if that’ll keep him from leaving. “Not with that thing out there.”
“What thing?” Lucas and Kristy ask at the same time.
I shake my head. “It was a demon. Third hierarchy or higher.” A chill goes through me when I recall its face. “It was wearing a robe and a crown.” I inch closer to Lucas. “It looked confused at first when it saw Scarlet, and then it stepped back and disappeared.”
“We should kill it,” Lucas says, fangs still bared.
“We barely made it out of the woods,” I say, shaking my head. “Sorry for the terrible pun.”
Lucas presses his lips to my forehead and then takes my arm. “You’re bleeding.”
“That was my own doing, and it hurts.”
“Sit,” Lucas tells me and goes to the sink. Ruby sidesteps but doesn’t jerk back in fear as Lucas wets a towel. He comes back over and kneels down, gently wiping away the blood.
I close my eyes, adrenaline starting to wear off. I’m so fucking tired, and the fear of what could have happened settles in.
“Is dinner almost ready?” I ask, and everyone stares at me. “What?” I shrug. “I’m hungry.”
“Hold up.” Ruby hobbles forward, favoring her sore leg. “What in the seven levels of Hell just happened?” She motions to Scarlet. “That thing is a hellhound, and you smeared your blood on our blades and suddenly they could kill those…those…things?”
I fold the towel over and wipe at my face again. “I’ll explain everything. But first…thank you. You could have turned and ran, but I’m glad you didn’t. We made one hell of a team.”
Ruby’s brows push together. “Yeah, we did.”
“I had no idea you were so athletic.”
“I started martial arts a few years ago as a stress outlet,” she says with a smile. “And now I’m glad I did. You’ve always been athletic. I’m not surprised there.”
I shrug. “It comes naturally.”
Lucas goes to the sink, wringing out the towel, and comes back, gently blotting at the dried blood from my nosebleed. I take the towel from him and wipe my face.
“Is Penny still sleeping?” I ask my sister, who’s still standing frozen with wide eyes and pale cheeks.
“She woke up a few minutes ago,” Abby says, voice void of emotion. She’s in shock. “But Kristy turned the TV on and she’s happy.”
“Thank you,” I tell Kristy. I close my eyes in a long blink and look back at Abby. “How are you holding up?”
“I’m not the one who got attacked by those…those…things.”
“Root-monsters?” I suggest and then let out another breath, nerves prickling. This wasn’t just another demon attack. We didn’t kill the bad guys and can gather around my dining room table, celebrating our victory.