Curse of Night (Thorne Hill 5)

“Bring the next one!” She holds up her hands, chanting, and the vampire discards the girl on the ground. She lands with a thud, eyes open and body still. My heart is in my throat, and I pull against the chains again, desperate to get out and put an end to this.

“Stop!” I scream when the vampire steps over the girl, going to bring Ruth another student. She’s going to keep killing them until she gets what she wants. “You want powers from Lucifer? I’ll get you powers. Just don’t hurt anyone else.” I slowly twist my wrist, feeling a hagstone pendant wrapped around the chains. If I can only pull it off…

“Now, if you could have done that from the start,” Ruth sneers, rounding on me, “none of this would have happened.” She takes a few steps closer, and something behind her catches my eye.

It’s Selena’s intestines, arranged in a specific way. A black candle is in the center of the sigil, with fresh blood dripping down with the wax.

That’s it. That’s the sigil that’s keeping Julian away and is repressing my divinity. It’s fucking disgusting, too, and thinking of poor Selena getting her guts ripped out while she was still alive makes my own stomach twist and rage burn hot inside me.

I grit my teeth against the pain from the chains. My skin is pinched and bleeding, but I can almost feel the hagstone.

“Call him forth,” Ruth tells me, eyes blazing. “Call forth Satan and give me power!”

“He doesn’t like to be called Satan,” I snap. “So call him Lucifer.” I close my eyes, trying to find some shred of connection to my uncle. He’s been bound to the deepest pit of Hell, but if he can lend me some power—just temporarily—then I can get out. I can stop Ruth and put an end to this.

He’ll help me, I know it. I shouldn’t trust him, but I do, and right now, I need him.

“Lucifer,” I call. “Lucifer.”

I wait, hoping to hear a voice in my head like I did when my own father was talking to me.

“The banishing spell,” I try, eyes flying open. “It’s keeping him away. You have to dismantle it.”

Ruth laughs. “Nice try. Lucifer is more powerful than a simple banishing spell.”

She’s right. He is. And my father is, which is how he was able to talk to me. Archangels are much more powerful than other angels.

Which means I am, too.

“Lucifer,” I call again and close my eyes. Please, talk to me. I need your help! Uncle Lucifer, please! I wait a moment, chest tight and heart racing so fast it almost hurts. Lucifer doesn’t appear before me. Doesn’t step from the shadows. He doesn’t say hello, niece like he usually does. I don’t see him or hear him anywhere.

I don’t feel anything at all.

“What is the problem?” Ruth demands, striding over. I shove my hand down, feeling the rough tree bark bite into my skin. “Where is he?”

“It’s…it’s not that simple,” I say through gritted teeth. My index finger graces the cool, smooth surface of the hagstone. If I can just get it in my grip… “He only comes to those he thinks are worthy.”

“I am worthy!” Ruth brings her hands to her chest, eyes wide with madness. She pulls an athame from her belt and lunges forward, putting the blade to my neck. “Maybe you’re the one not worthy and a dark sacrifice is what he’s waiting for. I’ll kill you to prove I’m worthy to sit by his side.”

“Please,” I huff, trying not to breath too hard and risk the blade cutting into my skin. “You are no match for him. Hell, you’re no match for me. No matter what, I will out-witch you. Dark powers or not, I’ve beat everything you’ve thrown at me. What makes you any more worthy to have the dark gifts bestowed upon you?”

I shove my arm back, jaw clenched from the pain. But I’ve got it. I’ve got the hagstone in my grasp!

“There’s only one way to find out.” Ruth raises the dagger. “Call him again.”

I tug on the hagstone and feel the rope it’s tied to start to pull free. Now if Uncle Lucy could actually do a me a favor…

“Lucifer,” I chant. “I call you forth from the depths of Hell. Come to me, come to us, bestow your darkness upon the earth.”

I’m bullshitting everything I’m saying but don’t think I’m doing a bad job. Ruth outstretches her arms, waiting for Lucifer to give her a special blessing. Even if I knew how to call upon Lucifer without being in that weird dream-like state, I don’t know if I can right now.

My witch powers are bound, and the banishing spell is making me feel so weak. Pair that with the exhaustion and nausea I’ve been feeling for the last week and even I’m starting to doubt myself.