The Inferno

Chapter 21 The Interrogation

“J asmine?"

At the sound of his familiar voice, my eyes turn dark. The change somehow quells the once painful light and casts the room into a greyscale vision as I urgently seek him out.

“Javier,” I say, the word is like a cry as I search his face before lunging towards him.

I wrap myself around him and he holds me tightly. His markings instantly flare at the contact and I soon feel the soothing heat he always creates, cocooning us as we hold each other.

My own power mimics his, seeping out and fortifying us in an impenetrable wave of darkness, blocking out the remaining light which previously made the room incomprehensible.

“We were so worried about you,” he murmurs into my hair and I somehow manage to tighten my grip. The utter relief in his words sinks into my skin and weighs heavy on my heart.

“I was worried about you all too,” I whisper back, refusing to let go even when the presence of others lingers in the background. They’re no threat and I need this, my powers hungrily agrees as we cling to him.

He slowly pulls back and his blinding irises cause me to squint for a moment, the white lines tracing his cheeks softly pulsing with his heart. We assess each other, checking for any indications of harm, before our powers slowly slip away and our eyes return.

“You look…” He tilts his head, dark grey eyes flickering over me once more. “Different.”

I gently swallow, allowing our grip to loosen as I slip back onto the ground. Our makeshift barricade still in place even though we are no longer touching.

He quickly shakes his head, his emotions flashing so quickly it’s hard to catch them all. “I’m just glad you’re safe.”

Pure relief sweeps into me and I force myself to smile, although my power has begun seeking out the others in the room. I glance through the mist our powers have created and begin to note silhouettes.

“Where are we, Javier?” I ask, seeing the mist seep into the air and instantly noting the familiar faces a few feet away. They haven’t noticed our presence, or couldn’t considering the blinding light still encasing the room, but I can see them now.

The vampire lord, a witch from the club’s support team and…

“Amelia?”

I drop any remnants of our thick shroud, repeating her name as I do, and the small blonde finally turns towards us.

“Jasmine… You’re here too?” Her eyes widen in realisation. Now no longer blinded, she makes quick steps towards us.

When she grabs my hand, pulling me into a hug, I’m not sure how to react. My power bristles at the unusual contact but soon feels her heavy fear and begins to pull and feed as we soothe her.

“I couldn’t see anything. I was so scared.” Her heart thumps heavily against my skin, and my power works busily to take all she gives, storing it within for whatever was about to happen.

Javier watches the girl holding me as he answers my previous question, “We’re in the Council’s court room, waiting to be questioned.” We both glance around the room now, one which is cast in such intense brightness it makes every other object indistinguishable. “And it looks like it’s about to begin.”

“What makes you say that?” I carefully detach myself from Amelia, giving her a small smile when I notice the tears streaking her face.

“Because we’ve all just been injected with truth serum.” He holds out his arm, and I note the small pinprick of red just above the vein resting in his elbow ditch. “Now the fun really begins.” He laughs humourlessly, glancing around the endlessly white room.

When I search the room again, the light seems to finally dim, marginally. I wonder if my eyes are simply adjusting as I note five simple wooden chairs placed before a large, ornate platform. It’s raised a few feet from the white floor and my gaze scales it.

On the platform rests three tourmaline thrones. Currently empty.

“Sit.” That hushed voice returns, filling the room with a soft command which instantly causes my body to react.

My power battles with the order within me, but it’s futile.

Without thought, we all begin to move towards the chairs, sitting in the one closest to us.

Javier sits to my right and Amelia to my left. The vampire takes place beside Amelia and the witch is seated by Javier. I’m directly in the centre, my eyes trailing along the darkening ground and following the platform up in anticipation.

“Jas,” Javier urgently murmurs. I struggle to even turn my head towards him but I catch his concerned eyes in my peripheral, then his fingers desperately clutching the arm rest, just barely out of reach of mine. “Don’t... don’t show them.”

His voice is strained, fighting against the compulsion we’re currently all under. My power pulses at the sight of him being in discomfort, my own fingers eager to stretch and reach his.

Thankfully, his vague statement is enough for me, he doesn’t want me to reveal the true extent of my power.

The reason I was never brought here in the first place.

The reason my family spent five years keeping me safe.

I can’t even risk thinking about it.

“Javier...” Just saying his name sends an intense burning through my blood. I wince and grit my teeth as I force my body to repel the serum.

Words are too much, instead, I softly shake my head and see his eyes widen in response. His terror trickling into me. He opens his mouth to speak but the pain is too much for him, I latch onto it and take what I can until we’re both gasping.

Our attempt at speech is abruptly cut off by a deafening bang.

Doors slam open, the sound echoes around the room which instantly darkens.

Two bronze braziers, appear from nowhere and sit beside the podium. They immediately ignite with crackling flames.

The vibrant amber fire grows and grows until the very tips reach the onyx ceiling.

Two creatures enter through the doorway, both drenched in heavy velvet robes which trail along the floor like liquid mercury, leaving flickers of metallic wispy forms in their wake.

I’m transfixed as they seemingly float along the ground, their powers consuming the room, sweeping out and sinking into every inch and only expanding with each step.

I barely manage to maintain the gasp caused by their conjoined powers knocking into mine, grazing over me in vicious touches which ignite a deep burning. I push it down and force myself to study the now blackened floor beneath my feet .

But my gaze travels towards the long shadows cast by the fires, shadows whose movements are becoming disjointed, moving in jagged shapes and now morphing, transforming.

A new form emerges from them.

The newest creature is cloaked in gold, a deep flaxen which doesn’t engulf but clings. Each step taken sends a ripple of dark, iridescent coils along the ground. They quickly spread, covering the floor in inky vines as they travel towards each person.

I watch as each one hits its first target, then another. The sounds of pain fill the room as the vampire, witch and then Amelia, all feel it.

I catch the next thin line as it sinks into Javier. His body stiffens, his markings flare and a stunted groan falls from his lips.

I want to call out to him, grab him and run, but I physically can’t.

When a thin sliver begins its descent towards me, I tense in preparation.

My power spikes, pushing against the barricades I’d created, thumping into the walls in desperation as it skims my shoe.

I bite my tongue as I stare at the dark thread upon the ground, the one now connected to me. But the strange sensation flooding me is not one of pain, nor pleasure... I can’t place it.

Yet, when it finally disappears, retracting along the ground in sharp movements, I shiver from the loss.

There.

I feel new eyes upon me now, pooling into the crown of my head whilst I stare at the ground.

Look.

I know I shouldn’t look up. I know what will be waiting there won’t be pleasant. I know the cause of my confusion and discomfort is there…

I can’t.

Look. There.

But I do.

This man's eyes are silver moonlight and I become transfixed, enraptured, by a mere glance.

Even when the other robes are seated by his side, he remains stood with his sight entangled with mine, piercing through the dark veil I’d precariously left, tearing it down and leaving me utterly vulnerable to him.

But my power doesn’t retaliate. It doesn’t flare to life at the threat. It simply stays subdued under his stare. As he takes place upon the centre throne, his eyes never linger elsewhere, only on me, and I wonder if this intense thrall will ever be broken.

Take control.

That voice, the one that keeps calling to me more and more, chips at the spell I’m under.

Take control.

I close my eyes and release the breath I seemed to be holding. I keep my eyes shut to simply relish the darkness it brings after such intensity.

My power seeps out again, rebuilding the subtle defence I’d created and I steady my breathing. Soothing my heartbeat as I take small breaths to regain my focus.

When I open my eyes again, tentatively peering up once more, he’s still watching me.

The intensity has lessened, slightly… enough to allow my gaze to note the other creatures beside him, both with their hoods dipped to their brow—except him.

It would be a shame to cover something so—I stop myself.

Those thoughts springing from seemingly nowhere are dangerous, unnecessary and…

Magnetised, my eyes fall back over him.

If his eyes were moonlight, one is set in the dead of winter, and the other in spring. It’s such a subtle variation in shades that I can’t comprehend how I noticed it from here, the thin silver scar threading through the lighter iris only adding to their enchantment.

He’s a creature of complete contrasts.

Subtle waves of black hair threaded with a panel of jagged silver; smooth, caramel skin punctured with sharp edges and tinged with a soft aura of silver.

Now, he sits with his right elbow propped upon the armrest of his throne, chin resting upon the tattooed knuckles of his hand. An intimidating scowl mars his otherwise handsome face as he finally surveys the others beside me

My power burns when his gaze leaves me, urging me to react and bring his focus back to us, but I rip my sight away.

“You are all here because you are witnesses to the crimes committed in the Entertainment District two nights ago.” A hushed voice, previously echoing in the dark room, emits from the robed woman to the left. The silver hood covers her eyes, only revealing her pink lips and light brown skin. “You will not speak unless ordered to, the truth serum in your veins will ensure you answer truthfully and promptly.” Although we cannot see her eyes, she slowly surveys us all.

“We will serve justice.”

Her final words create a range of unsettling emotions, ones which I eagerly snatch and consume, using them to create additional barriers and keep my power somewhat calm.

“You,” a deep, crackly voice rumbles from beside Moonlight Man.

This man’s hood is also dipped but reveals thin lips and a deep scar along the edge of his jaw. His arm is raised, the silver fabric billowing around him as his skinny finger points towards the vampire.

For a vampire, his reaction is extremely human. He physically tenses, eyes widening and terror pulsating off of him in waves. I drink it all in as we all watch and wait for the questioning to begin.

“I can smell your fear, you’re drenched in it,” the cloaked man states, his tone turning into something venomous, “you are not innocent.”

The words, although vague, seem to rattle the vampire further. I feel his terror morphing into an intensity which makes me grip the edges of my chair.

I feel Javier’s gaze upon my hand, and another’s which I desperately ignore, as I continue watching the vampire to my left.

“You were there, the night of the massacre, the night of the Queen’s celebration,” the cold voice states what should be a question.

There’s a brief silence, the vampire’s body strains against the toxin running through his veins, his body tightening under the force until he finally gasps out, “Yes.”

The word echoes around the large room. Questions begin racing in my mind when I know he cannot lie yet… he is. Because he wasn’t there, I would have noticed him, sensed him, I checked all the guests who entered that night...

“Admit your sins,” the Council member orders, his voice dripping with control as a breeze abruptly whips around the room.

Groans erupt from the vampire, his gritted teeth and hunched body reminding me of the burning sensation the serum emits when you refuse to submit, but I feel no sympathy. My body has begun to burn with trepidation, awaiting his response.

“I weakened ‘The Inferno’s’ barriers,” he gasps, clutching his chest until more words erupt, “I surveyed the club’s structure for weeks, I helped plan how to enter, I joined the attack and made others from my coven join.”

One raised hand makes him stop.

His body convulses with the need to say more, his eyes pleading with the scarred one to let him continue, but he keeps the vampire contained.

Rage has filtered into the room now, licking my skin in stinging strokes as it takes from Javier’s and amplifies my own. I feel Javier’s body tense, feel him shift slightly whilst straining under the serum’s compulsion, and I attempt to alter the emotions… but I’m transfixed on the vampire as his body continues to judder and shake.

“What did they offer you?” the scarred one asks, and, slowly, he retracts him hand.

Everything stills.

“The lilac witch.”

Simultaneously, Javier’s markings flare a violent white as mine emits a dark pulse.

The vicious thoughts whipping through my mind slash against the invisible barrier stopping me from speaking. This is more than a serum and my darkness battles against it, my feet push into the ground.

Sensing our agitation, the soft-spoken female turns towards us. “Do not fight, do not interrupt, do not attempt to intervene.”

A gentle wind caresses my skin, causing wisps of hair to skim against my flushed cheeks but rather than calm me, my power flares in agitation and my fingers grip the armrests so hard that one splinters.

I’m certain she sees it, that they all do, but they ignore me and the scarred one continues.

“It seems you tried to take that which was not yours,” he states, and I feel his gaze flicker over me and Javier before returning to the shivering vampire. “And you were unsuccessful. You risked the lives of your coven members for a witch but you gained nought, am I correct?”

The questioning has now become belittling, patronising. I can see the edge of a smile tugging at his marred skin, indicating his enjoyment.

The chair rattles as the vampire’s body shakes again.

“No,” he blurts.

“No?” Anger fills the scarred man’s tone. He doesn’t like being wrong it seems. “Expand. ”

“They gave my coven the orphanage,” the vampire wheezes, gasping for air he doesn’t need as the serum pushes further, “said I could have the earth elemental too.”

My power bursts again and the room’s temperature amplifies from Javier’s light. Splinters of wood dig into my fingertips and cause blood to trickle down the frame as I fight the urge to tear the vampire to pieces.

Javier’s light flashes again, the intense heat urging my darkness to thrive, an aura forming around me in a thick halo as I manage to edge slightly forward in my seat.

“Remain still,” she murmurs, a slight flick of her fingers sends a breeze over my heated skin. “You have been warned.”

Ignoring us, the scarred man continues, “It seems you have enemies here.”

He turns towards me and Javier, eyes hidden but lips pulled into a grotesque smile, one which reveals sharp canines. I’d never witnessed a creature like this before, never in the club or in my empathic readings.

But his vile playfulness only incites my need for violence.

“My questioning is complete,” he suddenly states.

His long, skeletal fingers clasp together into a fist and the vampire begins to shudder violently, spasming.

We all sit in silence and watch his bloodshot eyes roll to the back of his head as bloody foam fizzes from his parted lips. The grotesque scene continues as Amelia whimpers, the chair legs rocking against the floor the only noise... until the vampire finally slumps in his seat.

“You,” the questioning instantly continues, now he moves to the support witch. Her amber eyes flaring with fear, beads of sweat already formed along the edge of her fair hairline. “What was your role at this ‘Inferno’?”

She wets her lips, straightens her spine. “I help with the wards on each level when additional support is needed.” There’s a soft shake to her voice but otherwise, she is in control and I instantly admire her for it.

“And these are the wards which were somehow impaired the night of the attack. Wards which were destroyed by a simple spell a fledging could cast. Do you know how that could be?” His patronising tone has returned, it’s as though he can read her mind before the thoughts even form .

She wets her lips again, shuffles in her seat. “If they are weakened over time by a magic wielder, or an item such as a diffuser is placed in the area, that would make the ward easier to break.”

He nods. “Which is what you did?”

“No!” she blurts, lurching forward before continuing, “I always made sure they were secure. I was desperate to work their permanently, not many clubs pay as well and I knew this was my only way in.”

He seems to ponder this for a moment, seeking out her gaze through his cloaked eyes, before suddenly pointing to my far right, directly at Amelia.

My heart lurches when I hear her small whine of fear.

“You. Your terror is palpable,” he declares, his voice a vicious whisper as he points. “What is it you fear?”

“Y-you,” she stutters, her fear leaking into me, sinking into the pool I’d already been silently collecting.

“What else?”

“Being in trouble.”

“Hmm, why would you be in trouble?” He slides towards her, not walk, slides.

His power crackles loudly as he passes by me, I have to grit my teeth like a rabid dog when he does, but not from the pain, from the rage filling me at the thought of him being near Amelia.

Her breathing stops when he’s finally before her. I lean to the side in a desperate attempt to catch her gaze and soothe her somehow. I note Javier has done the same, his markings pulsing vibrantly.

Her body has begun to shake, she is refusing the serum, thick tears linger in her eyes as they seek me out. I softly shake my head, silently telling her it’s OK.

The pain caused by that small action of mine is amplified, it ricochets along my skin and before I realise, I’m staring daggers at the silver hooded bitch I’m sure is the culprit.

“For helping people get into the club.” Amelia’s soft voice is barely audible, filled with sobs.

My sight swings to her, my brows furrowed by her strange response and Amelia’s pale blue eyes meet mine. The terror there, the regret , like thick tar, turns my stomach. Her legs begin to tremble.

“Eyes on me,” he commands in a hiss, she instantly complies. “Who did you help? ”

“Fake enforcers.”

I practically feel Javier’s thoughts. How the fuck could this innocent girl have helped those men get into the club? The ones August and I found assaulting her. The ones we saved her from?

“Why did you help them?”

She swallows, wet tears now falling over her lips. “They threatened to kill my little brothers.”

I wince the moment I hear her reasoning, dropping my head in pure reluctance, I refuse to look at her again when he asks her ‘how’ they got in.

“I told them my work schedule, who led each floor, which nights were the busiest. I also told the security team I had served them before. They were let through all the levels with fake badges, and my word, I saved them a private room in the VIP area on the highest floor.”

When she stops speaking, a loud sob bubbles from her chest at the secrets she’s been holding in. I finally look at her. Her terrified eyes are filled with thick tears which trail down her red cheeks.

“I’m so sorry,” she sobs, but not to the Council member, she’s speaking to me and Javier now. “They kidnapped them, told me they’d cut off each finger for each time I refused. I—I didn’t know what to do, they just wanted to get in and go to the highest level for one night. I didn’t think anything bad would happen, I… I… I should have asked for help, I should have asked you for help but I just didn’t—”

“You didn’t realise these men were part of a terrorist group who had spent months planning an attack for the night of a royal celebration which led to numerous injuries, murders and kidnappings? Men who were only able to enter because you allowed them entry, entry which enabled them to survey all floors, wards and staff, on every level, before feeding this intel back to their superiors.”

Amelia continues sobbing, her small body shaking as the tears rattle her chest. “I didn’t know.”

“Ignorance doesn’t rescind guilt.” His words echo around the room for a moment, and then his fingers begin to close. Realisation floods my body. “My questioning is over.”

My shadow latches onto Amelia, surrounding her in a black, crackling mist just as his fingers pinch together. Unlike the vampire, her body doesn’t convulse, but mine does .

I take in the agony his small gesture emits; I grind my teeth until I can taste blood, hear the strain of Javier as he pulls against his own chair, until the pain abruptly stops.

“Do not interfere.” The women’s hushed voice sweeps around me.

I glare up at her, my gaze transforming into darkness when I feel him attempt to harm Amelia again. My barrier spikes around her viciously, defensively.

“You were warned,” she whispers.

All the chairs begin to shudder against the ground. My stomach turns to lead as I turn and see everyone convulsing, everyone but me.

Javier’s teeth are gritted and his markings flicker erratically as his eyes plead with mine to stop.

When I stare back up at the woman, her hood has fallen back and pale pink eyes meet mine.

She’s an empath.

Her bright magenta hair, entwined with ashy strands, trails over her frail shoulders in tight curls and floats with the wind she creates. Her power radiates in thick swirls of lavender before her, pulsating out in spirals and towards us all.

My power instinctively reacts to the challenge, defiantly sprouting and growing to engulf all four of us in a deep cover of black which grows and grows until it reaches the ceiling. I hear the shuddering beginning to still as I watch her eyes bore into mine, the only indication of her emotions is the soft parting of her lips.

When I feel my power solidify in place, the burning of the serum begins, prickling my veins with stabs of rage but I embrace the pain, after the torture of the barrier to enter this district, nothing compares.

I stand, ignoring the burn.

The scarred man steps directly into my view, allowing me a close-up of his mangled skin. My coils spasm suddenly, pausing over his appearance, then they scrunch within my chest, preparing to strike.

A tangle of scars decorate his grey face, all bunching and pulling tightly when his mouth opens to speak. His eyes remain hidden but he points directly at me. “You believe you are a keeper of peace?”

“No.” My voice is strained from the power I’m emitting.

“You think you have the right to intervene?”

“When the wrong judgement is being made.” I stare back at him, purposely pausing even though it burns. “Yes. ”

Surprisingly, his crinkled face reveals the hint of a smirk, one that makes my skin crawl as he takes a step closer. I refuse to step back, waves of my power coiling around me in thick, black binds which flare with each heated breath.

“What was your involvement that night?”

“Security.”

He barks a laugh, swipes his tongue along his thin lower lip. “Yes, of course, I see that now.”

I don’t respond, my expression remains still, my hands clasped by my sides as I continue to protect those beside me.

“How did you escape?” His tone, for the first time, seems genuinely curious. Something he doesn’t know the answer to.

The serum begins to burn again, crawling along my throat which I swallow down before the answer falls out, “Enforcers helped me.

The creature before me falters. The thin line of his lips becoming barely visible as he frowns. Then he turns, seeking out the man with moonlight for eyes.

“I will speak with this one, Lord Prospero.” His voice is a low rumble which holds me captive. My eyes can’t help but fix onto him.

The scarred one, Lord Prospero, stays still for a moment, before bowing his head and sliding away. It seemed there was a hierarchy in the Council.

And I’d just become a target for their leader.

“I won’t leave them.” My gaze is hard as it locks with his. My power swirls around me, tightening its coils as though to emphasise my point.

Rather than refute me with words, I am instantly flung into darkness.

The biting cold sinks into my bones and renders me to my knees. My heart begins to pound with panic, the remembrance of where I am slamming into my chest and making me instantly breathless.

As the darkness consumes me, weighs in on my body and mind, he steps out from the shadows. A dark grey aura outlines his cloaked form as he stands before me, towering over me whilst he stares down in disapproval.

I beg my power to return, urge it to fight with me, find the rage bubbling barely seconds ago… but it’s recoiled again, replaced by the memories of pain the demon inflicted the last time I was here .

“You have no power here,” the Council member states. His voice cold, completely impenetrable as it sinks into the darkness.

I groan at the ache throbbing within my bones, curling into myself for some warmth as he simply watches. The pain is so intense, I’m barely aware of another entering this dark realm until he speaks... but not aloud.

“I somehow knew this would happen,” the demon's murmur fills my mind.

I’m desperate to look up but the ache is too much. My fingers cling to my sides, gripping my stomach in need of some relief from this numbness.

“You didn’t think to mention this before?”

The only difference in their voices is the Council member's hard pronunciation of every word. It’s as though his teeth grit together on the end of every syllable.

“I thought you’d enjoy this,” the demon replies. I hear him stepping closer and when his fingers skim my spine and remain there, I gasp at the instant relief it causes. “S he can hear us, by the way.”

Using his touch as support, I slowly turn and tilt my head up to meet the demon’s dark eyes. Never did I think his gaze would bring me such relief.

“How?” I turn to catch his moonlight eyes when he speaks, his silvery stare almost white in the darkness.

“I thought you’d know, brother.”

“Brother?” I pant, the shock of this revelation smothering some of the ache.

My vision dances between the two but my sight is impaired by the shadows. When I attempt to fill my lungs with the little air there is here, each breath feels like an icy dagger and I’m soon wincing again.

The demon’s touch remains as his brother studies us both, the silence and their intense gazes indicating a private conversation. All the while, his touch never leaves me, allowing me to gain more awareness of the darkness smothering me.

In the eternal distance, there’s… something.

I squint, making out blurry figures, several shapes in fact. Small, moving towards us... I continue to stare, wondering if I’m hallucinating when one seems to slither, quickly closing the distance .

Before I fully realise what I’m seeing, the iridescent creature disappears from my sight and then reappears before me.

Empty, hollow eye sockets are somehow staring into me as its metallic, forked tongue flickers out.

“It won’t harm you,” the demon’s voice slips into my mind. The sound eases the remaining aches in my jaw.

But I somehow knew this creature wasn’t dangerous.

Even as it comes closer, so close I can almost touch its black, iridescent scales… I begin to raise my hand, the urge to feel the being is instinctual as it studies me.

The sable serpent tilts its small head and, if it had eyes, I somehow knew they’d be gleaming.

When its small body begins to coil, I feel a sudden grip around my waist and then a hard tug as I’m pulled backwards.

But the creature has already leapt.

Its fangs sink into me.

A change begins immediately.

I watch, paralysed, as the snake coils tightly around my arm, fangs sinking deeper as the burning sensation caused by its venom hot-wires my previously dulled senses.

I hear a voice, feel hands upon me, but I’m staring at the creature whose begun melting, physically melding into my skin like a shadowy tattoo.

Hard fingers clasp my chin. “Jasmine, you need to command it out, now.” The demon's words seem to echo around me, his depthless eyes intense with flickers of grey as his grip tightens.

But my gaze falls away from him to his brother whose moonlit eyes are fervently staring at the creature morphing into me, before meeting with my gaze.

Something has changed.

His features seem cracked, altered... his body has become tense as he stares at me with an unreadable expression.

You have power here.

At the sound of that old voice, my eyes close. I inhale, the air no longer harming me as it fills my lungs.

“Jasmine, listen to me, you can’t handle this much darkness,” the demon urges, the tinge of concern bringing my gaze back to his. “Control it; command it.”

You’re in control .

As I feel the creature finally settle beneath my skin, my coils erupt from my body and the haze I was trapped under seems to clear.

‘Control it’, he said?

As though he can hear my thoughts, his grip upon me slowly slips away and he takes a step back.

“Jasmine.” He begins to shake his head, his gaze lowering as though assessing me. “This will end badly.”

“You were going to kill her.”

My words are doubled. My voice is altered by a darkness as I stare at the moonlight brother, the one whose remained silent throughout all of this, the one who sat back as Amelia sobbed for forgiveness, the one who brought us here.

Kill them.

Kill them all.

I wince at the thoughts, stepping further back and away from the brothers as I do.

“Command it out, do it now,” the demon orders again, voice louder than he normally allows.

But the creature doesn’t like that idea, its hiss vibrates along my skin, filling my mind with new, violent ideas which makes my darkness pulse.

Battling with the darkness are the thoughts of Amelia’s cries and Javier’s strained face. I fight through the flickering images and thoughts, the decision coming to me instantly.

“Sleep,” I command.