Chapter 33 #2
The portion of the floor within the ring of salt erupts into flames.
A series of pops assaults my ears as sparks begin to fly.
Aria takes a half step backward as a blinding flash of light sends me to my knees.
I nearly drop the candle as I squeeze my eyes shut to block out the light.
As black spots fade from my vision, I take in the sight before me and utter dread prickles my skin.
Inside the circle, a thick, oily sludge coalesces into the shape of a figure, crouched on its knees.
The demon’s features grow more distinct as the black oil settles.
Instead of hair, it has razor-sharp spikes sticking out of its skull like the horns of a triceratops.
It stretches its spindly arms up to the ceiling and staggers to its feet, towering over both of us at roughly seven feet tall.
Its eyes are pits of red, the shade of burning coal.
Malicious energy ten times more powerful than what I felt flowing through the victims rolls off it in waves.
Protect me, I pray silently to the ancestors or anyone else out there listening. If that ring of salt doesn’t hold, I’m screwed.
Gazannol studies Aria for half a second before raking its evil gaze over me. “Ah,” it sneers. “You’re the one they speak of. The girl who doesn’t know her place.”
I bristle but rise to my feet and face him head-on. “I know exactly what my place is. I am the leader of my coven and the descendant of one of the most powerful witches in living memory.”
It pins me with a hawkeyed stare but remains silent, observant.
At my side, Aria cowers. I grip her arm and shove her toward the circle. “Bow to your demon before you damn it back to hell.”
Gazannol’s laugh bounces off the walls, echoing through the space. “Do you really think this spineless human has anything to do with my existence? The girl looks ready to wet her pants,” it taunts. “You really are as stupid as they said.”
I blink in confusion.
“Who is ‘they’?” I ask. “Didn’t the Hightowers summon you?”
Aria’s head whips toward me. “Mikaela—” she begins.
Gazannol lets out a deep-throated guffaw that sends chills running down my spine.
“You’re telling me that you’re not smart enough to figure it out on your own?
I suppose those wretched mortals were correct.
” The demon shakes its head. “You humans are so predictable. You’re completely unable to sort out your own miserable problems, so you turn to a higher power.
Some turn to God, and others turn to me.
” Its cruel smile reveals razor-sharp teeth.
My mind races. Those wretched mortals. If Aria didn’t summon Gazannol, then who could the demon be referring to?
“You’re trapped in that circle, and we’re free to roam the world as we please,” Aria says, gripping my arm. She seems to have found her spine again. “So, which of us is really the higher power?”
Gazannol’s smile slips away, quickly replaced with a mask of indifference.
My body trembles as my mind struggles to reconcile Gazannol’s sudden revelation. I was wrong. The Hightowers aren’t responsible.
“Don’t show fear,” Aria mutters under her breath. “We need to wait it out until it loses interest in us.”
“Don’t you worry your pretty little head, girl,” Gazannol growls, then turns back to me. “I’ll have my hands on you soon.” Its sneer is suddenly replaced with a smile. “Your brother and your beloved will have to satisfy me for now.”
“What? No!” I rip my arm from Aria’s grasp and stagger toward the demon. “What have you done with them?” Somehow the demon has Orion and Joelle. They both could be dead already.
No!
I would feel Orion’s death. I know I would. The invisible thread tethering us together would snap, leaving me bereft in his absence. At the least, that thought is the only thing keeping me from losing my sanity completely.
Gazannol creeps to the edge of the circle. “You seem sad, witch. Open this circle and I can cure everything that ails you.”
Over my dead body. Rage flares in my gut. “That’s not going to work on me,” I shout. “Who summoned you and why are you helping them?”
It grins. “Certainly not out of the kindness of my heart.”
“If you even have a heart,” I retort. “What’s in it for you?”
I’m not even sure what a mortal would have to offer.
Gazannol bends over in an exaggerated bow. “I am but a simple creature who desires the same as everyone else.” It ticks off a list on its spindly fingers. “Joy. Power. Life.”
Through gritted teeth, I demand, “Where is my brother?”
With a tilt of its head, it reaches out a hand to the circle and comes up against an invisible wall.
It’s only a temporary setback. It shakes its head as a gleam appears in its pupilless eyes.
“I wonder, girl, if you truly want to know the answer to that question,” Gazannol muses.
“If finding your brother would cost you your very own life, would you still search for him?”
I don’t need to think about the answer to that question. “Yes,” I say. I would climb mountains to find Orion. I’d search every inch of land and sea on Earth to save him. We may bicker and get under each other’s skin, but he’s my brother. I know without a doubt he’d do the same for me.
And if I find Orion, I’ll find Joelle. She doesn’t deserve to die. Losing her only daughter would break her mother, and I would never forgive myself. Despite everything, I’ll go to her—on the one night I should stay far, far away.
The demon shifts its gaze to Aria. “Write down these coordinates. I won’t repeat them.”
Her phone is already in her hand. She types out the string of numbers that Gazannol lists into her Notes app.
When it finishes, it turns its back on us. “You’ve written the ending to your story. Hold fast; your destiny awaits.” With that, another flash of light blinds me. When I open my eyes, the circle is empty and Gazannol is gone.