Chapter 10 Ember
EMBER
“Let’s get this shitshow on the road.” I opened the door and strode down the hall.
Mayhem had changed back to his human form before we got in the van and headed home, but all we’d had clothing-wise was a towel for him to wrap around his waist. Good thing we didn’t get pulled over along the way. That would’ve been fun to explain.
As we moved farther inside, my stomach sank at the eerie silence that greeted us.
Slowing my pace, I turned to Mayhem, and he lifted a questioning brow.
Ash had been raising Hell in the closet before we left, screaming profanities and banging on the door, demanding we let her out so she could kill us all.
Now…? It was so quiet, you could’ve heard a flea fart.
“What’s wrong?” Mayhem asked.
“Listen.”
“I hear nothing.”
“Exactly. It’s too quiet. You don’t think she…?” I swallowed hard, my heart joining my stomach in its descent. “My wards should have held.”
Footsteps sounded, moving toward us, and I squared my shoulders, ready to…well, I don’t know what I planned to do, but I was ready for something.
Shade appeared in the hallway, wearing a clean, untattered shirt, and I let out a sharp exhale as cool relief flooded my system. My little sister hadn’t gone on her murderous rampage yet.
He gave me a once-over before shifting his gaze to Mayhem. “It’s about time you got here. Do you still have the amulet?”
“Yes.” Mayhem held it by the chain. “Did you prepare the circle?”
“We’re ready.” He turned on his heel and walked away.
Can you believe that? “I’m fine. Thanks for asking.”
“I know.” He called over his shoulder, and I followed him down the hall.
“Why is it so quiet?”
“I suggested they cast a sleeping spell on Ash before she injured herself,” Mayhem said, “or I injured her. She was teetering on my last nerve.”
I shot him a look, and he raised his hands, feigning innocence. “You know I would never.”
“You’d better not.” I stopped in front of the closet. Chaos had cracked the door open, and I peered inside. Ash lay curled in the fetal position on the floor, a living room throw pillow beneath her head as she snored softly.
My heart wrenched at the sight of her lying there in a magically induced coma, but at least she couldn’t hurt herself. “Where’s Patrice? Is she okay?”
“She’s sleeping it off upstairs,” Shade said. “We put her in your parents’ room to recover.”
“Are you okay?” Miles asked, his forehead creased with concern. At least someone cared that I’d survived Adrian’s spin cycle.
“Never better.” I turned to Mayhem, who stood there in nothing but a towel. “Go put some clothes on and meet us in the studio.”
My demon nodded and headed upstairs.
“Who cast the sleeping spell on Ash?” I looked at each of the guys.
“I did,” Miles said. “It’s a gentle one and probably won’t last long, but we were afraid she was going to hurt herself.”
“Good call.” I crossed my arms, tapping my index finger against my biceps as we waited…and waited. “Adrian got away. Once he saw Mayhem in his demon form, he turned tail and ran.”
“I can be quite intimidating.” My demon finally joined us, fully clothed, in the library, and I jerked my head toward the studio.
“Let’s do this thing.”
“Adrian really didn’t hurt you?” Miles followed me through the door, and we stopped by the supply table.
“He nearly killed us both.” Mayhem eyed the circle. Someone had redrawn Discord’s sigil—Miles based on the intricacy—and he nodded his approval. “This will do.”
“What happened?” Shade lifted his hands toward us, his expression incredulous. “If he nearly killed you, why do you look so…fresh?”
I cut my gaze to the amulet dangling from Mayhem’s grasp and then looked into Shade’s eyes.
“Oh,” he said quietly, taking a step backward.
“We’re fine.” I picked up the grimoire and scanned the summoning spell. “It’s whole now, so it didn’t make us crazy.” I hoped it didn’t anyway. Crazy people generally weren’t aware that they were crazy, so who knew?
Mayhem laid the necklace in the middle of the chalk sigil and dusted off his hands before grasping mine. Pinpricks spiraled up my arm, gathering in my chest and making my entire body hum. I closed the book and grabbed Miles’s hand while Shade joined with Mayhem.
“Everyone ready?” I glanced at each of the guys, and they nodded.
We recited the incantation in unison, carefully pronouncing the Latin. I took in as much of Mayhem’s energy as I could handle, filtering it before allowing it to trickle into Miles. He inhaled deeply and closed his eyes.
The second time we performed the spell, my skin turned to gooseflesh, the energy in the room shifting and vibrating, heating as if we were summoning Hell itself.
“We have the amulet, brother,” Mayhem said. “Return it to Hecate and join us in the earthly realm.”
The pressure built, the low vibration of the Underworld rattling my bones, but an undercurrent of something other seemed to block our connection with Discord. A high vibration…two different frequencies…no, three…wove through the energy in the circle.
We spoke the incantation a third time, and the air grew thin, every candle’s flame flickering as if blown by an unseen wind. The temperature plummeted. My breath came out in a fog, and ice crystals gathered on the glass bottles and jars.
I gripped Mayhem’s hand tighter, steadying myself as the presence in the circle strengthened. The room heated again, the air thickening as the temperature shot up sixty degrees in half a second.
Every piece of glass in the room exploded.