The fire roasted them alive and set the front porch ablaze.
Apparently, the flames of a fire demon were not just any kind of fire. This kind of fire burned until there was nothing left to burn. As the porch had caught on fire, the fire would spread until the whole building—even the stone walls—was a burning ash pile on the earth unless magic was used to stop it.
Zee obviously knew this, but he didn’t stop there. The Owl twisted and climbed until it approached the apex of the castle, and then it unleashed its largest spew of fire yet.
The top of the structure was drenched in a flood of lava, and before long, that part of the building was engulfed with raging flames.
Next, The Owl heard the shrill scream of a girl. A voice that Emily knew too well.
Alice was pissed.
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The fire demon’s natural instinct was to do a twist in midair and fly down toward the voice. It wouldn’t have been Emily’s play, especially after what Alice had promised to do to her. But Zee loved challenges. Mortal challenges. And so the first thing he did when he heard the scream was to do a dive back toward the ground.
However, he did not complete the dive, because a terrible explosion took hold of the castle and shook it to its very foundation . . .
. . . Aunt Anastacia had unleashed the elementals.
The fire demon became aware of this and banked. They were currently coasting at less than a hundred yards above the castle. This was not enough height to escape the influence of the elementals, so the The Owl had to climb fast.
Hey, Boss, you mind taking the wheel for a bit? The fear in the Zee’s voice was so palpable that Emily was shocked to her bones. Zee didn’t waste time, nor did he debate. He slipped out of the pilot’s seat, and Emily was sucked right into the helm of affairs.
Emily did what she knew how to do best—drew on her inner magic and commanded the wind against her wings. Before long, a blast of wind smashed into her underside, sending her higher and higher into the air.
Soon, she was soaring at about ten thousand feet, a solid barrier of clouds blocking her view of the castle.
We have to get back there! Emily cried out in her mind. She dived immediately. She didn’t want to leave the fight for the elementals and Aunt Anastacia for too long. She needed to be there, setting fire to the castle.
You don’t want to take on the elementals, believe me, Zee insisted.
Yeah, yeah, I know, Emily could understand why Zee was terrified of the elementals. They were creatures of pure magic, and when the fire demon was in charge, he was susceptible to magical influences. So Emily had to take the reins.
No! That’s not it! Zee argued.
It isn’t? Emily passed through the thick clouds. At her height, she could see the entire boundary of New Haven. She could also see as far as the outskirts of Dallas, which were etched against the background of the clouds on the horizon.
She headed in the direction of the great column of smoke billowing into the skies. From her height, she could see the elementals—wisps of light with almost no form to them—doing battle with the Alfred kids. She saw Aunt Anastacia egging the elementals on, and counteracting some of the magic the Alfred kids shot her way.
Emily drew on her magic and propelled herself faster. She whistled so loud that her pitch rang true throughout the entire area. Heads turned up to look at her as she descended. The distraction was enough time for the elementals to press their advantage.
Alice was hit in the face by a storm of rocks, Chandler was swept off the ground by a lash of wind. Marion, however, dodged the blast of fire from Aunt Anastacia, but he didn’t know where it had come from.
In seconds, Emily was coming within range of the mansion. She needed the fire demon’s rage now. Everything had to burn!
They fight for us, Emily said to the fire demon. The elementals. They fight for us. They have strict orders to fight the Alfreds. As long as you stay out of their hair, they won’t attack you.
Are you sure? Zee’s voice gave the impression of a three-year-old peeking his head out of a box to see if his arch enemy is still in view.
Yes! Emily screamed. Now burn that building to the ground!
The fire demon did not disappoint. He came bursting through, unleashing a tidal wave of fire that banked at the northwest corridor of the building. The Owl swooped in on the three Alfred kids, sending flood after flood of fire.
They dived out of the way as the fire took hold of whatever it could and started to destroy. As The Owl weaved about the two elementals wreaking havoc, Emily could hear Alice screaming. Something along the lines of “abandon the house.”
Emily felt her heart jump. See those mercenaries? Emily brought The Owl’s attention to the side of the house where a few mercs were regrouping. It was obvious they were trying to stay clear of the burning house.
Burn them all? Zee asked.
To ashes! Emily concurred.
The fire demon broke away from its return sweep and dived for the mercs. The moment they saw The Owl coming, they didn’t bother to raise their weapons, even though they were armed to the T. They scampered in all directions.
It didn’t matter. The Owl swept in from the right end and unleashed fire until it got to the last person and then directed the flood of fire to the side of the building. The Owl banked around the back of the building, which had remained untouched from the carnage so far.
Emily knew that if they left the house the way it was, it was going to burn all the way to the ground. But she was having none of it. Neither was the fire demon.
Zee took in a deep breath and let loose raging fire all along the length of the building.
The Owl swept around the other side of the building until it came to the front. By now, the Alfred kids were nowhere to be found. The mercs had all been decimated, and the castle was wholly on fire. Nothing could stop the raging fire now, not even magic. The elementals were still letting it rip on the building, and the entire structure came crumbling down.
In the back of her mind, Emily hoped that Marion had somehow made it out.
The Owl climbed to a safe but near distance to the elementals and circled the crumbling castle. This was a victory for them. Their first big win. She could only hope that the Alfred seniors perished in the inferno, for it would save them a lot of stress in fighting the Alfred seniors later and stopping Na-Ma.
The fire demon soon got tired of circling the building and watching the elementals take care of what was left. He slipped back to the background, allowing Emily to take charge of The Owl once again.
Emily kept her eyes peeled for any sign of Aunt Anastacia. Soon, she saw the woman behind her vehicle, waving at Emily. It was a signal for them to leave. It could only mean that Dad and Michael, and hopefully Rina and Joanna, had made it out of the building.
Emily dived for the vehicle. Even though the plan was for her to fly off, she didn’t see any reason to do so. The Alfreds had either escaped from the area or were buried underneath the pile of burning embers. Either way, they weren’t going to spring any surprise attacks on her.
Emily shifted a few feet above ground and landed with grace at a slight trot.
“Get in the car,” Aunt Anastacia called without question.
They both hurried into the car. Aunt Anastacia turned on the ignition and started reversing out of the street. The burning, crumbling building and the billowing pillar of fire and smoke receded before them. The elementals were still very much enraged, smashing into what was left of the mansion.
“What’s going to happen to the elementals?” Emily questioned her magical aunt.
“They’re going to fizzle away as soon as the building is dust and ash.”
“Did they get them?” Emily gasped out the words. Of course, it was a poorly formed sentence; nevertheless, Aunt Anastacia knew what she meant: Rina and Joanna.
She merely nodded. “They were barely conscious when Michael and John found them,” she said sadly. “Rina was far gone, but Joanna was con
scious enough for Michael to perform the locator spell.”
“And?”
Aunt Anastacia had already reversed down the street. Now she did a U-turn and headed in the direction they’d come earlier. “They’re at the safe house.”
“So it’s on to the Russo Manor?” Emily’s expression shifted to surprise. The Russo Manor was thrice as large as the Alfred mansion. And it was foreboding.
“Indeed.”
“It might be guarded or booby-trapped or spelled or all three.” Emily didn’t want to renege on the deals she’d made with Aunt Anastacia. However, she wanted to lay it all out, so they could decide if they had enough ammo to go up to the Russo Manor all by themselves.
“Maybe all.” Aunt Anastacia nodded sharply.
“I guess we’re going there after all then.” Emily exhaled and leaned back against her seat.
Her aunt nodded. “We need to press our advantage. The Alfreds took a big hit tonight. If we destroy that nexus, we stand a better chance of winning this war.”
Emily settled back into the posh chair and sucked in a lungful of fresh air. A thought popped into her mind. “If the Alfreds are escaping from the castle, where would they run to? Their only ‘friends’ in town are the Russos. That means—”
“They’re probably headed there now,” Aunt Anastacia finished for her without a hint of fear in her voice.
“You really think so?” Emily asked, just to be clear.
Her aunt nodded. “I’ve always suspected it.”
That’s when Emily realized that Aunt Anastacia was pushing the car to its limit. They were currently over a hundred miles per hour above the town’s speed limit. With no one on the road, and the road being basically straight until it cut right beside the Russo Manor, they were going to be at the house in less than three minutes.
“You think we’ll get there before they do?” Emily bit her lip in anticipation.
“I hope so. If the Alfreds get there and set up shop, we won’t be able to destroy that nexus again. That means when the Alfred seniors wake up and find out what we’ve done, they’ll use the nexus to turn the entire town against us.”
“And we’d be restricted because we won’t be able to fight our friends and neighbors, knowing they’ll probably die,” Emily groaned. She gritted her teeth, realizing they had no other option but to get to the nexus first. The fire demon rumbled within her. Ready to unleash fire.
Aunt Anastacia took one look at her and said, “Hey, this is a stealth mission, okay?”
Emily nodded.
“We slip in, destroy the nexus, and slip out. With no one the wiser. I have a cloaking spell we can use. It’s all the better if the Alfreds aren’t there. If they are, we’ll have to be extra careful.”
“I’d like to get Joanna’s parents out of the manor,” said Emily. “They might not be evil, you know.”
Aunt Anastacia shrugged. “If we can, why not?”
She slowed down as they approached the Russo Manor. Then she cut the lights and parked directly opposite the driveway near the main gate. The house looked deserted and lifeless.
The Alfreds didn’t seem to have arrived yet. Emily hoped their luck would hold out for a few more minutes.
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Aunt Anastacia cast the cloaking spell on herself and Emily while they were still in the car. Then, when they got out of the car, she cast the cloaking spell on the car itself. Right before their eyes, the car vanished from plain sight.
Emily could see Aunt Anastacia. She could see herself, too. She wondered if the cloaking spell had worked.
“It works differently for humans than it does for inanimate things,” Aunt Anastacia explained. “Trust me, we’re invisible to others. Now come. And keep quiet.”
They snuck up to the gate. The house looked abandoned. The lawns were overgrown, and there was a loose carpet of leaves spread across the frontage. A Ferrari was parked right in front the main portico that led up to the main doors. It had its passenger door open, but no one was inside.
Aunt Anastacia started chanting, spreading her hands in a ballet-dancer kind of way. Emily focused her sharpened eyes, looking over every square inch of the building. She searched for any sign of life—any at all.
They stood there for a good three minutes before Emily was convinced the house was empty through and through. Aunt Anastacia took another minute before she harrumphed satisfactorily and said, “It’s empty. And the Russos are in their bedroom in the penthouse.”
“Good, let’s go,” Emily said and pushed the door open.
Aunt Anastacia held on to her. “There’s a spell on the grounds. It prevents people from entering without being invited by the owners.”
Emily frowned. “When did that happen?”
Aunt Anastacia looked curiously around the fence. “It’s fae magic. Very powerful stuff.” She shivered. “No wonder the house isn’t guarded. I can’t think of anything more powerful than fae magic.”
“So we can’t get to them?” Emily asked, deflated. The gate lay open before her. All she needed to do was walk across.
“I can’t, but you can,” her aunt whispered. “You’ve stepped into the house before, right?”
Emily nodded. “Lots of times.”
“Then you’ve been invited. Go to the penthouse. Break the nexus. Free Joanna’s parents and bring them out here.”
“How do I bring them out here?” Emily suddenly felt in way over her head.
Aunt Anastacia shrugged again. “Figure it out.”
Emily growled. How was she going to carry two people out of the building? She sighed, “Okay then,” and slipped into the gate. She felt an odd kind of magic sweep through her body. Once. Twice. Scanning. And then it ceased. She was free to proceed. She took one last glance at Aunt Anastacia, but the woman had vanished.
Emily sighed and ran up to the building as quickly as she could. She had no desire to remain in the empty, eerily silent house for longer than required.
Inside the house was lit up with sunlight streaming from vaulted windows. She hit the stairs and took the steps three at a time. Terror choked her because she could sense the presence of an evil being.
She tried to dismiss it. She didn’t think it would be wise if she dwelled too much on the fact that she could sense an evil presence in the house.
Once she got to the penthouse, she found it open. Slowly, she crept in, stirring the fire demon within her in case she needed to transform in a flash.
We’re here, Emily, Selena said. We got this.
Emily nodded. She could feel Zee’s heat building within her as well. The penthouse bedroom was larger than Emily’s entire house. Right in the center was this king-sized bed with four intricately designed pillars. The bed itself was curtained with a material that called to Emily’s desire to touch it.
On the bed, lying in state of unconsciousness, were two bodies. Something hovered above them. Something red and shiny. A form of magic. And from it she saw tendrils sporadically drifting out and vanishing into the air. She didn’t need anyone to tell her that it was the influence that held sway over every mind in the town. She just knew.
Emily approached the bed. She recognized Joanna’s parents. They were unconscious, bound by invisible chains. As Emily approached the edge of the bed, her heartbeat picked up. Her breathing became shallow.
She fought the urge to turn and run. She had to do this. She had to break the spell. But how? She reached out to touch the bedpost, stretched her fingers . . .
“Alice said you’d come,” said a grim voice in the shadows.
Emily snapped her hand back, stifling a cry of fear. She turned slowly to the right and watched as an angry Marion stepped out of the shadows. His eyes were shining with orange fire. His hands were aflame with it as well.
Emily stuttered, fear choking her voice out.
“She’s dying to have you,” Marion said, his voice so deadly, so low, that it caused a tingle of fear to run through Emily’s spine. He smelled of fire and smoke, but
otherwise, he looked fine. Aside from, you know, flaming eyes and hands.
Marion’s breathing was steady. Sure that he had Emily, that he would not fail.
Emily knew she had not a prayer. She knew this was the end of the line. Marion could take her down before she turned into The Owl. And even if she turned into The Owl, he could trap her right there.
For a moment, Emily looked at Marion, and her heart melted. She didn’t want to hurt him, nor did she want to see him hurt. She was relieved to see him alive, although regretted that his sister and probably Chandler had made it out, too.
“I’m sorry,” Emily heard herself saying. She noticed the confusion in Marion’s eyes. He paused where he stood.
Emily’s eyes watered, her heart overflowing with sadness. She had to hold herself down because she felt sorry, she felt an inordinate desire for Marion. No matter how asinine it seemed if she thought about it. Desire that inspired her to want to reach out, touch his cheek, put her arms around him.
Marion. The one who wanted her and her family dead.
“I’m sorry I had to burn your house down,” Emily whispered. “I’m sorry I had to attack your family. I’m sorry—”
“I don’t understand,” Marion stuttered. “I thought you hated me.”
Emily gasped, her eyes filling with more tears. “I don’t hate you!” she snapped, dispelling whatever had given Marion that notion. “I—” She stopped herself before she proclaimed her attraction to him.
It was forbidden.
How could she?
He was on the wrong side. He wanted the whole world to burn. She wanted the whole world to live. Obviously a conflict of interest there. He wanted her to be used as a sacrifice; she wanted to be free to live out her life unscathed. How could they have any kind of feelings for each other?
It was too late, however. Marion didn’t need her to say anything. He saw it in her eyes. And that was what broke him.
Immediately, the fire ceased from his eyes and his fists. His shoulders sagged as he let go of his rage.
Controlled by a Fire Demon: The Owl Shifter Chronicles Book Two Page 18
