by Aileen Erin
“Lucky,” Meredith murmured.
“We’ll reinforce your wards before we go.” Cosette eased the door closed, but her voice carried through, way more chipper than it needed to be “Don’t let the bedbugs give you hepatitis.”
Okay. Definitely not thanking her for that one.
“Well, that was awkward.” Chris locked the door chain behind them, although it hadn’t done much to keep Van out.
“Do you think they’re romantic?” Claudia asked. “Or just friends?”
“It may be more complicated than that,” Lucas said.
“How do you know?” I asked.
“We’re in contact with our local fey in Peru. All I’ll say is I’ve heard her name come up as a key player in the courts.” I paused to let that sink in, but at this point I was more shocked that she actually let someone call her Coco and live.
“We should call Michael again,” Donovan said. “Give him an update and check on the situation at the school.”
I nodded. We’d expressly avoided the news. The fight against Luciana was only hours away, and we needed to stay focused. Still it was tempting. Donovan had been checking in with Mr. Dawson throughout the day. Word was things weren’t pretty on campus. They’d managed to keep the police from storming the gates, but getting anyone to believe that the video girl was actually a demon wasn’t a cakewalk.
A moan from the TV broke the silence.
“Jaysus,” Donovan yelled. “Change the channel already.” He got up, dialing Mr. Dawson as he crossed into the adjoining room.
The laughter started off soft, and then we were hooting at the TV.
“They’re definitely having sex now,” Adrian said, finally changing the channel.
“Just no more gagging noises. Please. I’m already worried how many showers it’s going to take to get the ick of this place off me,” Claudia said.
As they kept bantering and flipping through the channels, I leaned against Dastien, resting my head on his shoulder.
You okay? He asked.
Yeah. Tired, but okay. We have good friends.
He brushed my hair away from my forehead and placed a soft kiss there. Yeah. We do.
As I closed my eyes, I knew that we’d find Luciana tomorrow. One way or another, all of this would come to an end. And after, if I was lucky enough to live through it all, I was going to have years with my friends. With Dastien.
That was motivation enough for me to keep going. To not give up.
I had too much to live for to lose it all now.
Chapter Twenty-Four
I’d hoped to hear from the witch by the morning, but when that didn’t happen, we had to continue with our original plan. We all crammed into one SUV, and by the afternoon we’d realized what a mistake that was. There was nothing fun about a group of cranky supernaturals. Even thought our rental had three rows of seats, that still left two people squished in the trunk. Cosette hadn’t returned with Van. For now, that was okay, because there was no way they could’ve fit, but I was starting to get worried.
It had taken forever to get moving this morning. Everyone wanted a shower, and with only two bathrooms, that took for freaking ever. Then all the Weres needed food. By the time we hit the road to start looking at churches, it was already past noon. Although we figured that was an advantage if we were going to be up against demons.
Still, with no Cosette and no luck finding the right church, the mood in the car was tense.
“There’s another option two miles away,” I said. Dastien was driving, and I was sitting shotgun at the moment, but we’d been rotating seats at each stop. Although, it wasn’t a very diplomatic seat rotation. It was more of a mad scramble—people crawling over each other trying to get a good spot. Slowest got the trunk. And no one was playing fair. I had to warn Chris and Meredith more than once to be careful with the witches. But Raphael had been in the same window seat after the past three churches and he looked pretty smug about it, so I was thinking magic was involved.
“If she’s at the last one on our list, I’m going to freak out,” Meredith said as she leaned between the front seats. She blew a chunk of pink hair out of her face. “Are you getting any helpful feelings yet?”
“If I do, I’ll let you know.” I wished I had a better way to get us there, but I’d been so focused on the people in my vision, I hadn’t been paying that much attention to the decorating. I knew the church we wanted was adobe and had stained glass windows, but beyond that, I had no clue. “Why don’t you pick the next one?” I handed the map to her. We’d circled all the possibilities in red marker. Only three circles were left.
So at least this was almost over.
Still, every time we got to a church, our energy level amped up. When it was a bust, we all flagged. It was like a never-ending adrenaline roller coaster.
I just hoped we found Luciana before dark.
Meredith picked the next church and we were off. It took about ten minutes driving north of the city. We followed a few winding dirt roads until we ended up at a weed-choked parking lot. The church was run-down and slowly being swallowed up by desert foliage.
The adobe was right, but I didn’t see any windows. It had small bell tower and ornately carved wooden doors. One had an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe and other was the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Whoever made them was an amazing artist. They’d made the wood come to life.
But as I took in the building, I knew something was off. “It’s not the one from my vision, but…” There was a funny feel in the air. Almost a compulsion to run away. It reminded me of the wards on the compound, although it wasn’t nearly as strong. “Does anyone else feel that?”
“Yes.” Claudia rubbed her arms. “It’s warded.”
At least I wasn’t imagining it.
“I don’t want to go in there. Not even a little bit,” Shane said.
“It’s just a little magic,” Raphael said. “Maybe the local coven uses this spot. If you guys want to stay here, I’ll check it out.” He hopped out of the car before anyone could stop him.
I shared a look with Dastien. Should we follow him?
Better not let him go alone, Dastien said. Claudia was already on his heels anyway.
Guess we’re going too, then. I grabbed my messenger bag of potions and followed after them. I still didn’t feel right about this, but we had to at least check it out.
Raphael was almost to the door when the clouds shifted. For a second, the sun flashed and a blinding beam of light reflected off something on the front stoop.
I squinted at the spot. Faint and barely visible, a silver line arced out from under the doorway, embedded in the floorboards. I would never have noticed it if not for the change in light.
But why would there be a silver arc in the floor?
My chest tightened. He couldn’t touch it.
“Wait!” I raced to Raphael, yanking him back just before his foot stepped over the line. “Wait.”
“What?” Raphael pulled free from my grip. “We have to check inside.”
“It’s a trap. Look at the silver line. If that’s part of a circle and we cross it, who knows what could happen.”
“Where?” Claudia asked.
“Just tilt your head.” I pointed to the spot.
“You’re right.” Claudia’s eyes widened and she gripped Raphael’s shoulder.
The Weres had caught up to us, but still stood back.
“What does that mean?” Meredith asked. “Is this the right church or not?”
“This isn’t where she opens the gate to hell, but there’s something else here.” I stared at the door. Doing a spell to make it open wouldn’t have been that hard, but I was worried any magic would set off the wards. “We need to go in. There’s something about this place…” The wind shifted, and I lost my train of thought for a second. “Do you smell that?”
“Sulfur?” Claudia asked.
“That.” Chris leaned in a little closer and then shook his head. “And death. There are bodie
s in there.”
“I knew those wards felt familiar. They’re Luciana’s.” Claudia tugged on the end of her braid.
“Do you think she’s still here?” Meredith asked.
“No,” Claudia said. “I don’t think she’d stick around after killing again.”
Shit. Now we really needed to go inside. But crossing the wards would signal Luciana we were here, and if we broke the circle, we could release a demon or anything else she might’ve left to surprise us. A total double whammy of a trap, but I wouldn’t expect anything less from Luciana at this point. “Any suggestions how to do this?”
Light flashed and a few of us jumped as Cosette and Van appeared. They held hands, but Cosette pulled away as soon as the light was gone. Van didn’t exactly scowl, but he didn’t look happy about it either.
“Good morning, friends.” Cosette smiled, too coy for her own good. She wore skinny jeans and a flowy white top that hung off her shoulder. Her hair shone in clean, glossy curls. I wrinkled my nose at her. She actually smelled like jasmine. How unfair was that?
“Where the hell did you come from?” Chris asked.
“I second that,” Meredith said.
She shrugged. “My magic’s restricted. Van’s isn’t.”
Not exactly an explanation, but it was as good as we were getting out of her. She nudged Van, who took a step forward. “I didn’t mean to interrupt you all so rudely last night. You may call me Van. I’ll be your ally as long as Cosette is.”
Cosette rolled her eyes. “By that, he means he looks forward to fighting with us.”
“That’s great,” Chris said, his voice rasping a little, “but I’m still stuck on where the hell did you come from?”
“We were nearby, watching.” Cosette gave a vague wave. “We didn’t feel the need to ride on your roof rack.”
No one could blame her for that. She’d showed when we needed her and that was all that mattered.
I turned back to the wooden doors. The carved handles were works of art on their own. I hated that Luciana had turned such a pretty place—a sanctuary—into something evil, but the scent of demon and death, combined with the slimy feel of her wards, couldn’t be ignored.
“Can you guys just beam us in, or whatever it is you do?” I asked Van.
“That wouldn’t be wise.” He narrowed his silver eyes at the door. “However we cross the line, it will release what’s being bound. Better to go through the door and fight it face-to-face.”
That made sense. It sucked, but it made sense. “So, what now? We just can’t leave a demon in there waiting for someone to stumble in and let it free. And if Luciana has killed again…” It didn’t feel right leaving bodies here. The last thing we needed her to do was use them to make more demon-zombies like Daniel.
“I’ll check the perimeter,” Donovan said. “Might be there’s a window we can peek through and see what we’re really up against.” He tromped through the shrubs, disappearing from view.
Van went the other way, apparently wanting to check things out on his own, and the rest of us stepped back from the wards.
I moved closer to Cosette. “You okay?”
She shrugged. “Things could be worse.”
That wasn’t an answer, but at least she didn’t seem hurt or pissed. I had more questions about to bubble free.
Dastien moved to my side before I could open my mouth. I don’t think it’s any of your business.
I suppose, but it’s my fault I didn’t warn her about the guy. I can’t help but feel bad.
Donovan stumbled from the other side of the chapel, ending the chance I had to ask her anything.
A stray branch caught Donovan’s cheek. “Damn it all,” he said as he wiped off the blood. “There’s nothing back there but woods. The walls are solid. Not a window or door besides this one.”
“We can break through the ward,” Cosette said. “But Luciana could be waiting for us to do just that.”
“Maybe we should just go,” I started. “I mean, is it worth—”
A soft scream echoed from inside the church.
We all froze.
“Please tell me there’s no one alive in there.” Because if that was a human, then we had to go in. Screw the wards. Screw the circle and whatever was inside it.
“Help me!” The woman’s voice rasped. “Please.” She was so hoarse, my throat burned in sympathy. “It’s going to kill me.”
Before I could do anything, before I could even think about how to go about this without setting off any traps, Raphael was moving. Any one of the Weres could’ve stopped him, but none of us really wanted to. There was someone in there who needed our help. We couldn’t ignore that. No matter what we might face inside.
He ran up the stairs, threw open the door, and froze. “Oh, shit.”
I started after him, but a wave of energy blasted me back.
Air whipped against my face as I flew through the air.
Dastien screamed my name, his fear ripping through our bond.
I landed with a thud, but something soft was between the ground and me. The scent of pine told me who it was. Dastien had softened my landing.
Thanks. You okay? I asked.
Yeah. I’ve taken worse hits.
The others?
We weren’t close enough to get hit by the blast. I barely had time to catch you.
Next time maybe catch me before I hit the ground. I groaned as I rolled off him. Even with him there, it still hurt to hit that hard.
His soft laugh ran through our bond. Why don’t we just try to not have a next time? Okay?
“Teeereeeessa.” The way Claudia drew my name out lifted all the hairs on my arms.
I slowly turned to the doors.
Raphael was scrambling down the stairs. Beyond him, a figure moved back and forth, just out of the reach of the sun.
A major demon.
This one looked like a teenage girl dressed in skinny jeans and a black T-shirt, but the way it moved its head wasn’t natural. And the red eyes were unmistakable. My side had healed, but I’d gotten lucky the last time. I couldn’t get that close again.
“It won’t come outside while the sun’s high,” Raphael said. “I don’t understand how it’s even here.”
“She must’ve summoned it last night,” Shane said. “It’s been trapped there all day.”
“This one’s more powerful than the last.” Cosette yanked off her glove and tossed it. A shining new sword appeared in her hands.
“They’re dead…” Claudia’s soft voice drew my attention to the church beyond. The pews were set at a diagonal, leaving a wide center aisle. Lumps filled that space. Some bigger. Some smaller. A foot stuck into the aisle near the back.
Bodies. She’d drained the New Mexico coven. That was why I hadn’t heard from the witch again.
The demon whirled, heading into the darkness of the sanctuary.
“Help!” The call sounded again.
It wasn’t too late to help at least one of them. “Stop!” I threw my magic at the demon, putting all my will behind the word, but it barely froze for a second. We needed more firepower. “Everyone got your vials?”
Raphael ran back to the car, but the rest of us were ready. I grabbed a few vials from my bag and left the flap open for easy grabbing. The other brujos came to stand beside me, potions in hand.
Raphael came back with a metal bat.
“You sure about that?” I asked.
“Yeah. You guys have it handled on the potion front.” He gripped the bat with both hands. “I want to try this way.”
“Van.” Cosette nodded toward Raphael. “Supe that up for him.”
Without missing a beat, Van touched the bat, mouthing a spell. When he lifted his hand, the metal glowed.
“That’ll work,” I said. The Weres had all shifted and agreed on a formation. Lucas, Donovan, and Dastien were closest to the door, while the others fanned out behind. We’d talked potion strategies, but I said it aloud one more time. “I’ll
take the lead, and you throw behind me. Cosette and Van will jump in when there’s an opening.” Everyone nodded.
Another scream, this one of pure pain and terror.
I licked my dry lips. “Let’s do this.”
“With the power of Jesus Christ, I banish you.” The words activated the potions, and I tossed them through the doors. An explosion echoed inside the sanctuary, and I rushed into the doorway with the wolves at my side.
The demon lay on the ground, arms splayed wide. I almost celebrated.
Then it levitated two feet off the ground and flipped onto its feet. It hissed and lunged for me at full steam.
Oh, hell no.
I threw three vials as I backed up, but that didn’t stop it. I would’ve turned and run, but the wolves jumped in front of me. Dastien dodged and Lucas almost got a mouthful of it.
Adrian flew at it, but the demon slashed out with its nails. Adrian yelped, tumbling into a pew.
Shit.
Shane got to his side first, chucking vial after vial, but the demon saw Adrian’s blood and kept heading for him.
“Hey!” I tossed a vial and invoked it. It exploded on the demon’s back, sinking a small crater in its skin. That got its attention.
As the demon started for me, I spotted Cosette and Van slinking into place behind it. We’d talked out this scenario on the plane. We just needed a little time for the fey to get in place. Then, Claudia, Shane, and I would throw our potions, and Cosette—and now Van too—would go for the head. The wolves would keep it distracted and herd it where we wanted.
“You will not defeat the mistress.” Its voice was a hair-raising, high-pitched rasp.
I stopped moving.
It talked. Holy shit. Was it talking to me? About Luciana?
“If you tell us where she is, we’ll defeat her,” I said, trying to bait the little monster. “Don’t you want to be free of her control?”
It hissed, and goose bumps ran up my arms. “The mistress is not Luciana. Not anymore.” It laughed the same laugh I’d heard from Raphael not so long ago. Not a similar laugh. The exact same laugh.
I spotted Raphael on my right, twisting the bat in his hands. His jaw was clenched tight and little lines formed around his mouth.
