That’s when I let out a gasp of relief. It was only for a few moments— a black specter levitated out of my body, taking the shape of a man. The man had no legs, its lower end still attached to me in a twisting tendril. Emma’s face grew with horror as the smoke specter turned on her.
As it lashed out a hand, the knife Emma was holding was yanked away. The knife hung in mid-air before the leshane cast his arm out. The knife moved forward, and without warning, began carving into my chest, making deep marks into my skin. I gave a panged cry as the blade cut through my shirt, soaking blood onto the cobblestone.
“Emma, you have to fight it! Kill it so we can get it out of Ethan!” Kiara shouted.
The leshane caused a whirlwind to pick up in the room. Odette and Delmare were chanting madly as their hair swept around their faces. The boys darted forward, to hold the girls down so they wouldn’t be knocked off their feet by the powerful wind.
Emma was the only one that wasn’t affected, as she was within the salt circle. She began casting illusions like no tomorrow. Blue balls of magic flung from her fingers, sailing at the leshane. They connected, but each time they did, I screamed aloud. The demon’s pain was my pain, too. She couldn’t kill him without me feeling every blow.
“Emma,” I gasped. The leshane was twisting the tip of the knife into my side, the fresh cuts still oozing blood. I begged her to save me, or at least end it through our bond. This was no way to live. This was worse than dying.
The leshane curled his fingers, and bruises began mottling my skin as the demon loomed over my mate. By this time, I’d lost the strength to cry out, my pain diluted to a few whispers. Desks and chairs flew around the room in the leshane’s whirlwind, and the others had to duck to avoid being hit.
“We’re losing control!” Kiara’s face was panicked. She shuffled pages of her book, in a prayer she’d find something that would keep the leshane contained.
She didn’t find it in time. When Emma was backing away from the demon in terror, her shoe cut a hole in the salt circle.
That was the only opportunity the demon needed to attack. The whirlwind abruptly stopped, and the desks flying around fell to the ground as the leshane sprang forward. He zoomed around the room as a dark spirit set loose, though a piece of him was still attached to my soul.
The leshane smacked into Stefan, knocking him unconscious before he turned its attention on Alexei. The boy instantly turned into a griffin and tried to combat, but the leshane threw out his dark fingers, and Alexei fell to the ground, gasping for breath.
Theo changed into an alicorn and charged at the demon with his head down, but when the leshane screamed, a large cut formed across Theo’s chest. The alicorn cried out as blood sprayed everywhere. Odette flung a shield around Theo, to protect him. The leshane bounced his magic against it, and Odette fell to her knees as her shield broke, crying out in pain. Delmare’s battle magic bombs fizzled into nothingness as the leshane approached, smacking her across the face. She flew to the other side of the room and slammed against the wall, going still. Kiara backed away from the circle, holding her book to her chest and shaking in fear as the demon advanced on her.
His bloodlust had been set free. We were all going to die in here, and I was helpless to do anything about it. I’d led my friends to their doom.
The leshane opened his dark mouth wide. It unhinged from the jaw, becoming a bottomless pit. Kiara let out a bloodcurdling scream as the demon prepared to eat her alive.
“Enough!” Emma’s scream shook the walls. She flung out a hand. I felt it through our bond— Emma’s magic ran through me before it grabbed the tail end of the demon, yanking it back inside my body. The leshane let out a gasp. It was pulled into my chest, and I screamed again as I heard bones break. The leshane was desperately attempting to escape, but Emma’s magic was holding it bound. She knelt in my blood and placed her hands on my chest, teeth gritted as she kept the demon imprisoned.