First And Last - By Stacey Kennedy Page 0,35

her brows. Obviously, my words were not linking together. I could only imagine how nuts I looked right now. But I didn’t give a rat’s ass. Panic made my throat tight. I needed to get this part over with so I could fill the others in on what I discovered. I looked at Quinney. “So…what do we do with them now?”

Quinney looked at Misa, who stood at my side within a quarter of a second. “You must destroy them, Nexi. They’ve gone against your rules.” Then, she whispered. “You need to show your strength here. So, the others fear you.”

I exhaled, fright forgotten as annoyance returned. “Er, Misa…I’ve never killed a demon. What do I do?”

A slow smile spread across her face. She was either laughing at me or at the situation. I didn’t find either one very funny. She looked back at the crowd. “Please excuse us for a moment. Lady Nexi wishes a private meeting.”

The crowd stood and bowed.

I mumbled numerous obscenities while Kyden chuckled quietly behind me as we followed Misa, Azar, Quinney and Tyde into a room just off the auditorium.

Just as we met the door, I glanced back at Zia, and she gave me a reassuring nod, as did Talon. I really hated doing this without them. To me, they were my leaders and it felt horrible to exclude them. They never made a move to follow so I left it alone.

Focusing back on the situation at hand, the second the door the simple sitting room closed behind me, I sent my lips flapping. “Holy Shit! They’re summoning all the Demon Lords. They want to bring them all back to defeat me. To make right what has happened here.” Every single face held equal shock, including Kyden’s. “Er…sorry. I guess I shouldn’t have come out with it like that.”

Quinney shot a concerned glance at Tyde. “I feared the summoning of Mammon was just the beginning.”

Tyde nodded, looked not too happy. “I believe you’re right. Never would I have expected retaliation in this regard.” He shook his head slowly. “We have to stop this before they summon more. One we can handle, two, it’s possible. Three is when it gets difficult.”

“What action must we take then?” Kyden asked.

“While I’ve been reading the Diabolus Somes, I did come upon a story that I thought might be relevant to Nexi.” Quinney informed. “Long ago, it was said that there was one not from the Underworld gifted with the ability to drawn runes…”

I cut in quickly. “Who was it?”

Quinney shrugged. “No names were mentioned, but it said that she attempted to send demons to the Realm of the Dead when Satan overpowered her.” She gave a knowing look. “It also said she was a White Witch.”

I could tell by her look that she had connected this to me somehow, but I just couldn’t piece it together exactly. “And this has something to do with me because…”

“We suspect that whatever magic this witch held is probably the same that you hold within yourself. She had the ability to draw runes, just as you can.” Tyde answered.

Kyden rubbed the small of my back, drawing my attention. “I must agree with them, Álainn. The situations do sound very similar.”

“So it’s a little the same.” I couldn’t deny the similarities. No one had ever heard of a witch that could do what I could, but I still didn’t really get what that all meant. “But what does that mean exactly, how can my abilities to draw runes help any?”

Misa interjected. “Sabi.”

“Sabi, what?”

“From what I’ve heard over the last while of being with you, she has the ability to foresee the future within the darkness. She could be quite useful here.”

Misa was right, of course. Sabi’s gifts were to see darkness stirring, but the problem was that it only came seconds before. Usually by the time she’d seen the vision or informed us of it, it was too late to act.

“You think we should keep her near?” Kyden asked, quietly.

Misa nodded. “She should stay close to you at all times. Anytime she sees a demon attempting to summon one of the Demon Lords, you can immediately go and banish it.”

I laughed. “How do you know I can do this at all? I mean really, sending me face-to-face with a demon in the middle of summoning a Demon Lord isn’t the ideal guinea pig.”

Quinney’s eyes sparkled with knowledge. “I assumed you would use these demons.” She gestured toward the door. “As your test.”

I spent the