First And Last - By Stacey Kennedy Page 0,50

me and sighed deeply, her expression was steady and strong. “Is it your wish to stand against these demons?”

“I don’t think I really have a choice in the matter,” I said, honestly.

“There’s always a choice,” Ember replied, sternly. “Do you grasp the danger you’d enter into?”

“Danger is my constant best friend.” I joked. “What are a couple demons, right?”

Ember’s look came measured. “The danger you have known is nothing compared to what you’ll be up against. The task you are about to undergo will test you in ways you cannot even imagine. You must enter into this willingly. Understand what’s being asked of you. If you don’t, it will not only destroy you, but you stand to lose everything that has been long built.”

Now, I was confused. What the frig was she talking about?

Zia appeared the same. “Ember, please explain what you mean by that. I’m a little lost as to the point you’re trying to make.”

Ember looked down at her hands as she gripped the mug she held tightly, then looked up and met my gaze, head on. “The vision you saw, the witch who was there…well…it was me.”

My brows literally shot up to my hairline. “It was you…” I glanced at Zia who looked equally stunned. “What? Okay, wait…what does that mean?”

Ember took a sip of her tea. The cup shook as she lowered it away from her mouth. “As you know, long ago the Demon Lords were banished with Satan to the Realm of the Dead. However, they were summoned back, returned to the Underworld to search for a way to help him return. With God’s removal from the worlds, his conquest to overtake and rule was an easy feat.”

“Why hadn’t we heard of this?” I quipped. “Kyden never mentioned it when he read the Diabolus Somes. Even Misa and Quinney never said anything about it.”

Ember gave her a knowing look. “Failures are not written into the Diabolus Somes. When it was discovered what the Demon Lords tried to do I set out on a journey to stop them.”

“All by yourself?” I exclaimed.

She didn’t look proud, her eyes sank in complete misery. “I failed.”

Which is exactly what I saw in the vision, she really did think she failed, but I couldn’t quite understand how she could come to that. “You banished the demons though?”

She nodded. “You’re right. They’re gone, but I couldn’t close off the realm. I didn’t have the power within me to do it.”

Oh, this was just silly. “Don’t you think you’re being just a tad bit hard on yourself? I mean, come on, just sending them back is an accomplishment in itself.”

She smiled at my attempt, but still, her eyes held so much pain. “It’s not enough. I feared for so long that the day would come when they would return. I also feared there would be no one to stop them.”

“But you did it before, why can’t you just do it again?” Hope filled my tone. Maybe I wouldn’t have to do anything. This sounded better already.

She shook her head and my hope vanished. “You only get one chance to use this rune. If you fail, it will no longer react to you. The Pentacle you saw. It’s not just a simple rune as you suggest. The design of the inverted Pentacle is for us White Magic Witches to dabble into dark powers, join them, but not take us in the process. The Alpha-Omega sign in the center is the purest form of White Magic that exists. It’s God’s Symbol. Primoris quod Permaneo. First and Last. This speaks of God himself.”

“Holy fuck.” I slapped a hand over my mouth.

Ember laughed. “Yes, that sums it up well.”

“How did you learn of this rune?” Zia asked.

“That cannot be shared, I am afraid, but what I can tell you is when you use the inverted Pentacle your strength needs to be more powerful against the Black Magic. It will drain you and fight against you. When I attempted to close off the realm, I failed because when I was drawn into the Realm of Dead, Satan told me not to close it and I listened.”

“Holy shit.” Yep, holy swear words were all my mind could come up with.

“You’ve grasped the seriousness here,” Ember replied to my outburst. “The strength to use this rune is not an easy task.”

“Jesus. Okay, I grasp the situation.” This just became all too real, and for the first time in this whole ridiculous thing, I felt scared—really, really, fucking scared. “Do