other out, tried to find words for this. The power that exuded from the Demon Lords was shit raving scary, the fear evident on every single face here, including Kyden’s.
“That,” Tyde finally sputtered, but hesitated, a little lost for words. “I wasn’t expecting him to gain this much power so quickly.”
“To summon the last four…at once…” Quinney agreed.
I interjected at that. “The last four, but wait, that’s not seven.”
“You’re right,” Misa said in a hushed tone. “That’s only six with the last being Satan.”
Holy fucking fuck!
I figured there’d be more time. This wouldn’t be now…couldn’t be now. Did they expect me to banish them? I needed more knowledge, more time to understand all this.
I wasn’t ready. It took a second to respond appropriately. “This is fucking insane. Why have I been drawn into this craziness? What the hell is it with me? Why do I have to face these freaks? Why can’t it be someone else?”
Everyone stayed quiet while I yelled and had a Nexi meltdown. “I’m not doing this, by the way,” I told them in a very stern voice. “There’s no way in hell. Let them have the Underworld. I’ll give it to them. I’ll send a note, I’m not going there. Did you feel them? Did you sense their strength? They’re going to kill me.”
Kyden opened his mouth.
“Oh no, you just shut it.” I stopped that immediately. “No way. I’m going back to Carson City and forgetting all about this. Yep, that’s what I’m going do. None of this is real. There, I said it, it’s all made up and I don’t believe in it.”
Suddenly, Zia grabbed my hand and the world went black around me.
* * * *
My eyes slowly opened, the haze of sleep drifted away. I yawned, stretched, then the memory of what happened came back to me.
I shot straight up in bed. “I can’t believe you did that.” I shouted.
Loud laughter came from the living room and Kyden’s rush of amusement coursed through our bond. I stormed out and pointed directly at Zia. “I can’t believe you did that to me.”
She gave an unashamed smile. “You needed to calm down.”
“Don’t ever do it again,” I snapped with a firm stomp of my foot. “That is so not right, using your magic to knock me out. I won’t forget this, let me tell you.”
She didn’t even seem to be listening. In fact, no one did. Everyone focused elsewhere. As I looked around, I noticed why. Sabi was in Ryker’s arms, drenched in sweat, looked utterly despairing.
“Jesus, are you okay?” I gasped, hurried forward and knelt by the couch.
She shook her head and grabbed my hand. My mind faded away as I was lost in her premonition. It was a little jumbled. Flashes of the Demon Lords using the rune, but then it would flash to my smiling face. It wasn’t clear.
When the vision faded, I gave her the exact befuddled look I was feeling. “Okay, that made zero sense.”
“It’s because it hasn’t been decided,” Sabi replied, breathless. “It will go one way or the other, but I’m not sure which one because it keeps changing. The visions just won’t stop.”
Aw, poor Sabi. I was kind of glad at this moment I didn’t have her gift, it looked utterly exhausting.
“Are you feeling alright?” Kyden asked.
I glanced at him and smiled. “Better.” Which was true. The hysteria had faded, but I was still scared silly.
Demon Lords were nothing I’d ever felt before. One of them wasn’t all that different from Pye. Six of them together was impossible. How was I going to do this? Doubt flew through me.
“Don’t doubt yourself,” Kyden said sternly. “You have the ability here.”
“How do you know that? No one knows that. It’s just a big guessing game, and what if they’re wrong. I don’t want to die.”
“You won’t.”
“And you know this how?”
He shrugged. “I just know.”
I sighed and rubbed my hands over my face. “I just want this all to be over.”
Why me? Why couldn’t somebody else do this—scratch that—I wouldn’t want anyone else to deal with this. Why did we have to deal with it all? Why did evil have to exist in the first place? Couldn’t we all just play nice?
Suddenly, hands grabbed mine. I looked up at Haven. “You’ve got this.”
I was glad to note that she was herself again, not this crazy kick-ass woman who I’d never met before. Still, her words didn’t ease me. “How do you know?”
“I feel it in you, it’s there. I’ve felt