by his eyes.
He sniffed the air, and a dark mass swirled out of the pits of his eyes, hunger and craving sparking like hellfire in them.
He fixated only on me, not bothering to even glance at Circe or Jasper.
They’d both spotted the demon and frozen in fear.
“Retreat slowly,” I whispered and led by example as I backed toward a tree.
Circe blinked, as if waking up from a trance at my order.
“Conceal. Uttar Sloan Samish Rota conceal,” Circe murmured her chant frantically, trying to get us to melt into the trees and thus avoid the demon’s detection.
The demon grinned at me and uttered a demonic word, which blurred into the black wind. It sounded familiar, but any chance at comprehension was drowned out by the pounding rhythm of my frenetic heartbeat in my ears.
Circe’s concealing spell evidently had no effect on the creature since he kept stalking toward me, sniffing the air as if it was filled with nectar.
Stop! Demon, stop! I hissed silently.
The demon halted for a second, as if confused or uncertain.
Circe repeated her chanting and tossed out a few spells, which appeared around us in the shapes of balls and stars. The demon shrugged them off and flicked his claws to show us what he had.
A demonic power, also familiar, like something once featured in my nightmares, exuded from him. Its dark force drew us toward him, like a spider that intends to numb its victims before consuming them.
If a third degree demon could do this, what chance did we have to fight a full-blown demon? Horror flickered through my mind. Vi hadn’t been wrong to warn me to stay clear of Lucifer’s pawns.
Circe and Jasper now both glided toward the demon as if in a dream. The Hell-creature widened his grin.
“What on Earth are you two doing?” I yelled at them. Our cover was blown anyway. I pinched Circe on the arm and swatted Jasper’s snout. “Run! Like your asses are on fire.”
If the demon possessed any one of us, all three of us would be done for.
I dragged Circe and kicked Jasper. Relief wound through me as they returned to their senses, and three of us darted away between the trees in a mad dash.
The demon gave chase, giggling.
He zoomed in on us.
Jasper raced beside me, keeping up, but then we both realized that Circe had lagged behind. Terror hit me, and I turned just in time to see the demon rake his claws toward Circe’s neck.
“You won’t hurt her!” I screamed in rage and flung up my hands toward the demon, even though I was ten yards away and had no magic.
It was an instinct, a reflex. I reacted in panic.
I’d lost Vi. I couldn’t lose either Circe or Jasper. They were all I had.
A blast of dark flame materialized above the demon, descending upon him before he could flee. The fire engulfed the creature.
It shrieked, and I clenched my teeth as his screams beat into my eardrums.
“Shut the fuck up and die!” I yelled.
The blaze plunged to the ground, sinking under and dragging the demon with it. Or maybe the flame actually burned the demon to ashes.
I didn’t see a pile of cinders on the forest floor, though there was a circle burned into the ground, indicating where the magical conflagration had taken down a demon.
I sprang toward the young witch.
“Are you all right, Circe?” I asked, sounding like a mother even to my own ears.
She threw herself into my arms, trembling.
I stroked her back gently.
“Shush, you’re safe now,” I said. “We’re all safe. Now let’s get out of here.”
I pulled Circe to sprint with me since her legs wobbled. Seeing the demon had shocked her. I didn’t blame her. The appearance of the demon had shattered me as well.
Jasper kept pace, guarding and protecting us. His piercing wolf eyes darted around, his ears pricking backward as he scanned for any new danger.
I didn’t allow us to slow down, even though the scent of smoke lingered on my tongue and the air burned in my lungs.
As soon as we shot out of the last line of trees, crossing the boundary into the town’s territory, Jasper shifted. I knew he wanted to talk and demand answers regarding the flame that incinerated the demon, but I was just as baffled as he was.
One second he was still a wolf, then the next he was a good-looking teenage boy.
I glanced at him enviously. Being a shifter must be amazing.
The monsters usually didn’t cross the boundary of the