and at the same time he throws Reggie and David off of him. Both go flying, David landing somewhere behind me with a yelp of pain, Reggie getting thrown into the hedge bushes. Thorns and vines wrap around him and hold him tight, sinking into his skin until he bleeds.
Getting to his feet, Ezriel stares me down with hatred in his eyes. He sneers, his forked tongue flicking past his lips, rage pulsing from him. I instinctively take a step back, more frightened than I've ever been—even when the Heretic found me.
Xavier shouts, "Ari, now!"
Connection.
Holding up a hand, I throw all my naturalistic witch energy at the demon. At the same time, I speak his name, putting all my intent into it, forcing a connection where one should never be: "Ezriel!"
Blue energy wraps around his body.
His eyes go wide.
He freezes, dropping my mother's spirit marble, which rolls on the ground beneath us and settles near the hedges. It's all I can do not to pounce on it and take her with me immediately. Because the demon isn't going to go quietly.
Even as my magic settles around him, he bucks the connection, fighting it.
"Ezriel," I tell him, putting command into my voice, "give up. Freeze!"
The demon snarls. "You'll need to do better to that."
Reaching into his suit pocket, he pulls out the billfold.
Opens it wide.
And in a voice full of magic, intones, "Veyasa cordana eert!"
A thousand demons leap from the billfold and swarm all around us in an instant.
Chapter 2
They're everywhere. Worm-like demons. Spider demons. Things with five tongues and a thousand teeth. Others that ooze.
Their bodies overwhelm the hedges all around us, goo and acid burning away at them. I shudder despite myself, and reach out with my naturalistic powers, pushing them away. With my powers I form a protective barrier around myself and immediately move to bring the guys into it. I don't want a single demonic tentacle to even so much as touch the edge of my ankle.
Ezriel snaps a smile at me and laughs. "Disgusted? How very human of you."
I ignore him as I grab onto Xavier and pull him to his feet, tug Reggie out of the hedges, urge David up, and gather them all to me. I even manage to find my mom's spirit marble and slip it into the pocket of my Phoenix Academy blazer, internally setting the spell the demon spoke to memory, hopeful it'll help my mother escape as well.
Staring him down, I vow aloud, "You may have release those demons into the Spirit Realm, but you won't release them onto the school's campus. I won't let it happen. That door isn't going to open, no matter what."
"Oh?"
"Yes, oh. I have my mother's spirit now." My hand instinctively slips into my pocket, and I hold the marble close, afraid he'll get his hands on it somehow. "I'm not going to open that door for you."
"You poor, stupid human. You have no idea what you've done."
His forked tongue flicks against his lips.
"What I've done? Tell me."
"You'll see."
I see chaos, but so far it's contained. All around us, the lower level demons he brought with him surge through the garden, destroying the hedges and rose bushes, attacking each other but never getting close enough to attack me or my guys—because I keep the barrier up, using my witch energy to protect us. At the demon's back, the door stays firmly closed. Nothing is getting in or out.
"I see that you've lost," I tell him, tugging on our connection and narrowing my eyes at him. "Give up already, Ezriel. You won't get through me."
"I don't need to. You've given me the key to everything. You just doing see it yet."
He darts forward lightning fast, knife in his hand. I step back and raise my arms to protect myself. David goes for him, teeth out, but the demon just kicks him in the head. Then he looks at me, evil cleverness in his eyes, and shouts out: "Come to me willingly, Ariana Wolfe!"
A shudder goes through me.
Power snaps along my spine.
Blue energy—my own power, reversing back and controlling me.
All at once, the barrier I formed between us and the demons drops. They start attacking my guys. Xavier and Reggie both shift into their panther forms and attack back. David is set on by two, three, four demons—and there's nothing I can do to stop it.
Because despite all my power and strength of will, my body is obeying the demon's command.
I walk towards him willingly.
He commands, "Give