it, but it’s no use. The roots get tighter, snaking up to her chest now. “And you’re willing to do anything for her, aren’t you?”
“Of course, but you’re not getting me to agree to be your meat-suit or whatever it is you need me to be.”
“You will if it means letting your friend live.” The roots wrap around Kristy’s arms, forcing then behind her back.
“You’ll just kill her anyway.”
“True.” Bael twirls his fingers through the air and the roots around Kristy’s abdomen start creeping up to her neck. “But I’ll make it quick with minimal suffering.”
Scarlet lunges again, and Bael summons another root to erupt from the ground, wrapping around Scarlet’s paws, hog-tying her and flipping her over, rendering her helpless. If I could just get to her and take her collar off, she’d have a fighting chance.
Tipping his head, Bael raises another hand, bringing forth a root-monster, bigger than the others that attacked us before. I don’t have any weapons to stab it with, and I don’t remember the spell I need to invoke the divine properties of my blood.
There’s another energy shift, and Lucas runs past so fast he’s only a blur. He knocks right into Bael, shoving him down and wrestling him to the ground. Bael’s hold is broken on Kristy, and the roots start to recede into the ground. Lucas’s fangs break the surface of Bael’s flesh and thick, black blood oozes down the wounds, permeating the air with the heavy scent of brimstone and sulfur.
The jar slips from Bael’s hands, landing with a soft thud on the ground. Kristy madly pulls the roots away from her throat, gasping for air. I hold out my hand and run to her. My fingertips brush hers when two roots pop up from the ground, wrapping around Kristy’s ankles. It pulls her back, face skidding along the dirt, and strings her up from a tree.
“No!” I scream, rounding on Bael. I conjure an energy ball, throwing it with all my might. Bael turns, using Lucas as a shield. I scream again when the energy ball hits Lucas’s shoulder, burning through inches of his flesh and muscle. He grunts with pain, and Bael shoves him to the ground. The root-monster stomps past, roots and vines untwisting, reforming its shape to tangle around Lucas, binding him to a tree.
“This can all end,” Bael hisses.
“Not well,” I pant, holding my hands at my sides, feeling magic buzz around me. I’m strong enough to hurt the devil. Granted, Lucifer wasn’t trying to fight me, but I found the strength deep inside and sent a blast hard enough that it hurt an archangel, albeit a fallen one. If I can hurt him, then I can hurt Bael. “For you,” I add with a sneer, and Bael laughs.
I can feel my familiars racing through the yard, and I run my thumb over my fingers, conjuring strings of magic. I release it right as my familiars shadow around Bael. The strings of magic wrap around his neck, scorching his flesh.
“Give it up,” I say. “There are more of us than there are of you.” I flick my eyes to Lucas, seeing that he’s almost pulled himself free. Kristy is hanging upside down, thrashing against the roots wrapped around her ankle. I have to get her down now, before all the blood rushes to her head.
Bael’s eye flash yellow, and his thin lips pull up into an amused smirk.
“You didn’t think I’d come alone, did you?”
Demons emerge from the forest, eyes black as the night. We’re surrounded, outmanned, and outnumbered. We might have a chance if it was just the demons alone, but pair then with Bael and we don’t stand a fucking chance.
“By sunrise, my demons will have taken over, and every little thing, every last person you love, will be ash and bone.”
Chills run through me, and I have no idea what to fucking do. Bael has command over several legions of demons, but so does Binx. We could have an all-out war, with both legions of demonic soldiers clashing against each other.
And even still, it would be too late.
Bael is here, now, and he wants to watch the world burn.
“Hold her down,” he orders two of his demons. They stride forward, black eyes haunting in the dark. The demons are possessing human bodies, and there’s a chance the human soul is still inside, being forced to watch from the inside every single thing the demon does. Humans can’t survive demonic possession for long, and