at the moment if they’re alive or dead. When the light fades to a darker ochre shade, I find Niko’s body sprawled in front of the mirror. Dropping to my knees, I pull her onto my lap, ignoring the warning in my head that Ashmedai could still be inside of her.
“Niko, wake up. Please.” I touch her neck with trembling fingers, looking for a pulse. It’s there, even if it’s a little weak.
She blinks her eyes open, and it’s another second before she focuses them on my face. “Rora? What happened?”
She sounds like my sister, and I don’t sense any malevolent aura coming from her.
“You were possessed by a demon. You don’t remember anything?”
Furrowing her eyebrows, she says, “No. The last thing I remember is going to bed.”
Son of a bitch. He broke into our house despite the wards my mother keeps in place. But it’s good that she doesn’t remember her ordeal at his hands.
Groans and curses sound behind me. I look over my shoulder and see that Ryker and Declan are alive, both now sitting up and massaging their temples. Mom runs to us and steals Niko from my arms.
“Where’s Saxon?” Solomon stares at the mirror, which does not show the room’s reflection, but a barren landscape that can only be described as hellish. Dark terrain, jagged stones, smoke, fire, and lava are everywhere, but no sign of Saxon.
“I don’t know. He crashed into the mirror and disappeared.”
“That fucking demon turned the Taluah Mirror into a portal to hell,” Ryker pipes up. “My guess is that he wanted to free his friends. Bring them here.”
“You’re hurt,” Mom tells Niko.
I see then that she has a cut on her forearm, superficial at first glance. Then I see Saxon’s sword lying not too far from her. She probably cut herself when she fell on top of the blade, but fuck, if Saxon somehow ended up in hell, he’s weaponless.
“Where’s my damn athame?” Ryker whines.
Facing the mirror again, I stretch my arm, but Solomon drags me back before I can touch the shimmering surface.
“What are you doing? Do you want to be dragged into hell too?”
“You don’t expect me to simply stay here and not go after Saxon. He’s my mate!”
“You might not be able to come back.”
“I have to try.” Hot tears stream down my face.
Mom stands, pulling Niko with her. “You love the vampire that much?”
“Yes,” I breathe out. “He’s the love of my life.”
Remorse seems to shine in her eyes. “I didn’t realize you felt that way. I’m sorry.”
I wipe my cheeks with the back of my hand. “Save your apologies. They’re useless to me.”
“If you’re determined to rescue your mate, you’ll only have one shot to return using that mirror.” Declan walks over.
“What is it?”
“You must slay Ashmedai and use his blood to reopen the gate from your side.”
“How am I going to kill him?”
“With this.” He offers me his athame. “There’s a cost to wielding this weapon to slay a demon, though.”
“What do you mean?”
“To ignite the full potential of the Alton jewel, you must sacrifice something vital, something you don’t know you want yet.”
“My soul?” I stare at the small weapon in my hand.
“No, not your soul. It varies from person to person.”
I take a deep breath. “That’s it?”
“Yes,” Declan replies.
“No, not yes,” Solomon butts in, cutting a frown at the man. “You’re forgetting an important detail.” He turns to me. “Once you give what the jewel wants, you’re bound to the creed.”
“What do you mean?”
“The Alton jewel in each athame is linked to a matrix of energy. Its power is what makes it possible for us to do our job,” Declan explains. “Once you’re linked to the jewel, you’re linked to the matrix.”
“Is that bad?”
“You’ll become a warlock, and your number one priority will be to hunt down demons,” Solomon answers.
“No, Aurora. That’s a terrible life,” Mom chimes in.
“No, it isn’t,” Ryker snorts. “It’s better than serving the king of a dying race.”
There’s nothing to think over. The decision is simple. I’ll do whatever it takes to save Saxon, even if that requires going to the bowels of hell and losing something vital.
“Are you really going, Rora?” Niko asks in a small voice.
“Yes.”
She leaves Mom’s side to crash into my arms. I hug her tight, burying my face in her hair. “Take care of Miranda. You have to stick together.”
“Don’t talk like that. You’re coming back.”
“Yes, I will.” I kiss her forehead, then I briefly glance at our mother.