no idea what type of things a blood vow did to a person.
“Normally it doesn’t. But let’s say I gave my deal with Aurora an extra punch.” The bitch chuckles.
Fucker. If I had use of my arms, I’d punch her in the throat. All I can do is glower until my eyes practically pop out of my skull.
She shoves the grimoire into my hands, and commands, “Find me Ashmedai.”
My tongue becomes operational again, but I discover that freedom of speech is not in my cards right now. The only word that leaves my mouth is the name she told me.
The pages begin to flicker on their own, until they stop at a chapter titled “How to Summon Ashmedai.” There’s a picture of a dark, towering demon with spiraling horns, orange eyes, and an expression of pure evil. Merely staring at it makes my heart shrivel with panic and darkness. There’s another drawing on the page at the bottom. A pentagram, and in the middle, the same symbol I saw Elena worshipping in her apartment. Looking closely, it seems to be a logographic alphabet of unknown origin.
“What does it say?” she asks eagerly, peering at the page.
I feel a bitter satisfaction that she can’t see anything, but it’s eclipsed by what she’s making me do now that I’m officially a Belmont. The thought makes me sick. Don’t think about that right now, Aurora. I don’t want to answer her question, but naturally, my will is worthless at the moment.
“We need to draw Ashmedai’s symbol on unhallowed ground,” I say.
“Yes, yes. That part he told me.” She bobs her white head up and down.
“How?” I manage to sneak the question in. She must have slackened her hold on me.
“In a vision. Ashmedai has been communicating with me for decades. I’m his bride,” she replies with the air of someone who is seriously enamored.
“You want to marry this?” I point at Ashmedai’s picture.
She squints while her lips become nothing but a thin line. “I can’t see what you’re pointing at. Get to work.”
“Wait, you want me to draw the pentagram?”
I’ll keep asking as many stupid questions as she allows me. I have to buy time in the hopes that Saxon heard my call.
“I know what you’re doing. Stop wasting time. No one is coming to save you, darling. Didn’t you know? Salem is burning.” She cackles like the villain she is.
“What do you mean Salem is burning?”
She snaps her fingers, pointing them to a dark spot close to her. “That’s the spot the dragon shifter perished last night. He was killed in cold blood. That’s the unhallowed ground you need.”
Like a robot that has been programmed, I find a can of white spray paint in Elena’s bag. She has removed my ability to speak again, so I perform my task in silence. Once the pentagram and Ashmedai’s symbol are drawn, I read the rest of the spell. A sacrifice must be made. This can only mean one thing.
Gripped by terror, I whirl toward Calvin. She’s going to kill one of us, and since she needs me to read the grimoire, that means he’s the victim.
He seems to realize that too. His eyes are as round as saucers and he’s sweating profusely as he watches Elena pull an athame from her bag and then drag Calvin to the center of the pentagram.
“Let me go, witch!”
“Shhh, handsome. This will be over soon.”
She glances at me. “What are you waiting for? Write down that chant. Ashmedai only serves the one who summons him.”
My hands are shaking as I find a piece of paper and pen in her bag to write down the demonic spell. The tremors are my own reaction to what’s about to go down. Does it mean her control over me is weakening? I try to stop the pen from moving, but the words keep forming on the blank paper. The spell is short, and I’m done copying it in less than a minute.
“Hurry up. I’ve waited long enough to meet my groom in person,” Elena pipes up.
I hand over the spell, making the mistake of looking into Calvin’s eyes. They’re bloodshot and filled with raw fear. I hated him for being such a jackass, but I never wished this ending for him. I want to say I’m sorry that I’m not strong enough to save him, but the apology gets stuck in my throat.
She makes me walk backward until I’m out of the pentagram, then she forces Calvin on his knees.