“Her pendant is gone.”
“Crappity crap. It must’ve fallen off when he held her upside down.” I slipped mine off and put it around her neck along with my satchel.
“What’s your plan?”
“Well, I have a whole other life inside me. A Prince of Hell. You can keep me safe, right? I doubt a little electricity would hurt you.”
“I…”
“I’ll let you take over like you did down there and in the kitchen. Get me through the spell and then give me back control.” And then we’d have a long talk about consent.
“That’s a horrible plan.”
The sound of wood crashing echoed from below before feet pounded the stairs.
“Unless you have something better, do it now.”
The golem roared, reached the top of the stairs, and lunged.
I blacked out, meaning Chaos took complete control. Yay. My plan worked.
Until it didn’t. My demon got Ember through the spell no problem, but even without control of my body, I felt every magical jolt of electricity as it ripped through me, tearing my insides to shreds.
Then…nothing.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Every muscle in my body ached. My skin was raw, and the scent of burnt flesh assaulted my nose. I blinked my eyes open and squinted against the daylight streaming in through the windows. It felt like daggers through my pupils. I recoiled.
“There she is.” Ember sat on the mattress next to me, and my blurry vision finally came into focus. To my right, a family photo taken in the library and a twelve-inch phoenix statue sat atop a wooden dresser. The closet door on the adjacent wall stood halfway ajar, and a stack of books lay on the nightstand next to me. We were in my bedroom.
“How the hell?” I tried to sit up, but my skin felt like it was tearing with every move I made. My head fell back on the pillow.
“Shh…” Ember gently touched my shoulder, sending pain slicing down my arm. “Don’t move. Patrice is working on a spell to heal your burns.”
“Burns?” How could I possibly have burns? I was a fire witch, and that part of my magic actually worked.
Ember nodded. “Electrical. How do you feel?”
“Extra crispy.” The words rasped through my aching throat, and I winced.
“What were you thinking?” She brushed a strand of hair out of my face. “Why did you take your crystal off?”
“To put it on you. You lost yours in the fight.” I cringed, the pinching motion of my face intensifying the pain.
“Here. Drink this. It’ll help numb the pain until Patrice gets back.” She held a straw to my lips, and I sipped the bitter liquid. Hints of amaranth, chamomile, and dandelion flooded my tastebuds.
“Can she pour it over your entire body? This pain is excruciating.”
I laughed and winced again. “Hey, at least my plan worked.”
Ember gave me another sip. “Chaos?”
I nodded. “He can’t handle the pain.”
“Typical man.” She laughed. “Though he’s probably the only reason we made it out.”
“We wouldn’t be in this pain if your plan had worked.”
“We wouldn’t be alive if it hadn’t. How are we alive? How did we get here?”
Ember cut her gaze to the open door before getting up and closing it. “I told Patrice to let herself up when she had the potion.” She lowered her voice. “After you froze me… Who knew magic wouldn’t work on a golem, right?”
“Sorry about that.”
She shrugged. “You didn’t know. Anyway, after you froze me, and I realized no spells would work, I was sure we were done. But you, little sis, are stronger than you think. How did you get me up the stairs so quickly and away from the golem? Your spell wiped my memory for the time I was frozen.”
“I dragged you. Chaos stalled the beast.” The tea had eased the rawness in my throat a little. It did nothing for the rest of the pain.
“How?”
“I let him take over like he did in the kitchen. The golem went haywire and tore the library apart. While he was busy, I got you up the stairs. Then Chaos took over again to get us through the electricity spell. I blacked out after that.”
“That makes sense. I can imagine the pain you must have felt, and if he felt it too… His power leaked out and gave me the biggest adrenaline spike I’ve ever felt. I busted through the freezing spell in time to watch the golem stop at the exit and fall back. He must be bound to the library. Anyway, I scooped you up and got the hell out.”
“So much for getting in and out undetected. Do you think they’ll retaliate?”
“Only if they figure out it was us. Tell me you know where the skulls are.”
