“You’re forgetting I’m a Holland witch. Let go.”
He stopped straining. Our breath came out in a rush, and our body sagged. He sucked in a deep breath. The inferno roared.
I took the next breath. And the one after that. I scrambled to my knees, and Ember shoved the book toward me. I recited the words to rip him from my body, my mouth moving so fast I could have been speaking in tongues.
My muscles seized. I couldn’t breathe for one second, two, three, four. Finally I exhaled and drew in another breath. I said the spell again. Then a third time, putting more vim than I had ever dared into the incantation.
A boom so loud it shook the house sounded from somewhere…inside me, outside, I couldn’t tell. The sigil on my arm burned down to my bones, and if I didn’t know any better, I’d have said my entire body turned inside out before righting itself again.
I gasped, my lungs tightening like I’d inhaled fiberglass, and when I exhaled, billowing black smoke rolled out of my mouth and nostrils to swirl around the skull lying on the floor.
Ember grabbed my arm and yanked me out of the circle while a storm brewed inside. Flashes of electricity pulsed and crackled. The dark cloud thickened, spinning like a tornado and gathering above the skull.
My sister’s nails dug into my arm as we both stood there staring, unable to move.
The skull levitated, the tornado drawing it upward into the storm. The cloud took the shape of a man as the skull ascended. It billowed around the bone, and lightning cracked, blinding me for half a second. My vision wavered. The cloud dissipated.
My mouth dropped open at the sight of the demon.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
“Release me!” Chaos boomed.
I needed to close my mouth, but my muscles wouldn’t obey the command from my brain. Not because the demon had control, but because holy Hecate he was huge.
He stood seven and a half feet tall, with broad shoulders and a barrel of a chest. His skin, the color of red brick, stretched taut over the most defined muscles I’d ever seen. And his horns!
Thick, textured horns extended upward before curling around the sides of his head like a ram. My gaze drifted down his body to his… Oh, my. I swallowed hard, finally regaining my motor skills.
“Holy shit,” Ember said. “That’s what has been inside you all this time?”
I smiled. Hecate knew why, but I smiled. “Isn’t he magnificent?”
“More like the stuff of nightmares.” She clutched her sword and took two steps backward.
I moved toward the circle. “Chaos?”
“Don’t get too close. That perimeter won’t hold him forever.”
“He won’t hurt me. Will you, Chaos?” I didn’t know why, but the temptation to step inside the circle and run my hand over his chest had me toeing the salt line.
“We had a deal, Ash. Let me go.” His eyes glowed green, and his lips peeled back over pointy teeth.
“We need to vanquish him.” Ember paced the perimeter of the circle. “It’s too dangerous. I can feel his power from here.”
He roared and lunged at my sister. She jumped like a frightened cat, but thankfully the circle held him in. “We had a deal.”
“Okay, both of you, take a breath.” I held up my hands. “Nobody’s vanquishing anyone. We did have a deal, and I will uphold my end of the bargain once I’m sure you’ll hold up yours.”
His nostrils flared. “Of course I will.”
“Don’t trust him, Ash.” Ember continued pacing. “Demons are liars.”
“I’m not lying.”
“How do we know?” I crossed my arms.
He closed his eyes like he was trying to calm himself down before he spoke. “We’ve been through this. You released me from prison. I am in your debt.”
“Uh-huh.” Ember stopped in front of him. “How do we know you won’t be like Isabel and kill us so we can’t collect?”
If looks could kill, Ember would’ve been nothing more than a heap of flesh. Chaos grunted at her and then looked at me. “Your arm.”
The sigil pulsed deep red. “Why is that still there?”
“We are still bonded.”
I rubbed the design as if it were drawn on with marker and I could smear it. Needless to say, my effort was fruitless. “Take it off.”
He waited a beat, two, three before he said, “As long as it’s there, I belong to you. If you’re so concerned about me going back on my word, I suggest you keep it intact until this is over.”
I laughed. “You belong to me? As in…”
“I serve you.” He said it matter-of-factly like it didn’t bother him the slightest that he was mine.
For some reason, it didn’t bother me either. I had my very own demon. Woo hoo! “I believe him.”
Ember looked at me like I was the one with horns. “He’s manipulating you. He’s been in your head too long.”
