“Now bring him into the fire,” Amber said.
“Yes,” George yelled. “I understand.”
The only way to bring the tips of their spears into the fire was to raise Prescott up. Ricky gripped the shaft with one hand and pressed down hard on the end with his other to use his spear like a lever. George was doing the same thing.
It took all of his strength and focus. A skinned animal galloped by, but Ricky didn’t flinch. He heard monsters screeching and calling from the woods, but he kept his attention to the task. He and George lifted Prescott and the swirling smoke came with him. Soon, they joined him with the fire and closed their triangle again.
“Chant,” Amber said. “Do the chant.”
“It’s too soon,” George said. “He won’t go into the vortex. He’s not from there.”
Ricky looked between his brother and Amber. She looked surprised by what he said, but didn’t argue. Sparks flew up from the logs as they lowered Prescott into the fire. He seemed unaffected by the flames, but twisted and snarled at the smoke as it swirled around him. Amber’s demon was attacking Prescott, almost like it was doing her bidding. As Prescott thrashed, Ricky almost had the spear torn from his grip. When he tightened his hands around the shaft, he was nearly pulled off balance.
George was struggling to maintain his grip as well.
“Hold him,” Amber said.
“What do you think we’re trying to do?” George asked.
Ricky wasn’t sure if she was talking to them or to the demon that was tormenting Prescott.
Amber stepped back from the fire and Prescott tried to lunge towards her. He almost pulled free from Ricky’s spear.
Amber got her fingers under the wooden door that covered Prescott’s hole. The tendons on her neck stood out as she strained to lift it. As it rose up from the forest floor, Ricky saw the flames and dirt being drawn into the hole, like there was a vacuum down there.
Ricky realized that he was being pulled in that direction too.
Once she got the door halfway up, it flew open the rest of the way, crashing into the trees. The pull was undeniable. Amber tumbled to her knees and grabbed a root so she wouldn’t be sucked in. Ricky wanted to help her, but he couldn’t release his grip on the spear—it was the only thing keeping him upright. As Amber clawed away from the hole, the fire, the demon, and Prescott were all being pulled towards it.
George was kicking at the logs and rocks, pushing everything along.
The wind made the flames roar. Ricky managed to nudge a few of the logs too. His feet were burning. The bulk of the heat was sucked away. When Amber got to her feet and came around behind Ricky, he shifted to the side and they formed a new triangle. The demon tried to go to her, fighting against the wind, but it seemed like Prescott had a grip on its smoky form.
They were locked in battle.
George and Ricky were trying to push everything towards the hole and the monsters were trying to get away from it. Amber picked up a stick and pushed the bones of the fire. A major log, caught in the wind, lifted and tumbled, end over end, before it disappeared down the hole. George moved to the far side. Their triangle became complete again with the three of them roughly on opposite sides of the hole. With every push from Amber, their triangle closed tighter.
“Chant,” Amber said.
This time, George agreed.
He began to recite the lines that would tighten the vortex to a close. Ricky recognized the incantations that were meant to end the Moonlight Ascension ritual. He wanted to yell that it wasn’t right—the ritual would have no affect on Prescott. At best, they were going to send Amber’s demon away again and they would be left to deal with Prescott alone. He was clearly too strong for them.
But as George said the lines, the wind increased and swirled. It was forming a tornado, centered over the pit. Instead of blowing the flames out, they flared, filling the forest with orange light that sent stark shadows of the trees radiating out in every direction.
Prescott got his arms around Amber’s smoke demon and tilted his head back to laugh. He pulled free from George’s spear and then Ricky’s a moment later. Rising up, hovering over the hole, Prescott disappeared into the cone of flames. Ricky could still hear his evil laugh over the wind and the sound of galloping hooves around them.
Ricky looked at his brother just in time. George finished reciting a line and pointed. Ricky’s mouth opened and he began speaking immediately. The shouted words tore from his throat on their own. George said another couple of lines and then pointed at Amber. She appeared shocked as her own mouth opened and more words spilled from her.
The three of them spoke in unison. Ricky remembered George telling him what to say, even though he could have sworn that everything had been forgotten.
As they reached the crescendo of the ceremony, the flames flared, sputtered, and flickered out. The logs had already fallen into the pit. Amber’s smoke demon was gone. All that was left was Prescott, hovering over the pit.
His mouth opened again and Ricky smelled death in the air once more as Prescott laughed.
As he watched, Ricky realized that he had been wrong. He thought that Prescott had teeth in his head, but he didn’t. They were actually fangs—not like the long teeth of a dog, but rows of needle-thin spikes in its mouth. The scaly lips were parted and a long tongue ran over them. Ricky’s attention didn’t stay on the mouth for long. His eyes drifted up to
