I didn’t try to suppress the bubbling rage in me at the sight. Anger helped to keep the horror at bay. All of that horror came slamming back when we reached the edge of the portal field and saw why the demons were no longer swarming the rest of the Academy.
The portal was gone. It had served its purpose. The demon had transgressed into the Earth dimension and now had physical bodies. Evidence of its existence presented itself in the enormous ring of scorched earth where the portal had been. Beside the desecrated ground, our professors were being marched in front of a line of what I could only describe as Nephilim executioners. Jacqueline was at the head of the procession.
Until now, Max’s composure had been rock solid. A low rumble ignited in his chest.
“Max,” I hissed. But then I caught the line of his sight and saw a sandy-haired head in the middle of the procession. I dug my nails into Max’s forearm so hard it drew blood. He didn’t turn to me but his golden eyes glanced to the side.
“Nephilim,” I said. “I need one of them. Don’t care which one.”
There was no time to get closer. Max broke into a full-pelted run, changing in mid-air. I dropped to my knees and fished a packet of salt out of my pocket. Max’s gravelly roar tore into the revered silence. The low demons answered his call. I had seconds to draw the circle around me.
The circle in my mind solidified first. Then I sprinkled a thick circle of salt to signify the physical barrier. I placed candles all around and lit them using magic. For twenty full seconds, no demons noticed me in the corner by the grevillea bushes. My luck ran out soon enough as I heard the baying draw closer. I set the cauldron on the ground wishing like hell I had Charming with me. Using my magic to light the fire would dig into my reserves.
The fire lit the base of the cauldron at the same time the first demon slammed into the barrier of the circle. The world rippled around me but the candlelight held strong. Seconds later, a lion’s paw struck the demon aside. Max sailed over the top of me. In his shifted form, his ability to leap was tremendous.
I dragged my attention away from him to concentrate on the task in front of me. Inside the dorms I’d talked a big game about making the elixir. Now that I was here, the thought unnerved me. I knew the ingredients by heart. That wasn’t the issue. Sixteen years of beaten-down spirit was the problem. As was the end game for me.
Sixteen years of being told not to reveal the true nature of my power in case it made me a target. I heard laughter in my head. It wrapped my heart in ice.
Soon, the demon said. Come to me willingly and I might not bleed the lion dry.
My head snapped up to where at least six popobawa were crawling on Max. They tried to get at him from all angles. He allowed them to get close enough to make contact and then rolled. They didn’t have enough time to dislodge before he rolled over them, his body weight fatally crushing. When he got to his feet, Max turned to face me. He opened his mouth and roared. Startled from my icy stupor, I tossed salt into the boiling water.
“Come at me,” I spoke to nobody but knew full well the demon could hear me. “There’s murder in my blood.”
As I said the words, I sliced my pointer finger with a paring knife I’d picked up in my room. I winced as the first drop of blood coloured the water pink. The second and third drops deepened the brew.
I closed my eyes and thought of each of the ingredients of the Elixir of Life: Unicorn’s tears, the wind from a snow-capped mountain, the laugher of a newborn baby, ambergris from a rainbow whale, the first yawn after a good night’s sleep. One by one I imagined everything I knew of the potion. I directed my thoughts into the brew then stirred it with a wooden spoon made of hawthorn wood. Grammy had bought me the spoon on my fourteenth birthday. The tree was from Seraphina.
A thump by my right had my eyes peeling open. My jaw dropped. The world around me had turned into a canvas of popobawa bodies. They scratched and kicked at the circle, trying to stop me from completing the spell. Overhead, three winged shadows glided. I had a feeling they would have swooped had it not been for Max who was gouging his way through the pile of popobawa. Every now and then, Max would leap up in an attempt to catch hold of one of the Nephilim. I didn’t dare entertain the thought of what would happen if Max went down.
I lowered my eyes back to the potion in front of me before my mind could settle on the deep crimson gash along his right side.
I stared into the liquid to find the potion was no longer pink. Instead, it sparkled like a pearl. Smiling, I brushed my hand over the steam and repeated the ingredients once more. I had all but the last two. One of them I had to rely on Max to retrieve. He was doing a good job of crushing popobawa in his wake but getting close to the Nephilim was going to be an issue.
Let’s see if I can get a sample of that blood you offered, the demon cooed in my head. Around me, the popobawa scratched and bit
