I bit my tongue once more to assuage the image. My pronunciation of Dead Languages was hopeless. So bad there were supernatural toddlers who spoke them better than me. But in that moment, all I could think of was a single word. One I had seen in the circle Lucifer had drawn as he used his power to birth more demons.
I butchered the angelical word for death. The language was never meant for mortal minds. But I was so desperate that it seemed plausible to try.
The necromancer staggered backwards, taking me with him. My eardrums burst. His body convulsed so hard he let go of me. His hands clamped around his throat as though he was having difficulty breathing. I dropped to the floor like a stone, inhaling sharply. The ghouls stopped ravening in confusion. His hold on then slipped.
I shuddered as I hit the ground. A thousand spines lanced through my mind. Blood poured from my nose and ears. I saw the ghouls fall to their knees.
I took advantage of their momentary distraction and dragged myself back to the mirror. It was a slow, agonising crawl. With more blood seeping from my wound, connecting to Basil wasn’t a problem.
“Lex!” he shouted. “Where are you?”
“I don’t know,” I squeaked.
The ghouls rallied. Basil’s eyes narrowed. He nicked his own palm with a knife until it bled and placed it against mine. “There’s something causing a barrier,” Basil said. “Look at me.”
I peeled my gaze away from the horror of the room in front of me. My mind was trying to block out the sound of the ghouls crunching on Astrid.
“We’ve done this before,” he said. “It’s a simple spell. Just find an anchor and I’ll pull you out.”
I was just fine and dandy compared to Astrid. So I did find an anchor. I reached my foot out until I made contact with hers. As the necromancer heaved and the ghouls snarled, I shoved all of the magic I could into her. The glass warmed beneath my palm.
“That’s it!” Basil said. Bright orange light flared on the other side of the mirror. There was a loud pop. Tendrils of Basil’s orange magic whipped out and latched on to Astrid.
“Blue!” I heard Kai scream from somewhere in the room. But the portal Basil created was already closing. When it winked out, they were both gone. And I was in a room alone with the monsters.
3
I rolled onto my back. The necromancer smashed his fist into his chest. It dispelled whatever I’d done to take hold of him. He took a menacing step forward. I smiled at him. That’s right. I might be dying soon, but I had taken away the prize he had probably promised his ghouls. Human flesh wasn’t nearly as powerful. In my delusion, I chose to ignore the fact that I had seraphim blood inside me.
The necromancer made a grabbing motion. An invisible fist latched around my throat. I was lifted into the air. My feet dangled uselessly. I made a choking sound as I struggled to breathe. At some point, my nerve endings must have become overloaded. The necromancer retracted his hand and I went sailing across the room towards him.
The second before his fingers would have gripped my throat for real, green light sizzled in my periphery. The necromancer’s head snapped in that direction, seconds before one pissed-off Nephilim appeared out of thin air.
Kai grabbed the necromancer where his neck would have been and slammed his fist right into the necromancer’s cowled head. I hit the floor again, but this time, the ghouls left me alone. Most of the supernaturals had an “attack the biggest threat” mentality.
Instead of the green of his angelfire, swirls of darkened mist hung around Kai’s body. It reminded me of the wards that the Sisterhood had used to stop the supernaturals from manifesting their powers. Kai brought his hands together over the necromancer’s head. He tugged it sideways.
A disturbing crunch speared through the room. I turned away as Kai literally ripped the necromancer’s head off. In death, the shroud around the necromancer disappeared. He was just a man again. The mist dissipated. Tossing the body aside like it was a tin can, Kai turned towards the ghouls. The expression on his face was thunderous. Even in their frenzied state, the ghouls cowered slightly. He didn’t care that they were masterless, or that they had been controlled.
Creatures I had thought were indestructible had their arms ripped right off. My stomach turned. I was losing steam. It was the only thing that finally stopped that Nephilim jackass from his rage frenzy. He allowed the last three ghouls to flee as he crouched down and lifted me into his arms.
In my head, I swatted at him. In reality, I think I just squirmed a bit.
“Let go of me you stupid bastard,” I said.
“Shhh,” he said.
“Why don’t you go and see if Chanelle needs her –”
A ripple of pleasure and pain splintered through my body as he teleported us. We hung in suspension much longer than we normally would have. In the space between dimensions, I felt Kai’s angelfire wrap around me and drag me closer to his chest. He held me there as awareness washed over me. There was something wrong with this place that stopped supernaturals from teleporting. He was trying to fuse his power to me, keeping me with him so I wouldn’t be stolen again.
When we finally reached the other side, I was just about ready to pass out. I almost did when I opened my eyes and saw Astrid standing in Basil’s living room. Her clothes were different to the ones she’d had on in the shack.
I tried to wriggle out of Kai’s hold, but his arms became metal.
“Let go of me!” I screeched. He refused to comply. The room was filled to the brim. What caused my already-faltering brain to go into meltdown was the presence of the salt-and-pepper-haired Nephilim.
“If you
