PAIN SHOT THROUGH MY entire body as I blinked awake. I groaned, finding myself lying on a cold floor. Where the hell was I? I glanced around. It looked familiar. Gods, my body hurt. There was dry blood on my arms and legs. It looked like the wounds were healing, which was a good sign.
“Look who decided to wake up! You know, I thought it was rude you would take a nap while we had company.”
I looked around. Drake stood next to Maggie, who was tied to a chair. She looked scared, tears running down her face. He knew I wouldn’t abandon any of my people, so he used her to lure me out. Getting angry, I tried to move, but found myself bound by magic strong enough to hold a Vampire. When I tried calling to my own magic, nothing came. Not even the necklace lit up.
“Are you trying to use your magic, my love?” Drake asked. “Well, it won’t work. Just so happens I have a Witch who was able to block all magic in the area. At least the Witch kind. My demon magic works fairly well.” He held out his hand. Fire bloomed over it, flickering in the slight breeze. “Do you recognize where you are? This is the home for our children! When I saw Ethan bring you here, I knew this would be the perfect place to open the gates of Hell.”
That was why I recognized it. The home Ethan bought. Why did Drake need me for his ritual? He could have done it without me even knowing. It didn’t make any sense.
I looked around, seeing two bodies lying on the floor on the other side of the room. Recognizing Jenna’s hair, I gasped. Was she the Witch he had working for him?
“Why do you have Jenna and...” I couldn’t tell who was next to her. “Who is that?”
“Roark.”
I gasped. “Why do you need them?”
“I needed someone to spell the house and the bindings. Roark was the only way I could convince Jenna. When I threatened to kill her, he agreed to help. A brother helping a brother. It was considerate of him, don’t you think?”
“You’re not his brother.”
“You’re right. Which is why I’m okay with killing his woman.”
Drake walked around Maggie, not taking his eyes off me. It was hard watching the demon do these horrible things in Drake’s body. I wanted to kill him for it, but what could I do? I had no power. I had nothing that would help me get free of the situation I was in.
“You have me now, so why don’t you let everyone else go?”
“Because the more blood I have, the better this ritual will go. My demons are due to arrive any moment.” He grinned. “Then the massacre will begin. But don’t worry. They won’t touch you. I need you safe. At least for now.” He walked over to me, crouching so he could cradle my face in his hands. “I need your babies.”
Jerking away, I tried to sit up. “Why? What do they have to do with this?”
Standing again, he clasped his hands behind his back as he walked around the empty room. “They are the last ritual. The one thing I need to finally open the gates. I thought it was you, but I was wrong. I remember Bael explaining that the light and dark must combine into one. Then I realized... One good child and one bad. How perfect! And they’re strong beings, my love. They are powerful already, despite how tiny they are.”
I felt the babies moving, as if sensing the impending doom. I would not let him have them. No matter what, I would find a way out of this. When I glanced out the window and saw the sun starting to set, I began to panic. Odds were he was going to start the ritual when the moon was high, when the night was the most powerful. I tried to break my binds, but they were far too strong.
I wanted to move, feeling the sudden urge to cry. This was my fault. I should have done something before it got this far.
After what seemed like hours, demons slowly started to show up and filled the room. Most stared at me, grins on their faces. The Demon King was about to show up, and I was the prize offering.
I saw Jenna and Roark start to sit up. Jenna looked angry, while Roark was distracted with trying everything he could to escape.
Unfortunately, Jenna was the only one who could break the barrier on Witch magic. Drake probably made Roark command her to never break the spell, even if somebody asked her to.
I thought of Ethan, wishing he could find me, but his magic was probably blocked from detecting us, too. I suspected that was another condition of the spell.
Frustrated, I shifted around to try and get comfortable. It was completely dark out now, which meant the ritual would soon start.
“Welcome to the last of the rituals, my demons! Tonight, we will welcome King Bael!” Drake shouted, a wide smile on his face. I didn’t think I would look at Drake the same again after this.
As if he would survive.
The demons cheered. I watched as Drake motioned to me, two demons coming over and hauling me to my feet. Drake crouched and used a piece of chalk to draw a white circle in the middle of the room.
“Welcome Sophie to our ritual! Without her children, we wouldn’t be able to open the gates for our master.”
Everyone cheered again, clapping as I was dragged to the center of the circle. Drake swept his arm in front of him, a magical wall forming around me so I couldn’t move. He stepped toward me, a wide smile on his face. The magical bindings released. I stood there, rubbing my wrists. Then he pushed his
