“Demons don’t have the luxuries you witches and warlocks enjoy. But it shouldn’t be that way. We should be equals.” He pointed to the hooded demons beside him. “These are my people, and I will free them. Even if it means damning myself with the blackest magic, even if it means waging war against light magic, I will rise to power and give demons the recognition they deserve.”
I raised my athame. “Whatever helps you sleep at night.” Then I charged.
A wall of magic slammed into me, and I fell backward on my bottom with an ungraceful, “Oof!”
El Diablo roared with laughter. “Oh, sweet child. Once you cross the circle, you are bound to the ritual. Just as he is.”
My heart rate accelerated as I glanced around the powdered circle in panic.
It doesn’t matter. Don’t let this stop you. You can do this.
I gripped my athame firmly to quell the shaking of my hands. In my other hand, I withdrew the stake from my dress and spread my feet shoulder-width apart as Oliver had taught me in our training.
“It only takes one hit,” I said loudly. “I only need to take down one of you, and your precious coven is down a demon. The ritual will be broken.”
Cloaks rustled and shifted as the demons fretted over my words.
“Or I could just Push you all with my magic and hope the rock wall behind you provides a nice cushion.”
“What do you want?” El Diablo said sharply.
“Let Oliver go,” I growled.
“Why would I do that?”
“Because I’m not alone,” I said, raising my chin in defiance. “In a few minutes, my coven will arrive and slaughter everyone here. Or, if you let us go, you can live another day.”
El Diablo tisked at me and shook his head. “You’re bluffing.”
“Try me!” I shouted, my nostrils flaring in anger.
“Desi?”
I stiffened as Oliver’s weak voice croaked behind me, shattering my resolve and courage. Slowly, I turned to face him.
He rose up on an elbow, his eyes barely open. His head turned to take in the scene before his incoherent gaze settled on me.
“Desi,” he whispered. “Let him do this.”
My heart dropped to my stomach. “What? No! I’m going to save you, Oliver.”
Oliver shook his head, his eyes closing and his brow creasing in pain. “Let him do this. He’s—he’s my father.”
My heart stopped.
A pile of bricks seemed to sink in my stomach, dragging me down, deeper and deeper into my pit of anguish I’d tried so hard to run from.
“No,” I said, shaking my head in disbelief. I crouched to Oliver’s level and forced his battered and bruised face toward me. “Don’t let him feed you these lies, Oliver.”
“Oh, they aren’t lies,” El Diablo said loudly, his voice gleeful. “Think about it. Haven’t you noticed there is something . . . off about him? Something you can’t explain?”
I swallowed, remembering how Oliver’s entire body had burst into flames when the vampires had surrounded us. How he’d easily set my own body on fire too, though I’d never heard of an Elemental who could do that.
“Look at the injury on his arm,” El Diablo continued. “The cut from an athame. It hasn’t healed, has it?”
My eyes found the bleeding wound on Oliver’s arm. I hadn’t realized it was the same place the shapeshifter had stabbed him with my athame. I remembered him wearing bandages a few days ago. And how the pain of the injury bothered him when he changed clothes.
It had never healed.
“No,” I said again, my voice numb and my head spinning.
Oliver’s father was El Diablo. Oliver had demon blood flowing inside him.
“Yes,” El Diablo said loudly. “And now you understand why I can’t just let him go. To sacrifice the spawn of my blood is so much more powerful than just sacrificing a simple Elemental.”
My eyes drifted across the cavern until they settled on El Diablo. His shoulders shook with quiet laughter. Triumphant laughter.
Rage boiled through me, crumbling the bricks in my stomach and coursing through me. My magic sizzled, and I screamed in fury. With a powerful slash, I flung the athame toward El Diablo, and it embedded into his shoulder.
His laughter died, and a howl of rage and anguish pierced the air.
I thrust my hands forward, and, for the first time in my life, I Pulled. Like a mime holding an invisible rope, I Pulled until El Diablo stumbled forward, his feet drawn by my power. My arms screamed in protest, but I kept Pulling until El Diablo crossed the circle.
His flames scorched my body as he straightened. I could practically feel the anger radiating from his body, but I was ready.
He lurched forward, but I ducked. He lunged again. I dodged and yanked my athame from his body. He roared in pain. The searing hot hilt burned into my palm, but I held it as the power of my magic carried me, pushing me forward.
Kill him. End him. Break the bond, and Oliver will be free.
I swung the athame, but El Diablo dodged my strike. Fire seared against my arm as he knocked me backward. Pricks of pain sliced through me as I realized my skirt was on fire. I quickly patted the flames down, but El Diablo was in front of me again. He kicked me to the ground and pressed down on my chest with his foot.
Agony tore through me as I struggled to breathe. Shadows pressed in on me, clouding my vision.
Something heavy collided with my head, and a brief overwhelming blackness took over.
Yet something kept me conscious. Something brought me back.
Clarity returned to my eyes. El Diablo approached Oliver, who had gone limp again.
Blackness tried to close in on me, but I blinked, my brain straining to remain coherent.
El Diablo drew a long blade and raised it.
Oliver made no move
