“Give up!” I shouted. “You’re disgusting. I’m never allowing you near me.”
Snarling, he pulled his lips back from his clenched teeth and seethed. The pink in his cheeks grew red as he muttered a few words. Shit, he had speeded up the spell. Water was literally crawling up my stomach, over my chest and to my neck.
Maybe provoking him hadn’t been the best idea. Keeping him placated had worked better in the past. I should’ve kept my cool, but my agent head had disappeared. Okay, it was time to disconnect from the personal.
“Gemma,” someone shouted from behind me. “Duck!”
Duck? In an invisible tank of water? What was Dave playing at? Sucking air into my lungs, I did as he said, forcing myself under the water. A smash of what sounded like glass echoed around me as the water poured away, leaving me choking on the floor.
“End it!” Dave shouted, although it sounded like he was-
Spinning to look at him, I scrambled to my feet. He was hovering in the air, his face turning blue. Lucien was strangling him to death. Running over to Dave, I grabbed his leg and tried to pull him to the ground. My fingers burnt where I touched him.
“I’ve got some...” he muttered, even though he could hardly breathe.
What did he mean? Suddenly, Dave’s head exploded. Blood rained down on me as I screamed, unable to look away from the gaping hole where his head had been. His body released to the floor amid the sounds of laughter coming from Lucien.
Turning slowly, I wiped the blood from my face. My gaze found the killer’s as he stared at me, his laughter fading away.
“Sorry,” he muttered. “That was a bit thoughtless. I was going to ask him to be best man.”
Before I could think about what I was doing, I created a circle around Lucien. He was still unable to get free of his binds.
“You’ll pay for that.” My words were quiet as I stayed where I was.
Reciting the spell that Helga had used to bring back my father, I concentrated within the circle, using my power to open up a hole from the underworld.
“What the...?” Lucien’s struggle intensified when the demon that Joseph had called upon appeared.
The hovering black shadow had bright red eyes and stared at me before turning its attention to Lucien.
Tears streamed down my face as the image of Dave’s death played over in my mind. My breathing was laboured as I held the spell, not strong enough to keep it going for long. My best friend had just died right in front of my face because of the bastard who had already killed so many people.
It was his time to pay.
“Don’t!” Lucien cried. “There’s something you should know. I’ll surrender.”
The demon flew around Lucien a couple of times, eyeing him up. That was good, hopefully the evil thing would kill him slowly.
“What should I know?” I screamed, unable to control the power that suddenly erupted in me.
Vibrations in the ground moved my feet as I watched the demon get closer to my enemy. Maybe I wasn’t using the best resources, but the witch had to pay.
“Brianna!” Lucien’s statement made me pause.
“Gemma,” Dave’s voice came from beside me.
Looking around, I almost tripped over my feet. He caught me, his smile widening when he shook his head. “You’ve always been a little clumsy, even when you are at your most powerful.”
“How are you here?” I was at a loss as to why he was alive after what I had just witnessed.
“Gemma!” Lucien screamed when the demon reached towards him. “Listen to me!”
Shrugging, Dave took my hand. “I’m an illusionist witch, remember?”
Almost shoving him away, I concentrated on Lucien. What had he said about Brianna? Dave’s re-appearance had totally thrown me off track. The demon was hesitating as he flew around Lucien. What would he do?
“I need to concentrate,” I told Dave.
“I know, let me help you to keep that demon trapped in that circle.” Taking my hand, he forced me to allow my magic to flow through him.
Actually, my power instantly surged, allowing me to focus. If the demon did try to escape before my spell dropped, it wouldn’t be good.
“What about Brianna?” I shouted to Lucien as a swift wind picked up.
He was draining the magic. Shit, if I didn’t stop him right now, he would take us all down with him. No longer looking at me, he watched the demon. When he heard my voice, he glanced at me, the demon’s head turning to look too. That thing had a problem with me, it was obvious by the way its red eyes flared.
The corner of Lucien’s lip sunk into his cheek as an evil grin emerged. “You might have got the better of me, but I have her. She’s trapped, unable to get out. If she doesn’t feed soon, she’ll desiccate and you’ll never find her.”
Not bothering to wait, I thrust the last of my power towards the circle. It was then it clicked as to why Archie’s name had come up during the conversation. He was a fellow vampire, a close companion to Brianna. Was he now aware of her predicament? Had he tried to communicate with the kidnappers, or had they approached him first? Well, whatever transpired, Kate had seen the correspondence in her vision and all would be revealed in due course.
The link was getting weaker as my heart thundered in my head. Brianna would be fine, he was bluffing.
The demon glanced at me as I glared back, my feelings enforced with a new sense of power.
“Get him!” My words were loud as they travelled across to the pair.
Lucien’s eyes widened as he wiggled against his binds, trying desperately to escape.
The demon lunged for him just as I conjured the spell that allowed the earth to open up.
A vast hole exhumed and the demon, though
