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I could. I just didn’t want to waste energy, not yet.
“I’ll say it one more time: let them go.” There was a bite to my words.
Paimon’s amused mask fell and he glowered at me. “You insolent child.” He threw his dragon magic at me. I pushed Tyren out of the way and ran to the other side, just a couple of steps, enough to get away from the strike and from the others.
But he didn’t turn to me. He turned to Tyren. The teenage wolf snarled and jumped at Paimon. Paimon stepped back and let a wave of darkfire hit Tyren’s side. He flew several feet back and fell hard on the ground with a yelp.
“No!” I screamed, my rage gaining new heights.
I focused on my magic. It was time to call the fire wolf. It was my only chance. With renewed energy, I ran toward the forest beyond the backyard. If he followed me, I could shift into the fire wolf, and if I lost control, I wouldn’t hurt anyone else.
I took only three steps and froze in place when a whirlwind of dragon magic swirled around me. The whirlwind pushed me back until I was facing Paimon, two feet from him.
“I told you there was no reason for you to fight me,” he said, leaning over me. “I will always win.” He closed his hand around my throat and pulled me up, my feet dangling in the air. I gasped for air. “Now, say goodbye.”
He started absorbing my magic.
28
SHANE
Like a maniac, I cut through the crowd, until I found Drake and Thea—they had crossed through the portal and joined the chaos on this side.
I skidded to a stop beside them. “He went after Raika,” I blurted out.
Drake stared me. “Paimon? But …” His eyes widened. “This is a distraction.”
I nodded.
“Oh, no.” Thea put both hands over her mouth. “And the castle is under protected.”
“Shit.” Drake looked around. He made a beeline to the back of our army. I followed him and it was only then that I noticed there were more people following me—Dom, Lucille, Hamill, Kaz, Ariella, Norah, and Doreen.
“What’s going on?” Ariella asked, but I waved her off. I was too wound up to talk right now.
Drake halted in front of Aspen, who had been ordered to stay at the back, where he could open the portal again in case we needed to evacuate.
“Open a portal to DuMoir,” Drake ordered.
Without hesitation, Aspen did as asked. Drake turned to me. “Go. Take your friends. I’ll send Prince Cain and his vampires to help you.” He grasped my shoulder. “I’ll be there soon. First, we need to deal with the princes and demons here.”
I nodded, understanding. They couldn’t abandon everything here and go after Paimon, or they would take this advantage to invade the underworld and still win.
I walked through the portal and came out in front of DuMoir Castle, my friends beside me.
“Where is he?” Norah asked.
I frowned. The castle was too quiet and there was no sign of Paimon. I ran alongside the castle, trying to spot a battle or some disturbance, but there was nothing.
I saw a guard patrolling the underground garage and ran to him. “Where’s Paimon?”
The vampire frowned at me. “Paimon here? No, everything is quiet in the castle.”
That couldn’t be. I knew I wasn’t wrong. Unless …
“What about Raika? Have you seen her?”
He nodded. “Yes, she left about thirty minutes ago. Took a car and went to the village. Something about your sister having a panic attack.”
