He’d invented aninternaldevil’s trap, impossible to eradicate without a complete bloodletting. Even if I took Asher’s soul out like I’d done at Norah’s, it wouldn’t matter—I wouldn’t be able to put it back into his body. Not as long as his blood remained tainted.
And this monster was planning to weaponize it.
Horror didn’t even begin to describe it.
I closed my eyes, envisioning my feet turning into tree roots, digging down deep beneath the cave floor. Deeper, deeper, deeper still, until they finally reached a great, glowing well at the center of the earth.
The words came to me easily then, and I whispered them inside my mind, again and again.
“Great green Earth, mother of all
Hear my plea, heed my call
Grant me the strength to see this through
Lend me your magic, pure and true
Bind us together, you and me
Above and below, so mote it be.”
Not the most elegant verse, but it was honest, and I felt the earth warm beneath my feet. Still visualizing my roots, I imagined dipping them into the great pool and drinking deep, filling myself with green, glowing, strong magic.
Jonathan clapped once, startling me, but not breaking the connection. “Oh, and just in case you’re still dreaming aboutanotherone of your knights in tarnished armor storming in to rescue you, allow me to disabuse you of that notion.”
My heart thudded in my chest.
“Every last one of your allies has been captured and eliminated,” he said.
I narrowed my eyes, my hands clenching into fists at my sides. The earth magic surged inside me, twining with my own, twin serpents of green and black. “I don’t believe you.”
“No? Have you ever heard the sound a wolf makes when he’s being skinned alive?” he asked. “It’s not howling, exactly. More like… What’s the word? Braying? Oh, eventually he shifted back into his human form, but I think he regretted that choice,mi querida.”
I flinched at the sound of Emilio’s words, so gentle and kind in his voice, so twisted in Jonathan’s.
“And the crossroads demon?” he went on. “He wanted you to know how much he loved you, of course. But if that were true, he would’ve found a way to save you instead of getting himself and his friends killed on your behalf, right? No matter. He’s back in hell where he belongs. I’m sure they were very happy to get him back.”
He’s lying, he’s lying, he’s lying…
“By the time I got to your vampire, I was kind of out of ideas, honestly. So I harvested his blood, then I set him on fire. Efficient. I have to respect a man like that, though. He didn’t even scream until I lit that match.”
He planted those images inside my mind, and now they spread like a poison, filling me with rage.
“What do youwantfrom me?” I screamed.
“I’ve already told you. I want your power. I want you to teach me how to do what you do. The system would be much more efficient, if you think about it. I wouldn’t need to recruit new soldiers if I could simply resurrect them. It’s the ultimate form of recycling.”
“I don’t know how to teach you,” I said, and that was the honest truth. “I’m still learning the power myself.”
“Then you need to figure out a way to give me that power altogether, Gray. It never should’ve been yours in the first place. It’s wasted on you. All of you.”
I’d heard of certain witches being able to “borrow” power from others, or channel certain powers from supernaturals—like vampire influence, for example—but that was usually temporary. I had no idea how to give Jonathan what he wanted.
“I don’t know how,” I said.
“Not even to save your friends? Damn. I thought I was a cold-hearted bastard. But you? You’ve got ice in your veins, Sunshine.” He pressed his lips together, biting back his obvious frustration. “Well, you got him out of one devil’s trap. Can’t hurt to try again. Maybe we’ll all learn something new today.”
He shoved me into the cell, slamming the gate and locking it shut behind me.
