Nyoka growled. Glowing orange, her EEB attacked thechort. Darker energies of thechortwrapped around her calf, swirling. Pressing to get inside her.
I concentrated on the potential futures, blocking out everything as milliseconds passed. Shiloh’s hand and mine, sizzling on the shield. The witch circle flickered.
Futurefuturefuturefuture…
Our enemies were now two or three vamps short of the bodies needed to release the contained demons and use the power of their circle.
Unless Konstantin came back, undead, with replacements for Ravensport, Willim, and Asshat.
Maybe he’d given up.
The futures may as well have spat on that hope.No chance. This wasn’t over.
Konstantin had access to Nyoka, four of us: Walter, Shiloh, EJ, me. Probably any combo of six would do, especially if…“Son of a witch,” I whispered
He could access the Everhart coven through our bloodlines. If that potential future became real, any blood demon couldtrack our family. Worse, our parents would come hunting us because monsters and demons would never be allowed to keep us or our cousin. And Mama and Dad would lose in a battle against their own possessed children because they would never kill us. That…would give the child of Prince Oleg, one of the masterminds of the Witch War, access to Mama, to Molly Everhart-Trueblood, and her own hidden, dark,deathmagics.
All choices were bad. A gunshot sounded, a slow roar. Another.
My magics glowed, blue, green, golden. Shiloh’s in psycho shades, matching her armor.
Someone had released EEBs.
On all sides, a black mist and dark motes of death and demons pressed against Shiloh. Pressed against our sharedhedge. Encircling. The stench of brimstone and death filled my lungs. Shiloh’s eyes flashed silver as she fought off possession, surrounded by the energies of demons.
Shiloh’s eyes sheened to pure silver.
I felt the dark joy, the abundant power offered by the demons. Any of them could take me. I knew that. They knew that. They wanted…Theyexpectedme to open myself to the power they offered.
EJ took a hit of…nothing. Something. Gunshot? He rolled away. Away from me.
EJ down. Out. Unconscious. Limp.
Dark power coiled, twisted toward EJ. Sliding from the tendrils free in the room. More than one EEB. I grunted, raw dark magic everywhere. Unfettered magic.
Use my power,it whispered.
No.
Konstantin reappeared at the doorway. Vamped out, hiseyes were silvered over, marked by the effects of the elixir. One-handed, he opened a small containment vessel and pressed it to his mouth. An instant later, he was demon-ridden. His bullet-riddled body took a step inside, pushing on the doorframe with a bleeding, fingerless hand.
Shiloh and the fingers in her pocket.Nyoka with missing fingers too.
A hysterical bubble of laughter chuffed and died.
Konstantin took a step toward my brother, EJ limp on the bloody concrete floor, tangled limbs. Thechortreaching toward him was a dozen shades of orange and flame. It stopped and turned to the vampire. Konstantin halted, his damaged hand outstretched. Power hammered from his mangled palm. Slammed into EJ’s body. Utterly dark, rawdeathenergy, strengthened by sacrifice and demons. But at some moment before he went out cold, EJ had covered himself with ahedge.
Again, Konstantin battered EJ withdeath. The dark energies rebounded. Konstantin snarled. Bent and lifted EJ. Threw him.
Into the battle between Willim and Walter. Knocking Walter to the side, he crashed between them. Rolling, boneless.
An emotion I couldn’t name detonated.
My body arched. Shoulders drawn back.
I took my second breath since my hand touched the circle. I screamed.
Dug my fingers into the shield ofdeathmagics. Curled my fingers in, clawing. My index finger pushed through the energies. Shock waves ofdeathmagic rolled up through my hand, up my arm. Impacted the horror of…EJ.Down.
