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The next thing I knew, I was standing beside the egg again, the horn in my hand. Disoriented, I shook my head to clear my thoughts as I slid the horn into my skirt’s hidden pocket and firmly zipped it up. The weapon would be of no use to us, nor would my magic. No, we needed silver to fight these creatures.
As the others caught up to me, I motioned frantically. “We need to get back over to the physical. This fucking egg is housing a nest of spirit demons.”
“Crap.” Vanzir paled. “We can’t fight them on the astral. “Meet you on the other side.” He immediately disappeared.
Roz said nothing, grabbing me around the waist. “Shade, you wait till I return for Delilah.” And—with a lurch and me clutching at his duster—we launched back into the Ionyc Seas.
The shift was even more disconcerting because of my panic over the spirit demons, but at least the fear and worry kept me from drifting. The moment we set down, Roz let me go next to Vanzir and then disappeared again.
I turned around, waiting for the blasts of magic from the line of witches, but they were processing toward the egg, now oblivious to Vanzir’s and my presences. I just hoped that would last.
Vanzir pulled out a blade, but it wasn’t silver and he grumbled and shoved it back into the sheath. “I need a silver blade.”
Spirit demons fed on magical and psychic energy, much like bhouts, but they were far more dangerous and far harder to disrupt. Magic wouldn’t work on them unless you knew a snare spell—and that would only entrap them. Neither Morio nor I was powerful enough to create one. No, we needed silver weapons.
“Wait for a moment. Roz may have more. Damn—they’re getting close!” I shouted at the line of FBH pagans and Fae, but they ignored me. “We have to stop them!”
Vanzir pursed his lips, then shoved me back a few steps. “You wait here.” He raced across the lawn, intercepting the one closest to the egg, tackling her and knocking her to the ground. I cringed, waiting for her to return fire, but she merely stood up again and began marching toward the egg again as Vanzir went on to the next.
Realizing they were fully enrapt in their purpose, I joined him, darting across the lawn to bowl over the nearest person, who happened to be an older lady. I cringed as we went rolling to the ground, hoping to hell that I hadn’t broken anything. But she didn’t look hurt, and she was struggling to get up, so I jumped up, going on to the next.
About that point, we heard shouts and turned. Morio, Delilah, Shade, and Rozurial stood there. Vanzir and I hurried back to their sides.
“They’re in a trance so deep I doubt if they realize we’re here. They seem to be totally focused, so we have to make quick work of it. The minute they touch that egg sac, it will suck them in and drain them dead.” I pulled out my dagger, which was silver if not the most lethal-looking blade. “We have to have silver to hurt them, and magic will only make them stronger.”
Delilah held up Lysanthra, her dagger. “I’m armed.”
Roz opened his duster and quickly sorted through the pile of weapons. “I have two silver blades and—oh, I have a silver spike, too. It ought to be good for something. Who all needs one?”
Morio shook his head, dropping his pack. He stood up, shurikens in hand. “These are silver. I also have a silver blade.”
But Shade and Vanzir raised their hands. Roz tossed Shade the spike, and Vanzir one of the daggers, arming himself with the other. “I guess this is as good as we get.”
As we turned to the egg, Delilah shivered. “Remind me again what these things can do. I remember their name but not so much about them. There are so many kinds of demons.”
Vanzir’s voice was raw. He actually looked scared. “Spirit demons are one of the worst. They’re from the Netherworld, because they are more of a spirit than just a corporeal demon. They have a hole where their heart was, with a vortex in it. Their tendrils emerge from there, and they feed on any magical or psychic energy around. They’ll kill you if they drain you.”
“Magic doesn’t work on them,” I added. “It’s like throwing gasoline on fire. We can only attack them on a physical level using silver. Whatever you do, don’t let them attach to you.”
As I spoke, one of the witches managed to get past us and reached the egg. I lunged forward, but Shade streaked past me. He leaped for her, catching her by the knees. She tripped and sprawled against the egg, her torso vanishing through it. Shade hollered as he tried to pull her back. Yanking, he tumbled back, and she came with him, but the moment we saw what had happened to her, I wished he’d let her go. I stared at her in horror.
She was lying there, her torso, head, and arms looking rubbery—almost like she’d been melted. But she was still alive. Holes riddled her body, as if she’d been pumped full of huge bullets, but no blood flowed, and no body fluids. Only a pale current of energy. My stomach knotted as she writhed on the ground, mouthing screams that would never be heard.
“She’s bleeding out on a psychic level.” I raised my dagger, unsure. There was no way to save her. No way to fix her.
“Do something!” Delilah screamed.
Shade started to move, but I was quicker. Wincing, an ache threatening to swallow my heart, I plunged the dagger into her chest, driving it swiftly and cleanly through her heart. She convulsed once…twice…and then was still. I looked up at the others, horrified.
“Destroy that motherfucker. And somebody—I don’t care who it is—keep the rest of these people from getting near it.” I growled at the egg. “I’m calling in reinforcements.”
I pulled out my cell phone and speed-dialed Smoky, hoping to hell he and Trillian were home from Otherworld already. While I was anxiously waiting, Roz moved to intercept the next witch. She—like the others—seemed totally oblivious to what had just gone on. It was as if they didn’t even register what was happening.
This couldn’t be brainwashing, not if they were totally ignoring their self-preservation instincts. And if they were exhibiting hive mentality, they would have swarmed to protect the egg once they noticed we’d returned. No, my guess was that they had been magically programmed, like living zombies. When we’d vanished the first time onto the astral, our threat had vanished and they could feed the spirit demons.
To my relief, Smoky answered the phone. “What’s happening? We just got back.”
“I’m so damned glad to hear your voice. We need all hands on deck. Do not bring Iris. Tell her to take Maggie and Hanna and lock themselves in Menolly’s lair—they’ll be safe there. We’re facing an egg full of spirit demons that’s about to hatch, and we’ve got a bunch of magically brainwashed FBH pagans and magical Fae throwing themselves at it like cattle feed.”
