Page 14 of Witch’s Heart

“But, naturally, for the sake of this demonstration, something of this size will be fine.”

They were closing in on the pack, which was heading straight for them, no doubt sensing the city. Demons often congregated around cities, unless there were witches about. Witch blood made the perfect demon-bate. He glanced over at Mya.

A demonic shriek split the air. “It looks like they’ve gotten wind of me,” Mya announced.

Indeed, a burst of speed overtook them. He finally made out several Xastors, two Akonns, a Kollm, and⁠—

“Oh, gods!” Mya swore.

An Olum.

He braced himself and said, “That thing better do what you say it does, Weiss, or we’ll be in trouble.”

Never mind that he’d taken down an Olum all on his own during trials. He wanted Weiss to sweat a little. Wanted to see what the man was made of.

“It will,” Weiss assured him, a little too confidently. However, there was a bead of perspiration dotting the male’s brow, despite the cooler temperature.

Rixon made a humming sound, signaling for the others to stop. Everyone gathered in close. He could nearly feel Haspel breathing down his neck, eager to see if Weiss’s object would change the tide of his business endeavors. Change the fate of Raeria.

Minutes passed.

He could make out individual shapes now. Weiss lifted the repeller and twisted. There was an audible click as the small bit of metal activated. It was nearly instantaneous. The demons skidded to a halt less than fifty feet away, screeching and gnashing their teeth. The Olum took several steps forward, slower this time, sniffed the air, then let out a fierce bellow.

Rixon blinked, taken aback. They weren’t attacking. The only time he’d seen this kind of behavior was when Mina used her demonic abilities to control them.

Likeminded, the pack changed direction and loped off the way they’d come.

“I’ll be damned,” said Haspel, his voice laced with awe. “It truly works.”

“Doesn’t fix the fact that there’s still a pack of demons on the loose,” said Flynn, his fingers twitching for his sword.

Rixon eyed the wielder then said, “Shall we chase them down?”

He hadn’t had a good kill in far too many days.

“Let’s.” Flynn turned to Mya. “Lady Witch?”

“Oh, yes. I suppose we shall. The rest of you lot had better return to the city with that thing, or we might never catch them.”

“Oh.” Weiss began to nod. “Oh, yes of course. I’ll go back.”

It took an hour to overtake the demons. That’s how fast they ran after sensing the thing Weiss had carried. Slaughtering them was a welcome task after what he’d seen. There were too many questions, too many holes to make sense of it just yet. He wished Mina were here so they could understand this together.

“What do you make of it?” he asked Mya on their way back to the city.

“It almost seems too good to be true.” She frowned. “But if it’s not, it could be exactly what this kingdom needs right now.”

“You aren’t worried about being made obsolete?”

“Gods, no. I’d love to retire, possibly on a beach somewhere, without the threat of demons breathing down my neck.”

“Indeed.” He thought of Mina, of that day by the river when they’d had their picnic. Mina had mentioned how nice it would be if demons didn’t exist and they could just enjoy the outdoors. He wanted that—for both of them.

A thump outside Rixon’s door jerked him awake. After so many nights spent in the wild, he was not a heavy sleeper. There came a faint twist of the doorknob. He shed the remaining vestiges of sleep and reached for the dagger beneath his pillow. He never slept without one.

In the darkness, he could just make out a figure as it slipped into his sleeping chamber. Mina had removed the wards on his doors so that servants could come and go, delivering food and keeping the place tidy. At this hour, the palace was asleep, which meant only one thing.

He waited, pretending to be asleep, watching through the crack in his eyelids. The figure crept across the room on silent feet. He let his chest rise and fall in slow, even breaths. Beneath his pillow, he fisted his dagger.