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Chapter Thirty-One
Tamsin
To my left, I see Daniel grab Ainsley and kiss her fiercely. Then the Blackstock Clan warlocks shift to dire wolf form in a roil of magic that sends a reverberating growl across the whole valley.
Luciana, Ainsley, Nessa, and I summon our magic and the air hums as our ghost spears fly through the sky. Mine are green, Luciana’s blue, and Ainsley and Nessa’s both glow a golden color. Behind us, the other MacPherson Clan witches wield the same magical weapon.
Next to me, Ven and Rowan begin casting battle magic in blasts of light like shots from a cannon. The dragon shifters roar and charge out across the field, shifting as they go. In moments there are nine large dragons bowling through the lines of the enemy, blasting flames and fighting with teeth and claw and wing.
The others all perform their own unique magic: Ryder incapacitates his targets with lust spells, the vampire moves with lightning speed, ripping and tearing as she goes, the tiger shifter joins the wolves in animal form, and the fae wields a shining silver staff that creates storms and portals of swirling wind that suck people inside. Devon takes to the skies, raining shots of white light across the field.
Never in my life would I have envisioned something like this. I’d lived in Manhattan for the last two decades, and now I’m in a battle in a mountainous valley as if in centuries past? Of course, even as a young witch I’d never known things existed like Darkness. Or her brother, whatever he is.
Chaos swirls around me, and everything moves at lightning speed. The valley is awash with magic and roaring and flame and color. An unnatural darkness still covers everything, but its mistress seems to be hiding at the moment. The ground shakes beneath my feet, and dirt and grass fly in my face as a Cameron warlock’s magic craters into the earth inches away from me. I hurl a ghost spear into his thigh, hoping to injure and not kill where I can help it.
I quickly lose sight of Blake. The howls of the wolves cut the night, but most of the Blackstock Clan are thick in the melee beyond, where I catch only flashes here and there. Occasionally I hear a canine yelp and my heart climbs in my throat. The possibility of losing him so soon after we’ve reunited sends a wave of terror through me, but I can’t give in to that now. I’ve been swallowed by darkness once, and I won’t fall prey to it again.
On onslaught of demons sweeps forward across the stone altar and we retreat to the side, shooting spears as we go. It’s a loss of a good vantage point, but we’re less of a target now that we’re not atop the stone. Luciana, Ainsley, Nessa, Ven, and Rowan go back-to-back with me, forming a circle facing out to fire magic at our enemies.
The demons, a dozen or more of them, follow us off the altar, surrounding us and sending clouds of black magic and hellfire in our direction. One of their spells hits me in the shoulder, and I cry out as blood wells up and pain lances through my chest. These I have no compunction about vanquishing and sending straight back to Hell. I send my ghost spears through hearts and throats and skulls, watching as the demons go up in a swirl of ash and sparks. Once or twice a skeleton joins the mix, and I banish them with a pulse of light that breaks them into dozens of pieces.
One of the demons charges Luciana, a blue horned thing with goat’s eyes and tentacles coming out of its mouth. “You’ve been to Hell,” it says in its gravelly voice, a deranged grin on its face. “I can smell it in your soul.”
Luciana summons two blue ghost spears and sends one through his heart and one right between the eyes. “Send my regards, asshole.”
The demon bursts into flame and then swirls away, its ash mixing with the snow beneath our feet.
“You’re a badass,” Ven calls to her, eyes wide.
We go on the offensive next, moving toward a cluster of fellow witches under attack from both demons and warlocks. As we approach, several of the demons spin and shoot fire toward us. The flames are black instead of orange, rolling toward us in a wall of heat.
Rowan steps forward, and golden flames rush up and around her. She calls the black fire to her, and it spirals up and around, merging with her own magic. Then she spins and shoots it back at the demons, who burst into ash and disappear.
“A fire witch?” Luciana calls to the Rowan. “Now that’s cool.”
Ryder joins us and takes care of the remaining warlocks with jolts of his lust magic. Several of them turn to each other and begin to go at it in what should really take place in a more private location. I have a feeling several of them are going to be questioning their sexuality when they snap out of it.
We continue sweeping across the field, making sure the witches on the east side of the valley are all okay. Then we turn and lead the way back toward the altar. I take front and center, Luciana on my right, Ven on my left, the others fanned out on either side. We’ve just reached the top of the stone steps when shadows swirl a few feet away, along with a flash of blinding light.
Darkness and her brother stand before us.
Shadows creep across the altar and Darkness looks down at me, fury in her molten eyes. “I told you, Tamsin, you belong to me now. You cannot win this battle.”
