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“Always ruining everything,” I said, berating him, but I smirked regardless. “So where is the nearest club or house?”
“It’s a black magic club, but it’s said to be in the forest to the east. I’m not sure where; no one is, but if we’re going to find it, we need to head in this direction.” He pointed toward a space between narrow trees. “I brought something that could help us.” He rummaged through his bag and pulled out a black device resembling something between a compass and pocket watch with green numbers and letters. “It points at the closest dark entities or demons.”
“How does that help?” Naomi asked.
“In black magic clubs, they are known to summon demons when doing their sacrifices. Besides, with all the murder and blood they have in them, there’s bound to be one or two demons walking among the witches, pretending to be one of them. They’re attracted to darkness.”
It was brilliant. “Let’s go.” Tingling dragged my gaze to my hand, and letters inked onto my skin. Where are you? – Edmund.
Maddox looked at his magic quill too. It appeared we’d all gotten the same message. My shoulders slumped. “We should say something back. He’ll worry.”
Maddox shoved his hands in his pockets. “We can’t tell him where we are.”
Naomi agreed. “Yes, but we can tell him we’re safe.”
Maddox arched an eyebrow. “Are we though?”
I thumbed the side of my neck. “For now.”
Maddox closed his eyes, muttering the incantation, and sent a magic quill. He finished and smirked. “I told him we’re sort of safe, for now anyway, and we’re out kicking ass and will be back when we’re done saving Istinia.”
I closed my eyes. Oh gods. “That’s not helpful.”
He chuckled. “I’m kidding. I told him we’re safe and are following a lead in a town nearby, and we’ll let him know when we leave our hotel.”
Naomi scoffed, looking at our crumpled blankets on the hard ground. “Some hotel.”
I whipped my head around when a loud crack sounded nearby. My heart flickered and skipped a beat. Naomi froze, and Maddox stood in front of us. Freya jumped down from high branches, looking very un-Freya-like in tight, brown pants, a thin top, and with her dark waves tied back into a messy ponytail. There wasn’t a hint of lipstick on her cupid-bow lips, but her eyes looked different: slightly deranged and a hundred times deadlier.
“Oh, goodie.” She cocked her head to the side. “You’re here.” She latched her stare onto me as if I were prey. “You really fucked my plan, Elle.” She sauntered toward us, and I noticed dirt embedded in her nails. “Both of you.” She snapped her stare to Naomi. “I heard of how you both helped with Lucius’s demise.”
I glanced down at my feet. She was wrong. I had been no help at all. Naomi had.
She continued. “Alexander is dead because of you.”
My eyebrows raised. “Because of us? You were going to kill us. Raiden killed him to save us.”
Naomi shot me a look. I guess I left that part out. By accident.
She balled her fists. “You’re going to regret the day you ever met Raiden.”
Maddox stepped toward her. I unsheathed my dagger, not that it would have helped. He grabbed what looked like a potion bottle from his bag and unstoppered it. “Try me.”
She cackled. “I’m not afraid of some potion. I’m immortal.”
“It’s an immobilizer. Sure, you can kill me, but I’ll still be able to throw this on you as you do, and you, even an immortal,” he mimicked, “won’t be able to move for the next six hours, giving Raiden, Aziel, and whoever else is after your vile ass enough time to come and end your miserable existence.”
She hesitated, wavering for just a second, enough to let us know she was afraid. Maddox was right. She would be able to kill him in the time it took him to throw the potion on her, but he’d still be able to slow her down, and there was nothing worse than being a sitting duck out in the forest.
Naomi closed her eyes and raised her hands, forming a cloud of smoke around Freya. “Run!” She shouted.
Freya fought through Naomi’s illusion. Maddox went to throw the potion at her, but she almost escaped the smoke cloud.
“No.” I pulled his hand. “We have seconds before—” Hands wrapped around my throat, grappling my skin until I couldn’t breathe. I tightened my grip on the dagger before plunging it into her thigh. She didn’t even flinch.
Maddox threw the potion, but it missed. Naomi shot an illusion our way, but I was trapped inside with her. I pulled out the dagger, and with the little strength I had, I pushed it into her stomach. She twisted to avoid the blade, and something in her leg snapped, cracking loudly during our scramble—her ankle, I hoped. Not that it would do any good. It would heal within a minute. Her grip loosened, but only for a moment.
The world spun as I flew backward through the air. Raiden’s voice boomed, a scream tearing through the sky. Raiden grabbed me, holding me tight in his arms. Freya stopped in front of us for a moment, smiled knowingly, and sped through the trees faster than my mortal eyes could follow.
