Page 323 of Psycho Devils: Aran's Story 2

No.

The dagger hadn’t appeared.

My jaw dropped.

His tattoo was gone. He’d pulled the dagger from his flesh.

“Venimus!” Orion shouted in a loud, lyrical voice. “We came.”

My eyes snapped over to the quiet devil as he spoke the word tattooed across his shoulder.

Pink cherry-blossom petals drifted off Orion’s neck and swirled in the air around the posts.

Scorpius said, “Vidimus. We saw.”

The eye tattoo on his neck blinked open and looked around. At the same time, his milky blind eyes started to glow.

Malum growled roughly, “Vicimus. We conquered.”

He held the dagger high above his head, and flames poured off him, filling the air.

I was so busy staring at the kings that I almost missed it.

A flame about the size of a fist hovered in the air above everyone’s heads, including my teammates’ and the judges’.

The kings were the only ones who didn’t have one.

I tipped my head back, but there was nothing above me. Maybe I couldn’t see it?

Every person’s flame was white.

Déjà vu ripped through me.

Back in the beast realm, when I’d been high, smoking my enchanted pipe for the first time, I’d sworn I’d seen a white flame hovering above Sadie.

What is going on?

My hands shook as I pulled my pipe from my pocket and slammed it between my teeth.

I waited for an explanation.

A commotion.

The only sound was the whooshing of flames as they poured off Malum.

I turned and said, “John,” but my friend didn’t stop staring straight ahead at the kings and gave no sign he’d heard me.

Everything was so still that I had half a mind to think time itself had stopped.

I brought my shaking fingers to my temples.

No one else moved.

“The day of wrath is here,” Orion sang loudly, and his voice was unbearably sweet, like poisoned honey.

The decibel level sent goosebumps erupting across my skin and all the hair on my body stood up.

I whipped my head in his direction and shouted, “What are you doing?”

---