Page 8 of Protecting His Vampire Mate

“Throw up a ward,” I hissed, shooting my twin sister a dark look. “I need to be out of body when I banish this fucker.”

Poppy gave me a sharp nod and immediately launched into a protective spell that created a shimmering golden bubble around us, twisting the shadows of the dank alleyway crazily along the walls of the buildings that loomed over us on both sides.

The demon reappeared fifteen feet away, hissed at us, and then shot another bolt of blue flames from its fingertips.

The fire struck the edge of Poppy’s ward and then fizzled out with the crackling sound of water hitting hot grease. Unlike what you might imagine, demons don’t have horns, red skin, sharp teeth, or glowing eyes. They’re more like semi-corporeal shadows, impossibly elongated, misshapen, and only vaguely humanoid. This particular demon was at least ten feet long and looked almost like a person from the waist up—there was definitely a head and a torso, albeit two sets of arms—but from the waist down it had the body of a snake.

The demon hissed again, then slithered closer in an instant, moving so fast that it almost seemed to teleport. It took an experimental swipe at Poppy’s ward, shooting a spray of glittering sparks everywhere.

Poppy yelped and flinched back, but to her credit, she didn’t drop the spell.

The demon slithered away again, then turned and launched itself at the wall of light protecting us, slamming into it at full speed. The protection held, but I could see it wobble slightly.

“If you’re going to banish this thing, now would be the time,” Poppy gasped out. “This thing is stupid strong. I don’t know how much longer I can hold the ward.”

“You were the one who wanted to come,” I reminded her, plopping myself into a sitting position on the filthy ground of the alleyway.

The demon took another swipe at the wall of protection and the golden light dimmed for a split second. The creature made a triumphant noise, then swiped again.

“Next time I’ll happily let you get eaten!” Poppy snapped, her blue eyes narrowing, even though she didn’t take her gaze off the demon. The ward grew brighter, which meant she was pouring more magic into it than before. “Now, do your damn job! Please and thank you.”

She was right, of course. With an exhalation of breath and a minor act of will, I stepped into the spirit world.

It was as easy for me as moving a limb. All witches and warlocks have a specialty—which is basically our magical fingerprint—and this was mine. I could step out of my body at will, any time I pleased.

The mortal world looks gray and washed out in the spirit world. Like a reflection seen through a dirty window. Poppy’s protective spell, however, was lit up so brightly that it almost hurt my eyes to look at it. It was easy to forget sometimes how powerful she was.

And, of course, the demon no longer looked like a shadow to me. This was, after all, much closer to its native realm. Instead, the creature had a vaguely insectile body, with an exoskeleton that was black and shiny with ichor, and bits of flesh that clung to it here and there.

How lovely.

It snarled when it saw me standing there, in the spirit world, but still safely inside the ward. But it seemed vaguely confused, too. Like it didn’t quite know what to make of me.

I grinned back at it.

It charged the protective circle again, and I saw the impact shoot flares of pure magic in all directions.

I winced, but Poppy held the ward. A lesser witch wouldn’t have been able to, but she was one of the strongest spellcasters in the coven.

I began to recite a banishing charm.

The words flowed out of me, rough, forceful, and guttural.

The demon screamed in fury, seeming to catch on to what I was about to do.

Then it turned to flee.

Inwardly, I rolled my eyes. It was already much too late for it to go anywhere. It should have run the moment it saw us. But just because it was powerful, didn’t mean it was all that bright. Still though… it was a demon of prophecy. Shouldn’t it have known it wouldn’t stand a chance against us?

I raised my hands in front of my face, repeating the spell again with more force, putting every speck of my own will and power behind it.

The demon froze in place.

Then it turned back toward me with a twitching, jerky motion, like its body was acting against its will, which was exactly right. The creature’s gaze locked onto my hands, it’s putrefying eyes widening slightly.

Vivid neon purple energy began to dance between my palms, moving hypnotically.

At first, it was only a few sparks. But as I repeated the charm, again and again, the sparks brightened and multiplied until it looked like a supernova was being born between my outstretched hands.

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