Page 6 of Commanding Chaos

“Would it have changed your mind?”

I attempted to work the tangle out, but I made it worse. “No.”

“I assumed a witch of your power and intelligence would know the possible consequences.” He remained seated, calm as could be, while Ember paced in front of the television.

“We don’t deal with demons much in Salem. At least, we didn’t until Cinder…”

He corrected me. “I believe your parents were the first to summon one of my kind.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m going to shower.” I stood, bracing myself for the world to tip on its side, but it remained steady. Nice. I turned toward the hall, and the doorbell rang.

Ember tugged her phone from her pocket and frowned at the screen. “No messages. Did someone text you?”

“My phone is downstairs.”

“Hey, Ash. You up there?” Shade’s voice sounded from below, and I closed my eyes. I could not deal with his bullshit right now.

“Ember?” His boots fell heavily on the steps before he pounded on the door. Typical of Shade to assume he’d be let in if he showed up unannounced.

I caught a glimpse of Chaos glowering at the entrance, so I rested my hand on his shoulder. He relaxed, but his posture said he was on high alert, no doubt ready to wreak havoc on my mortal enemy if he so much as looked at me wrong.

I couldn’t lie. Having my own personal bodyguard was pretty cool.

Shade pounded on the door again, and Ember rolled her eyes. “Take Chaos to the back of the house so I can see what he wants.”

“Come on.” I jerked my head toward the hall.

Chaos hesitated, cutting his gaze between the door and me. “I can solve your Shade problem.”

“I know you can, but you won’t.” I grabbed his arm, solid, rock-hard muscle, and guided him to the hall.

We stopped at Ember’s room, and I motioned for him to go inside while I stood in the hall so I could hear the exchange. Several pairs of shoes shuffled in. Fabulous. My nemesis had brought reinforcements.

“Where’s Ash? We need sigils.” I could practically hear Shade’s lip curling. He hated depending on me as much as I hated tolerating him.

“She’s lying down,” Ember said. “Some advance notice would have been nice.”

“I texted her.” Miles was with him, of course.

“I tried calling.” Ginger too. Fantastic.

“I’m not sure she’s up to it,” Ember said. “What’s going on?”

“It feels weird in here,” Ginger said. “The energy in your house is…off.”

“It’s probably Ash,” Ember said. “She’s got a stomach bug, and it’s messing with her vim.”

“No, it’s something else,” Miles said, and footsteps moved closer to the hall. “It’s low.”

“I feel it too.” Shade this time, though I wouldn’t be surprised if he was just going along, trying to start trouble.

Ember strode into the living room, and I peeked out to find her positioned between the other witches and the hallway door. “What do you need the sigils for? I assume, since you didn’t bother to call me, it’s something small.”

“Two more gnomes spotted across the street from the first,” Miles said.

“We didn’t bother you since you’re supposed to be researching where all these rifts are coming from,” Shade said. “You are planning to call a meeting soon, aren’t you?”

Ember scoffed. “Of course. I’ve been taking care of Ash, but I’m working on it.”

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