Page 11 of Commanding Chaos

“No wonder Dad hid this book away.” I crushed the herbs and added them to the liquid Ember had mixed.

“It’s going to take a lot of vim to pull off.” She stirred the concoction and motioned to the final ingredient.

“Cast it together?” I picked up the bottle and pulled off the cap.

“Naturally.” She smiled and held the bowl toward me.

I added one drop of cinnamon oil, causing the potion to pop and sizzle before turning to a fine pink powder. Ember poured half the contents into my palm and half into her own before holding my free hand.

“Are you ready for this?” I asked my demon.

He looked from me to Ember and back at me. “I trust you.”

My chest gave a squeeze at his words, but I didn’t have time to consider what that meant for us. Ember blew her dust at him, so I had to do the same, lest we waste it and have to start all over again.

We recited the incantation in unison, sharing our power. “Aura strong, magic deep, we hide your essence from all who seek.”

Ember’s power flowed from her hand into mine, resonating in the core of my being while my magic poured into her. My body heated, magical fire flowing through my veins as we cast our power onto Chaos.

He stiffened, the charm taking hold. Sucking in a breath, his hands curled into fists, the tendons in his neck tightening, protruding as if he clenched his jaw.

“As we will it, so mote it be.” Ember’s and my breath came out in a rush, along with all the adrenaline that had built up in the excitement. That spell was no joke.

Chaos stilled, the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed the only movement he made. Closing my eyes, I focused on the energy in the room, expecting the low, bone-penetrating vibration to cease.

It didn’t.

“Well, crap. It didn’t work.” I closed the spell book and slid onto a stool. “What now?”

“How do you know it didn’t work?” Ember asked.

“I don’t feel any different.” Chaos’s posture relaxed, his neck tendons returning to their normal position.

“I can still feel his aura,” I said.

“I can’t.” Ember tapped her finger against her lips. “I’m not a pro at sensing demons like you are, but the energy in the room definitely feels lighter. Higher. I think I was sensing him before but didn’t realize it.”

Chaos ran his finger over the sigil on my arm, making it tingle. “I believe you will always be able to sense me as long as you bear my mark.”

“It worked, Ash. I know it did.” She put the potion dishes in the sink.

I got up to wash them. “How can we be sure?” I turned on the water and rinsed the bowl.

Ember leaned on the counter next to me and flashed a conspiratorial grin. “There’s only one way to find out.”

5

CHAOS

The hairs on my arms stood on end the moment we stepped onto the street. I’d grown accustomed to the sights and sounds of this modern world after sensing them through Ash, but her body did not respond to the thinning of the veil as mine now did.

It was October in this realm’s time, which meant the curtain between worlds would only grow thinner in the coming weeks. Rifts would become more frequent and greater in size until the boundary ceased to exist.

I could not let that happen.

“It’s a few streets over.” Ember stopped near their black vehicle and turned to her sister. “Should we walk it?”

“I thought the point was to keep him out of sight and see if Ginger sensed him nearby.” Ash pulled on the door handle, but it didn’t open. “If we go parading him down the street, we’ll risk someone else with the spidy-sense seeing him.”

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