Page 19 of Commanding Chaos

Chaos rested his hand on the small of my back, and I swallowed the bitterness from my mouth. Blaming her would solve one of our major problems. She didn’t have any living family to disappoint…

Ugh! Moral dilemmas were not my strong suit.

“If she summoned a high-level demon,” Chaos said as if reading my mind, “it would explain the weakening of the veil. In my research, I’ve found that major magic crossing it in either direction can upset the balance and cause rifts to form.”

Nausea churned in my gut. He went there. He said it out loud, which shouldn’t have surprised me. He was a demon for Hecate’s sake, but I couldn’t decide if a weight had been lifted or if I really did need to puke.

Ember raised her brows at me and shrugged. “It makes sense. I called the meeting today to tell you we thought someone had summoned a demon. Now we know who.”

My sister went there too. Dear goddess, please don’t damn us to eternal suffering for this.

Miles’s expression blanked, his eyes not seeming to focus on anything.

“Ginger is the cause for all of this.” Shade shook his head. “I never trusted her. She’s always seemed off. Like she was scheming all the time, but summoning a demon?” He crossed his arms. “She got what she deserved.”

“I knew…” Miles drew in a ragged breath. “I knew she was practicing dark magic.” He blinked and looked at Ember, his lower lip trembling. “I should have turned her in. I should have said something, but they were minor spells. Money, luck, sex. I just…” His face crumpled. “I loved her.”

Hexes and hand grenades. What had we done? Now, not only had we tarnished Ginger’s name, but we’d have to deal with Miles’s confession of knowing she was dabbling in the dark arts. I needed to buy a pair of thigh-high boots because the shit was getting deep in this coven. What would Cinder say about this tangled web we were weaving?

Not a damn thing because she was the one who started it all. I needed to remember that.

“What do we do now?” I asked Ember, who cut her gaze between Chaos and me. His hand still rested on my back, so I stepped away. I could see the gears turning in her mind. She hated the closeness between her little sis and a demon. I wasn’t fond of it either, to be honest. Or maybe I was too fond of it.

“We hope the demon got what it wanted and went back to Hell,” Shade said before ducking down the hall.

“I meant with Ginger.” I paced to the kitchen and opened the cabinet doors, pretending to canvass the space for demonic clues. “If the media gets ahold of this story, rumors will spread about Satanic killings again.”

“I’ll call it in to the Chief.” Ember pulled her phone from her pocket. “Search the house for anything that might explain why she summoned a demon.”

Miles and Chrys went down the hall to join Shade, and Chaos stepped into the utility closet. Ember sank onto the couch and dialed the Chief, so I slipped into the closet with Chaos and closed the door.

“A demon didn’t kill her,” I whispered.

“No, none have been summoned in this space.” He brushed a lock of hair away from my eye. “But one problem has been solved.”

I crossed my arms over my stomach to hold myself together. “I can’t believe poor Ginger is taking the fall for us.”

“She’s dead.” He shrugged. “I doubt she’ll mind.”

“I know, but… The worst part of it is, I had the same idea. You had the guts to say it out loud, but I thought it.”

He rested his hands on my shoulders. “Your friend was murdered. Nothing about that would change if she didn’t take the blame. There is no shame in using a situation to your advantage.”

I blew out a hard breath. “Says the demon.”

“Perhaps this was a blessing from your goddess.”

“No.” I shrugged off his touch. “Light witches don’t work that way. We—”

The door swung open before I could finish schooling the demon on how goodness worked, and Ember gaped at us. “What are you doing in here?”

“Talking privately.” I brushed past her and returned to the foyer. I couldn’t stomach the scene in the living room any longer.

“Higgins is on his way.” Ember stood between Chaos and me, and the others joined us by the front door. “The humans will come up with a cover story that doesn’t involve demons or devil worship. We have to clear out before they get here.”

We filed out the front door and returned to our seats in the van. Ember started the engine, and we headed home, a heaviness hanging over us as we rolled down the road. I stared out the window, watching the trees go by. Their deep red and orange leaves contrasted with the gray tint of the cloudy sky. In a few more weeks, the branches would be bare.

My leg touched Chaos’s again, and while I did enjoy the sensation it brought, I scooted away. I was getting too close to him, depending on him too much, and Ember could see it.

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