Page 4 of Commanding Chaos

I sent a pulse of magic through my mark. She inhaled deeply and let out a breath, her body relaxing, her sleep no longer disturbed.

What would my brothers say of this phenomenon? Of the way she turned my magic on its head?

That I should force her to remove my mark and kill her. She was dangerous to our kind. More dangerous than Isabel could have ever hoped to be.

Kill her…

Perhaps I would when this was through.

Lucifer knew I wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. None of us would, which was why I needed to free my brothers, collect the debt owed to us, and return to Hell where we belonged.

Consorting with witches always ended badly.

Ember stomped up the stairs and returned to the living area with her arms full of crystals. She placed them on the floor, encircling the sofa where Ash lay. Closing her eyes, she tilted her head upward and whispered.

I watched her for a moment before asking, “What are you doing?”

She finished her whispered spell and touched Ash on the shoulder. “Setting up wards so no evil can get to her while she sleeps. Nothing that’s ever set foot across the veil can penetrate this.” One brow arched over her eye.

“I won’t allow any harm to befall her.”

She scoffed. “I’m protecting her from you.”

That much I knew, but I found no sense in assuring her more. Ember didn’t trust me, nor I her. We would work together toward our common goal. Then I would decide what to do with these sisters.

“Try to touch her.” She gestured at Ash.

I remained still. “Why?”

“So I can make sure it works. Try.”

I crossed my arms. “You doubt your power?”

She mirrored my posture. “No, I’m proving it to you. Do it.”

I hated to comply and give her the impression I obeyed orders, but the sooner I was clothed, the sooner I could slip away. Leaning forward, I reached toward Ash’s head. My fingers met an invisible, solid surface. I pressed harder, sliding to the edge of my chair and pushing both palms against it. Ember smiled smugly.

I sat back. “Impressive. Why don’t you cast these around your entire town?”

“It takes too much vim. I’m going to get your clothes now. If you try to break the ward, I’ll know, and I’ll be here faster than you can blink.”

“I would expect nothing less.”

She finally left, and I settled back into my chair and took in my surroundings. The structure in which they resided stood two stories high. We currently occupied the living area on the top floor, with a brown sofa where Ash lay, a smaller couch, and two dark green chairs. We had passed through a kitchen on the way to this room, and the scent of a plethora of herbs with magical qualities, along with some only used for cooking, filled the entire area.

Across the room stood a large, flat device the witches called a T.V. Blackness coated the front now, but when they pushed buttons on a palm-sized device, moving images appeared like magic. The technology of this time astounded me. Motorized vehicles, electric lights, indoor plumbing… I’d spent my time inside Ash taking it all in, learning as much as I could about their ways, their use of language, how their coven worked.

Aside from the ruptures in the veil and the monsters bleeding through, this seemed like a comfortable time to be alive.

Ash’s eyes moved back and forth beneath her lids as I watched her sleep, and I longed to caress her soft skin, to run my fingers through her silken hair. Ember had done me a favor by casting this ward. I had to keep my distance from the blue-haired vixen, lest I succumb to the same fate as before.

Soft footsteps whispered on the stairs, pausing at the entrance. Ember peeked around the door jamb as if trying to catch me misbehaving. She stepped through the threshold, her boots in one hand, two white paper bags with brown handles in the other.

She dropped her shoes against the wall and strode into the living area, stopping in front of the couch and examining her sister. Seemingly satisfied Ash had not been disturbed, she turned to me and shoved the bags against my chest. “I got you boots and two sets of clothes. That’s all you’ll need.”

“Is it?” I peered inside. A box occupied one of the bags, a mass of black fabric the other.

She rested a hand on her hip. “We know what we’re doing now. As long as you don’t get in our way, we’ll get your brother’s skull and find the other guy in two days, tops. Then, you’re all leaving and never returning to Salem. If you do, I’ll put a bounty on your heads.”

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