Page 36 of Commanding Chaos

“Holy Hecate.” Ember slumped against a shelf. “It was easier to slay the basilisk.”

“There was only one of him.” Chrys sat in a patio chair. “And he didn’t have weapons.”

Shade eyed Chaos. “How did you control them? What are you?”

“Look at him,” Ember said. “A dozen imps could feed on him for days. They were planning their attack.”

My shoulder stung, and my leg throbbed. “I hope they’re not venomous.”

“They aren’t.” Chaos examined my wound. “Just annoying.”

Ember cleared her throat at me, probably trying to tell me the demon was too close, but I was too tired to care. “Let’s seal the rift and get out of here,” she said. “Chrys, text Patrice and let her know we’ll need healing.”

“On it.” She typed on her phone.

I had to cast a perimeter location spell and seal the rift. My body and vim told me to ask for help, but I’d be damned if I let Shade one up me. Instead, I uncorked the bottle and blew the powder into the air before reciting the spell. The granules clung to the tear, and thankfully, there was only one.

“Who has the energy to seal it?” Ember asked.

“I do,” I answered quickly before anyone else had a chance.

“I can assist.” Chaos held out his hand.

“That’s okay.” Ember straightened. “I’ll help you.”

I looked into Chaos’s eyes, and the sigil heated on my arm. Tapping into his magic would be an adrenaline rush, and it would be for a good cause. There was no harm in that, right? Besides, if Shade thought Chaos was casting a spell, maybe he’d lay off the what are you? routine.

I placed my hand in his. “We’ve got it.”

The moment we connected, his power surged through me, reviving my vim. Heat rolled through my veins, his low vibration penetrating to my bones and making me shiver in a good way. He remained silent, closing his eyes as I cast the spell and sealed the rift. I stood there, basking in the vivacity of demon magic until my sister cleared her throat again.

“You can let go now. It’s sealed.” She crossed her arms, shifting her weight.

I hated to, but I pulled from his grip. Fatigue slammed into me the moment our connection severed, and I swayed on my feet.

“Go get the van and pull it around back.” Ember gripped my shoulder, steadying me. “Higgins told the owner who survived they were monkeys, so we need to make it look like we took them with us.”

I nodded and shuffled toward the exit.

“Mark, you stay here,” Ember said.

“That’s not happening.” Chaos wrapped his arm around me and helped me out the door, and this time, I let him.

13

CHAOS

Their insolent police chief, Higgins, stopped us the moment we exited the building. Ash lifted her head and showed him a weak thumbs up. “We’ll get the van and take it around back to remove the monkeys.”

“Took you long enough,” he said with a toothpick in the corner of his mouth. His words dripped with enough disdain to take down the Minotaur.

I couldn’t stop the growl from rumbling in my chest. “If you prefer to handle the supernatural yourself next time, that can be arranged. I’ll give you an adversary to battle right now, and we’ll see how you fair.”

Ash patted my chest, ending my tirade. “Let’s get the van.”

Never in my existence had I encountered such a useless piece of flesh. His disrespect of the very people who kept his town safe made my blood boil, and if a crowd, including several people with recording devices, hadn’t gathered outside the scene, I would have taught him never to disrespect a Holland witch again.

Ash stumbled, so I tightened my hold of her. I wanted to scoop her into my arms and carry her, taking away the burden of walking, but I didn’t dare. She was finally coming into her power, her self-deprecation becoming less frequent. If she could walk after that ordeal, I would let her.

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