Page 45 of Commanding Chaos

I cast my spell again, and the golden sparkles fell to the ground, collecting on a pile of bricks to the left of the doorway. “There used to be a ward. Look.” I pointed.

Ember kneeled by the bricks. “These are much older. Someone broke in recently and recovered the entrance.”

“I don’t like this.” That uneasy feeling I’d had before, telling me something was very off, expanded from my stomach to my chest. “I think this is a trap.”

“It’s not. I feel him.” Chaos reared back and smashed his fist into the bricks. They fell inward, the wall crumbling with his single punch, and he grabbed the remaining few, pulling them away from the opening.

“Whoa.” I knew he was strong, but damn.

“The mortar wasn’t set yet.” Ember shined her flashlight into the hole. “Whoever put up this wall did it less than two days ago.”

Chaos stepped inside, and Ember followed before I could check for hexes. It was just as well. Let the demon go first; he could survive anything. Then again, if he got vanquished to Hell, I’d have to go with him.

“Be careful!” I hung outside the entry for a beat or two, listening for sounds of a scuffle. All I heard was their footsteps receding, so, against my better judgment, I stepped over the discarded bricks and trod down the hall.

The smell of dank earth made the room feel stuffy, suffocating. I hurried to catch up with the leap-first-look-later crew and opened my senses, searching this time only for a trap.

And a trap we had found. I was sure of it.

Then again, Chaos was so sure it was Mayhem, maybe I was wrong. It wouldn’t be the first time my magic didn’t work properly.

“Hold on,” I said, and they kept walking. “Chaos, stop.”

He froze, and Ember slammed into his back. “Good goddess, man. A little warning next time?”

“I obey Ash’s orders.” He turned, giving me an irritated glare.

“Can we talk about the fact that this place was sealed up recently? You aren’t the slightest bit concerned that someone has been in here?”

“Not when I can sense my brother ten feet away.” He turned.

“Wait.”

“You are testing your luck with these commands.” He glowered. “You won’t always bear my mark.”

“Oh?” I crossed my arms. “And what are you going to do to me once it’s removed?”

He mirrored my posture. “Once we’re no longer bound, I could kill you.”

“You made us a promise,” my sister said, alarm filling her voice.

Chaos shrugged. “I’m a demon. We lie.”

Ember bristled, but I laughed. “Really? You think you could kill me?”

His lips puckered. “Hmpf. No.” Was that a pout I detected in his voice? “You know I couldn’t. I wouldn’t.”

“That’s what I thought. We need to think before we bust in this time. Someone was here. They left and sealed it back up, but they didn’t bother putting up another ward. Why?”

Ember tapped her finger to her lips. “Because they already found the skull, so there’s nothing to protect?”

“Not likely.” Chaos dropped his arms, fisting his hands. “Mayhem is here.”

“So maybe they came for the skull, but they couldn’t defeat whatever Isabel has guarding it,” Ember said.

I rolled the idea around in my mind. “That’s a possibility, but why brick it back up?”

“To keep the mundane away,” Chaos said.

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