Page 52 of Commanding Chaos

“Stand back.” He punched the concrete again. More powder rained down.

I backed away, my foot knocking into Cami’s head. She didn’t move. Her empty eyes stayed open, staring at nothing. Who would die next because of me?

Chaos hit the drain cover again, and it shattered. Chunks of concrete fell to the ground, and when the dust settled, he hoisted himself out of the tunnel and offered his hand to Ember. She took it without hesitation, and he hauled her up so she could climb out.

He dropped to the ground next to me and eyed my arm, his expression livid. The tendons in his neck tightened as he turned his attention to the frozen man.

“Please don’t.” I took his hand and tugged him to the opening. “Help me up?”

He thought about it. I could practically see the gears turning in his mind. “They hurt you.”

“She did, and now she’s dead. Leave him be.”

He huffed. “As you wish.” Wrapping his hands around my hips, he lifted me. Ember reached down, taking my good arm, and they got me to the surface. Chaos jumped, grabbing the sides of the hole and hauling himself up.

“Quick, before the shadow spell wears off.” Ember paced away from the mess we’d made.

When we reached the van, I dumped the contents of my satchel onto the back seat. An old ceramic jar with a pentagram and fire symbol on the lid tumbled out, and my breath came out in a rush.

“I hope this hasn’t expired.” I opened the jar and spread the neutralizing salve over my arm.

“Your magic can expire?” Chaos watched me intently, his expression grim. No doubt he battled his nature, wanting to return to the crime scene and take out the other witch.

“I mixed this two years ago. This is the first occasion I’ve had to try it out.” The moment the salve touched my wound, a cooling sensation spread through my arm. The poison dissolved, leaving behind raw, charred flesh. I wiggled my fingers.

Chaos’s brow slammed down over his eyes. “That looks painful.”

“No worse than the burns when we got electrocuted.” I scooped the rest of the potions into the bag and climbed into the front seat.

Chaos got in the back. “I remember the agony. It was unbearable.”

“I’ll be fine.” At least the chemical burn only covered my arm, rather than my entire body.

Ember started the van and drove toward home. “I’d say it’s time for Plan B, but we don’t have one.”

I wrapped a bandage over my burns. “Can we call Patrice over when we get home?”

“Of course. We need you in peak shape so you can figure out a solution to our problem.”

I laughed dryly. Good old Ember. Always the compassionate one.

18

ASH

Since we were down one fighter, we recruited Patrice to join us. She didn’t have the physical skills to replace Ginger, but she was a badass with spellwork. Not to mention she could heal us on the spot when we got injured.

When I got injured. Because we all knew I’d be the first to go down.

After we all showered off the sewer sludge, she’d met us at our place, used a spell to draw out the rest of the poison, and bandaged me up.

“I haven’t seen this sigil before,” she said as she wrapped the gauze around my forearm and taped it in place. “What does it do?”

Ember locked eyes with me, flashing a warning look, as if I didn’t know telling Patrice I’d summoned a demon was a bad idea.

“I was trying a new form of protection, but it didn’t work, obviously.” I gestured to the bandage.

“Shouldn’t it have faded by now? You’ve had it for more than a week.” She returned her supplies to her kit and set it on the coffee table.

---