Page 65 of Commanding Chaos

“That’s why we couldn’t see anything.” Ember marched toward him. “You messed with our magic. You stopped us from seeing Shade.”

I stepped between them. “He’s at home.”

Ember flinched like I’d slapped her. “What?”

“When Chaos touched me, I saw him. He’s been at home the whole time.” I dumped the water from the bowl and returned it to my bag. “He’s shrouded in dark magic, hiding. That’s why I couldn’t find him. Why we couldn’t find him without Chaos. He helped us cut through the spell.”

Ember shook her head. “Shade doesn’t practice dark magic.”

“We didn’t know Ginger did either.”

Chaos moved next to me, a sinister grin on his lips. “Now can I kill him?”

21

ASH

The pit of my stomach churned like an acid pool in the deepest recesses of the Underworld. My hands trembled, the blast of demon magic Chaos had sent me fighting with fatigue for control. My nerves felt raw, exposed, and I closed my eyes in meditation, hoping to revive my vim enough for whatever was about to take place.

Ember sat in the back seat, also meditating, while Chaos drove to Shade’s home. The van stopped, and I blinked open my eyes, squinting against the bright morning light.

“That wasn’t nearly enough time to recover,” Ember said, her eyes still closed.

“Should we go home first so I can work sigil magic? I can give you energy and stamina.”

She looked at me. “And then you’ll sleep the rest of the day. No way. You used just as much vim as I did scrying. I’ll call Chrys for backup.”

“No.” I twisted in my seat to face her. “We need to squash this problem like the cockroach it is and move forward with our plan. Chrys still trusts us. Don’t give her a reason not to.”

“Miles is probably in there.” She laughed, unbelieving. “Why was he willing to take the fall for Shade’s involvement in the dark arts?”

“Shade brainwashed him. They were spending more and more time together. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’d brainwashed Ginger too.”

“If he can cast a shroud strong enough to keep two Holland witches from finding him, I’m not sure we’ll have the strength to contain him.” She opened the hatch beneath her feet.

“You’re forgetting our secret weapon doesn’t have to stay secret anymore. Chaos won’t have to hold back.”

She gave him a pointed look. “Nobody dies.”

He eyed her through the rearview mirror. “If your lives are threatened—”

I rested my hand on his thigh. “Then you’ll do your best to stop the threat without killing anyone.”

He grunted. “I will do my best.”

Ember pursed her lips, unconvinced.

“That’s the best we’re going to get from him,” I said. “And we can’t do this without him.”

“We don’t even know exactly what we’re doing.” She drew out her sword. “We don’t know if he’s involved with Boston, if he has Mayhem’s skull, if he killed Ginger…”

“It’s most likely all of the above.” I hung my satchel across my body.

“But why?” She took four daggers from the hidey-hole and strapped them to her legs. “He was born into our coven. He’s an elite fighter. He holds the highest rank someone not of our bloodline can hold.”

“Ego,” Chaos said. “He wants more power, and dark magic can give it to him.”

Her jaw clamped shut with an audible click. She inhaled and blew out a hard breath. “All right. We go in and contain him. I want him alive.”

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