Page 66 of Commanding Chaos

“If he knows where my brother is, so do I.” Chaos exited the van, and Ember and I followed.

We didn’t say a word as we crossed the street. Shade’s car still sat in the driveway; his porch light still burned. No signs of dark magic pricked at my skin as we approached the house. The morning felt peaceful, serene.

“His power is strong to mask this well,” Chaos said.

“No kidding.” Ember reached for the knob, but I caught her arm.

“Always check for magic first,” I said. When she stepped back, I cast my spell, “Confess, expose, my magic sleuth. I call on you to reveal your truth.”

Golden sparkles gathered in the air, turning the world around us grayscale, revealing the real condition of the scene. He’d used shadow magic to cloak his home, making it appear normal, but that wouldn’t have kept us from finding him when we scried.

“The door is open.” Ember pushed it with her boot, jerking her foot back as soon as it creaked. No hexes or boobytraps blocked the entrance. “Whatever he’s doing in there, he didn’t expect to be found.”

“Or he set a trap.” Chaos’s brows slammed down over his eyes. “This doesn’t feel right.”

“Sure doesn’t.” Ember started inside, but Chaos brushed past her, leading the way.

“Whatever happened to ladies first?” she grumbled and went in after him.

“I guess we’re throwing caution to the wind yet again.” I took up the rear, leaving the door open for a quick escape if things went any further south than they already were.

Eerie silence engulfed us as we made our way through the foyer. A small study stood empty to the right, and framed sigils lined the wall to our left. The entry hall spilled out into an unoccupied living room. A bookshelf filled with crystals, powdered charcoal, and other granules he used for shadow magic stood against one wall, and a black faux leather sofa sat beneath the window. Morning sunlight seeping in through the closed blinds provided the only illumination in the room.

“Shade, are you here?” Ember called out as if she had never seen a horror movie in her entire life.

“Of course he is,” I whisper-shouted and grabbed her arm. My pulse thrummed, and enough adrenaline rushed through my veins to make me forget all about my depleted vim. I flipped on the light switch because I had seen just about every horror movie ever made.

“Where?” Chaos stopped. Ember ran into his back, and I smacked into hers.

“Don’t do that.” She rubbed her shoulder, and they both turned toward me.

I opened my senses and searched the space, but once again, I felt nothing. “He’s still cloaked.” I tried to sense the powdered charcoal to see if my newfound power even worked in this house. It didn’t. “He’s blocking everything.”

Footsteps sounded from the bedroom, and Shade appeared in the doorway, wearing the same black spandex and boots he’d worn we he infiltrated our house. His pupils had bled outward until the gray of his irises was merely a thin ring around them, and his brows smushed together in concentration.

He spread his arms dramatically. “Welcome, infidels.”

Seriously? Infidels?

Ember scoffed. “You’re the one who’s turned his back on his faith. How long have you been practicing dark magic?”

He lifted a finger to point at Chaos, really laying on the theatrics. “That demon belongs to me.”

“The hell he does.” I reached into my bag, wrapping my fingers around the freezing spell.

Chaos stiffened. I could almost feel the hellfire simmering beneath his skin, so I moved next to him, touching my arm to his.

“He has Mayhem,” he tried to whisper, but everyone heard. “I can feel it.”

“I have him.” Shade lifted his chin and sneered. “I’m going to free him, and he’s going to destroy the rest of the Holland bloodline.”

Ember tightened her grip on her sword. “The rest of the bloodline is standing in front of you. Why don’t you end us yourself?”

Chaos puffed out his chest. “You’ll have to get through me before you lay a finger on these witches.”

What was it with these two? They literally asked him to fight when we needed information first.

“Did you kill Ginger? Are you working with Boston?” I should have mixed up a truth serum to blast him with. That would have moved things along much more quickly.

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