Page 70 of Commanding Chaos

“Chaos,” I said and cut my gaze to my arm.

Without a word, he sent a pulse of magic through his mark. I welcomed the unnatural calmness, letting it loosen my muscles and clear my thoughts. If only I had another freezing potion in my pocket.

Then again, I’d done that spell so many times in the past few weeks, I might not even need the powder anymore. It was worth a shot. “Standing tall or on your knees…”

“We’ll have none of that.” Chrys sent a root snaking around my neck and across my mouth. I kept my lips closed tight, but when she snapped her fingers, the root squeezed, forcing itself into my mouth like a gag.

Bitterness flooded my tongue, making me cough.

Chaos slammed his shoulder against the circle over and over, trying to break through. He punched and kicked the invisible wall, but it held strong…stronger than any circle I could have created.

I needed to cast this freezing spell. It was the only way to stop her. I bit down hard on the root, working my jaw from side to side, sawing through it with my teeth, cringing against the sharp, pungent taste.

Chrys moved the tip of her spade to the soft spot beneath Ember’s chin. “I know you’re the ones who raided Boston’s library. You tore the pages from the journal. Where are they?”

Ember spit in her face.

She flicked it off her cheek and took a dagger from Ember’s leg harness. “If you had told me, I might’ve let you live. Now I’ll have to tear apart your house to find it.”

Chrys cut the satchel from my shoulder and moved into the entry hall. She took two bottles from her own bag and hurled them into the living room. They shattered, and magical fire blazed around us, licking up the walls and setting the curtains alight.

I kept chewing. Almost through…

She tossed my bag into the flames, incinerating it and all the inactivated potions inside it before pointing at Chaos. “I’ll come back for you once they’re dead.”

“We’re fireproof, asshole,” Ember said.

Chrys laughed. “I know, but the smoke will kill you before the flames ever could. Later, witches.” She ran out the door and slammed it behind her.

I bit through the root and spit it out. “Crap! Shade, wake the eff up!”

I struggled against the roots, which was pointless. If Ember couldn’t bust out of them, there was no way I could. Smoke billowed on the ceiling, creeping downward at a pace much too fast for my liking.

“Shade!” Ember shouted, but he didn’t move.

My nostrils and eyes stung. “Chaos, can you wake him?”

“I can.” He stilled, activating his chaos magic.

Shade gasped and shot up, his eyes wild as he spun right and left. “What the…?”

Chaos released him, and he blinked, confusion contorting his features until he took in his surroundings. “Shit!” He untied Miles, ripping through the tape and glaring at me. “What did you do?”

“It wasn’t them.” Miles picked up Ember’s sword and hacked at the roots holding her. “Chrys did this.” He freed one of her arms, and she grabbed a dagger to saw at the root holding the other.

“Chrys?” He looked from Miles to me to Chaos, and his eyes widened in disbelief.

“A little help please?” I said.

His brow crumpled, but he grabbed a knife that had fallen from the shelf when I crashed into it and sliced through the roots holding me. My feet hit the ground, and I swiped a boot through the circle, releasing my demon. We ran for the door.

Chaos stopped inside the foyer to morph into his human form, and we darted toward the van, his noodle flopping along the way. Yep, he was naked, and I didn’t have the energy to care. Thank the goddess he didn’t bust out of his boots too because those were his only pair.

We piled into the van and closed the doors. Shade’s house, still cloaked in magic, looked as quiet and peaceful as it had when we arrived. Beneath the shroud, an inferno raged. I sure hoped he had insurance.

Ember floored it, heading home, and I clung to Chaos’s arm, trying to keep my eyes open. I couldn’t recall a time when my vim had been depleted this much.

“What the hell is going on?” Shade sat in the front seat, his glaring gaze bouncing between all of us.

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