“Now,” she yelled and unleashed the spell.
Fire exploded in a wave around her, driving both of the demons back and blinding them. She grabbed the human and ran, pulling him through one of the drawing rooms and racing for the foyer. Her legs trembled beneath her, her head turning as her strength left her. She pushed herself to keep going, refusing to give up. She would fight until she had either spent every last drop of her power or had escaped.
They reached the entrance.
Cool, fresh air washed over her as they broke out onto the drive and her tracker spells placed most of the demons behind her.
“We can make it,” she said, her gaze fixed on the woods directly ahead of her rather than the road. The trees would provide them with cover that would make it harder for the demons to find them.
Something jerked her backwards and she fell on her bottom on the golden gravel, losing her grip on the human.
She slowly turned her head as the scent of blood grew stronger, her entire body trembling as her breath stuttered and her heart felt as if it would stop.
The human hovered in the air above her, his face frozen in a stricken expression.
A squelching sound had her gaze falling to his chest.
To the claw-tipped fingers that gripped his heart as it continued to pump, spilling blood on the ground inches from her.
That hand disappeared back into the man’s chest and his body dropped, hitting the threshold of the mansion.
Revealing the biggest demon she had ever seen.
Blood splattered across his handsome face and the cut muscles of his chest, and glistened on his black horns. He casually discarded the heart he had ripped from the human and lowered his gaze to her. The fire she had caused blazed brighter, devouring the wooden staircase beyond him, a fitting backdrop as he furled his wings and loomed over her.
His golden elliptical pupils narrowed in the centres of his black irises, burning as fiercely as the fire behind him.
“What do we have here?” His deep baritone rolled over her like thunder.
Shook her like a lightning strike.
She mustered her magic, but barely a spark leaped from her fingertips.
“A witch.” He canted his head and studied her, and then drew down a deep breath and grinned, revealing his fangs. “A witch who smells like vampire.”
Oh gods.
He reached for her.
“I shall have fun killing you.”
Chapter 12
Night punched the entry code into the lock beside the door of Bastian’s penthouse apartment in the heart of London and eased it open. He had tried knocking, but no one had answered. He peered around the door as soon as it was open enough, his senses stretching outwards to chart the entire area so no one could ambush him and his vision sharpening, brightening enough that he could see in the dark.
The dread that had been pooling in his stomach disappeared as an immaculate open-plan black kitchen and living room came into view. No sign of a struggle. He breathed a little easier and stepped into the apartment, closing the door behind him.
Now he just needed proof that his brother had been here.
He flicked the light switch near the door and the chandelier hanging in the living room above the twin black couches came on. His brother’s tastes ran a little more opulent than his own. Bastian had chosen an apartment that overlooked the river and the glittering lights of London, and had filled it with the most expensive furniture there was.
Night’s apartment looked basic in comparison.
The only thing their two apartments had in common was the colour scheme, and Night swore Bastian had stolen the idea to do everything in shades of gold and black from him.
He went to the onyx refrigerator and opened it.
Several canisters of blood were on the shelves, and one of them was on its side, as if someone had knocked it over. Not like his brother. For all his faults, Bastian was a neat freak. He preferred order over chaos.