Page 26 of Mastering Mayhem

“A few minutes.” He continued clicking.

A fae shimmered to my right and slammed a witch in a blue sports coat onto the ground. Shade hurled a butter knife, but, big surprise, they weren’t weighted right for throwing. It bounced off the side of the fae’s head and landed on the carpet.

Mayhem threw hellfire, charring a wing, and the fae dropped his shroud to reveal his pincers opening and closing half an inch from his prey’s face. Poisonous saliva dripped onto the witch’s mouth.

“Help me,” the man squeaked.

“Any time now, Miles.” I clutched a knife, heating it as I marched toward the fae. Mayhem shot a solid stream of fire at his back, and his wings fluttered, raining bits of char onto the witch as he plunged his hand into the man’s gut.

Grabbing a tuft of white hair, I yanked the fae’s head up and jabbed a knife beneath his chin. It passed through his open mouth and lodged in the front of his brain, hopefully lobotomizing the bastard.

I kicked the side of his head, and he fell onto his back at Shade’s feet. “He’s all yours.”

“I’d like to draw the life out of you slowly, but I’ll make do with a knife.” Shade lifted an armored plate and put an end to fae number two.

“Doors are opening,” Miles said. “Go out the back and make a left down the service hall, take the second right, go through the third door on your left, and take the stairs to the basement. The vault will be on your right about twenty yards down.”

“You expect me to remember all that?” I moved toward the door, still scanning the room for our invisible foes.

“What about the three other soldiers?” Shade asked.

“I’m almost done with the wards,” Ash replied. “Get the amulet and get out. The other witches will have to handle them on their own.”

“I don’t like leaving people to die.” I whirled toward Hazel, ready to drag her to safety, but she had already darted out the door.

“Imagine how many more will perish if we don’t complete our quest.” Mayhem gently touched my elbow, guiding me toward the back exit.

Across the room, the massive double doors swung on their hinges, opening to the foyer, and I caught a glimpse of my sister and her demon holding hands. Ash’s eyes were closed as she recited an incantation.

“I will keep her safe,” Chaos said in my earpiece.

“You sure as hell better.” I slipped through the back door with Mayhem and Shade, yanking it closed behind me.

The sweet bliss of silence engulfed us as we made our way down the wide service hall. The speckled white linoleum felt cool on my bare feet, taming the heat of adrenaline rushing through my veins. A bead of sweat from beneath my left boob rolled down my stomach, and my heart hammered so hard in my chest, I thought it might bust through my ribs.

We turned down the second hallway, and I stopped. “Wait. Is this right, or were we supposed to take the third left?”

“You’re good,” Miles said. “Keep going.”

“The wards are down,” Ash said. “We’re going in to close the rift.”

“No.” I turned around, ready to run to my sister’s aid, but Mayhem caught me by the shoulders.

“They are capable.” He pinned me with a pointed gaze. “We’ll do our part. Let Ash do hers.”

I ground my teeth. “It’s not supposed to be her part.”

“And battling fae wasn’t supposed to be ours.” He squeezed my shoulders and let them go. “The circumstances have changed, but the outcome must remain the same.”

I wanted to argue. I really did, but once again, the demon was right. Ash was capable. We would all do what we had to do. “Where next, Miles?”

“Third door on your left.”

We followed his directions and headed downstairs to the basement, but a sickening sensation formed in my stomach as we approached the vault. A pair of black boots lay just inside the open door, and as we crept closer, I realized they weren’t just boots. They were still attached to someone’s feet.

“This whole thing was a setup.” I swallowed the bile from the back of my throat. “The so-called security breach, locking us in the buffet room…Wewere the buffet for the fae.”

I stopped outside the vault and toed the person’s boot. They didn’t react. With a deep inhale, I steeled myself for whatever we might find—or not find—inside and stepped around the person’s legs.

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