Page 2 of Mastering Mayhem

“Okay, okay! Make the burning stop!” Tears streamed down his face, rolling around his snotty pig snout before dripping onto the floor.

Ash called her fire back and released his hair. The Formorian’s shirt had turned to ash, but his burns healed in seconds. He blew out a hard breath, his body slumping into my grasp.

“My arm hurts. Let me go, and I’ll do the work.”

My eyes narrowed, and I cut my gaze toward Chaos and Ash. They nodded, and Ash moved to my right, the three of us flanking the creature while Miles poured a potion into Ember’s mouth.

“Do not disappear, Donal.” I loosened my grip, allowing him to lean toward Ember.

“My arm, please.”

I let go, and he gripped his dislocated shoulder, forcing it back into place before resting both hands on the floor and crawling toward my witch. He paused and whispered something in the Formorian tongue. Before I could react, he grabbed a handful of ashes, flinging them into our faces and scrambling away.

I blinked against the grit in my eyes and gave chase. Our command that he not disappear remained, but the order to return Ember’s life force had never taken hold. He threw clothing racks and toppled display cases as he darted for the storage room door.

I leaped over the obstacles, plowing toward him. My new ostrich boots—the only items of clothing remaining on my demon form—caught on a tangle of western shirts, making me stumble.

I kicked off the offending shoes, and my hooves clomped on the linoleum as I lunged for the door, catching it before it could close. “Donal, you sorry excuse for a lifeform, return Ember’s energy immediately.”

“Never will I ever. Father needs it.” He darted around a corner as Chaos entered the room.

My brother gripped my shoulder. “Balor is here.”

“Whatever gave you that idea?” I stormed forward, stopping short of the corner as a wave of dizziness washed over me. My fingers and nose tingled, purple smoke escaping the undersides of my talons.

Chaos’s brow slammed down, his irises rippling. “We’re losing her…and you.”

“Thank you for pointing out the obvious.” I pressed forward, though it felt like I was moving through a tarpit. My muscles screamed, the fabric of my being shredding from the inside out as the Underworld called me home.

“Grab him,” Ash shouted from behind me. “I know an extraction spell. We’ll force Ember’s energy from his body.”

One foot in front of the other, I rounded the corner, the force of each step ricocheting through my body, threatening to shatter my bones the moment my hoof hit the floor.

Donal sat on his knees, his hands on the floor, straddling a lump of rotting flesh. “This is a strong one, Father.”

He opened his mouth, and glittering gold energy—the essence of Ember’s being—crossed his lips, spiraling into the creature beneath him.

The pain in my body ceased, the instinct to save the woman I loved taking complete control and rendering me numb to everything except my purpose. I lunged for Donal, hauling him up by his neck and clutching his throat.

“Balor, Balor, I have valor,” he squeaked. “Look what I brought you, Father.”

“Give it to me,” the lump on the floor wheezed. “Or you’re worth less than a sneeze.”

“I’ve had enough of your rhyming, imbecile.” I squeezed his neck, my talons digging into his skin and making him bleed. “Last chance. Return Ember’s life force.”

“Hold him still.” Ash dumped a jar of herbs onto the floor.

“Never.” He opened his mouth, and Ember’s energy shot toward Balor.

My stomach lurched. I tightened my grip, jerking my hand and snapping his neck. The wretched bastard screamed, but my witch’s energy continued to flow. Ash lit the herbs ablaze and began reciting an incantation, but I barely heard her words. Purple smoke rose from my skin. My body, once solid, wavered, my corporeal form trying to skate away as Ember’s hold on the thread of life slipped.

I could wait no longer.

With the Formorian still dangling from my grasp, I plunged my talons into his chest. His ribs cracked and splintered as I reached for his heart.

“Mayhem, no!” Ash’s voice echoed somewhere in the distance.

Twisting and ripping, I dislodged the organ from his veins, yanking it out and tossing Donal’s corpse onto the floor.

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