Page 3 of Mastering Mayhem

The heart beat three times in my hand before crumbling to dust along with his body.

Ember’s energy rose from the pile, gathering into a ball of light before drifting toward the ceiling. A pricking sensation formed on my skin, and more purple smoke—my essence—seeped from my pores.

I looked at my brother and then at Ash. “I’m fading.”

“No shit.” Her brown furrowed. “I had an extraction spell ready, but this…” She gestured to the beautiful ball of sparkling light. “I need to mix a containment spell before she crosses over.”

A sob rolled up from my chest, but I caught it in my throat and reached a hand into the light. My witch’s essence, her energy, her life danced across my waning skin, making my stomach clench. Ember had a kind, pure soul. She would not be damned to my realm.

Which meant I would never see her again.

I squared my gaze on Ash. “You have to save her.”

“And you have to quit trying to solve every situation with violence.” She swiped a mixture of herbs around the lip of a small container. “Light of life, avoiding strife. Don’t go far; enter this jar. As I will it, so mote it be.”

The light shimmered. It spread across the ceiling, casting the room in shades of gold and silver as if both the sun and the moon were working together to illuminate the mess I had made.

“No. It’s mine.” Balor blew out a breath and inhaled deeply. Ember’s energy shimmied, drifting toward the king of the Formorians.

“Ash…” My legs weakened. The low vibration of the Underworld called me home, but I fought it. Home was not in the pits of Hell. Not anymore. Home was no longer a place…it was a person.

Home was Ember.

Ash recited the spell again. Still, Ember’s light flowed toward Balor.

No. No, this was not happening. I would not return to Hell. I refused to let Ember die.

Dropping to my knees, I shoved my talons into Balor’s chest. His bones had not hardened, so my claws passed through easily, even in my weakened state. I fisted my hand where his heart should have been, but his insides were nothing but gelatinous sludge.

How could I vanquish the vile beast if he had no heart?

He let out a pained mewl as I swirled my hand inside his chest, stirring his insides like soup. I hoped it was the most excruciating agony he had ever felt.

Ember’s light stilled. Then, it vibrated. It dimmed and pulsed, shimmying between Balor and Ash.

“Balor, I demand you release her.” I plunged my talons upward, toward his throat, the tips protruding from the base of his neck. His eyes bulged, and he wheezed.

Ash spoke the incantation a third time. Ember’s light flashed twice and soared toward the jar Ash held. It flowed into the container, sparkling like a thousand fireflies danced within the glass.

“Come on. Chaos will watch him.” She closed the jar and grasped my arm, tugging me away from the beast. “We need to save Ember.”

I followed her into the store. Miles held Ember’s head in his lap. When he looked up, a tear slid down his cheek. “I don’t know what else to do,” he said.

“She’s not gone yet.” Shade adjusted his position, wincing and pressing a hand to his injured stomach. “But, dude, you’re smoking.”

I dropped to the floor and pulled my witch into my lap, brushing the matted hair from her forehead. Ash lowered to her knees and opened the jar, holding it toward Ember’s face. As her light rose from the container, my smoke swirled around it, creating a protective cocoon.

I could feel her in my soul, lighting the darkness inside me, making me whole.

“Let it go,” Ash said. “Her energy can’t return while you’re holding it hostage.”

“I can’t.” I tried. I tried to call my smoke into my corporeal form, but this body was merely a vessel about to sink. My soul refused to let her go.

Ash grabbed my wrist. “You have to, or she’ll die.”

More smoke rose from my skin, my body becoming translucent as Ember slipped further and further into the ether. “Take her. Save her.”

Ash pulled Ember into her lap, and I crawled away, my legs too weak to carry me. As I moved, my smoke followed, still attached to my semi-solid form. A trail extended to Ember’s light, the once-invisible tether holding her tightly in this realm.

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