Page 47 of Mastering Mayhem

“That’s the worst idea I’ve ever heard,” Shade said.

“It’s brilliant,” Mayhem said. “She’ll head straight for the rift. We’ll intercept the amulet, usher her through, and seal it behind her.”

“It sounds easy enough,” Chaos said.

Ash parked her hands on her hips, looking from me to the demons as if we’d grown eyeballs where our ears should be. “Name one thing about this entire ordeal that has happened easily.”

I inhaled, ready to spout a string of answers, but not a single one came to mind. Nobody said a word as we looked at each other. Shade’s brow furrowed in concentration, and Miles drew his shoulders upward, lifting his hands and looking just like theI don’t knowemoji on my phone.

“Exactly. But…” Ash dropped onto the couch next to Chaos. “I don’t have a better idea. Anyone else?”

“No.” Miles sank further into his seat, and Shade shook his head.

“Then we’re in agreement. Let’s—” My phone buzzed, so I dug it out of my pocket. Patrice’s name lit up the screen as I swiped it open.

“Hey, you’re on speaker.” I set the device on the coffee table. “How are things?”

She missed a beat before she replied. “Tomorrow is Halloween.”

“We’re aware,” I said. “How’s your team doing? Everyone still accounted for?”

“So far, but activity is picking up. We took out a horde of vampire ghouls last night.”

I tapped my foot on the floor. “That’s standard stuff. Has anything bigger gotten through? Any trouble with the fae?”

“Not recently, but tomorrow is Halloween,” she said again.

I rubbed my forehead, wishing people would stop stating the obvious and offer solutions instead.

Rustling sounded through the phone, followed by a cabinet opening and closing. “I ran out of wolfsbane and stopped by your house yesterday to borrow some, but I couldn’t get in. Why the super strong wards? Did you find all the amulet pieces?”

“No, but we’ll have them by the end of the day. Stay vigilant. Things will get worse before we make it all better.”

She hesitated. “So the demons are…”

“Sitting right here,” Ash said.

“Oh, okay… Who has the missing piece?” Patrice asked.

“A griffin. Long story.” I grabbed the phone. “Did you have anything else to report?”

“No, that’s it.”

“Keep us posted. We’ll do the same.” I hit End and returned it to my pocket.

“Poor Patrice,” Ash said. “She’s a healer thrust into a fighting position.”

“We’ve all had to step out of our comfort zones.” I rose and headed toward the hall to get my sword. “Gather your things. We need to summon a griffin.”

After Ash restocked her spell kit and gave us speed and strength sigils, we loaded our weapons into the van and headed for the woods where we’d encountered our first demon. Of course, now I knew the shedim wasn’t Ash’s first demon. She’d already summoned Chaos and brought him along for the ride, but that didn’t matter now. I might be dead if he hadn’t taken up residence in her mind, so who was I to complain?

I parked along the side of the road, and we filed out, gathering our knives and swords and bundles of enchanted rope before creeping deeper into the trees. Clouds blanketed the sky, casting the forest in an eerie shade of washed-out gray, and dry leaves crunched beneath my boots as we made our way to the clearing.

No remnants of the teens’ poorly cast circle remained. If I didn’t know the story, I’d have no clue a mid-level demon had feasted on a wannabe witch’s makeshift coven nearly a month ago.

To be fair, we’d had nothing to do with those kids summoning the shedim. They’d done that all on their own, but I doubt they would have accomplished it if we—my family—hadn’t already thinned the veil and started this mess into motion.

I couldn’t bring myself to count the number of bodies we’d left in our wake. The sheer amount of death and destruction, caused by the very people who were supposed to keep Salem safe, seemed infinite. I paused, letting my team walk ahead of me.

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