Page 43 of Two Who Live On

Milo slammed his palms together, banishing the talons aimed at him and Lena, while Ellie weaved around those targeting her—barely evading—which Milo believed she’d only pulled off by redirecting a lock on the attack to slow the pursuit.

“Fine. Demon doesn’t want to stay in place. Plan B, then.” Milo flew ahead. “Off with her head, Acolyte Reed.”

“Unlock.” Ellie sliced the air with her key.

A thin, red line trailed across the demon’s neck. Her golden eyes sprang wide. She retracted her clawed hands but not fast enough to catch her head which toppled off her shoulders, hitting the ground.

“I know you wanted to contain it,” Ellie said. “Sorry, Enchanter Evergreen.”

“What’re you talking about?” He approached the demon’s body that fell to its knees, unable to maintain posture with no head to guide it.

“I didn’t banish her, but I did—”

“How fucking dare you!” the demon screamed, almost as loudly as the shocked Ellie shouted.

Ellie’s key flew out of her hand, and she fumbled to catch it, shakily aiming it at the still-talking head.

“You filthy trash witch! You think that disgusting branch will stop me! I’ll rip your insides out!”

“Unless you have something nice to say”—Milo pressed his foot against the demon’s lopped-off head—“shut your mouth.”

“You seriously thought you’d killed the demon?” Lena rolled her eyes at Ellie. “Such a rookie.”

“At least I didn’t get mind controlled by the demon.” Ellie made a face at Lena.

“I didn’t.” Lena held herself properly—stiff, in fact. Her expression was completely different from the wild fighter earlierthis evening. “Obviously, I allowed myself to fall prey to the compulsion to lure the succubus out and assist in Enchanter Evergreen’s case.”

“Sure, you did,” Ellie huffed.

“In other words, you disobeyed my direct orders when I sent you here because you had a hunch?” Milo smiled at Lena, genuinely proud of her despite his words meant to invoke hesitation. Lena’s expression was apprehensive as her jaw dropped, lacking any words. Ellie snorted until Milo’s gaze fell on her. Her posture straightened, and her grin disappeared.

Milo’s smile didn’t falter. He was sincerely honored by how the two held themselves on this mission. Though he knew the anxiety a well-timed smile with eyes not matching the joy could do to induce a bit of fear. Luck and skill had favored them tonight—all three of them—and he didn’t want either of his acolytes to convince themselves their talent could let them drop their guard for a second. He was also impressed by Acolyte Novak confirming the demon was actually a succubus, something he’d suspected based on compulsion. Her taloned augmented fingers were another tell-tale sign. What he was most thrilled about in this moment was the converging paths of yellow and indigo and how many lit up with possibility when he stared at the acolytes.

“Now, succubus, do you have a name?” Milo pressed his foot against the demon’s skull harder. “Or should I just continue calling you by your demonic type? Or do you prefer I simply address you as demon? I’d hate to be rude before banishing you.”

“I thought you—”

Milo glared at Ellie, who immediately slapped a hand over her mouth, remembering not to give away their hand.

“You’re hurting me!” the succubus cried, blubbering loudly as her head cracked under Milo’s foot. “Please, stop!”

“You almost sound sincere.” Milo added a telekinetic pulse, which created a crunch beneath his heel. “Did you learn to mimic that from one of your victims?”

The tears stopped, and the frightened headless succubus’s expression turned sour. Her eyes carried hate, and the twinge in her expression held malice and resentment. This was an individual who wanted desperately to eviscerate the witch who had her head pinned to the ground. It was also an expression I’d become used to observing over the years. Teens who wanted to attack someone or something held only in check by morals or rules or confused hormones.

“Can’t blame a girl for trying,” the succubus sighed, releasing her rage in a single breath. Now, she stared at Milo, unamused by the situation and mostly bored. “Go ahead and banish me.”

“You’re ready to die just like that?” Milo quirked an eyebrow, continuing to keep his foot pushed firmly against the demon’s head as he attempted to sync his clairvoyance to the succubus.

Banishment didn’t destroy demonic energy; it merely pushed the energy out of our plain and back to the demon realms outside our own. However, the consciousness of the demon wasn’t banished. It was obliterated. Destroyed. Dead and gone.

When demons broke into our reality, the collision would shatter their physical form until all that remained were wisps of demonic energy. Their consciousness then floated in the ether, awaiting wisps to gather, create fiends, for a single fiend to store enough magic, and for the demon consciousness to then possess a suitable host. It was bizarre this demon was so willing to cast aside her very existence.

“I’m ready for death. Anything to escape the nauseating smell of your unsavory magics.”

The nonchalance left Milo perplexed. Demons did everything to maintain their life, which was why they feasted so continuously.Unlike witches who stored and channeled magical energy, demons oozed and leaked the magical energy of this dimension quickly, making it impossible for them to retain their life and form without constantly devouring magic.

Ignoring his concerns, Milo kept his branch fixed on his acolytes and a thousand other nearby lives but used the bulk of his magic in an attempt to weave around the succubus’s potential future, hoping to glimpse allied demon threats.

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