Page 12 of Wicked Angel
I exchanged a look with Levi, who wore a thoughtful expression. “That’s twice you’ll need to step out of this circle, sweetheart. It might be too much.”
“I don’t think we have another choice,” I said, feeling a tiny thread of hope igniting inside me. “We can use the cuffs, right?”
“Those won’t hold the unstable magic for long,” Abbie said. “But we can try reinforcing them every hour, or every half an hour. If we are fast, we might get lucky.”
“Are you sure about that?” The stoic and cocky Levi seemed a little worried to me and that look pulled at my heartstrings.
I nodded.
He let out a breath and looked at Max. “What’s the demon’s name?”
“Thrallgon,” Max answered. “He’s extremely dangerous, and I can’t guarantee any of this will work.” His eyes darkened. “He might try to kill you while taking your magic. He has done it before, when he said the magic was too irresistible.”
Levi let out a groan and I stilled.
“So, we need to make sure this Thrallgon doesn’t kill me, but takes all the unwanted magic away,” I muttered. “It just keeps getting better, doesn’t it?”
Max’s lips quirked into a grim smile. “Welcome to my world.” Then his smile was gone. “One more thing: Thrallgon will surely try to escape while we’re dealing with him. We need to prepare to either secure his prison or kill him, somehow.”
“You said you weren’t able to kill him before,” Abbie observed.
Max nodded. “Yes. He was too strong.” He glanced around the room. “But I think that we just might be stronger this time. If anyone can find a way to take him down, it’s this group.”
For a moment, silence settled over us, broken only by the rustle of pages and the distant hum of the city outside. My mind raced through the possibilities, trying to fit together the pieces of this impossible puzzle.
Then an idea sparked, small but insistent, and I turned to Levi.
“What if we called Jasmin?”
7
After we cameup with a plan, the demon hunters left. We agreed to call them back when we had the crystal.
Levi, Lacey, Abbie, and even Maggie and Gwen started talking about the crystal and the demon, and researching more, and finding a way to make the cuffs stronger.
“We have to do this now,” I blurted out.
They all turned to me and I glanced around the dim warehouse, meeting each of their eyes in turn.
“But the cuffs—” Abbie started.
“Just infuse more magic in it right now,” I said.
“And—”
I lifted a hand. “I’m serious. I’m tired of sitting here and just researching and waiting. We finally have something tangible in front of us, a real something to do that will move the needle forward. Please, don’t make me wait.”
The shine in their eyes showed me they understood my plea.
Levi crossed his arms. “All right, but we need to do a quick plan.” I opened my mouth to argue. “No, I mean it, sweetheart. We need to find out exactly where we are going, what we will encounter, and how long it might take. We need to eat and pack.”
“He’s right,” Lacey said. Of course she would back her brother on this. “Thirty minutes. One-hour tops. Then we can get going.”
Abbie nodded.
Maggie nodded too. Abbie groaned as she turned to Maggie. “No. I know that look. You’re not coming, Maggie. It’s too dangerous.”
“I have to,” Maggie insisted, her voice sharper than I’d ever heard it. “It’s my vision. I saw the cave, the path, the crystal. You need me to guide you. I can do this, Abbie.”
