Page 17 of Wicked Angel
Aspen nodded. “Everyone ready?”
“One moment,” Lacey said as she turned to me. She handed me the cuffs and I sighed as I took them and clasped them around my wrists. Their weight felt oppressing. “Now, we’re ready.”
Aspen waited for my confirmation. When I nodded at him, the warlock moved his hands and opened a new portal for us.
As the others moved to the portal, Levi gave my hand a quick squeeze before releasing it. I took a deep breath, focusing on keeping my magic in check, and stepped into the portal alongside the others.
The world shifted around us, bending and twisting as the magic carried us through space. We emerged at the mouth of a vast canyon, the air dry and cool, carrying the faint scent of sagebrush. Towering cliffs loomed on either side, their craggy surfaces casting long shadows that stretched across the rocky ground. The cuffs on my wrists felt tighter, almost as if my magic knew what lay ahead and was fighting against its restraints.
Max took the lead, guiding us down a narrow trail that wound through the canyon floor. He moved with the ease of someone who had walked this path many times before, but his shoulders were tense, his steps measured.
As we walked, he spoke quietly, his voice carrying just enough to reach us over the wind that swept through the canyon. “Thrallgon is not like any demon you’ve encountered before. He’s absorbed magic from dozens of supernaturals—shapeshifting, fire, ice, illusions, telekinesis. You name it, he’s probably got it.”
“Sounds like a real charmer,” Levi muttered. “How did you manage to trap him?”
Max shot him a grim look. “With the help of many witches and magical stones.”
“It probably needs to be recharged every once in a while,” Abbie observed.
“Correct,” Max said. “Actually, we’re due for a recharge at the end of the month.”
“So the barrier is weaker now?” I asked. “Isn’t that more dangerous?”
“It is, but it also means the spell you want him to do will be easier,” Max said.
Levi glanced at me, his dark eyes hard, full of concern.
“What else can you tell us about him?” Farrah asked as she stepped over a loose stone the size of my head.
“He’s a trickster, that’s how he was able to steal so much magic,” Max explained. “If given the opportunity, he’ll try to trick us, to find a way out of the barrier.”
“Great,” Wyatt muttered.
“That’s why we need to keep him focused on Ariella,” Max continued. “If we can make him lust after your magic and only that, he won’t have time for any tricks.”
I swallowed hard, feeling the weight of the plan settle on my shoulders. “And if it doesn’t work?”
“Then we improvise,” Max said, but the tightness in his jaw told me he knew just how dangerous that could be.
The trail narrowed, forcing us to walk single file through a jagged crevice. My breath came quicker as the walls pressed in around us, and I fought back the rising panic. If I lost control now, if my magic slipped free, I could bring the entire canyon down on us.
After what felt like an eternity, the path opened into a small cave, dimly lit by the glow of phosphorescent fungi clinging to the walls. Max stopped at the entrance, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. “This is it. Everyone ready?”
A chorus of affirmations answered him, and I steeled myself for what was to come. We moved forward, navigating a maze-like series of tunnels, each twist and turn leading us deeper underground. The air grew colder, stale with the weight of centuries, and the darkness pressed against us like a living thing.
After nearly half an hour of walking, the tunnel widened into a small chamber. But when we reached the end, there was nothing but a solid wall of rock in front of us.
“What the hell?” Levi muttered, his frustration evident.
Max shook his head. “Watch.”
He raised his hand, brushing his fingers over the stone. The air shimmered, and the rock wall dissolved like mist, revealing a hidden archway leading into a larger, open space. A faint, pulsing barrier shimmered over the archway, casting a sickly green glow across the chamber beyond.
And there, in the center of the room, sat Thrallgon.
The demon was slumped over, almost human in appearance, but with skin that clung too tightly to his bones, his face half-hidden beneath the tattered hood of a filthy brown robe. His head was nearly skeletal, the skin stretched over sharp cheekbones, with empty eye sockets that seemed to drink in the darkness. He looked up as we approached, a grin spreading across his gaunt face, revealing rows of jagged teeth.
“Well, well,” he rasped, his voice echoing off the cavern walls. “It’s been a long time, Max. And you’ve brought friends.”
