Page 5 of Witch Please
“You do?” Sissily panted as we took the stairway down two stairs at a time.
Yes, I do.” Gasping for air, as well, I sped up. “Mazzikin are spirits, Sissily. What’s the easiest way to get rid of them from this plane of existence? Think.”
“Hazel! I could kiss you right now.” She squealed and redoubled her efforts to get downstairs before me now that she knew what we should do to end the nightmare before someone gets seriously hurt. “Remember though, if Danika asks, we know nothing.”
“I’d die before I say a word.” I told her solemnly. “We don’t need additional things for her to hold over our heads.”
The very thought of my grandmother had my blood boiling, but I pushed it down in order to focus on what we had to do. Reaching the front double doors, I took a hold of the ornate knobs and yanked both open at the same time just as Sissily breezed past me and skidded to a stop within a few feet.
Shifters raced around on four and two legs, shouts and howls echoing in the night. My heart stuttered when I noticed the flickering images of the shades start gathering closer to where the two of us joined the skirmish. I knew they were sent here for me even without the obvious signs.
“We should start now…” Sissily was saying but I waved a hand at her to cut her off and pointed at the cluster of shrubs to the left where two wolves were snapping their jaws at one of the Mazzikin.
“We should wait a little just to be jerks.” My grin made her glare at me. “What? He is a know it all, isn’t he?” We watched River dance around the shade, his magic passing through it without making a scratch. “This will teach him a lesson.”
Dark eyes locked on my gloating face and narrowed with suspicion. I wondered for a split second if he heard me and that’s why he didn’t rush to play my guardian, but every thought left the moment a few of the demons beelined for Sissily.
All the blood drained from my head when I realized she was looking at me over her shoulder and didn’t see them coming. She was a few feet ahead of me, so they were much closer to her, and I had no chance of reaching her before they did.
“Duck!” My scream had her dropping like a rock, face first onto the concrete path. Blondie was yelling something too, but I blocked him out completely. “Roll!”
My feet were already moving when Sissily rolled toward me avoiding one of the shades that dove for the spot where she prostrated herself. Sprinting, I bent down as I reached my friend and snatched her up by the arm. She twisted easily, more from years of sparring together than intuition or anything else and pushed herself off of the ground. My momentum helped us both keep our balance and we raced for the line of trees where we could find shelter for a few seconds.
Many howls sounded around us pebbling my skin.
Fear clawed at my insides, guilt drilling a hole in my gut. My petty nature almost cost Sissily her sanity. If any of the Mazzikin possesses a witch, she or he would lose their mind. There was no returning from that.
As we reached the few trees, I slammed my back onto one of the trunks pulling Sissily with me. We both gasped loudly, sucking in air for our starved lungs more out of panic than for being out of shape. Although that damn burger was trying to come up a couple of times since I left the safety of my room.
“Ready?” I panted. “We gotta do it now.”
She just nodded spastically while blowing air through her nostrils like a bull.
“Exorcizamus te, omnis…” a coughing fit had me doubling over and I almost lost the food I stuffed in my mouth earlier all over the leaf covered ground.
“Hazel!” River’s shout had my heart punching the roof of my mouth and without turning to see where he was yelling from, I dropped on the ground pulling Sissily with me.
The short hairs on the back of my neck lifted to attention when I felt the soft tickling breeze from the shade that missed me by a hair.
“Sissily?” My gasp was followed by spitting out leaves that filled my mouth when I faceplanted.
“Start.” Anger colored her tone, and she squeezed my hand hard enough to grind my bones. I knew exactly how she felt because I was starting to get pissy, too.
“Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii, omnis legio, omnis congregatio et secta diabolica.”
Our voices rose with each word but as we finished the chant, oppressive silence formed a vacuum between my ears. Sissily and I looked at each other, both of us wide-eyed and covered in dirt. I could see clear as day the doubt written all over her face if we did this right or if we miscalculated the situation completely.
You could hear a pin drop.
And that’s when the shrieks started loud enough to make my ears bleed.
Cursed demons and their penchant for draining the blood from my body.
CHAPTER3
Rough hands grabbed both of my shoulders and jerked me upright hard enough my forehead smacked into someone’s chest. No. Not someone. Blackman loomed over me, his face set in a harsh determined expression. His mouth was moving but I couldn’t hear anything from the whistling sound thundering in my ears so I just slapped at his grabby hands weakly hoping he would release me and go away.
He didn’t.
