Page 42 of Hell to Slay

“He says it will work,”Tempest’s voice echoed in our heads.“He wants you all to come down so he can teleport everyone all at once.”

“That sounds like a trap if I ever heard one,” Nico muttered.

“Tempest, if he can teleport them to freedom, can you get us out of here?” I asked.

“I’ll do my best.”

“Then tell him to do it and… go with them,” I said, as much as I hated the idea of being separated from my twin.

“No,” Mel said. “I’ll lift him back out.”

“Our magic is already running low,” I pointed out.

Our earlier demon battle, combined with our fruitless attempts to free the spirits, combined with her massive flyswatter had all but drained our reservoir.

“He’ll drain even more by teleporting, and then we’ll need the rest to fight our way free.”

Mel made a sound of frustration, and Nico stepped close to squeeze her shoulder. “Jax knows what he’s doing.”

“Fine,” Mel said, nodding to Tempest. “Tell him to go with them.”

“He refuses,”Tempest said.“He won’t go unless you all go together.”

I growled at my brother’s stubbornness.

“Mel, we can’t risk you falling on the vines,” I grabbed her arm to keep her from sending me into the pit like she’d done to my brother. “Don’t throw yourself in there.”

She had to have her foot on her magic circle to levitate objects, so I imagined her launching herself into the pit and hoping for the best. If she did that, she’d launch me with her. I wouldn’t leave her side.

Mel let out a huff, then shook her head. “Telekinetic magic doesn’t work on the witch wielding it.”

The ground beneath our feet rumbled, and Nico raised a chunk of rock into the air, then tossed it at the vines. They seethed toward it before realizing it was nothing of interest.

“If I’d known you planned to crush them, I would’ve helped,” the big guy admitted. Then he turned to me. “I can levitate her down. I just can’t affect the earth of the pit itself. If we all go, it’s a one-way trip.”

“Jax must be certain,” I replied. “Or he wouldn’t tell us to join him.”

“Let’s do this,” Mel said, opening her arms with one foot on her circle. Nico rose into the air, manifesting a waterblade and a quicksilver one as he went. Just as carefully as before, she raised him high into the smoke and shadows, farther than the vines could reach. Then she deposited Nico directly on Jax’s circle, where all the spirits had gathered. He gestured up at us, and Mel sent me into the pit next.

My stomach lurched as her magic took hold of me, lifting me into the air, my witchfire blades at the ready.

“Did you have to be so dramatic?” I asked Jax as Mel’s magic slowly lowered me down in between the circle of vines. Mainly I wanted a distraction from the monstrous things stretching toward me, seeking my suffering.

“Why go a different way when I can teleport all of us out at once?” Jax asked. “Why drain our magic more than we have to?”

“You’re sure your circle has enough juice for all the spirits and the four of us?” My feet touched the ground, and an unnatural heat climbed up my legs. This didn’t feel right at all.

“Absolutely,” Jax said. “Just like you have a sense for how big and far you can throw a fireball, I can always sense how much magic it’ll use and how far I can send them. All of them combined will barely use a single person’s worth. Plus, with our reservoir as deep as it is, I can teleport more people more often than ever before.”

That was interesting to know but not something I cared much about at the moment as I watched Nico raise his arms above his head. Mel crouched on a piece of rock that Nico levitated in the air from below. He stepped toward the center of the pit, drawing Mel’s rock with him, draining our reservoir by the second.

I gritted my teeth, hating every moment of this. From the inside of the pit, our world had narrowed to a very small circle of smoke and shadows above us, and once again, the sickly yellowish vines reached toward Mel as they tracked her descent.

“Mela!” a female spirit called, and I glanced over to see a ghostly woman who shared similar features to Mel. This must be her mother.

“Mamá!” Mel called down as Nico brought the rock to rest just outside Jax’s magic circle.

Mel and Tempest jumped off, and Mel rushed forward, pulling up short in front of her mother’s ghost as if she’d just remembered she couldn’t hug her.

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