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  And fell…

  And fell…

  The ground had disappeared and the abyss lay below.

  I heard Dastien screaming off in the distance, but there wasn’t anything he could do.

  It was too late.

  I fell…

  And fell…

  And fell…

  Into the dark abyss that was Hell.

  Twenty-Five

  The longer I fell the more scared I got until all I could smell was the sickly sweet stench of fear. My own fear. The smell turned my stomach worse than the stinky potions, and all I could do was scream…

  And scream…

  Until finally my screams were pulled from me.

  My body slammed into the ground and bounced three times before I landed face first.

  My breath sounded harsh in my ears, echoing like my brain was hollow. And it felt hollow. I couldn’t think. What was I going to do now? How was I going to get the fuck out of here? Was I dead?

  I sure as shit hoped not.

  One step at a time. I had to move. I had to get up.

  It took me a second to stand, but I eventually managed it. Everything ached from the fall, but nothing was broken. Blood dripped from down one arm, where I’d scratched against the ground. The shock would wear off soon, and I’d be healed in a few minutes.

  I turned in circles, but it was the same as last time. I was in Hell. Except this time I knew my body wasn’t with Dastien. I’d fallen here. The scratches proved that my body has physically come here. I was here. This wasn’t a vision.

  I tried to think of one thing that was positive and the best I could come up with was that at least I had the benefit of what I’d learned the last time I’d been here.

  Trying to find a way out of here wasn’t going to do any good. There was no way out, so I wasn’t going to tire myself by running all over the place.

  He was going to mess with me. He was going to use that creepy as fuck voice, so I couldn’t let it freak me out.

  I needed to break out of here, which meant I needed some magic. Strong magic.

  Don’t even try it. Astaroth popped in front of me. He wasn’t in the form of the boy anymore. He was tall and made of shadows. Lines of reddish orange peeked through the shadows in spots. His red eyes burned through me and I tried to look away, but was frozen. Trapped by his gaze.

  His too-large mouth grinned at me. I screamed before I could slap my hand over my mouth.

  You’re never breaking out of here. Good thing you saw Samantha. She gave you her blood.

  Samantha said she didn’t know Astaroth, but apparently he knew her. If I ever got out of here, I was going to have to have another chat with her.

  My heart skipped a beat and my eyes burned as they widened. Forty-eight hours. She’d said don’t get sucked into hell for forty-eight hours. Because I’d be here for real. I could exist in both planes because of her blood, but not for long. If I died here, I’d be stuck here.

  Be glad I haven’t dismembered you for your power. Yet. A chill ran through me. I’ll be back. He ran a fingertip down my face and I had to fight not to stumble back. If I thought that Luciana’s magic was slimy, then I wasn’t even sure what to call his.

  I swallowed hard.

  He left, popping back out and for a second, I was relieved.

  And then it hit me where he was going. Back to the circle. To my friends. To my mate.

  Dastien! I shouted through the bond, but he wasn’t going to be able to help me. The bond was still present but felt dead, lifeless. So there was nothing I could do to help him either.

  But I had to do something.

  Think, Tessa. Fucking think. Don’t let this fear get to you.

  I paced around, trying to get my mind to settle, but it was hard. So hard to think straight when I was terrified.

  I needed to not be me for a second. If I were Claudia, what would I do?

  A protection knot and a circle. I was bad at knots, but I could do a circle. Or I used to be able to do them. Astaroth had gotten through my circle like it didn’t exist.

  I tried to think back to what Samantha said about the tie. I had to break the tie first. When Samantha couldn’t break it, I figured it’d break when I did the spell, but she’d said that I needed to somehow be on both planes.

  I was. I was alive but on this plane. So that counted.

  But I needed to be able to see the tie if I wanted to break it.

  I was in a black void. In Hell. With nothing. No ingredients. Nothing to make up a potion or salt for a circle, but there was one thing I did have.

  Myself. My will. My magic.

  I sat down and as I crossed my legs something poked hard into my ankle. “Shit.” I reached inside my Ugg and wanted to cry.

  Holy shit. It was still there. After everything with the trip to the Lunar Court and then racing to finish the spell and everything else that came with that, I’d forgotten I’d stashed it in my boot.

  Thank you, God. Thank you. Thank you.

  I had myself, my will, my magic, and one fucking evil dagger.

  I didn’t know if Samantha saw this moment coming or what, but I owed her big time. If I hadn’t taken that dagger, if I hadn’t held onto it…

  I couldn’t think about that. I had a shot. I was taking it.

  This time I didn’t hesitate. I sat on the ground and slashed my wrist open. Coating my fingers in my own blood, I rose up on my knees and drew a circle around myself as wide as I could reach.

  This was where I’d gone wrong last time. I’d said to lock everything out, but I was tied to Astaroth. He’d sown a thread of himself through my soul, and I’d locked him in the circle with us.

  I had to sever his tie before I did anything else. Dastien might be right about delegating to others, that I had to lean on my friends, but he wasn’t totally right. They couldn’t do everything for me.

  I was the Alpha. I was the witch. There were some things that I just had to do for myself.

  I pictured all of the ties I had and pushed them away from the circle until they were outside of it. If any of the ties cut through the circle, then I wasn’t sure what I had in mind would work. I had to be in here alone so I could sort through them.

  “I activate this circle. Only I am in. Only me. Only myself.” The words didn’t matter. Just the will, and I was doing this damn it. “I activate this circle. Only I am inside of it. Only me. Only myself.”

  The circle lit up and I heard Astaroth cry out.

  The ground rumbled under me and I knew he was on his way and he was angry.

  I had to block him.

  I closed my eyes and searched my soul for magical links. Even if I was in Hell, I was still alive. Which meant the links were still there. I just had to concentrate harder.

  My breath flowed in and out as I shoved away the doubt. They were there. I knew it.

  And then, I felt the first one. My bond to Dastien.

  Strong. Golden. It was a rope that tied our souls together. Completed us.

  I searched for something else but couldn’t find anything. Nothing.

  My eyes opened and sitting in front of me, but outside of the circle, was Astaroth. You won’t find it. This circle won’t keep me out. You’re not strong enough.

  I squeezed my eyes shut, pushing him out of my mind. He could say whatever he wanted, but he was wrong. I was strong enough. That was why he wanted me in the first place, and that’s why I would win.

  A boom rocked against the circle and I knew he was trying to break in. He was trying to scare me. But if even one of my hairs crossed the circle, the protective circle I’d cast would shatter like the most delicate porcelain ball.

  Pleeease, Astaroth’s voice crooned in my ear. Fight. Bring up all your power for me to drink. The more you fight the better it is for me.

  Well, I guessed I was about to make it really, really good for him. Because I wasn’t going to let him taunt me.

  I focused again. I needed to see the specific spot where the tie to As
taroth was anchored in me so that I could cut it out. “Show me the demon’s tie. Show me the demon’s tie. Show me the demon’s tie.” I said it again and again. “Show me the demon’s tie. Show me the demon’s tie. Show me the demon’s tie.” My voice wasn’t more than a whisper as I begged my magic to find it.

  I said the words again. Over and over. Astaroth laughed and I ignored it.

  My throat grew raw and tears rolled down my cheeks as he taunted me. Slamming into my circle. My circle was holding, but it was getting harder.

  Sweat rolled down my forehead as I struggled to hang on to my magic.

  Wait. Why was it getting so hard? Why was I draining so quickly?

  I tried to hear beyond Astaroth’s taunting, and then finally heard it. A drip. Then another.

  I looked down at my wrist, still dripping blood.

  I touched the black abyss below me, but it was wet. My blood. I was sitting in a pool of it.

  You can’t heal here. Hell is on the supernatural plane. Any hurt you get here is a supernatural one. And one that’s made with my own blade, forged in the fires of Hell. It will kill you. And when you die, you’ll be mine. My slave. And the first thing you’ll do is kill your friends.

  My chin slouched down into my chest. My eyelids weighed ten pounds and I wanted to give up. I wanted to go to sleep. Each breath felt heavy in my lungs, but I couldn’t give in. That was the same as dying.

  Pull it together, I told myself. I could do this. I would do this.

  “Show me the—” My voice cracked, and I slapped my face. Hard. Time to wake up. I was not giving in. Not now. Not ever. “Show me the demon’s tie. Show me the demon’s tie. Show me the demon’s tie. Show me—”

  I blinked my eyes open and I saw something glowing. The words had worked all along, I’d just been too stupid and too tired to keep my eyes open.

  It looked like a tiny thread of glowing orange-red string. It weaved up and down—in and out—of my before leading out of the circle to Astaroth.

  The tie. I’d found it. I’d really found it.

  My grip was loose on the knife. I was loosing strength. Quickly. It nearly fell from my hand as I lifted it up.

  I glanced up at Astaroth and for the first time, I smiled as I sliced through the tie. The little bits that wove through me turned to ash as they fell to the ground. Useless. Powerless. No longer tying me to the demon.

  No! Astaroth slammed against my circle and I jerked back before I could stop myself. My head spun and I started to fall over, but caught myself before I fell across the circle.

  Shit. That was too close. I needed to get out of here.

  When I’d been in the abyss the last time, Dastien made me drink his blood to strengthen our bond. This time he couldn’t do that, but I could put my blood on our bond. Hopefully that would strengthen it.

  Astaroth was screaming, hitting the circle. The dark shadows started to burn away, revealing the blackened, fire demon within.

  Ignoring Astaroth’s shit fit, I focused all my will—all my power—into my words. “Show me the bond. Make it real. Show me the bond. Make it real.” I believed it would appear in my hands and as I screamed the words for a third time, something felt heavy in my hand.

  It was a knot of golden rope. The cable, thick as my forearm. I held it gingerly. This was our power and I wasn’t about to let it go.

  I ran my fingertips in my blood that had dripped onto the ground and dripped it over the bond.

  “Lead me back to my mate.”

  The world tilted and I rose up onto my knees. Everything spun, and it was worse than when Van transported me back to St. Ailbe’s. I was spinning and falling.

  I squeezed my eyes closed and screamed as I hugged my knees into my chest. Air whipped my hair around my head.

  And then my side slammed into the ground and I screamed again.

  My wrist felt like it was going to rip off. I’d cut myself too deep and I needed a bandage soon or I was going to die.

  The sound of a fight surrounded me. Growls and screams. The crunch of a broken bone.

  Tessa!

  I blinked my eyes open and gazed at wolf-Dastien. He was protecting what was left of the spell and the goblet from a couple demons.

  I glanced around the circle.

  Everyone had left it. That needed to change. And fast.

  We were doing this. Now. Before Astaroth could come through again. “Back to the circle!” I yelled over the din.

  I looked up at Eli, who was still perched in his tree. “Are you going to just sit there? Or can you actually get off your ass and help me?”

  He gave me a salute and flew down into the battle. A second later, he rose again, dropping Elowen and Blaze into the circle. Van popped in a second later with Kyra.

  Chris and Lucas ran through in wolf form. Claudia was just behind Lucas. She spun around—facing the demons chasing them—and muttered a few words. A second later, a ball of flames hit the closest demon.

  Eli flew in with Cosette screaming at him in one arm and Beth in the other.

  One more. We needed one more.

  River ran through. The last one.

  The pot with the stinky spell had been kicked to the ground. I ran for it.

  My vision swam as I moved too quickly but I shook it off. Dastien pushed a bit of power and that was enough. More than enough. I needed to do this spell, then I could rest.

  I grabbed the pot and reached inside. There wasn’t much. Maybe a quarter of a cup left. I rubbed it on my forehead, backs of my hands, and on the tops of my feet.

  That was all there was left. There was nothing left for the others, but I hoped since I would be tied to all of them, that it was good enough.

  I glanced around the circle. But we were missing something else: blood.

  Beth had a cut running down her face, dripping blood. The wolves all had mats of wet fur. More blood. Claudia had a gash on her arm. River’s shirt was all but torn off, which meant he was bleeding, too. Even Van had blood on the side of his tunic. Everyone looked battered and bruised, so there was more than enough blood. We wouldn’t be drinking it, but it would still be there to bind us together. I ran around the circle, touching wounds from each of them. I rubbed the blood together in my hands.

  I was wrong. They might not be drinking the blood or wearing the potion, but I would be. I would start the link, and Eli would bind it.

  I licked my hands, swallowing the coppery tang of my friends’ blood, and said the words. “We unite. Stronger together. Our powers seal this portal forever. We stand, side by side. Until death. Protecting our plane from the one beyond.”

  A line of glowing light started from me in the center of the circle, branching out to reach each of them. The lines crisscrossed until there was a line connecting everyone in the circle to each other and all of them to me.

  “Together united. Together strong. From our ancestors and beyond. Our power amplifies twelve by twelve, plus one.”

  “Eli!” I yelled at him. I didn’t see where he’d gone, but he needed to get his ass back here.

  I felt the wind and looked up to see him hovering over us. He opened his mouth to speak, and it was too much. The magic felt like hot pokers in my ears. I cried out as the ground slammed into my knees. I rolled onto my back and looked up at him.

  He was glowing with the most pure white light I’d ever seen. His shirt was gone and his wings spread wide.

  I knew he said he wasn’t an angel, but as I looked up at him, I wasn’t sure what else he could be.

  My ears were ringing and I couldn’t hear anything, but I could see his lips moving. The bonds that connected all of us together started to grow hot.

  The heat intensified. And then it felt like someone was burning me. My soul was on fire and I writhed on the ground, screaming for it to stop. It was too much. The magic was too much. It was going to turn me to ash.

  Just when I thought I couldn’t take anymore, there was a cool breeze. A balm on my soul, taking away every last bit of pain
.

  For a second, all I could hear was my breath. My heart was beating crazy, too. I laid there, staring up at Eli. His wings flowed back and forth, and I couldn’t look away.

  I put my hand over my chest. My heartbeat wasn’t slowing. I was going to have a heart attack if this kept up. But after a second, I realized it was too many beats. I wasn’t hearing just my heart beating. It was everyone’s. All thirteen of us.

  I rose, and so did the others.

  I thought it was over. But then Astaroth appeared in front of me.

  I stumbled back a step. And another. “Why?” I looked up at Eli. We’d done the spell. We’d sealed the plane. Why was Astaroth still here? This should’ve worked. And I knew we couldn’t win in a fight.

  Eli swooped down in front of me. His light was so bright I could barely see around it. He tsked at Astaroth. “You’ve broken the rules again.” He punched his fist into Astaroth’s body, ripped something out. A glowing ball of white energy.

  Eli turned to me, and shoved it at me.

  I gasped as all the air was gone from me. And then it was back. Everything seemed a little brighter. A little better. It was like a missing piece of my soul was back and I didn’t even know it’d been gone.

  What? When… I didn’t understand.

  “When he took your powers, he kept a piece.” My mouth dropped open, but I didn’t have time to process it before Eli was moving again. “It was allowing him to stay on this side, but now it’s time for you to go.” A spear appeared in Eli’s hands. He slammed it into the ground and a portal opened in the ground under Astaroth’s feet.

  “You’re mine.” Astaroth’s voice beat into my head. His words etched fear into my soul as he hovered over the portal.

  Eli wrapped an arm around me. His wings whisked the air around us, lifting us from the ground, and the next instant, Astaroth was sucked down, falling back to Hell.

  Eli lowered us and slammed the spear into the ground again. The portal slammed closed.

  I looked up at Eli. I wasn’t sure what he could or couldn’t do, but in that moment, he seemed all powerful. “Is there anything you can’t do?”

  “There’s a lot I can’t do.” He said, his tone the most serious I’d heard from him. “There are some very good reasons for the rules I live by, and I won’t break them. I will not play God. But I will bend them, because they will not destroy what we’ve spent a millennia building. With my tie to you, there will be more than I’m allowed to take part in.” He gave me a small smile. “Let’s just say the next little bit is going to be fun.”