Heir of Night by Emily Goodwin

Chapter 36

Dad, I really fucking need you right now. I throw the enchanted dagger, backing up against the stairs. The dagger hits a demon in the shoulder and then falls to the ground. The demon looks at the wound with curiosity, not pain, and then sees the broken gemstone on the floor. It leaves the body, smoke billowing out of its mouth, and the human drops.

“Binx!” I call, throwing my hands out in front of me and shoving another demon away with magic. The human, a middle-aged woman, tries to push herself up. Binx and Pandora shadow over, killing another demon on their way. “She’s alive,” I tell them, though it’s obvious. Heavier set, she’s too much for me to lift, but I grab her hand anyway and try to get her to her feet. “Listen to me,” I tell her, knowing she’s disoriented, scared, and possibly suffering horrible internal damage. “You need to hide, okay? Go into the bathroom down the hall, close the door, and don’t come out until someone comes and get you.”

Her face pales, and she looks like she might throw up. More demons come inside, and another horse whinnies. My heart lurches and my stomach twists. Did another Horseman show up?

“You have to get up,” I tell her. Glass shatters in the kitchen, and something clatters to the ground, rolling across the hardwood floor. “Now!”

Pandora shadows over, circling the woman, and lifts her to her feet. She guides her into the bathroom and shuts the door. Then she shadows to the back of the house to go after the demons.

“Lucas!” I shout, seeing him surrounded. I conjure a ball of bright blue light. “Get down!” He meets my eye, shaking a demon off that’s hanging onto his back, and drops to his knees. I thrust my hands forward, fueling the energy ball with blue hellfire. It erupts, and fiery bits of energy fall on the demons—and Lucas. He gets to his feet and rushes over to me.

“I heard what he said,” he tells me. “You have to get out of here, Callie. Take your familiars and run. Go out the back door. We’ll hold them off up here. Go, now.”

Another crash comes from the kitchen, and I don’t have to say it for Lucas to know I can’t escape through the back of the house. Nostrils flaring, he whirls around, snapping the neck of the closest demon. This time, the demon doesn’t leave the body. It forces it back up, head hanging unnaturally to the side, and sends a shockwave of dark energy at us. Lucas is strong enough to withstand it, but it knocks me back against the accent table by the wall near the stairs.

Lucas goes for the demon again, shoving it to the ground and kicking it hard in the ribs. The more damage the body withstands, the harder it will be for the demon to control, like a damaged puppet.

“Step back,” I tell him and thrust my hand forward, throwing a ball of blue energy at the demon. It hisses and explodes, sending bloody demon ash all over the foyer.

“Why isn’t Michael here?” Lucas grabs my hand, pulling me to the base of the stairs, wanting me to go back up. There are two staircases, and the demons in the kitchen might have already gone up in search of me.

“He won’t be able to hear us with the barrier,” Julian says, slashing the throat of another demon. Blood splatters his face, and he flicks his eyes to me for half a second. “Lucas is right, Callie. You need to get out of here. We need to get outside the barrier.”

Someone pounds on the front door, and three demons come in from the back of the house. Binx and Pandora get them, and Scarlet and Freya run around, pulling demons off the back porch. I can hear Scarlet growling and barking, enjoying every second she gets to kill something.

I take a step back, heart racing, and look around at the carnage. There are bodies on the floor, some fresh and bloody, others rotting and full of maggots. Broken glass is scattered across the polished hardwood floor, and my rug is stained with blood and other bodily fluids. My material possessions are of no concern for me right now, I can buy more, and these people can’t buy another chance to live.

But seeing it all makes me so fucking mad. The light above us starts to flicker, and anger gathers inside of me. The enchanted dagger falls from my hand, clattering to the ground, splattering blood on my feet.

I move in front of Lucas, pushing him back with magic. Throwing my hands to my sides, I lean forward and scream.

A shockwave of bright blue magic springs from me, coming from the depths of my soul, fueled with more power that I knew I had access to. Time slows and the magic pulses from me, slicing into the demons, burning them from the inside. Their bodies drop, but not everyone is dead.

Letting out a final breath, I drop my hands to the side, body humming from the use of powerful magic. The blue light was so bright it should have been blinding, yet my eyes are well adjusted as I look at the bodies on the floor.

Realizing that’s the exact same way Marie Lancaster killed all the vampires in the War of Light and Dark, I spin and look for Lucas. Michael gave her the power, lending his own to make her stronger. He’s my father, and I don’t need an archangel power boost. I have power inside of me, and I’m tired of it being locked away.

It’s mine, and I want to use it. I need to use to.

The skin on Lucas’s face and arm is charred, and my stomach drops when I see him. He’s starting to heal and ignores his own pain and steps forward, reaching for me. He knows what using power like that is going to do to our child, and I’m going to feel the aftermath of it in just a few seconds.

I put a hand on my side, wincing, and Lucas holds me up. The pain rolls in slowly, making me double over, and lasts longer this time.

“I’m—”

“Don’t you dare say fine,” Lucas breathes. Suddenly, a great boom comes from the front porch. Paimon stands on the porch and forces the door open, blowing it off its hinges. He’s still projecting but has his powers. Tendrils of black smoke twist up from the ground around him. His eyes flash, and he sends the smoke at me.

“Callie!” Lucas calls and moves in front of me. The smoke wraps around his ankles, and he pushes me away. “Run!” Baring his fangs, he jerks his foot up, pulling it out of the smoke. I turn to go and something grabs my hair, yanking my head back. I trip and start falling into the wall. It’s an instinct to turn and hit the wall with the side of my body and not my front, crushing my stomach into it. My head smacks, hitting the corner of a framed photo.

I’m falling to the ground, and everything happens in slow motion. Hooves click on the cement of the front porch, and War’s horse snorts. I turn, unable to catch myself, and hit the floor on my hands and knees, trying to keep the impact off my stomach, and see War urge his horse forward, stepping into our house. The black smoke surrounds me, and the last thing I remember is Lucas reaching for my hand.

Then everything stops, and my world is nothing but blackness.