Page 55 of Wicked Ties
I shuffled from one foot to the other, and Maze moved to my side. He placed his hand on my shoulder for a second and I held still. “It will be well.”
“Beckett.” Astrid called out. “We’re ready.”
Beckett marched through the portal, and he had those three vials hovering in midair in front of him. They looked like they sat on a shelf, but nothing held them. One tiny portal sat under each one. And he walked to stand between Astrid and Zinnia. Maze grabbed my hand and tugged me closer to them.
It didn’t even take a moment before darkness fell over us. She moved like a tornado, ripping through the Connecticut forest. Trees flew past us, and yet no one moved. When the whirling shadow got only twenty feet away, Zinnia held her hand up and a wall of silver magic smacked into Nyx, knocking her sideways.
“Stop.” Her voice boomed like it was on a loudspeaker.
The tornado melted away and Nyx stood before us with those razor-sharp shadow skewers at the ready. Her dress flowed around her legs, and even then smokey shadows drifted up from her.
“Your Highness, what a surprise.” She paced back and forth. “What brings you here?”
“This.” Zinnia motioned to the bottles containing her daughters’ souls.
Nyx hissed in our direction. “They stole them.”
“We saved them,” Maze countered coolly. “Lucky for you.”
“Give them to me.” Nyx snapped her fingers. “Now.”
I shook my head. “Your daughters have something of mine. It belongs to me, and I want it back . . . now.”
“Oh, the demon speaks.” Nyx rolled her eyes. “This is some kind of pet. I won’t be toyed with. I will call the Fallen.”
“No, you won’t.” I chuckled. “Persephone’s garden is in disarray because of you. I would think you are in no position to call them in. Nor would you want to.”
Astrid motioned to the bottles. “These are your daughters’ souls, and if you don’t get Tilly’s back, Beckett will drop them into an infinite portal, and you will never find them.”
“How do I know you won’t do that anyway?” She looked down her nose at us.
Maze sighed. “How do you know we won’t hold up our end of the bargain?”
“I don’t.”
He waved her on. “Go on, summon your horde.”
“Fine.” She closed her eyes, and a moment later her three daughters appeared next to her, at first as shadows and then slowly becoming corporeal. They glanced around, and the one in the middle spoke first. “You summon us.”
“Hush.” Nyx commanded. “Look.”
They eyes locked on Beckett, and I wanted to step in front of him but I didn’t move. The three Keres began to scream and squawk. Their wings fluttered uncontrollably and they began to lift off the ground. Nyx threw her arm out and shadows pinned them back down. “Do not move or speak. You are to do one thing.”
They hissed in her direction, but it didn’t seem to faze her. “You will give that girl her spirit back.”
The middle one threw her head back, screaming. “But we like it.”
“Shut up. And do as I say.” The sky turned dark, and thunder rumbled in the distance.
Their mouths snapped shut, and the lead Keres reached inside the sack-like bag around her neck. When she pulled the bottle with my spirit in it free, I wanted to run for it, to dive and tackle her to the ground. But I held fast.
Maze snapped his fingers. “Give it here.”
“You first,” Nyx countered.
Maze shook his head. “That’s really not the way this is going to work. Either you give it up or we drop those bottles. Those are your options.”
“Don’t speak to me like I’m a toddler, boy.” She marched to her daughter and snatched the bottle from her hand. She turned and glared at Maze. “Meet you in the middle.”
