Page 39 of Handcuffs and Hexes

No. This was not real. I tried to block her out.

Something else then? You want the girl? You can have her. The demon too.

I was left wondering again how the fuck did it knew. It almost felt as if The Bitch had taken special notice and was now focusing her attention solely on me. Was this how the other men had felt?

Because youarespecial, Seth. So powerful. Come and I will show you.

Hell, no! If she wasinterested in me, it was because she wanted to absorb my powers, or whatever she did.

What are you?I asked silently.

I’m your wish come true. Your destiny.

What have you done with the other men you’ve taken?

The Bitch did not answer. Instead, she repeated the demand to join her. That was enough answer for me. I ignored her.

At least I could ignore the words. The dreams? Not so much. After that first night, the dreams came every time I tried to sleep. Even the shortest naps were not immune.

It knew all my insecurities and used them against me. Not being powerful enough. Being looked down on by those I cared about. Losing my loved ones. The whole nine yards. Every dream ended with me being dragged towards oblivion.

I worried I’d wake up one day to find myself at the edge of The Breach, having been pulled there in my sleep. Or worse, what if I never even woke?

I was afraid to sleep. Butnotsleeping wasn’t an option either. Luckily, Liam and Hazel’s presence made blocking out The Bitch—my personal name for The Breach—a lot easier. She rarely even tried to get into my head when both of them were around. But only when I was awake.

Distracted by my thoughts, I didn’t even realize when the quiet started, but I was suddenly aware of…nothing. No promises. No lies. No threats. Just blissful silence. I looked up to find Sybil weaving a spell and directing it at the giant hole in the ground. It must be working!

The Bitch could only focus on one thing at a time, and right now, it was engrossed in fighting the spell.

“It’s working,” I said. “I can feel it.”

“But nothing’s happening.” Nina squinted at the hole.

After a long moment, Sybil stopped casting and spoke. “I used a stick to push a piece of debris to the very edge before I started.” She pointed to the piece of concrete in question. “It was just barely touching the swirling portal.”

There was a tiny gap of air between the two now.

“And now it’s not, “ I finished. “I think you’re right. I think that did work.”

Curious, I sent a red-hot poker of witchcraft at the thing and was rewarded by a shriek that only I could hear. Ha! The Bitch deserved that after all it had done to me.

“What happened?” Sybil put her hands up, ready to cast magic to protect herself. “I felt a zing.”

“Sorry. I tested my witchcraft on it. I don’t think it liked it.” I pointed to the gap which had grown.

“Ugh, at least warn us, Seth!” Sybil elbowed me.

“But hey, we now know it works.”

“Headquarters is going to push back on this finding,” Nina said, ever the realist. “They’re sending some grand mage.”

I rolled my eyes. Technically, there really wasn’t a difference between a mage and a wizard; one just sounded fancier. “They can’t push back on results,” I said.

Nina wrinkled her nose like she thought they would try.

“They can’t be that bad,” Sybil said.

“I only talked to one of them on the phone, and yes, heisthat bad. He’s insufferable. Got an ego the size of a whale.”

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