Page 71 of A Witch-ish Guide to Protectors and Pendulums

Lily Joy retreated back next to me and moved into her fighting stance. I hated that my sweet, beautiful cousin needed to utilize a fighting stance to begin with. When the largest one got a bit too close for comfort, Connor lunged.

I threw out my hand, meaning to create a strong enough wind to push the other demons back, but instead, a small hill formed on the grass, tripping one and sending him toppling to the earth. Yeah, I needed to practice that one more. The lastdemon kept charging. Lily Joy threw out a spell, but he managed to sidestep it at the last minute. With nothing else coming to me from my vast repertoire of spells—yeah…I know—I cloaked myself and threw my body against his beefy one in a move he literally didn’t see coming. Thank goodness I got this one down. Connor had the biggest demon down for the count. This left the last one for Lily Joy. She used a badass spell to lift him off the ground and throw him. Unfortunately, she couldn’t see me and he landed hard right on top of me. I screamed as I scratched and clawed to scramble out from under him, but I still had the presence of mind to manifest a demon-proof cage, trapping the invaders.

My cloak faded. Connor popped back into his human form and I couldn’t even enjoy all that olive skin on display as he quickly dressed because something hurt really bad. He dropped down at my side. “Talk to me. What’s wrong?”

“I think my shoulder is out of joint,” I told him. But when he tried to pick me up, we found out it wasn’t just my shoulder. One of the demon’s long, blue-black, razor-sharp talon fingernails jutted from my side in a bloody mess.

“Damnit,” I whined. “I liked this top.” It was so cute. Peasant style with embroidered flowers around the collar and arm holes. And now stained red with blood.

“Get her inside,” Lily Joy ordered. “I think she’s good and trapped them for now.”

Oh, yeah, I choked hardcore in that particular fight, but I’d gotten that cage right. Connor tried to be so gentle, but each move he made jostled me and I bit my lip trying not to scream as that razor-sharp talon ripped at my flesh with every one of his movements. I whimpered and winced.

“Let’s deal with the shoulder first,” Lily Joy said. “That will go quicker.”

She meant it. Lily Joy cast a glorious spell where we all watched as the end of the bone shifted, then popped back into place. My arm felt sore, but it no longer had me wanting to pass out. The demon claw, now that was another story.

“We have to get it out now,” Connor snapped at Lily Joy, staring down at the torturous blade jutting out from my side. “The longer it’s in, the sicker she’ll get.”

“I need to brew a?—”

“No time. This is a demon claw. Do you know how toxic they are?”

Uh, toxic? And yeah, I felt sick with some lightheadedness, and a little bit of nausea thrown in for good measure, but I thought that was from the blood loss.

“Sorry, Simone,” she whispered right before separating the wound with her fingers and easing the blade back so as not to rupture any more tissue. I screamed bloody murder and promptly passed out.

When I awoke, I felt like shit, like if the worst flu of my life and a third-degree burn had a baby and the parents used me as a host for their demon spawn. My wound screamed red and angry at me; the skin burned to the touch. I had a fever, and my entire body ached. Was I dying? Was this what dying felt like?

“Simone?” Connor dropped down to my side, smoothing my hair back from my face.

“I… hurt…” I managed to say.

He pressed his face to the side of mine as he breathed in sharply. “Lily Joy is in the kitchen trying to brew something. As pissed as he is at me, Luc even showed up to try to help.”

“Luc… was here?”

“He’s outside interrogating those demons. There are rules, even in Hades. I work for him; therefore, no demons should attack me unless he puts the hit out.”

I tried to laugh. I really did. “I’m burning up… but I’m so cold, Connor.”

My mate lifted me, sliding behind me to set me on his lap. There, he held me. “You’re going to be okay, you hear me?”

“I don’t know… that I am…”

“Don’t you say that.” He kissed the top of my head. “Lily Joy!” he shouted.

“Here.” She returned with a mug of what smelled like rotting vegetation and a small bowl of salve that looked like it. She rubbed the salve on my wound where it bubbled and hissed when it made contact with my flesh. The god-awful smell burned the inside of my nostrils. It stung despite starting to cool the skin there. Then she lifted the mug to my mouth. I felt too weak to hold it myself. Connor helped me drink.

“How long before it starts taking effect?” he asked.

“I don’t really know. I’ve never brewed a fallen angel blood tea before.”

I coughed, choking on the drink. “Fallen angel…blood?”

“He says it’s one of the only things to help counteract the poison, baby.”

And right on cue, the man himself appeared in the room. “You gave her the tea,” he said.

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