Page 79 of Pure Magic
Stomping a foot with a banshee scream, Ariana doubles her magical assault.
More demons enter. Some crawl into the elfin world, and some to the Goddess’s world. Most stay here and fight the witches.
A demon as tall as a tree thrusts his spiked arms through two witches’ chests. They fall in puddles of blood.
More witches fall, and the ground runs red.
It’s unbearable to watch so many witches die at the hands of evil. Fueled by desperation, I point the wand at the creature and pour water magic into it. “With water first I call for ice to cut and bend and slice. If right our Goddess sees, as I will, so mote it be.”
The wand vibrates with magic and buries shards of ice in a demon. Once it falls, I shoot the ice daggers at a dozen more demons. One by one, they die, until I’m drained from the effort and have to stop.
Still more demons drop from the gate. There seems no end to them. How can we defeat an enemy who has an endless resource and cares nothing for life?
It’s impossible.
Prudence places her hand on my shoulder. “Do not lose hope, child. You can win for all of us.”
Energy surges within me, and my magic restores, but not my hope. Even as I force a smile for the great mother, my heart is sick.
Chapter
Twenty-Four
ADAM
Pointing at the wand in Sara Beth’s hand, Ariana laughs. “You come at me with trifles and expect to win. What a pitiful creature you are.”
Even with my tainted blood, I feel no connection to the evil creature before me. Ariana is not my family. I have hope for Kaden, but Ariana was never of the light. The witches who fight and die, they are my family. They risked everything to save me when they could have left me to die in the center of the circle. I’m sure Ariana would have drained both Kaden and me dry if she’d had more time. We are nothing but resources to her, power and blood she needs to destroy worlds.
I want to keep my thoughts in the light, but anger fills me.
Demons fall from the other worlds. The ones that plummet from the world of fae or Goddess lay lifeless on the soiled earth. Those that drop from the demon’s world seem to be recently born. Born of evil, they destroy as their first act.
My stomach roils, and my anger flares anew. I shoot water and fire at any demon I see.
Prudence kneels by Kaden with her hands on his head, while Jonah stands guard over both. A bear of a man, he holds an axe in one hand and a sword in the other. He could pass for a Highland warrior of old. It’s odd to see the gentle giant looking so ferocious, but this is his family he’s protecting. A man will do anything to protect the people he loves. Whether he protects Prudence, Kaden, or both, I feel akin to him, as I do to all of the witches of Windsor.
Still unconscious, Kaden breathes stronger and steadier.
I grip Sara Beth’s arm. “We can win this. We have too much to lose to fail.”
Our eyes meet, and she says, “I’m sorry I doubted you.”
Shaking my had. “There’s no need to feel sorry. We always knew I had to go to Ariana. Goddess said as much.”
A tear slips down her cheek, making a clean path through the grime. “I should have trusted you.
It doesn’t make a difference. I would have doubted too. I hold out my hand. “Trust me now.”
A tight smile tugs at her lips. She hands me the wand.
It feels right in my hand. As well as it worked for Sara Beth, it was meant for me. Meant for this. “Use the staff to shield the gate.”
Sara Beth lifts the staff toward the demon gate. A golden glow spreads from the crystal at the top, spreads like a bubble, and caps the demon gate. It bulges and undulates under the pressure of warriors of darkness, but it holds. Creatures stop coming through.
A mile in every direction, witches fight demons with the magic of Goddess, Hecate. Light fights against dark. Good against evil.
Demons fall to the ground, as do witches.
