Page 65 of Twisted
“Her friend is happy, you harpy cunts,” I say, gripping the knife tighter.My free hand comes up and I inhale, pulling in as much energy as I can before throwing an energy ball right between the two demons, hitting them both.
Then I run forward and shove Mabel to the ground.She’s spelled and doesn’t react or try to stop me, so she stumbles back, dropping the wooden stake.
“Whoa,” she says.“That was weird.”
“You good?”I step in front of her, knife raised, eyes darting from one demon to the other.Taking out two at once is going to be tricky.
“Yeah, but that wasn’t very nice.”
“No, it wasn’t.”My heart is in my throat and my adrenaline pumps through my veins.The longer I stand here, the more I run the risk of coming under their spell and I’m terrified to know what my true desire is right now.My mind flashes to Xavier, and it’s like I can feel his hands on my body.
Shaking my head, I jump forward.Mabel moves at the same time, zooming around and grabbing the demon in front of me by the arms.I raise my hand and see Xavier again, but this time, it’s not just his body against mine that I’m craving.It’s the way he looks at me like he sees me, the real me, and accepts me for exactly who I am.
And wants me to embrace it even more.
Something bubbles inside of me, something familiar and foreign at the same time.I turn and it’s like time slows.The last succubus is coming at me, sailing through the air and about to land on me.
“Ignis,” I say and release the buildup of energy inside of me.It bursts against the demon, setting her on fire.Screeching, she madly runs back, batting at the flames that encompass her entire body.
“Wren!”Mabel calls and I shake myself.She’s holding the demon’s arms behind her back, and I shove the dagger right into the succubus’s chest.Mabel pushes the body at the same time, and the blade slices right though, slicing into her cold, black heart.
Mabel steps back and the demon slumps to the ground.Stepping over it, she stands next to me and we watch the last succubus crumble into a pile of ash.
“I guess fire kills them, too,” I say right as the sprinklers come on, followed by the smoke alarms.
“That was awesome,” Mabel tells me.“We make a good team, right?”
“We do, especially considering that was your first kill.Demon kill,” I quickly add as I retrieve the knife.The doors open and Vivian and Marco come running in, sliding to a stop, shoes squeaking on the wet tile.
“Good.You’re awake.”I throw the knife down at their feet.“Clean up this mess.”
CHAPTER27
“You have blood on your face.”Theo inhales, leaning in closer to me.Mabel and I just got home and are standing in the foyer of the family home.Theo unnerves me a little bit.Unlike Xavier, he doesn’t seem to have the same restraint and control.He’s just as old and powerful as his brother, and without a rational side, he’s dangerous and unpredictable.“And it’s not human.”
“It’s demon blood,” I say.“Mabel and I killed some demons tonight.”
“I mostly watched,” Mabel goes on.“Wren was amazing.She knew what type of demons we were dealing with and how to kill them right away.”
“What kind of demons were you dealing with?”Theo asks, looking us up and down.Our clothes are still damp from the sprinklers going off.He’s tall like his brother, but his eyes are more of a sky blue than stormy blue.Still, there is no mistaking the family resemblance between them.
“Succubus.”
“The female counterpart of the incubus,” he says with a little bit of question in his voice.
“Yep.Three of them to be exact.”
Theo cocks an eyebrow.“And how does one kill a succubus?”
“Fire!”Mabel exclaims.“And some sort of knife.I think it was special.”
“It was,” I start to explain.“That particular knife has wood woven into the blade, for lack of a better term.It’s soaked in holy water or a potion, making it kind of like a relic that’s infused with magic.”
“And you just brought it with you?”Theo questions and my heart skips a beat.I don’t want to talk about seeing Vivian and Marco.Not now.Maybe not ever.
“Yeah.She’s a demon hunter,” Mabel lies, not missing a beat.“And it’s a good thing she did because succubus magic works on vampires.They almost got me.”
“What?”Theo asks, even though he heard us loud and clear.“Does Ezekiel know?”
