Page 108 of Soul of a Witch

What if Lucifer had returned? What if something had pissed him off again and he was here to take Callum?

Springing to my feet, I hurriedly dressed myself. Sybil’s grimoire was on a small table nearby; I always kept it close at hand. Slipping it into my pocket, I rushed to the door. For a moment, only the house’s usual soft creaks could be heard. But then —

Crack!

The floors shook with the force of the sound, a rush of adrenaline sending me sprinting down the hall. My magic wasn’t perfect by any means, but I could summon enough power to cause damage and I wasn’t about to allow Callum to be taken from me again.

The very thought filled me with fury as another massive crash shook the house. Doors flew open before me, sparks flying wildly from my fingertips. Pausing to take a deep breath and gather myself, I teleported to the top of the stairway above the foyer.

The entryway was in complete disarray. The tiles and columns were cracked, paintings fallen from the walls, tables and chairs overturned.

“What pretty teeth you have, hellion —”

My breath caught at the sight of Callum’s claws tearing into Leon’s face. Blood was splattered across the floor, the walls, even the columns. The two demons were locked together, muscles rigid and trembling, Leon’s bloody teeth bared in a pained snarl.

“Callum, stop!”

They froze. Callum didn’t turn, refusing to give Leon even an inch of room to move. But Leon turned his golden eyes toward me, and his snarl became a grin.

“Hello again, Everly.”

My first thought was that Leon had been sent after me by my father. But the furious demon swiftly put those fears to rest. He’d come of his own accord, seeking only his sigil from within the grimoire.

His one remaining vulnerability, still tying him to the human world.

But the last time he’d seen me, the grimoire hadn’t been in my possession; it had been in Raelynn’s.

He’d spent time with her. He admitted as much. He even dared to admit he had feelings for her. It eased some of my fears, because my father would be hesitant to take Rae if he had Leon to contend with.

His sigil was no use to me. Enslaving other lives for my own power was repulsive; it would make me no better than my father, no better than every cruel generation that came before me.

“I’m willing to give you your sigil, Leon,” I said. Callum stood protectively behind me, allowing me to take the lead but not taking his eyes off the other demon for even a moment. “But you need to promise me something.”

“Demons don’t make promises,” Leon said quickly. He raised an eyebrow suggestively. “Unless you’re trying to make a deal?”

The growl Callum gave in response made adrenaline shoot through my limbs. Reaching back, I immediately grasped his arm, pulling myself closer to his side and focusing my intentions toward him.I’m yours and you know it. Body and soul, my demon. Don’t be afraid.

The tension eased out of him.

“I need you to keep Raelynn alive,” I said, speaking to Leon but stroking my hand over Callum’s chest to reassure him. “Time is running out. The Deep One is restless, and my father knows it. If he gets Raelynn, then I…I might not be able to kill the God.”

A boisterous laugh escaped from Leon. “You — what? You’re trying to kill the God? You can’t be —”

“She means it. I’ve been alive long enough to see gods die, hellion,” Callum said, his voice harsh. “They’re not above death.”

Leon was still staring at me as if I’d declared I was going to fly to the moon and live there.

Taking the grimoire from my pocket, I flipped through the pages, searching for his sigil as I said, “I’m going to put an end to all this. The Deep One never should have been awoken, and It never should be freed.”

At last, I flipped to the page with his mark upon it. Sybil had called him “The Killer”; a demon who was known to destroy every summoner who’d ever attempted to enslave him.

Until Morpheus Leighman. Until generations of my family kept him bound in servitude, unable to leave, unable to fight back.

Carefully, I tore out the page and held it up.

There was more I wanted to say before he took his name and ran. “You say you think you love her, but it’s clear that you do. It was clear the moment Kent told you to take her.”

Leon looked away, but there was a softness in him I hadn’t seen before, a crack in his viciousness.

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