Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 98961 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 495(@200wpm)___ 396(@250wpm)___ 330(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98961 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 495(@200wpm)___ 396(@250wpm)___ 330(@300wpm)
“If she doesn’t know, then she’ll be able to find out, I’m sure. Killing the bastard nephilim is item number one on my aunts’ and uncles’ list, but I’d think demons prying open the sealed Gates of Hell would be a priority of the angels too. She should know something about that as well.”
“Can you contact her the same way you contacted Julian.”
“Yeah. She gave me a ring made out of rose quartz that’s supposed to help channel her directly. I need to warn Tabatha of what could be happening and then try and get a hold of Alona.”
“Sit with me a while more,” Lucas says and I’m terrified to see how short the line on his wrist is. Juliet is asleep on top of his arm, keeping the line out of sight. Lucas must be able to feel it. I rest my head against him again, and he puts his head on mine.
We stay on the porch until Juliet wakes up, both aware we’re in a state of denial. This is everything Lucas wanted back when he was a human: a comfortable life with a family who loves him. He still wanted it when he became a vampire, but had resigned himself to accept the fact that it would never happen.
Juliet’s diaper needs to be changed, forcing us up off the swing and into the house. Lucas changes her and then we go into the library. Eliza joins us, saying she can help flip through books, looking for the demon’s sigil. It’s getting late in the afternoon, and I’m looking forward to bed already. Snuggling up with Lucas under warm blankets is one of my top favorite things, especially when it’s followed up by another one of my favorite things that we happen to do in bed as well.
Lucas has Juliet in his arms as he flips through a book on the coffee table. I’m on the couch next to him, needing to be close enough to feel him against me. Eliza is at the desk, and she’s been scrolling through her phone more than looking at the books.
Suddenly, Scarlet lets out a sharp back that startles Juliet but doesn’t wake her up. I feel the energy shift right as Lucas gets up, speeding to Eliza. He hands her Juliet and then moves with vampire speed out of the room, going out the side door right off the library.
“Lucas!” I shout, running after him. I jump down the stairs and land barefoot in the yard, getting a shock to my ankles. I wince but ignore it, running around the side of the house. Lucas is standing in the same spot he appeared in. No! He’s not going back to the Underworld. I don’t care what kind of deal he made with Osiris.
I’ll make a better one.
Hellfire springs around Lucas’s feet and our eyes meet in a fleeting moment. “No,” I say and rush forward. I’m not letting Lucas go back to the Underworld, and this time, Lucifer isn’t here to hold me back.
“Callie, what are you—” Lucas starts but it’s too late. Sand swirls around us and he protectively wraps his arms around me, shielding me. The world spins and when the sand stops circling us, we’re back in the Underworld.
“I am sorry the trip to earth was shorter than I anticipated,” Osiris says. “But the—” He stops short when he sees me, and his words echo through my head. The horse needs a rider, but it’s not going to be Lucas this time.
“Prohibere,” I whisper and zap Lucas with a bolt of blue magic. He freezes, unable to move, but I know the spell won’t last long on a vampire of his strength.
I don’t need a long time, though, and I run forward, breaking through the magical containment and clamoring on the back of the tall, black horse.
Chapter
Thirty-One
I can count the times I’ve ridden a horse on one hand, and all those times I was on a well-trained horse being led by a guide. That being said, I have no idea how to ride a horse, let alone command one that is actually an ancient dark spirit taking on the form of every little girls’ favorite animal.
Gathering the reins, I laugh, unable to believe this worked. But then the horse rears, angrily pawing at the ground. Something feels off, and it’s more than the feeling of me losing my balance but is like magnets resisting each other. The horse prances in place and then drops its head and bucks.
And I go flying off, landing on my side and rolling on the cold, sandy ground.
“I suppose you saw that going differently in your mind,” Osiris quips, standing over me.
“What gave that away?” I stand rubbing my sore elbow but I’m otherwise unharmed. “Don’t tell me this is like a Santa Claus suit and I have to kill the previous owner, either on purpose or by accident.”