showed no response.
Perhaps it was his lack of response that prompted Faust to continue.
The more worrying question was why Faust was sharing so much information. This boasting could undo his plans. He had to know they’d share what he said with the Collegium—and Clancy vowed she’d make the Collegium listen. So, did Faust intend to kill them? Were they to never leave this room?
She lunged for the demonology supplies cupboard.
Mark shouted.
Magic cracked.
As much as she wanted to see what was happening, she had to reach the silver crucifix she saw on a shelf.
An inch from grasping the silver crucifix, a massive power seized and flung her. Taekwondo had taught her how to fall. She rolled up into a crouch, but couldn’t initially see what was happening. Rivera, still stuck to the floor, hands and feet glued, her whole body straining, was between Clancy and the circle where Mark struggled with Faust.
Mark was in the circle with the demon!
Clancy was too stunned to even swear. When she’d run for the cupboard, Mark must have attacked Faust in an attempt to win her the time she needed. To protect her. She thought it was her mage sight flickering, but it was the thin green light of Mark’s magic that was faltering. Faust’s glowing red magic pulsed.
“Run…to the car.” Mark’s shout was strangled.
The demon was killing him. Faust had enough physical reality to wrap his hands around Mark’s neck, thumbs pressing into the pulse at its hollow. However, no matter how Mark fought and kicked, nothing seemed to hurt the demon.
Because Mark can’t back up his physical attack with magic , Clancy realized with horror. It had taken all of Mark’s magic to break into the circle of summoning, and now, he couldn’t break back out. He was trapped with the demon.
“As amusing as this is.” And the damned demon smiled at Clancy over Rivera’s contortions and grunts of effort. “It’s time I left.”
Mark’s struggles were weakening. Either he was dying or—
Could Faust intend to take Mark with him to Hell? Circles of summoning were portals between the two realms of Earth and Hell. Did that mean Faust didn’t need Mark’s consent to drag him to Hell? If so, Mark faced the two awful fates of death or living death in Hell.
Faust raised his arms. Mark hung from them.
Power erupted beneath Clancy’s feet, surging up from the Earth, rocketing through her and blasting open the circle of summoning. She was running even as the circle broke. So be it. If the destruction of the circle released Faust into this world, she’d fight him.
Faust’s eyes widened and lost something of their human shape. His face stretched. He vanished.
Mark fell to the floor at Clancy’s feet, breath rasping in his throat as he struggled to stand.
She helped him up, looking around for the demon. Earth magic thundered through her, violent and relentless. “Where is Faust?”
“Gone,” Rivera said from behind her. The demonologist staggered to the cupboard, ignoring the silver crucifix and grabbing for a bag of something on the shelf below it. She returned to the blasted circle and dumped salt across it. “Get out.” She didn’t look at either Clancy or Mark, but the order was obviously for them. She threw the empty salt packet away.
Mark stood straighter, taking his own weight. He stared at Rivera who was no longer graceful and confident, but sweating, scared and destroyed.
Clancy thought he might apologize, taking the blame for bringing the demon to Rivera’s studio. He surprised her.
He said nothing. He put an arm around Clancy’s shoulders and they walked out. They laced their boots in grim silence, with equal silence in the devastated room behind them. “Thank you,” Mark said to her as they walked out of the yoga studio.
In the courtyard, the café’s customers were as relaxed and loud as before, unaware of the struggle that had happened so close by. Either Rivera’s wards or the demon’s intent had kept their
Perhaps it was his lack of response that prompted Faust to continue.
The more worrying question was why Faust was sharing so much information. This boasting could undo his plans. He had to know they’d share what he said with the Collegium—and Clancy vowed she’d make the Collegium listen. So, did Faust intend to kill them? Were they to never leave this room?
She lunged for the demonology supplies cupboard.
Mark shouted.
Magic cracked.
As much as she wanted to see what was happening, she had to reach the silver crucifix she saw on a shelf.
An inch from grasping the silver crucifix, a massive power seized and flung her. Taekwondo had taught her how to fall. She rolled up into a crouch, but couldn’t initially see what was happening. Rivera, still stuck to the floor, hands and feet glued, her whole body straining, was between Clancy and the circle where Mark struggled with Faust.
Mark was in the circle with the demon!
Clancy was too stunned to even swear. When she’d run for the cupboard, Mark must have attacked Faust in an attempt to win her the time she needed. To protect her. She thought it was her mage sight flickering, but it was the thin green light of Mark’s magic that was faltering. Faust’s glowing red magic pulsed.
“Run…to the car.” Mark’s shout was strangled.
The demon was killing him. Faust had enough physical reality to wrap his hands around Mark’s neck, thumbs pressing into the pulse at its hollow. However, no matter how Mark fought and kicked, nothing seemed to hurt the demon.
Because Mark can’t back up his physical attack with magic , Clancy realized with horror. It had taken all of Mark’s magic to break into the circle of summoning, and now, he couldn’t break back out. He was trapped with the demon.
“As amusing as this is.” And the damned demon smiled at Clancy over Rivera’s contortions and grunts of effort. “It’s time I left.”
Mark’s struggles were weakening. Either he was dying or—
Could Faust intend to take Mark with him to Hell? Circles of summoning were portals between the two realms of Earth and Hell. Did that mean Faust didn’t need Mark’s consent to drag him to Hell? If so, Mark faced the two awful fates of death or living death in Hell.
Faust raised his arms. Mark hung from them.
Power erupted beneath Clancy’s feet, surging up from the Earth, rocketing through her and blasting open the circle of summoning. She was running even as the circle broke. So be it. If the destruction of the circle released Faust into this world, she’d fight him.
Faust’s eyes widened and lost something of their human shape. His face stretched. He vanished.
Mark fell to the floor at Clancy’s feet, breath rasping in his throat as he struggled to stand.
She helped him up, looking around for the demon. Earth magic thundered through her, violent and relentless. “Where is Faust?”
“Gone,” Rivera said from behind her. The demonologist staggered to the cupboard, ignoring the silver crucifix and grabbing for a bag of something on the shelf below it. She returned to the blasted circle and dumped salt across it. “Get out.” She didn’t look at either Clancy or Mark, but the order was obviously for them. She threw the empty salt packet away.
Mark stood straighter, taking his own weight. He stared at Rivera who was no longer graceful and confident, but sweating, scared and destroyed.
Clancy thought he might apologize, taking the blame for bringing the demon to Rivera’s studio. He surprised her.
He said nothing. He put an arm around Clancy’s shoulders and they walked out. They laced their boots in grim silence, with equal silence in the devastated room behind them. “Thank you,” Mark said to her as they walked out of the yoga studio.
In the courtyard, the café’s customers were as relaxed and loud as before, unaware of the struggle that had happened so close by. Either Rivera’s wards or the demon’s intent had kept their
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