Asmodeus(18)

Brianna ignored Kelly's appraisal. Didn't Kelly realize the danger she had put herself in?



Asmodeus leaned against the doorframe, brushing her backside with his body. She stumbled forward from the intimate touch, her body instantly warming.



"Why don't you two come inside? You can introduce me to your trespassing friend, Brianna."



"Great," Brianna muttered. She glared at Kelly.



"He doesn't seem so bad," Kelly whispered to her as they walked through the door past Asmodeus. He didn't give them very much room. "I expected much worse."



Brianna leaned into Kelly to whisper, "You're basing his worth on his looks. Just wait until he starts talking."



"Enough," he barked.



Brianna raised a brow at her friend. "See what I mean?"



He gave her a look and she zipped her mouth shut. She wasn't quite sure what he would do, and until she knew, she wasn't going to push him to find out. Well, to a degree, anyway.



Kelly, on the other hand, came in on a mission—to bust her out. She didn't hesitate to try and accomplish that goal, either.



Kelly grabbed her arm. "Stars are out, moon half mast, let our exit be swift and fast."

A tingling traveled through her body, but it quickly faded. They were still standing in the family room, only now they had a pissed-off demon staring at them.



"Why didn't that work?" Kelly asked no one in particular.



Brianna shrugged. As humans they wouldn't have been able to teleport anyway. She wasn't sure what Kelly had been trying to accomplish with that spell. It would be useless for beings such as themselves. Humans could be summoned, but they couldn't teleport themselves with their own powers. The energy of the earth didn't work that way.



"Because of the necklace you now wear, more commonly known as a blocker."



Brianna looked at Kelly's neck. A silver necklace with a dark rock at the end lay against her collarbone. Brianna reached out and touched it, instantly feeling a pull against her own limited powers. A negative energy source.



"What is that?" she asked.



Asmodeus started walking out of the room. "A grounding stone."



Kelly growled, "A grounding stone? When did you put this meteorite around my neck? How?"



He stopped by the hallway. "No amount of tugging or spell casting will remove that from your neck. Only the one who put it on you can take it off, and that's not something I plan on doing in the near future."



Brianna couldn't believe it. Kelly was the strongest witch she knew. Then again, Kelly's powers came from the energy of the earth. A meteorite had a way of neutralizing those powers, making it impossible to draw up on the energy the earth provided. To put it in laymen's terms, it rendered Kelly's powers useless. To put it in Brianna's terms, she was screwed.



She briefly wondered if she should try the teleporting spell herself, but it was an impossible hope.



Asmodeus inclined his head. "Now, I'm going to get some sleep. Being in this realm is tiring. You two can sleep down here. Don't try leaving. Just ask Brianna. It will not get you far."



"How did you know I was a witch?"



He cocked a brow at Kelly. "I could sense it."



He turned to leave, and for a few seconds Brianna thought Kelly was going to hurl a lamp at him. Funny, she had wanted to throw something at him earlier.



As he sauntered away she watched the muscles of his back move, and the way his broad shoulders melted into a thick waist. She had the urge to ask him where he slept.



She gave herself a mental slap. What the hell was wrong with her?



When he was gone she put a hand on Kelly's shoulder. "Thanks."



"For nothing," Kelly spat. Her short hair was in disarray, her face without its usual makeup. Kelly had always looked the part of palm reader slash witch. Though older, she had the spirit of someone half her age.



"Kelly, you didn't have to come. Actually, you shouldn't have come, but that's beside the point. Thanks for being here." Brianna and Kelly had known each other for only a few short years, but in that time they had grown as close as sisters.



Kelly fingered the necklace with her red nails, a thoughtful expression on her face. "We'll figure something out. A damned moon rock won't get in the way. I won't allow it."



Brianna didn't share the same optimism with Kelly. She didn't want to seem too downtrodden either. "Now it's two witches against three demons. At least we're evening up the odds. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?"

Actually, she did know. She just didn't want to tell Kelly about Asmodeus's insistence she summon Michael. She didn't want Kelly to stress about it. When Asmodeus learned she couldn't summon the archangel, shit was going to hit the fan. More than likely Asmodeus would turn to Kelly, an experienced witch, when Brianna failed.