Brianna began convulsing on the bed.
Kelly looked back to him, terror lining her words. "I don't have my book with me."
"I think I know where it is." He concentrated on the book in the library. Because of a protective spell, or power of some sort, the book could not be materialized. He flashed himself to the library, took it from the desk and flashed himself back to the room. "Will this work?"
Kelly snatched it from his hands in a greedy lunge. "Take off the necklace."
As she held the book a glint in her eyes spoke of hunger. Just how long had Kelly possessed this evil that it affected her in such a way? He didn't hesitate to take the necklace off her. Brianna's life depended on it.
"Everyone needs to leave."
"No." He couldn't leave Brianna in the hands of this woman. Something deadly emanated from her aura. Now that she held the book he could sense her darkness.
She cradled it against her chest and slowly shook her head.
He wanted to kill her with his bare hands…watch the color drain from her face. How could he trust her with Brianna? He looked down at Brianna lying on the bed. She'd gone completely still. She was going to die if something wasn't done.
"Let's go." He motioned for Naberius and Raum to leave the room. He took a step toward Kelly and willed himself to keep his hands off her. "If she dies, you die. Are we clear?"
Kelly nodded. The last thing he wanted to do in that moment was leave Brianna's side. She was helpless, and in the hands of a dark witch.
Before he changed his mind he turned and left the room, closing the door behind him.
"What the hell is going on?" Raum asked as they gathered in the hallway.
Asmodeus folded his arms across his chest and stared at the ceiling. Raw violence traveled through his body. "Last night I felt more power coming from Brianna than she originally possessed. We all did, which was why you figured she was lying. I confronted her with the book just now and she began to shake, and she fell limp. She didn't get her powers from the book. She was bit by the Nephilim."
"But that would have killed her, not made her more powerful," Raum argued.
Asmodeus faced his Rebels. "It would have killed her were she an ordinary human, which apparently she is not."
Chapter Eleven
"You with me, Brianna?"
A warm hand rested on Brianna's forehead. She opened her eyes to find Kelly sitting beside her. Her entire body ached. Every muscle, bone and joint. She tried to sit up but was unable to do so.
"Relax your body. You'll be weak for a few moments. Just rest for the time being."
"What happened? Where am I?" The last thing she remembered was being in Asmodeus's arms as he carried her. Where was he now? She wanted to be cradled against his chest, feel the security and warmth he provided.
"You're still at Naberius's, in Asmodeus's room."
Her body tingled as her strength started trickling back, though the powers she had possessed from the bite of the Nephilim were gone, leaving her strangely empty. "Did he heal me?"
Kelly shifted on the bed and Brianna saw the Demonic Book of Spells lying in her lap. The flames on the cover reflected their light in Kelly's eyes. "No."
Kelly wouldn't meet her gaze, and her short answer to Brianna's question hadn't made the situation any clearer. "What are you doing with that?" Brianna asked, gesturing to the book.
"Why didn't you tell me you were bit by a Nephilim last night?"
A coldness rolled off Kelly, and the question caught Brianna off guard. She didn't answer to Kelly, and she wasn't going to start now. The fact that Kelly sat before her holding the spell book told her much about her friend. "What did you do?"
"The saliva from the Nephilim interacted with your powers, heightening them, and in the end it counteracted them. Basically there was a fight transpiring in your body, and your powers lost. We both know your powers are lacking. You should have informed me what had happened."
Brianna caught an underlying threat in Kelly's words. Yesterday the thought of Kelly threatening her would have seemed absurd. After this revelation Brianna couldn't put it past her. "What are you doing with that book?"
Kelly got up from the bed, cradling the book to her chest as if she were afraid Brianna had intentions of taking it from her. Her actions bordered on feral possessiveness. "We're different, Brianna. You wouldn't understand. I used this book to heal you. There is good in this book, and you have proven it."
The flame on the cover cast shadows on Kelly's neck. The grounding necklace was gone. Had Asmodeus taken it off her? "Where is your grounding necklace?"