“Hardy, har, har. You always were a barrel of laughs, Cephiel.”
Out of the smoke, a vampire shot out of the hole, flew through the air and landed in front of both angels. His eyes were blood red and he snarled, fangs extending long enough to cut his bottom lip.
“Perhaps we can at least form a net of magic,” Cephiel said, backing up.
Mikayla returned from the back room, head bent as she tugged on her gloves. “Are you sure you don’t need me to…”
She stopped in her tracks when she lifted her head. The vampire sniffed the air and turned his focus on her. In two lightning-quick strides he was in front of her, grabbing her ponytail and bending her head back to expose her neck.
For Satan’s sake. What was with these vampires and Mikayla?
I didn’t have the ice cream scoop so I picked up a toppled chair by two legs. “Vampira. Over here.”
He had Mikayla bent backwards with his body, his gaze zeroed in on her neck, but he must have seen me out of the corner of his eye. Straightening to glare at me, his head made the perfect target. I swung the back of the metal chair, hearing a satisfying crunch when it made contact.
Mikayla dropped to the floor as the vampire’s head snapped back like a baseball heading for the bleachers. Lucky for him, his body stayed attached. My aim was true and the vampire ended up back at the hole, his balance so off, he obligingly slipped and cartwheeled backwards into the swirling cesspool.
Z peered into the smoke. “Nice job, Terminator. Or maybe I should call you Babe Ruth.”
I set down the chair and helped Mikayla stand. She gave me a hug and I patted her back. I kept an arm around her shoulders as I turned to my guardian angel. “What is this about a magical net?”
Cephiel gave the smoky hole a disgusted look. “The three of us can form a triangle around the pit and use our magic to seal the opening.”
“The three of us?” I pointed at my chest. “Have you forgotten about my magic-free oath?”
Zayfeer ogled my chest area. “What’s an oath when the gate to purgatory is open and demons are running amok?”
“What about Mikayla?” She had strong, fresh magic. “Can you form the triangle with her?”
“Won’t work.” Ceph eyed her with disappointment. “Her magic is too raw, too uncontrolled. This type of net will take a huge amount of magic and three entities that know how to call it up, direct it and then shut it down.”
Everyone turned to me and my pulse jumped. Next to my heart, my magic did a Snoopy happy dance.
Settle down, there, Snoopy.
I could break my WA oath and use magic to close the pit or stand there and fight monsters for God knew how long. Not exactly the way I wanted to start the New Year.
Luc, I called mentally. Could really use some help here.
As if in response, the smoky pit burped and out came an ugly slithering snake demon with a wingspan the width of the shop.
All of us went into attack mode, Zayfeer wielding his sword, Cephiel his magic. I grabbed another metal chair and Mikayla snagged the broom, muttering a spell to imbue it with magic.
The snake creature swung his head from side to side, taking me out with one wing before the Mark could fire up. The wing cuffed Mikayla and her broom flew through the air. Ceph didn’t have any better luck because the snake blew fire at his face, singeing his hair and eyebrows and interrupting whatever heavenly power Ceph was about to rain down on him.
Zayfeer hopped up on the ice cream counter, jumped on the monster’s back and brought the sword down in the center of its head. It tried to buck him off, and while it was distracted, I rallied Ceph and Mikayla for another attack.
For the next three minutes, we dodged and struck and dodged again. Finally, the Mark struck home, the monster fell back into the pit and we all dropped to the floor, wiping snake venom from our skin and breathing as though we’d run a marathon.
Cephiel rallied first. “Quickly.” He motioned for me and Zayfeer to form a triangle around the pit. “We must close that hole before another beast appears.”
“But what about my magic?”
“This is for the greater good, Amy.” He held out a hand. “You get a free pass, okay?”
What could I do?
I reached for Cephiel’s hand.
Chapter Seven – Spell Bound
The first hit of magic almost made me cry. It was like hearing a favorite song from childhood. Coming home to a favorite meal. Having the person you love smile at you from across a room.
Cephiel’s hand in mine was smooth and firm. As the hum of power rose from him, he lit up like a blue Christmas tree, a blue-white arc of cold energy running from his hand into mine.
Zayfeer glowed a buttery gold and his hand was hot to the touch. Rough, too, with calluses I assumed came from swinging a sword. His power flowed warm and molten into my hand, volcanic rock.