Another scream, this one of pure pain and terror.
I licked my dry lips. “Let’s do this.”
“With the power of Jesus Christ, I banish you.” The words activated the potions, and I tossed them through the doors. An explosion echoed inside the sanctuary, and I rushed into the doorway with the wolves at my side.
The demon lay on the ground, arms splayed wide. I almost celebrated.
Then it levitated two feet off the ground and flipped onto its feet. It hissed and lunged for me at full steam.
Oh, hell no.
I threw three vials as I backed up, but that didn’t stop it. I would’ve turned and run, but the wolves jumped in front of me. Dastien dodged and Lucas almost got a mouthful of it.
Adrian flew at it, but the demon slashed out with its nails. Adrian yelped, tumbling into a pew.
Shit.
Shane got to his side first, chucking vial after vial, but the demon saw Adrian’s blood and kept heading for him.
“Hey!” I tossed a vial and invoked it. It exploded on the demon’s back, sinking a small crater in its skin. That got its attention.
As the demon started for me, I spotted Cosette and Van slinking into place behind it. We’d talked out this scenario on the plane. We just needed a little time for the fey to get in place. Then, Claudia, Shane, and I would throw our potions, and Cosette—and now Van too—would go for the head. The wolves would keep it distracted and herd it where we wanted.
“You will not defeat the mistress.” Its voice was a hair-raising, high-pitched rasp.
I stopped moving.
It talked. Holy shit. Was it talking to me? About Luciana?
“If you tell us where she is, we’ll defeat her,” I said, trying to bait the little monster. “Don’t you want to be free of her control?”
It hissed, and goose bumps ran up my arms. “The mistress is not Luciana. Not anymore.” It laughed the same laugh I’d heard from Raphael not so long ago. Not a similar laugh. The exact same laugh.
I spotted Raphael on my right, twisting the bat in his hands. His jaw was clenched tight and little lines formed around his mouth.
The woman coughed from the back of the room. It sounded wet, like she was bleeding. Hurt.
We needed to end this, and soon. But if we got some information before we killed this thing, even better. “I bet your mistress is too scared to face us. She ran all the way here, but we’ll find her.”
It laughed again as it levitated off the ground. It hadn’t even turned to listen to me. Instead, it stared straight at Raphael “I remember you,” it said. “Your soul was tasty. Kept a few bits of it for myself.”
Raphael roared and swung the bat, aiming for the demon’s head. Light flashed as it connected and the demon flew across the room, slamming into a pew. Wood splintered around it.
I strode to it, holding a vial ready. No more beating around the bush for this girl. Not if it was going to torment my cousin. “If your master is so powerful, then where is she?”
“Not telling.”
I threw the vial. It screeched in pain as its skin melted, steam rising as the potion bubbled. The smell it gave off—like burning plastic—reeked.
“Where is she?”
“Not—”
I threw another vial. Then another. Claudia and Shane started lobbing potions, too. Its skin made a sickening crackling noise as the potions hit, but it was still breathing. Still alive.
The demon gave off an ear-splitting cry as it flew in the air.
I dodged, throwing myself on the ground.