Bitter Demons

46. A Coven Of Crows

The rain pouring inside the ritual room quickly doused the witch's flames, and I tried to run into the darkness. She lifted her hands and I felt my throat constrict. I reached out for something to hold onto, but caught only air. I struggled for breath as my body lifted high into the air. She twisted me around to face her.

I battled to find my focus, but my lungs burned and I couldn't concentrate. Rain fell across my skin in cold, hard pellets. The old witch stepped toward me. Her hand reached out for me, her index finger stretching toward my necklace. She meant to take it from me. To sever my connection to Aerden. I was helpless to stop her.

A flash of blue light illuminated the darkness, slicing through the witch's finger, severing it from the rest of her hand. Her fingertip fell to the ground and the witch screamed.

I fell hard to the ground, gasping for breath as her attention turned to the source of the attack. Mary Anne sat up, her hand outstretched, blue light pulsing from her palm. The witch's face contorted into a mask of pure evil. She brought her palms together and swirled them around, gathering a giant ball of red hot fire in her hands. She reared back and threw the ball at Mary Anne.

The red light streaked across the room.

"No!" I screamed. I lifted my hand into the air on instinct, gripping the fireball with my mind. It stopped inches short of Mary Anne's face and she scrambled backward.

Realizing I had control of the fire, I quickly threw it back toward the old witch, catching her by surprise. Her robes burst into flame and she thrashed about. With a scream, she fell to the floor and curled into a little ball, her skin charred. Her body trembled slightly, then went still.

I ran over to Mary Anne and put her arm around my shoulder. "Can you stand up?"

"I can try," she said.

I helped her get onto her feet and I helped her to the top of the stairs. The flames that blocked the entrance were only smoldering now as rain began to fall from the sky.

I heard my name echo against the trees outside. The voice was still some distance away, but my heart danced at the sound. Jackson! I turned toward the direction of Shadowford and saw several figures running through the darkness. Within seconds, Jackson, Zara, Caroline, Meredith and Eloise all came rushing into the circle.

"We felt you," Caroline said. She was out of breath and leaning on her sister's arm. "What's happening?"

I passed Mary Anne off to Eloise who took her and laid her down in the soft wet grass.

Jackson pulled me into his arms. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," I said. "I think so."

"What happened?" Meredith said. She stepped toward the entrance to the ritual room.

"Don't go down there," I said. "I don't know if they are still alive down there." I turned to Jackson. "It was Mary Anne's family all along. They wanted to control the demon gate. Jackson, they killed my mother."

"How many?" he asked.

"More than twenty," I said. I pulled him aside and whispered, "Aerden's still down there."

Ignoring my warning, Jackson rushed toward the stairs. I followed him, unsure what we might find. We grabbed hands and descended into the darkness. In the far corner of the room, red eyes glowed in the darkness. I gasped and looked down where I'd left the old witch. She was gone.

The crow screeched and the sound of flapping wings filled the ritual room. A giant explosion of red rolled upward, blowing a hole through the roof. The force of the blast threw us back against the stairs, pieces of rock and dirt pelting our bodies. Jackson grabbed my hand and pulled me up the stairs.

Above ground, the ritual circle was ripped to shreds. Chunks of stone littered the grass. The sound of wings grew louder. I watched as a coven of crows flew up through the hole in the ground and into the dark night.