I could tell by her look that she had connected this to me somehow, but I just couldn’t piece it together exactly. “And this has something to do with me because…”
“We suspect that whatever magic this witch held is probably the same that you hold within yourself. She had the ability to draw runes, just as you can.” Tyde answered.
Kyden rubbed the small of my back, drawing my attention. “I must agree with them, Álainn. The situations do sound very similar.”
“So it’s a little the same.” I couldn’t deny the similarities. No one had ever heard of a witch that could do what I could, but I still didn’t really get what that all meant. “But what does that mean exactly, how can my abilities to draw runes help any?”
Misa interjected. “Sabi.”
“Sabi, what?”
“From what I’ve heard over the last while of being with you, she has the ability to foresee the future within the darkness. She could be quite useful here.”
Misa was right, of course. Sabi’s gifts were to see darkness stirring, but the problem was that it only came seconds before. Usually by the time she’d seen the vision or informed us of it, it was too late to act.
“You think we should keep her near?” Kyden asked, quietly.
Misa nodded. “She should stay close to you at all times. Anytime she sees a demon attempting to summon one of the Demon Lords, you can immediately go and banish it.”
I laughed. “How do you know I can do this at all? I mean really, sending me face-to-face with a demon in the middle of summoning a Demon Lord isn’t the ideal guinea pig.”
Quinney’s eyes sparkled with knowledge. “I assumed you would use these demons.” She gestured toward the door. “As your test.”
I spent the next five minutes trying to come up with every excuse to get out of this. As always, they all fizzled out.
“Fine,” I finally succumbed. “Show me the damn rune.”
Chapter Nine
Ten minutes later, I sat staring at the symbol on the page, thinking that Quinney had in fact up and lost her mind. “Er…isn’t that a pentagram?”
Quinney shook her head. “From the writings here, it says that this is what is known as a Pentacle. You see how it runs straight up and down. A pentagram is upside down.” She pointed to the rune on the page. “Each point of the star represents one of the elements—with the highest point of it representing Spirit. The circle around it is the sacred space which resembles the collation between each element and the unity it holds.”
“So, it’s not an evil symbol?” I asked.
Tyde leaned over my shoulder, examined the rune for himself. “Far from it. I’ve never seen this rune drawn.”
I swatted him away from my face. He laughed, which earned him a scowl.
I focused back on Quinney. “And this will banish demons to Hell?”
Quinney shrugged heavily. “From what I read, yes. The one who used this rune years ago did just that. But in truth, I really don’t know. Let’s go test it.” She looked excited as she and the others started headed toward the door.
I wasn’t nearly as enthusiastic. “Okay, wait…” They all turned back to me. “What if it doesn’t work?”
“Then, I’ll finish off the demons for you.” Tyde assured.
“But won’t that make me look…weak?”
“I’m positive this will work,” Misa said. “So, we will not need to even worry about this.”
“All settled?” Azar asked.
Kyden nodded, and glanced back at me. “They’re waiting for you, Álainn.”
Nerves rattled me. “Just give me a second. Geesh!” I rubbed my shaky hands together and met Azar’s gaze. “What are we going to do about Mammon? How do you banish a Demon Lord?”
Azar sighed deeply. “We’ll need to look into this further. Finding him will be the tricky part and to send him back will be even harder. The only time Demon Lords were banished was when the Fae intervened.”
“Oh, Aaliya, right?”
He nodded. “It was Aaliya who banished them, along with Satan, when they chose to stay with him.”
This seemed easy enough. “Can’t we just contact her and get her to do it again?” Loud laughter filled the room.
“This is not something she’ll assist with. It’s only if the Earthworld was in danger would she step in.” Quinney answered and patted my shoulder in a very reassuring. “I’m sorry, Nexi. You must deal with this on your own.”
“Great.” I glanced at Kyden. “It only gets harder.” I grumbled.
He reached out and wrapped his arms around my waist, protectively. “I’ll be with you. We’ll get through this just as we have gotten through everything else.”
All right, well that earned him a half smile. At least I had that. I didn’t have to face all this scary shit alone. There was some reassurance in that.
I stepped out of Kyden’s arms and looked back to Quinney. “What do I have to do?”
“It’s quite simple. The fact that you can draw runes at all shows your strength, and by the looks of this rune, I’m pretty sure the Pentacle is meant to banish those who have done wrong.”
“How can you be so sure of that?” I asked her.
“Because this rune is White Magic based. It’s pure—perfect in every way. As you’ve seen with the Pentagram, it’s flawed since it’s upside down, which is why it’s a symbol of Black Magic.”
“A demon or any being from the dark realm couldn’t use this rune.” Misa added.
“Why?” I needed to ask.
“It would destroy them instantly.”
Like that answered my question. “And the reason is…”
“It is going against the grain, so to say. A demon cannot use a rune that is meant for White Magic. Therefore…” Tyde explained.
Oh yeah, now I was seeing it clearly. “A White Witch shouldn’t be able to use the runes that are meant for Black Magic.” They all gave a firm nod. “What does that mean then? Why could I draw that rune before and not be destroyed by it?”
Azar shrugged, his white hair bounced on his shoulders. “That’s a question we cannot answer. Why you can have Black Magic respond to you when you do not hold it is completely unknown. It should not be so.”
Kyden grazed his finger along my arm and drew my gaze to his. “I wouldn’t expect any different from you, Álainn. You have obviously been given this gift to set things right. It’s time to do that.”
Sure, he was confident. I, on the other hand, sweated bullets. He latched onto my hand and I hesitantly followed behind him.
As we exited the room, the crowd hushed around us. Zia gave me a smile. Haven looked worried, obviously sensing my apprehension. Talon just gave me a reassuring nod, even though he had no idea what I was about to do. Support nonetheless felt good.
We stepped back up in the front of the demons and all eyes fell on me. “I…I…” Yes, I stammered like a fool. What to tell them? How to start?
Kyden’s growl came beside me, then he stepped forward and glared at the demons. “We won’t tolerate this impertinence.”
Yeah, that’s what I wanted to say. I could have given him a big kiss for taking the wheel.
Miss teeny-bopper glared right back. “We won’t tolerate you.”
Her curt tone annoyed me enough. The look she gave Kyden topped the cake. No one looked at him like that, except for me when he pisses me off. Anger filled me. I was sick to death of these bitches.
Sick to death of…death. Tired of being a f**king broken record.
Without even thinking of it, I stepped forward and slapped her face. I used her soft skin as an outlet for the irritation that ran through my blood. I would’ve slugged her, but it felt wrong to punch a little thing like her, even though I knew what really lived in there.
I do have a heart you know, sometimes.
The sound echoed around the room, her face snapped to the side. Slowly, she brought her gaze back to mine. “I’m so sick of this,” I shouted at her. “Do you know what I go through only a daily basis?” I hesitated, waited for her response. She didn’t give one. “Well, I’ll tell you. I’m nearly killed, constantly torn in a thousand directions, and someone I love is usually in danger.”
My anger grew and I unleashed it. “I Don’t. Want. To. Do. This.” I glanced around the room and met every gaze here. “I want you all to live in peace and just go about your business doing your Black Magic stuff. I just don’t want innocent souls to be taken. Is that seriously too much to f**king ask?” The room was dead silent while I had my little meltdown. “I. Do. Not. Want. To. Kill. You.” My words came out slow and full of rage, and ensured that she and the others here got my point. “I’ve seen enough death, but you keep pushing, driving me to only one option.”
Teeny-bopper opened her mouth, but shut it again instantly. She was obviously rendered speechless by my outburst.