Page 92 of Crimson Soul
“What if it’s not a spell cast on us?” Thaddeus rubbed his chin.
“What do you mean?” Titan raised a brow.
“What if the spell wasn’t for us specifically but for purgatory?”
“You’re right!” I gasped before biting into a finger again, wishing my healing was back because my fingers were fucking sore.
Casting the spell by focusing on my intent, I dripped the blood into the blood on the floor, and the familiar warmth of healing plucked at my finger.
Thank fuck.
“It worked,” Blaise said with a smirk. “Good job, Poppy.”
“Thanks.” I winked at him, stepping forward. “Now we need to get the fuck out of this hallway. I don’t remember there being such a long hall before.”
“Because there isn’t,” Titan said.
I hesitated before drawing in more air, filling my lungs full, before letting it out. “Because we’re not in purgatory.”
“Then where the bloody hell are we?” Thaddeus asked.
“Think of it as a lock,” I said, kicking out at the blood. “We need to break this magic-made realm to get into purgatory.”
“Do you have to slice into yourself again, my beloved?” Aziel grabbed my hands, pulling them to his lips to kiss my knuckles. “Can’t you use my blood instead?”
I reveled in the feel of his lips on my skin, but I nodded. “I’m sorry, but using my blood is the only way I can do blood magic without fucking with the balance.”
His sigh caused his soft breath to brush over my fingers. “Okay, my beloved.”
I squeezed his hands before letting go and tore my fang into my wrist and used my hand to catch the blood again. Focusing my intent, I squeezed my hand into a fist before throwing my hand out and tossing the blood out toward the never ending bloody hallway.
The blood stopped pouring from the walls as our surroundings flickered a few times before fading. Purgatory came into focus with dry air, clay, and no blood. Instead, in heaps on the floor were my mom, brothers, and Emma.
I dropped to my knees next to them, breathing a sigh of relief as I heard the thump of their steady heartbeats. “They’re okay.”
“That’s a bloody relief,” Kai said before pain bashed into my side from a sticky blood orb, blasting me a good few yards away from everyone.
My body hit the clay ground with incredible force, causing me to roll from the impact. When I went to get up, my hands wouldn’t come forward because they were now tightly bound with torbernite which wound around my arms and waist. “Fucking cheap shot,” I muttered.
Aziel was by my side, but kept his distance from the torbernite, as Blaise hauled me upright. Thaddeus and Kai stayed with my family. My head rolled around as I searched for where she was.
Unstable maniacal laughter cracked the tension. “Oh my! The Crimson Demon is weak!” She cackled. “Weak, weak, weak!”
“Show yourself and I’ll show you who’s fucking weak!” My voice boomed around us.
“Wanna hear a secret?”
“Not really.”
“I found my coven’s grimoire!”
My body tensed at that as I wiggled against the heavy bindings. Grimoires were witches spell books and I couldn’t cure the curiosity burning in my brain of the blood magic spells contained within.
“Oh, yes, Crimson Demon,” she screamed, delighted. “I learned a new spell. A spell designed to take down an indestructible weapon…sound familiar?”
“I don’t think you understand the meaning of indestructible,” I said in a monotone voice, gaze flicking back and forth.
“We’ll see. Won’t we?” she asked, still not showing herself. “But I’m not going to hit you with it, dear! I’m going to hit your cute little redhead. Oopsies. Say goodbye!” Her chaotic laughter boomed around us as a purple magic symbol flew toward Kai from somewhere behind him.
