Page 47 of Tanglewood Legacy (The Three Sisters 3)
She took Circe’s hand, and together, they raced for the Ursuline convent.
ChapterTwenty-Three
Isis strode toward the bricks and beams of the convent, knowing Delphine was on her heels. If she hadn’t wanted to lure the Devereaux sisters, she’d simply travel by shadow. They were running out of time, though. The sun was low in the afternoon sky. Not only were Delphine and her sisters weaker in the daylight, but they also most likely feared drawing the notice of prying eyes. But as soon as the sun fell below the horizon, their strength and their hubris would multiply.
Before today, Isis had felt confident that she, Circe, and Rhys could overpower the three vampiric women, but with the Tanglewood tree burned, she wasn’t sure. She still had her powers, but the tree had always been a grounding force for her and her sisters, an anchor from which they could draw on the literal root of their power. Now, that was gone. The truth was, Isis wasn’t sure how it would affect what they planned to do.
Isis approached the border of the Ursuline’s property and whirled to face Delphine. Circe ran ahead, into the partially constructed building. They were alone here. Not only was everyone currently distracted with watching her sister burn, but they were also on the edge of the square, and the Ursuline nuns were living in a temporary building near the governor’s residence while the convent was being built. No one was coming this way.
“Don’t think I’m going to give it to you now, Delphine. You had your chance. As soon as that sun sets, I’m taking it straight to Asmodeus.” She walked backward toward the building, onto sacred ground.
“That just means I have until sunset to take it from you,” Delphine purred.
“It’s three against one,” Lucienne added. “And your sister ran away to hide.”
“Terrible odds for you on an already bad day.” Antoinette stuck out her bottom lip.
Isis scoffed. “Just try it. This ground has been sanctified. Your demon powers are useless here.”
“She’s lying,” Lucienne said. “They consecrate a convent after it’s built, not before.”
Delphine hesitated, but Antoinette stepped onto the property. “So what if it is? I think we’ve just established we outnumber you, three to one. Didn’t you mention that your powers were just like Asmodeus’s? If ours don’t work, yours won’t either.”
“I feel no different,” Lucienne said to Delphine. “It was a lie.”
Tentatively, Delphine stepped forward and joined her sisters, casting an evil grin when she discovered what Lucienne said was true. Isis held up her hands between them. “No. Please. Let’s talk about this!”
The Devereaux sisters rushed her, but Isis ran, entering the building and racing for the back room. Footsteps pounded after her, but she ducked into the dark corner of the inner chamber, the four brick walls broken only by the door and the light from the unfinished second floor. By the time she reached the chalice at the room’s center, her breath was coming in pants. She snatched the jewel-encrusted cup from the stone floor just before Delphine reached her. Lucienne and Antoinette rushed in after their sister. They gripped Isis by the arms while Delphine wrenched the chalice from her hands.
“I feel sorry for you,” Delphine said, cradling the artifact. “You might have been Asmodeus’s once. I know he wanted you. Now, you’ll be nobody’s.” She darted a glance between her two sisters.
“I lied to you,” Isis blurted.
Delphine tapped her foot. “About what? This bloody chalice? I expected as much.”
Isis stilled and called the shadows to her. “No, about my power being the same as Asmodeus’s. Mine comes from the gods, his from the underworld, which means, on holy ground, mine still works.”
“Oh, Lucienne,” Pierre called from the doorway, pistol in hand. “Remember me?” She released a hiss before he pulled the trigger and sent a holy-water-soaked shot through her heart. She crumpled.
At the same time, Isis commanded the shadows to carry her away. She disintegrated from Antoinette’s grip and re-formed on the second-floor scaffolding.
Delphine leaped for Pierre, teeth bared, but he slammed the door in her face, barricading her in. Antoinette’s eyes snapped to Isis like a predator spotting her prey. She bent her knees and leaped. The sun had not yet set, or she might have been successful. She barely missed Isis’s toes.
“That was too close,” Circe said from the plank on the other side of the opening.
“Quickly!” Rhys cried from another board positioned to her left. Together, they formed a triangle above the opening to the chamber. “We’re running out of time!”
“Myiménos!”Isis flicked her wand, and symbols Rhys had carved into the brick walls around the Devereaux sisters glowed to life.
“What is she doing?” Antoinette asked Delphine in a panic.
At first, Delphine didn’t answer. She looked at the symbols, then at Lucienne, whose blood was seeping into the grooves in the floor, grooves that made up a symbol. Her lips peeled back from her teeth. “She’s sealing us in with a spell fueled by our own blood!”
Antoinette started to scream and leaped again, her fingers grazing the board Isis was standing on.
Isis raised her wand and began to chant. “Delphine Devereaux, I bind thee, to this place and to your sisters for all time.”
The tip of Circe’s wand glowed to life. “Lucienne Devereaux, I bind thee, to this place and to your sisters for all time.”
