Chapter Nineteen

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Faith saw the small horde of demons that had come through all at once and took a deep breath. She could do this. She wasn’t facing them all alone. Colt was beside her, and surprisingly, that scared witch was beside him, shielding him. Faith would have to get to the bottom of that later. Right now, she had to do her duty as she’d never done it before.

Faith was only dimly aware of the shifters erupting from the woods all around. And there were other mages back on the other side of the circle. Good magic users that had come with the Clan, who were even now doing battle with the line of Rollins mages. But Faith had to concentrate on the demons. There were too many for her to fight at once. A small horde had answered several summoning spells at once.

Colt had been right. She needed help with this, and the shifters were right there, willing to give it. Some of them were fighting in human form with blades and doing quite well. She’d never seen people move so fast, but then again, these were shifters, not regular human soldiers. Some were in their beast form, going toe to toe with the demons.

The salient point was that they weren’t letting any of the demons escape this area. If they couldn’t kill them outright, they were waylaying them. Constraining them. Keeping them here until Faith was able to deal with them.

Which was perfect.

Until another batch of demons came through into the broken circle and pushed their way out. These were even ghastlier than the previous batch. Only a few had been killed or put out of commission at this point, and Faith knew it was time to pull out all the stops.

If this wasn’t a situation that called for the full extent of her power, she wasn’t sure what was. Calling on the farthest reaches of her energies, which no one but herself and her mentor knew were linked directly to the Goddess, Faith prepared herself. She wasn’t powerless. Or weaponless.

She raised her arms to the sky as the creatures advanced all around, and suddenly, two bolts of lightning filled her hands, forming long, immensely powerful swords that were instant death to whatever evil they touched. This was a spell that only true Demon Slayers could perform. It was a secret known only to those select few, and the moment the other mages saw it, they would know that she wasn’t kidding when she proclaimed her status.

She was the first Demon Slayer born and trained in the full use of the power in centuries.

“Oh, wow!” Florence said under her breath, but Colt, fighting nearby, heard her. He looked over at Faith to see her holding two exceptionally long swords made of lightning. He hadn’t known she could do that .

He dispatched the goat creature he’d been fighting and let the body down to the ground, lying there in two pieces. He’d ripped the thing’s head off rather than bite it and have to clean out his mouth again. Once had been quite enough of that.

The demons were trying to scatter in the face of Faith’s lightning blades that were already cutting into their comrades, but the shifters corralled the creatures, keeping them penned in between themselves and Faith. Squeals of terror and death were heard all around as the demons succumbed to Faith’s white-hot strikes. She was fast with the blades and didn’t toy with her kills.

She just dispatched them quickly and as painlessly as possible. It seemed that whatever the blades touched disintegrated. All she had to do by the end of the fight was graze one of the creatures, and it disappeared in a puff of white smoke. That was some crazy magic Faith had there.

In a lull between waves of the creatures arriving, she went around and touched all the fallen demons with her lightning, and they all disappeared, leaving not a trace. The mages were either fighting other mages, staring at her in fear, or trying to run, Colt noticed.

The ones who fought weren’t doing too well against the Clan warriors and their mage friends. Some were already dead. Some were on the way to death from grievous wounds. The ones who ran weren’t having much luck, though Colt figured a few might get away in the tumult, if they were lucky. They’d have to be tracked down later and made to see the error of their ways for following the Venifucus . But that was a problem for later.

Right now, there was another wave of demons coming through into the circle. Faith was there with her lightning lances, which had grown as she used her power, and the demons crumbled almost as soon as they arrived.

Wave after wave fell to Faith’s incredible power as the mages were either killed or tried to flee. The shifters were kept busy making sure none of the demons escaped before Faith could deal with them. They formed a protective perimeter, and surprisingly, Colt’s Aunt Florence was right there with them, on the front lines, so to speak, wielding protective magic to keep the shifters as safe as she could. Colt was impressed by her.

Of course, she was a Rollins. This could be some elaborate act to gain his trust or weasel her way into the position of a double agent. Colt honestly didn’t think so, but he had to be aware of the possibility. He wouldn’t be doing his job, otherwise.

She was a Rollins. Worse than that, she was a Rollins who had been ready and willing to summon demons at her father’s command, and she had a Venifucus tattoo on her arm. Colt had seen it. She would be under suspicion from all those on the side of Light until she proved herself beyond the shadow of a doubt. Just like Colt and his brothers, he thought sourly.

Still, if she could somehow prove herself, she might make an excellent informant, or even a double agent, for their side. It was something to think about. Something the Alpha would have to weigh in on later. Much later. For now, they had to get every last demon that sought entrance to their realm.

Though, truthfully, Faith was doing one hell of a job at that. Colt hadn’t realized the kind of power that she could command. He wasn’t sure she had known either. She hadn’t said anything, and this was the first time she’d been put to such an enormous test. She’d been training for this, but he suspected this was the first time she’d done it for real.

“Her energy is running low.” Florence’s voice came to him softly from his side as Colt watched Faith deal with the last of the most recent wave of monsters. “Is she yours?”

“We’re a team,” he said, neither confirming nor denying. Florence might be doing good things right now, but he’d only just met her, and she was a Rollins who had been on the other side at the beginning of this mess. He would tread carefully. Especially where Faith was concerned.

“Be ready to support her. Can you access your magic?” Florence asked but didn’t wait for an answer. “I can feel a vast reserve of power in you. If you can tap into it and feed it to her, she will be able to fight longer and not be so drained when it’s finally over.”

“I’m no mage,” Colt objected, though one part of his mind wondered if he could help Faith the way Florence was describing.

“It’s a shame you can’t see yourself the way I do,” Florence mused, even as she bolstered the ward she’d put around one of the shifters as a demon sliced at him with wicked talons. “Reach for the power. Concentrate on wanting to help her, and perhaps your Lady will show you the way.”

“Faith?” he asked, confused.

“No. The Lady. The Mother of All,” Florence whispered. “I’m not supposed to believe in Her, but I do. Pray to Her, and perhaps, She’ll show you the way. Your Demon Slayer should have a Champion, and you seem like the likely candidate to me.” Florence sent him a soft smile that reminded him of his mother.

Hoping he wasn’t being a fool, Colt spared a moment to send a quick prayer up to the Mother of All for guidance. A moment later, it was as if time itself stood still. Colt was hit with a bolt of power as some unseen channel in his soul opened and connected with Faith on a level he didn’t fully understand. His lion was in awe. Colt was just stunned. Faith looked at him, one eyebrow raised in question, even as she reached out with renewed vigor and disintegrated another monster.

It was working. He could feel magical power flowing from him to her, and she seemed revived by it. Sweet Mother of All, he was doing magic! Not really. But it was definitely something magic-related, and he was doing it and helping Faith. Good, all the way around.

“I knew you had it in you.” Florence sounded smug at his side. “Good work, nephew.”

“My name is Colt,” he replied quietly, even as he sidestepped a raging porcine creature that ran on two cloven hooves and had a huge belly studded with spikes.

Colt hit it from behind, and it stumbled and fell between where he was standing and where Faith was wielding her lightning staffs with renewed vigor. She turned and casually touched the fallen demon, and it disappeared in a puff of white vapor.

“Colt,” Florence said in a contemplative tone. “That’s a strong name. I like it.”

“Thanks,” Colt replied, bemused by this entire conversation.

“I think we’re nearing the end of the summoning spells,” Florence said a few minutes later.

“Which means the end of this nonstop line of demons, right?” Colt asked, even as he fought another that was trying to get out of the circle and away from Faith. She touched it with her lightning blade from behind, and it disappeared with an unearthly squeal.

“Yes,” Florence said, sounding tired herself. “Watch out!” she screamed as a wave of magical power flung Colt back, away from Faith.

The patriarch was coming closer, his hands outstretched as he tried to isolate Faith by keeping Colt and any other defender away from her. The old bastard was going after the wrong person. Colt shook off the effects of the patriarch’s magical shove and made his way, step by painful step, like he was walking through molasses, closer to Faith.

He could hear the confrontation taking place. The patriarch was moving closer while Faith tried to hold him off. The demons had slowed to a trickle, but her power was still needed to end them quickly, and the shifters had been blown away by whatever the patriarch had done.

It was up to Colt. He was the only one close enough to Faith to do any good at all. But she was standing her ground, and she still had those nifty lightning swords pulsing and sparking in her hands. He fed her energy as best he could, not really sure of what he was doing, only sure that it seemed to help her.

“You’ve ruined everything, you silly bitch!” the patriarch screamed as he drew closer to Faith.

“I did my duty,” Faith replied, holding her ground and sounding calmer than Colt would have credited, had he not heard it himself. Atta girl .

“It’s the last thing you’ll ever do!” the patriarch shouted, spittle flying from his mouth as he raised his arms in preparation for releasing some sort of deadly spell, but a round little old lady Colt had seen standing near the Alpha at the start of the battle walked directly between Faith and the old man. She smiled at the patriarch and held up an admonishing finger.

“Now, we’ll have none of that, Jeremiah. I’ve warned you about this before. I gave you every chance to change your wicked ways.”

“Tucker, you old witch! Get out of my way!” The patriarch raised his hands and directed his energy at the old woman, but she merely flicked his spell away with the fingers of one hand.

“I really wanted better for you, Jeremiah. But what you’ve done to your family is just criminal,” the old lady went on as if they were just having a little chat. All the while, Colt fought his way through the magical molasses to get to Faith’s side. “I’m sorry, but you must pay for what you’ve done here today. I will give you one more chance. Do you repent of your evil ways and promise to forsake the darkness and come into the Light?”

“Fuck off and die, Granny!” Jeremiah shouted at her, totally losing his shit if Colt was any judge.

“I see.” The old woman pressed her lips together in disapproval of the man’s word choice and shook her head. “I tried.”

And with that, the old woman raised one hand and started to chant. Calm as you please, as if she had all the time in the world. Demons were fighting all around her, and Faith zapped any that came in range of her swords, but she—like Colt—was wholly enthralled with the action happening right in front of them between these two old and powerful mages.

As the chanting increased, the patriarch seemed to shrink and shrivel until the previously robust older man was a shadow of his former self. Colt thought the witch was draining away the patriarch’s power. Somehow. Colt didn’t know how this sort of thing worked, but whatever the old woman was doing to Colt’s grandfather, it was going to kill him.

Even as he thought it, Jeremiah collapsed and then disappeared completely, leaving behind only his robe, which was trampled by the careless hooves of the next demon to try to make a break for it, past Faith. She ended the hooved monstrosity as Colt felt able to move freely again. He paused to take stock.

The shifters were free from whatever spell the patriarch had put on them, though it had mostly affected Colt. Unfortunately, a few of the Rollins mages had taken the opportunity to flee. The demons were no longer arriving every few seconds. In fact, it looked like the new arrivals had stopped altogether.

Florence was just behind Colt, looking stricken.

“The patriarch is dead,” she said on a sob, staggering back and lowering her hands for the first time since the beginning of the battle. Colt grew concerned as he looked more closely at her. She looked distraught and perhaps a bit relieved. “My father is dead,” she whispered to herself, moving back a few more paces before lowering herself to the ground as her knees seemed to give out.

Colt stepped in front of her, covering her while she broke down. He heard sobbing behind him, but the flow of creatures coming through into the broken circle had finally stopped, and Faith was dispatching them almost as quickly as they arrived. He was so damn proud of her.

The little old lady who had killed the patriarch had vanished, only to reappear behind him when Colt looked back to check on Florence. The old woman had her arm around Florence’s shoulders and was walking her slowly out of danger.

Good. At least he wouldn’t have to worry about his long-lost auntie any longer. She was in good hands with a witch who could so easily take down the Rollins patriarch. Even Colt could tell that old lady was not one to be trifled with.