Caged in Darkness (Caged #1)(57)
SAVANNAH
Willow and I sat outside, wondering what the others were doing. It was strange that Maye already knew everything, but even more bizarre was the fact that she wasn’t stopping us. Why hadn’t she said anything before?
“S, we have the dagger.” I turned to see everyone coming outside, while Ash handed me the dagger. I looked at the blade and thought it was pretty, but it didn’t look anything like bloodstone.
“Guys, I thought you were supposed to make a bloodstone dagger. This is… I don’t know what this is.”
“S, believe me, it’s bloodstone. It just looks different because Izzy blessed it or something.
“Oh. Okay.” I examined the dagger more closely and sat back on the grass beside Willow. The world felt like it had slowed to a snail's pace. Our plans suddenly seemed real. Thinking about them and executing them were entirely different. Everyone seemed hesitant to break the silence, but Maye stepped forward and severed the string. She effectively pushed us over the cliff into the arms of the future; we just didn’t know what that future would be.
“You have the tool. Now, you just need to figure out how to bring Asmodeus to you and how to keep him there long enough to kill him.”
“Maye.” I shouted before she could leave. “Why are you letting us do this?” She turned back to look at our group.
“I’m not letting you do anything. If I told you not to, you wouldn’t listen. I’m choosing to support you in the decision you have made. I’ll still be waiting inside with Josephine. I will probably end up baking a kitchen worth of baked goods, while worrying over all of you. There is a definitely possibility that I will wear the carpets down with my pacing.” Maye walked forward and held my cheeks.
“Darling, you and Ash are my world. Josephine warned me that this was going to happen. I had to stand by and let the pieces fall where they may. I love you.” Maye hugged each of us in turn and walked back inside.
“Have any good ideas?” Liam spoke while the rest of us remained in awe at Maye’s reaction.
Willow chipped in her two cents. “Well, I guess we could summon him…”
I knew that would bring Asmodeus to us, but I was worried that the coven could get hurt. “If we did it in the forest, we wouldn’t have to worry about anyone getting caught in the middle.”
Everyone agree, we spent the afternoon hammering out the details and the part each of us would play. We decided that the following evening would be the right time to put our plan in place. The sooner; the better.
15: To live or die
SAVANNAH
We choose our playground and set the stage. Liam, Ash, and Willow would attack Asmodeus with their magic, while I distracted him in my panther form. We needed to keep Asmodeus on the defense. Once we had him sufficiently distracted, I would shift back into my natural form and stab Asmodeus. Izzy’s job was to keep hold of the dagger and hand it to me, when the time came.
It was easy to set up the circle to summon Asmodeus. Since we had done it before, the guys let us take the lead. They seemed shocked at the full force of the whirlpool. It was stronger outside than it had been in Izzy’s apartment. Nature enhanced the summoning, and the winds the whirlpool created seemed had the intensity of a hurricane.
We expected the demon to show itself, but we didn’t expect that he wouldn’t appear within the circle. Instead, he took corporeal form behind Liam. He used one arm to send Liam flying through the air until he hit a tree trunk with a resounding crack. The other arm gestured towards the circle and pulled the energy into his palm.
Asmodeus smiled, while his hand held an enormous ball of energy. His head twitched back and forth, as it had in the secret passageway. His eyes sought mine and in the space of seconds he conveyed his amusement at our attempt to confront him. My stomach dropped when his head turned to Ash and he sent the energy ball flying towards him.
The ball hit Ash in the chest and I expected him to fly backwards, but the ball transformed into vines, which wrapped around his ribcage. They started tightening at a slow, agonizing pace. I focused on transforming into my panther form. Meanwhile, Willow called on Earth. The roots of the surrounding trees sprung up through the dirt, at Asmodeus’ feet and grabbed his wrists before he could do any more harm. Asmodeus merely laughed at her attempt and broke the restraints.
Liam shook the pain from his injured body and sent an ice storm towards Asmodeus. I urged my body to shift more quickly and watched as the ice climbed through the feathers of Asmodeus’ wings. In response, Asmodeus snapped his wings open and sent icicles flying in all directions. One caught Liam in his arm, but he continued his fight.
I burst forth as a panther, sinking my teeth into the Arch demon's feet and dragging until he fell backwards. Switching tactics, I went for his wings and repeatedly bit, until I was certain they were damaged enough to prevent flying. His blood tasted different than I expected. It was warm and rich when I thought it would be stale and tar-like.
“Willow!” Liam shouted. I looked towards her to see a tiger made entirely of fire. Liam created a wall of ice between Willow and the tiger, but her arms had already been badly burnt from trying to fend it off.
Asmodeus shook me off, which knocked the wind out of me. He walked towards Willow, who was now standing with Liam. Ash lay on the ground beside them; his face blue and the vines wrapped tightly around him. His mouth was frozen in a silent scream and his eyes were dead. My heart broke and I roared with all the pain this demon had brought into my life.