Inner Demons (Book Eight of the Silver Society)

Chapter Thirty-One

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Corey had wanted to run into the woods as soon as Jade vanished, but the other slayers stopped him. He was fairly panicked by the time everyone else arrived, but he held himself together as they worked out a plan. The sky was turning red. They were running out of time.

"Cierra, Tommi, and Beth need to fight beside the warlocks," Chad said.

"Um, no way," Tommi protested.

"Absolutely not!" Beth added.

"You'll strengthen us," Chad replied. "We're all working toward the same goal, and you three are all from powerful warlock lines."

"I'm not a warlock," Beth insisted. She looked like she was about to start splitting Chad's atoms for daring to suggest otherwise.

"You can call yourself a witch, Bethany, but the prophecies about you are still warlock related. You're a powerhouse and we need you on our side tonight. We share a common enemy. We can go back to hating each other later."

"Chad's right," Cierra said.

The warlocks seemed eager to hear her say that. "You'll stand with us?" Amos asked.

"Tonight, yes," Cierra replied. "The warlocks are supposed to be mine to lead, so you do as I say. Are we clear?"

Chad beamed at her with pride. "That's my girl," he said.

Cierra was incredibly nervous, but there was too much at stake, and the only way they could sort of trust the warlocks was if someone good was making the calls for them. She had to embrace her birthright, at least for one night.

"We will follow your lead, Cierra," Cedric said firmly.

"You are not in charge here, Cedric," one of the others challenged him.

"No, but I know we are supposed to follow the guidance of the Vitti descendant, and I trust Cierra completely. She's probably the smartest person here."

Cierra blushed slightly. "Thanks," she said.

"There is no time for debate," Amos decided. "My grandchild is in danger. We will go in, and we will rid Salem of these fools once and for all."

"I hate to agree with a warlock, but I second that," Annabella said. "There are children in danger. It is time for us to act. Everyone knows their roles."

"Watch each other's backs," Aideen said. "Know each other's strengths. Healers, keep an eye out for trouble. Those of us who can resurrect will do our best to fix anyone we can, but there's a good chance we're going to lose people tonight. We need to brace ourselves for that possibility. If anyone isn't ready to take that risk, leave now. I won't judge you."

Everyone nodded. Some people looked nervous, but most looked determined. No one left.

Logan suddenly did something shocking and kissed Dylan in front of everyone. Dylan was stunned but returned the kiss. When they broke apart, Logan said, "If one or both of us gets killed tonight, I don't want to have any regrets. I love you, Dylan... And I'm not ashamed of it, so I've decided not to hide it from the world anymore."

Beth was the first to react. "It's about time you told us," she said. She briefly lost her warrior's edge as she hugged them both at once, but quickly slipped back into it as she released them.

The lycanthropes mostly seemed happy for them, although a few of the rats looked like they disapproved. "I'm still the rat king," Logan clarified. "This changes nothing. If any of you have a problem with it, take it up with me later. Love is strength, and right now, we need all the strength we can get."