The Demon's Half

Chapter 32

The three demons in front of us were inhumanly beautiful. In a way that made you forget they were monsters. They wore the same kind of clothes Alexander always did. Black pants, black shirt. Clean lines. Elegant.

Alilla knelt, arms extended, and muttered a spell. Wind expanded through the room in furious, whirling gusts. Books, lamps, everything not nailed down flew. My hair whipped into my face, stinging my skin. Jade and Logan stood flanking her, daggers in hand.

Odysseus stepped forward.
The resemblance was insane, same black hair, same impossible blue. But where Alexander moved like a blade, Odysseus was a statue: still, severe, absolutely cold. A neatly trimmed beard aged him just enough to make him scarier.
I squinted my eyes. Gods. So alike.
And yet—so very wrong.

Alexander was carved from secrets and shadows. He carried chaos like a king carries a crown. His eyes with the most beautiful shade of blue.
Odysseus' eyes were just blue. A color. No storm behind them. Just blue dead eyes.

"Where is Ozias?" he growled.

Behind him, Bo stood. His teeth too white. Too eager. Jade didn't wait. She lunged, her dagger aimed dead-center at his heart.
Bo was a mountain.
The largest of them by far. Broad. Sun-kissed skin stretched over a body sculpted by war. Wild curls framed his face, thick beard shadowing his jaw. But he didn't dodge. He only grinned.

Not like Alexander's wicked, velvet smirk.
No. Bo smiled like he was starving. As if he was only pretending to hold back.
Alilla must've felt it, too. Her eyes went pitch-black as she slammed the portal shut. Wind collapsed into a shimmering barrier between Jade and Bo. I almost fell by the force of it.

Bo's grin cracked. "Spoilsport."

"Morgan!" Logan's voice cut through the haze, too late—he was already lunging at the third one.

The quiet one.
Solange.
Her beauty was the kind that made you want to trust her. She didn't move until Logan was inches away. Then, one strike. A single, effortless slap sent him flying across the room.

"Logan!" Alilla's scream splintered through the chaos as Logan hit the floor with a crack. Her shield on Jade shattered at the same moment. She stumbled, breath shallow, sweat clinging to her temples.

Bo got closer. "This is going to be fun."

Before Jade could move, he grabbed her by the throat. Lifted her off the ground. Her dagger clattered to the floor. Her feet kicked.
Her lips opened in a strangled gasp.

Alilla staggered upright, chanting. Her hands lifted, fingers curling like she could throttle Bo from across the room. Purple light started to shine around her. Bo froze mid-motion. His muscles locked. Suddenly, Solange appeared beside Alilla, lunging for her throat. She never made it. Mid-strike, something invisible pushed the demon against the wall.

Odysseus turned to Alilla, as if seeing her for the first time.

"Witchling," he murmured, his voice so cold the hairs on my arms lifted. "Where. Is. He?"

I still couldn't move. Still knelt where Alexander had been. Like my bones had turned to ash.

He appeared beside Jade and pressed two fingers to her temple. She started screaming. Not shouting. Not crying. Screaming. Writhing. Kicking. As if her skull was being crushed.

"I'll ask one last time," he said. "Where is he?"

Jade's face turned red, veins bulging. Her back arched off the floor. Alilla's hold on Bo shattered as she spun to cast again against Odysseus and—
Nothing happened.
The scream built in my chest and then exploded. Fire tore out of my palms, raw, violent, slamming into the floor. The tiles cracked, heat rolled over everyone like a wave. Odysseus hit the carpet as if the world itself shoved him. Jade collapsed beside him, sobbing.