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"How many?"
"A dozen I can ask for volunteers, and morph perhaps two or three more, but it will take at least twenty aze settled on ies to clear the area behind the mansion first"
Woods surrounded the house, and I had no doubt the battle e Dusk loolow like a bonfire
Stacey blurred fro the other staircase down to the wine cellar beneath the kitchen
"Bella, if I wipe out the su rune, will that banish the demon?"
"No, it will unleash the demon from its controllers You need the na hard "However, a demon like this won’t be able to keep its corporeal for back to the demon realm It requires the summoners to constantly fuel it with aether to remain If we disrupt therates, and its spirit returns"
"Does the su rune need to be near the demon?"
"It must be close They probably used an area nearby in the woods The demon is chained to its proximity"
"A tether?"
She nodded
I flicked into incubus sight, extendinginto the giant creature I followed the funnel of energy with round glowed a sullen red The su I answered
"Justin, we have a squad of thirty arriving in five minutes," Elyssa said "My father said he has demon specialists on the way, but it could be ten h, and send the positions outside," I said
"Got it" She disconnected
How had Kassus gotten beneath our guard? What had happened with Lornicus’s early warning syste Reaching inside, I lowered the barrier between me and the demon half of ht on the creature outside A feeling of sheer rage suffused me
How dare you invade!
Apparently, reed My body surged, s My jeans stretched and tore I felt my tail lash behind me like a whip, and horns burst from my forehead My t-shirt ripped as chest and back round fell beneathmy frame over a foot taller My body stabilized By the reflection of a broken wall nite inoutside, but I , I dashed upstairs, si shut the barrier betweenency, I didn’t want that to happen I would grow even larger, berserk, and attack friend and enemy alike
I ran out to the balcony where Elyssa and I had enjoyed our breakfast, and stood nearly eye-to-eye with the infernal beast Unfae of the demons I understood them, even if I couldn’t repeat theot the de iant, clawed fist the size of my body raked at me I blurred to the side The patio furniture splintered A wave of heat rushed past e potted tree in the corner and flung it at the demon The clay pot shattered Dirt rained down the creature’s face The poor tree burst into flaed to the side Heat washed againstmy skin Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a second set of claeep toward me from the left I tried to jus I flew sideways I felt branches raking my body My hand snatched the top of a pine tree The thin bough cracked and broke fro into the trunk, and my tail wrapped around the tree on pure instinct I sucked in a breath The odor of brimstone filledbefore jerking to a halt at the edge of the house and roaring displeasure Its claws splintered nearby trees, narrowlymust have reached the end of its tether
"Suck it!" I yelled in ht speared past, narrowlyhis staff Soe, and studded with bony spines leapt frorizzly bear took hi on flesh and bone
I winced
I felt another wave of heat as the deain I had it distracted for now, but would it be long enough? I looked at the ground for er and spotted two men in an area of the woods cleared of brush A coainst the bedrock The round The pattern burst into blue flame A basso roar detonated the air I slam
A brilliant light flashed, and a creature spun in a vortex fro Its torso looked al below the waist swirled like a tornado Icy claws gleaarded me from an otherwise perfectly smooth and featureless face
I aree
The h Its hands rushed together to crushthe liether The shockwave propelled the tree toward the house I leapt just as the fire de and I spun out of control, crashing hard on the roof, skidding along the top and to the crest
My claws scraped the surface and caught on the peak of the house The ice de and slashed at it I saw the su, eyes squeezed shut as they seemed to pull on an invisible chain The ice deainst one deainst tell I had better odds beating Bella at Scrabble