Page 45 of Claiming Chaos

12

ASH

Our scrying bowl sat on the floor in the middle of the living room, and the five of us sat cross-legged in a circle around it, so close our knees touched. We’d tried putting everyone at the table, but we couldn’t see into the water unless we stood. Sometimes witches passed out during a scrying session, and we couldn’t take any chances.

With our luck…my luck…someone (me) would fall and smack their head so hard they’d be down for the count. We needed our entire team in top shape if we were going to succeed in our mission. We had twenty-something other coven members and the entire city of Salem counting on us, even though they didn’t have a clue what was going on.

Chaos sat behind me, outside of our circle. Another chance we couldn’t take was his magic driving someone mad in the process, so I’d absorb whatever he could give and keep it to myself.

Ember took my left hand, and Shade took my right, which was weird as all get out. I expected him to stay as far away from Chaos and me as possible, but with Patrice still wary of what we were about to do, he’d volunteered to hold my hand just in case Chaos’s magic seeped through. Miles and Patrice completed the circle, and we centered ourselves, preparing for the biggest scry of our lives.

I looked each witch in the eyes and started my prayer. “We call on the goddess Hecate to watch over us and keep us safe from harm. Please aid us in finding Chrys and Mayhem so we may right what we’ve put wrong.”

“As we will it, so mote it be,” we all said in unison.

We stared into the water, letting our gazes soften. Relaxation washed over me as my vision lost focus, the water turning from clear to inky black. The hardness of the floor beneath me and the warmth of the hands holding mine slipped away, the hum of the furnace and the bustle of tourists outside silencing. The world became still, empty.

I focused on Chrys’s energy, picturing her face in the blackness of my trance, searching for signs of her aura.

I felt nothing.

When we scried for Shade, we found him easily. The shroud had kept his location hidden, but his essence still registered in the abyss. With Chrys, it was like scrying for Cinder. Like she’d dropped off the face of the earth.

“Can anyone sense her?” Ember asked in our minds.

“No,” Miles said. “Not at all.”

Patrice and Shade confirmed. Chrys was nowhere.

“Do you think Mayhem took her through the veil?” I asked.

“Goddess, I hope not,” Ember said. “I’m pulling us out.”

My senses returned, jerking me out of my trance, and I inhaled sharply, opening my eyes and squinting against the living room light. Chaos’s hand rested on my shoulder, and I placed mine over his. “It didn’t work.”

“I felt as much.” He pulled his hand away.

I scooted back to sit next to him. “If she summoned him without a containment circle, would he have taken her to Hell?”

His expression darkened. “Without hesitation.”

“Well, crap.” I extended my legs, letting my boots thud on the floor. “What do we do now?”

“You’re sure you don’t sense him anywhere in this realm?” Ember grabbed the chair behind her and hauled herself into it. “Could he have killed her?”

Four seconds passed before he replied. “He would owe her a debt, but if her request was too high…” He clamped his mouth shut and screwed his lips to one side.

One second, two, four, seven. “Demons have a code, a set of rules we follow to keep the balance between worlds. When we are summoned, we can do a mortal’s bidding in exchange for a price. Releasing him from prison would be enough compensation for nearly any request, but…”

We all stared at him, waiting for him to continue. When he didn’t, I clutched his arm. “But what?”

He let out a slow breath. “Mayhem has never cared much for rules. Lucifer has threatened to exile him on multiple occasions, and, quite frankly, I’m surprised he hasn’t yet.”

Ember stood, ready to pace, but Chaos and I sat in her path. I tugged him up, and we moved to the couch while the others took the chairs and loveseat.

“You’re saying that even though he owed her a debt, he might have killed her anyway?” My sister took up her usual post, passing back and forth in front of the television. “And now he could be roaming free, wreaking havoc all over the place.”

“I would sense him if he were in this realm.” He clasped my hand.