Page 52 of Claiming Chaos

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CHAOS

Chrys was a clever witch, setting up her ward far enough away that Ash wouldn’t think to begin checking for magic. She’d posted guards outside our home, who had tried to run us off the road as we journeyed here, lookouts a few blocks away, and now more guards to keep us from approaching the building.

She was a clever witch indeed, but she was also a coward, and those souls were the favorites to torture in the Underworld. At least I had something to look forward to when I returned to Hell.

The witches approached from the churchyard, and Ember paced toward them. She did not draw her weapons and instead motioned for us to follow her toward the building. “Let’s take this fight off the sidewalk.”

“Come on.” Ash took my hand. “We can’t chance injuring an innocent.”

I sent a wave of chaos magic toward our enemies, hoping to scramble their minds and end the confrontation before it began. Nothing happened, which meant Chrys had protected her warriors with whatever spell she’d concocted to block my power.

It didn’t matter. Six against six was a fair fight, one I was certain we would win.

A shadow rolled around us, turning everything except our adversaries gray, and I looked at Shade, who shook his head. He didn’t cloak us, so one of Chrys’s minions had shadow power.

Ember clutched her sword, flames erupting on the blade, and Shade held knives in each hand. Patrice stood next to Ash, both holding potion bottles, and Miles strained, gathering energy between his palms like he had done when Chrys controlled him.

No one made a move.

I glanced at Ash, and she raised her brows, silently asking me to affect their minds. I shook my head, letting her know I’d tried.

Gathering fire in my hands, I eyed the six in front of us. These witches were not innocent, nor were they members of Ash’s coven. My promise to cause no harm didn’t apply, so I hurled hellfire at the woman closest to me.

She lifted her hand, drawing on the wind and extinguishing my flames before they reached her. An air witch. Interesting.

“Whatever Chrys has promised you, she’s lying.” Ash took a step toward them, clutching a potion bottle in each hand. “She’s using you, and then she’ll discard you when she gets what she wants.”

The air witch scoffed. “This is coming from a light witch who summoned a demon.” She raised her arms and motioned toward Ash, sending a gust of wind that, if she had been more powerful, would have knocked her off her feet. Instead, it merely blew her hair back.

“Standing tall or on your knees, in the name of the goddess, I force you to freeze.” Ash hurled the powdered potion at them. The air witch squealed like a child afraid of a bug and swung her arm, her wind magic just strong enough to blow the spell away before it reached them.

“We don’t have time for this.” Ember marched toward a man with light hair and swung her extinguished sword, hitting the backs of his legs with the flat side and knocking him to the ground. With a knee on his chest, she pressed the tip of her blade to his throat. “I don’t want to kill you, so don’t make me.”

Another man yelled and tackled Ember, freeing his friend, and chaos ensued.

For once, I wasn’t the cause.

Our attempt to enter the church turned into a magical brawl. Miles threw his energy ball at a brunette. She tried to swat it away with her sword, but his power knocked her off her feet. She careened backward, landing on the ground with a thud, and a redhead screamed and barreled toward him.

I tossed a fireball at her, but her clothing absorbed the flames. Of course Chrys protected her flock against our greatest weapons. If I couldn’t use hellfire or mind magic against our foes, I would have to fight like a mundane.

The redhead tackled Miles. I clutched the back of her neck and yanked her off him, letting her dangle in the air while he hit her with a binding spell. When she stopped flailing, I dropped her, and she crumpled onto the ground in a heap.

Ember wrestled with the man on top of her, rolling him to his back and landing a punch to the center of his face. “You’re not supposed to kill people,” she shouted at me before Patrice poured an orange liquid onto the man, rendering him unconscious.

“No one is dead yet,” I replied, though I couldn’t make any guarantees about the three remaining witches.

The air witch summoned wind again, blasting it at Ash and, this time, making her stumble. Ash fought back, running toward her and throwing another vial of orange liquid at her face. Again, she blocked the attack with a gust of wind.

I threw another ball of hellfire at her. She waved a hand, attempting to extinguish it, but her magic faltered. Her clothing absorbed most of the blaze. Her hair did not fare so well. Blonde locks went up in flames, and she screamed, calling on her wind to extinguish them. Her magic only made it worse.

“Call your fire back.” Ash ran toward me and clutched my arm. “You’re going to kill her.”

“She is trying to kill us.”

“Chaos!” She slapped my shoulder, and I sighed. Sometimes Ash took away all my fun.