Page 57 of Claiming Chaos
And the rest of the dozens of roots penetrating the dirt? She’d trapped Chaos and built a cage over my unconscious sister in thirty seconds flat. I hoped to Hecate the rest of our team had dealt with the fae and were on their way.
Chrys clutched her head, her face pinching in agony. Chaos morphed into his demon form, and, with a guttural roar, he set his entire body ablaze. Heat from his hellfire blasted my cheeks, and I struggled against the roots, which only made them tighter.
He extinguished his flames, and the roots remained unscathed. Roaring again, he flexed, straining against his prison. It stretched with him, tightening again when he relaxed. “Mayhem, release me.”
“I’m in control.” Chrys shuffled toward me with an unsteady gait. Dark circles ringed her eyes, and she heaved in a breath. “If you can get this demon out of me, I promise to kill you quickly.”
“Why ith he in oo?” I mumbled around my gag. “Oo had hith kull.”
Chaos continued straining against his binding. Ember didn’t move. I could imagine how depleted Chrys must’ve been. No doubt she used most of her vim on fire- and demon-proofing the roots holding him.
“I’m going to remove your gag, but so help me Hecate, if you try that damn freezing spell again, I will send the root through one cheek and out the other, taking half of your teeth with it.”
Well, that sounded painful. I nodded my agreement, and the gag snaked away to rest two inches from my face, the sharp end pointed directly at me. “Why is he inside you?”
She shoved up her sleeve, showing me Mayhem’s mark on her arm. “I wanted to control him like you control Chaos, so I did this.”
How long had Chrys been learning sigil magic? “I don’t control him. He helps me because he loves me.”
“Lies.” She tapped a finger to her temple. “He says that’s not possible. Chaos would never be stupid enough to fall for a witch.”
“It’s true, brother.” Chaos stopped straining. “Ash is mine. She has claimed me, so you will not harm her.”
“Please, Chrys,” I said. “You’ve got to perform an exorcism or Mayhem will burn through your body and use your very essence to reform.”
“Shut up! Let me think.” She jabbed her fingers into her hair and pulled before whirling toward me. “Do it. Exorcise him. He’s driving me crazy.”
Chaos scoffed. “What did you think would happen when you invited a Prince of Hell called Mayhem into your mind?”
“You shut up too.” She flicked her wrist, tightening the roots around him. “Help me get him out of my head, and I’ll let you live.”
“I can’t.” And even if I could, I didn’t buy her lies for a single hot second.
“Yes, you can. You did it with that one.” She jerked her thumb toward Chaos, who had resumed straining against the roots.
I couldn’t imagine how much vim she put into creating them if he still couldn’t bust through like he’d done at Shade’s house. Yet she stayed on her feet, thanks to Mayhem no doubt.
She flicked her wrist at me, and the roots pulled away from the ground, jerking me upright. The pointy end of one pressed against my cheek, ready to rip my mouth apart if I tried to cast a spell.
It was time to take stock and figure out a plan. Most likely, she didn’t fireproof my prison. I could burn through it right now and go after her, but with Chaos restrained and my sister out of commission, it would be me against Super Chrys, and there was no way I could defeat her/Mayhem on my own.
Sometimes knowing your limitations was a good thing.
“Do you have a grimoire with exorcisms?” I asked, trying to keep a good poker face. “I can help you, but I need a book. I don’t speak Latin, nor do I know the spell by heart.”
She narrowed her eyes and backed toward the table, her gaze never straying from me. “Don’t try anything.”
“How could I?”
Chrys finally tore her gaze away from me to look at the grimoire in front of her. She flipped through the pages, muttering, “Shut up, shut up, shut up,” as she searched for the spell. I could only imagine the things Mayhem was saying in her mind.
She turned the pages forward and back again, frustration making her movements jerky. “This is all about using demons to do your bidding. I don’t see anything about exorcising them.”
“Try the index.” If I could convince her to free me, I wouldn’t have to reveal my unlocked power. Then maybe I could exorcise Mayhem and lock him in a containment circle. With Chrys’s depleted vim, I could defeat her easily if she didn’t have a Prince of Hell coming in and out of control. Then Chaos could deal with his brother.
She flipped to the back of the book and ran her finger down the pages. “Nothing. There’s nothing. If you can’t help me, I might as well kill you now.”
Ember groaned and pushed onto her elbow. Chaos had gone utterly still as if he were meditating, but at Chrys’s words, his eyes flew open. She slammed the book shut and marched toward me as Shade, Miles, and Patrice darted into the room.