Page 58 of Claiming Chaos
16
ASH
“It’s about damn time.” I called on my magic, curling my fingers toward my palms and igniting fireballs in each hand. The flames licked up my arms and danced across my chest and down my legs, incinerating the roots holding me captive.
Chrys faltered, her eyes widening and her mouth falling open, which gave the others just enough time to start their attack.
“Holy shit, Ash,” Shade said as he threw a dagger. Chrys dodged it easily, and it stuck into the dirt three feet from Ember’s cage.
My sister reached through the roots, her fingers grazing the knife, but she couldn’t grab it. Chaos strained again, roaring and setting his demonic form ablaze. The roots holding him groaned against his strength, a thin one splitting, hanging on only by a few fibers.
“Are these friends of yours too, brother?” Chrys smiled menacingly. “I will enjoy cracking their necks one by one.”
“You will not harm them.” He strained again, and the roots thinned even more.
Miles threw an energy ball, knocking her shoulder back. She snapped her gaze to him, and Patrice uncorked a potion. She managed two words of the spell when Chrys bent her fingers into claws. The ground rumbled, another fissure opening beneath our healer.
I lunged for Ember’s discarded sword, grabbing it by the hilt and rolling twice. Patrice screamed, her speed sigil obviously depleted, and fell into the hole. Shade dove for her, reaching for her hand. Their fingers barely brushed before she disappeared entirely.
Scrambling to my feet, I hacked at my sister’s cage. Her sword slashed through the enclosure, making a hole just big enough for her to wiggle through. “She’s got Mayhem inside her,” I said, and I grabbed Miles’s dagger from the dirt. “Help me free Chaos.”
We darted toward him, but with one final, guttural roar, he tore through his prison and stormed toward Chrys. He took three steps when a root jutted from the ground and pierced his chest. He stumbled and fell to his knees.
“No!” I screamed and rushed to my demon, clutching his shoulders, the rest of the fray fading into the background. Tears streamed down my cheeks, my stomach clenching, wrenching my heart down into it. I wasn’t ready to let him go. “Please tell me you have multiple hearts that have to be pierced before you’re vanquished.”
Chaos groaned and pulled the root from his chest. “I have one, and he barely nicked it. That was a warning…” He snapped his head toward Chrys. “Which I will not heed.”
“Have it your way,” she said, and the ground exploded beneath Miles and Shade, sending them flying toward the outer wall. The moment their backs made impact, vines jutted out, wrapping around them and pinning them, their feet dangling four feet from the ground.
Ember rushed toward them, leaping over the fissure that had consumed Patrice. She hacked at the biggest root, splitting it apart. Three more grew in its place. “Damn hydras.”
“This must stop, Mayhem.” Chaos rose to his feet and stepped in front of me. “These witches are not the enemy.”
“All witches are the enemy, and as soon as I’m finished enjoying this one’s power, I will burn through her and kill her too.” Chrys’s eyes widened in alarm. She must’ve been scrambling to gain control, and for once, I wished she’d succeed.
“Standing tall or on your knees, in the name of the goddess, I force you to freeze!” I sent my magic out to Chrys, but effing Mayhem still had control. She flicked her wrist, and a wall of rocks jutted from the ground, stopping my spell in its tracks.
Ember pulled at the binds holding Shade and Miles, her hands engulfed in flames. Chrys snapped her fingers, and they tightened, squeezing the guys until they wheezed. I had no idea if Patrice was alive, but the way Shade’s eyeballs bulged from their sockets said he wouldn’t be much longer.
“Let them go!” Panic laced Ember’s scream, turning it feral as she hacked and pulled, burned, and clawed at the roots killing our friends.
“Brother, stop.” Chaos marched around the rock wall, his taloned fingers curled into fists, and I rushed to keep up.
“I warned you,” Chrys said, and another root shot toward my demon’s heart.
I swung the dagger with all my might, slicing through it before it reached its destination. Chaos knocked it aside and stood face-to-face with Chrys/Mayhem. I glanced at my arm. The speed and strength sigils faded away, leaving plain old just Ash behind.
And just Ash was all I needed. She always had been.
“Chrys, I know you’re in there.” I stepped in front of Chaos. “I can see it in your eyes. You have to find a way back to the surface. Take back control, and we can help you.”
A sinister laugh erupted from her chest. “No witch can defeat Mayhem, Prince of Hell, destroyer—.”
“Of armies and all who vex him. Yeah, I’ve heard that line before, and I’m not buying it.” I crossed my arms. “Seems like the entire reason you’re here is because a witch defeated you.”
She growled and sent a root spiraling up my leg. I grabbed it with a burning hand, turning it to soot.
“Focus on your earth magic, Chrys. Cling to it, and let it propel you to the top. I had to do the same thing when Chaos took control of me.”