Spellbound (Spellbringers Book 1) (37 page)

“Maybe we should go check on them,” I
said. “Just to make sure.”

“
They’re fine. Jace has
been gone less than a minute,” he said, kissing my neck. I shivered
in the ninety-five degree heat. “Maybe we should play another game
while we wait.”

“It’s too hot,” I said, pushing him
away. His displays of affection embarrassed me. As much as I craved
Bryce, I felt he was moving a little too fast. He was older than
me. Probably more experienced too.

“You
make me hot,” he said, reaching for me and pulling me
close.

“Stop saying that.” A deep blush crept
up my neck. I decided to change the subject. “Bryce, I have to tell
you something. Promise me you won’t get mad.”

“Are you thinking of dumping me?” I
shook my head. “Are you running away and joining the circus?” I
laughed and shook my head again. “As long as you promise not to
leave me, I promise I won’t get mad.” He seemed very serious all of
a sudden.

“I overheard something,” I admitted.
“The night you came home from WTB, when you were talking to your
mom in the kitchen. She was crying…she said something about seeing
the ties. What did that mean?”

“Nothing,” he said.

“It didn’t sound like nothing,” I
pushed. Our relationship was still in the early stages, but I
didn’t want it to be based upon lies. Besides, I knew he did
something. He changed me somehow, and I had the right to
know.

“Okay. When I whispered in your
ear…like this,” he said, pulling me close and nibbling on my
ear.

My stomach flipped over and my vision
went hazy. I pulled away and tried to give him a stern
look.

“It was a spell. My mom was upset
because she thinks it’s too soon for me to make a commitment. She
thinks I should have waited until you were ready.”

“You put a spell on me?” I
gasped.

“No. I put a spell
on
me
. I
whispered the Claiming Words in your ear. I’ve tied myself to you.
I’ve made a commitment to spend my life with you. But you’re under
no obligation to me. Not yet,” he said.

I turned away from him, trembling. Why
would he do that? And what did it really mean to tie himself to me?
Of course, I felt obligated now. How could I feel
otherwise?

“Don’t…” he said, putting his hand on
my shoulder. “Don’t freak out on me. It’s just an initial tie,
Alisa. It isn’t a permanent bond. Don’t you want to spend your life
with me?”

I turned back around to face him. “I
love you, but maybe your mom is right. Maybe it’s too soon for you
to make such a huge decision. I’m only seventeen. I’m still in
school. You may not want me in a year, or even in a
month.”

“That’s impossible,” he insisted.
“I’ll always want you.” He pulled me into his arms. “If I wasn’t
sure about you, I wouldn’t have whispered the Claiming
Words.”

“What does that mean? Claiming Words?”
I asked. “Rachel said her brother’s tattoo has a claiming
spell.”

“There are different kinds. Her
brother’s tattoo is a Demon Mark. It’s permanent. The words I spoke
are words of love, my intent to be with you forever.”

I couldn’t believe he’d even thought
about forever. It amazed me that he loved me that much. After all,
he’d only been home a few days. A lot could change over the summer.
I’d watched Becky fall in and out of love a dozen times in a
summer. And while I couldn’t imagine being with anyone but Bryce, I
couldn’t imagine him wanting to spend the rest of his life with
me.

“Are you sure?” I asked.

“I…” his response was cut short by the
sound of thunder. Not thunder. A deep rumble pierced the still,
silent afternoon. The blacktop shook underneath our feet. My first
thought was that we were experiencing an earthquake. Bryce peered
into the distance, his eyes widening in horror. “Over there,” he
said.

I glanced in the direction of the
pavilion and saw a wisp of smoke. “What is that?”

“Call my parents,” Bryce
said.

“But I left my phone in the truck…” He
was already gone. I bolted toward the truck and wrenched the door
open. With trembling hands, I struggled to dial Jerica’s number on
my phone.

“Pick up,” I muttered as the phone
rang once, twice, three times. “Jerica,” I yelled when she
answered.

“Alisa. What’s wrong?”

“Rachel…Jace…we’re at the old park,
the one on West Street behind the abandoned school. There was an
explosion…and then Bryce went running.”

“I’ll call Abe,” she snapped. “Help is
coming.”

She disconnected. I jammed the phone
in my pocket and raced toward the direction of the
pavilion.

My sides were aching by the time I
reached the empty parking lot in front of the pavilion. Bryce and
Jace circled a pale, dark-haired man, while Rachel hovered to the
side, looking anxious and terrified. I skirted along the periphery
of the pavilion and reached Rachel’s side.

“It’s Re’Vel,” she whispered, grasping
my hand. “The Demon. He found me.”

“It’s okay. I called Jerica. She’s
sending help,” I whispered back.

We were both too unskilled and
ineffective to help. Yes, we’d both faced Hunters in the past, but
this was a Demon. He’d kill me without hesitation if I interfered,
and I had no hope of turning the tide. I watched the battle,
praying Jerica would be able to get in touch with Abe and the other
Warriors.

Jace leapt over a table. Placing both
hands in front of him, he shot a line of fire at Re’Vel. The Demon
stepped out of the way effortlessly while Bryce extinguished the
flaming bushes behind him.

“Careful,” Bryce warned.
“Let
me
handle
Re’Vel.”

Re’Vel flicked his pale hand toward
Bryce, and a bolt of silver lightning shot toward him. Bryce put
his hands in front of him and the lightning bolt sizzled into
nothing. The Demon flew at Bryce and had him in a chokehold in a
split second. Jace jumped forward, ripping the Demon off his
brother, and throwing him across the pavilion. A concrete bench
shattered from the impact, and I covered my head with my arms to
protect myself from the debris.

“Shit,” Jace yelled. I looked up just
in time to see him drop to the ground, presumably to avoid a blue
fire bolt. Shards of ice scattered across the ground, some of the
pieces melting right next to me.

Bryce countered the Demon’s attack
with bolts of his own blue fire. The electric blue flames sizzled
into shards of ice, some of which nicked the Demon’s pale flesh.
Blood beaded up on the Demon’s face.

“And how did
you
develop such a dark
gift, son of Abe?” the Demon asked, leering at Bryce.

The Demon Transported to the top of
the pavilion. His cold laughter raised goose bumps on my arms. He
shot fire from each hand, causing Bryce and Jace to duck out of the
way. Bryce leapt to the roof, but the Demon knocked him back down
immediately. I gasped and cried out.

Bryce staggered to his feet, and then
appeared next to me in an instant. I reached out to him, but before
I could touch him, Re’Vel leapt at Bryce, snatching him by the
throat and throwing him across the pavilion. He fell against a
picnic bench, and the sound made a sickening crack that made me cry
out.

The Demon placed his hand in front of
him and blinding white light sizzled between him and the two
Alexanders. The white light spread outward, creating a
shield.

“This has all been very amusing,” the
Demon said, “but I’ve become tired of playing games with you.
Rachel, come,” he said, turning to face her.

I watched in horror as Rachel’s
expression changed from fear to one of dreamy content. She seemed
spellbound, enchanted. She moved toward Re’Vel, her motions fluid.
I snatched her arm, trying to hold her back, determined to protect
her. She tried to pull away, but I held her in place.

The Demon’s eyes settled on me and I
froze. He surveyed me calmly, then leapt toward me, grabbed my
wrist, and pulled me against him before I could resist. One hand
wrapped around my throat and before I knew what was happening, his
hand was squeezing my windpipe and I could hardly
breathe.

“Stay back,” the Demon hissed over his
shoulder. Bryce had penetrated the barrier and stood just a few
feet away. “If you choose to interfere, I’ll kill her. I can sever
the ties that bind in an instant. Better keep your brother in
check, because if he takes another step, you’ll have to find a new
little human to hear your Claiming Words.”

“Please,” Bryce begged, his eyes
pleading. “Don’t hurt her.”

Re’Vel released me and I staggered
away from him, gasping for air. The Demon shot me an icy stare.
“Stay there, human, or you’ll have to explain to Abe why he must
bury his remaining sons.”

Re’Vel gestured for Rachel to come to
him and she walked into his embrace without hesitation. Jace
hurtled toward Re’Vel, but was flung backwards the moment he came
within a foot of the Demon. Jace cried out in pain and the dreamy
confusion on Rachel’s face faded. Her gaze sought out Jace, and
when she saw him on the ground, bleeding from a gash on his
forehead, her expression hardened.

“Shall we leave, my love?” Re’Vel
asked.

For a moment, Rachel seemed to waver.
Torn between confusion and anger, she seemed to fight against
Re’Vel’s compulsion. And then, in a move that would’ve made Abe
proud, she elbowed the Demon in the ribcage, spun around, kicked
him swiftly in the stomach, and raced to Jace’s side.

Rachel had made her choice and the
Demon’s rage could not be contained. As Re’Vel sped toward Jace and
Rachel, Bryce leapt between them, protecting his brother. He faced
the Demon, and though Bryce was intimidating and powerful, I feared
his magical abilities wouldn’t be enough to defeat
Re’Vel.

Without thinking, I picked up one of
the huge chunks of concrete that had fallen during the battle. I
crept up behind Re’Vel.

Bryce’s eyes went wide when he
realized what I was going to do. Re’Vel must have noticed Bryce’s
brief distraction, because he turned around at the very second I
hurled the concrete chunk. It hit him in the chest, temporarily
stunning him. Bryce hooked his arm around the Demon’s neck and
squeezed, choking him. Suddenly, Bryce cried out and released the
Demon as if he’d been burned. The skin on his arm blistered and
smoldered. Re’Vel shot past Bryce, grabbed Rachel, and held her
with her back against his chest. Extracting a dagger from a sheath
at his ankle, he held the tip to her neck.

I prayed help would arrive before it
was too late. For all of us.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Rachel

Re’Vel’s grip around my waist was unyielding.
The flash of a blade glinted in the sunlight and then a stabbing
pain erupted at the base of my throat.

“Don’t struggle, my love,” Re’Vel whispered in
my ear. “I’m not going to hurt you. I just need a small blood
offering to bind us together, to reinforce my claim.”

“
You have no claim,
Demon.” Abe’s cold, lethal voice came from right behind us. Re’Vel
turned to face him, still holding my body against his. “Release her
and we’ll spare your life.” To my surprise, Abe laughed. “What’s
the matter, Re’Vel? Are you too weak to Transport with
her?”

“
The weakest Demon is
stronger by far than the mightiest Warrior, old man. Your bones
will be centuries in the ground while I’m still walking this
Earth.”

“Release her, Re’Vel. You don’t want
to hurt her,” Abe said.

“I would never hurt Rachel,” Re’Vel
countered.

“You already have,” Abe replied. “Let
her go. You’re surrounded and there are Warriors on their
way.”

“Do you think I’m afraid of a few
Spellbringers?” Re’Vel laughed. “I could have killed your boys in
an instant, but I kept them alive because Rachel seems to have
formed an attachment to your family. Next time, your boys won’t be
so lucky.”

“Don’t threaten my family,
Demon.”

Two Warriors—Craig and Quinn, the same
Warriors from the night of the Hunter attack—Transported and stood
near Abe. They held daggers in each hand and glared at the
Demon.

The blade pressed more tightly against
my throat and I felt a trickle of wetness slide down my neck.
Re’Vel removed the blade and caressed my throat. “I’ll be back for
you, my love. Next time, you’ll come willingly. And if you don’t?
I’ll have what I need to take you by force.”

I slumped to the ground. For just a
fraction of a second, I wondered what had happened.

“He’s gone,” a voice
shouted.

Lifting my hand to my neck, I probed
at the wound on my throat and was shocked by the intensity of the
pain.

“Rachel, are you okay?” Abe asked,
rushing toward me. “Craig, Quinn, secure the area. Make sure there
were no witnesses, and make certain Re’Vel is really gone. Put up
some security shields. Bryce, Jace, Alisa, are you
okay?”

One by one, my friends reassured Abe
they were relatively unhurt. Two more Warriors arrived and Abe
snapped out commands while he inspected my wound. I waited for him
to heal it, but he didn’t. Jace crouched down next to his father.
He held my hand and inspected me for other injuries, but I was more
worried about him than I was for my own wellbeing. I’d suffered a
cut, but Jace had been electrified, flung around the pavilion, and
had crashed into concrete with enough force to break it. Bryce had
suffered similar treatment, and poor Alisa had nearly been choked
to death. All because of me. I felt like crying, but I held back.
Crying would just draw more attention to me and that was the last
thing I wanted.