Hold on, Wilder, I’m coming.
Then I felt it. The tether. It was missing.
Pain ripped through my chest as I stumbled and clawed my way over to him. No. I refused to believe he was dead. He couldn’t be. There was no me without him.
Wilder’s purple lightning filled the air. Static electricity pulled at the hairs on my arms as I got closer. As much as I hated it, that had to be a good sign. If there was magic to be siphoned, it meant he wasn’t dead. He was just caught between the worlds.
I pulled my gun from my holster and fired it at the King. I didn’t even know what type of bullets were in there, but it didn’t matter. I just wanted to grab his attention.
He finally looked at me when one of the bullets hit those damn glasses, breaking them and finally showing me his eyes. His impossibly green eyes. They reflected the light like a cat, burning with rage and damnation, with hatred and madness and I instantly knew that whatever his plans were, they were bigger than just Wilder. My Shadow Witch was one single cog in whatever machine he was building.
The King dropped Wilder carelessly into the dirt. I watched him for the longest minute, just waiting for his chest to rise. When it did, I could have cried with the relief.
“Are you just too stubborn to die?” the King hissed as he stepped closer to me.
“Clearly.” Although, I did feel like death warmed up right now. I glanced at Wilder, willing him to get up. “Where’s Lawler?”
The King shrugged. “Probably hiding somewhere like the pathetic little shit that he is.”
“Is that any way to talk about your friends?”
He spat on the ground. “We are not friends. He was a useful tool but now he’s served his purpose.”
Wow, this guy was dramatic. He took another step forward, and I shot him in the knee.
He tsked at me and shook his head. “That won’t stop me.”
“Nope, but it sure is making me feel a little better.” I shot him again, this time in his other knee then twice in the stomach. Each bullet landed with a very satisfying squelch.
I went to shoot him again when I felt it.
The tether.
It burst into my chest, stronger than I’d ever felt before and I gasped at the sheer power of it. I stumbled back a pace, overwhelmed with everything that I could sense coming through it.
I dropped to my knee, unable to comprehend everything at once. My head was too full, my body too warm. I clutched at my chest, hoping to ease it all, but all I grasped was the sticky material of my shirt.
The world burst into a myriad of colours and I could see beyond the veil. The world that coexisted with ours but could never be seen. Spirits stopped and stared at me, and the sky was purple above me and full of stars that glowed brighter than our own.
Pain seared my wrists as an intricate purple band circled each of them. They pulsed with power, and I huffed a laugh as I realised what they were.
Brands.
My Shadow Witch had branded me as his own.
“Demon, your time on this plane is through. I name thee Belial and I banish thee.”
Wilder. That was Wilder’s voice. I looked up and saw the most breathtaking thing I’d ever seen in my life.
He stood there like a god, the air sparking with his purple lightning as he advanced on the demon. His hair tumbled wildly in the wind and his eyes shone brighter than I’d ever seen them. His power felt raw and untameable, but he controlled it with ease. I could see everything he saw while he was connected to me. I saw the spark of life nestled in the demon’s chest and watched in awe as Wilder reached out and extinguished it.
The King disappeared in a thick plume of hellfire, but I had the distinct feeling that it wouldn’t be the last time we saw of him.
His power surged, and I struggled to stay on my knees. My vision faltered, but I ignored the pain. I wanted to watch Wilder become the powerful witch I always knew him to be.
“Oh, Wilder,” Lawler crooned as he dragged Astrid out of his hiding place behind the tree line. She had a black hood over her head, and her hands were tied in front of her but at least she was walking on her own. That was a good sign.
“Unhand her,” Wilder commanded, his voice steady and sure.