“Uh oh, the human learned a new trick!” I laughed manically as they started to run. Crazy always freaked people out. Not even demons were immune to that basic life rule.

I bent my newly fused magic into a prison and trapped the red demon inside, even as I chased after the others. “Where ya going?”

I dragged a stream of power across one of the demon’s bodies. The demon fell in two halves on the ground. I grabbed another with a burst of air as it was jumping into the do-it-yourself elevator. I pulled it back as a blur of movement interrupted the pandemonium.

Snake roaming around his monster-form body, Darius joined the fray, moving like a man with a purpose. Or, more accurately, a predator with a vendetta. He had to still be in pain, but he was clearly ignoring it.

He slashed the demon I’d kept from escaping, leaving ragged tracks down its body. When the demon hit him with a solid wall of air, Darius raked his claws through it, sending up sparks, refusing to be pushed back.

Yes, a predator with a vendetta. He was pissed.

I threw up a wall of fire and ice to keep everyone in the room—and anyone else out—and left Darius to it. He needed to take out some frustration, and those demons weren’t nearly as powerful as the red one. An elder was a good match for them.

After turning slowly, I stalked back to the red demon, feeling his attempts to pick through my magic. He was making excellent progress.

“So. Here we are.” I stopped just outside of the cage and spent a moment fortifying the weave. It would be a constant back-and-forth battle, because the demon began picking it apart again almost immediately.

“I am impressed,” it said, its voice grating. “I did not think you had access to this level of power yet. You hid it well.”

“Nah. You were right. But there is no better way to bring out the best in a woman than threatening someone she loves. That was your bad.”

“I am not the most powerful demon in this kingdom, you should know. Many of them have abilities that exceed my own. Should your father not protect you, you will be at odds with those that wish to use you.”

“Which is a great reason to get the hell out of here, am I right?”

Reagan, we need to end this and leave.

I glanced behind me at the torn demon bodies littering the ground. The snake still traveled Darius’s body, randomly biting before moving on.

“Right. Okay.” As I turned back, the cartoon red of the demon dissolved into a leathery brown that matched my pants. Its wings grew, pulled even more tightly into its body so they didn’t touch the magical bars, and its tail shrunk away. “I think I preferred the red.”

“We can come to an understanding,” it said. “You have cleared away my advisors. You’ve made room for a new leadership. We can forge it together!”

I collapsed the bars one at a time, hitting its body. It fought me, thrashing against the magic and pushing it away. The bars that struck it didn’t slice through it as easily as the woven magic had destroyed the other demons.

I hit it with another blast of fused hellfire as the bars finished beating it. Still, it struggled to get up. The thing was a tank.

Darius rushed forward with claws and fangs bared. I beat him there with my sword, something I wasn’t a novice with. The sword drew fused magic into the blade and I slashed down. It sliced through half the demon’s neck before it stopped, needing another draw from my power. I gave it more, now feeling the drain of energy. Darius raked his claws down the demon’s chest, making it thrash. I cut again with my blade, finally getting it through.

The room fell into silence.

“Dang it, that thing was hard to kill.” I wiped the sweat off my forehead and sagged. I was thoroughly drained and utterly exhausted. “It could’ve been lying, but it said it wasn’t the most powerful demon in the kingdom. Besides my father, obviously.”

I would believe it. The most powerful would be granted the choicest spots within the kingdom, and that would be nearer Lucifer.

“Well, this one was almost too much, and that is with me totally letting go. If he’d had better advisors, I would’ve been screwed.”

There are not an unlimited amount of top level fives. Those with the most power seek it for themselves and collect weaker people under them. You see it in every world, with every species.

“That’s good, I guess. Regardless, we need to get out of here. We’ve gotten what we came for.”

Yes.

He didn’t change back into his human form, and the snake kept working. Darius needed to keep healing. The poor guy had really gotten the short end of the stick in this whole affair. I said as much.

I will get to spend more time alive with you. I would endure much more for that privilege.

I sure hoped not. I wasn’t worth it. A sentiment I didn’t voice, both because I’d seem like an ass, and because he’d just argue with me.

At the do-it-yourself elevator, I paused. “Unicorn blood. I’m not holding up very well, and you’re probably heavy. I’ll end up dropping us to the bottom.”

You’d do better to take us out of a window.

Yes, I would. That was true.

This guy had all the good ideas.

Darius turned so I could get at his backpack. With his claws, he wouldn’t be able to pick out one of the small vials.

You cannot take unlimited quantities of that, he thought as I took off the cap. Too much, and it will confuse the mind instead of clearing it.

I paused. “I’m not at that point yet, am I?”

No. Or I would’ve stopped you.

Right. Duh.

I downed the blood and felt the zing of energy. Underneath that, though, I still felt the pull at my limbs. I didn’t have much left in my tank.

“We can do it.” I shot him a thumbs up to project confidence I didn’t feel and ran around looking out windows. From this height, I couldn’t see the ground directly below. “Eenie, meenie…”

After breaking the largest one, I stuck my head out and looked down. A roof stretched out below us. All the better. At least it wasn’t a straight fall.

“That’ll do, pig. Let’s go.” I stepped up onto the window sill and looked back at him. “This is no big deal. I’ve levitated a dozen times in my life. This is just another day.”

I clenched my teeth and stepped out, falling five feet—and losing my stomach—before I caught myself with magic. I rose back up, supremely focused and not even daring to look at Darius. With his monster form and the snake situation, I was afraid the gross of it all might throw me off my game.

“Okay. I’m coming back over.” I hovered toward him with my eyes on my feet, focusing on my power and not focusing how high I was off the ground.

Ah crap, I am really high!

“I sure wish I could take deep breaths,” I said in a level voice, turning so my back was to him. “Okay. Climb on.”

Climb on? Would you not rather hold me with air?

“No, because I might accidentally crush you, or lose my grip on you. I have more power now, but I’m still not an expert at using it. If you’re hanging on to me, my survival instinct will take control.”

A human arm came around my shoulder. Thank God, he changed form.

The snake slithered across my stomach.

I really could’ve done without that.

I continued to focus as his other arm came around me. His legs wrapped around me next and his weight pulled me down. I lost the feel of hovering and we free fell like a sack of potatoes.

“It is okay.” Darius spoke in my ear softly. “Do not panic.”

The timbre of his voice, and the assurance, calmed me.

But cracking an eye open to see how much time I had to fix this situation scared the bejeebus out of me again.

“I got it. I got it.” We turned ass over end. “I don’t got it!”

“Relax,” he said. “Have faith.”

My power whispered to me. Urging me to do something.

“I liked it better when you did it for me,” I yelled.

“What’s that?” Darius asked.

“I’m not talking to you.” I clenched my fists and focused on hovering. On slowing our descent and then stopping us in midair.

I peeled my eyes open. The roof looked back at me from twenty feet away. It didn’t get any closer.