Page 206 of Bedeviled

It’s not until I round the palace’s perimeter to the front, however, that I truly see the carnage. Here, the magical wall seems to crumble away, leaving the palace wide-open. And beyond it, hell—or the closest thing to it.

Several of those towering evergreen trees are on fire. Fairies are screaming, a few of them running across the bridges that connect them, more still taking off into the air.

The flames seem like a portent for what Eislyn has let in, because everywhere I look, demons fight fae, their fangs out. There are even a few fighting in the air. And though I’ve never seen a winged demon before, above me is literal proof.

There are other supernaturals here are well. Some that must be mages or sorcerers due to the colored hue of their magic. There’s even a shifter, the wolf lunging at a fairy that’s taken to the sky. My one small relief is that I don’t see any witches in the fight. Memnon must’ve done a good job of releasing my coven sisters from their forced bonds.

Altogether, however, there are dozens upon dozens of Eislyn’s soldiers—maybe hundreds considering there seems to be more screaming coming from inside the palace itself. Some of these supernaturals are undoubtedly bonded against their will into this situation, and it’s them my heart aches for. Others must’ve chosen this. Regardless, they’re all here now, slaughtering any fae who stand against them.

My attention moves to the fae. Many look exactly how I would expect a fairy to look: pointed ears, graceful limbs, and sharp, almost painful beauty. But alongside them are creatures that look closer to gnarled trees and wispy flowers than they do humans, their skin green and their hair made of petals. And then there are beings that are frightening to look at, with rows of long, pointed teeth and moist skin like that of frogs. And yet for all their fearsome appearance, it’s clear they’re the ones being overwhelmed.

And then there’s the people who so very clearly aren’t out here—the Bargainer, Eislyn, Memnon. I can only assume they’re somewhere deeper in the palace.

I hop off my horse and crouch behind one of the towering trees, Nero at my side.

On the palace grounds, just like at Henbane, demons are ripping out throats and drinking their victims’ blood straight from the veins.

In one gruesome case, a male demon has moved on to the fairy’s stomach, feasting on the individual’s flesh though the fairy himself seems to still be alive.

I have to fight back my rising sickness and the urge to race into the action.

Luckily, this is like Henbane. And like the massacre in Slain Maiden’s Meadow, I can do something about this without hand-to-hand combat.

I close my eyes, focusing my attention deep beneath me. It’s a shock to discover that here in the Otherworld, the earth is teeming with magic and life. I should’ve figured as much, but I wasn’t prepared for the sensation of all of it.

I focus my own power on the thick web of fungi all connected together through mycelium. And I force it to grow up, up.

Now I open my eyes, coaxing the fungi to grow right behind the demon feasting on that poor fairy. I’m fortunate that this particular battle happened right next to the wide stone entryway, where the earth is exposed. I release another burst of my magic, this one purely meant to push the demon where I want him to go.

My orange power shoves against the creature, throwing it back. The action causes blood to spray, and the demon has no sooner fallen into the mushroom ring than the blood of his prey hits the circle and activates it.

The fiendish creature looks around for the foe that knocked him back. When he sees no one, he lunges for the fairy once more, only to bang into the invisible walls of his new prison. I watch the demon for another second, just long enough to see his frustration, before I turn my attention to the rest of the fights.

There’s so much power beneath my feet it doesn’t take much effort to coax all of the fungi to rise.

Up, up the interconnected webs of it go. It’s hard to aim them and harder still to force mushrooms to push through the thick stone walkway. My shoulders and arms begin to tremble from the effort, and I can feel the first stirrings of fatigue. I keep at it anyway, and I swear I see a few stones dislodged by my efforts when more muffled screams rent the air.

I pause, my gaze moving to the grand double doors of the castle in the distance, where the noise is coming from.

I only have to wait a few moments before I see the smoky cascade of indigo magic pour down the castle’s front steps.

Hell’s spells.

It rushes over the stone walkway, the deep blue hue of it gleaming an iridescent orange when the light hits it just right. I suck in a breath at the sight. I hadn’t noticed that back in the House of Scrolls, but now it’s clear the lilac wine altered its hue, just as it has mine. It’s as lovely as it is terrifying.

As it pours out of the palace, neither fae nor demons nor mortal supernaturals have the time to escape it before it wraps around them like a vise.

Shit.

I hadn’t thought about what would happen if Memnon’s magic took him over. But I should’ve because clearly it’s happening at this very moment.

I release the power I was coaxing up to the surface. I won’t need to contain anyone when Memnon’s power is already doing it.

I chew the inside of my cheek, staring out at that magic. Anything could be happening inside the castle right now. Memnon could’ve already found Eislyn; he could’ve stopped her.

Things could have also gone horribly wrong. There’s no way of knowing.

But I do know that if I don’t do anything to stop Memnon and the rampage his power might go on, people will die—and gruesomely.