Page 53 of Love Summoned

“I think I found the missing pages. They were hidden under the base of your mother’s ring box.”

“Really?” I pull my seatbelt on and start up the car.

“It has the spell to summon the ancestral line, and the original potion that was used to banish Catori. It was here the whole time.”

“I still don’t understand why my visions led me to Hemlock.” I switch my phone to speaker, pull onto the main road, and make my way over to Hemlock Vinyl.

“You saw Hemlock Vinyl, sweetheart. I think you were right about Nix being important. Maybe for something that comes after all this.”

“Thank you for not thinking I’m crazy.”

“I’m always here for you. Your sister is too. These last few weeks have been a lot, that’s all.”

“Yeah.” I hope she’s right. “Well, I’m on my way home now.”

“Okay, I’ll get the potion started. Be careful, darling.”

“Yep. See you soon.”

Celeste ends the call and I step on the gas a little harder.

I need to get home, but I can’t leave without seeing Nix first, I can’t leave without—

Hemlock Park. Blue eyes. Theodora’s ring. Nix. White magic. Nix. The dagger. Nix.

I groan as I come to, my head resting against the steering wheel. My car has stalled on the side of the road, mounted halfway up the sidewalk. I clutch my head as it throbs, hissing when I pull my hand away and find it stained with blood.

“Shit.” I gasp, pulling down the visor and checking my reflection in the mirror. There’s a minor cut on my eyebrow, and a tiny scuff on the top of my cheek, but I’m otherwise okay. Thankfully, my car starts back up. Instead of Hemlock Vinyl, I’m tearing through the streets to the park.

It looks quiet once I arrive. No sign of the pain and destruction from my vision as I shift my car into park and grab my emergency stash of weapons from under the driver’s seat.

My feet slip on the pebbled trail as I hurry through the darkness, searching for signs of a fight. Blinding white light explodes to my left, dotting the sky like stardust as it falls, before it disappears behind the branches of tall trees in the distance. Changing course, I follow it. More light booms as I draw closer, followed by the sounds of snarls and grunts.

I burst into the clearing, and my breath catches as I take in the scene. Witches wield magic and blades as they counter the demon’s attacks. A handful of wolves stand dutifully behind the witches, guarding their backs with brute force. The wolves fight for peace, the witches fight for their people, but the demons fight for themselves. For greed, malice, and simply because they can.

Bodies move too swiftly for my eyes to recognize anyone. The standard black military-style uniform of the demons is the only thing that sets them apart in the fray.

I charge ahead, nothing but determination fueling my power. I pass a witch with short, auburn hair, her arms thrust forward as silver beams of light pour from her palms, striking a demon as he rushes toward her. He falters, but it’s not enough to take him down. She hasn’t noticed the second demon coming up beside her. I shift my weight, doubling back and intercepting him with a punch to the gut before he can reach her. He glares at me, swinging a fist, but I duck, letting it go over my head. I lift my forearm, blocking the next jab he sends my way. He doesn’t stop and throws another fist that’s ignited with glowing embers. I push it away with a flat palm, duck under another fist, block a third, and when he hesitates for half a second to catch his breath, I strike him with a jab to his chin. His head snaps back as my booted foot whips his shin. I tilt my hips, sending a second kick to the side of his head.

As he drops to his knees with a grunt, I spin on my supporting leg and deliver a roundhouse kick with the other. My heel connects with his face, sending him to the floor. The witch with the auburn hair takes the moment to jump onto his back, piercing him with her fingers of silver light. His body crumbles into shards of black dirt, what’s left of him soaking into the earth.

“Nice one.” She huffs as she rakes a hand through her hair, pushing the strands off her face.

“You too.”

Two more wolves run into the clearing, and I recognize the white and gray one as Rowan. More demons pop into existence at the edge of the fight.

“What’s going on?” My chest heaves as I work to calm my breath. “Are these kinds of attacks normal for you?”

The witch shakes her head. “We’ve only noticed an increase in the last few weeks. It’s like they’re gearing up for something, increasing their army perhaps, and this is some sort of twisted training ritual.”

This has to be orchestrated by Catori.

“Are you from Hemlock?”

“No. Laconia, but they keep starting fights and leading us toward here. We normally just let them go once they leave the city limits, but they were gunning for it tonight. I recognize another witch.” She tilts her chin to an older woman with long silver-streaked hair who fights a few feet away. “Samara. She’s from Wolfeboro.”

“So they’ve lured all the witches in nearby covens here tonight?”