Cursed [Book 1] ✔

Chapter 16.2: Back into the Woods

"I can't," had been my mantra during my time in the woodland paradise.

"This is the only way you're going to beat them, the only power capable of defeating them. Why are you hesitating?" Rosalind asked.

"Because I'm scared! It's a wall of fire. How do you expect me to react when you ask me to walk through it?"

The fire in question blazed in the center of the courtyard. Leaves and blossoms littered the ground, and yet, as they fell, they didn't get burned up. Red, orange, blue, yellow, and green flames danced, beckoning me. Fire was supposed to be menacing, and yet, there was no hostility.

"You died. There's nothing to fear anymore."

Rosalind's words were unnecessary. The fire spoke, compelling me to journey through the source of my fear. I pressed my face close to the flames. They licked at my nose, blew my hair back. I stepped forward and was enveloped with iridescent walls of color, like being inside a diamond. The colors were so vivid that I never wanted to step outside of their light. Arm extended, I fanned my hand out from side to side. Flames slipped through my fingers, supple as water. I hadn't been in the fire long when I felt a change within my heart. All of the emptiness inside of the dark chambers spilled over with warmth. An acceptance I had never expected washed over me in waves, and I couldn't help gasping in exhilaration.

Recalling the experience incited the feelings to well up once more.

Warmth radiated forth, manifesting itself physically. My skin heated up, rising to dangerous temperatures. Samael's hands dropped from my shoulders, and Lillith and Constanople jumped back as if they'd already been burned.

My eyes reflected the fire within, the first outward sign that my fire lore was active. I picked up the blade with my unbroken arm and flames swelled from my fingertips, running up the hilt of the sword.

"They gave you the ancient power?" Lillith was aghast.

"That and much more."

At that moment, I relinquished control and let the fire run rampant, my body fully immersed in flame. Time stopped, and I watched everything in slow suspension:

Foolishly, the demons scrambled to flee. Out of all the power they possessed, they couldn't vanish on command. Even their enhanced speed wasn't quick enough to save them.

In a flash, the fire expanded to fill the room and spill out over the entire complex. All three demons were eradicated within seconds. When the flames retracted with a roar, all that was left of them floated in the air around me—ash and nothing more.

I had accomplished a task I had dubbed impossible. Although it had been done twice in the past, I doubted my sufficient chutzpah to carry out the death sentence of two supposed gods. I had come close to failure, falling under Samael's thrall. My broken arm was a sore reminder of how I had barely come out of my endeavor victorious. I did not know what I would be able to do about my arm, because going to a hospital was not an option. I could not risk questions about my identity since I inhabited the body of a woman long deceased.

As I surveyed the scene of my triumph, I was struck by how utterly exhausted I was. I was a preternaturally strong psychic with the power to burst into flames at will, but still just human. Mostly. Plus, my injured arm had begun to throb insistently. I needed to rest for a moment. Before my eyes closed, I had the wayward consideration that when I woke up this time, every horrible thing that had transpired would have turned out to be a dream. Surrounding my bedside would be the people I loved, like my mother, Rosalind, Juliet, and Rafe.

Innocent, wide-eyed, and most certainly relieved, I would say, "I had the most awful nightmare. And you were there, and you, and you, and you!"

"You can rest later." At the sound of Rosalind's voice, my eyes flew open. She floated before me, her sparkling visage and attire out of place with the charbroiled house. "Right now, you need to move on 'cause the police are on the way. Your light display was incredibly noticeable."