I chunked a fireball at her, but my aim was off, thanks to the spin cycle. It hit the stream, and a geyser of putrid liquid shot twenty feet high before raining onto her. She squealed, her skin sizzling as the droplets hit her, the distraction enough to make her lose her grip on me.
Acid rain wasn’t what I’d been going for, but the end result worked out just fine…ish. I fell the remaining ten feet, my body crumpling with the impact, but I managed to right myself and face her like the strong elemental witch I was.
Her eye twitched as her burns healed. Apparently, Lucifer had granted her a speed-healing ability when he’d dragged her from the pits of despair. Fabulous.
“You don’t have to do this. I’m not a threat to you.” I raised my hands and activated my persuasion magic. “I have no desire to join Lucifer’s court. I swear.”
She blinked, my magic making her consider my words. “Then why are you here?”
“I came to rescue my parents. A demon tricked them. I just want to take them home.”
Seraphine laughed, and I glanced up at the commotion of the warring demons above. Discord jabbed a knife into Bedlam’s gut, but the hunter shoved him, pushing him over the edge. He tumbled down, landing on another shelf ten feet above us.
“Why is that funny?” I asked, keeping her focus on me.
“Because you can’t escape Hell. No mortal can.” She looked at me like I’d grown a second head.
“Right. Not without Lucifer’s blessing, but I’m sure Hec—” I stopped myself from finishing the goddess’s name. Mentioning her nearly got me killed last time. “I’m sure he’ll give it to me. I can be very persuasive.”
She laughed harder. “Even if you could persuade him, he literally can’t help you. Not without the amulet that your boyfriend lost.” She reached behind her back for her crossbow.
“What do you mean?” I laid my magic on as thickly as possible, demanding she return her full attention to me. “What does the amulet have to do with it?”
“If I tell you, I’ll have to kill you.”
“Aren’t you planning to do that anyway?” My muscles tightened, and I shifted my weight, preparing to either attack or run. I wasn’t sure which.
She notched an arrow and pulled back the string. “He demanded a sacrifice from Hecate to prove her devotion, so she demanded one from him.”
“Eyes on me,” I said, daring to push my magic further into the gray. “What did they sacrifice?”
She snapped her gaze to mine, unable to fight my command. “Lucifer gave up the ability to send beings across the veil. The only way a creature from this realm can cross is if they are summoned. Weaker entities can still slip through rifts, but he can no longer send anyone…including a witch…to the other side.”
My stomach sank. “And Hecate?”
Her lip curled. “She gave up her power of resurrection, promising never to take a soul from Lucifer’s domain. Both their powers now reside in the amulet. Without it, you’re stuck here, and I’m not about to give up my chance at the throne.”
She lifted her crossbow, and I charged. The arrow hit my hair, ripping a chunk from the roots before lodging in the wall behind me. She already had another in her hand, ready to reload, when I sank my shoulder into her stomach and tackled her.
The crossbow skidded across the rocks, and the arrow clattered to the ground. She shoved me off and scrambled for it, but I grabbed it first and stood, raising it toward her.
She clambered to her feet. “Hoarfrost isn’t poisonous to air witches.”
“Maybe not, but arrows still hurt like a mother.” I lunged and sank the tip deep into her shoulder.
She stumbled backward and yanked it out, blood spouting from the wound as she chucked it to the ground. “You bitch!”
“Come on now. That’s not a very girl power insult.” I grabbed a knife from my thigh holster and circled her. “Hit an artery, didn’t it? You might want to put pressure on that before you bleed out.”
She raised her hands, and a gust of wind whipped toward me. I leaned into it, planting my feet in a wide stance and bracing myself against the assault. As long as she didn’t reverse it and suck the life out of me again, I could give her a run for her money.
I plowed forward, a knife in one hand, fire dancing just below the surface of the other. Gravel rained from the ledge above, and Discord grunted, his foot slipping over the edge. Seraphine clapped, and the gale-force wind I was leaning into dissipated in an instant.
I stumbled forward, catching myself on my hands. Skin ripped from my palms, and searing pain pulsed through them. “Son of a banshee!”
Scrambling to my feet, I shot a stream of fire toward her, burning a hole in her shirt and scorching her stomach. She groaned and countered me with wind, pushing my flames toward me until we looked like characters from a video game, equally matched.
“I really don’t want to kill you.” I strained, pushing my fire harder against her air. “My sisters are on the other side of the veil. They can find the amulet and make things right.”
