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Not all demons killed their prey while feeding, but some still caused enough harm to innocent humans that witches were duty-bound to intervene when they caught them.
“Let’s go,” Hazel said. “You two take the lead. I’ll cover you.”
Thea and Beth nodded.
Three witches taking on a colarpo almost seemed like overkill, but as long as they were all out on patrol together…
In silence, they crossed the street, keeping a tight leash on their magic so as not to signal their presence too early. A low groan came from around the corner of the convenience store, and something scratched along concrete. The wind lifted an errant strand of Hazel’s hair as she snuck closer, following a pace behind Beth.
A shiver of unease danced along her skin, a knot of indefinable dread building in the pit of her stomach. The air seemed heavy and, somehow, wistful.
Up ahead, Thea rounded the corner, one hand outstretched and ready to throw a spell. A hiss rose from the shadows behind the convenience store, followed by a guttural clicking sound. The head of the Callahan family shouted the words meant to focus her magic for the spell. The colarpo screeched, the sound like nails on a chalkboard, and then Thea screamed.
“Mom!” Beth yelled, now running around the corner, too.
Hazel sprinted after them, her heart beating a fast gallop. What was going on?
Skidding around the corner, Hazel took in the scene. Thea lay still on the ground, half-concealed by shadows, next to an unmoving human shape. Beth grunted with effort as she wrestled with a wiry figure, its black beak flashing in the light of the moon here and there as the colarpo tried to skewer the witch.
“Blow it off you,” Hazel called. She couldn’t very well throw a spell of raw power at the two while they were fighting in such close quarters, or else she might hit Beth along with the demon.
Beth let out a strained shout. The colarpo continued to roll around with her, its beak barely missing her throat.
“For Powers’ sake!” Hazel fumbled with the pouch she wore on her belt, pulled out a vial, and opened the cap. She shook some of the dark powder in it onto her palm, capped the vial again, and stowed it in the pouch.
“Into the darkness, into death,” she intoned, her magic stirring with her words, “begone from here with my next breath.”
She blew the powder from her palm. Her powers rose, struck out, and infused the material with the extra magic necessary to activate it. The dark particles whirred into the air, glittering for a moment, and then the cloud of black dust flew toward Beth and the colarpo. The powder hit the demon, permeating its skin, and the colarpo seized. A scream of pure agony burst from its throat before it collapsed into black dust.
Hazel grimaced. Difficult to engineer, its sources hard to come by, the Dark Death powder was reserved for absolute emergencies, to be used against demons that showed immunity to regular spells. The fact that Hazel had to use some to kill a simple colarpo left a bitter taste in her mouth. Both Thea and Beth should have been able to fend off the demon with ease.
Beth coughed and scrambled to a sitting position. Hazel rushed to her side, checking her for injuries.
“Are you hurt?”
“Just a few scratches.” Beth sniffed and turned. “My mom.”
Hazel pivoted to Thea’s too-still form. Her fingers on the other witch’s throat, she checked for a pulse. Seconds ticked by. Thea’s eyes stared sightlessly into the night.
“Mom.” Her voice strained, Beth grabbed Thea’s shoulder, shook her a little. “Mom.”
Hazel’s gaze fell onto Thea’s torso, onto the stain of dark red that spread out from the middle of the witch’s chest. Shifting a bit, she noticed the sticky liquid spilling out from underneath the body.
“Beth,” she said gently.
“Mom, come on.” Beth held her hands over her mother’s chest. “By the magic of my line, I call upon the Powers That Be to grant me strength…” Her hands didn’t glow with the telltale sign of magic at work. She stopped, shook her wrists, and started again. Still no glow. “Hazel, help me.”
“Beth.” Hazel swallowed hard, her chest aching. “Beth, she’s gone.”
“No!” Beth’s eyes were wild. “There’s still time. We can heal her, resuscitate her.”
“The colarpo pierced her heart. She’s bled out.” A heavy breath. “There’s no coming back from that.”
“Please.” The younger witch’s voice shook. “Please try.”
Knowing all too well how panic and grief could make one blind to reason, Hazel indulged Beth’s plea, if only to make her see the truth.
Holding her hands over Thea’s chest, Hazel intoned, “By the magic of my line, I call upon Arawn to grant me power…”
