Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 111353 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 557(@200wpm)___ 445(@250wpm)___ 371(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 111353 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 557(@200wpm)___ 445(@250wpm)___ 371(@300wpm)
“And that power can be yours.”
“Ours?” someone spoke up. “How?”
I smiled mirthlessly. “This is why I was sent. I am looking for someone strong, someone worthy, someone willing to do whatever it takes to achieve greatness. Listen, demons, and listen close:
The hallow of the air gives an aigrette light and fair.
From the hallow of the sea, steal what he has given thee.
For the hallow of the fire, light the pyre—burn the sire.
Among the hallow of the wood, join thy shackles to his manhood.”
“Shackle thyself to what?” blurted a feathered demon. “What the fuck kind of sex play is this?”
My smile held. “It’s not a sex play, it’s a challenge. A challenge I won’t just be putting to you, but to every creature in hell. Werewolves, vampires, fae, dryads, ghouls, shades, sirens, succubi, and so on. Anyone who finds the hallows of the wood, air, sea, and flames; collects the items of the spell; and then brings those items back to me will be granted the final key to becoming the All Hallows.
“And when you do, you can blow open the gates of hell and return all beings to where they truly belong, or,” I stressed, “you can rise up to where you truly belong.”
“Truly belong?” repeated that same she-wolf demon. “Say more.”
“With the power of the All Hallows brimming at your fingertips, the lords of hell might as well be mice before giants. You can overthrow them with”—I laughed lightly—“a snap of your fingers.”
Stunned silence rippled through the crowd.
“Whoa, hold up.” I couldn’t see who was speaking. “What is this? You just show up here, bald as a damn egg, announce you’re a witch, and then tell us if we hunt down some crap for you, you’ll give us the power of a god in exchange? Why would you do that?” she demanded. “And why would you want us to overthrow the lords?”
I rolled my eyes. “I don’t want you to do anything. It makes no difference to me whether you overthrow the people who ripped your souls from you after you crossed the gates and turned you into half men, half beasts. Or if you do nothing and keep being their kicked-around bootlickers.” My tone was the music of unbothered. “My task was to share this fate with you, it’s not to force you to accept it.”
“How do we know this is real! How do we know you’re really a witch?”
I scoffed, rolling my eyes again. “The day you psychopaths tried to burn me at the stake, I stopped time and skipped right out of your clutches.”
Okay, that was my mother, but they didn’t need to know all that.
“How much more proof do you need?”
Again more whispers and titters. Again more suspicious looks. And even so, I could sense a shift.
“So, you’re saying you came here to bestow the power of a god to whomever completes your little scavenger hunt first?” asked one of the girl gang lackeys at the front table. “What’s in it for you? If demons open the gates, we’re kicking all the Others the fuck through it. Why would you want them back in the mortal world after you went through all the trouble of banishing them?”
“Simple,” I clipped. “Power.”
“Power?”
I tipped my head. “In the last three hundred years, regular mortals have bred like rabbits. There’s now a billion of them, and they’re all armed and violently fearful of everything and everyone they don’t understand. Because of this, witches have gone deep into hiding. We have to pretend that we also don’t exist if we want to live in peace, but no more.”
This was all complete horsehockey, of course, but I had to give them an explanation they’d understand. And demons understood power.
“With supernatural creatures outnumbering the mortals once again, it’ll be them running scared. Them cowering in the dark. And most importantly”—I smirked—“when the supernaturals return, they’ll do so under the power and the authority of the witches. They will pledge to serve us as we create a new era—the age of witches.”
“How is that supposed to work when you just said you’re offering up this All Hallows crap to the leeches, mutts, and Others too?”
I shrugged, giggling. “It works because I never said demons would be spared. Whoever finds the hallows and brings their items to me first, will earn amnesty for their entire species. They will be granted limitless power alongside the witches, and partner with us in creating this new age... while all others are crushed beneath our boots.”
The blowback was immediate.
“Fuck you!”
“I’ll show you where to shove that boot!”
“We’ll never let you witchy shits get power over us!” An alligator demon shoved to the front. “And your cunt-ven will get the message when I send you back in pieces!”
Ronin was up and out of his seat in a blink, thumb and pointer finger ready to—