Page 90 of Demon's Mate

Ash’s teeth clenched so hard they almost cracked.Fuck.

Luc turned on Dante, not bothering to get up, his hands sparking as he prepared another blast. Dante threw the glowing contents of the vial in Luc’s face.

A flash of white light filled the room.

Ash’s retinas burned, and he saw stars. Once his vision cleared, he took a staggering step forward, heart beating slowly.

Luc was frozen, his eyes open and unmoving.

Dante pocketed the empty vial. “It won’t last long.”

“What was that?” Harper asked.

Ash released his protective fire, and Harper rushed into his arms.

“A sedative potion. I’ve been strengthening it with my blood for years.” Dante nudged Luc’s shoulder with his foot. “It won’t work as well as it would have if he’d swallowed it. We have to act fast.”

“I didn’t know demons could brew,” Harper said, words coming out in a rush.

Dante gave him an affectionate grin, temporarily banishing the harsh furrow in his brow. “Witches got their powers fromdemons. I don’t think there’s anything a witch can do that we can’t. But we can discuss that later.”

“Yes, later.” Ash folded one of Luc’s wings against his body. “He’s going to be a beast to transport in his full form.”

Dante grunted in agreement. “We need to get him to Onyx so we can open the prison.”

They’d crafted a cell for Lucifer weeks ago. The prison wasn’t tied to a location on Earth, so a gateway to the inter-realm cell could be opened anywhere, but they didn’t have enough power to open it without Onyx.

If only the petulant demon hadn’t stormed off.

“What about Harper?” Ash’s gut twisted. “We can’t carry him and Luc all the way to Onyx.” It would take both Ash and Dante to carry a deadweight demon with his full wingspan.

“I’ll be okay.” Harper pulled out his phone. “I’ll book a ride home and stay in the apartment. Unless Lucifer broke your protections? I don’t know how he got onto the roof of my building.”

The roof? What the hell? How had Harper ended up on the roof with Luc? “Lucifer must have been able to get past my protections using his illusion. He wouldn’t have had to break my spell. I set it to allow me, Dante, or Onyx in without trouble.”

“Shit, his disguise was almost foolproof.” Harper looked up from his phone. “The car is two minutes away.”

“Great. We can wait for it to arrive, but then we need to go. I’ll call Onyx.” Dante pulled out his phone and pressed it to his ear.

Ash pulled Harper close. “I’m so sorry, sweet. I let you down.”

Harper met his eye. “No, Ash, you saved me.”

Ash’s chest tightened. He’d almost lost his flower. “It was too close a call. Luc broke my tracking spell, and I almost didn’t get here in time.”

“But you found me. Youdidget here in time.”

Ash ran a hand through Harper’s hair. “Yes, but if Luc hadn’t broken his own illusion, I wouldn’t have been able to. Here, let me recast the tracking before you go.” He hurried to redo the spell so he wouldn’t lose Harper again.

“The car’s here.” Harper showed Ash the notification on his phone.

He nodded, taking the extra few moments to complete his spell before releasing Harper.

Dante picked up Luc’s legs. “We need to go. Onyx isn’t answering.”

Fucking typical. Ash grunted, clasping Harper’s shoulder. “Go straight home.” Harper nodded, and Ash pulled him into a crushing kiss. “I’ll be there soon.”

“And I’ll be waiting for you.” Harper smiled softly.