Page 21 of How To Take Down A Cult At The End Of The World

“Let me out, witchling.”

Chapter

Eight

“Meadow!” Charlie yells. He runs to me and drops to his knees beside me. “Are you okay?”

Above me the stars spin and swirl in the sky. It takes me blinking a few times before they come into focus. I don’t think anything is broken. I pat myself down and take a mental inventory of my body searching for any injuries, but I’m okay. The only thing sore is my backside. I definitely landed on my ass. Thank the gods.

I cough and suck in a lungful of air. Sweet, sweet, life giving air. “Mostly. I think. Are you okay?”

“Fuck no, I got knocked like ten feet back. Almost landed on my knife.”

“What?” I jackknife up and look at him. There’s twigs and leaves in his hair and I can see dirt smeared on the side of his face. “Are you hurt?” I reach out to start patting him down but a roar stops me.

I turn to look at the rock. The place where I blasted my energy glows bright silver in the moonlight. It’s not as bright as it was when my magic first hit the stone, and it’s growing fainterby the minute. There’s a flicker and I see a shadow cross the opening.

“Uh…what is that?” I whisper.

“I think it’s a dinosaur,” Charlie whispers and helps me to my feet. “I hope it’s a dinosaur.”

The growl sounds again. It’s louder and this time there’s a thud. The sound of rock against rock. It happens again and debris flies out of the fissure. It takes me a second before I realize whatever is in the boulder just chucked a rock at the fissure. Another rock smashes and more rock shrapnel shoots out to land near us. We’re fifteen or so feet away from the boulder. Whoever is in there is strong. Real strong.

“That’s not a dinosaur. It’s a demon,” I whisper back to Charlie. “Definitely full-sized variety judging by the rocks it’s throwing.”

“It could be a dino. You never know. No one’s ever seen a living one. What if that’s what they do? What if that’s where they went?”

“Charlie-”

A roar pierces the air before we hear the voice again.“Free me. Free me now. You must make haste.”

“I didn’t-who is that? I didn’t summon something, right?” Panic fills me at the thought. Of course the first day I’m a witch, I’d summon something by accident and nearly blast myself into next week. For as BWIT as Charlie says I am, my handle on my powers is nonexistent. What was I thinking coming out here to prove myself? I should have waited for Buffy. I can’t believe that I ever thought I was going to be able tohelp her.I’m not a hero. I’m in too deep and-

The thing I might have summoned roars and stops my existential crisis. Charlie and I both scream and grab onto one another.

“Come closer.”A dark shadow moves and the red light vanishes. “Witchling, let me out.”It’s so close that it’s blocking the light.“Let me out if you want to live. Your end draws near.”

What the hells?

“If I want towhat?” I squawk and drop to my knees to grab the mini bat that’s miraculously landed near us, but when I grab a hold of it, I see all that’s left of it is the handle.

I pick it up anyways and point the sharp end at the boulder. Maybe it’s not a demon. Maybe it’s a vampire. I could handle that. Nina says they aren’t that scary.

“What is that?”

Charlie doesn’t get to answer me. The thing does.

“Why don’t you come and see who I am, witchling. I won’t bite. You know me well, after all.”

“That feels like a lie because I don’t even know you,” I say.

“That’s absolutely a lie. Stay the fuck away from that rock, Meadow.”

I intend to do exactly what Charlie says, I really do and I think the demon or maybe vampire knows that too because when it speaks again, it has something I want.

“I can help you stop the ones you fear. The voices. Your dreams will end. I know your dreams well. You can stop the ones eating the friend you’ve brought with you.”

Eating?