Chapter 28: The sacrihfice

The symbols glowing on the floor were red; the concrete floor inside the circle split open and released heat and sulfur stench. Smoke rising from Raze's body rose toward the ceiling and sank back into the crack like water falling into a drainpipe.

"Listen!" Vance yelled above the noise. "He's breaking it open. He doesn't need the vessel anymore. He uses the leftover magic from the room to fuel the portal."

Zoe took a couple of steps back, scraping her boots across the floor. "What is coming out of there? What is in there?"

Vance's face was pale, with beads of sweat forming on his forehead. "Lesser demons. Once the portal reaches its maximum size, they'll crawl out of there, and there's no stopping them."

I fell to my knees by the edge of the circle and pressed my hands to the hot concrete. Flames of blue color appeared under my palms, rising to meet the red glow. Sparks flew between them and, for a split second, the crack seemed to pause.

"I can't do it," Raze's voice rang from the crack, the smoke and the walls at the same time. "You can't close it, little witch. This place has been saturated with demon magic for weeks. The portal is firmly rooted and it won't move from here."

Jenna grabbed me by the shoulders and pulled me back from the circle. "Stop this, you're going to burn yourself out. Look at your hands!"

My hands had gone back to their initial state. Blisters covered my palms and my fingers, leaving them red and inflamed. "I don't care about my hands."

"Yes, you should," Jenna answered. "You'll have no chance fighting Cross if you have blisters on your hands."

Mira was lying on the floor, covering her nose and mouth with her hand. She coughed and, when she was finally able to look at me, I saw that her eyes were brown, her face was pale. She looked at the crack and then at me.

"I can close it," Mira said, with a voice that had trouble breathing. "Raze still has connection to me. He can't fully break it because a piece of him is in my blood. I'm willing to step into the circle and call him back. The portal will collapse."

Zoe shook her head. "Yes, it will kill you. You know that, right?"

"Yes, I know it will kill me," Mira answered. "But I started this. I allowed him to enter Zoe's body and mine. I owe you for what I've done to your coven."

I grabbed Mira's arm and tried to drag her away from the circle. "No, there must be another way to solve this problem. We'll find another solution."

"No, there isn't any other way," Mira pulled her arm back. "I've been inside the grimoire, I know that spell. A willing sacrifice can seal any breach. It's the oldest rule in magic."

Jenna stepped closer to Mira. "She's right, I've heard of that rule. Just never seen anyone use it."

Mira stood on her feet with difficulty. She grabbed the wall with her hand and walked to the edge of the circle. She turned her head and looked at me.

"Please tell Dorian that I'm sorry for everything," she said. "For the coven, for Zoe, for all of it."

And before I could react, Mira stepped into the red glow.

The smoke began screaming, while Raze's roar was heard so loudly that I could feel it in my ears. "No! You will destroy us both if you do this!"

Mira raised her hands and the red light sucked into her body like water being drained away. Cracks in the floor closed and the heat disappeared. The smoke condensed into a thread of black color that flew across the room and vanished into Mira's mouth.

Her body jerked violently, her back arched, arms thrown wide and she fell onto the floor, her head hitting the concrete with a thud.

The basement fell silent. The only light was given by the lone bulb which stopped flickering.

Vance checked Mira's pulse and, after a couple of seconds, looked up. "She is still alive, barely. But Raze is inside her again. He's trapped for the moment, and the portal is closed."

Zoe whispered, "She saved us. She actually saved us."

I looked at Mira, lying on the floor. She breathed faintly, her lips blue, blood in her hair.

"We have to take her upstairs," I said. "Now."

\---

Dorian lay on the floor of Jenna's room, back against the wall. His eyes were open and he tried to sit up as we carried Mira in.

"What happened down there?" he asked.

I fell to my knees besides him. My legs refused to hold me. "Mira sealed the portal. Raze is trapped inside her body again."

Vance laid Mira on the bed and pulled the blanket over her. "The binding won't last long this time, maybe a week. Maybe less. Her body's too weak and he'll escape again."

Dorian looked at me. "Your hands."

I looked down and realized that the blisters had spread to my fingers as well, leaving my skin cracked and bleeding. "They'll heal."

A knock on the door made all of us freeze.

Zoe approached the door and peeped through the peephole. Then she backed away. "It's a student. He's holding another envelope, just like last time."

Vance opened the door. The student was human; his eyes were glazed. He handed the letter to Vance and walked away without uttering a word.

Vance opened the envelope and extracted a sheet of paper that was written in red ink.

"You survived the demon," he read out loud. "Impressive, but I'm not done yet. The next blood moon is in three days. Bring me the demon or I'll burn your whole campus to the ground. No more warnings. No more deals. – Cross"

Dorian tried to stand up but his legs buckled and he had to grab the wall to stabilize himself. "He won't stop until one of us dies."

I grabbed the letter from Vance and examined the red handwriting on the sheet. "Then we stop him first. We have three days to think how we're going to kill him."

Jenna crossed her arms. "We know his weakness now. It's a scar on his chest. With silver to the scar."

Zoe took the pipe from the corner. "I can get close to him. He doesn't even notice me."

Dorian shook his head. "He'll kill you before you get within ten feet distance. He's too fast and we're too slow."

Vance opened the grimoire and flipped through pages. "There's a spell inside that can slow him down. Not bind him, just slow him down enough so that someone can stab him."

I looked at Mira, laying on the bed. Her eyes were closed, her breathing faint. "If we kill Cross, will it stop Raze from opening the portal?"

Vance shook his head. "No. Cross wants the demon for himself. He's a threat but not connected to the portal. Raze can still open it without him."

Dorian looked at me. "Then we have two enemies. Two threats to deal with and three days."

I looked at Mira on the bed. At my blistered hands. At Dorian's ashen face. At Zoe's trembling fingers holding the pipe.

"We have to kill Cross first," I said. "Then we'll see what we have to do about Raze."

Jenna nodded. "That's the only plan we have."

Zoe looked outside the window. The moon was bright and snowflakes began falling again. "Three days isn't much."

Dorian grabbed my hand. His fingers were cold. "We've done more with less time."

I looked into his eyes. The cracks on his chest, the way his jaw tightened when he smiled.

"We start tomorrow," I said. "Tonight, we rest."

No one argued.

I leaned my head against the wall and closed my eyes.

Cross had three days.

So did we.