Unveiled: The Cursed Trilogy, Book Three by Betty Legend (recommended ebook reader txt) 📗

terrifying sounds coming from the other side of the doors.

“How many floors are there?”

“Six,” Phoenix tells me. “I counted the windows.”

“I’m not sure that’s accurate,” Cyrus stops before descending the next flight of stairs. “It might be an illusion.”

“What do we do? Keep going in hopes of reaching the ground floor?”

“No, you and Griffin can put your magic together to look past the floors. Look for Emeric. Find him in this castle.” When we look at Cyrus with surprise, he continues. “Remember, Cataleya said we could only defeat the devil with our bonded magic? I’ve been thinking about it. I believe we can tap into stronger magic when we use it together.”

“You’re right,” I tell him. “My own magic is much stronger when I use it all together.”

“Let’s try it then. Both of you sit on the step.”

Griffin and I take a seat next to each other and put our hands together. Turquoise essence swirls around our joined hands.

“Good,” Cyrus encourages. “Now concentrate on Emeric, search for images or his feelings.”

Closing my eyes, I think of his attractive face, his characteristic scar on his cheek, his wicked grin, the way I feel when he touches me.

Like a dream, my mind’s eye travels through the stairwell, to the ground floor, past several rooms. A fuzzy image emerges in front of me—red wings with white tips have golden-white fire dripping from them. A blade in hand, he’s moving through the castle, keeping to the darkness for protection. Looking around a doorway, he freezes. There’s a room full of… him! There are between ten and fifteen exact duplicates of Emeric, all staring at him with red beady eyes.

My eyes snap open. “What the hell?” With furrowed brows, my hands squeeze Griffin’s. “Did you see that?”

“I did.” Griffin looks as confused as I feel. “The devil is up to something,” he warns the others. “He has a room full of demons who have shapeshifted to look identical to Emeric.”

“It’s a ruse.” Phoenix clicks his tongue against his cheek. “When we find Emeric, he wants to make it impossible to pick him out of the crowd.”

Touching the feathers on my arm causes our bonded magic to react. “I don’t think it’ll work. I just need to be able to touch him, and I’ll know if it’s him or not. Which means we can’t kill any of the demons until I’m sure it’s not the real Emeric.”

Phoenix squats down and caresses my back. “You touch them, say the word, we kill them.”

“What’s the word going to be?”

“Death.”

In agreement, I rise from the step.

“Let’s get Emeric back and bind his father to hell.”

CHAPTER TWENTY

SELENE

Demons and ghouls ascend the stairway as we near the ground floor. The devil must know we’re here. Taking them out, we step over their grotesque bodies. My foot slips into the carcass of one of the ghouls, and I gag as warm juices cover my shoe and ankle. Killian lifts me, the juices making a squishy noise as my foot is extracted from the body. Putting me on the ground in front of him, he rubs my back.

“I know, the sights and smells are pushing your limits, being sensitive from your pregnancy.”

“They are,” I confirm, covering my mouth as I gag again. “This place is horrible.”

Phoenix passes me, his hand caressing along my lower back as he does. “Do you need to drink my blood?”

“Yes.”

Biting his wrist, he gives it to me. Immediately after drinking, the nausea dissipates, as does my fatigue and sore muscles.

“Thank you.”

Pulling me in close, he hugs me. “Whatever it takes. I think that’s become our group mantra.”

The guys chuckle.

“Yes, it has,” Griffin agrees. Taking the lead, he accepts the magical light orb Cyrus hands him, then guides us past several rooms that look as if they’re set up for a real castle except for the foul stench, blood-dripping walls, and the deadly staff.

Outside the room we saw Emeric enter, we pause. We can hear Emeric’s voice, but it’s coming from all around the room. Pushing the door open, I take the lead inside, and my heart momentarily stops.

Just like in the vision, there are twelve Emerics in the room arguing, some fighting with different weapons. It’s chaotic and disturbing. The first thing I search for is Emeric’s angel blade. I can’t imagine it can be duplicated. The other guys are at my back, watching this bizarre scene as I am.

“None of them have the angel’s blade.”

“You’re right,” Cyrus confirms. “I don’t think any of these demons are him.”

At the word demon, all eyes face us, and the fighting stops. Shit. Wings expanded, fire in their hands, all twelve Emerics come at us.

“We need all of our magic at once,” I yell.

Our hands rise, and our magic is freed, soaring through the air at the demon look-alikes. Our magic essence twists and swirls around the magic next to it until it merges into a moving wall of energy, blasting the demon look-alikes, turning them to ash.

Breathing again, I remain still, stunned by the power of our magic and that we just killed Emeric doppelgangers.

“It wasn’t him.” Griffin cups my shoulders, pulling me to him. “It wasn’t him, love.”

Tears pool in my eyes. “That didn’t make it any easier.”

“Seleeeeene…” The devil’s voice echoes from the hall, putting my hair on end. “I know you’re here, witch. You’ve left a trail of bodies…” His voice is coming nearer. “…leading…” Abruptly, I turn to face the door. “…right to you.”

The devil walks into the room, and we back up, putting more space between us and him.

“I want to play a game.”

“We’re not here to play games,” I bark. “Where is Emeric?”

“That’s the game, witch.” With a wave of his hand, a black hour-glass sand timer emerges in his hand. “Find him before the sand runs out, and you all get to leave. If you don’t, well…” His smirk is pure evil. “Then I get to keep all of you for eternity.”

“Stop with the tricks and pathetic show of power.