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.” A female voice taunted.“Shut the fuck up!” Storm shouted angrily as he continued his journey and noticed how thejagged rocks changed to soft, loose earth he could easily dig his fingers into.“Just a few more paces,” the man’s voice came again.“Don’t give up.Never give up.They don’t want you to succeed.”“I won’t fail,” Storm’s voice came out in a bold huff as he savagely dug his bloodiedfingertips into the earth.“You’re so damned powerless.” The female voice taunted.“Rose and her entire family will burn and there’s nothing you can do to save them.I should have destroyed her while I was inside of her.”“You!” Storm’s anger escalated, but quickly he realized it was only a trap to set him backfurther.When the mist dissipated, a shapely dark figured formed, watching him intently.Up ahead, the entrance came into view.It looked to be lit by candlelight and for a briefsecond, he thought he saw Rose pacing back and forth.“Rose?” he gulped, and crawled alongfurther until the she-demon hopped onto his back, digging her claws into him.Storm reached upand around, grabbing the thing’s long wiry hair and pulled.“Get off me.”“You’ll carry me where I want to be.Then, I’ll finish your precious witch off for banishingme in the first place,” the creature spat out with a haunting cackle.“Obsidian?”“Come to me, Storm,” Rose called mentally.Rose’s voice snapped his attention to the portal in the cavern wall and he stood.Aggravated,he twisted to the right and slammed the creature into the pointy rocks of the cavern until shescreamed.He continued walking, despite the pain in his body, with Obsidian at his heels.“You will all pay for what you’ve done to me,” the creature called after him.“Selfish one,will you truly risk bringing me back into the McQueen home?” she cackled again.Storm smiled as Rose’s presence filtered through him, guiding him, bringing him closer toher.Their strong mental connection had returned and her voice was audible.“Storm.”“Rose.It’s Obsidian.She’s right behind me.She wants revenge.”“Tell her to bring it.Bring your ass home.Back to me.”With a smile, he gathered his speed, charging through the portal.Chapter EightGrasping the black leather satchel in her hands, Rose stood directly in front of the portal, with Viola standing at her side.“You ready for this, girl?” Viola asked her.“As ready as I’ll ever be.”Storm’s spirit emerged from the portal first and for a few seconds, it hovered around hisbody until it slammed into him.With a woosh, Storm sucked in a deep breath and sprung straight up into bed.He wheezed several times then he was coughing.The smell of sulfur assaulted Rose’s senses when Obsidian charged through the portal andsolidified.Thanks to the protective circle surrounding the bed, she could move no further than the wall.Struggling, Obsidian looked down at her body and narrowed her eyes before returning her evilgaze to Rose and Viola.“What have you witches done to me?” she sneered.Wrinkling her nose in disgust, Rose observed the charred skin of the demon and her yellowcat-like eyes.Long black hair fell over her shoulders in a ragged, sordid mess, and her clothes were an olive green color.“Say the chant, now!” Viola ordered.Clenching the black leather bag in her hand, Rose mouthed the words with Viola that wouldfinally banish the demon to where it belonged.“Through darkness it came, escaping its pain.Banish this evil for once and for all.Bind it in chains.In hell forever, it shall remain.”When Rose tossed the leather satchel at Obsidian’s feet, the she-demon grimaced in pain,and threw her head back in torment while being sucked back into the portal.Her curses and hisses echoed as the opening closed.Before the women could even react, a tremor shook the house, knocking vases and vials offthe shelves of the bedroom.Pictures fell and shattered onto the floor as Viola and Rose lost their balance.Rose made her way over to where Storm lay, and the tremors continued until everythingbecame quiet again.Outside she could hear the car alarms sounding off and commotion from her relatives on thelower levels of the McQueen Manor, but for now all she focused on was Storm.She caressed hishead in her arms and kissed him.“His wounds need tending to.” Viola grabbed a white porcelain basin and filled it with waterfrom the bathroom.Then she gathered several herbs from Rose’s cabinets and emptied everythinginto the basin.Grabbing a fresh white towel, she soaked it in the solution and gently dabbed his face.“Are you okay?” Rose asked.With a ragged breath, he reached up and gently caressed her cheek.“Better now that I’mhome,” he said with a chuckle as Viola continued cleaning the blood from his flesh.“You didn’t give up on me.”“Of course not,” she whispered.“We knew Obsidian would try to escape when you did.”“You made it, son.You don’t know how happy that makes me.” Viola dipped the cloth intowater, wrung it out and dabbed his forehead again.“Is everyone okay?” Storm sat up, despite Rose’s protests.“You need to rest,” she commanded.”“I’m okay, although not complete.”Rose tilted her head at him.“What do you mean?”“I’m powerless.”Viola’s mouth popped open.“How can that be?”He inhaled slowly and gazed steadily at them.“It’s because of my doubts of what and who Iam.” He turned to look at Rose.“Us.If I fail, I’ll have to return to the Netherworld.”“No, that’s not an option.Who the hell says this?” Rose cursed.“The Keeper of the Netherworld.”“No, I want to speak with him,” Rose demanded.“Don’t tell me I’ll have to go down thereand—“You can’t do that Rose,” Viola warned
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