Lost in Prophecy: An Urban Fantasy Novel (The Ascension Series) (Volume 5) Read Online Free PDF Page A

ringing the room rather than the prisoner.
    Gerard barked a laugh. “You think that was her primary plan? You really thought she was going to try to stab you?” He said it loudly, grandly, playing to the audience. They all laughed. Of course they all knew how hard Gremory was. Of course the Father knew better than to hope she could damage him physically.
    She couldn’t falter when people were watching. She couldn’t have doubts.
    Gerard was right, though. She had already suspected that torturing Gremory wouldn’t be possible.
    Elise paused to gather herself, eyes closed, taking a deep breath. This is just another performance. She was about to go on stage to compete for a regional title. She only had to dance for a board of harsh judges and walk away with the prize. The fact that her dance partner of the day was in chains and the only accompaniment was the pounding of her heart didn’t change the fact that it was just another performance.
    It would have been easier with James beside her.
    She opened her eyes and turned to face the spectators. With her teeth, she tugged on each finger of her left-hand glove, loosening it. Then she peeled it away.
    Gasps and hushed whispers spread over the walkways.
    Her hand was covered in fiery orange runes that crawled over her knuckles, slithered between her fingers, orbited the joint of her thumb.
    Infernal runes.
    Elise lowered her arm and turned back to Gremory before the spectators could see that the runes were flickering. Not the flicker of fire, but the flicker of failing power. Every time the symbols darkened, pain lanced to her elbow.
    She didn’t let it show on her face.
    “Do you recognize this?” she asked, curling her fist around the magic, concealing the weakening runes from his view. Flames licked between her fingers.
    Doubt had crept into Gremory’s features. He pulled on his chains, as if testing their strength. “Impossible.”
    “Tell me where to find Belphegor.”
    After a beat, he said, “No.”
    She wasn’t going to ask him again.
    Elise took off her warding ring, letting the full sense of magic settle over her. With her opposite hand, she gripped his throat. “I am the Father,” she said, loud enough for everyone to hear her. “Behold.”
    Time to do the tango.
    She let a word of power roll off of her tongue.
    It spilled from her core, striking the air like a tuning fork rapped against stone. The tone was almost right. A little sharp.
    The rune under her thumb flared.
    Fire washed over Gremory. He radiated bonfire heat, veins burning bright red.
    His head fell back and he screamed.
    It was burning him—actually hurting a demon like Belphegor—so Elise didn’t let go. But she felt the wrongness in the spell. It was flickering harder. Her bones were shaking. The burn was creeping up her arm, lashing back against the wielder.
    If she held it, she would be reduced to ash.
    She gritted her teeth and pushed hard with all her willpower, trying to shove the magic into him.
    Gremory’s eyes opened again. He glared at her.
    “No,” he repeated.
    His will was weaker than hers, but he wasn’t the one draining himself by using untested, hacked-together warlock magic.
    She pushed, and Gremory pushed back.
    The runes fizzled out. Her hand went blank.
    “Shit,” Elise said.
    With a roar, Gremory wrenched his arms down. The chains had been weakened by Elise’s faulty magic, too—they snapped.
    His fist seemed to come from nowhere.
    The blow sent Elise flying. Her back smacked into the wall, and she bounced off onto the floor.
    Gremory was laughing as the humans fired on him with human guns. The bullets didn’t touch him.
    And the spectators were watching every moment of it.
    Elise had just fallen on a grand jeté.
    Have to recover.
    The gibborim threw himself on top of Gremory, and they wrestled, rolling across the tiled floor with a rain of meaty slaps and grunts. Her guard didn’t stand a chance against the prisoner. But the distraction gave her an instant