Infernal Father of Mine by John Corwin Read Free Book Online Page B

she managed to contact Ivy and
lure her into a meeting, I wouldn't be able to do a thing about it. Where are they sending us?
    Exorcists filed into the room, some of them
limping from the previous battle with the possessed and that blue
smoke from my father. Without a word, they formed a circle around
the silver ring. Montjoy took his place atop the tall podium, the
effort of climbing so many stairs causing him to huff and puff with
each step. He reached the top and took a moment to catch his
breath.
    "Better stop with the fried foods," I said,
trying to think of some way to delay this banishment. If we could
only stop it for a day, it might give Elyssa time to realize
something was wrong and find us.
    Daelissa backed away a few paces. "I will enjoy
this."
    I had a distinct feeling I would not. "Can't we
talk about it?" I tried to smile. "Daelissa, I know we haven't
always gotten along, but deep down inside, I think you're probably
a really cool person."
    Her upper lip curled into a sneer. "Shut your
mouth, pathetic worm."
    "What the hell did I ever do to
you?"
    She bared her teeth. "You were
born."
    At that point, I decided there was no appealing
to Daelissa's humanity—Seraphinity—or whatever it was called. I
turned to David and whispered, "What are they planning to
do?"
    He shrugged. "Sounds like enslavement in an
alternate realm if I had to guess."
    The Exorcists in the circle began to chant,
softly at first, voices rising into a sonorous song. Any other time
I might have thought it sounded beautiful. Right then, it was just
creepy. Spiders seemed to crawl up my spine as the magic inside the
circle brushed against my skin. I closed my eyes and concentrated,
trying to channel the aether, but felt it slide through my grasp
like oily water. Their ritual was somehow preventing me from
casting spells.
    Damn it, do something!
    Manifesting into demon form would accomplish
nothing. David walked to the edge of the ring. He pressed a hand
against the air, and muttered something under his breath. A glow
spread from his hand, highlighting the curving outline of the
invisible barrier. The ground trembled.
    Daelissa levitated into the air behind the
Exorcists. She smiled and waggled a finger. "Even you cannot escape
this, betrayer."
    David's voice rose to a shout. The ground
buckled. Stone cracked beneath my feet, and a fissure raced toward
the silver circle. It hit the ring and stopped. The volume of his
voice grew louder until it rose above the chanting Exorcists. I
heard the groan of metal. Felt the air grow hot against my skin.
Saw the floor cracking and crumbling beneath our feet.
    From the corner of my eye, I saw Montjoy slash
his hand as he shouted a word. The air within the gray arch cracked
like glass stressed to the breaking point. A spider web of fissures
laced the air. With a roar, the fabric of reality shattered. A gale
of wind tore at me and dragged me toward a ragged hole within the
arch. Beyond it laid a gray void. I suddenly knew without question
where they intended to banish us.
    The Gloom.
    I cried out as the wind dragged me toward
certain doom. Unleashing the demon within, I grew long black claws
and stabbed them into the stone floor. They screeched across the
hard surface as I vainly sought purchase. Muscles snaked around my
arms. A tail ruined the seat of my jeans, jabbing a hole through
them as it sprouted like a prehensile weed. David's legs flew out
beneath him, and his body sailed toward the portal. I wrapped my
tail around David's arm before he flew past. The extra weight
dragged us toward the hole. Sparks flew from my claws as they raked
the floor.
    I looked back. "Don't give up!" I shouted above
the roaring wind.
    My father gave me a calm, almost accepting look
and shook his head.
    I felt my shoulder muscles bunch and strain as
I tried to stab one of my clawed hands into the stone. Rock chips
sprayed as I jabbed them over and over against the unyielding
surface. My claws couldn't take the pounding and