The Ascension Series, Books 1-3 by SM Reine

Author:SM Reine [Reine, S M]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Red Iris Books

Seth had never seen an exorcism before, but he somehow doubted that many of them were performed in a tiny shack with a half-dozen witnesses, almost all of them armed.

Elise had dropped Katja in the center of the circle, where Leticia’s chalk lines converged. Elise was without a weapon for the moment, but her look of determination was as intimidating as any number of swords, even if her skin was unusually gray, her hair foggy below the shoulders, and her stance wobbling.

Anthony, wedged in the corner of the room, had enough guns on him to make up for Elise’s empty hands. He cradled a rifle with the casual confidence of a man who used them every day, and the kind of caution that came with seeing the damage they could inflict. Even Leticia, on his opposite side, was holding a knife—although she had told Seth that it was a ritual knife, and he had no reason to be afraid of it.

Rylie wasn’t armed, either, but she didn’t need to be. She was crouched on the opposite side of the circle, chewing on her thumbnail as she stared intently at Katja.

She pointedly wasn’t looking at Seth. He tried to pretend that it didn’t hurt.

“Close the circle,” Elise said.

Leticia spilled the last inch of salt over the circle. Elise sucked in a hard breath and squeezed her eyes shut.

If something had changed, Seth couldn’t tell what it was.

“Don’t cross the lines until the ritual is over,” Leticia said softly, twisting her hands over the hilt of the ritual knife. “I’m not good at the flexible circles. With this one, if you step over one of those lines…” She pointed at the inner ring, which was ten feet in diameter. “Step over that, and the whole thing breaks. It’ll blow the ritual.”

“Noted,” Seth said, stroking a hand down the barrel of his rifle. It was loaded with silver rounds. They were as thick as his thumb, and guaranteed to stop anything in its tracks—even werewolves.

“Shut up, guys,” Elise said. “I need to concentrate.”

They fell silent.

She lifted her hand. It was like the thrashing fingers had assumed a will of their own. That wasn’t as disturbing as the fact that her skin had taken on a dull, glassy appearance below the elbow. He could see the shadows of her bones underneath.

It was with her other hand, her more normal hand, that she unspooled the golden chains from around her neck. She rested the chains on Katja’s prone body.

McIntyre sidled into the shack, only opening the door far enough to fit his girth in. The smoke was creeping over his property and beginning to turn the sky hazy gray; Seth couldn’t see more than ten feet beyond the front door. “It’s all up the west coast,” he whispered to Anthony. “This smoke. There are earthquakes, magma, and sightings of demons all over the show.”

“Was there another mass murder?” Anthony asked, just as quietly.

“I don’t know. I didn’t get any of the Union’s alarms.” And then

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