Blood poured outward, thick, red, gushing over his hands, over the blade, running out over the crystal as Sassy clutched at his heart where the knife entered. The family magic reacted instantly, surging upward, repelled by the demon shield. Liam acted before I could think, a thick green ward forming around the bubble of amber.

The family magic fell back, stirred to anger, but unable to find its quary, circling slowly around the pentagram and the macabre scene unfolding before ...