Rather than let the fire burn down we decided to keep it burning strong this time. It helped keep the area around the cabin lit up, but even more importantly it kept us all warm. The nights were cool up here last April, it was just as cold now.

The four of us sat together on the big logs, we were bundled up in warm clothes and sharing blankets wrapped around us. And we were all sipping our drinks too, though we weren't overdoing it.

"Anybody wanna roast marshmallows?" I asked at one point.

That idea was met with mumbled "no thanks" and "not tonight".

I was pretty sure they all felt the same as me. Equal parts excited and anxious. Even though it was probably going to go fine, like we got through this with Verothilas last December and it was ok. And we didn't even really know what we were doing that time, now we were experienced and stuff. On the other hand it was still a big deal, and I had first-hand knowledge of how scary Armaros was in person.

As usual we had no idea what time it was, and like last April I was starting to wonder if maybe we'd missed it or something, when Lily finally spoke up.

"It's just about time Mara," she stated, and from the sound of her voice I got the feeling she was kind of on edge as well.

"Ok Lily," I replied, then I addressed my girlfriends. "It's almost time. I'm going to turn things over to Lily, and I guess I'll see you all when it's over."

There were some quiet nodds of acknowledgement, while I pulled myself back and into my demon mom's apartment.

As soon as I was there I gave her a hug and told her, "Good luck Lily!"

She hugged me back and smiled, "Thank you Mara. If all goes well, when it's over I'll probably be asleep again till noon. But neither you or the others should be affected at all."

"I know," I smiled. "I'll be there cheering you on though."

She smiled back, then she stepped out into the body and took over.

First Lily went into the cottage and got the little bag of supplies, then returned to the fire. She started preparing a large circle around the whole fire-pit, then when it was done she used salt to go over the circle and markings again. Next she set up all the candles around the circle, but she didn't light them yet.

Finally she took out the protective amulet she made at the last new moon. She slipped the gold chain over our head so it hung around our neck, over our chest.

When that was done she told my girlfriends, "All right girls, time to go."

They quietly headed back to the cottage, and we followed. With the others all inside, Lily took out some chalk and started drawing protective runes across the front of the building. And when the runes were complete she did her demonic chanting or whatever, so that the cottage and everyone inside would be safe.

We could see them all gathered by the window to watch, and their emotions were pretty easy to read in their expressions.

Amber was kind of excited and curious, and maybe a little disappointed that she was hanging out in the safety of the cottage with the others. Like maybe she wanted another big hit of demonic energy, even if we knew this was potentially dangerous.

Susan was curious as well, but at the same time she looked happy that the three of them were safe. She didn't want any more demonic energy for herself, she didn't want to lose the last of her humanity.

And Melissa was worried about how this would affect me, since I'd be right there with Lily when it happened. Even though my demon mom had already taken steps to ensure I was safe and protected inside, and we were wearing that amulet. According to Lily, that would keep me safe from any more demonic magic.

When the spell on the cottage was finished we turned and moved back to the large circle she'd made surrounding the fire pit. The bonfire was still going strong, and Lily placed the bronze medallion in its spot at the north end of the circle. With a word and gesture all eleven candles burst into flame, and everything was ready.

She straightened up and took a step back then warned me, "I'm about to begin Mara. We should be safe, this should work like it did for Verothilas last year. Neither you or your girlfriends should receive any energy from this encounter, but I can't guarantee..."

"I get it Lily," I replied as I watched from her big leather sofa. "I trust you, and whatever happens I'm ok with it. So let's do it!"

"Thank you Mara," she smiled slightly. Then she focused on the large circle, and began her chanting.

Just like last year, the salt slowly started to glow a dull red, and the flames from the candles and the bonfire burned even brighter.

Lily's incantations got louder and more intense over the next couple minutes until the very end when she shouted our enemy's true name.

A ball of red and white light swirled and flickered in the middle of the circle. It quickly grew larger until it seemed to fill the circle from one side to the other, and it must have reached fifteen feet into the air.

Then it faded and he was there. Seeing him again sent a shock of fear through me, and I couldn't help cringing as I sat on the big sofa in Lily's apartment.

Just like I remembered, he stood at least ten feet tall and his skin was bronze-coloured. His body rippled with thick, powerful muscles and he was half covered by rock-hard impenetrable scales. His black feathered wings were folded over his back, but his long thick tail swished angrily back and forth with the wicked-looking barbed stinger exposed. He had large thick black rams-horns growing out the sides of his head, and his eyes glowed with an angry yellow colour.

"WHO DARES SUMMON..." he started to roar, but his voice trailed off as he finally noticed us standing outside the circle.

His expression shifted from rage to confusion, and he asked "Mara? Impossible, you're dead."

I was still cringing on the sofa as my demon mom responded, "No Armaros, not Mara. I know you killed my progeny, now I'm going to have my revenge."

Our enemy actually seemed to relax, his demeanour shifted to almost casual. He even smiled slightly.

"Lilith, I should have known it was you. I assume you're behind Verothilas' disappearance?"

"Correct," Lily replied. Her voice was cold, hateful. "You killed my child, Armaros. Verothilas has already felt my wrath, now it's your turn."

Last year when we had Verothilas captured in a circle like this she was angry, and maybe a bit scared. She tried to escape, and tried to attack. Armaros was different. He seemed calm, casual, and he didn't show any fear or anger at all. It was kind of worrying.

He still had that little smile on his face as he replied, "Took you long enough to figure that out Lilith. But you never were that bright, were you? Nor were you ever terribly strong. And now you're even weaker. Trapped in that half-human body, you've no chance against me and you know it."

"I defeated your lover," Lily stated, "And I've beaten you as well. It's over, you've already lost."

"Have I?" Armaros asked calmly.

He was still smiling, he almost looked smug. Then he spoke again and I suddenly knew why he wasn't the least bit worried.

"Kneel before me Azatholilitoth," he ordered. "You may not speak in my presence!"

I felt a shock of panic go through me. He knew Lily's true name, which meant he could control her, just like we meant to control him. And he beat us to it.

Lily's eyes went wide as she sank to her knees outside the circle. Our heart-rate spiked, and I leaped up off the sofa and started pacing around Lily's apartment as I freaked out wondering what to do.

After watching us for a moment Armaros added, "Azatholilitoth, you have no need for that protective bauble. Remove it and dispose of it."

Lily reached up and took off the gold necklace she'd enchanted to keep me safe, then tossed it in the direction of the lake.

Meanwhile, Armaros was gloating as he stood inside the circle. "You see Lilith, I've known you for seven thousand years. I made sure to uncover your true name ages ago."

My demon mom couldn't speak but I could tell she was panicking, and I could feel her fear.

"Don't be so surprised Lilith," Armaros stated. He looked and sounded confident, like he knew he'd already won. "We're demons, betraying each other is what we do best. Yourself, Verothilas, Efranir, I made sure to learn all your true names before I was willing to ally with any of you."

He smiled down at us as we remained on our knees just outside the circle. "As I said, you never had a chance against me. It was a good effort though. And don't worry about your little pets..."

Armaros gestured towards the cottage, where I knew my girlfriends were all watching and probably freaking out about what was going on. "They'll make a very entertaining snack after you're gone."

That sent another shock of fear through both me and Lily, and I found myself standing by the window staring out at him as I wondered again what to do.

Our enemy looked down at us with a smug confident smile, then ordered "Now Azatholilitoth, you will release me from this circle!"

"No!" I shouted, and I reacted almost on instinct.

It was something Lily did to me a few times last summer, but I'd never even thought to try it on her before. I forced my way out into the body, which pushed her into the background.

It meant she couldn't talk or move or act, she was sort of stuck in that in-between place where she wasn't in her apartment but she wasn't controlling our body either. She'd be able to see and hear and feel everything, but she was just a passenger for now.

As soon as I was in control of our body I was on my feet. My heart was racing and I tried not to freak out. With Lily sort of trapped she wasn't able to carry out our enemy's orders, but she couldn't really help me either. And I had no idea what to do next.

Armaros frowned at me and repeated his order, "Azatholilitoth release me from this circle immediately!"

I gulped but shook my head, "Not a chance!"

"Impossible," he said as his calm demeanour faltered. "You cannot refuse my commands, I'm using your true name!"

Seeing him get uneasy helped me feel more confident, and I shook my head again. "You might know my mom's name, but you don't know mine. I'm the other Mara, the one you didn't kill."

He still wasn't scared, but he was definitely confused and maybe even a little worried.

Armaros opened his mouth to speak, but I cut him off.

"Armażektæveliros!" I half-shouted at him. "Sit down and shut up!"

His eyes widened as he finally showed fear, but he did as I said. He sat down on the ground and stayed quiet.

That solved my immediate problem, but I still didn't know what to do about him. I knew we couldn't keep him in that circle forever, and I started pacing again as my mind raced.

I wanted to turn things back over to my demon mom, but I couldn't take the chance that she might be forced to carry out his last order. I figured if I could talk to her, that would at least let me know if she was still under his control or if she could give me some guidance or something.

"Lily?" I whispered to myself. "I don't know what to do next. Can you help me? Or tell me what to do?"

For a few seconds there was nothing, but before I could ask again a thought crossed my mind that I should kneel at the north part of the circle, where the bronze medallion was waiting.

It wasn't like Lily's voice when she talked to me, it was like the thought popped into my head. I knew it had to be from her though. When I was in that in-between place I couldn't talk either, so I figured she was using something like telepathy to communicate with me.

I moved and kneeled there, and I remembered that's what she did with Verothilas last year.

"Ok," I whispered. "What next?"

Demonic words appeared in my mind, along with how to actually pronounce them. I knew they were demonic, they reminded me of the spells I'd already learned. And the way they flowed together reminded me again of the ritual last December, so I figured this was Lily telling me how to imprison Armaros.

I nodded and took a deep breath, then started chanting the words.

Our enemy was still sitting quietly inside the big circle, and as I chanted his expression shifted to full-on fear. He knew what we were doing, and he knew he couldn't stop it.

The words continued to appear in my mind and as they did I kept reciting them. The ritual was slowly building up in pace and intensity, and my heart was pounding in my chest as I kept focused on the words and the circle.

After a minute or two the circle started filling with swirling red and white light. Within a couple minutes I couldn't even see Armaros anymore, as the light filled the whole space up to about fifteen or twenty feet high.

My chanting finally reached its peak, then just like at the winter solstice it all sort of went off like a bomb full of demonic magic. Except instead of a warm pulse it actually burned.

Everything went white as the blinding light filled my vision, and my whole body felt like I'd been thrown into the sun or something.

Luckily the burning only lasted for a split second, then it ended abruptly as everything went dark.

PurpleCatGirl

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