door, making the kids scream more.
“Just … stay close,” I told them as I guided them both behind me.
Watching the demons, I drew my sword from its scabbard and lunged at the first demon before it could attack us. I cut through the demon’s middle, its dark blood staining my sword and the floor at my feet. I moved on to the next demon, and the next, and the next, until the path was clear again.
“Come on.” I turned to the kids, but both of them stood a few feet back, their eyes huge, their faces white, and their limbs shaking like bamboo in the wind. Fuck, this was too much for them. “I don’t have time to explain.” I grabbed their shoulders and steered them toward the door. More demons crawled into the house through the broken windows. I opened the door and pushed the kids out. “Go! Run to Lia at the library! She’ll know what to do. Don’t stop for anything.” They both stared at me, too stunned to move. “GO!” I roared.
Tripping on their own feet, Sabrina and Kevin took off toward the street. I sent a silent prayer to the gods and hoped the kids would be fine, that they would find Lia and escape this town.
I twirled my sword in my hands and turned to the incoming demons crowding the hallway. I ran toward them, through them, slashing and cutting and pushing back wherever was needed. Although the hallway was only a few feet long, it seemed to take me an eternity to cross it.
The lights in the house, which had been off, flickered, and darkness filled the kitchen.
“Get out!” Kenna shouted, releasing her power into Nigel. Slowly, her hair began changing, the brown color fading away, showing the blond of her strands.
The man raised his arms and the darkness reflected off him, as if he was holding a shield. Kenna staggered, surprised by this.
“Like my new trick?” Nigel said, holding his sick smile. “Then try this one.”
He threw his arm out, a dagger appearing in his hand and flying toward Kenna.
She yelped as the blade buried into her shoulder.
“Kenna!” I cried, slashing my sword through a demon’s throat.
“Kill him,” Nigel said, never taking his eyes from Kenna. More demons swarmed the hallway from the kitchen, putting themselves between Kenna and me.
Red rage filled my vision, and I swung my sword.
But it was not enough.
Hurt, Kenna couldn’t fight against Nigel and the demons. Nigel leaned over her, pressed a white cloth over her nose and mouth, and when she fainted, a demon picked her up in its arms.
“No!” I screamed, moving quicker, killing faster.
But by the time I had killed all the demons in my way, it was too late.
Kenna had been taken.
A band tightened around my chest, making it hard to breathe. The world darkened and I fell on my knees, dizzy.
This pain … this pain that assaulted my heart, this desperation to save her, I had felt this before.
A dull headache started behind my temples as my memories returned.
Past
Kianna
Inside a cage at the back of a carriage, Kianna was kept drugged. From the few moments she gained clarity, she could tell she had been on the road for days now. But she didn’t know how many, and whenever she looked around, she didn't recognize the countryside. Even the scenery had changed, not once, but multiple times. First, there were thick woods, then a long lake, and now a beaten path, and lots of rocks and cliffs.
But more than being locked up and not knowing where she was, what filled her with pure, unbidden fear, was the people around her.
No, not people.
Demons.
That was what Devon had called them, that was what Noel had called them when he had shoved her inside the cage. Her arms shook and her stomach twisted each time her eyes landed on the demons. Some looked alike, with slick, grayish skin, long limbs, and misshapen faces with yellow eyes and sharp teeth. But there were others too. Some short and stocky, some that seemed made up of shadows, and even ones that looked like ghosts with translucent bodies that hovered over the ground.
In her brief moments of clarity, Kianna lowered her head, closed her eyes, and told herself this couldn’t be real. It wasn’t happening. There were no demons, no people who were after her. She wasn’t in a cage.
And her family hadn’t been murdered right in front of her face.
Tears burned her eyes and she sobbed, remembering their