Ania are demons. They can be summoned to perform a number of tasks, including harassment, assault, and murder. He paused. It is unusual to see them in great numbers. They are normally solitary beings.
Two is hardly what I'd term great numbers. And given the size of the shimmers I'd seen, as demons went, they seemed to be on the small side.
There are at least six here, and size is not an indicator of dangerousness when it comes to demons, he chided softly. Ania are rarely seen outside the dark realm. They are hard to summon and harder to control.
So they're not the type of demon that breaks through the portals of their own accord?
No. His expression was grim as it met mine. Whoever summoned them has been able to do so simply because the strength of the portals has been weakened.
Because there were now only two portals protecting us from the hordes of hell rather than three. And that was entirely my fault.
Losing the first key is a blame that lies on us both.
Considering he'd been busy protecting me, and all I'd had to do was hold on to the key, that wasn't exactly true. But it was pointless getting into an argument over it—no amount of arguing or remorse was going to change what had happened. So the Ania are here to kill us?
If killing was their intent, they would have attacked immediately.
Then what the hell do they want?
That I cannot say until they actually act. He hesitated. But Amaya and Valdis are well equipped to handle Ania.
That I knew. Valdis practically glowed with the blue of her fire and Amaya's hissing rolled across the edges of my mind, filled with eagerness and the need to rent and tear.
It wasn't the swords I was worried about. Or Azriel. It was me. I'd proven woefully inadequate when it came to protecting myself against the more dangerous elements that kept coming at us.
You are alive, Risa. Given what we have been through, that in itself speaks volumes about your ability to survive.
Surviving and fighting were two entirely different things. So what do we do?