into the woods, Marcus leading and Jake bringing up the rear. The light from Jake and Hailyn's powers blended, giving everything a greenish glow. They ran up a hill, hearing the pursuing half-men coming behind. On the other side, there was a bowl-like clearing. They charged down the hill and started up the other side. They were halfway up when more half-men appeared along the edge of the bowl. They stopped and fell back to the center, looking all around. The pursuing half-men appeared behind them, cutting off their retreat. They were surrounded on all sides.
Along the rim, two Imps appeared. One shouted down at them. "Surrender yourself, boy, and we will let these two live. Don't let your companions die for you."
Jake was racking his brain to figure out how to get out of this. "Any suggestions?" He whispered to Marcus.
"I don't believe that the demons would let us live, even if you surrendered, so we can only fight to the end." Marcus replied grimly, gripping his sword tighter.
"That is what I thought you would say." Jake said, then turned to Hailyn. "What do you think?"
"You cannot give yourself up to them, Jake." Hailyn said fiercely, grabbing his hand. "We will stay and fight with you."
"Look, they want me alive." Jake said, a plan coming into his head, trying to ignore the surrounding enemies. "I agree that they will probably kill you if I surrendered, so what we need to do is clear a path for you two to escape."
Hailyn shook her head no, but Jake spoke over her. "Listen to me, we can't win. We're too outnumbered. I'll stay and hold them off as long as I can. If you two get away, you can find Jonas and Dominic and come back. With Jonas' power, we have a much better chance."
"I won't go." Hailyn declared, face set. "I will stay and fight with you. Marcus can escape and bring Master Jonas to our aid."
Jake looked over at Marcus, a plea in his eyes, hoping he understood what the look meant. Marcus stared back, then nodded. With that, Jake spun and launched his magic into the demons, twin bolts of dazzling blue racing across the distance. The demons were struck and staggered back, unprepared for the assault. With a cry, the half-men started forward, streaming down the hill. Jake then spun back and struck out at the weakest point of the surrounding half-men. He blasted away, striking the half-men, reducing them to ash. For several moments, he continued to sweep the area, clearing an opening. Hailyn, startled at first by Jake's attack, joined him. Between them, they made a large gap in the half-man line.
"Now!" Jake shouted.
Before she could react, Marcus grabbed Hailyn, lifting her off the ground and ran towards the opening. She cried out, punching and kicking him, trying to get him to release her. She sent her magic into the half-men closing on Jake, knocking some away, watching as his shining form disappeared behind a wall of half-men.
…
"Let them go!" Jake heard one of the demons shout. "Get the boy."
Jake was glad that part worked out, but now he was faced with an impossible task. He knew that he could not hold off this many enemies for long. He focused on strengthening his defenses, his aura growing brighter. He sent pulses of magic into the surrounding half-men, driving them back. But since he could not focus his power effectively, he was only hurting them, not destroying them.
The demons then joined in, attacking Jake with their power. He was staggered as he struggled to defend against them while keeping the half-men back. They pressed him, forcing him to continue to draw more and more power. So focused was he on defending, he had nothing left to launch an attack.
He could see that the half-men and demons were getting closer, his magic causing them pain, but not enough to keep them from him. As he looked into the eyes of the demons, he began to panic. He knew they wanted him alive, but the reality of falling into their hands was something he realized he could not bear. As they closed the distance, fear began to overwhelm him. He desperately lashed out with his magic, trying to gain more space, open a way out, but it did not work.
He could feel his body begin to tire slightly, as Tomaris said he would. He knew he only had minutes left before he would be taken.
That only added to his