“Chi, first chance you get, yourun,” Max demanded, hisaccent thicker than I'd ever heard it.
I didn't reply.
“Chi!” he screamed.
“I run,” I managed through a choked gasp as I watched moreand more of those darklings climb through the shattered window. Iheard the unmistakable sound of fabric tearing over the remainingshards of glass, but it didn't even appear to slow themdown.
Though my fear-filled mind should havebeen beyond counting, I managed to figure out that there were tenof them. Ten darklings. Max had been terrified at the prospect ofone darkling. Now there were ten.
Something suddenly struck me. It felt likea baseball bat to the face.
I wasn't going to make it out of here, wasI?
I was going to die tonight. Violently.
The tears suddenly dried up. So did theterror. In its place, I didn'tsuddenly grow a set of balls.
Nope, I became a cold, frozen, numblump.
Max, however, didn't give me the option to remain frozen forlong. He struck out with his hand.
A blast of his magic sailed towards theclosest darkling. The thing jerked to the side, but it wasn't quickenough. The magic sliced into its black arm.
No – that wasn’t right. Its arm wasn’tblack. Its arm was pure, crystalline white as if the flesh hadnever seen the light of day. It was just wearing black clothes.Clothes that seemed to cover its entire body right up tothose pinprickred eyes.
The scent of burnt flesh filled the air,cloying at my nostrils and raking at my throat.
Two of the darklings circled towards us from behind. Before I could point thisout to Max, he roared, pivoted on his foot, and threw himselftowards them, a scream bellowing and pitching from histhroat.
With two snapped words, the magic pulsedover his form, covering it entirely until all I could make out washis sneering face.
He pelted towards the twodarklings, throwing his arms wide in a rugbytackle. They didn’t have the time to dodge out of the way, andthere was a sickening crunch as he brought them to the ground.There was more than a crunch, too, as a splitting hissing filledthe air. I quickly realized it was the sound of Max’s magic burningthrough the darkling’s defenses. They screeched, but as he pinnedthem to the floor with his massive arms, they could notescape.
“Chi, run,” Max bellowed.
His snapped word sent a thunderboltsailing through my gut, and I spun on the spot.
I did not, however, run. I didn’t get thechance.
Suddenly two of those darklings saileddown from above. I hadn’t heard them climbing through the windows,but they must have scaled them and clambered over the walls. Nowthey dropped down around me like two silent spiders descending onthreads of web.
I jolted back, sweat slicking my brow untilI thought I’d drown under it.
“Chi!” Max screamed.
I couldn’t respond.
The darklings seemed to be half human,half animal. The way they moved was like a cross between a monkeyand a snake. Their heads twisted to the side in jerking fashions asthey hugged the ground with their bodies, their legs bent low andtheir arms hanging close to their knees.
I shook with pure terror.
“Chi!” Max managed, but his voice was muffled, choppy.
I didn’t need to turn my head to realizehe was occupied in a fight.
Which left me alone.
Though I now knew what these creatures were,a name was hardly a weapon. I had no clue at all what they werecapable of, let alone how to fight them.
As the desperation powered through me and shook hard down myback, I begged for the sparks to come back. After my disastrousbath, I’d pushed them away, terrified of what they could bring. NowI prayed for their return with every scrap of energy Ihad.
But praying would get me nowhere.
I heard another light thump behind me, and Itwisted my head sharply to the side to see another darkling dropdown from above.
There could be no doubt that they were afterme.
I heard Max try to scream my name a fewtimes, heard the unmistakable sound of his heavy boots squeakingagainst the floor. But it was obvious he could not come to myaid.
I was on my own.
The three darklings circled me, all ontheir haunches, all with their heads tilting and snapping to thesides with quick, sickening moves.
I shook so violently I could barely remainstanding. My bare feet kept slipping against the blood-soakedplastic.
The only thing running through my mind wasthat I was about to die – die like whatever creatures had offeredup their blood to cover this floor.
Max didn’t get the chance to scream at me again. The darklingspounced.
I slipped as I jerked backward, slamminghard onto the concrete floor, the move jolting painfully through myhips and down my leg.
I didn’t have time to let out a scream –the first darkling was upon me. I heard its scattering claws slipand slice through the plastic as it leaped high and landed on my back.
Its black-clad fingers snaked out and lockedaround my mouth, pulling my head violently to the side.
A pulse of fear sailed through me,obliterating the last of my hope as I realized this wasit.
This was it.
Yet rather than snap my neck, I feltanother darkling leap towards me, heard the scattering of its clawsas it tore up the plastic beside me and came to a shuddering stopby my side. It locked its sinewy fingers around my left wrist andpinned me in place. From the other side, I heard the remainingdarkling pounce. He did the same– coming to a shuddering stop by my side and clampinghis rope-like fingers around my wrist to lock me inplace.
The darkling on my back pushed me into thefloor with all its weight. And though I bucked and fought, I didn'thave the strength to throw it off. All I could do was shudder as Ifelt its thin,strong fingers wrap tighter andtighter around my mouth as its weight and magic pushed me harderand harder into the floor.
I started to feel more than the thing'sstrength. I started to feel its magic, too. It ate into me likethousands of mouths trying to tear through my very cells.
A new blast of panic shot through me as Itried to shove it off with the last of my
