They weren’t Infernals possessing the bodies of humans, or the rotting carcasses of lesser creatures. They were actual demons—creatures that’d crawled their way out of the rift over eight hundred years ago, powerful enough to haul their bodies with them.
Their long arms and legs were tipped with clawed hands and feet that shimmered with Darkness. They’d evolved to appear humanoid, though their size had diminished since their arrival on Earth. Cut off from their master—the One—their power had waned, but they’d learned how to adapt.
I was entirely sure these things would be able to walk through a shopping mall in broad daylight and look just like everyone else, but to our Natural eyes, they were revealed for what they truly were. Monsters.
“Did you say something about evolving?” Trent asked, his hand closing around his arondight blade.
“I’m not so sure about that,” I replied. “They look like they’re the scum-sucking evictees of Camelot.”
“Well?” Trent asked the demons. “Are you?”
“Somehow, I don’t think they’re into chatting,” I drawled.
At the sound of my voice, all five heads turned towards me. Freaky.
Trent eyed me, flashing me a subtle signal. I spun my arondight blade hand over hand and together, we struck.
My sword collided with razor-sharp claws, sending sparks of Light across the hillside. Metal dragged along the length before sliding clear. I’d barely finished my stroke before I was forced to twist and block a blow at my back.
I pirouetted, sent a blast of Light to the side, then kicked at the demon lunging at my front. I was vaguely aware of Trent’s sword sparking as he clashed with a demon father down the trail. Somehow, we’d become separated, the demons worming their way between us until our strength was split in half. Shite on it.
It wasn’t an easy fight. The demons I’d fought in the city were slow and sluggish or were Infernals who could be pried from the bodies of their hosts. These creatures were stronger, faster, and Darkness seeped into their bones. Their blows struck hard, jarring up my arms, and I barely had enough Light to dodge their menacing claws.
I cried out as I was backhanded, my head snapping to the side. I slipped on the loose gravel of the trail, almost pitching over the edge and down the ravine.
Anchoring my heel, I arced my blade towards the closest demon. It wailed as the metal imbedded in its side, the gash spewing black blood and white-hot sparks. The creature’s head lolled back, opening its grotesque mouth, then lowered its dark gaze to mine.
I tried to wrench my sword free, but it was stuck in the demon’s side. It cackled, wrapping its hands around the blade as two more looked on in devilish amusement as their brother tore itself free and pushed the sword—and me—backwards.
My foot slipped, then I was falling.
Trent’s panicked cry echoed somewhere above me. “Madeline!”
I rolled down the side of the hill, powerless to stop. My Light was just out of reach, my fear blocking the path. I’d have to wait until I hit the bottom—wherever that was. Rocks pummelled my body, the sting of cuts blooming everywhere.
The night spun around me as I attempted to control my momentum, but by this stage, I was in total free fall.
As the ground levelled out, I began to slow before I tumbled to a complete stop at the base of the hill. The impact had pushed all the air from my lungs, and I gasped, my chest burning.
I reached for my Light and a pulse ebbed through my body, dulling the pain. Standing, I realised I wasn’t alone. Three demons had followed my chaotic fall and began to circle my position, surrounding me.
“She knows it,” one rasped through its thin lips.
I turned as the demon behind me spoke. “We will take it.”
My grip tightened around my arondight blade. “Take what?”
The third demon lifted its heavy arm and sent a pulse of Darkness towards me. There was nothing I could do to stop the wave from hitting me, and when it did, everything changed.
The unfamiliar spark I’d felt when I landed, flared. It wasn’t the soothing smoothness of Light I was used to. It had a sharp tang that left my skin feeling electrified.
When I’d been mutated by Human Convergence, I’d always blacked out when the Dark side of my condition came out. Apart from a few fleeting flashes, I never remembered what I’d been doing. If my Light had turned Dark, I had no idea what it looked or felt like.
Whatever this spark was, it wasn’t anything I’d encountered before. It was dark, intoxicating…demonic.
Let’s just say I was starting to get why humans dabbled with dark magic. The addiction levels were high.
I stumbled and my boot caught on the loose rock underfoot. I fell, landing on my arse. My arondight blade slipped from my fingers and clattered across the rocky ground, the blade disappearing into the hilt. I lunged after it, barely avoiding the claws aimed at my chest, and cursed as it fell into a crack in the rock.
Sensing trouble behind me, I rolled as a large bolder slammed to the ground, splintering where my head had been a second ago.
I flipped to my feet, using the momentum to draw my cold iron dagger. I backed away, brandishing the blade as three demons advanced on my position.
Black eyes stared at me as claws dragged across the trail. My heart hammered in my chest as my mind raced over my options. Trent had his hands full up on the ridge, so I was on my own.
Bile rose in the back of my throat, but I wasn’t sure if it was the ‘imminent death’ thing or the ‘I might still be a demon’ thing.
All three demons lunged at the same time and I swiped my dagger, cold iron colliding with flesh. It wasn’t enough. Without my sword, I had no way of vanquishing their putrid arses. All I could do was hold my ground and pray
