Really, anything could happen.
But when she got to the top, she froze. Stretching out before her were thousands of demons, all sitting or standing across the white sands in all directions.
Her mouth dropped open, and she felt tears sting her eyes. They were there. The king of hell had followed through on his word. Her heart swelled as she slowly walked down the hill, feeling as if she were walking into a dream.
A light wind picked up, sending the white sand scattering. It also carried with it the smell of sulfur. She inhaled, despite the unpleasant scent, and moved a bit faster.
The demons’ skin was bright red in the demon-realm. And all the people had white horns. The men had larger ones, the women smaller ones, and the babies little ones that were almost cute. They also all wore white clothes, made from the only plants that seemed to grow in the hot, dry place. Most of the demons were covered in a layer of the white sand that covered the ground, but even still, their red flesh stood out brilliantly against the endless sea of white.
As she got closer, a young woman with flowing blonde hair and a small baby strapped in a wrap around her back, turned toward Sharen. The woman’s gaze flickered to her, then away, then back. Her eyes widened.
Brian’s mother!
Sharen saw her shout. But from the distance, she couldn’t hear what she said. But the effect of it was instantaneous, the demons turned in her direction. Most froze in what they were doing. And then, a second later, they crowd began to move towards her.
She froze, swallowed hard, and waited. It was a strangely intimidating sight to see thousands of demons coming straight toward her.
Her palms grew sweaty. She wiped them on her pants, and waited.
The demons came closer and closer, gathering less than twelve feet in front of her. They looked... uncertain. Concerned.
Are they afraid of me?
It took a long time for them to gather in a tight space in front of her, but at last the shuffling slowed. All eyes were on her.
Here goes nothing. She took a deep breath. “I’m Sharen. And I’m here to help you.”
Brian’s mother, Elle, stepped in front of the group. “They decided they wanted me to speak for them.”
Even though you and your children had to experience death again just a few days ago.
Sharen felt a tinge of horrible guilt. “I’m so sorry,” she said, her voice soft.
Elle held her gaze, and slowly shook her head.
She doesn’t want to discuss it? Because she doesn’t want to relive it? Or doesn’t want the others to know?
“Sharen!” Someone shouted.
Brian came rushing through the crowd of people, and suddenly, he was launching himself into her arms. She just barely managed to grab him with one arm and hold the Splicer out so he wouldn’t hurt himself.
“Brian,” she said his name like a prayer.
The boy pulled back slightly, and she stared. His messy brown hair was the same. His eyes, so big they seemed to fill his whole face, looked the same.
God had she missed him.
“I don’t want to die again,” he whispered.
“You won’t,” she promised.
He curled into her for one more minute before finally letting her go. Moving back to his mother’s side, he stared back at her, a smile on his face.
“Our questions!” A man shouted, his voice laced with irritation.
Sharen stood straighter. “Go on.”
Elle met her gaze again. “First, we want to thank you for coming. We thought when we ended up here there was no escape. Many of us were still trying to climb free of the demon-realms, but we weren’t confident that we’d ever be powerful enough to make it. Quite a few of us have been caught by Hunters over the years, killed, and had to start back in the Pits again. We were starting to lose hope. Until you...”
We are pretending she never went to the surface. Weird.
But Sharen followed the young woman’s lead. “I’m sorry for your struggles, but I’m glad I can help.”
Elle spoke without hesitation. “We don’t want to seem ungrateful, but we had some questions first.”
Is this good or bad? “Okay.”
The woman nodded, then spoke, her voice louder than before. “You used to be a Hunter. How do we know this isn’t just a trap?”
Shit. How do I reassure them? I don’t seem to be very good at it. Clenching her hands, her ring bit into her palm. My ring! “I’m doing this because not so long ago I thought demons were evil, and it was my job to hunt them. Until I met my husbands.” She held up her hand, and the ring seemed to glow in the light of the suns. “Now, I’m married to three amazing demons. I know them. And I know they aren’t bad. Since that day, everything has changed for me. My focus is to right this wrong. To make sure innocent people aren’t rotting in this awful place anymore.”
Elle nodded, her lips curling into the slightest smile. Some of the demons whispered to each other, but the focus remained on Sharen.
“And what will happen when we get to Earth?”
Sharen spoke a little more confidently. “We have a refuge ready to go. You’ll be protected there until we can help you adjust back to the new world.”
Elle opened her mouth again, but a massive man behind her spoke instead. “I think that’s all we really need to know. Let’s get the fuck out of this hell hole!”
A cheer rose over the demons.
Sharen looked to Elle.
The woman smiled. “I guess he’s right.”
“This way then!” Sharen shouted, her heart soaring.
Elle walked straight up to her, then lowered her voice. “We’ll have to talk privately, later.”
Sharen thought of the old woman, dead in her home, and some of her excitement faded. “Yes, we will.”
Elle leaned in closer. “It’s impossible to tell your enemies from your friends anymore.”
The hairs on Sharen’s arms stood on end. Are you a friend or an enemy?
“Lead on!” Someone shouted.
Time to focus. We’ll find out what happened when they died later.
Turning, she started back up the hill. Her mind was going a thousand miles a minute. Soon they would all get through. There were more demons than she expected. They wouldn’t all fit in the warehouse, but they could start busing them to the sanctuary at once. The refuge would be tight too. They might have to get tents for a while. And more supplies. But—
As she stepped onto the top of the hill, someone kicked her hard in the face. She flew back, rolling down the hill. Someone caught her. It took her a second to look up into Elle’s frightened face, then back at the top of the hill.
A Hunter stood in his white uniform, staring down at her.
Raw terror streaked through her. Where there was one of them, there was more.
As if her fears brought them to life, two more Hunters stood next the first one. Then, two more. Then more. Within seconds, twenty Hunters stared down at them from the top of the hill.
“What do we do?” Elle whispered above her.
And suddenly, the baby on her back began to wail. The sound cut through Sharen’s terror.
She struggled out of the other woman’s arms and rose to her feet. “Everyone, get back.”
“You can’t fight them all,” Elle said, her voice carrying above the silence.
Something warmed within her chest. “But I can sure as hell try.”
“No.” Someone said behind her. “If we work together, we can defeat them.”
She looked behind her. Many of the demons were inching backwards. But a few were pressing forward.
A massive demon came to stand behind her. “We’re with you.”
She nodded, her gaze returning to the Hunters. As much as she wanted to fight them on her own, this wasn’t about her pride. It was about saving as many lives as possible.
“Sharen,” someone spoke her name with venom.
A man pushed past the line of Hunters. It took her only a moment to r
ecognize Rorde.
How did he find me, yet again? The sorcerer bastard!
“That’s Mrs. Bran to you.”
His mouth curled into a cruel smile. “Your demons must be awful good in bed for you to turn your back on your own kind and side with these animals.”
She smiled, even though her eyes felt cold. “It’s a hell of a lot harder to do the right thing than the easy thing.” She gestured behind her. “What do you think these people did to deserve to end up here?” She met the gazes of each of the Hunters. “What did this tiny baby do? What did that old woman do? What did those children do? Ask yourselves something, what if we were lied to? What if not all demons are bad?”
To her surprise, her gaze met several of her students, and she saw the hesitancy in their faces.
“Think about it. Truly. I taught many of you. I killed and fought next to many of you. What made me switch sides?”
Rorde laughed. “What a joke! I know exactly why you switched sides! Those demons got your ring. And they own you now. You don’t have a choice but to fight for them.”
“No,” she shook her head. “Listen to me.” A wave went through her. Every hair on her body rose as goose bumps erupted on her flesh. What is this power? She shivered. “Listen to me. I’m here to save these people, not fight you. Please, let us go. Look into your hearts. Forget every lie you’ve ever been told. Look at these people. Do you think they are evil?”
Samantha shook her head of dark hair. “I can’t do this. I won’t fight Mrs. Bran.”
Rorde turned to her. “Are you fucking kidding me? She tells a speech and suddenly you’re running away. Are you really willing to give up being a Hunter because of one mistake?”
The blue shield of power that surrounded Samantha faded, and she lowered her Splicer. “It’s not just the speech. She was our teacher. And... and I believe her.”
Samantha looked at Sharen, and her gaze gentled.
Sharen smiled. “Thank you for believing in me.”
Red power hit Samantha. Her eyes widened, and she hit the ground. Her body rolled down the hill, and Sharen caught her at the bottom of hill, brushing the sand off her face. Her eyes were still open, but the life was gone from them.
Ice settled in her belly, and she looked up at Rorde who still held his Splicer, his red spell lighting the weapon. “You killed her!”
Light danced in his eyes. “A traitor’s life is worthless.”
Sharen looked to the other Hunters. “If what you’re doing is right, why do they have to scare you into obeying them?”
Several of the Hunters looked uncertain, but they didn’t move.
Rorde tilted his head. “You'll learn, Sharen. Your words mean nothing to us. Today you and these demons will die, and then this foolish Rebellion will be squashed. Forever.”
She pressed a light kiss to Samantha’s forehead and closed her eyes. “Rest in peace, Samantha. I’ll come back for you soon.”
Releasing her, she picked up her Splicer from where it had fallen. “I know you think this will be easy, but you’re wrong.”
Dark magic oozed from her, a cloud that moved around her Splicer like a living creature.
Rorde’s eyes widened. “What the hell spell is that?”
She smiled. “It looks like you don’t know everything.”
He took a step closer to her. “Neither do you.”
She frowned, and then saw motion out of the corner of her eye. Turning, she watched in horror as more Hunters suddenly stood. There was more motion on her other side. More Hunters, who had camouflaged themselves against the white landscape stood.
Her heart pounded in her ears. There had to be hundreds of them, every Hunter in the entire Department.
“Don’t move!” she shouted to the demons.
Whirling, she spotted the Hunters that were behind them.
We’re surrounded.
Suddenly, bursts of magic exploded into their group. Screams tore through the air. Some of the demons began to run, but had nowhere to go. Magic struck them, knocking them to the ground. The smell of burned flesh and coppery blood filled the air.
She closed her eyes, gritted her teeth, and imagined the symbols of the spell. It was basic, but she’d never used it like this before. It hurt as it poured out of her, and she felt it draining her with each second that passed.
When she crumbled to her knees, she stopped feeding strength into the spell.
A golden bubble of protection surrounded a portion of the demons. Some of them seemed to have realized what she’d done. They pushed and shoved to get into the protection of her spell.
Breathing hard, she climbed to her feet.
She felt Rorde’s spell coming just in time to roll to the side. A fiery magic hit the ground where she’d stood just seconds before.
Leaping to her feet, she blasted the black magic back at Rorde. A smoky mist came to life, filling the air for thirty or forty feet around the sorcerer. Many of her students struggled within it.
Her pulse sped up. It was a distraction, but it wasn’t enough.
A terrible realization hit her at once. If she wanted to save the demons, she’d have to kill the Hunters.
She’d killed Hunters before, but not her students, not young people too scared to disobey their commands.
A shout came from her left. Hunters were running toward them. Magic exploded toward the demons. Her shield shuddered, but held.
The demons outside of the shield roared, and ran toward the Hunters. Many of them were struck down by multi-colored magic long before they got close enough to reach the Hunters. If this kept up, none of them would even have a chance to fight.
Tears filled her eyes, she lifted her hand. The spell was one she’d never thought to use. One few Hunters knew of.
She sent the blast of white light out toward the fifty warriors running toward them. In an instant, their shields vanished. Their steps faltered, and they slowed.
Their faces were filled with confusion. She knew they wouldn’t understand. Where were their shields? Why was it suddenly nearly impossible to lift their Splicers? Why did their feet feel so heavy?
The horde of demons leapt onto them. She stared in shock as claws and horns ripped apart the humans standing frozen. Tears tracked down her face.
She turned back to Rorde and his Hunters. They were carefully climbing out of the dark mist. When they emerged, they looked between the Hunters being torn apart and the demons battling them.
She raised her hand.
“Wait!”
She stared at Rorde, her heart racing. “What?”
“Maybe there’s another solution.”
Please. “Speak.”
“Maybe we could—“
Hunters shimmered into existence around her.
She screamed and her Splicer struck the metal of another Splicer. Every muscle in her body tensed as she ducked and spun. Her weapon struck two, three, four Splicers. The Hunters were relentless.
But they didn’t know, couldn't know, that she wasn’t human.
Her speed and strength was its own kind of weapon. She sliced the head from a young woman and cut the arm off a young man. More bodies hit the ground. She drove her weapon through the stomach of another.
Smith’s face came sharply into view. He was her student, a cocky boy who never believed how dangerous the demon-realm was. Blood poured out of his mouth.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, feeling more tears sliding down her cheeks.
She pulled her weapon out of his chest, and turned toward the chaos behind her.
Her shield had fallen. The demons trapped in the center of the Hunters were being killed off with a ruthlessness that was terrifying. Children screamed, were struck by fiery magic, and hit the ground. Elderly people held up their hands as if they could stop another painful death, but it did nothing to slow the on slaughter of colorful bursts of magic.
“Accept it!” Rorde shouted above the sounds of battle. “You’ve lost.”
She sh
ook her head, turned to Rorde, and started to run.
His eyes widened. He sent bursts of magic toward her, but she struck each one away with her Splicer.
When seconds later, she smashed into him, she held the Splicer to his throat. “Tell them to stop. Tell them it’s over, or so help me God I’ll end your life.”
Sweat ran down his forehead. “I’d love to, but I’m not the one in charge here.”
She pressed her blade closer, watching as a line of blood opened on his throat. “End this.”
He smiled. “Do it, Sharen. Turn me into an angel. See what kind of enemy I make when I’m immortal.”
She started to pull the blade back.
His smile widened. “I knew you couldn’t just kill me in cold blood.”
With the slightest movement, she severed his head from his body.
Two Hunters leapt at her at once, she raised her Splicer above her head, and both weapons caught hers just inches from her skull.
Her reflexes were like lightning. She moved faster than her enemies could follow, and body after body fell at her feet. Someone had cut her arm. She felt warm blood running down her leg, but none of it hurt. Adrenaline blocked any pain. She turned toward the demons. From where she stood, she saw it all clearly. Time slowed.
They couldn’t win this battle. Even with her strength and quickness. No demons would survive.
She hated that her heart seemed to break. Hated that she felt such helpless rage.
I can’t let this happen. I was supposed to save these people, not get them killed again.
Her demons had described to her what death was like for demons. Awakening in a pit of absolute-darkness, trapped in the oily blackness. Struggling beneath it, drowning and unable to see.
Sometimes it took hours, days, or weeks to escape it. Then, a demon struggled through a place without light. Searching and searching for a way out.
To get to a realm like this one took years of climbing from the lowest realms to this one.
If these demons didn’t escape now, she doubted they ever would.
So how do I save them?
Whispers filled her mind, but she couldn’t make out their words. She stiffened, remembering this strange feeling from the last time she’d done the impossible. An overwhelming strength filled her, like air filling a balloon. It was power. Magic. From who or what, she wasn’t sure. Last time she sensed it was angels. This time? This time she didn’t know.
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