by Dora Blume
“Aren’t you supposed to be warning us when they’re coming? Those two weren’t even wearing amulets.” Her tone was sarcastic as she continued forward without the others. Erik peered behind him, and Mya was crouched next to Peyton. Ely was hurrying to catch up to them.
“Hey, are we just going to leave them back there?” he asked.
“For now,” Rachel said as she continued forward. She was glancing into the room as she passed. Erik couldn’t hear anyone else on this floor. Rachel made it to the stairway and climbed up quickly. She stopped at the top. “Okay, mind reader, you want to let us know if there are any demons on this floor before we start walking down it this time.” She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at him.
“Sure, princess.” He watched as she scowled at him. He knew he’d struck a nerve. He made a mental note for later. He concentrated, there weren’t any other people up here unless they had amulets.
“No one’s up here,” he said.
“Are you sure this time?” she glared.
“No, I can’t hear demons if they are wearing an amulet. We should probably double check.” He started down the empty hallway.
“Can we make this fast? I don’t like the idea of leaving them two down there without us.” Ely said as he followed them down the hall.
Rachel waved her hand, flicking it above her shoulder. “Mya can take care of herself. She’ll watch over Peyton while we finish this. I’d like to go back to my life. I wasn’t planning on spending all day in a stinking school.”
Erik rolled his eyes and glanced toward Ely. He met his eyes, and they shared a meaningful look. Neither of them wanted to stick around Rachel much longer. When they got to the end of the hall, Rachel hurried up the last set of stairs. She began walking down the hall without stopping to ask him if anyone was there. So much for her being Erik’s second. He had a feeling Rachel didn’t take well to being ordered around. He was starting to think she was the one to typically do the ordering.
Ely stopped and reached out a hand to grab Erik’s shirt. “I’m not a dumbass, do you hear any demons before we go charging in? My powers only effective if I can distract the demons while others take them by surprise. It’d be nice if we knew ahead of time if there were any demons to, you know, distract.” He studied Erik.
“Yeah, I’ll check, give me a second. It takes a minute to zero in on only this area. Otherwise, I can get bombarded with everyone’s thoughts in all the buildings.” He stopped and concentrated on the floor they were on. He heard at least three other demons up here, two male, one female. They were in one of the dorm rooms. He focused his energy on them, and he lifted the corner of his mouth. “Ah, there are three, two men, one woman. You’re not going to believe what they’re doing.” Erik smiled.
Ely lifted a brow, “Oh yeah?”
“Um, let’s just say, we won’t need to distract them. They’re a little busy, already.” Erik began walking in the direction of the dorm room.
“Dude, are you telling me they’re having sex? Two guys, one girl, seriously?” His eyes were wide as he jogged to catch up to Erik.
“Yeah, you want to fuck with them, anyway?” Erik raised his eyebrows suggestively.
“Shit, yeah, why not?” he smirked. Erik paused next to the door. Rachel had walked right past and was already four doors down. She hadn’t slowed to even check any of the rooms.
“How about you project in there to surprise them? I’ll burst in right after you and hit the guy nearest me. You come in after and go for the other. The girl won’t be too hard because she’s ah, in a compromising position, if you get my drift.”
Ely smiled. “Sounds fun. Who knew Mike dragging my ass out of seclusion would be so much fun.” He winked, then closed his eyes to project into the room. The girl let out a shriek, and Erik barged in the room, Hitting the guy nearest the door in the temple. He collapsed over the girl, taking her to the side with him as he fell.
The guy beneath her wore a look of utter shock. His eyes were wide as Erik lunged toward him, landing a quick jab to his face. His hand whipped up to his mouth, and he spat blood. Erik said the incantation and black smoke poured out of the man’s nose and mouth. The man looked even more shocked in his state of undress. Ely had taken care of the girl. She was now gripping the sheet around herself. Erik finished with the last guy. He lay sideways on the bed.
Erik glanced at Ely, “Now that was fun.” They both walked out of the room. Erik glanced back down the hall, but Rachel was gone. “Now where the hell did she go?” He muttered.
“No idea, but we better find her. I hate when people in fights split up. Something always goes wrong.” Ely shook his head and started down the hall, leaving the three-some in their confused state.
Erik followed. Rachel was on her mission. She didn’t think she needed them. Erik listened to the thoughts in the building. There were more demons here. He wasn’t sure if they were on this floor or the next. He touched his hand to his ear. “Rachel, Mya, Ely, there are still demons here, four of them for sure. Keep your eyes peeled.” Ely paused and waited for Erik.
“Where are they?” he asked.
“I think they’re a floor above us. The upper floors are all dorms, right?”
“Yeah, so are they students? I thought most of the students were dispossessed by others before we got here?” Ely asked, hitching his thumb in his jean pocket as they continued to walk quietly down the hall.
“Sloane said they were trying to take care of most of the students. I don’t know if they got all of them or not.” They climbed the stairs, and Erik felt a shiver run down his spine, and he tensed.
“You feel that?” Ely asked.
“Yeah, demons,” he said and pulled a dagger from his belt. Ely did the same.
“Do you hear Rachel?” Ely asked.
“No, oh hell no. I’m not trying that again. Her power sucks when used against you. I won’t be that stupid ever again.” He shuddered. He reached his hand to his ear. “Rachel? You still with us?” He waited, but there was no answer. “I thought we would have a connection to everyone using these coms. Why haven’t we heard anything about what’s happening in the other buildings?” Erik tightened his grip around the handle of the knife.
“I’m not sure. Maybe there’s a glitch in them or something.” Ely shrugged as they moved forward.
Erik kept listening for the demons. He heard four of them, and he was pretty sure they were up here. They’d been on every other floor unless some came in since they were downstairs. They walked passed a door to the right. Erik felt a chill again and froze. “We must be getting close,” he whispered. Ely nodded toward him.
Erik heard the small creek behind him. He whirled but felt the sharp pain of a blow to the head before he fell to the ground. He wasn’t knocked out, but when he tried to get up, he wobbled. Ely had pushed the guy away from him and was continuing to fight. Erik knew he needed to get up, now. There were three others somewhere. He used the wall for support and stood, shaking his head to clear it. The man fighting Ely was burley with a crook in his nose. He wasn’t a student. He wore a flannel shirt and khakis. He reminded him of a shop teacher he once had. He heard another noise in the room behind him and saw Rachel lying on the floor. A woman kneeling next to her.
Erik listened and knew she was a demon immediately. He rushed her, landing a punch to the side of her face. He didn’t like the idea of hitting a woman, but the occasion called for it. He learned long ago that when it came to demons, they would use any human weakness to get to you. The woman fell sideways, her maxi skirt falling around her. Erik spoke the incantation quickly before she had time to regain her composure. Erik turned, and Ely stood above the burly man. Black smoke rose from him, and Erik breathed a sigh of relief. Two down, two to go.
Ely walked over to them. Erik touched her neck, feeling for a pulse. “It looks like they just knocked her out. They were probably hoping to possess her.” Erik brushed a piece of her hair back from her face and admired her feminine features. He
r milky complexion was tinged with the slightest bit of pink in her cheeks. Her skin was silky soft, and she had a cute button nose. He smiled, she was really beautiful when she was unconscious. Her long blonde hair had been pulled up into a chignon, but pieces fell all around her head and face.
“She’s nice when she’s not talking,” Ely observed.
Erik stood. “We need to find the last two. I think she’ll be fine here until all this is over.” Erik looked back out the door. The last two are women. I think they’re in a room on the right at the end of the hall. They walked out of the room. Mya jogged up to them. She glanced to the guy laying on the floor.
“Hey, I moved Peyton into one of the dorm rooms. Where’s Rachel?” Mya looked around.
“She’s knocked out in there. She decided to venture off on her own, which as you can see is never a good idea.” Ely was smug as he spoke.
“Alright, let’s finish this so we can get them taken care of and check on the others,” Mya said.
“There are two more girls down the hall on the right who are demons. After that, the buildings clear.” Erik strode forward. He stopped before the open door. He could hear the girls talking in the room. They laughed out loud, and Erik took the opportunity to step into the room. Ely followed. Erik grabbed the girl from behind and restrained her arms. She kicked back wildly, but she didn’t have the strength. She was a petite girl. Erik said the incantation quickly and watched the smoke dissipate into the air. Ely had done the same with the other small girl. They shook their heads and looked up to the two men.
“Oh my God, thank you. Being a demon was super lame.” She reached her hand to pull the ponytail out of her hair. “I hate my hair up like this. It was driving me crazy.”
Erik shook his head. “Glad to be of service ladies. Can I ask what you’re still doing on campus? Isn’t this a break or something?”
The girl who had just put down her hair nodded. “Yes, but some of us have shitty families we don’t want to go home to. I would rather stay on campus alone, then meet my father's latest girlfriend. She’s another leech. I prefer to spare myself the new mom routine when I can.” She rolled her eyes.
“Okay, do you know if anyone else in the dorm stayed here?” he asked.
“No, only a few of us. Carly here is the only girl on this floor who stayed. Even if students did stay behind, they don’t all stay here. Some drive to the city during the day to do stuff. I think there’s maybe four or five who are in the city from this dorm.” She looked up pointedly. “Anything else?”
Erik looked down at her cocked his head to the side. “No, I guess not.” He could have just read her thoughts but didn’t want to intrude. He also wasn’t sure he wanted to hear what she was thinking. There were some things you didn’t want to hear.
Erik turned and walked out of the room. He turned to look at Mya and Ely. “Do you mind taking care of Rachel and Peyton? I want to go find Jessie and Sloane and make sure everything went okay.” His eyes filled with concern.
“Yeah man, no problem. We’ll join you after we move them.” Ely looked to Mya. “Can we move them into the same room? They’ll probably wake up soon.”
Mya nodded. “Sounds like a plan.” They both walked into the room with Rachel.
Erik ran down the stairs taking two at a time. He began listening to the thoughts around him as he went. The people who they’d dispossessed were still a little dazed and confused, but Erik knew they’d be fine. They were Shikari, and they knew what had happened to them. Erik flew out of the door and raced toward the main offices. Jessie was rushing out the door by the dock when he got there.
“Oh good, you’re okay,” she breathed. Erik relaxed when he saw her. She walked into his arms, and he wrapped them around her, squeezing tightly. He needed to feel she was okay.
“We got Nicole, and everyone here is dispossessed. How about you guys?” she asked.
“Rachel and Peyton got knocked out. Otherwise, everyone is fine.” He gazed down into her eyes. He dropped his mouth to hers, and a fire erupted throughout his body. His kiss was fierce. He felt her grip at his back, twisting one hand in his hair. He hitched his hand under her thighs and lifted her. She wrapped her legs around him, crossing her ankles just above his waist. He devoured her mouth. He couldn’t get enough of the taste of her. She tasted of vanilla and mint.
“Ahem,” Sloane cleared her throat behind them. “Do you mind?”
“Do you?” Erik glared at Sloane but dropped Jessie, tucking her against him. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders.
“It’s good to see you’re okay, too Erik,” she smirked and walked around them. “So, did anyone plan on how we were getting home? I’m not keen on riding in the back of a semi-trailer again.” She looked around the parking lot. “Has anyone checked on the other teams?” She turned back toward Erik and Jessie.
“We’re done. The building is clear, but Rachel and Peyton were knocked out. Ely and Mya were helping them. They should be awake soon.” He tightened his arms around Jessie, and she began rubbing the hairs on his arm.
Mike walked out. His eyes brightened when he saw Erik. “Hey, everything good?”
“Yep,” Erik was tired of explaining what had happened. “Anyone see Magnus? Our coms weren’t working. How about the last team?”
“I think Caroline was checking on them,” Mike said.
“Should we head over to the other buildings? What if there were more demons in them?” Erik looked between them.
Caroline walked out the back door. “That won’t be necessary, Erik. I’ve been in communication with everyone. There were only a few minor injuries sustained. It sounds like all the demons here have been taken care of, for now. I hear some of them went home for break. We’ll need to address this when they get back.” She turned her head to Sloane. “Where is Chloe? I’d like to thank her for her help. She took care of most of the students before we even arrived.” Her voice was thoughtful as she spoke.
“Oh, I’m meeting her over in the library. They got everyone out of here that they could before we came. They wanted to make sure no other students got caught in the battle. The students did an excellent job. I’ll make sure to pass on your appreciation.” She reached out for Mike’s hand. “We should head over there now.” Mike followed as she pulled him toward her.
Jessie leaned back to look up at Erik. “Should we go with them?”
“Nah, I’m sure they got it,” he shrugged.
Chapter 24
A black Tacoma pulled next to them in the parking lot. Bryant glided out of the front seat. “I see all is well here?” Erik shook his head thinking back to the conversation he’d had with Sloane. Maybe she was right; he showed up after all the fighting had ended. Bryant looked to Erik, concerned. “Is it not, my son?”
“No, Bryant, everything is fine. We took care of the demons here.” He stroked his thumb over Jessie's abdomen.
“Good, good, where is Magnus? There is a matter of some urgency I must discuss with him?” He glanced toward Caroline.
“He should be here shortly.” She muttered. “If you’ll excuse me, I believe I will take my daughter home now.” She turned and walked back into the building.
“Maybe we should go, too?” Jessie looked up to Erik.
“Yeah, hey Bryant can we catch a ride? Wait, where are we staying? Do you think Magnus will let us go back to his place? I think Caroline may want time with her family.” Erik looked to Bryant.
“You will need to come with me to Magnus’ we have much to discuss.” Bryant got back in the sleek, black SUV. “Where is your sister? She’ll need to join us, as well. We need to discuss what will happen, next. We need to address the issue of the order. Which building was Magnus in?” He asked, turning to Erik who’d gotten in next to him.
He’s at the East building. Bryant nodded and drove toward the parking lot.
“I’ll go check on what’s taking them.” He hopped out. Jessie jumped out, too.
“I’ll come with you.” She grab
bed her phone from her pocket. “I’ll call Sloane.”
“No need, the library is in here. We can find her on the way.” He opened the door for Jessie, and she walked passed into the building. “Library first? Maybe Sloane and Mike found Magnus.”
“Okay, here, It’s down this hall.” He took a right and continued. Jessie hurried to catch him and took his hand.
Sloane was sitting atop a long wooden table in the reference section. Mike stood next to her and Chloe was sitting in a chair next to Katie. “Hey, you guys came over.” Sloane put her hands together when she saw them.
“Yeah, Bryant drove us over. Have you seen Magnus? We need to find him. Bryant has something important to share with him, I guess.” Erik rolled his eyes.
“Ahem,” came from the doorway. “I have something to share with him, with all of you.” A tall man with wavy blonde hair stood in the doorway. Magnus came up behind him.
“Ethan,” Magnus held his hand out toward the man. Erik studied him. He wore khakis colored trousers and a navy sweater over his dark button-up and light blue tie.
“Magnus, it’s good to see you.” He clasped his hand and shook.
“So, what’s the urgent matter?” Magnus asked. Bryant walked into the library.
“It’s about the order. We’ve been attacked. I fled with many others, but we are in need of assistance. Demons, wearing the face of friends, have taken over the archive. We must not let them continue. It’s imperative we dispense them at once, but we need your aid to do so. We need everyone. Many leaders have fled to various cities abandoning the archive. We need to take it back before the damage is irreparable.” Ethan looked meaningfully around at the group.
“Oh my, they’ve taken over everything?” Magnus was in shock.
“Yes, this is why I rushed here. We need to get to Kansas City immediately. The future of the Shikari depends on it.” Bryant looked to Sloane and Erik.
