“It’s time,” he said.
The warehouse doors flew open, and guardians ran in, rushing to find places to stand against each wall. There were seven guardians, and as I watched, they disappeared into the shadows. I glanced at Ian, but before he could explain, a thunderous roar shook the building.
A swirling dark mass appeared on the floor of the warehouse, quickly growing in height. As it disappeared, I got my first good look at a real demon. Its horns were the first clear thing I saw. Curved and easily a foot long, they were as thick around as my arm. They stuck out of a pale-skinned forehead.
The demon locked eyes with me and hissed. His obsidian eyes burned with hatred, and he grinned with sharp, pointed teeth.
“I’ve found you. Now, I’ll get the reward.” He moved forward, intending to grab me, but Ian thrust his sword at him, stopping his movement. The blade bounced off the demon’s skin, and he laughed. “You can’t hurt me, puny magi. I am Roderick, the king’s most vicious guard. I have been sent here for the girl, and I never fail.” I glanced around, but the guardians were still hidden. The demon wasn’t talking loudly, so I hoped no one heard him say he was looking for me. “Now move aside, or I’ll be forced to take your head,” the demon growled at Ian.
“Never,” Ian said, swinging his sword toward the demon’s eyes.
The demon batted it away easily. He ripped it from Ian’s hand when he swung again. The rest of the guardians became visible. The demon only laughed. “Even with all of you, you’re no match for me.”
The guardians moved forward as one, trying to hit the demon, but no one could touch him. The demon didn’t have a single scratch on him. Still, they kept fighting. The demon reached out and grabbed one of the guardians, throwing him against the wall where he slumped over. It didn’t look like we were going to win.
The guardians must have had the same thought. Those strong in magic threw down their swords and bows and lifted their hands. Fireballs flew toward the demon, but he barely paused as they hit. It looked like he was absorbing the fire. His eyes glowed with power as he turned to me, ignoring the guardians.
“Don’t use fire, it’s making him stronger,” I yelled. The guardians switched tactics and started throwing ice at the demon, trying to freeze him. It worked better, and he slowed down in his pursuit of me.
He grabbed a sword from his waist and whirled around, hitting three guardians in the process. I couldn’t tell if they were fatal cuts, but I felt my magic shift inside me as I watched them collapse to the ground. These people were dying for me, and they still kept fighting. They would fight until the demon died or until it killed us all.
I pulled my magic into me and pointed my hands at the demon. I wanted to hit him with ice like the others, but it felt wrong when I tried to use it. I let the magic rush through me, trying to decide what to do. When I threw my hands out again, lightning flew from my fingertips, hitting the demon in the chest and knocking him on his ass.
The guardians looked up at me and then back at the demon before those that could threw their own lightning at him. The guardians that couldn’t use lightning continued using ice to slow him down, and a few guardians were using their magic in ways I hadn’t seen.
The demon struggled against us and almost got up, but I pulled my magic into one bolt of lightning. It flew from my hand directly at the demon’s chest and pierced it. The demon screamed in agony, and I covered my ears. The scream sent shivers racing down my spine. I wanted to run out of the warehouse to get away from it, but Ian grabbed me and kept me in place. The demon exploded into black dust that swirled together before disappearing.
“You sent him back to Vammoriel,” one of the guardians said. He was a short man with tattoos up and down his arms in a strange language. “You’re barely trained, and yet you took down a demon. How?” he asked.
“We took down a demon,” I told him, stressing the we. “Without everyone’s help, the demon wouldn’t be dead.”
“He’s not dead,” the man said, and I looked around scared that the demon was back.
“You really don’t know anything about our world, do you? The rumors say so, but I didn’t believe them until now. You sent him back to Vammoriel but didn’t kill him. If he’s summoned to this realm again, he’ll be able to come back.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, unsure if I did something wrong.
“Don’t be sorry. That’s all any of us can do. We don’t have the power or the knowledge to destroy demons that have been summoned to the human realm. Sending them back to their realm is a great accomplishment. He will be weakened for many years because of you.”
“Thank you,” I told him. “I wish no one had gotten hurt though.” I turned back to where the guardians were caring for their injured. It looked like no one had died, though a few people would be in the infirmary for a while. “Will we stay here and wait for the other demon?”
“No. This one was stronger than we thought it would be. Everyone needs to heal. It’s time to head back to the compound,” Ian said.
We piled into cars waiting outside and took off. I followed Ian into the infirmary to see how the wounded were doing. I wanted to make sure they were ok since they fought to protect me. Once I was sure everyone was fine, I headed back to Ian’s cabin while he was filling Kellan in.
A few of the guardians that fought by my side stopped to congratulate me on doing such a good job. I was even given offers to train with two of the other guardians if I ever wanted. I was so surprised I didn’t respond, but they laughed about my lack of speech, saying it was adrenaline and nerves from the battle. After mumbling thanks and goodnight, I made my way to Ian’s cabin and waited for him to get back.
The next day we were training in Ian’s backyard when an unfamiliar voice yelled Ian’s name from the front of the house.
“Back here,” Ian yelled, putting his sword down.
From around the corner of the house, a woman appeared. When she got to Ian, she threw her arms around him in a hug. I felt an unfamiliar anger as I watched them. I could feel my magic begging me to use it on her. They pulled apart and walked slowly back to me, the woman talking animatedly, not realizing how much I wanted to rip her apart. Ian took one look at me and stepped between us.
“Serena, this is my sister, Riley. She’s here for a few days to help us out.” I breathed a quiet sigh of relief when I felt my magic relax. It was only his sister. I struggled to get my emotions under control.
I had never had a reaction like that before, and I didn’t want to again. I glanced at Ian and saw him trying not to smile. This had something to do with being mates. I shook my head. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of asking about it.
Looking at his sister up close and without the anger, I could see the resemblance with her dark wavy hair and high cheekbones. She was almost as tall as Ian. She reached out and shook my hand.
“Hi, Serena. Ian told me all about you. I came here as soon as I got into the compound. I haven’t even been by to see Kellan yet,” she whispered conspiratorially.
I looked between them. I wasn’t sure what she wanted me to say. Ian hadn’t even told me he had a sister. Ian rescued me by putting his arm around Riley. “I haven’t actually told her anything about you yet. She’s been a bit overwhelmed the past few weeks.”
“You didn’t tell her anything?” Riley asked in disbelief.
“We haven’t exactly been on vacation. I’ve been busy trying to keep her away from demons.”
“She’s the one they’re really after?” Riley looked me over again. “Why?”
“We’re still trying to figure that out, but they’re getting closer. I think they’re trying to use her dreams to find her.”
“When was the last time they invaded her dreams?”
“A few weeks ago.”
I stood staring at them as they talked about me like I wasn’t even there. I thought I had spoken to Ian about telling people about my dreams.
“Excuse me,” I butted in. “Why are you tellin
g your sister about my dreams? We’ve talked about this. They’re private. No offense, Riley. I’m sure you can be trusted to keep them to yourself, but Ian should have asked before he started talking about my crazy dreams.”
Ian looked shocked that I yelled at him in front of his sister, but she started laughing and punched her brother on the arm.
“This is what you get for not telling her about me. She thinks you’re gossiping about her.” She turned to me. “I’m a dreamwalker. Ian asked me to come and help you with the bad dreams. Hopefully, it’s not a maer. They’re much harder to deal with, and I’ll need more people to help stop it. If it’s a demon getting into your dreams with the help of a dreamwalker, I can stop them.”
“You’re here to help me?”
“Yes,” she said, smiling. “I’m sorry my brother didn’t warn you. He can be dense at times.”
“How are you going to stop them?”
“I’m going to hang out here tonight. I have magic that will put you into a deep sleep. Then I can follow the trail that the demon left from your mind to the dreamwalker they’re using. I’ll sever the connection and put protection around you so they can’t get into your dreams anymore.”
“You can do that?”
“As long as I’m more powerful than the dreamwalker that the demon is using.”
“What if you’re not?”
“Then I would need another dreamwalker to help, but I doubt it will come to that. I’m one of the strongest in this area. There are a few stronger than me, but I know them all. They wouldn’t be helping a demon.”
“We can do it tonight?” I asked, trying to keep the desperation out of my voice. I hadn’t gotten a good night’s sleep since the bad dream where the demon almost got me. Every night I worried he would find me.
“Yes, we can,” Riley said.
“Why haven’t I had another bad dream, yet?”
“It takes time for a dreamwalker to recoup the energy lost during dreamwalking. Depending on how hard it was to break into your dreams, it could take the dreamwalker weeks to recover. That’s what I suspect happened.”
Riley answered more of my questions, but after a few minutes she said she had to go see Kellan. She promised she would be back in a few hours. I watched her go and couldn’t keep the grin off my face. I would be able to sleep without worrying after tonight.
Riley got back to Ian’s cabin in time for dinner, and we chatted and relaxed until the sun set. She told me what she was going to do and how it would feel. She set a bunch of herbs around the bed and had me lie down and close my eyes.
“The herbs help me concentrate on what I need to do,” she explained.
She began chanting as I laid there. There was no way I was going to be able to fall asleep this way. I opened my eyes to tell Riley that this wasn’t going to work, but when I opened them, I saw the familiar dark alley.
Fear wormed its way through me. I hated this dream. Riley appeared next to me. “No wonder you don’t want to dream about this. It’s like a scene in a scary movie.”
“Yeah,” I told her, “and it only gets worse from here.”
“We need to let it play out until I can find the thread weaving you two together. Remember, this isn’t the real nightmare. It’s just a copy. The demon can’t actually hurt you in here, but it will seem very real to you. Let me know if you need a break. I can stop the dream at any time.”
I nodded and felt the dream start. My feet moved my body forward, picking up the pace until I walked into the alley. When the walls began dripping blood, and it covered the ground. I felt the scene stop.
I turned my head and saw Riley. “How many times have you been through this?” she asked me.
“Too many,” I answered quietly.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t able to help you before now. No one should have dreams like this. It’s not ok for a dreamwalker to invade other people’s minds. When I find him, he’ll be sent to Obarryn, The Lost Realm. It’s like the worst prison on the human realm times one hundred.”
“Good,” I said. “I don’t want anyone else to ever go through this.”
Riley started my bad dream again, and I continued forward, watching the eyes staring at me. Riley let the dream continue until the largest demon took the first swipe at me. My dream paused, and Riley stood next to the demon, who was frozen in time. It gave me a chance to look at him closely. He resembled the demon I helped kill, but there were small differences. His horns weren’t as big, and his eyes didn’t have the same shape.
“I think I’ve got it,” Riley said, gesturing to a small thread that went from the demon’s back into the dark alley. “I need to follow it. Would you like to come with me?” she asked. “Or you can wait here.”
I looked at the scene in front of me. Even frozen, it was terrifying. “I’ll come with you.”
“Good choice,” she said. She looked around one last time, staring at the bubble of protection that had been around me in my dream. “I’ve seen something like that before, but I can’t remember where. How did you put it up?”
“I didn’t. It always shows up when they start to attack me.”
Riley stared at it for another minute. “I’m sure I’ll remember what kind of magic it was eventually. For now, let’s keep moving.” She held out her hand, and I gripped it. She pulled me from my place in the dream, and I walked beside her.
We went farther down the alley. The darkness crept in on all sides, and I kept a tight hold on Riley’s hand. Finally, I saw a light, and I almost raced ahead, wanting to get out of the dark before Riley pulled me back.
“No,” she whispered. “It’s a trap. If you go into the light it could hurt you. That’s the way into his mind. I have his signature now. I can find him anywhere. It’s time to cut the thread so he can’t get to you. As soon as I cut it, you’ll wake up in bed. Don’t move until I cast the protection spell around your brain. There’s one around the bed that I cast when you fell asleep. He won’t be able to get past that. Are you ready?”
“Yes,” I said and closed my eyes. She cut the thread, and my eyes opened in Ian’s bedroom. Riley was standing next to the bed, and she started chanting as soon as her eyes opened. She moved her arms in an intricate dance, and I felt a peacefulness wash over me. As it did I also felt exhausted, like I had been up too many nights in a row.
“It’s done. You’re safe.”
I sat up slowly and hugged her, my body feeling like lead. “Thank you. I can finally sleep peacefully. If I can ever help you, let me know. I’m in your debt,” I told her, overjoyed that the demon couldn’t get me through my dreams anymore.
“I’m glad I could help. You’re going to be exhausted tomorrow. It will take a day or two for your body to heal from traveling in the dream world with me. Go back to sleep. I’ll let Ian know what happened.”
Jabari is worse than Ian
I got up the next day feeling drained. All I wanted was to go back to sleep, but Ian wouldn’t let me. He practically dragged me to the table and shoved a cup of coffee into my hands.
“Why can’t we take a break today?” I whined.
“You can’t stop because you’re tired. As guardians we need to be able to fight at any moment. It doesn’t matter how tired you are. You need to push through.”
“I didn’t say I wanted to be a guardian.”
“I saw the way you looked at the magi in the infirmary. You wanted to help them. You felt bad that they were hurt fighting for you. That’s part of what makes a guardian. Wanting to do the right thing and help others. You’ll be a great guardian.”
“Thanks, Ian, but I’m not sure I’m ready for this.”
“I know, and we’ll take it slow. You still have a lot of training to do, but everyone was impressed by you during the demon fight. They all want a chance to train you.”
“I’m happy with you, Ian. I don’t want to train with anyone else. What if they find out about me.”
“Don’t worry. The only training you’re going to do with the
m is weapons training. No magic. It will keep everyone happy and protect your secret.”
“When do I start?”
“Today. You’re meeting my friend Jabari in an hour on the training grounds.” I stared at him without responding. “It’s good to have different teachers so you don’t learn just one style of fighting,” Ian said at the look on my face.
“Fine.”
He brought me breakfast and leaned down to kiss me. “Hurry up. You don’t want to be late. Jabari will go twice as hard on you.”
I followed Ian to the training grounds and walked over to the guardian he pointed to. His back was to us, but I could see muscles rippling under his shirt as he swung a sword around. His dark skin was already glistening with sweat, and I watched in awe as he jumped up and flipped backward, away from his imaginary foe.
“You want me to fight with him?” I asked Ian again.
“Yes. He’ll teach you a lot of different tricks to keep your opponent off guard.”
“Like that flip? There’s no way I’m going to be able to do that.”
“If you practice and give it your best, you’ll be able to do it, though probably not as good as me,” the man said as he walked closer to us. “So this is who you’ve been hiding in that cabin of yours,” he said to Ian. “Nice to meet you.”
He stuck his hand out, and I shook it. As soon as he clasped my hand, he pulled me away from Ian and flipped me onto my back. He walked back toward Ian while I lay there, trying to catch my breath.
“You’ve been going easy on her,” I heard Jabari tell Ian.
“She’s only been at it a few weeks. Don’t go too hard on her,” Ian growled.
“I see,” Jabari said, laughing. “No wonder you’ve been easy on her. Does she know?”
“I’ve told her, but she doesn’t understand. She had no one to teach her. She needs time to learn about our world.”
“Don’t give her too much time, brother, or she might find someone else.” Jabari laughed again as he dodged out of the way of Ian’s fist. “I’ll take care of her, Ian,” Jabari said softly.
Demon Hunted Page 10
