Demon Hunted

by H. M. Sandlin

  He continued talking to Chloe, and I felt her shift slightly away from me. Asher put his hand out and talked to Chloe, and she slowly took his hand. When she finally released her grip on me, he gently swung her up in his arms and started down the tunnel at a fast pace.

  I exchanged confused glances with Ian and hurried after them. The other guardians had already dragged the summoners out. They would be taken to the compound to see Kellan. He would decide their fate along with the other council members.

  By the time we made it out of the tunnel, the people from the cells were already on their way to the compound, and most of the guardians were heading back with them. Asher turned and set Chloe down. She looked at him and then turned to me. Now that she was out in the light, she looked older. In the cage, she looked like a young teenager. Now I could see she was closer to my age, only a couple of years younger. Probably close to eighteen or nineteen.

  “Thank you for helping me,” she said. “I know you didn’t want anyone to see you use your magic, but it saved my life.”

  “I’m glad I could save you. Will you be ok?”

  “I think so. It will take some time, but I think I’ll be able to control them,” she said, talking about the demons in her head.

  “Maybe we can find someone to get them out.”

  “Maybe,” she said doubtfully. I didn’t know enough about any of this stuff to know if it was even possible, but I figured Kellan could find out.

  “Will you stay at the compound now?” I asked her.

  “No, I’m going to go with Asher. I don’t want to be at the compound.” She shuddered. “Someone is a traitor, and without knowing who, I won’t feel safe.”

  “I understand. You better get going. We’re going to destroy the crypt and take off. It would be best for you to be far away from here before Mr. Blake finds out what happened.” I could see the fear in her eyes when she heard his name.

  “Thanks,” she said again. “Tell your hellhound thanks too. She really helped me out.”

  Asher took her arm and led her away to a parked car down the road. I looked down for Molly, but she was missing again. She had been with us when we came here though she didn’t come into the tunnels. She still wasn’t showing herself to anyone but Jabari, Ian, myself and Chloe.

  We waited fifteen minutes to make sure everyone would be close to the compound before Ian, Jabari, and two other guardians used their magic to bring the crypt down. It was protected by dark magic, so it took a lot of power. A loud crack reverberated through the cemetery as the crypt split in half and caved in.

  We turned to leave but didn’t make it very far before we heard a noise, and all the guardians dove to the ground. Ian jumped on me and pushed me down as a wave of heat rolled over the top of us. Ian rolled off quickly as the heat passed and moved his hands, creating an intricate spell I had never seen.

  I rolled to my feet too and faced our attacker. It was Mr. Blake. He was dressed in a suit and looked pissed. The only indication he was a demon was the flash of fire I saw in his dark eyes. There must have been a spell on his crypt to notify him if someone damaged it. The guardians fought quickly, trying to bring Mr. Blake down. He had a shield of some kind up, and most of their spells didn’t get through.

  “What have you done?” he roared. “How did you find this place?” He looked around until he spotted me. “You did this. You led them here. Someone must be teaching you how to use your magic. Who is it?”

  I didn’t respond. He continued to throw spells at the guardians, but he barely took his eyes off me.

  “You’ve seen your father. He’s the one who taught you how to do this, isn’t he? How did he find you? We made sure he didn’t know about you.”

  “You kept him from knowing me?” I finally spoke.

  “Yes,” he grinned triumphantly, “and now you’re mine. He’ll do whatever we say to save you. Pride demons are so pathetically protective of their offspring. It makes them weak. That’s why wrath demons will take over.”

  “I doubt that,” I said, my demon magic coming to the surface to figure out his weakness.

  “You think you can defeat me? You, who has just learned what she is? No, even your guardians can’t defeat me. I’m one of the wrath king’s guards. We’re impossible to kill.”

  “Everything can be killed,” I told him as my magic sought his out. It connected and showed me his weakness, but I didn’t understand it. It felt like darkness was his weakness, but I had no idea how to create darkness. Even if I did, how would I use it to kill him?

  He laughed, catching my expression as he battled the guardians. “You can’t stop me. I’ll slaughter you all and then get my prisoners back.”

  I looked at Ian helplessly. We couldn’t defeat him. I pulled my wild magic to me and started to fight. We may not be able to win, but I would go down fighting. I wouldn’t let Ian die for me when I could fight. Maybe we could weaken him enough that he wouldn’t be able to kill us all.

  He laughed as our attacks weakened. The guardians were getting tired. They had used a lot of energy fighting today. They wouldn’t last much longer. A surge of hope went through me when I heard a bark at my side. I looked down and saw Molly.

  “I hope you’re here to help, girl. This isn’t going well.” She barked again as I dodged a sword that would have taken my head off. Mr. Blake was playing with us at this point. He pulled another sword from thin air and spun both around, deflecting our magic easily. He looked like he could do this all day.

  Molly stepped forward and let out a long howl. In the distance, I heard two more howls. The battle went still as everyone listened to the eerie sound. Mr. Blake tried to move but was stuck. We all were.

  “What are you doing?” Mr. Blake yelled as he struggled to move his arms. I looked at Molly out of the corner of my eye. I could barely see her since I couldn’t move either, but she didn’t appear to be doing anything but howling. When she stopped, I saw smoke billowing in front of Mr. Blake.

  “No. You can’t do this. I’m protected from you,” he screamed at Molly as the smoke sucked him in. When it cleared, he was gone. All that remained on the ground was one of his swords. I walked over to it, but before I could touch it, Ian grabbed me.

  “No, don’t touch it with your bare hands. Who knows what it could do to you.” He used a piece of fabric that he tore off his shirt to pick the sword up. “Let’s get this back to Kellan.”

  “Thanks, Molly.” I leaned down and wrapped my arms around her neck. “Without you, we never would have survived. He was too strong.”

  Molly put her snout against me and sent images of my dad, giving her a vial. I turned to look where she had been standing and saw a crushed vial lying in the grass. “My dad saved us?” I asked. She nodded and then took off. “Wait,” I yelled, but she was already gone.

  The other guardians were watching, and Ian stepped forward. “You can’t tell anyone what you saw. No one knows the hellhounds are protecting Serena, and we don’t want them to. It could cause her great harm. As you can see, they aren’t a danger to us.”

  “She’s part demon,” one of them said, looking at me thoughtfully.

  “Yes, but she grew up human. She didn’t even know demons were real until a few weeks ago.”

  “How?”

  “We don’t know. Someone made sure she grew up away from anyone who could protect her.”

  “You knew she was part demon when you mated her?” the other guardian asked.

  “Yes. She’s my mate. Being part demon doesn’t change that.”

  “If you say she is good, we believe you. She’s saved us multiple times now when fighting demons. She’s going to be a great asset to The Guardianship.” The other guardian agreed, and Ian and Jabari shared a smile. These guardians were on our side. I smiled too.

  “Thanks, guys,” I said.

  “We need to get back to the compound and check on everyone, make sure they made it back safely,” Jabari said.

  We headed back, and Ian dropped me off a
t the cabin. He would go talk to Kellan about the prisoners and let me know. He thought it was best if I wasn’t around for that. Too many guardians were beginning to put my heritage together. It would be best if I stayed out of sight for a bit.

  The rebellion

  I was up early and bored, so I left to go to Kellan’s. Ian would meet me there. He was still sleeping. He was out talking to Kellan late and woke me up when he got to the cabin to let me know everyone we saved was ok. He fell asleep while we were still talking. We both used a lot of energy fighting the summoners and Mr. Blake. He needed the rest.

  Maybe we would get a few days of peace now that we didn’t have to worry about the wrath demons for a while. I looked down and frowned, maybe not. Molly wasn’t here when I finally woke up. Something important must have happened for her to be gone.

  I walked through the barrier to Kellan’s house, and my skin began to prickle in warning. I almost missed the slight movement near the far corner of the house. Instinctively, I dropped down, and a throwing star flew over my head. I stayed close to the ground as I tried to find cover. I rolled to the side as another throwing star landed inches from my face.

  Whoever was out here was trying to kill me. I rolled to my feet and sprinted to the front porch. I heard more thuds behind me, but I wasn’t hit. I found cover behind Kellan’s porch swing and took a few deep breaths.

  My skin was prickling, but not the way a demon would set it off, so I knew it wasn’t the wrath demons after me. Only a few people knew I came here to practice. It had to be another guardian. I thought back to my first training session with Jabari. Erica was using throwing stars. I would bet it was her. She didn’t like me at all, and she wanted Ian, who she would never have since he claimed me.

  I had to find a way to stop her without hurting her too badly. I wasn’t sure how they would feel about me hurting a guardian, but it probably wouldn’t be good. I looked around, trying to find something that would knock her out but not kill her. The only thing I could use was the butt of my knife, but I didn’t want to try and get that close to her, and my magic was still too unpredictable to use. I could end up killing her.

  I peeked over the swing but didn’t see anything. I looked behind me, but she wasn’t there either. I scanned the area before jumping to my feet.

  I ran around the corner of the porch and jumped, grabbing a post and shimmying up until I could grab the roof and haul myself onto it. I scooted back so no one would see me from the ground and tried to find my attacker.

  At first, I didn’t see anything, but then I spotted a flash in the backyard. She was moving from one hiding spot to the next. She was so good I barely saw her move from each spot. I watched as she made her way to the side of the house, closer to where I was hiding. I started moving to the edge of the roof, hoping to jump down and surprise her so I could knock her out before she realized what was happening.

  Right before she reached the spot I needed her to be in, she looked up and locked eyes with me. I rolled as she threw another throwing star at me. This one grazed my cheek, and I let out a hiss. She jumped and grabbed the overhang, swinging a leg over the roof before I even registered what was happening.

  I lunged forward and kicked her body as she pulled herself up. She grunted but didn’t fall. I grabbed my knife and tried to hit her behind the head, but she was too fast. Instead, she grabbed my wrist and used it to pull herself up the rest of the way.

  I tried to swing out at her again, but she caught that arm too. She grinned coldly. “You’re nothing,” she snarled.

  “You won’t get away with this.”

  “Yes, I will. No one will believe I did anything wrong. John will make sure of it.”

  “Councilman John?” I gasped. How could he be ok with this? I knew he didn’t like me, but to let someone kill me was taking it a little far.

  “Yes, he wants to see you gone as much as I do.”

  “Why?”

  “You aren’t needed here. You’re keeping two of the best guardians distracted when they should be protecting the council.”

  “Isn’t their job to protect everyone and train new guardians?”

  “Not anymore. Things are going to start changing in the council. Soon John will be the leader, and guardians will protect only the most important magi.” She laughed. “Too bad you won’t be around to see it.”

  She threw me backward and grabbed her dagger. As she stepped toward me, I heard the pounding of paws. Molly jumped, snarling, onto the roof, and lunged at Erica. She bit into Erica’s forearm until the dagger clattered to the rooftop.

  “Don’t kill her, Molly! She has information that Kellan might need.”

  “You know this beast?” Erica screamed. “Make it stop. It’s a hellhound. It will kill us all.”

  “No, she won’t, but she will kill you if you don’t stop fighting her.” Erica tried to reach her other dagger, but flames started to cover Molly’s skin, burning Erica.

  Erica let her hand drop away and hung her head. “I won’t tell you anything.”

  “Maybe not, but I’ll let Ian and Jabari decide what to do with you.”

  At that moment, I heard Ian yelling for me.

  “Up here. We have company.”

  Ian and Jabari swung themselves onto the roof and came over to me. “What happened?” Ian asked.

  “Erica tried to kill me. Thankfully, Molly arrived in time to save me.”

  “She what?” Jabari asked. “Why? She’s a guardian. She’s supposed to protect life.”

  “That’s not what she says.” I told them everything Erica said to me about John and the council.

  “We need to go,” Ian said. “We need to warn Kellan. We can’t let John take over the council.”

  “It’s probably too late. John was going to take care of Kellan while I handled her.” Erica spit toward me.

  “Gross,” I said, stepping around it. “Let’s go. Maybe we can get to Kellan first.”

  Molly let out a howl, and we all stopped. I could hear another howl, but it sounded very far away.

  “Can hellhounds communicate across realms?” I asked.

  Everyone shook their heads, not knowing the answer. We jumped down, Jabari using his magic to tie Erica up so she couldn’t escape. Molly pressed close to my side on the way back, and I let her.

  If she hadn’t come when she did, Erica would have killed me. If I had better control of my magic, I could have stopped her. She didn’t even try to use magic. She knew she could beat me without it. Molly whined, and I looked down. She leaned against me again, reassuring me and making me feel a little bit better.

  We jogged through the portal and headed directly for the compound. “Should I stay back?” I asked, worried about who might see Molly.

  “No, I want you close to us in case something else happens. We don’t know who else in The Guardianship is in league with John.”

  “What about Molly?”

  “Everyone will have to deal with it. It’s not the first time we were wrong about a creature from a different realm, and it won’t be the last. It’s time for them to see that hellhounds can choose to protect magi too.”

  Ian ran ahead, and Jabari hefted Erica up with magic, dragging her a few inches above the path. I ran behind them, and in minutes we were approaching the compound. Everything was strangely silent. We didn’t see any magi, and there were no guards at the rear entrance. Ian jogged up the steps and tried to open the door but was thrown back by a blast of magic.

  “Someone placed a spell around the door. We can’t get in.”

  “What about through one of the windows?” I asked.

  “Maybe.” Jabari looked at the windows on either side of the door and shook his head. He scanned the outside of the building. “The spell protects the entire building.”

  Molly nudged me with her nose and whined. “Can you get us through?” I asked her. She nodded. “Put your hands on Molly. She can get us through.”

  We put our hands against Molly’s skin, Jabari forc
ing Erica to touch Molly’s back, and we slowly walked forward. I reached out to grab the handle. I let my hand hover over it for a second but didn’t feel any magic. I gripped the handle and turned, opening the door. We stepped inside and heard shouts coming from the upper levels.

  As soon as the door closed, we let go of Molly and raced for the stairs. Molly let out a few short barks, and we heard a response from above. She jumped to the front of the line, and we followed her up two flights of stairs and down the hallway. She stopped in front of a large door and barked again. The answering barks came from inside.

  Jabari threw the doors open. Kellan was locked in a battle with John while the hellhounds stood on either side of the room bristling.

  “Why haven’t they stopped John?” I asked.

  “They can’t. Kellan and John’s magic is interlocked. They’re fighting for control of The Guardianship. If anyone uses magic to help them, they can both die.”

  “That’s a stupid rule.”

  “It’s to stop a group of people from fighting one leader.”

  “What if you don’t use magic?”

  “What do you mean?” Jabari asked.

  “What if I walk up and hit John on the side of the head?”

  “I doubt that would work,” Ian said, not taking his eyes off Kellan or John. “There are spells that take over during a challenge to keep anything from interfering.”

  “How about distracting him then?”

  “How?”

  “He hasn’t realized we’re here yet. When he sees Erica and me, it might surprise him enough that Kellan can get the upper hand.”

  “It’s worth a try,” Jabari said.

  “John,” I yelled as I walked farther into the room. His glanced toward me, but he didn’t lose his concentration. “Look who I brought with me. She has some fascinating stories about you. She’s talkative when she thinks she’s going to win. You really should choose better help,” I tried taunting him.

  He looked over as Jabari dragged Erica to where he could see her. His eyes widened. He must have lost his concentration for a split second because he turned back to Kellan with a look of distress. Sweat poured from Kellan’s face, and his limbs were beginning to shake, but it looked like he was winning. John turned pale and was straining to stay on his feet.