They broke into a sprint, their fingers laced together as they ran like hell across the field, toward the academy that was somehow farther away than before. Claws ripped into the earth as the creature hurtled after them.
“Faster, Loren!”Dallas barked. “Faster!FASTER.”She released her hand, the smell of birthday candles knifing through Loren’s airways as Dallas waved her Focus.
Loren didn’t turn around at the sound of the creature releasing a wet snarl of anger. It stumbled under whatever spell Dallas had cast, buying them a measly two seconds at best. Loren’s leg muscles burned as she barreled for the nearest set of doors.
“Help!”Loren rasped. “HELP. We needhelp!”
They were almost at the entrance, but they wouldn’t make it in time to close the doors behind them. Not with the demon right at their backs, snapping at their heels with bated breath.
As if reading her mind, Dallas stooped mid-sprint to grab a rock that was larger than a man’s fist and hurl it behind her. It nailed the demon in the head hard enough that it grunted and tripped, buying them just enough time to crash through the doors.
Those doors swung open under their weight and slammed into the walls of the corridor.
“Shut them!”Dallas screamed. “SHUT THE DOORS!” She grabbed one of them and began pushing it closed. Two other students who were gaping in the hallway dropped their binders and hurried to help.
The doors had barely sealed when the creature crashed into them full force. Loren stumbled back, jaw rattling as she fell to the floor hard enough to bruise her tailbone. Blood rushed in her veins, turning her head a thousand pounds heavier.
The dining hall emptied as students rushed out to see what was happening. Screams and frantic voices rippled among the crowd. Dallas pushed past two students and helped Loren to her feet.
A male voice boomed, “Out of the way.” It was Headmaster Langdon. On his heels were three other professors, one of which was Phipps.
Students parted to let them through. Teeth and claws collided with the doors, cracking the magic-enforced glass on the window.
Headmaster Langdon held up his stave. Blood ran from his left nostril as he concentrated, the scent of magic once again filling Loren’s lungs.
The chunk of onyx at the point of the headmaster’s Focus blazed with red light. The demon’s head slowly turned all the way around until it faced the other direction. There was acrackas its neck snapped, and it collapsed to the ground with one last snarl of defiance.
The silence that followed lasted barely five seconds before the sobbing and screaming began.
As she stood there in Dallas’s arms, Loren couldn’t stop wondering how in the hell that demon had made it through the spells protecting campus.
And from the look on Headmaster Langdon’s face, Loren knew he was wondering the very same thing.
—
Darien’s boots pounded on the floors as he ascended the stairs from the basement at Hell’s Gate, making sure to close the door behind him. The last thing he needed was Loren wandering down there and seeing something he wasn’t ready for her to see. There wasn’t much down there, at least not at the moment, but he was certain the assortment of weapons the Devils kept in those rooms would be enough to frighten her to the bone.
It was the last thing she needed after the scare she and Dallas had encountered on the academy grounds. He and the Devils had tried to figure out how the demon had made it through the academy’s intricate spellwork that was designed specifically to keep creatures like it out, but they’d found no answers.
It was Friday, so Loren was here now for the weekend, which meant Darien could allow his mind to take a rest from this new mystery for a while. She was safe here. Dallas was here for the night too, after expressing that she was still feeling too rattled to want to stay at the academy by herself. Darien had a feeling Max had something to do with her request, but he didn’t prod.
Darien strode to the fridge and swung open the door to find the Hob crouched inside it, partially hidden behind the beer cases on the bottom shelf.
“What did I tell you about hiding out in the fridge?” Darien said as he reached for a beer.
Mortifer ducked under his arm and clamoured up the fridge to duck behind the boxes of cereal at the top. He peered around one of those boxes to bare his sharp little teeth at Darien, his eyes glowing like red stars.
Darien cracked open the can of beer. “Don’t give me that attitude,” he said, though a smile tugged at his mouth.
Bandit, who was sprawled across the couch in the sitting room, lifted his head, eyed Mortifer, and said,Can I play?
No,Darien replied.
The spirit gave a low whine.Why not?
Because your definition ofplayingusually involves eating something you’re not supposed to. And I quite like Mortifer, thanks.
Bandit sighed through his nose and lowered his head onto a couch cushion.
