The screams are louder than ever, and when I turn a corner, there she is, hanging suspended in the air at the far end of the tunnel.
Black tentacles are twisted around her, holding her aloft as she screams in pain.
I’m halfway down the tunnel when I realize she’s not alone. A small female stands to the side, eyes closed, arms outstretched. Inky tendrils, wrapped around Haven, snake from the woman’s open mouth.
The demon.
I don’t fully understand what’s going on, but whatever it’s doing to Haven, it’s clearly hurting her.
My magic is already at the surface. I don’t need to reach for it. I unleash it.
White-hot fire blasts from my palms, slamming into the demon and catching it off guard. It crashes into the wall hard enough to crack stone, the dark ropes snapping back into its body.
Haven drops.
I’m too far away to catch her, but I create a burst of wind beneath her, cushioning her fall just enough. Even so, she hits the ground hard and doesn’t move, her body slack against the stone.
My heart lurches violently in my chest.
“Haven!” I shout, already sprinting toward her, dread clawing up my throat.
The voice that answers me isn’t hers. The low laughter is like nothing I’ve ever heard before. Slow, deep, throaty. More beast than creature or human.
I skid to a stop, spinning back toward the demon just in time to see its eyes snap open, an endless void of black. The body of the human girl it’s inhabiting looks broken, one of her arms and a leg twisted in an unnatural way. But even so, the laughter doesn’t stop.
Its evident glee in the face of defeat makes my blood run cold.
The demon convulses, and then, just like the others, a dark substance starts leaking from the girl’s body. But this time, the dark vapor doesn’t dissipate. It gathers in the air above her.
I watch in horror as it shapes itself into a distorted humanoid form, long limbs unfolding one by one, fingers tapering into sharp, unnatural points. The smoke thickens, hardening in places into scaly flesh. A jagged slash splits across its eyeless head, lined with multiple rows of black, serrated teeth.
The thing steps fully free of the girl’s body and she deflates behind it like an empty shell.
Putting myself between it and Haven, I unleash another blast of my magic, aiming for the demon’s center, but as soon as the stream of fire reaches it, the monster dissipates, evaporating into the darkness.
Its eerie laughter echoes off the tunnel walls before it utters its parting comment.
“You’ve already lost.” Its words scrape out, raw and serrated.
My heart stops. Haven.
Spinning, I drop to my knees in front of her, my hands shaking as I carefully roll her onto her back, brushing her tangled hair out of her face. Her cheeks are pale and cold, making me fear the worst, but there’s a slight rise and fall of her chest, letting me know she’s breathing.
Thank the Creator.
I gently pull her into my arms, pressing my forehead briefly to hers. “Haven,” I whisper. “Stay with me.”
Her lashes flutter.
“Becks!” Kade calls from somewhere deeper in the tunnels.
“Over here,” I yell over my shoulder, gathering Haven closer and standing.
She’s freezing, most likely injured. I need to get her out of here.
Footsteps beat against the wet stone as Kade and the others round the corner and race toward us. The others hang back a little as Kade comes up to me and asks, “Is she . . .?”
“She’s alive. But the demon did something to her.”
