We tried, but the demons didn’t let us.
Caleb slowly stepped closer to us as if he had all the time in the world, his head dipped, eyes burrowing into Jaden.
“Enemy to the left,” he said coolly, pointing ahead. Jaden turned that way instantly.
“Wait—” I started.
TherealCaleb slammed into the fake from behind, knife to its throat.
“Don’t listen to me unless I curse the demons first,” he snapped.
“Noted,” Jaden muttered, looking mildly betrayed.
But not everyone caught on so quickly.
Faelin, already shaky, spun around as my double stepped towards her.
“Are you okay?” the fake me asked, voice soft.
Faelin froze, unsure.
Then she nodded.
Wrong move.
The copy smiled, lunging at her, fingers shaping into claws, but the strike never landed.
Ashley slammed a grenade into its face, before shoving it backward. The demon’s face shimmered, losing its shape from the impact, stumbling backwards for balance.
It detonated within seconds, blasting the shapeshifter into smoke.
“Rule number one,” Ashley said, stepping over the scorch-mark in the sand. “Ifsheis coming at you, it’s not her. Our Ethalyn likes her personal space… well, Malakai and I are exceptions, I guess.”
“Accurate,” Eve said flatly, raising her rifle and firing without looking.
Headshot.
I snorted at their accusation. “That’s how you’re telling me apart from them?”
“Well, that and your red-hot temper,” Nate smirked.
A shapeshifter tried to creep up behind Ashley, but it exploded into black ash.
Ashley glanced at Eve, who had shot it. “Are we, teaming up?”
“Don’t make it weird,” Eve snapped, then paused. “But yes. Temporarily.”
“Temporary ceasefire!” Ashley cheered.
It wouldn’t last long, knowing those two.
Another shapeshifter burst from the ground, aiming straight for Ashley’s back while she was still grinning.
“DUCK!” Nate roared and she reacted to his voice but froze. Nate pushed her down quickly, before throwing himself into the demon with full force, tackling it to the sand. It slashed with its claws against his arm and Nate grunted in pain, but yanked a knife free from its sheath and stabbed it in the throat until it stopped moving.
Ashley blinked, slowly rising to her feet as she stared at him.
“You pushed me,” she said quietly, sounding offended and flustered at the same time.
