𝗨𝗟𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗘 | 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐰 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝

𝐱𝐢𝐢. 𝐖𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐃 - 𝒘𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅, 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊 𝒈𝒐𝒕 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒊𝒕

♕

By the time they reached the carriages waiting for them outside the Market, Matthew had produced his refilled flask from inside his coat and was drinking steadily. He stumbled getting up into the carriage and refused James's offer of help, batting his hand away before collapsing onto the velvet seat and breaking into a rousing chorus of "I Could Love You in a Steam Heat Flat."

Dahlia had her hand in his covered by the skirts of her dress. She squeezed it occasionally, while speaking to Christopher.

The carriage stopped abruptly, The Merry Thieves exchanged a glance and spilled out the carriage, Dahlia saw Cordelia and Lucie with their weapons out and fighting a demon.

Dahlia unsheathed Caliburn, griping the silver handle tightly, her feet crunching against the snow.

"Hauras demons!" called James, who wore an expression that mingled annoyance and anger. Hauras demons were pests. Sometimes called scamp demons, they were fast and ugly—scaled and horned, with vicious talons—but only about the size of small wolves.

James threw a knife, it flew like silver death from his hand, severing a Hauras demon's head from its body. Ichor splattered, and the two halves of the demon puffed into nothingness; the other scamp demons shrieked and laughed. 

"Ooh! Pests!" Lucie cried in outrage as two of the creatures caught at her skirts, tearing at the velvet rosettes. With no room to swing her weapon, she began to club at them with the handle of her axe.

One advanced at Dahlia, tearing at her her dress. She glared angrily at the demon. "Bitch." she hissed, stabbing it with Caliburn. The demon spasmed, then disappeared.

One leaped at Matthew, who jammed a chalikar into its throat with both hands, not even bothering to throw it. The demon crumpled, gurgling, and disappeared. Another came from behind; Matthew turned—stumbled, and slipped. He went down, slamming hard into the icy ground.

Dahlia ran to him, but James was there before her, steadying him to his feet. She caught a glimpse of Matthew's white face before he drew a seraph blade from his belt: it blazed up, its brightness searing a line across Dahlia's vision. She could see Christopher laying about with his blade, James with a long knife. The night was filled with shrieks and hissing, their feet churning the snowy ground into a stinking mess of ice and ichor. 

Lucie screamed, Dahlia spun around as the ground between them, all ice and dirt, erupted. Something long, slithering, and scaled burst from it, scattering clods of earth.

A Naga demon. Dahlia had seen them only once in her life, but then again she had been six. This one had a long snake's body and a flat, arrow-shaped head, split by a wide mouth lined with yellow, spiky teeth. Its eyes were black saucers.

Dahlia heard Matthew give a hoarse shout: she looked over to see the boys trapped behind a wall of Hauras demons. The Naga hissed, curled, and lunged toward Lucie, who leaped aside just in time, her hand axe going flying; she fumbled for a seraph blade—

Dahlia leaped forward as the whole world seemed to turn to sparkling silver. Everything had gone slow and still—only she was striking like lightning, like a rain of silver and gold. The Naga writhed as the blade stabbed into its side. Ichor splattered onto Dahlia's hands.

She spun as it rose above her, its flat head outspread like a cobra's. It swayed back and forth, then plunged its head toward her, faster than sparks rising from a fire. Dahlia whirled as it opened its saw-toothed mouth, and plunged her blade upward, stabbing through the roof of its mouth. 

Cordelia was a few steps behind her, stabbing the demon on the other side, nearly immobilizing it. Dahlia fell away from the demon and onto the snow.