Psyche

Chapter Twenty-Six

I personally thought it was a miracle that the door managed to miss me, August, and the expensive vase from the Han dynasty.

Then again, it did demolish the priceless writing desk from the Renaissance.

Dust flew in the air, and I held one luminae up, the blade shining through the thickness. My ears were pricked for the smallest sound. Snarling issued from the doorway, and I heard the scraping of claws against wood floorboard. I quickly thrust my luminae towards the sound, and murmured, "Uro." There was a sharp shriek, and then a billowing sound as flames erupted in front of me, the dust in the air sparking and flying everywhere as the demon staggered through the door and collapsed. I thrust the luminae through the creature's heart, and it made a squelching sound before going still. I rolled it out the door and onto the front stoop, using it as cover while I picked off a few others gathered near, throwing my hand towards them, shouting with conviction, as my father taught me, "Uro!" They went up in flames, flames projected from my vis, so that they wouldn't catch on grass or shrubbery around the house. They would, however, catch on demons standing nearby, and suddenly a whole squad was thrashing on the ground, a blazing bonfire.

"That's for my sister!" I taunted, and leapt back around the doorframe as a spike lodged itself a foot from where my head had been. I chanted quickly, and spread my hands, leaving the now door-less entry billowing in flames. They'd have to think before entering. I doubted they knew how to douse them. Canem flames are very powerful when cast with conviction.

"That'll keep them out." August muttered, in a surprisingly strong voice too. I could tell, in the very core, fear was raging like a wildfire. But on the surface, she was able to keep completely calm, through hell or high water. I admired that about her. No matter what she was facing, if it didn't make her smile or laugh, she could keep her composure. Not all girls could do that. August was certainly one of a kind.

"Come on, let's get somewhere with more room." I led the way as we sprinted through the house to the library, standing in the middle of the room, staring as the windows were hammered by thousands of fists. One of the boards splintered and crashed to the floor, sending books flying. If writers could haunt, I'm pretty sure I'd be screwed.

I could hear the defenses crashing by the second, and grabbed August's wrist, turning her so her back was to mine, "Keep your eyes open. I can only watch my front. Make sure nothing comes at my back."

When I glanced back, I swore I saw faint butterfly wings, shimmering, floating from her back. I opened my mouth to say something, thinking Psyche, but decided not to.

The goddess's spirit spoke to me in my mind, Remember your promise.

That's when the monsters came in. The demons had recruited countless beings that my people called the hirudo. It was common protocol. The head demon, the king, had his noble lords, the matori. They recruited vassals, usually the minori. The minori would hire mercenary monsters to fight in legions. They bound them in contract to keep them on the squad. That way, they could use the same procedures. Easier when you have really dumb monsters working for you.

Anyway, the protocol was to send in the hirudo first. They were death-bringers, blood-suckers, mind-killers. No one knows what their true forms are, but they live by possessing humans. They usually enter through the back of the neck, attach themselves to the spine, link into the nervous system, and slowly take over control of the host. They can control all the movements, while making the human more durable, stronger, and faster. Once they were completely possessed, humans have been known to get crushed and still have the ability to stab at the Prince of Canem.