Hellbound Hearts

9. Psychokinesis

Escaping the demon's grip, I take a deep breath, my lungs burning as they finally fill with air. I lunge at him, aiming for his face, but he's too fast. His foot connects with my stomach, knocking the wind out of me and breaking my concentration. He uses the moment to his advantage, and we tumble to the ground again.

As we struggle, his hot, acrid breath fills my nostrils, and I pray for enough strength to hold out until my teammates arrive. I have no idea how much time has passed since we started fighting, but it feels like hours.

Just as exhaustion begins to take over, I hear Arthur's roar from the doorway. I turn my head, ducking just in time as Arthur comes barreling toward us, his powerful kick landing on my opponent.

"You're late," I grin, wiping blood from my throbbing lower lip. "Almost missed all the fun."

"Doesn't look like it," Eleonora says, cracking her knuckles. "Let's play."

While my focus is on Eleonora, the demon suddenly overpowers Arthur, pinning him to the ground and attempting to choke him. Realizing I need to act fast, I grab a nearby paint can and try to strike the demon, but he catches my hand mid-air. With a painful twist of my wrist, he forces me to drop the can and resumes attacking Arthur.

I leap onto the demon's back, wrapping my arm tightly around his neck. Arthur seizes the opportunity, delivering a series of blows to the demon's face. I swear I heard the crunch of a breaking nose. The demon growls furiously, but I manage to shove him off Arthur, giving him a moment to recover. He gives me a thumbs-up, and out of the corner of my eye, I catch Eleonora poised to strike.

But we've underestimated our enemy. This demon has reached the third category, which means he's mastered certain abilities—psychokinesis being one of them. Before Eleonora can react, he flings her into the wall with a wave of his hand. She crashes against it with a rough impact, and I wince, but there's no time to dwell on injuries.

We have to end this quickly. Our stamina won't hold out much longer. Blood trickles from my forehead, blurring vision in my left eye and tinting the room in red. This fight feels like it's been going on forever.

Then, a plan sparks in my mind. I spot a rope in the corner of the room. Without hesitation, I dart over, snatch it up, and charge back toward the demon. He's focused on Eleonora and Arthur and doesn't notice as I come at him with the rope. I manage to wrap it around him, tightening it to restrict his movements, buying us a moment to prepare for the final banishment.

Arthur jumps in, pinning the demon and landing a solid knee to his chin. I reach for the demon's forehead, hoping to expel the evil entity. But in my focus, I forget one crucial detail. Enough time has passed since the demon's last psychokinetic attack—he's recharged. Before I can react, he flings me backward with an invisible force.

My landing is far rougher than Eleonora's. I crash into another room's door, slamming it against the wall with a loud bang, and land in a heap of construction debris. My head strikes a piece of metal, sending a sharp pain through my skull. My vision blurs. Damn, what a ride.

I struggle to catch my breath and attempt to stand, but my body won't cooperate. All I can do is lift my head slightly, and my gaze locks with Cody's. He's crouched under a table, wide-eyed and terrified.

With a groan, I let my head fall back. Did that idiot seriously stay here when I told him to run?

I want to get up and help my team, but my whole body aches with exhaustion. Demonic growls and scuffling echo from the next room, but suddenly, everything goes quiet. There are only two possibilities: either my colleagues are lying there just as beaten as I am, or they've managed to banish the demon. I lift my head again to check the aftermath.

"Elle, he's here. Seems to be alive," Arthur calls cheerfully from the doorway. "Well, more or less."

Arthur extends his hand, and I manage to get to my feet, though I feel like absolute crap. A slightly battered Eleonora hurries in, and Kaja joins us from her lookout post outside.

"Did it work?" I ask, wiping the blood and sweat-stuck hair from my forehead.

A curse slips out as a sharp pain stabs through my side.

"It did," Eleonora sighs in relief. "He's injured, but I'll heal the worst wounds. One of you make sure he doesn't remember any of this."

I nod, but a thought hits me—Cody, still terrified and confused, has heard everything.

"Looks like we have some explaining to do, I guess" I say, motioning toward him.

Everyone stares at me in confusion, then shifts their attention to where I'm pointing.

"Oh, fuck me," Arthur mutters. "He shouldn't be here."

"Well, think again," I sigh, wincing as pain flares up in my side once more.

"What do you mean?" Eleonora asks, puzzled.

"This is Cody," I say, sighing. "I finally found him."