Fire Angels

Chapter 9 Part 1 Attack!

The Fire Angels attack the Cellar and Dion and Shad must flee.  But Romance is blossoming for Dion.  

Thank you for reading.  Please Vote. It helps me get more readers.

Chapter 9

I ran between the stone pillars. "Look out!" cried Andre. I heard something scratching and snuffling coming through the darkness behind me and I turned to see. In that moment someone seized me.

Andre! No! I opened my mouth to scream but there was a hand clamped over it.

"Stay still," breathed Shad in my ear. "This is real."

Something was scratching in the leaves above out heads. Scratch, scratch, scratch. It sounded like a dog digging, but it was something much bigger than a dog. Showers of earth fell rustling on leaves. Then came a loud snuff so close above us that Shad and I both jumped.

Leaves crunched softly under...what? Feet? I could hear a faint roaring like the sound a fire made in a chimney. A faint scent of sulfur seeped into the cellar. A vivid orange glow shone through the weave of the blanket.

For endlessly slow minutes we crouched there gripping each other, while up above something dug about first in one place than in another. Beside us the heavily sedated Tomas slept soundly and mercifully silently.

I put my hand to the iron necklace. If there was any time to betray myself out of necessity, it was now.

Shad's hand caught mine. "Wait!" he whispered in my ear. "This is what it wants. Their senses are not so good and they are easily distracted, but once you use magic, it and any others will be able to see you clearly.

Suddenly a scream echoed through the forest and after it a kind of ululating cry. Then came a chaos of screams and shouts. With a sudden of rustle of leaves and a shoosh of wings something huge took off above us, letting out a cackle of maniacal laughter. There was a booming explosion nearby.

Shad was up and pulling Tomas out of bed.

"Wake up man!" he cried. "Wake up!" By now the shouts and screams above us were so loud I could hardly hear Tomas groaning protests.

The trap door was flung open. Someone was shouting down through it.

"Come on!" yelled Shad. He slung the sleepily protesting Tomas over his shoulder like a flour sack, carried him to the trap door and passed him up to someone who was leaning in through it.

Then he grabbed my arm and half-dragged, half-pushed me out onto the ground above. Hands grabbed me and pulled me away from the hole

Outside trees were burning all around us. By their light I could see black figures running away. One of them was already carrying Tomas on its back.

Evil giggling laughter screamed out above us.

"Oh shit," said a voice. "Here they come." Someone pushed me and shouted "Go! Go!" and suddenly I was running full tilt through brambles and bushes, stumbling over stones, Shad dragging me along. A great light came roaring down towards us.

"Down," shouted Shad pulling me down among stones and brambles. "Crawl, Crawl." I crawled over the rough stony ground too terrified feel pain.

Bang! Something exploded nearby in a burst of flames. Little pieces of something rained down all around us. Someone screamed behind us, a scream of pure agony.

Looking back I saw great balls of flaming orange light circling around, a hot backdrop against which the black trees stood and tiny figures scattered like ants.