Age of Demons

Chapter 17 - Ashlyn

Their strength thrummed through me. It was like multiple shots of espresso, added with a gallon of energy drinks. My senses were heightened—the moon's light was enough for me to see everything in the dark. I could hear a demon drifting over the ground behind me.

I whirled around, right before the demon lunged. Its smoky appendages gripped my arms before I could raise them in defense. A black hole yawned on its face, and it tightened its grip on my arms, so tight I dreaded it was going to squeeze me to death.

Suddenly its grip vanished, along with its looming blank face and the rest of its body. Des stood in its place. He glared at me.

"Stay focused," he said. "Remember, they can touch us. But if you use your demon's power, you can do the same thing."

"I don't know how!" I burst. I had killed a couple of them—punched my hand inside its chest and, as it imploded on itself, a burst of energy transferred through my arm and swirled within my ribcage. But I couldn't actually touch it. Not how I had seen Des doing so. I didn't even know how I was eliminating them—it had to be something Des was doing to me. Had to.

He shook his head. "Just keep doing what I told you," he barked before racing away.

I gritted my teeth, but followed him. And then I stopped in my tracks.

Carter lay on his back, Leyla on the ground beside him. A demon loomed over them, ready to feast. I sprinted after them. I caught the demon unawares and destroyed it before it could even turn around.

One look and I could already tell that Carter was dead. His eyes stared up at the stars, the light in his stolen. A slash of red opened his throat. My eyes blurred, but I dug my teeth into my lip to try to keep the tears at bay. A ball formed in my throat. We had already lost Warren and Malorie—another fallen to the demons.

I made myself move. "Ley, come on," I said, my voice shaking, kneeling down beside her. She didn't listen to me; her hands and eyes were only on Carter.

Yells broke through the night air, and I swiveled around to see a unit of people rushing toward us. They held guns. Big clunky futuristic ones. They lobbed out blue orbs in place of bullets.

My brain was sluggish in grasping where the people came from. It slowly dawned on me that they must be from the safe house, and relief swept through.

The people aimed their guns at the demons. Blue orbs burst from the ends of the guns and latched onto the monsters. The demons shrieked in agony as spider webs of blue engulfed them. They shrunk away, black masses writhing underneath the blue lines.

The assemblage of people surrounded what remained of us. One of them proceeded over to me, their hand extended. I couldn't see their faces—they were covered by visors. But a tail of brown hair wrapped over her shoulder.

"Come with us," the woman with the braid said. Her voice was low, but not as low as a man's. I placed my hand in hers, and she helped me up. Someone else went to Ley. They had to guide her onto her feet themselves, and even then, she fought against them, reaching out to Carter. I stood in front of her, trying to calm her. But she stared through me, unable to come to grips with reality.

The people from the safe house led everyone away from the soggy ground covered in blood, from the demons still caged in blue jolts. Jace and Des complied. Every step sent shocks of pain up my shins. My eyes strained to stay open, my back drooping under the weight of exhaustion.

Blood stained my hands. They were a red flag, warning everyone that I carried death in my palms.

Once we entered the building, they guided us past gray walls with light bulbs dangling from the ceiling to a large room. Mats covered the floor. Mirrors were stamped into the side. Exhaustion emanated from our group, reflected on the large mirror to the right. We wore dirt and grime like a second skin—bloody, pale.