Age of Demons

Chapter 47 - Jace

Detroit Safe House

Jace heard the screams. His head snapped in the direction they came from—where Ash's room was.

"I was just there," he growled before retracing his steps.

Out of nowhere, dozens of demons rushed past him from behind. Panic jolted through his body, and he jumped into action. The demons ignored him though. They didn't even attempt a single strike at him. Baffled, he watched as they climbed the walls and slithered past him, away from the rooms.

He wanted to follow them, attack them from behind. But the yell he heard near Ash's room tugged at him harder than his bloodlust.

The door was open, and inside, the room was completely dark.

"Ash!" he yelled, barreling into the room. Gradually, his eyes adjusted, and he saw two forms huddled inside.

"Leyla," he whispered.

"She left." She stood still, arms hugging herself, as if cold. Her eyes stared at the floor, unfocused.

"Where?"

Ley glanced up at him with blank eyes.

"She's not right," Niko responded.

"Just tell me where she went," he barked.

Before anything else could happen, Jace felt an odd pulling sensation. He whirled around to confront a demon, but was met with Sylvia. She lingered in the doorway, dressed in her hospital gown, dark hair unraveling to her waist.

She walked toward him. He was too shocked to do anything. He was so used to her staying down in the demon prison that it almost seemed impossible to see her anywhere else.

She raised her palm in his direction.

"What—" he started but was cut off when he felt a ripping inside him—as if each of his organs were tearing apart in half. He wanted to run away from her—get as far away as possible, but he was glued to the floor.

Sylvia slightly drew her hand back, and he fell in a heap. A black shroud peeled off his body and entered the palm of her hand, disappearing into the skin. The last bit of darkness tore away, and a haze descended over his head. The scene before him was only blurry shapes and muffled words. He felt displaced, as if he were floating in a space of emptiness.

Loud clear words dumped into his ears like a bucket of water on his head.

He gasped, jolting upright. The world came back into focus. A path of light shone through the doorway from the hall. He looked next to him, seeing Leyla and Niko crowding around him. He glanced back up at Sylvia's retreating back as she left the room.

"What happened?" Jace rasped. His voice came out raw, as if he hadn't spoken in ages. He felt the desperate need for a glass of water.

Leyla watched his every move as he struggled to his feet.

"Jace?" she spoke out loud, starting to break out of the shock that had kept her frozen.

"What happened?" he repeated.

It was Niko who answered him. "The demon's gone."

Jace shut his eyes. He tried searching around for the demonic presence he was so familiar with. But he was empty. Dry. Powerless.

Instead of the complete euphoria he always imagined he'd feel, defeat weighed heavily on his mind.

The sun scrambled above the horizon, clinging at the edge, struggling to rise higher in the sky.

Jace gazed out of the window, not really looking at the new day beginning. His reflection glared back at him, deep brown eyes caught in the blooming light.

He was in the cafeteria. All of the tables had been cleared, except for a few. Hundreds of people crowded the giant room.

It was almost as quiet as a cemetery. To his left, a couple sat at a table, their heads lowered, fingers entwined with one another. To his right, people laughed and cried at the same time. A lot of people had died during the night. Yet more had survived. The safe house was saved. All the demons that had gotten inside had been cleared out. Thanks to the soldiers, and mostly thanks to Sylvia.

Like Ash, she took away the demons. But unlike Ash, she didn't destroy them. She inhaled them into herself. She did what Ash couldn't: remove demons from a human body. Jace didn't fully understand it, but he and other eyewitness accounts had seen it.

Sylvia had disappeared, like all the demons she had sucked up. No one could find her. Des was gone too. Jace wondered if his demon had been pulled from him. They couldn't find Ashlyn either. He, Ley, and Niko were about to head out for another round of scouring for her. They had to find her. They had to.

They got the electric barrier back up and running right away. Everyone is okay. The knowledge echoed in his head, but not his heart. He knew this wasn't the end. And he felt empty. The demon had plugged up all the dark spaces in his head, and now every thought weighed on him. A new darkness spoke in his mind.

Jace had been possessed for the last seven years. And now he was free. So why didn't he feel that way? Maybe because he had his memories back. The memories strained and tugged at the forefront of his mind. The one that took up the most room was what he knew would probably haunt him for the rest of his life. The day he'd been possessed. The day the demon inside him had killed his mother. Her scream shredded into every beat of his heart. However, the one good thing he noticed in the re-runs of his memory was that he hadn't murdered his siblings. They had run away before the demons and the possessed could get to them. He hoped they still lived. He hoped they'd never see him again.

A hand fell on his shoulder. He spun around to spot Leyla and Niko behind him. A light shone in their eyes, despite the weariness that lined their faces.

"Have you seen Ash yet?" Leyla asked him.

Jace shook his head.

They departed the cafeteria and, for a brief moment, he wished he had fled like Des and Sylvia had, just so he wouldn't have to face what was coming next.

*A/N: Ohmygosssshhhhh!!! ONE.MORE.CHAPTER.LEFT! It's the end of the road here—but don't worry, there will be a sequel! I'm so excited to have this story completed and on Wattpad for anyone to read. Thank you so much to everyone that keeps up with this story, and I appreciate the views, votes, and comments.*