Runes of Truth (A Demon's Fall #1)(18)
“Weapons, now!” I shout, pulling my bow off and grabbing an arrow. Nix does the same, and we start firing instantly. I hit three souls before they get too close and whack the nearest one with the end of my bow when it runs for me. I grab a dagger out of my belt, slamming it into the soul of what looks like a burnt body as it runs at me. I turn around, just in time to see Trex slam his axe over the head of a soul.
“Shit, there are too many. It’s like they have gathered up to find us and trap us,” I mutter, grabbing the hand of the soul that grabs for me, and flipping it over my shoulder, slamming my dagger into it as it lands. I jump up, looking around, and seeing nothing but souls. More and more are running towards us, far more than the twenty we started with. Crap a doodle.
“Azi!” I shout at him, seeing him holding two souls in his hands, and he is burning them. He quickly kills them, looking over at me, and then to the army surrounding us.
“Alright,” he shouts. “Cover me!”
“Everyone cover Azi, and jump into the flame portal he makes!” I tell them, neglecting to mention that it hurts like hell to go through a demon portal. It will likely knock us all out, including Azi for holding it open so long. The guys do as I ask, and I pull another arrow out, shooting soul after soul as I back up. I get to Azi’s side just as he opens the fire portal, which looks just like a wall of flames. Connor gives me a wide-eyed look, and I don’t have time to look at the others as a soul runs at Nix, catching him off guard, and biting his arm. He swears, pulling the soul off of him, and I shoot the soul with an arrow. He holds his arm as he backs towards the portal and jumps in with a nod at me.
“Jump in Connor, Trex! Azi can’t hold it for long!” I say, knowing I’m close to leaving their asses here. Connor jumps in, and Trex kills two more souls with his axe before jumping.
“Now, Vi!” Azi says, sweat pouring down his forehead, and his red eyes blazing. I put my finger to my blue rune, calling my holy fire and make a wall of it in front of us, seeing the souls run towards the holy fire, and burning themselves. I turn around, and run into the portal, feeling like every part of me is burning before I land somewhere cold, then black out.
Evie
“Evie . . .” I hear my friend speak, her words filled with shock as I pull the dagger out of the chest of the Protector on the floor.
“He was waiting for me in here, he knew I would come to see you today and get food,” I say with a shaky voice, my hand dropping the dagger onto the floor as I realise what I’ve done. I’ve killed him.
“Don’t you dare feel guilty, not for this. I’m sorry I wasn’t here to protect you,” she says, coming over to me.
“Why do they keep coming for me? Why am I not safe anywhere? I thought this place was safe?” I ask. I was lucky to kill this one, and if I hadn’t been training with the old demon I found to help me, I wouldn’t have lived. I’m also lucky the Protector slipped on the spilt coke on the floor, dropping his dagger, and I could kill him before he could stand up.
“I thought the same, but it’s not. We will move to another place,” she states, holding her hands on her hips and staring at the dead Protector.
“I can just leave, you don’t have to move because of me. If I’m not here, they won’t come after you,” I say, trying not to look as upset as I feel.
“I’m not leaving an eight-year-old on the streets while she is hunted by monsters. Even a smart eight-year-old like you,” she says, tutting like she does when she isn’t happy.
“But you’re a witch, you can’t leave your people,” I say, and all the witches live in this demon underground. They own the section my friend lives in.
“I have no living family, and I’m a teacher, I can get a job anywhere,” she reminds me, and I nod, biting my lip. “The witches won’t miss me, don’t worry.”
“What should we do with him?” I ask, knowing we can’t just leave him here. My friend picks a drawing up off the side, the drawing of my rune name I drew earlier today when I was bored.
“We leave this, a warning for whoever is after you,” she says, leaning down and placing the drawing on his chest. “Now help me pack our stuff, and no more living on the streets for you. You can hide with me, and we will figure something out. I’m tired of letting you walk out that door for nights on end and waiting for you to come back, Evie.”
“You’re like the only real family I’ve ever had,” I say quietly.
“Not ‘like’, we are family,” she says, pulling me into her arms and kissing my forehead. “You won’t be alone ever again, Evie.”
“Vi, wake up,” Azi’s voice comes through a haze, and I blink my eyes open, seeing that my head is in his lap, and his hand is gently stroking my cheek. For a second, I forget what happened in the past, only seeing his handsome features, the red eyes that would scare most, but not me. They never scared me. I liked the darkness. The emotion I see in his eyes, but I’m not sure if it’s real, and I don’t know if I can look away. “Vi, I never meant to hurt you. It was always you for me, from the moment I met you here. Let me explain that night.”
“Azi,” I whisper gently, and the sound of a male groan snaps me out of whatever that was, and I jump off his lap, ignoring his annoyed glare. I can’t risk letting him close like that again, this is a job, that’s all. That was stupid, Evie. I pull myself to my feet, looking around at the small cave we are in; the snow just outside the entrance. By the looks of the trail of snow, Azi dragged us in here from outside. I look over to see Trex waking up, shaking his head, looking dazed. Where the hell are we?