Reagan, we need to end this and leave.
I glanced behind me at the torn demon bodies littering the ground. The snake still traveled Darius’s body, randomly biting before moving on.
“Right. Okay.” As I turned back, the cartoon red of the demon dissolved into a leathery brown that matched my pants. Its wings grew, pulled even more tightly into its body so they didn’t touch the magical bars, and its tail shrunk away. “I think I preferred the red.”
“We can come to an understanding,” it said. “You have cleared away my advisors. You’ve made room for a new leadership. We can forge it together!”
I collapsed the bars one at a time, hitting its body. It fought me, thrashing against the magic and pushing it away. The bars that struck it didn’t slice through it as easily as the woven magic had destroyed the other demons.
I hit it with another blast of fused hellfire as the bars finished beating it. Still, it struggled to get up. The thing was a tank.
Darius rushed forward with claws and fangs bared. I beat him there with my sword, something I wasn’t a novice with. The sword drew fused magic into the blade and I slashed down. It sliced through half the demon’s neck before it stopped, needing another draw from my power. I gave it more, now feeling the drain of energy. Darius raked his claws down the demon’s chest, making it thrash. I cut again with my blade, finally getting it through.
The room fell into silence.
“Dang it, that thing was hard to kill.” I wiped the sweat off my forehead and sagged. I was thoroughly drained and utterly exhausted. “It could’ve been lying, but it said it wasn’t the most powerful demon in the kingdom. Besides my father, obviously.”
I would believe it. The most powerful would be granted the choicest spots within the kingdom, and that would be nearer Lucifer.
“Well, this one was almost too much, and that is with me totally letting go. If he’d had better advisors, I would’ve been screwed.”
There are not an unlimited amount of top level fives. Those with the most power seek it for themselves and collect weaker people under them. You see it in every world, with every species.
“That’s good, I guess. Regardless, we need to get out of here. We’ve gotten what we came for.”
Yes.
He didn’t change back into his human form, and the snake kept working. Darius needed to keep healing. The poor guy had really gotten the short end of the stick in this whole affair. I said as much.
I will get to spend more time alive with you. I would endure much more for that privilege.
I sure hoped not. I wasn’t worth it. A sentiment I didn’t voice, both because I’d seem like an ass, and because he’d just argue with me.
At the do-it-yourself elevator, I paused. “Unicorn blood. I’m not holding up very well, and you’re probably heavy. I’ll end up dropping us to the bottom.”
You’d do better to take us out of a window.
Yes, I would. That was true.
This guy had all the good ideas.
Darius turned so I could get at his backpack. With his claws, he wouldn’t be able to pick out one of the small vials.
You cannot take unlimited quantities of that, he thought as I took off the cap. Too much, and it will confuse the mind instead of clearing it.
I paused. “I’m not at that point yet, am I?”
No. Or I would’ve stopped you.
Right. Duh.
I downed the blood and felt the zing of energy. Underneath that, though, I still felt the pull at my limbs. I didn’t have much left in my tank.
“We can do it.” I shot him a thumbs up to project confidence I didn’t feel and ran around looking out windows. From this height, I couldn’t see the ground directly below. “Eenie, meenie…”
After breaking the largest one, I stuck my head out and looked down. A roof stretched out below us. All the better. At least it wasn’t a straight fall.
“That’ll do, pig. Let’s go.” I stepped up onto the window sill and looked back at him. “This is no big deal. I’ve levitated a dozen times in my life. This is just another day.”
I clenched my teeth and stepped out, falling five feet—and losing my stomach—before I caught myself with magic. I rose back up, supremely focused and not even daring to look at Darius. With his monster form and the snake situation, I was afraid the gross of it all might throw me off my game.
“Okay. I’m coming back over.” I hovered toward him with my eyes on my feet, focusing on my power and not focusing how high I was off the ground.
Ah crap, I am really high!
“I sure wish I could take deep breaths,” I said in a level voice, turning so my back was to him. “Okay. Climb on.”
Climb on? Would you not rather hold me with air?
“No, because I might accidentally crush you, or lose my grip on you. I have more power now, but I’m still not an expert at using it. If you’re hanging on to me, my survival instinct will take control.”
A human arm came around my shoulder. Thank God, he changed form.
The snake slithered across my stomach.
I really could’ve done without that.
I continued to focus as his other arm came around me. His legs wrapped around me next and his weight pulled me down. I lost the feel of hovering and we free fell like a sack of potatoes.
“It is okay.” Darius spoke in my ear softly. “Do not panic.”
The timbre of his voice, and the assurance, calmed me.
But cracking an eye open to see how much time I had to fix this situation scared the bejeebus out of me again.
“I got it. I got it.” We turned ass over end. “I don’t got it!”
“Relax,” he said. “Have faith.”
My power whispered to me. Urging me to do something.
“I liked it better when you did it for me,” I yelled.
“What’s that?” Darius asked.
“I’m not talking to you.” I clenched my fists and focused on hovering. On slowing our descent and then stopping us in midair.
I peeled my eyes open. The roof looked back at me from twenty feet away. It didn’t get any closer.
“Nothing to it,” Darius said softly.
I shook my head as I slowly lowered us. The guy had no idea what a loose cannon I was. Sure, the power was technically fused, and that did give me more control, but that didn’t mean I could leap from tall buildings in a single bound yet. I would fall out of a few and almost land on my face before I got the hang of it.
I’d just proved that.
Our feet hit the roof and we paused for a moment. Below us, demons ran every which way, some being chased, and some heading out in more organized groups. In the distance the pink dragon rose into the sky, a stream of fire scouring the ground under it.
“Let’s try to blend into the chaos and run out of here,” I said.
“Hide your power.”