Page 24 of Their Offering

“I’m just worried other demons will stumble through the portal right behind us. We should do a sweep and make sure there’s no one nearby.” He looked around the surrounding forest.

Just as he finished speaking, a rustling came from behind us. We turned to see a group of three lowly demons creep out from behind the trees.

“Or you can get out of the way and let us go through that portal,” one sneered. He was shorter and bulkier than us, but not the good bulky type. His face looked half-melted, and his eyes glowed a neon green. When he smiled, his missing teeth were prominent.

“Not a chance,” Keir said sternly.

The leader chuckled before he looked to his buddies. “What do you think, fellas? Should we show these uptown pompous boys what we’re made of?” His friends laughed and nodded, clapping his back in support, clearly not knowing who we were.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” I warned them.

“We are not in the mood for games…or mercy,” my twin added.

“Good. It’ll make things more interesting,” the leader smirked.

Keir reached behind his back and grabbed the daggers he hid in his shadows. Aiden’s hands were full of fire, held out in front of him, and his eyes blazed brightly. My own hands turned blue as shards of ice formed on my palms, ready to be thrown at the enemy or as an advantage in hand-to-hand.

“Come on then,” Keir taunted.

The leader headed toward Keir while the two others went for Aiden and me. Mine was taller than his friend, but thin and scrawny. He would be easy.

I raised my hands above my shoulders before heaving them toward him, throwing ice shards in his direction. He raised his hand to guard his face, cursing as my ice tore into his skin.

He put his arm down and continued his path to me. He swung and I ducked, spinning around until I faced his back. I kicked him in the spine, throwing him forward.

He caught himself on the ground, growling with frustration. He clearly thought he was just dealing with a high-end demon, not a prince of Hell. He got up and turned, his eyes full of fury. He cursed at me then charged, lowering his shoulder to try and ram into me.

I stepped out of his way, making him stumble to the ground yet again. He was making this too easy. My laugh at his struggle made him even angrier; he started swinging once he reached me, but I was able to avoid every hit.

I pulled my arm back and slammed my fist into his nose, hearing it crack beneath my knuckles. Blood spurted out, coating his lips and chin, and I raised my eyebrows with amusement, taunting him. He attempted a few more feeble swings, none of them making the contact he so desperately desired.

“This is boring,” I yawned before punching his face again. I twirled my hand, forming an ice dagger, and jammed the cold blade into his chest.

He stopped moving, shocked. His hands grasped the handle and pulled out the sharp piece of ice as warm, fresh blood flowed from the wound I’d created over his heart. He coughed, blood spilling out of his mouth before he collapsed to his knees, still clutching my dagger, then fell face-first into the dirt, unmoving.

I heard a slow clap and turned to see my brothers standing next to their fallen enemies. Aiden had a cocky smile spreading across his face.

“Took you long enough,” my twin teased.

I shrugged. “I thought I’d let him have a little fun first.” I wiped my hands on my pants, the ice melting from my palms as I returned to my normal state.

“We don’t have time for fun,” Keir commented. “Come on, let’s do a quick sweep before we go back.”

We took off in different directions and scouted our areas, looking for any demons too close to the portal. Thankfully, I found none.

Suddenly, Keir yelled out, almost like he was in pain. No way had a low demon caught him off-guard. I ran in his direction, and Aiden got to him at the same time I did.

Keir clutched at his inner thigh. “Something’s wrong.”

I furrowed my eyebrows, and then my heart dropped as I realized what he meant. “Lilly.” I looked at my twin, finding worry spread across his face.

Keir rubbed his thigh as he looked up, though not at either of us. “She’s in trouble. She’s hurt and scared. We have to go.”

We didn’t give it a second thought; we all turned and ran toward the portal. If she was in danger, we had to save her. She was ours—our offering. If anything happened to her…

I shook my head, refusing to let that thought take root.

As we reached to the back wall of the portal, the bright light surrounding us as we passed between worlds, I heard her screaming for help.

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