Page 118 of House of Pain
Gael glared at her, then back at the creatures. “Well then, what am I supposed to do?”
“Conjure light!” Val said and ducked as one Hellbate went for her.
Alecto threw one ball of light. When it hit the creature, it screamed in agony and retreated. The others stayed back.
Another few light balls appeared in the room, and the creatures retreated to the furthest corner.
“Go, now go to the fucking basement and stay there,” Val instructed, waving her hands to the corridor. “Light keeps them at bay, but it doesn’t kill them!”
Once the room was cleared, they moved back to the corridor and into the kitchen at the back of the House.
There were three more Hellbates, their sharp claws sunk into the body of a bleeding student.
“Fuck,” Val hissed. “Shit.”
Alecto split the last remaining ball of light into two and threw one at the creatures, sending them scattering around the kitchen to hide in the shadows.
Val rushed to the witch lying on her belly, tears streaming down her face.
“Can you walk?” Val asked, and the girl nodded, sobbing.
Alecto kept an eye on the creatures, keeping herself as the barrier between them and Val with the girl as they both stumbled out of the kitchen.
Val helped the girl downstairs, and then came back, shutting the door.
“Is that all?” Alecto asked, her eyes scanning the doorways.
“Yes, all are there and safe,” Val said, panting. “Just one is hurt, so that’s good news, I suppose.”
One for now, but Alecto didn’t say that out loud.
Another low growl shattered the silence. Two pairs of claws curled around the doorway from the living room, another set appearing on the doorway out of the meeting room.
They were coming for them.
“Get up the stairs,” Val instructed in a whisper.
Alecto walked towards the stairs, keeping the remaining ball of light between them and the Hellbates were crawling into the corridor now, their eyes hungry.
“It would be a great time to conjure some more light,” Alecto said over her shoulder.
“I left my bones in my room,” Val answered, holding on to Alecto’s shirt as they climbed the stairs to the second floor.
Great, just fucking fantastic.
Just when they were almost at the top of the stairs, the Hellbates advanced, coming up after them. But none were quite brave to attack with Alecto holding the light.
She stumbled as her heel hit the last stair, and for a moment, the light wavered, but Val straightened her. They were now on the second floor.
“Strengthen the light,” Val instructed.
Alecto chanted the spell as she grabbed for the bones. The ball in her palm grew, and Hellbates backtracked on the stairs, hissing.
“I’m going to run grab my bones,” Val said, breathless. “Hold them here. Don’t move, not unless you have to.”
Alecto’s throat was too dry to say anything, so she just nodded, following Val’s back as she went up to the third floor.
For a long moment, Alecto just stood there, on the top of the stairs, glaring at the Hellbates sprawled at the bottom as she waited for Val or Jolene or someone else to come back.
