Page 90 of A City of Smoke and Demons
He was going to die anyway. He might as well go down fighting.
Analise’s heart was in her mouth as she and Lira hurried to Jem’s side. She knelt and touched her fingers to Jem’s throat. He was alive, his pulse sluggish, but he’d hit that tree so hard Analise wasn’t sure if he was bleeding internally or not.
‘He’ll be okay,’ she whispered, and Lira’s shoulders sagged with relief. It was the first time Analise had ever seen Lira shaken by anything. She swallowed as another realisation slammed into her.
With Jem unconscious and Tobias wounded, that left Ezra facing a demon—alone.
It might be small, trapped within the body of a child, but it was powerful and deadly.
Analise had seen Ezra in the ring during training, but she’d never seen him fight. The demon was fast, but so was Ezra, and Analise realised that whatever he’d been trying to teach her to do was nothing. Crouched on the ground with Lira, she tried to follow what was happening, but it was so quick. His blades sliced at the demon’s flesh—the Order’s daggers were silver-coated, and the demon’s skin burnt where Ezra cut into it. Analise felt amoment of pity for the child trapped inside that creature, even as it swung those sharp talons at Ezra, who managed to dance out of the way. He flipped the daggers, closing his palm around the hilts as he curled his hands into fists, the silver-edged blades protruding like a finger. Ezra laid a series of jabs on the demon’s ribs. The creature howled and reached for him; he slipped away, charging back without giving the demon a chance to work out what to do next.
Fighting a supernatural entity in a graveyard was not the same as taking centre stage in a boxing ring. The ground was uneven, dirt and shattered timber spread around beneath Ezra’s feet. Watching the demon, he failed to see what was in front of him. His boot caught the edge of a gravestone and he stumbled.
It was a small mistake, but big enough. The demon pounced, closing both arms around him in the parody of a sickening embrace.
Dread filled Analise’s chest. Ezra was about to die, unless she did something. Her blood roared as her magic gathered strength. She wasn’t sure what it wanted her to do, what shecoulddo at this moment, but it called to her and she knew she had to move.
Analise grit her teeth as the demon’s claws punctured Ezra’s back. The creature was shorter than he was, but stronger. It would rip him open like he was a piece of fruit. Analise stood. Lira jumped up and tried to step in front of her.
‘Stay with Jem,’ Analise ordered, pushing her friend back. Her voice sounded strange, disjointed and lower than usual, like it wasn’t truly hers. There were voices in her head, powerful and rousing. Women, Analise realised. They were women, coming to her in layers of sound, an echo that rose and fell and built again.
Analise stepped forward, urged on by those voices. Ezra had managed to free himself, but as he turned to grab his bladesfrom where they had fallen, the demon lunged for him again, claws piercing his chest as it pulled him backwards.
At the sound of Ezra's cry, without thought or hesitation, Analise unleashed her magic.
Death raced across the earth, hungry and more powerful than she’d felt it before. It rushed towards Ezra and the demon and, for a moment, Analise thought she’d made a dreadful mistake. But her magic bypassed Ezra and plunged like knives into the demon.
Its mouth opened in a silent scream as death ripped through that inhuman body, racing through veins and blood until it found the heart. The sinewy arms slackened and Ezra, gasping, was able to slip free. He scooped his blades from the ground, turning to Analise.
‘Stop,’ he ordered. ‘I’ve got it, Analise.’
She couldn’t respond even if she wanted to, caught in the grip of her magic. Analise was the hand of death, and she smiled as her power began to pull life from the demon’s body. It writhed and fought her, unnatural life and death locked in their eternal battle. Analise’s feet moved of their own accord, drawing her closer to the creature a heartbeat away from its end. She was vaguely aware of Ezra shouting at her, but his voice was muffled, like she was underwater. All she could hear was a dying heartbeat and those voices crooning in her ear.
Somewhere in the back of Analise’s mind was the awareness that she wasn’t even touching the demon. She took another step forward, bringing her within arm's reach of those wicked claws, close enough that she could see her reflection in those liquid eyes. It swiped a claw at her, but she dodged out of the way as her magic tightened its grip and the corners of her vision went dark. Before her death magic could claim the creature, there was a flash of silver in the darkness as Ezra cut its throat.
Analise dropped to her hands and knees as her magic was thrown back into her. Ezra crouched before her and dropped his blades. ‘Analise? Look at me.’
She lifted her head. There was blood on his cheek, but she wasn’t sure who it belonged to. Magic was swimming through her, dark and dangerous, and as Ezra went to touch her, she recoiled.
‘Don’t,’ she warned sharply.
He let his hand drop, doing nothing to hide the hurt on his face.
‘My magic …’ she mumbled. ‘If you touch me, it might kill you.’
He stared at her, amazed. ‘I might risk it. You saved my life.’
‘Don’t hold it against me,’ she managed. He laughed, then sobered as he looked around. Lira was bent over Jem again, Tobias at her side, clutching his injured shoulder, worry stamped across his face.
‘Can I touch you now?’ Ezra asked.
‘You tell me,’ she whispered, and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his chest. Her breathing was shaky, vision blurred and as she tucked her face into his neck, the warmth of his skin, thelifeshe could feel, exploded inside her. She felt safe, protected, in his arms, as if he was the one who saved her.
Analise could smell the rusty, metallic scent of blood, and pulled away so she could touch Ezra’s chest gently; he sucked in a pained breath. ‘You’re bleeding.’
‘I’m alright.’
Lira called out. ‘Ez, we need your help with Jem.’
