Page 36 of Woven Souls

Kwil.

My relief is short-lived. Behind him, Fredrick comes running up, another ball of flames in his hands.

“KWIL!” I scream and point to the danger behind him.

Kwil moves faster than I expect for his large size. The warlock’s attack soars past him and hits a car that doesn’t hold up under the attack.

As we pass an alley, a demon leaps from its shadows and slams into us. Viktor lets go of me as we both hit the ground hard. The momentum causes me to roll a few feet away, leaving Viktor to fend for himself as the creature tries to gut him with its claws. Before I can scramble to my feet, a massive one leaps on me, pinning me beneath it. The demon snarls. Drool drops from its large teeth and lands on my bare chest.

Oh gross.

My power cools the blood in my veins as I call for it, but before I can use it, the demon is knocked off me. I sit up to find Theo stabbing the creature over and over a few feet away from me. Letting out a sigh of relief, I scramble to my feet and search for my white-haired Fae. Viktor is getting to his feet, panting heavily as he grips his dagger in his hand. When he looks up, my eyes meet his. When they widen, I don’t have to wait to hear his warning. I just duck.

A demon soars over my head and lands in a crouch in front of me. It’s hit from the side as Jonah appears, ramming the creature with his horns. The demon goes flying. Jonah flashes me a grin and rushes towards me.

“Come on. We all need to get out of here,” he says.

“You don’t have to tell me twice.”

Before our hands can lock together, five more demons appear, surrounding us. Jonah pulls me close to him with one hand while the other flies to his neck.

“Don’t shift, Jonah!” Kwil yells as he flies into the mix, gutting the nearest feral creature with the claws on his left hand.

“’Don’t shift, Jonah,’” Jonah mimics under his breath and rolls his eyes. “Easy for him to say. He already has claws and teeth to help.”

Three more explosions rock the street. One takes down a building directly next to us. Bricks, glass, and dust go flying, taking out two demons for us. I swiftly use my power to take out the other three. Their bodies drop as their spirits explode. The second explosion wipes out five parked cars and the other… I turn and watch as the flames lick over the Utikyie’s arm harmlessly. My eyes search the chaos for Fredrick and find him standing between me and the black knight.

“Willow…” The voice of the Utikyie weaves through the chaos. “You’ve been hiding from me. So glad to see you have rejoined the world. Just in time for me to take you from it.”

“Fulton?” Fredrick’s gasp is loud even amongst the chaos. “How are you doing this? Where are you?”

Fulton? Viktor’s guess was right. Fredrick’s brother is behind the second curse and is manipulating the creatures from the Realm of the Dead.

The Utikyie turns its head to look down at the mage.

“Ah, Fredrick, you found my meal ticket home. Unfortunately for you, Willow is mine. I found her first. It’s best to stay out of the way, or I’ll kill you.”

With that, the Utikyie turns its attention back to me

“She’s mine, brother!” Fredrick roars.

I don’t expect his next spell. He waves his hand, and the magic that blows down the street raises the hairs on the back of my neck. Metal from cars, broken streetlamps, and beams from the structure of buildings come barreling towards us. The mess surrounds me and Jonah before bending and molding itself into a makeshift cage too tall to climb out of.

“Oh, shit,” Jonah whispers.

“Willow! Jonah!” Theo yells. I think. I can’t be sure over the noise.

Demons slam into the metal trying to knock the structure down. Viktor, Kwil, and Theo appear, fighting off the masses as more and more appear.

“You can’t stop the Utikyie,” Fulton says through the black knight.

I stare at the chaos around me. There are too many demons for the ex-Ghosts to keep off of us. They’ll grow tired here soon, and they’ll get hurt, or worse, killed. Fredrick looks utterly insane as he continues to throw spells at the Utikyie that bounce off harmlessly. The Utikyie is closing in. It may only take seven or eight more steps before it can reach down and grab me. If that thing manages to get a hold of me and takes me to the other side, it’s game over. I don’t know what Fulton has planned for me, but I’m sure it can’t be pleasant.

The only thing going for us right now is that this street is empty. Anyone who could escape has. Perfect, because I’ve had about enough of this. I’m not getting killed or captured tonight.

“Hey, Jonah?”

“Yeah?”

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