Inner Demons

Author's Preface

The lawn was a mess. Bodies were scattered across the grass. Most weren’t human, but there were a few here and there wore Guardian suits. Felix wondered how many were with the Moonlit Army and how many were on their side.

The carpet dropped a few feet. Felix’s stomach lurched.

Arisa hissed. “I’m running out of—”

They hit the ground before she could finish. Felix bounced off the rug and rolled across the grass, spinning hard and fast. Even after he stopped moving, the world continued to spin. He forced himself up and immediately regretted it as bile threatened to jump into his throat.

Mason was back on his feet in a heartbeat. “Where is everyone else?”

Felix followed the sound of distant shouting to the tree line. Flashes of color cut through the darkness beyond.

Ernest flew out of the window they’d shattered and landed on the grass in front of them. The right lens of his glasses was even more fractured now, on the verge of shattering.

Mason pointed the Ironwood Wand at him. “One more step and I’ll blow your limbs off.”

“You can’t do that.” Ernest held up his hands. “You can’t bluff with me. My senses are still too tuned to the wand.”

Mason’s eyes narrowed.

“Wait, why can’t you blow his limbs off?” Arisa asked as she stood. “That sounds like a great idea.”

“In theory, I could,” Mason said. “But he and I can sense that the wand’s energy is…fracturing. He used it a lot already tonight, and I’m an opposing force to Ernest, which the wand can pick up on. It needs to adjust to me. If I tried something too violent on Ernest right away, it would probably backfire.” He glared at Ernest.

“How long does it need?” Felix asked.

“Not long for basic spells, but I wouldn’t trust it with anything big, tonight.” After a moment, Mason chuckled. “It doesn’t matter. I am a demon after all, right?” He tossed the wand toward Felix, and Felix barely caught it.

A circle of purple hellfire sprang up around Abernathy.

“What’s your plan?” Ernest asked. “You can try keeping me here as long as you can, but either you’ll run out of steam and the fire will die, or it will get out of control and hurt your friends.”

“I just need to hold you until backup arrives.” Mason looked to Arisa and Felix. “Could one of you get to the battle and find someone who can help us?”

“Don’t bother. You forget who I am.” Ernest blasted the fire in front of him with his air. That side of the circle flickered, but the flames held and strengthened after a moment. Ernest gritted his teeth and tried a stronger gust. More cracks ran through his glasses.

Mason charged forward through the fire, claws emerging. He grabbed Ernest and lifted him into the air.

The scar across Mason’s forehead was…opening. Something black shone underneath, reflecting the light of the hellfire. “My parents spent their lives protecting the wand from people like you!” Mason shouted.

“And now what?” Ernest hissed in reply. “You’ve got me. You’ve got the wand back. What are you going to do now? Your parents are dead, and you’ve been cursed to the life of a demon.”

The fire burned brighter around him and Mason. Still, Ernest persisted. “You haven’t even begun to grasp the hell you’ve made for yourself.”

Demons erupted from the tree line. No, not just demons. The grass rippled as three wraiths took shape in the air. The battle was here.

“Aren’t demons supposed to be rare?” Felix asked, his shoulders sagging.

Arisa looked ready to sink into the ground beneath her. “Yes. Yes they are.”

Wind whipped through the air, finally extinguishing the circle of hellfire. Ernest raised his voice. “Help me!” he yelled to the approaching demons. “I need to get the wand back—”

Mason threw him against the ground. He stomped on Ernest’s shoulder and leaned forward, tail twitching behind him. “How do you still have so much energy?”

The first demons raced right past Felix and Arisa to swarm Mason, forcing him to turn away from Ernest. Claws tore at his skin and clothes. He blasted the monsters back a few feet with hellfire.

One of the demons laughed. “That stung a little.” It lunged again.

While Mason dealt with the demons, Ernest jumped to his feet and ran toward Felix. It took Felix a moment to remember he was holding the wand. He tried to get up to run away, but his legs refused to cooperate. As Ernest drew closer and moonlight glinted off his cracking glasses, Felix remembered something Sebastian had told them.

Arisa stepped in front of Felix and lifted her fists. A blast of wind knocked her into the air.

“Arisa!” Felix’s head snapped to the right. He watched her slam into the ground ten feet away. Groaning in pain, she rolled onto her back.

Ernest had almost reached Felix when Mason grabbed his collar and threw him onto his back.

“Mason!” Felix exclaimed. “Remember what Sebastian said about channeling ambient magic?”

Mason reached down and yanked Ernest’s glasses off his face. “Got it,” he snarled. He snapped them in half, shattering the lenses completely, and threw the frames far out of Ernest’s reach. “You need glass to use your ability, don’t you?”

Some of the demons lying on the ground behind him stirred. “They’re not all dead,” Felix warned.

Arisa staggered over and dropped to the ground next to Felix. “And there’s more on the way.” She looked up, and Felix followed her gaze. The three wraiths circled overhead. How long until they attacked, too?

A shadow darted across the lawn, zipping past the next wave of approaching demons before stopping in the air above Felix, Arisa, and Mason. The patch of shadow took on a human shape and transformed into Hana, still dressed in her completely black suit. As she dropped to the ground, a sword formed in her hands, so black it looked like an opening into the void.

Hana moved into battle with ease. Her blade sank into the chest of the closest demon, and it sank lifelessly to the ground. Threads of darkness hovered in the air around her, forming a spherical net. The moment any demon passed through the net, Hana was swinging at them and slicing them open.

Just as Felix thought Hana was going to be overwhelmed, a swarm of bees emerged from the forest and raced to her side. The swarm turned into Kendra, who already had her daggers in hand as she fell seamlessly into action at Hana’s side.

While those two fended off demons, Mason dragged Ernest to where Felix and Arisa sat. He let go of Ernest’s jacket, leaving the man to slump against the ground with a grunt. Mason lifted his foot and brought it down on Ernest’s chest.

Whatever had been happening with the scar on Mason’s forehead was over. It had returned to its usual appearance as a simple horizontal line.

“Are you two okay?” Mason asked.

“No,” Felix answered.

“Absolutely not,” Arisa added.

Mason turned to watch Hana and Kendra. The demons he’d fought moments earlier had torn his sweatshirt and the shirt underneath to shreds, revealing stretches of bloodstained skin visible beneath. He shifted his weight onto the leg pressed to Ernest’s chest. Ernest gasped as something cracked. He coughed. Blood sprayed the front of his shirt.

“We took care of that wave,” Hana signed as she and Kendra joined the three. “But there are some demons left in the forest.” Her gaze darted up. “And those wraiths overhead.”

“Your swords can kill demons?” Felix asked. He threw a quick glance at Arisa to make sure he’d signed the question right. She nodded.

“I build sigils into the blade when I construct it,” Hana replied. “They’re hard to see.” As she lowered her hand, she looked toward the tree line.

Felix turned to Kendra. “Where are Sebastian and Archer?” he asked aloud. “And the rest of the Guardians?”

“Making their way back,” Kendra answered. Her voice was hoarse. “We killed the demons in Abernathy’s house, but more approached from the forest. The battle wound up moving that way.”

“That explains why he left the wards down,” Mason said. “He had backup.” He glared down at the man pinned beneath him.

“Something’s moving over there,” Arisa warned, her eyes on the trees.

Archer trudged out of the shadows, sword in hand, mask down, blood splattered across his skin and tattered suit. When he reached the group, his attention was focused on Mason. “You still with us?” Archer asked as he looked him up and down.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Mason replied.

“Just wanted to make sure you weren’t overcome with bloodlust.”

“He’s fine,” Felix insisted.

Archer was quiet for a long moment before nodding. “Good job getting Ernest.”

Mason scowled, but responded with a curt, “Thanks.”

The clouds hanging overhead in the night sky emitted a sudden glow, drawing everyone’s gazes upward. One by one, beams of light cut through the air and touched down somewhere in the forest. Each was accompanied by a high-pitched whine.

Dead silence followed.

Sebastian descended from the sky, his eyes glowing as bright as the circular platform beneath his shoes. His face was completely devoid of emotion as he touched down in front of the group. He’d ditched his suit jacket and pushed the sleeves of his shirt halfway up his arms. Sizeable patches of blood stained the otherwise blue fabric.

His head tipped back, and he lifted his hand. A blade of light formed in the air and went spinning up toward the wraiths. It sliced through each one and turned them to clouds of smoke.

“Shame I was busy fighting Guardians most of the battle. They’re the real challenge.” The glow faded from Sebastian’s eyes. His blank expression gave way to concern. “What happened to you kids?”

“We got Ernest and the wand,” Mason said.

Felix half-heartedly waved the wand. “Yay us!”

“Did you get all of the demons?” Archer asked.

“Not quite,” Sebastian said. “Those bastards are fast. But there’s only a few left, and—”

Hugo burst from the trees, his army of taxidermy animals trailing behind. He stopped after a few feet and stared at the group. His gaze darted from Kendra to Hana to Sebastian and finally to Archer.

He turned around and ran back into the darkness.

Archer moved to follow. Sebastian grabbed his shoulder to stop him. “We’ve lost enough tonight already.”

“I’m not letting him get away again!” Archer’s voice carried more emotion than Felix had ever heard in it.

“Archer,” Sebastian said firmly. “The kids.”

Archer glanced back. Mason, despite his unwavering confidence, was bleeding heavily. Felix and Arisa still sat on the ground. Arisa rubbed her wrist where the counterbalance bracelet had burned her. The hand Felix held the Ironwood Wand with trembled violently.

“Fine.” Archer turned his head. His eyes met Sebastian’s. “You said there were some demons left?”

Sebastian stared back at Archer for a long moment. “Yes,” he finally replied. “But there are still Guardians on our side out there, too. They might take care of the rest.”

“Still, we should be prepared.” Kendra turned and signed something to Hana a little too quickly for Felix to follow.

“What about the Guardians who joined the Uprising?” Arisa asked. “Or the Moonlit Army, or whatever?”

Sebastian folded his arms. “Most of the traitors ran off once the demon army began dwindling.”

“Cowards,” Archer muttered.

“Mason,” Felix said, his voice weak. He shrugged off the backpack that had miraculously clung to him through everything. “You should grab my hoodie from my bag.”

“You sure?” Mason glanced at Felix. “I don’t want to ruin it with my blood.”

“It’s fine. It’s already torn and stained,” Felix told him. “It’s a little big on me, so it should fit you.”

Mason slowly stepped back from Ernest. Archer moved into position next to him and aimed his blade at the man’s throat while Mason dug Felix’s hoodie out of the bag, stood up, and peeled off the tattered remains of his sweatshirt and shirt.

Arisa’s eyes widened. “Hey, Mason, have you always had those scars on your back?”

“What scars?” Mason tried to peer at them over his shoulder.

“There’s two big ones,” Felix told him, eyeing the slightly angled lines cutting through Mason’s skin. “Uh, vertical? Or is that horizontal—?” He always mixed those two up.

“They’re almost vertical,” Arisa said. “But they look like the one on your forehead.”

“Hm.” Mason pulled on Felix’s hoodie and zipped it up. “Weird.”

“That’s all you have to say?”

“That’s, like, the least weird thing that’s happened to me since I turned into a demon.”

Hana raised a hand. The group fell silent. She signed something to Kendra, who frowned.

“I sense it too,” Kendra both spoke and signed.

“What’s happening?” Felix asked.

Kendra glanced at him, worry in her expression. “Hana and I just picked up on an increase in magical energy,” she told him.

“Me too.” Archer’s brow furrowed. “But—”

Arisa groaned. “If one more thing comes out of that forest, I’m going to cry.”

“It’s not coming from the forest,” Mason said. “It’s coming from…” He trailed off, and then he was looking at Felix too. Felix shifted uncomfortably.

“We’ve got demons,” Sebastian warned. “Coming toward the tree line. About twenty left. Guardians are chasing them, but the demons are faster.”