Black Howl

“Right, too easy,” I grumbled. I could hear the demons shrieking behind us now, getting closer.

We pounded down the steps, Wade leaping ahead of us, and stopped at the bottom.

“Why are we stopping?” Beezle asked, alarmed.

“If we run across that passageway, we’ll attract the spiders,” I said.

“If we stand here, a whole bunch of demons are going to fall on our heads,” Beezle said.

Everyone looked at me.

“Why do I have to be the one who decides?” I muttered.

“Because you’re our leader, Morningstar help us,” Beezle said. “So lead.”

“Okay, everyone get low and get through the hall as quietly as you can. I’ll hold the demons off here until you’re through.”

“No,” Gabriel said.

“Look,” I pleaded. “Just trust me. I need the rest of you to be safely out of the castle. I’ll come back another time for the spiders.”

“No,” he repeated.

“We don’t have time to argue about it,” I said. “All of you, go.”

Wade, Samiel and J.B. carefully made their way through the hall. I turned to face the stairs and readied my magic. Gabriel stepped up beside me.

“I will not leave you,” he said. “And you cannot make me go.”

“I’ve never been able to make you do anything,” I said.

“Nor I you,” he replied. “So we are even.”

“Oh, my gosh, the two of you are just the cutest,” Beezle said. “Is there some reason why I couldn’t go with Samiel and get away from the lovefest?”

I shoved Beezle back inside my jacket. “Why can we not do anything without a running commentary?”

Beezle popped his head out again, looking disgruntled, but he didn’t say anything for a change.

The demons were getting closer. I could hear them thundering in the hall above us. My heart beat faster.

“You know, all this noise is bound to attract the spiders anyway,” Beezle said.

“I know,” I replied. “I want the others to get out of the castle.”

Beezle snorted. “And you think they’re going to leave without you?”

“Well, I told them to…” I said, turning to check, my voice fading.

J.B. and Samiel and Wade had gotten through the hallway without the spiders noticing them, but they all stood expectantly at the other end, beckoning to us.

“What is the point of being the leader if no one will listen to you?” I asked.

I didn’t know if Gabriel or Beezle answered, because that was when the demons poured down the steps.

There were a hell of a lot more than fifty, and I was sure that Samiel and J.B. had taken plenty out already while freeing Wade. Gabriel and I fired at them with everything we had. Demons fell screaming, acidic blood splattering on the steps and on us, burning our faces and hands. I was already covered in spider goop so I was sure I looked just delightful.

J.B. cried out behind us, and when I glanced back I saw that several of the smaller spiders were crawling through the arches behind us. J.B. and Samiel shot spells at the spiders while Wade tore several of them apart with his teeth and claws. I did not want to think about how completely gross it was to have a spider in your mouth.

“Of course,” I muttered, throwing magic at the demons. I could feel my temper rising, and the hall was lighting up. Several of the demons stopped where they stood and covered their eyes, which made it a lot easier to kill them. “Of course. Nothing can ever be easy. I can’t just rescue Wade and get out of here, no. There have to be giant…freaking…spiders…again!”

There was a sudden buildup of magical pressure, something I hadn’t felt for a long time—not since I’d fought Ramuell in the cave in the Forbidden Lands.

“Get clear,” I said, gasping for air.

“I will not…” Gabriel began.

“GET CLEAR!” I shouted, thrusting Beezle at him.

Something in my face or my voice convinced him, because he took Beezle and ran down the hallway. I didn’t stop to check if he gathered everyone else—I knew that he would.

The demons stood frozen on the stairs as light and magic burst from me like a star exploding. I let the power flow through me without fighting it, but it still hurt. It hurt to breathe; it hurt to be a conduit for something not meant to be contained inside a mortal body.

All of the demons disappeared as the light touched them, just fell to ash like a nuclear blast had hit them. Any spiders that were within the reach of the light were destroyed, too. The power inside me cut off abruptly, and I felt drained. I knew I would not be able to use my magic for a while, but hopefully I wouldn’t need to. Maybe Amarantha’s castle was out of tricks.

There was a sudden rumbling, and chunks of stone fell out of the ceiling.

“Oh, damn,” I said, turning to run to the others, but it was already too late.

The passageway collapsed in front of me, rock raining down. I backed up, coughing, covering my mouth with my sleeve.

Now everyone was on the other side, and I had no idea how to get out. And there was far too much stone between us to communicate.

All I could hope for was that they would try to exit the castle and meet me by the portal.

“Which is what I wanted in the first place,” I muttered.

The only passage left to me was going up, so I climbed the steps, kicking piles of demon ash aside as I went. The building rumbled ominously and the stairs shifted beneath my feet. I scrabbled at the wall so that I wouldn’t fall down the stairs and get a concussion on top of everything else.