Katie's Hope

Hannah hadn't been there long enough to learn the castle. She knew Kris's chamber, the guest chamber, Katie's chamber, and the dining hall. Katie trotted to the chamber next to Kris's, knowing the guest chambers were near but not sure which was which. She pushed the door open to the next chamber and ducked inside.

"Hannah?"

Silence from the room, footsteps from the hallway. She darted to the other side of the bed and dropped to her stomach, peering under the bed through the door. A massive creature with black fur and fangs paused in front of the open door, sniffing the air. She held her breath. Her heart pounded as it swung its head to face the room.

It jerked suddenly and bolted down the hallway with a snarl. She heard the clash of bodies and waited for the sound to fade before rising again. She peeked out to see two creatures at each other's throats and frowned, wondering why demons were fighting one another. With the creatures too distracted to notice her, Katie drew a breath and darted across the hall, shoving the door of the guest bedroom open.

"Hannah!" she hissed. "Katie?"

She rose and ran into the bathroom, jostling Hannah out of the way as she slammed and locked the door.

"Katie!" Hannah exclaimed, her face a mask of terror. "I was taking a bath earlier and I heard sounds in the hallway. When I-- "

"Hannah!" she snapped. "Look for anything to brace the door!"

Hannah looked around, lost. Katie's gaze swept over her, and she was grateful to see her sister unharmed. She closed her eyes to summon the portal when the door bucked. Hannah cried out and scampered to the far side of the bathroom. Katie rushed to the door, trying to brace it. The sound of snarling came from the other side, and she closed her eyes as the demon struck the door again. She sailed across the bathroom and landed on Hannah. The demon crouched in the door, then roared in pain and whirled.

The other demon had clamped its teeth around its leg and dragged it out of the doorway. Katie hauled Hannah to her feet and pulled her through the doorway, across the bedroom, and into the hall. Another demon down the hall caught sight of them and charged. She led them into Kris's room again and slammed the door, vaguely pissed at the Ancient for having the only door that locked in the whole castle. The door bucked but held.