“Let’s keep going,” Ully said.

“I want to see what it is,” Toby said. He approached a tree. “Branch! Up!”

The tree lowered a branch to him, and he wrapped his arms around it. It was warm and writhing, and one small branch wrapped around him to keep him secure as it shifted him upwards. Toby broke through the treetops and gasped.

Demons flew towards him.

“Down, down, down!” he squawked. “Down!”

The branch lowered him so fast, his stomach turned. Toby scampered off the branch and stared upwards, wondering how Death could allow the demons into her domain. He looked around wildly, expecting them to leap from his surroundings.

“What’s wrong?” Ully asked. By his darkened gaze, he knew.

“Tree!” Toby shouted. “Help!”

The Ully-demon launched towards him. The tree snatched Toby and lifted him to safety, and Toby dangled far enough over Ully’s head that the demon couldn’t reach him. As he watched, the Ully-demon transformed into its natural form, a creature of wings, talons, and teeth longer than Toby’s fingers.

“Throw me!” Toby whispered, clawing at the tree as the demon shook out his wings. “Now!”

The tree obeyed. Toby bit back a yell as he was launched over the treetops into the sky, in the direction of the Lake of Souls. Another tree branch caught him, and he struggled to orient himself. He heard the sounds of pursuit but was stuck upside down. A blur of wings and darkness caught his attention.

“Throw me!” he cried again.

He flew through the air, drawing the attention of nearby demons in midflight. He saw them shift directions and dart towards him just before he dipped beneath the jungle canopy again.

“Don’t let them through!”

The branches flung upwards, snatching the legs and wings of the demons. Toby heard a demon shriek as its wings were torn from its body. The tree lowered Toby to the ground. He looked up once more, turned and ran through the jungle, leaving the trees to fight off the demons.

Katie was close. Toby could sense her. He ignored the branches whipping his face and the brambles tripping him. Instead, he just ran, the screams of demons in his ears.

Even the thunder of the underworld sounded weird. Katie glanced towards the sky, silently cursing the rain. She made her way over a fallen log and waited for Deidre before continuing.




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