She doesn’t respond, so I kneel down and rip her hands away from her ears. I’m taken aback by how lost she looks in this moment. I saw a neighbor go into a similar state every Fourth of July when I was younger. It was like the noise just yanked somethin’ traumatic out of him, and he had to go somewhere else until the fireworks were over and the noise stopped settin’ him off.
Delta’s gray eyes are pained and far away, and her breathin’ is fast and shallow. I don’t wanna make things worse for her, but we need to get out of here.
“Delta, listen to me! Demons are out there, and I don’t know how to shift. You have to get us out of here! Please!”
Maybe it’s the desperation in my voice, but her crazed eyes seem to flicker for a moment. “Medley?”
“Yes! We need to go!”
Suddenly, the big window I was just lookin’ out of shatters, and both Delta and I scream, duckin’ our heads beneath our arms to try to fend off the shower of glass that rains down. I feel the glass bitin’ into my skin, and all I can think is,dammit, not again.
I shove Delta’s scythe into her hand and stand up, because I don’t know if she’s mentally capable to get us out of here right now, but there’s no way in hell that I’ll let them take us without a fight.
The curtains billow back as wind rushes in, the air fillin’ with a smoggy, jaundiced color as it pours in the reek of sulfur.
The demons are closin’ in, probably doin’ their best to break whatever demon wards are put on this place. The closer the pollution demons come, the colder I feel and the more black fog rolls over my vision as Tribulation Medley surges up.
Here we go.
24
The first camouflage-skinned demon crawls through the now paneless window like it’s squeezin’ through a small hole. Darkness crawls over my vision, settlin’ like I just put sunglasses on. Everythin’ is a shade darker, and yet, I see the world so much more clearly now, like I didn’t just put lenses on but somehow took my blinders off. I waste no time reactin’. My body and instincts know what needs to be done.
The demon crawls through and makes it waist-deep into Delta’s house, its gangly limbs grippin’ the frame and shards of glass without even a flinch. Without pause, I rush forward and lob its head off in one smooth, practiced gesture.
Before the head even finishes rollin’, another demon starts squeezin’ through the open window frame, and then another, usin’ the dead demon as leverage. I swing again and again, like I’m stuck in a Hellish version of Whack-a-Mole.
Black blood splatters all over the walls and carpet, and I instantly feel bad at what’s bein’ done to this house. It’s plain to see what this place means to Delta, and it enrages me that these demons are destroyin’ it.
Two more camo-skinned, sulfur stinkin’ bodies start to force their way into the house, and even though I only counted six outside, I don’t know if that’s all there is.
From what Delta’s demons said, the Ophidian—aka Morax—is scramblin’ right now. His army has been destroyed, and he’s on the run, but it’s clear from his power he can find minions anywhere, whether they’re willin’ or not. Hell, he nearly had me walkin’ out the door of the club with him. It’s obvious how easy it is for him to get others to do whatever he wants. But Morax ain’t here, so I can’t even be sure he’s the one who sent these demons to attack us. Either way, we need to get the hell out of here.
I look over at Delta, who seems like she’s tryin’ to pull herself out of the fog of whatever is goin’ on, but I can see that it’s a struggle. I’m not sure if I can keep us both safe, but maybe I can stall long enough to help her snap out of it.
I decapitate two more demons and then rush to her side. “Can you run?” I ask, lookin’ down to see blood flowin’ freely out of the gash in her leg.
Before she can answer, I squat down and wrap the arm that’s not clingin’ to her scythe around my shoulders and stand up. I lift her off the ground, surprised by the ease in which I do it, and I take it as a good sign that she holds onto her scythe and works to move with me as I aim us for the back door.
I debated hidin’ in the house for all of two seconds. It might buy us a little time, but the thought of demons destroyin’ this place just doesn’t sit right with me, so I opt for tryin’ to make a break for it the same way we got here—through the backyard.
“Alright, Delta, we’re makin’ a run for it. You just keep doin’ what you're doin’, and when you’re ready to pop us out of here, we’ll go. I got you until then, okay? I don’t know what’s goin’ on, but you just know that I’m here, I got you, and I ain’t goin’ anywhere.”
I half carry, half drag my newly-found sister to the back door and throw it open. I fight the need to gag at the heavy smell of sulfur in the air as I rush out to the backyard. I quickly head toward the part of the fence that’s bent at the top, figurin’ it’ll be the easiest place to get us both up and over, but another camo demon steps up on the other side of the fence, and I skid to a stop.
It smiles at me, and a long yellow tongue snakes out and licks its warthog-like fangs. Its eyes are the color of puss, and there’s no discernible nose on its face. It’s a thing of nightmares. Destruction and pestilence flow off of it in waves.
I spot more movement to my left, and I look over to see more of these disgustin’ things movin’ to surround the fence. I take a deep breath and set Delta back down by my feet where she falls to her knees, still trapped in her head, and I ready myself.
I try to stand over her without puttin’ myself in a position to trip over her as she works to pull herself from whatever horror she’s relivin’. I hold my scythe out like the threat it is as the demons bend their knees and then jump clear over the fence, landin’ twenty feet away from us with dirt sprayin’ up beneath their feet.
I’m not sure why, but advice my daddy once gave me when I was younger about bears and wild animals comes to the forefront of my mind. He told me to make myself as big as I can and yell as loudly and threateningly as I can to try and help scare them off before they can hurt you. So I do just that.
I square my shoulders and fill my lungs with putrid air, and then I bellow out a feral roar that causes goosebumps to crawl up my arms. The demons pause for a fraction of a second, and I have a heartbeat to think,holy shit, did that work?before they continue to close in. Damn.
Out of nowhere, I feel a hand on my thigh. I almost jump clear out of my skin, my mind demandin’ to know how somethin’ snuck up on us that fast, but I look down to find Delta’s watery and haunted gray eyes starin’ up at me.
She blinks twice and then gets to her feet, her face paler than usual, but her eyes no longer hold that wild, lost look in them.
