“That’s not it,” I said, voice unsteady, fragile. “Lionel… I’mterrifiedof losing you.”
A moment of shock colored his face, as if this was news to him, before a faint smile appeared again and I relaxed my grip a little bit. He wasn’t on the edge of a cliff, he wasn’t falling.
He wasn’t going to leave me.
Suddenly our grip broke off as a woman tore in between us, and soon after screams followed as people began to run. A man shoved me, and I stumbled and fell behind one of the tables.
“Ethalyn!” I heard Lionel shout after me.
A large explosion went off, from the direction that we had arrived from. I watched in horror as fire climbed the skies, claiming the trees by the outskirts of the village.
“Save the people and their homes!” I shouted back, not sure if he was still there or even heard me.
I pushed myself up to my feet.
Dread filled me, as I saw blackened shapes emerging around the village, hundreds of them, hunting for anything living.
No one was safe, not in their homes, not in the streets. The roads were even more packed now than before, with people trying to flee, ready to abandon their homes if needed.
My eyes found Lionel in the crowd, fighting against one of the demons, similar to the shadow demons we had seen in the forest on our first mission. I readied myself to sprint, but a black shadow crashed into me, sending me flying. I landed on the ground with a thud, tumbling for a moment before I began coughing and gasping for air.
“You okay there, kitten?” I heard and jolted in response. Malakai bent and offered a hand out to me.“Or did you simply think now was a good time to practice your forward-rolls?”
“Are you behind this?” I hissed.
His eyes went from blank to dark in seconds, like a mask had slid off.
His jaw clenched. “You have three seconds before I stop being nice.”
“Oh, this has been your nice side?” I chuckled dryly.
His mouth twitched as he lunged for my wrist and dragged me up on my feet. Our eyes were locked, neither of us willing to back down, as his free hand grabbed his gun and pointed it at me. My breath hitched as the shot went off.
No it hadn’t been at me, ratherbehindme. Slowly I turned and saw a black demon crumbling to the ground.
“Not you, then,” I confirmed, pressing my lips together.
“How clever,” he bit out. “They’re too many, unless you feel like… erupting.” His brow arched, his eyes challenging.
“No, not an option,” I countered. “The others—”
“Don’t know,” he finished the sentence, ending with a sigh.
A black shadow lunged forward, coming out of nowhere. I swung my gun up and shot it, three times before it collapsed onto the ground. “Now we’re even.”
A slow, coy smile spread on his lips. “So now I’m worth saving?”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” I snorted, before I searched for the others.
An explosion caught my eyes as I saw Ashley, Mey and Nate running away from it. I aimed and shot at the demons emerging behind them, the sound of my weapon made them aware of my location. Malakai’s back brushed against mine, as he fired at the ones behind us.
“Where’s Lionel? And Eve?” Mey panted as they got closer.
“Weren’t you with Lionel?” Ashley asked, giving Malakai an odd look.
“We got separated,” I said, my voice weakened.
“There!” Nate shouted, pointing towards the southern edge of the village, where a church loomed. We caught glimpses of Lionel and Eve who tried to hold their ground. Of course, the church was easier to spot amongst other buildings, as it stood tall, with an outstanding quality to its architecture. Lionel must’ve thought it would be easier to find our way back to each other at such a location.
