My scythe falls from my hands, clattering to the ground.
Dammit!
This demon has powers.
“Laqueus daemon!” Maxon bangs the handle of his scythe against the ground, and a shockwave of energy knocks the demon back. I spring back up, scrambling to get my scythe. The demon disappears into a puff of smoke before I can get there, and I freeze, heart in my throat, and whirl around.
“Max!” I scream when the demon shimmers behind him. Max turns, swinging his scythe with impressive speed. It sinks into the demon’s chest, and the demon lets out a harrowing yell.
Hadwin takes a running leap, sailing over the wreckage in a single bound, and loops the soul of the police officer’s arm through his. Right as he gets the soul to come with him, the demon reaches forward and hits Maxon in the chest. Red flames suddenly engulf him, and Maxon rushes back, body going rigid as the pain ripples through him.
The demon throws its head back and laughs.
“Extinguo!” I shout, and thrust a hand out. Nothing happens. I’ve only practiced this spell a few times in class. “No…no….” I swallow hard, and grip the scythe tight and try again, throwing out my free hand.
And nothing happens again. My heart beats faster and faster. I can’t watch Maxon burn to death by demonic fire.
“Extinguo!” a loud voice booms behind me. I whirl around to see Professor Dal standing several yards away. His blazing eyes are fixed on Maxon, and I gasp in relief when the flames sizzle out.
Maxon doesn’t miss a beat. He swings his scythe again and it slices the demon’s stomach open. Thick black ooze drips out and Max shoves the scythe in deep, twisting the hooked blade.
I start running again, and jump up into the air, flying over Maxon and the demon. I land and spin around, raising my scythe.
“Duck!” I yell to Maxon, and he drops down right in time. I slice the demon’s head clean off, and the body crumbles away to nothing.
Holy shit.
My heart is racing. My fingers are trembling.
“That was fucking awesome,” I pant. “Are you okay?”
He looks down at his chest and nods. He’s a little pale, but otherwise fine—the fire was burning his spiritual energy away, so his clothes and hair are untouched. “Yeah.”
“Well done,” Professor Dal cries, and claps enthusiastically. I jump—I had totally forgotten he was here. “You have the souls in your possession, but that doesn’t mean the task is done. You need to get back to the afterlife before more demons come. June, open the portal, please.”
I look around, spotting June and Hadwin moving over by Professor Dal.
“We should do another sweep,” Maxon tells me. “Look for those other souls.”
“We need to get you back to the academy so you can rest. That burned a lot of your energy,” I counter.
“The souls.” He jerks around and looks for them.
“Professor Dal is opening the portal,” I tell him, pointing with my scythe. “You need to rest,” I press, and reminding Maxon he’s not at full strength seems to piss him off. I barely resist the urge to roll my eyes, not wanting to agitate him further.
Professor Dal assists June in taking her soul through the portal, as it starts to resist right before she crosses through. Hadwin goes in next, and Maxon and I are just feet away when the ground shakes.
Heavy, repressive energy surrounds us. Maxon sidesteps over, protectively standing in front of me as he brandishes his scythe.
I whirl around and look at the pileup of cars. Has anyone else died? I don’t see any souls standing above their bodies.
Maxon inches forward and falters.
“You need to get back to the academy,” I tell him, and the thought that he could be killed by a demon right before my eyes suddenly terrifies me more than the next demon.
Thump.
The entire ground shakes.
