Suddenly, the demon goes rigid. It lowers its hands and I crash to the ground. The energy that was leaving my body comes back to me, and I inhale as if that will pull it in faster.
The demon whirls around, and I see a scythe sticking out of its back. It rips it out and throws it on the ground. The demon charges, but the attackerfaster.
“Precutio!” My savior throws out his hand as he shouts the word, and his spell knocks the demon yards away.
I’m still on the ground, still struggling to get my energy back into my body. I look up, vision still fuzzy.
My heart skips a beat when I see him.
Maxon.
23
“Get up, Addy.” Maxon grabs my hand. “We need to get back to the academy before that thing wakes up.”
He gets me to my feet and staggers himself. Right. The spell he just performed is one of the most powerful defensive spells known to reapers, but it directly pulls energy from the caster.
Shit.
We do need to get out of here. There’s no way we can fight the demon when neither of us are at our full percent.
“You…you came after me.”
“Yeah, I knew you’d need my help.” He gives me a grim smile and loops his arm around me, helping to steady me as well as himself. Professor Balbina said it’s imperative to get the hell out of dodge after casting that spell, and I can see it in Maxon’s eyes. He already took a bit of an energy blow earlier, and though he did take a nap to recharge, he’s weakening fast.
“Thank you,” I say hoarsely, voice coming out weak. My heart lurches in my chest again, and I look at Maxon as if it’s the first time, like I’m seeing him, the real him.
Who risked his life for me.
“Let’s get you back to the academy,” he says, and tightens his hold on me. “Are you all right?” He slows so he can look me up and down. “The demon was devouring you.”
“I…I think so.” A shiver wracks my body. Getting my soul sucked out of me was a million times worse than fire ants in my blood. It was more than the pain. It was total despair. I never want to feel that again.
It was watching the world crumble around me as the darkness took over the light, casting shadows on everything I love and hold dear.
“And I think…I think when it was eating my soul I saw into its head.” I swallow hard and feel like I might throw up. Maxon stops, giving me a minute to gather myself before I pass out.
“What did you see?”
“They want to infect the world with evil.”
Maxon’s jaw tenses as he looks into my eyes for a beat. “They’re demons. That’s what they do. Spread destruction.”
“This…this seemed more specific. And I can’t explain it, but it felt like the plan—whatever the hell it is—has already been started.”
“We can talk about it at the academy. We both need to get back now.”
I nod, unable to argue. I want to get back as soon as possible. We slowly make our way up the rocky hill to pick up our scythes.
“Wait!” I say when Max holds out his hand to draw the sigil.
“You don’t seriously think you can fight that thing, do you?”
“Of course not,” I snap. “But Kaia is here.”
“What?” Maxon’s blue eyes widen. “And she’s alive?”
“Yes. Unconscious, but alive.” I pull out of Maxon’s embrace and miss his touch right away. I jump over a jumble of fallen tree limbs and dry, dead weeds.
