Page 82 of Black Hollow: Awakening

Christine… or rather, the demon controlling her body, narrowed its eyes and then asked:

“Why would I leave when I am so powerful? You can’t stop me.”

“You’re bluffing.”

“Am I?”

“Do you really want to try your luck against three witches?”

The demon cackled.

“A witch, a bitch, a spy! That’s what I see!” it shouted, sizing up Will with a contemptuous look.

“That’s still a pretty solid lineup, don’t you think?” Norma countered. “Bitches especially can really get under your skin, which is bad news for a classless demon like you,” she hissed menacingly, slowly straightening up.

“I’m not afraid, you filthy slut!” the demon growled. “Tell him to stop staring,” it added with irritation, not taking its eyes off Will.

“Oh. Are you shy?” Norma mocked.

“Stop staring!” the demon screamed.

Will looked away, but then his eyes reflexively snapped back to the being.

“Stop staring, stop staring!” the creature shrieked.

“Okay, that’s enough,” Norma announced firmly. “Are you going to get out of here on your own, or does my pretty friend need to use a more forceful method of persuasion?”

A nasty smile appeared on the demon’s face.

“Oh, I’ll move. You can count on it.”

It was a fraction of a second. The demon sprang to its feet and rushed toward Will with such speed that he had no time to react in any way.

…and yet, he did.

An intense shiver ran through his body, and a moment later, the creature bearing down on him was thrown back with great force—so great that it flew through the window opposite them and landed outside.

“Holy shit…” Norma whispered in awe.

For a moment, all three of them stared outside in shock. The demon got up. It looked back at them, smiled nastily… and bolted.

“After it!” Norma ordered, racing toward the front door.

“Are you okay?” Abby asked, glancing at Will.

“Yeah, yeah,” Will confirmed, not entirely lucid.

Only then did Abby run after her friend.

When Will got outside, neither of them was in sight. A neighbor emerged from a nearby house, probably alarmed by the sound of shattering glass. Will pulled his hood over his head and started to run. The last thing he needed was to be accused of breaking and entering!

He ran into Norma and Abby two blocks away. The girls were walking slowly, breathing shallowly.

“Did you find her? Him? It?” Will asked.

“No, it lost us,” Norma replied tiredly. “Damn it.”

“Why did it call me a spy?”