“Race ya,” she taunts.
I run to the board she let me borrow, and I race after her. I have to do something about her eyes, before someone else sees them like that. Flicking my wrist, I put a temporary glamour over them. Catching up to her, she looks at me, and her eyes are back to their beautiful, mellow, gray shimmer. If her magic unlocks somehow, it'll definitely push through my cast. She takes my hand in hers, and we ride side by side until we reach her dad’s house. I drive as fast as I can, knowing that if I get pulled over, I’ll just cast my way out of it. At this point I have no choice. I have to get to Eden as fast as I can.
We make it there in record time, and I feel bad saying goodbye to Scarlet so urgently. But the dark coven must be stopped. She understands, and I can see the respect she has for me and my position in the caster world in her eyes. She looks at her dad and her uncle the same way. Even with all of this mess happening in Eden, Scarlet found a way to show me the light. With her encouragement and confidence in me, I feel stronger, knowing I have her unyielding support.
As soon as she closes her door, I put a quick protection cast on her dorm townhouse. The last thing I need is for a demon to try and snag her away, while I'm not even in the same realm. It takes five long minutes to complete the cast, and I speed run to my SUV. There is a portal in a park on the school grounds. It’ll take me ten minutes to get there, so I step on the gas and drive like Derek would. Finally, I see the park, and I also see Derek's car parked at the entrance. They must be there with their parents, trying to help. Parking next to his BMW, I run through the small forest. Coming up to the small oval lake that holds the portal to our world, I look down into it. It could fit maybe four people in it, but it tends to get overlooked, which is a good thing.
Quickly reciting the chant to open the portal, I wait for the water to spiral into a small whirlpool and jump right in. Instantly, I get sucked into the caster realm without one drop of water on me. When my feet touch the ground, I look up to see the lake returned to its original lucid state. From the moment my feet touched the pure soil of Eden, I felt my power increase in strength. I feel rejuvenated and ready to cast. Bending down, I place a cast on my sneakers, so I can run at a faster speed and make it to the Elders’ grounds in seconds.
Once the cast begins, I wave my hand over my feet and watch, as the cast it seals itself over my sneakers. With one step, I'm out like the wind. When I see the smoke ahead, I snap my fingers, and the cast diminishes, slowly fading away. As I come to an easy stop, it looks like they got the fire out, but the smoke is a whole other predicament. It seems to be never ending and thick. You could smell the dark magic rooted in the attack.
“Evan! Thank Ava, you're okay.” My aunt embraces me in a motherly hug that I melt into. Her hugs have always been so cozy. She lets go to step back and get a good look at me. “You look like you haven't been sleeping. Could it be that girl your cousins told me about?” She very swiftly attempts to inquire. She can never turn down gossip. I knew my cousins would sell me out, but I didn't think they would do it at a time like this. Shaking my head, I bring her in for another hug.
“I'm fine, Aunt Rose. Don't worry and yes. I met a girl. I’ll tell you all about it after we settle this,” I answer her quickly. She rubs my back, as we walk to where my uncle and cousins are standing. I see Rick and Dimitri alongside the Sisters, closer to the smoke, and I tell my family that I’ll be right back. Making my way to the front, I bow my head to each Elder. A few of them are still in tears over the dreadful attack. But Ava looks as strong as an ox. She looks exhausted, but you can still feel the immense power that is stored within her. I shake Rick and Dimitri's hands, as Ava begins to update me on the situation.
“Rick has already told you of the attack, so there is not much more information to give you. With all the casters that are here right now, I want half of them inside to try and lift the cast so we can continue our search, and I want the other half out here to get control of this wicked smoke.” She turns towards her sisters and continues her orders. “Nova and Belle, you two go inside and begin preparations for the cast. The rest of you stay out here with me until we cease this putrid smoke. When we are done, we will go inside to assist in lifting the dark barrier cast.”
The Sisters fall in place, following their leader’s orders. Rick and Dimitri stay together, as they tell the other casters to go inside. I take the lead and go the opposite way, getting casters to stay out here to help. I repeat the orders, and they make their way to the front, next to the remaining Elders. Ava prepares the casters for the strong cast we are all about to attempt to do. My cousins stay with me, as we round up the last few casters that are here to help. When we turn to join the group, the three of us hear a rip come from behind us. We spin around to see a literal tear in the ground. We stand there frozen, as we watch a group of Bison demons crawl through, from the tear in our realm.
Derek claps his hands, and his baseball bat appears in them. Lucas bends to retrieve his athame, and I stand there, ready to fight with my hands. There hasn't been a demon sighting in Eden in years. We placed a strong enough cast to keep them away, until this moment. I mentally reach out to Ava to tell her there are demons attacking Eden. I see her head quickly turn in my direction. She nods her head as Rick, Dimitri, and my uncle race their way over to us. We all put our backs to each other, as we make a circle facing the demons, ready to attack and defend Eden and our council. Unexpectedly, I feel metal begin to wrap itself around my knuckles. Perfectly fit brass knuckles form around my fingers, with a grip handle for the short Katana swords that extend at the end. Spikes shoot out of the front of the knuckle grip that support my short blades. I'm mesmerized as I watch. A leather scabbard appears upon my back for their safekeeping. Confused, I look around until I see Rick shrug his shoulders.
“Think of it as a welcome to the family gift,” he offers. I'm beyond grateful, but for now all I can do is nod my thanks. “Let’s do this,” I yell out loud with a vengeance to our skilled group of fighters. I'm the first to attack and pounce over the head of one of the Bison demons. As it spins around, I crisscross my newly given gifts in midair and decapitate the disgusting monster. All while he is still in motion to punch me with his over-sized fist. I use its bulk, as he falls to the ground to leap as I swing my blades and confront the next grimy beast.
Fiercely, I swing my blades and encounter the demon that is going for Derek. With two quick motions up, the demon’s arms fall off, but it continues its path to kill my cousin. As funny as it is to see the demon struggling to kill with no arms, I have to keep my head in the game. Derek expertly swings the bat directly down the center of the demon’s head. I look over to my right and see Dimitri and Rick taking on two demons. They both have two sword-like blades in each hand, a lot like the new swords I possess. Now I understand why he gifted me with them and I will forever honor him with each one of my kills.
As I look at them in motion, it’s like poetry. These demons don't stand a chance against them. They have the demons moving at their command, as if they were in a dance. Rick gives a nod to his brother, and they begin their attack. Both fighters run forward then jump and flip over the demons’ heads. Going well over eight feet in the air. I hear the blades make contact with each other, as Rick and Dimitri slice the heads off of the bewildered demons. The skilled brothers land on their feet at the same time, and I temporarily forget what we’re here for because it was so impressive. This is it. My dream has become a reality. I'm fighting side by side with the Winter brothers. And honorably, one of them has just welcomed me to his family. This is a day for the books.
A huge Bison demon falls inches away from me. Suddenly, I look back to see Luke nod his head. I return the gesture to thank him for having my back, but the demon still lives. It twitches as it attempts to stand back up, but I'm quickly on top of him. I pummel the demon with the hilt of my sword, directly into its temple. It isn't until I'm pulling my hand out of the demon’s head that I realize just how lethal these weapons can b
e.
Another demon runs towards me, fist in the air, ready to kill anyone that gets in its way. It looks rabid. I wait for the last second to bend down and raise my hand, sticking my sword into its midsection, as it stumbles and slides along the dirt floor. When it comes to a halt and looks up, my sword is already in an arc, heading towards its neck, as it quickly separates from its head. The next Bison demon coming towards me doesn't even get the chance to lift its arm for a chance to strike at me, as I'm already pulling my inky and bloody sword out of its head.
Something has to be done about that tear in the soil, so the demons can stop entering Eden. I quickly call out to my uncle and Lucas. Together they can close the tear. When they get my message, they finish off the demons they were fighting and race to the tear. Linking hands, they begin their chant. I see the ground begin to stitch itself together, but there are still too many demons that have escaped, trying to create a massacre into our peaceful world. I hear Derek grunting and look over to see he is in battle with three demons, two times his size. I get there quickly to help him and we work together sending the vile beasts back to the inferno.
Lucas and Uncle Will are back, fighting in our effort to end the battle. Now that there are no more demons escaping, we can annihilate the ones that have entered. There have to be 20 or more still looking to create havoc, but we’re not going to let that happen. It took 30 minutes to kill all of the remaining demons. When we got to the last one, Dimitri went for it, killing it in seconds. We stand there, trying to catch our breaths with concerned confusion evident in each of our eyes. Sending demons to Eden is a whole other level of evil. Eden is a pure and untouched haven. Darkness and black magic have not touched this place for centuries. We all need answers. More than ever, we all need the chosen one.
Chapter 18
Caster Confession
Rick and I stayed back to cast the deceased demons away. It didn't take long, with both of us doing it. As we chanted the same words at the same time, each demon’s lifeless body began to disintegrate. They quickly melted into the soil, returning back to their icy hell. I should be thankful it was Bison demons that came to ambush Eden. They're fairly easy to kill. I'm slightly apprehensive of which demons they're going to try to send next. If we get an attack of Argali demons, then each and every demon hunter would have to be here to fight. We really have to prepare ourselves for the worst.
The demons are loyal to their master. That’s mostly because they get to escape from their level of hell, even if it’s for a short while. I couldn't imagine being around what they do or where they are from. When we were young and my Uncle Will instructed us on each level, I really paid attention. I wanted to make sure I knew every detail of the demons, so when the time came, I could kill them the correct and most efficient way. Now I can still remember the way he explained it to us. He would start at the top tier of the levels of hell.
Those in level nine, living in treachery, are the Argali demons. It takes three hunters to take one down. Those are very rare to encounter. And can only escape their personal hell if they're summoned by a caster using black magic or someone with immense power. In the all-darkness of level eight, the Takin demons torture the souls sentenced there that have committed murder. Those are tough to hunt because they're tricky beasts. They can climb buildings, trees, come out of deep caverns and go into sewers. If they can get a foothold on something, they can ascend or descend rapidly. In level seven, the Kudu demons torment the souls filled with violence. These are demons that take pleasure in killing. They are like serial killers, stalking victim after victim. Killing those are easier. But they can camouflage themselves, so you really have to use your sense of smell when hunting them.
Demons in level six are the Anea demons. They entrap the blasphemous souls in nothing but fire. They smell like burning tires. We try to kill those the fastest because the stink is so severely. Level five, the Gaur demons, scourge souls of anger in an endless battle. These demons strike at anything. They don't care if it’s a child or an elderly. These demons even attack animals that get in their way. Those are the largest demons in the underworld. But they're fairly easy to kill. Their horns make it hard for them to see straight, so we decided that head shots are the favored method to annihilate them.
Demons in level four are the Elands. They punish souls who are sentenced there for their greed. With the addition of deadly horns, they also have greenish skin, like the color of money. Killing them from afar is best. This is where the sharpshooting training becomes useful. One puncture from one of their horns is enough to kill you on the spot. Level three, the Bison demons, reside in freezing temperatures, guarding the souls who have violated all immorality. They are the hardest to smell, but they are rather slow in their attack. Rather large beasts but not very intelligent. In level two you can really smell the putrid, decaying skin of the Tahr demons. They escape the most. Ironically, they hate the dark, so they're rarely seen at night. We always have to cast our invisibility spell when killing them because they like crowded places in the daylight. And a dagger does the job discreetly, to keep the mortals safe and oblivious to our world.
The first level of hell is the limbo tier. The Chamois demons lurk in the shadows, victimizing the trapped souls. They really enjoy brash mortal women. They're my least favorite type of demon. Even though they are easy to kill, they're smart enough to distance themselves from casters. They succeed most in torturing living mortals. Getting to them first is most crucial, or the mortals will suffer by going mad and committing suicide. And last, in the very center, condemned for committing the ultimate sin, is the worst demon of them all, the Devil. No one knows how to get to the center. And if they’ve tried, they never come back. Only the demons who guard the levels of his inferno go there and back.
***
I'm sure as soon as the Bison demons return to their level of ice, they will report their unsuccessful attempt of invasion. Their master, whether it be the Devil himself or the dark coven that has summoned them, won’t be happy to hear the bad news. In all my years of hunting these monsters, I know what to expect. And I know we all need to prepare. Finally, the last demon soaks into the ground and disappears from the pure Eden grounds. Only, they left behind a black mark in place of their bodies. Rick suggests we walk up to each mark on the ground and cast an individual healing spell on the grass and soil. As we do just that, the sound of Rick’s voice sounds in my mind.
“How did you like the cave?” He asks me. I respond in the same way. “It’s cool. Never seen anything like it. Not in the mortal world, at least.” I see a smile grow on his face as he continues replenishing the ground. “Scarlet was so proud of herself when she found it. It was her favorite place to be. Was the glamour still in place?” He asks, genuinely concerned. “Yes, sir. I hope you don't mind, but I added another layer of protection.” I honestly answer. I hear him chuckle and look up to see him nod his head.
“I understand. Thank you.” I'm on the last black marking. And just as I finish, there is a loud scream. It came from the group of casters helping Ava with the smoke. Rick and I trade glances and race over to the entrance of their estate.
We round the corner and stop short as we notice why the person screamed. Directly in the middle of an enormously blackened and charred area, is a body. Ava rushes forward to see if she can help the person, but when she comes up next to the body, her hand flies over her mouth. She begins to weep as she falls to her knees. I see Dimitri begin to run forward to help Ava, but he hesitates and looks around. When he sees me looking at him, he returns to where he was, just standing next to Derek. When I see no one else attempt to help, I take the opportunity to move forward and console our head Elder.
The Sisters look terrified and fragile. They have to retrain themselves to be ready for the next attack. After this day is over, I’ll bring it up to Ava. I step foot in the black circle and slowly make my way to Ava. As I get closer, the lifeless body becomes more familiar. I can’t place who it is, but I can tell it was a woman.
Her naked body lays with her hands tied above her head. All of her hair has burned off, along with some patches of skin. I bend down to help Ava get to her feet. She takes my hand and holds it, as she attempts to regain her composure.
Rick walks up behind me and tells us he will take care of the body, and that we should move this inside. She silently agrees as she leads us all in, still holding my hand. I get one last look at the woman who died a horrible death, and that’s when it hits me. Katerina! The caster who was excluded from this prophecy mess alongside me. She was the Marked caster who switched Villages with me, when I decided to move to New York. But why? Why her? Was it a random decision? Was she targeted? Would it have been me if I stayed there? As soon as we stepped inside, the two Sisters who were sent to remove the barrier cast rushed forward.
“Ava! We did it! The cast is lifted. We can resume the search! Wait. What’s wrong? Is everyone okay?” Nova asks, noticing the sadness in her sister’s eyes. She takes Nova’s hand in her free one, and we continue our walk to the meeting room. “Well done, Sisters. We succeeded, also. The guys took care of the Demon ambush, and the rest of us worked on the smoke. When it finally dissipated, Katerina Aurora was in the middle of it, nude, scorched, and lifeless.” She gives them the despairing news. “Oh, no. Kat was an extraordinary caster. She will be highly missed,” Sister Belle sadly says. “Wait. Demons? We were attacked? Here?” Says Nova, catching up to what Ava reported.
“Bison demons. But they're back in the inferno, thanks to the group of fighters that were here.” She looks back at me and gives me a small smile. Continuing her thoughts, “Sisters, we must get back into training. It has been far too long for any of us to be able to protect ourselves, in case a demon hunter cannot get here quick enough. I will speak to Rick and Dimitri to see if they wouldn't mind retraining us. In the meantime, we must recast the protection on Eden. Those demons entered too easily for my liking.” Hunter is the first to speak up. “Yes! I completely agree.” Voicing her opinion, causes the other Elders to agree. Ava nods her head, with relief evident on her face. “Good. We must find the chosen one as soon as possible. Bring everyone to the meeting room, and we will begin planning.”
Winter's Awakening (Light Coven Chronicles Book 1) Page 16