For the first few minutes, I felt sick and dizzy. It was as if I could only see the trees and hear the sea behind us. We could see the sky and feel the wind, but smell the dampness and the mustiness that was this cellar room.
We all realised at the same moment what would happen if the essences were killed. Some of the creatures in the room had just experienced the death of their essences; we would collapse after yelling in pain. I soon realised that there were still people here, looking for us. I heard footsteps upstairs, which meant we needed to get out of here, before we were discovered and captured. I walked around, through lots of the creatures who looked at me like this was my entire fault, and picked up the fairies that I had felt and seen collapse, for there was more than one. I gave them to others of their kind to carry.
“Okay, everyone listen up. You have to leave, hide in the safest place, the most secret place you have and don’t come out for anyone. I will find you all if I need you. Thank you so much for helping us, but you have to go now,” I said all of it in a rush. I could feel the demons upstairs prowling around. “Place your hand in the centre of the circle and two may pass through. If you have any unconscious friends with you, they will be allowed to pass as one conscious and unconscious. Go now, please!”
In the time it took me to tell them that, three more people had collapsed and my head felt as though it were being cleaved in two. I sank to the ground and groaned. When I looked up, I shouted at the creatures looking at me, “Go! Please leave! Hurry…”
I knew at that moment that I would have to concentrate on the fight for a bit. If I didn’t, no one would get out of here alive. I focused my mind and fought, dodging blows, ducking, and diving around. I felt Nathan do the same beside me.
We both allowed our minds to be overrun with the fight. We began to dance around more, fighting back. I knew the demon powers wouldn’t work on me, but that didn’t stop them from trying. Every few seconds I would feel the pain of another creature’s essence dropping, hurt or killed.
I tried using my powers, but quickly realised that they were not as strong as my real powers. They were strong enough to send Jenny flying into a tree and knock her out. I protected all the little creatures by shielding them and, out of one corner of my eye I could see the small creatures escaping from the cellar.
Out of the other corner of my eye, I saw Nate fighting Nick. It was so close between them that I realised the same rule applied to Nate. Another person charged towards me and I lifted my hand just as she reached me, flicked my hand towards the cliff face and she flew away, off the cliff. I looked around for Nathan’s dad but he was nowhere to be seen for the minute. That momentary lapse in concentration almost cost me my essence as a figure I now recognised as Mr Stevenson charged into me and knocked me to the ground. I lay there winded, when he put his hands around my neck and started choking me.
He flew off of me, thrown backwards by Nate charging at him and they wrestled on the ground for a moment, but it seemed as though his dad was getting the upper hand. I reached out grabbed essence Nate and we moved together, fighting hard. We deflected from one corner, and I set a ring of fire around us that was impenetrable. It gave me a second to close off and make sure that the creatures were using this time to escape.
Within a few seconds Nate groaned, in my head and I saw his essence, hit with a flying boulder. I placed my hand on his back and power surged through him, just in time because his father managed to break through the fire and he lunged at me. I moved out of the way a second too late and I careered backwards, burning my shoulder on the flames.
The flames flickered and went out, and the demons surrounded us again. I moved some of them out of the way, but Nate’s dad grabbed me from behind and threw me to the ground again and he placed his hands around my neck, tightening them with a look of maddening rage. I coughed and sputtered, unable to freeze him or get him off me when I started to lose consciousness.
As my struggling stopped I saw him pull out a ceremonial knife and draw it down my face, “I’m going to end you, you fucking little whore. You destroyed my family and know this the traitor will die, because you can’t save him and you can’t save yourself. This is over.” He raised the dagger up and I tried to send a current through my body to throw him off, but before the current had fully passed over me, Nate grabbed him and threw him off the cliff.
Nate ran around grabbing demons and tossing them off of the cliff, while I used my powers to try and keep them down there. In the seconds that passed, he pulled me up and I was so angry that my powers increased in my essence and with one wave of my hand, all of the demons were thrown off the cliff and into the water. I made the water into a cage and trapped them all to allow us time to escape. I looked around and saw the ‘bodies’ of all the little creatures who had been killed, but I knew that they would be okay. I decided with one look towards Nate that we should retreat back into our proper bodies and get the hell out of there before the demons figured out it was a trick. He nodded at me and we both went to come back into our own minds.
Before we left, I told my essence to head for Sligo, to lead the demons that way, which would give us a chance to get to safety. As I got back into my body, I looked around the room and only Nathan, the mystics, and I remained. The mystics told us that they did not want to leave us as there were still demons prowling around above.
I decided to knock them out before we left so that we wouldn’t be followed. Even though we were protected, I still didn’t want them conscious as we left. I lifted my hands and pulled a beam of wood down on them, knowing full well that the house would crumble on them, the moment I did so. The mystics ran towards the doorway first and got through it as an almighty roar told us who prowled above.
Jack was up there, now trapped under the wooden beam. I heard another girl yell and a man grunt in pain as the house tumbled down on them. I looked at Nathan and he nodded. We ran to the door as the sound of the house falling became louder. We got to the doorway, almost too late; the ceiling fell in on us and I put my hand on it, grabbed the rune stones, and ran through the door, as the roof caved in, bringing the unconscious demons and a ton of earth falling into the room where we had been moments previously.
We ran along a low earthen corridor, coming out of a tree on a roadside, heading to God only knew where, but I felt we were safe for a few moments. We looked around for a road sign and saw only farmlands, all green and yellow, in the summer sunshine. We walked along the road, towards the trees only a little ways away, but the sun was scorching; my mouth was parched but we had no water and no supplies.
We kept walking and to distract ourselves from the bleakness of our situation, we talked about the last four days.
“Nate, I don’t… I don’t understand?” I stopped unable to go on, as he walked slightly ahead of me with his head down. His shoulders shook at my words, and his breath came in gasps as he fought against the emotion of what had happened to us.
“Jas, I can’t. Please don’t ask me…” He stopped and froze, swiping his hands across his face and he took a fortifying breath before speaking again, “I thought I’d lost you, for two months. I couldn’t find you anywhere and then suddenly you were beside me and…” He shuddered and glanced towards me, tears flowing from his face as he drank me in. He shook his head and looked forwards again, “I knew you were more powerful than any sacrifice ever before, but I didn’t realise how powerful you’d become. It scared me, I’m a coward. I couldn’t cope with how powerful you were.”
He stopped moving and I walked into him. He steadied me and buried his face in my hair, breaking down completely. I gave him a few minutes as he cried, holding him tightly, but I had to know what had happened, why he’d betrayed me and if I really could trust him not to do it again.
My thoughts must have registered with him, because he held me closer, “hurting you like that was the most gut-wrenching pain I’ve ever experienced. It felt as though I was being cleaved in two and I fought it. As soon as I was outside, I tried to ge
t back in, to get back to you, but I couldn’t and then I was in the hole in the ground, bound and gagged. I fought so hard, trying to get back to you and then you appeared right in front of me, but you couldn’t even look at me.” His voice shook and he leaned down kissing the tip of my nose, “Jas, when I saw you were okay, I couldn’t believe it and the relief was incredible. They hadn’t made me loose you, you were still here and all I wanted was to tell you how sorry I was and how much I loved you.”
He kissed me gently and turned to face the road, “we should keep going,” he whispered kissing just under my ear, before he turned us around and pulled on my hand, urging me forwards.
“Nate, you didn’t tell me how they convinced you to do it?” I spoke softly, and his back stiffened as he replied in a cold voice, “I don’t know how they made me do it, baby. All I know is I’m glad it didn’t work and that I still have you. I know you are confused and I don’t blame you, but I love you with everything I am and if you never forgive me, then so be it. Just know that I will never go back to the darkness that you saved me from.”
I knew I had a lot to think about, the past few days had been insane and although I still loved Nathan, I still had a scar where Nate had stabbed me and I was still upset about it, but still he had saved me again from his father. My feelings at this point were so mixed up and I didn’t know what I wanted. I needed some time to come to terms with the fact that he stabbed me. The sensation of that blade as it entered me, and the look on his face tormented me and I didn’t know how to move on from it. I just needed time to process it and everything that had happened since that moment.
It took us two hours of walking along this road before we saw any signs of life — a demon. We hid behind a tree as the demon walked along the road, whistling and humming. I looked at Nate in the shade of the tree and realised that no matter what I still loved him.
He looked at me and leaned in for a kiss when a yell from behind us made us both jump. We peered around the tree and there stood his father. Soaking wet and dripping all over the side of the road, looking towards the whistling demon with undisguised fury on his face as I felt myself shaking, Nate leaned over pulling me in for an embrace.
We peeked around the tree again and Mr Stevenson was nowhere to be seen. We walked slowly through the shade of the trees, watching for branches and roots that would trip us up. We walked through the woods for over half an hour, meeting nothing. The light was eerily green and there was a strong smell of wood. We kept peering out to see if there was any sign of demons or Mr Stevenson again, but there was nothing. We could see the woods thinning up ahead. We walked towards the thinning of the woods, but when we got there, we had walked into a farm filled with demons.
We looked around panic-stricken. We saw a bush large enough to cover us and dove for it. Two seconds later, Jenny stood where we had been standing looking around for us. The bush was jaggy, scratching at our faces and arms, but there was nothing we could do. We had inadvertently walked towards them and now we were stuck. I lay my head down on the ground and felt Nate lie down beside me. My breath came in gasps and I shook so hard. Why were things like this never easy? Why couldn’t we just bloody escape?
Nathan gave in to exhaustion hidden in the thicket of a bush and woke hours later to the sound of car doors slamming. I jumped, feeling dizzy with how completely run down I was as I lay keeping watch to make sure that no one got to us as we lay so close to a demon stronghold. Nate had been sleeping with his arm across my stomach. He looked at me smiling, but we heard footsteps nearby and froze watching as a pair of feet walked right by our hiding place.
“Jenny,” a voice yelled, making us both jump again. “Get a move on. We’ve got to get to Sligo before they leave.”
Mr Stevenson walked over to Jenny and she turned back to her father, walking slowly back to the garden full of cars. Nate whispered in my ear, “We have to move now, baby.”
The sound of more doors slamming gave us cover to crawl through the bush, seeing a plethora of demons piling into cars. There were so many of them and so much was going on that we didn’t notice Mr Stevenson, until he spoke directly in front of us. He was talking about us.
“They were spotted heading into Sligo in a car. Head for the town centre and we’ll split up from there.”
The group nearest us walked towards the cars, all stopped, six or seven of them, and looked back. Both Nate and I held our breaths as they walked back towards us. They leaned into the hedge we were hidden under and pulled out something. We only saw the knives after they walked away. Nate’s dad had one and Jack had the other. “The ceremonial knives”, Nate whispered into my head.
They got into two different cars, a Toyota jeep and a Suzuki Swift. The cars drove off, leaving the front of the farm house deserted. We got out and walked over to the windows, still terrified that someone would be here, but thankfully, no one was.
We walked past each set of windows, checking in the rooms to make sure no one was there and finally, we passed the sinister farmhouse. We continued down a hill behind the house, onto some sort of main road.
As we walked, we felt lightheaded. We were hungry and stiff. We had slept on the ground with nothing covering us. We weren’t really watching where we were going, just stumbling along as the rain started. The rain bucketed down and we had no jackets or anything with us. I wore a blue skirt torn in a few places, caught in a few others, a vest top that had a hole in it, covered in blood from where Nate had stabbed me, and a white blouse covered in cuts, blood, and mud. Nate wore a blue sweatshirt, that had catches, mud, and holes, a pair of blue jeans covered in mud, and a pair of trainers caked in blood and mud.
Finally, after half an hour, we saw a car. As soon as the driver saw us, he stopped, rolling down the window to offer us a ride.
“Sure, I can take you into the village or into Donegal. That’s where I’m headed.”
We jumped into the car as the thunder clapped. We were both exhausted as the driver asked us where we were from and how we were walking down a road during a storm.
I looked at Nathan, in the front seat, chatting with the driver. I turned and looked out of the window as the driver told Nate his name was Niall and he was from Donegal, but studied in Derry. He seemed nice enough so I relaxed a little, wondering how and when I would see my brother and sister. It had been ages since I had found out, but I wanted them out of the houses or wherever they were now. Nathan told me how dangerous it was and how the demons would expect me to go after my family. As soon as we were somewhere safe and impenetrable, I would find and save them.
Eventually, we reached Donegal and got out, but as we thanked the driver and left the car, we realised that our day was far from over. We needed supplies and money. Nathan had opened a bank account in a false name a few months ago, claiming that he’d rather the money was safe in a bank, which was a relief because we had nothing left. All of our plans had been scuppered and we were being stalked, followed and seconds from being killed.
We walked over to the bank and went inside, all the while praying that it hadn’t been discovered. Luck was with us; there was still eight thousand in the bank. He walked over to the teller, who didn’t even look at him, and withdrew four hundred euro and walked towards the shops.
Walking around the town, we figured we must look a mess because all the passersby stared at us as if we were Martians. We went to the nearest clothes shop, Magee’s, and bought some clothes for us to wear. We left the store quickly though; we spotted a demon browsing the shelves. We went into a typical Irish pub and I walked into the ladies room and looked in the mirror.
No wonder people looked at us oddly; I was a complete mess. I ran the cold-water tap and washed some of the dirt off my face, and pulled the leaves and twigs out of my hair. My face, neck, arms, and legs were covered in scratches. My clothes were torn, from the twigs and the knife, and in some places, covered in dirt and blood. I walked into the cubicle and locked the door. I changed all of my clothes and put the others in a plasti
c bag that I would throw away. As I took my top off, I realised I was still wearing my handbag. I had a brush and some makeup that would come in handy, but I placed it on top of the cubicle.
As I was changing, I heard the bathroom door open and some females came in. I peeked out through the door and saw that they were all demons. I stepped back and to the side of the door so they couldn’t see me. While I pulled on my shoes over my new jeans and my jumper, I heard what my demon bathroom companions were talking about. I was too tired to use magic, and too exhausted to talk to Nate, but I sent him a warning, telling him to stay locked in the cubicle in the bathroom. The demons told each other about the fight today, and how we were almost caught.
“The girl is very powerful, but she will be caught and we will all get a piece of her. During the fight, she sent all of us into the sea and trapped us but Mr Stevenson got us out. We managed to kill a few of those helping her and we will track down the rest of those responsible and kill them.”
“Where are they now?” She seemed to have a young voice, around eighteen or nineteen, but sounded excited at the prospect of us being caught.
Her companion answered her, with a sneer and laughed as she answered her,
“They’ve been cornered in Sligo, with a net closing in around them to capture them, only they don’t know it yet. They think it’s safe, but as soon as Mr S gets a hold of them he’ll kill them for sure. His traitor of a son first, and his whore will follow soon after.”
Ignition (Escaping Demons Saga Book 2) Page 21