Rival Demons

by Sarra Cannon

  I reached down to touch it and suddenly, a stone sculpture appeared in front of me. My eyes nearly popped out of my head. I turned to Jackson and screamed for him to come to me.

  He rushed my way, out of breath. "What is it? Did you find it?"

  "I don't know," I said. "But look. What do you think it is?"

  He drew his eyebrows together and looked all around. "What are you talking about?"

  I pointed to the square stone sculpture. "This statue-thing," I said. "You're telling me you can't see it?"

  He shook his head. "I don't see anything."

  I stepped closer and put my hands on the surface of it, trying to figure out if there was a way to get inside. When my hand touched the stone, an electric shock went through my entire body. I tried to let go, but it held onto me. Then, the top slowly began to open from the middle, two parts sliding out to reveal a special compartment just inside.

  I peered in, my heart beating so fast I could barely breathe.

  On the inside of the statue was a small pedestal with a hole in the top, perfectly made to hold a ring. Only, there was no ring inside. It was empty.

  I slumped forward, a dull pain spreading across my chest.

  "It's gone," I said, unable to hold back my tears.

  "What do you mean?" he asked. "I can't see whatever it is you're seeing Harper."

  I tried to breathe, but I felt like my breath was coming in through a thin straw. My head was spinning, and I knew I couldn't keep standing or I would pass out. This couldn't be happening. Not now.

  "There's a statue here that's made to hold the ring," I said. "We were right. This is where they keep it. But it's gone. They must have gotten to it first. It's gone. It's empty."

  I turned around and slid down the side of the sculpture. I sat on the edge of a bright blue stone, unable to believe we'd come this far only to have lost our chance.

  A dam broke inside me.

  I wanted to fight. I wanted to be strong. But I also wanted to let go. I wanted all of this to be over. A year ago, I was just a girl who hated foster homes. I knew I had a different life, but I still had dreams of getting out on my own. Going to college. Having a life of my own.

  Going to Shadowford was just a bump in the road. Something I had to get through in order to come out the other side.

  Only, it turned out to be so much more than that. I was grateful for the friends I'd made and for the relationship I had now with Jackson, but the weight of everything else I'd been through came crashing down on me. It wasn't fair that I had been thrown into this life, and as much as I wanted to be everyone's hero, I felt so weak and defeated.

  My tears burst forth, growing more desperate with each passing second. The exhaustion and fear and anger of the past couple of months finally broke through me like a tidal wave, refusing to be contained for another moment.

  Jackson put his arms around me and held me as sobs shook my body.

  I cried for my mother and for her horrible death. I cried for the demons who had lost their freedom. I cried for Brooke and every other girl whose life had been stolen from her before she could even question it.

  A cold chill ran through me as I realized that it had begun to rain. I looked up, letting the drops land on my cheeks and mix with my salty tears.

  Jackson stood and held his hands out to catch the rain. Then, with a worried panic on his face, he turned to me. "Harper, you have to stop crying," he said. "This isn't natural rain."

  I choked back a sob and shook my head. "What do you mean?"

  He crouched beside me and grabbed my shoulders. "It's your magic," he said. "Your emotions are so strong they're affecting the weather."

  I breathed in slow gasps, holding on to him so I could stand. "Are you sure?"

  "Yes," he said. "I know it's difficult, but you have to stop crying. They'll be tracking your magic."

  I closed my eyes and willed my emotions to settle. Fear gripped my soul. Had I just put us in serious danger? I took a deep breath and as I calmed down, the rain slowed to a light drizzle.

  But it was too late.

  When I opened my eyes, I could feel their presence like a cold nothingness surrounding us. I looked toward the hill and froze.

  The hunters had found us.

  To Know My Fear

  I stared up at them, my flesh crawling.

  Three hunters hovered at the top of the hill, and I couldn't so much as find the strength to run or move or even scream.

  The air around us turned icy and the drizzling rain quickly turned to snow.

  Jackson took my arm. Maybe he was thinking of trying to run. I knew he could move fast, but where did we have to go? There was no safe haven to run to. No Underground. Not even a single city where we knew we could get help. And I knew the hunters would not stop until they had me in their clutches.

  White flakes stuck to my hair and face. My entire body shivered, but I felt a sudden clarity. A knowing.

  I planted my feet firmly on the blue stones at my feet and plugged in to the buzz of power it sent through me. If we were going to have to fight them, this was the place to do it. At least here, I had an advantage.

  I looked toward where the boy had been sitting, but he was gone. I closed my eyes and prayed he had seen the hunters in time and had found a safe place to hide. We should have never brought him with us. What were we thinking?

  But the time for regrets had passed. We had to stand in this moment and face it as it was.

  I locked eyes with Jackson, and I knew he saw my decision in my eyes. His face had turned so white, but he nodded, accepting our fate.

  "Okay," he said. "I trust you."

  Those three words resonated through my being, filling me with a sense of love and pride and confidence. For the first time since we'd met, he truly believed in me. He'd stopped trying to protect me like I was a little child and was letting me be my own person. A fighter.

  I lifted my chin and waited.

  Taking their sweet time, the three hunters floated down toward us, circling us. Their collective stench overwhelmed my nostrils. Two of the witches looked very similar to the one I'd faced in the Underground, but the third hunter was different. She was older, her decay more complete and gruesome.

  She was obviously the leader of the group, her purplish-black eyes never leaving my face.

  I stood tense and ready, waiting for them to make their move.

  The lead hunter finally slowed and settled in a spot just in front of me. "Isn't this a pretty twist of fate," she croaked. Her voice grated on my nerves, so dry it sounded like she hadn't had a drop of moisture in years. "Our hunting expedition had nothing to do with a lost Prima, but won't the Priestess be pleased?"

  She moved closer to me and reached out a gnarled finger. Her blackened fingernail ran down the edge of my cheek, but I stood my ground, not even flinching. Not wanting her to know my fear.

  "Such a beauty," she said. "Too bad you couldn't see the right path. It's always a shame to lose one like you."

  "I won't come with you," I said. "You'll have to kill me."

  The hunter clucked her tongue and shook her head. "No, no, you know we have to bring you alive," she said. "But you'll be dead soon enough, right sisters?"

  The other two hunters laughed. The sound made my stomach lurch.

  "Of course, your boyfriend here can die now," she said, circling Jackson like a buzzard.

  "Don't touch him," I said, grinding my teeth together.

  "Or what?" she said with a cackle. "You'll send me to bed without any supper?"

  I didn't answer her. She was just like the other one. Toying with me. The life of a hunter must be pretty boring for them to like to play with their catch. I didn't have the patience for this.

  The ancient hunter moved to grab my arm, but I stepped back, avoiding her.

  Anger flashed across her rotten face. "The more you resist us, the more you will suffer," she said.

  A flutter of anticipation moved through my veins. Before I had time to d
oubt myself, I reached inside and grabbed hold of my power. With one swift movement, I lifted my palms in front of my chest and pushed back.

  The three hunters went flying backward in separate directions, screams echoing against the blue stones.

  Jackson jumped to action, shifting into his demon form and flashing to the side of the younger hunter on the right. Before she had time to recover from her shock, Jackson had woven a cage of ice around her entire body, locking her in.

  Making the most of the dwindled numbers, I turned my attention to the other weaker hunter. I pushed the force of my power down toward the ground, breaking up the stones into large boulders. Without hesitation, I lifted several stones into the air and sent them hurtling toward the hunter's body.

  She easily dodged two of them, but one of the smaller stones hit her squarely in the neck, the jagged edge slicing her open. With a screech, she fell to the ground, greenish black liquid flowing through her fingertips as she lifted both hands, desperate to close the wound.

  With the other two temporarily disabled, we turned our attention to the ancient hunter.

  Rage in her eyes, she flew toward me, claws out. I tried to throw up a shield, but she moved too fast. Her nails sliced into my arm with searing pain. She opened her mouth and breathed on my wound, a poisonous cloud seeping into my open cuts. I screamed and fell back against the stone sculpture. The scratches burned so badly, the pain seemed to seep into my brain.

  Jackson formed a ball of ice between his hands and threw it at the ancient hunter, sending her flying off to the side. He moved to try to heal my wound, but I pushed him away. We didn't have time to nurse injuries right now. I forced the pain from my mind and took stock of the situation.

  The witch in the ice was thawing herself with fire, but she was obviously not very good at it. Fire must not have been her strongest energy. The hunter I'd hurt with the stone was on her feet again, her wound still leaking. The ancient hunter had disappeared behind the hill for now, but her absence made me nervous. What was she doing up there?

  "Behind you," I said to Jackson.

  He turned just in time to see one of the younger hunters descending on him with a net in her hands. She barely missed him, which threw her slightly off balance. Jackson took advantage of the moment and created a large block of ice that he used to bash the thing's head. She fell to her knees, disoriented.

  I summoned a pile of blue rocks and quickly moved them toward her with great force, burying her beneath them. Working perfectly with my plan, Jackson encased the blue stones in a layer of ice, freezing the hunter inside.

  An enormous sense of pride swelled through me. We were winning against the most fearsome creatures the Order could send after us. We were outnumbered, yet still alive.

  But my celebration was premature. Without warning, the ancient hunter flew out from her hiding place behind the hill, some kind of dome-like glass structure in her hands. I rolled out of the way, but Jackson hadn't seen her fast enough. She brought the glass dome down on top of him, sealing him inside. He pounded against it, yelling something, but I couldn't hear him. I scrambled backward, stunned at how fast the tables had turned.

  I watched as he tried several attempts to break the glass, but nothing would shatter it. He was trapped and helpless.

  I quickly lifted the largest rock I could find and sent it flying toward the glass, figuring he might get cut a little, but at least he would be free. But the rock merely bounced off the structure, leaving it completely unharmed.

  My heart sank and panic rose in my throat.

  I was on my own.

  This Unknown Power

  I needed a new word for fear.

  My body tensed and my vision blurred. I stumbled backward, searching my mind for anything that could get me out of this moment. There was no escaping it. Above us, dark clouds gathered. Thunder rumbled, echoing the fear in my heart.

  The hunter Jackson first encased in ice was free now. She flew to her older sister's side, hatred rolling off of her like a haze.

  "There's no use fighting us," the ancient one said. She wiped greenish fluid from her forehead from where Jackson's orb of ice had sliced her. "You may be stronger than we expected, but you will never have the strength to beat us."

  My eyes flicked to where Jackson stood, still pounding on the dome. His eyes were dark with panic.

  Terror ran through me like lava, leaving a hot flush on my cheeks.

  I straightened up and lifted my palms, summoning a strong flame.

  The ancient witch narrowed her eyes at me. "You will regret this, girl."

  "I told you I would not go with you," I said through gritted teeth. "You can break me down all you want, but I'll never go willingly."

  The witches moved toward me. Not knowing what else to do, I created a circle of fire around myself, trying to block them from reaching me.

  A tidal wave of icy cold water descended on me, dousing the entire fire and leaving me shivering and wet. I drew in a freezing breath, shocked and so incredibly cold.

  "I'm tired of playing with you," the ancient hunter said. "This ends here."

  She raised her gnarled hands and lifted me into the air. She threw me as hard as she could. I lost all control of my body, flying through the air, over the top of the hill on the opposite side. I lost sight of Jackson and the blue stones. The ground rushed toward me with unthinkable speed. A field of pure white. I braced myself for the impact.

  Pain shot through me as I hit the ground. Something sharp stabbed through my skin in the back, just below my shoulder. The blood that poured from me was warm and sticky against my cold skin. My breath was knocked from my body, and I gasped desperately for air. My head hit the ground hard and my ears throbbed.

  I turned my head, trying to see if the hunters were coming after me. Time moved in painful, slow ticks. Out of the corner of my eye, all I could see was white.

  My heart stopped beating as the scene became clear.

  A light snow fell from the sky above me, falling onto my face and melting into tears that slid down my cheeks. I knew that if I could see myself, I would be the perfect replica of the scene from Jackson's nightmares.

  Horror seized me and I drew in a sharp, painful breath.

  This was it. This was the moment. I closed my eyes as the blood slowly left my body.

  A shadow fell over me. I blinked and saw that both hunters were hovering over my body, smiles twisting their horrid faces. How had it come to this? How could I let my life end like this?

  My head fell to the side, not wanting their ruined bodies to be the last thing I saw in this world.

  I braced myself for the cold snow against my cheek, but instead of cold, something soft and silky caressed my skin.

  I blinked, not sure whether to believe what I was seeing. I reached out, my fingers brushing against the soft petals of a white rose. My mother's favorites.

  I plucked a petal from the rose and held it tight in my hand.

  Jackson had drawn it wrong. It wasn't snow that cradled my wounded body. It was a bed of white roses. Hundreds of them all around me, telling me not to quit. Not to give up until the last breath had been ripped from my body.

  In the distance, I saw the small boy. He emerged from his rocky hiding place, staring at me with tears in his eyes. I had a feeling he'd seen this horror before in his young life. I wanted to shout out and tell him to run. To hide.

  But before I could do anything to help him, the ancient hunter followed my gaze, spotting the child.

  I cried out as she sent a ball of poison toward him. The green splashed against his side and he fell helpless to the ground.

  Anger took control of my body, and I could feel the dark power inside of me rise up.

  Control it, I told myself. Use it.

  I blocked all noise and worry and doubt from my mind and went inward. Deep down to the root of my power. There, I found a flowing river of untapped essence, something more when all else seemed lost. I dove into the source, feeling only a mo
ment of panic as a strange darkness seeped into my being.

  The hunters descended on me, their hands reaching out to take their prize.

  I took a deep breath, then let go. I surrendered to this unknown power, trusting it as a part of my own foundation, my core. Just as their hands reached me, my body split into a million pieces, turning into pure white smoke.

  I Am The Thing That Ends You

  My body was gone. I was air. Smoke. Wind.

  I moved in a flash, feeling suddenly strong despite my injuries. I took form again behind the hunters, and it happened so fast, they were still standing there trying to figure out where I had gone.

  I let this new power stream from my hands, the white smoke thick like a rope. I wound it around the younger hunter's chest, neck and mouth, squeezing so tight I could feel the breath leaving her shriveled body.

  The ancient hunter sliced through the flow of my energy, but I quickly recreated it. She moved back, confusion contorting her wretched face.

  "What are you?" she screeched. Fear shone in her eyes.

  "I am the thing that ends you," I said.

  I reached deep into the ground with my mind, the tendrils of white smoke disappearing down in the earth surrounding the ancient witch. I bent my knees and pulled up with great force, pulling the ground upward in large slabs of rock and dirt. I created a stone prison around the hunter that muffled her terrified screeches.

  I held the structure up for a moment, then with all of my strength, I slammed it down on top of her, crushing her body into nothingness.

  The remaining witch lay on the ground, gasping for air. She trembled in fear as I turned my eyes toward her. I lifted my hands to end her, but realized all fight had left her. She was defeated already. Killing her out of hatred didn't seem right. She was no longer any threat to me.

  That's when I noticed something gleaming on her finger.

  I looked closer, my hope rising as I recognized the ring. I held my hand out to her. "Give me the ring," I said.

  She looked down at the ring on her finger, as if just now remembering she had it on. "I can't," she said. "The Order will destroy me."