“The crew is gathering at the demon nests as we speak,” Morgan said. “We’re just in time. We’ll split up, knock out the demon nests, and wait for Balthus’s next move.”
“We’ll stick to the plan,” I said. “I don’t need any more curve balls tonight.”
I called Kathy back.
I received her voicemail.
“More phone tag,” I said as Morgan pulled into the street.
I texted Kathy.
Stay inside your house. Don’t open the door for anyone but me.
Shortly after, my phone beeped again.
Another message from Kathy.
Too late.
The message was accompanied by a news article and a photo of several police cars parked outside a block in my neighborhood, lights blazing. The headline read: Demon infestation in northwest suburb.
24
When we arrived in my neighborhood, there were police cars everywhere. The streets were awash with siren lights and snow.
Morgan parallel parked and we got out and walked two blocks until we reached a crowd of people.
Upon hearing a Somnient roar, I pushed through the crowd.
A Somnient stood in the center of the street.
A demon hunter in a leather jacket stood with a sword, posing for the crowd. He wore a fedora and concentrated on the Somnient intently.
I rolled my eyes.
“Another demon hunter trying to get attention,” I said.
“Dude is wasting his time,” Darius said, his hands lighting up.
With a flick of his wrist, Darius sent a blue blast into the Somnient, knocking it onto the ground. Niecy ran past with a sword in her hand and stabbed the demon in the throat. It squealed as its body dissolved into wisps of light.
“Sorry, bro,” Darius said. “This shit is serious.”
The demon hunter frowned. “You took away my mark!”
“There are plenty others in the city,” I said, turning my back to him.
The hunter sheathed his sword, gave us a mean look, and then dashed into the shadows.
Soon, the crowd dispersed.
“Damn demon hunters,” Darius said. “Why do they have always be the brooding, silent type?”
I shrugged. “The first nest has to be around here somewhere.”
Niecy tapped me on the shoulder. “I’m pretty sure it’s over there.”
Down the street, the asphalt was cracked in several places, and fire was peeking through. A long pathway led down into a column of smoke.
“That’s our nest,” Morgan said. “You guys go ahead and take care of it. I’ll stay here and take care of any demons that come out. I’ll call the others and make sure they can find the other nests.”
“Won’t take us long,” I said.
Darius, Destiny, Niecy, and I stood in front of the nest.
“How many you think are down there?” Darius asked.
“Not many,” I said. “Demon nests aren’t usually dense. There’s probably ten or twenty down there.”
Destiny transformed into a lion.
“‘Bout time you got serious,” Darius said.
“Anybody need any swords?” Niecy said, conjuring one into her hand.
I waved to her and she passed me one. The sword was heavy and weighed me down.
I hated swords.
But I wasn’t about to go into no demon nest empty-handed.
“We’ll be out, soon, Morgan,” I said.
“Good luck,” she said.
“Ready, guys?” I asked.
My cousins nodded.
We dashed into the nest.
Smoke filled my nostrils as we charged down the rocky path into the demon nest.
The place smelled of fire and sulfur.
Through the smoke, I could spot the walls of the demon nest, honeycombed rocks bulging in and out.
I led the way, my hands wrapped around the hilt of the sword.
Thing was heavy.
Heavier than swords should have been, honestly.
I preferred the cool calmness of a gun, but bullets didn't work on Somnients unless you had heavy ammunition.
“Balthus really wasn't playin’ around,” Niecy said. “Dude is taking me back to my old demon-hunting days.”
“Taking you back?” Darius asked. “You're not even twenty years old.”
“Look,” Niecy said. “I'm older than you.”
“Yeah, by two years,” Darius said. “You're practically ready for retirement, ain’tchu?”
I shook my head.
Didn't matter where we were—even in the middle of life-threatening situations, my cousins always had to argue with each other.
“D wins,” I said, interrupting them. “Now that it's settled, how about we come up with a plan?”
“Slash every motherfucker you see,” Niecy said. “Then run like hell. Done.”
Destiny growled. She stalked alongside me as we approached the nest. We were only a few yards away now. We could hear demons snoring.
“Even Hell has nap time,” I said.
I studied the nest.
Typical demon breeding ground.
Somnients had irregular sleeping patterns. Some slept at night; others slept during the day. That’s why you never knew when they were going to terrorize people. They were as unpredictable as…dream mages.
As we stalked toward the nest, I couldn’t help but wonder if Somnients and dream mages were made for each other. Maybe you couldn’t have one without the other.
“Let’s see if we can spot the sentinel,” I said. “It’s probably nearby.”
“I’ll take the lead in killing it,” Niecy said. “But when I do, can somebody take a photo for me? I want to throw it up on them dating sites.”
“Girl, will you stop thinking about dating for a minute?” I asked.
“Hey,” Niecy said. “Gotta seize the opportunity, cuz.”
Destiny growled, shaking her head.
“Don’t go growlin’ at me,” Niecy said. “When you go to college, I guarandamnTEE you gon’ be doin’ the same shit.”
“Difference is, she ain’t desperate like yo ass,” Darius said.
I shushed them.
In the distance was a Somnient sleeping in the smoke. Firelight illuminated its muscular body, and it slept with one eye open.
I motioned to Niecy.
Silently, she conjured a bow and arrow. She nocked an arrow and pulled the string…
Darius took out his phone and snapped a pic just as the arrow sang through the air and stuck in the Somnient’s open eye.
THWIP!
The beast rolled onto its back and bled all over the rocks.
Darius and Niecy high-fived.
“Best demon hunter in the west, a’ight?” she said, folding her arms.
“Good shot,” I said.
The sword felt heavy in my hand again, and I knew what I had to do.
“Now!” I said.
We ran into the demon nest.
Smoke entered my nostrils and I tried my hardest not to cough. The temperature grew hotter, too—about ten degrees hotter, which was saying something because I was already sweating.
In a circle around the nest, a dozen Somnients were sleeping, snoring so loudly the walls of the nest moved in and out.
I stood over a Somnient and aimed my sword at its throat.
Darius stood over a Somnient, his hands glowing. Destiny raised her claws at a Somnient.
SLASH!
I jammed my sword into the Somnient’s neck as hard as I could.
Blood squirted everywhere.
I slid the sword out quickly and ran to another Somnient.
SLASH!
I was pulling the sword out of the second Somnient before the others woke up.
By then, we’d killed half of them.
“Rumble time!” I cried.
Destiny blocked the entrance to the nest. A stray Somnient tried to escape, but she swiped it and wrapped her jaws around its neck, snapping the
life out of it.
Another Somnient snuck past her.
“Niecy!” I yelled.
Niecy aimed her bow and shot the demon in the back with an arrow, sending it off the rocky path and into lava below.
I was about to congratulate Niecy when something smashed into me, sending me across the nest.
My vision filled with rows of sharp, jagged teeth.
A paw pinned my arm down, and I lost the grip on my sword.
Shit.
The Somnient roared and sank its teeth toward me.
I put my other arm up, pushed against the demon’s scaly throat.
Destiny tackled the beast just in time, and they rolled off me.
I staggered to my feet and grabbed my sword.
Just before I could stab, the Somnient bounded away.
Destiny stalked toward the demon, but it backed away.
I glanced around the nest.
All the demons were dead.
Except for this one.
And it was getting away.
Darius tried to hit it with a spell, but he missed.
Niecy fired an arrow, but the demon escaped into the smoky path leading out of the nest.
Together, we ran out of the nest after it.
“Don't let it go anywhere!” I cried.
If that demon went anywhere, it would be into someone’s dream. And who knew what would happen then.
But the demon was fast.
It was several yards up the path. Too far for any of us to catch up.
It roared as a blue portal appeared out of nowhere.
“Shit!” Darius cried.
It was a dream.
Someone just had to be dreaming right now, of all times.
I threw my sword aside. I wasn't going to need it now.
The demon leaped into the portal, disappearing.
“Go and make sure Kathy is okay,” I said. “Then make sure the shop is safe.”
“Got it,” Darius said. He, Destiny, and Niecy hung back.
I dove into the portal just as it disappeared.
25
I materialized on a street in my neighborhood.
Well, it looked like it could have been my neighborhood. There were brownstones everywhere.
And police cars.
And snow.
I looked around for the Somnient but didn't see it.
Instead, I saw the faceless onlookers cordoned off behind caution tape.
All around me were dead bodies. They covered the street.
Faceless dead.
Chewed to pieces by jagged teeth.
I bent down to examine one. A man in a winter coat, covered in blood.
Couldn't have been the Somnient.
These dead, as mauled as they were, could have only been dreamt.
Whoever this dreamer was, they were probably dreaming about the neighborhood invasion. I didn't know how anyone could sleep during an event like this.
I felt dream ether pulsating around me. Closing my eyes, I let it surge through me.
I wasn't going to let this fight last long.
I tried to sense the Somnient, but I couldn't detect it.
Strange.
I stood and waved my hand, making all the dead bodies disappear. This scene was a little too macabre for my tastes.
I started down the street.
A cold wind blew, making me stop.
Something made me look up.
The Somnient was standing on the roof of a nearby brownstone, staring down at me.
“There you are,” I said.
I pulled dream ether into glowing rings.
“How about you make this easy on me, will you?” I asked.
I stomped and the building collapsed. The Somnient fell on top of the rubble, growling.
“I don't have time for this tonight,” I said, approaching.
A loud, collective gasp stopped me.
It was like everyone in the entire city took a gasp. It was so loud and forceful, it pushed me back.
“The hell?” I asked.
And then I felt another presence in the dream.
Someone else.
Two people.
A shining light.
Someone standing in front of a bright television camera. The lights were so bright that I couldn't quite see her. Her soul was bright too. She was clearly the dreamer.
Why hadn't I seen her before?
Then I felt the other force, sucking the dream ether away, using it for themselves…
The Somnient roared at the moon, and the faceless crowd screamed.
And then the dreamer spoke.
“This is Morgan Davis-Davies from Channel Nine, covering the latest in the northwest suburb demon invasion. Tonight we will see the death of Aisha Robinson. How will she die? Stay tuned to find out.”
26
Fast-paced rave music played as the Somnient staggered out of the rubble. Sulfur poured from its mouth as it crunched through glass.
The thing was pissed.
And so was I.
“The Somnient has crawled out of the rubble,” Morgan said. “It is stalking toward Aisha. Aisha appears to be readying herself for battle, though she seems rattled.”
Rattled?
Rattled!
First, I jumped into a random dreamer who happened to be Morgan—which made absolutely no sense and made me question what was going on in reality right now—then a dream mage showed up and manipulated her dream.
Terrible timing.
I pulled dream ether around me, trying not to look “rattled.”
The Somnient ran toward me.
In a split-second, it burst into twelve clones.
Now twelve Somnients were running toward me.
“The demon has multiplied itself!” Morgan cried.
“Hey,” I said. “Why don't you shut the actual fuck up?”
I had twelve Somnients to worry about now.
Only one of them was real.
I had seen this trick before.
The last dream mage I battled had used it.
I wasn't going to fall for it again.
In an instant, I willed myself to split into twelve clones—one for every Somnient.
All of me and all of the Somnients ran at each other, clashing. The clones disappeared in a wisp of smoke, leaving only me and the Somnient, standing a few feet away from each other.
I materialized a sword and threw it at the demon’s throat.
An invisible wind knocked the sword out of the air.
The demon jumped at me, but I rolled out of the way.
I ran at it, pulling dream ether into a blast, but the world flashed and spun.
The demon disappeared.
Everything turned upside down.
The street.
The people.
The snow.
My sight.
It was as if someone picked up the dream with a spatula and flipped it upside down.
I tried to run, but suddenly, it felt unnatural. Like I was separated from my body.
The damn dream mage was changing the dream against me!
“In a stunning turn of events, the dream has been turned upside down, and Aisha has lost her bearings!” Morgan said. “Members of the crowd are turning away, for they fear the battle is already—”
WHAM!
The Somnient slammed into me, knocking me into a car.
I screamed.
Before it could tackle me again, I generated a forcefield around me. The Somnient bounced off me and landed in the middle of the street.
I still couldn't see straight, trying to reconcile the upside-down street with what it should have looked like right-side up.
I dug my hands into the invisible dream ether, willing the dream to change.
But nothing happened.
Whoever this mage was, they were stronger than me. And they controlled more of the ether than I did.
Fine.
I clapped my hands. The dreamscape around me went da
rk.
I generated ether in my hand, turning it into a long, electric rope.
I turned, giving the crowd a show, doing my best to look disoriented.
The beast ran toward me.
I could hear its claws ripping against the concrete, closer and closer.
In the darkness, I allowed myself to see only heat. The Somnient’s body appeared in a brilliant orange and red.
I threw the rope, imagining the noose loosening as it flew through the air.
It landed around the Somnient’s neck, and I pulled the noose tight.
The demon screamed as the rope electrified it.
But soon the screaming stopped.
Something cut the rope.
The street blinked back, right-side up.
My tactic worked.
The demon lay panting on the street.
“Be gone from this place,” I said. “Be—”
In a flash, all sound disappeared. My words fell out of my mouth with no sound.
I sighed.
But even then, I couldn't hear that.
Classy.
Real classy.
Now I couldn't exorcise the demon from Morgan’s dream.
The Somnient staggered up and dove away from me just before I could hit it with a line of dream ether.
The lack of sound threw me off. I expected to hear growling, claws scratching against the asphalt.
But there was nothing.
And it made the beast seem faster.
It leaped at me, but I clapped my hands, stopping it in mid-air.
I tried to find the dream mage’s energy, but he was hidden. I couldn't detect him.
I spoke, even though I knew no sound would come out.
“I'm going to kill this demon whether you like it or not, so turn the sound back on,” I mouthed.
Nothing.
Angrily, I hurled the demon against a brownstone. It slammed against the brick, making a gigantic dent.
I rushed toward it, gathering up all the dream ether I could find.
I was tired of this.
Final hit, and I was going to find this dream mage and rip his throat out.
I held my hands up, the dream ether flashing and whirling and shining high above my head like an electrical storm.
“I'm done with you!” I mouthed.
Whoosh.
Sound returned to the dream, erupting in a sonic boom that ripped through my ears.
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