“Why we have to work?”
Shalise jumped at the voice. At some point, she moved around to hide behind Juliana’s back.
Under different circumstances, Juliana might have laughed at the taller girl huddling behind her rather unimpressive height.
As it was, Juliana gripped her hands into tight fists and wished her magic was working.
“Everyone else stuck in prison. We free.”
“Keeper find others. Stupids.”
There they were. Two little imps. Both similar to the one Juliana had summoned and accidentally let loose over the summer.
Each held a metal plate that might have been part of the wall at one point. They repeatedly bashed their plates into the wall around one of the red barriers. A good chunk of the wall was nothing but dust in the hallway.
“They’re breaking a demon out?” Shalise whispered in Juliana’s ear.
Juliana shushed her as quietly as she could.
“Keeper not notice us. Keeper stupids.”
“Silence!” A female voice interrupted the two bickering imps. “Something approaches.”
Both imps turned as one. Tiny, needle-like fangs twitched into smiles.
“Look like humans.”
Juliana took a step back, shoving Shalise back as she moved.
“Humans? Stupids. What humans doing here.”
“Die,” one imp said as he took a step forwards, “we assist.”
The feminine voice barked out at the two. “Kill them before they draw the Keeper back.”
“Yes, mistress.”
“Anything for mistress.”
The closest demon jumped. His arms opened wide, spreading his sharp fingers as he flew through the air. The demon’s jaw opened far wider than should have been possible.
“Run!”
Juliana took half a step forward, swinging her arm around.
The imp’s pudgy face connected with her fist. It froze in mid-air for an instant before whatever laws of physics that governed the place reasserted control.
Juliana did not wait. The moment the imp flew backwards, she turned and ran, chasing after Shalise.
The other imp was hot on her heels. For having such tiny legs, it could sure move fast.
She skidded to a stop, using her momentum to bring her leg around.
It connected, but the demon grabbed on. She could feel its tiny fingers digging
Juliana cried out, kicking her leg into the nearest red barrier.
There was a hiss and a crackle, followed by the pungent scent of a dead skunk and the demon’s own screams.
“Stop! It hurt!”
“Yeah, I don’t think so,” Juliana shouted as she kicked it into the barrier again. She shook the demon off of her leg and started running again, ignoring the sharp pains where its claws had pierced her armor.
There was no time to worry about her leg. The first demon was still running after her.
“You die now,” it said.
Juliana stopped running and faced the demon. It was faster than her. Especially with her leg hurting with every step.
“Unless you want to end up like that guy,” she said, pointing over its shoulder at the still sizzling demon, “you’ll turn and leave.”
The demon tilted its head to one side. “Human stupid. Tzlip stupid too. Mistress hurt worse than that. Orgaz not afraid of human.”
It didn’t even finish speaking before it jumped into the air once again.
Juliana moved her feet into a more stable stance as she lifted both arms above her head.
Metal capped elbows slammed down on the demon’s skull.
It let out a squawk as its face met the floor.
‘Once in the air,’ Genoa had said, ‘you commit to your attack unless you can fly. Make sure you’re going to overwhelm your enemy or keep your feet on the ground.’
Juliana used her good foot to kick the demon into a barrier. She turned and ran, leaving two smoking demons behind. They weren’t dead, but hopefully they would be down long enough for–
For what? There was nowhere to go.
“Shalise!” At the very least, she had to meet up with her companion. “Shalise!”
She couldn’t have gone far. Even if she had, she could only go in one direction. Given that Shalise had looked a lot more exhausted than Juliana felt, she probably wasn’t far at all.
Without Shalise around, the prison was far more claustrophobic. The demons in their cells leered more, or the walls were somehow narrower. The lights were darker and the occasional noises of the prison weighed down on her.
Even though Shalise had barely spoken to her, just the presence of another person was reassuring. Someone that wasn’t about to stab her in the back.
Fear not. None follow you.
Juliana jolted, spinning around behind her. There was nothing there. At least nothing that wasn’t behind one of the red barriers. Turning back the way she was originally going, Juliana shook her head.
Despite her thought, Juliana shouted out, “Shalise! The demons aren’t after us anymore.”
Juliana glanced over her shoulder again, just in case. There was nothing there.
