Page 272 of Mayhem and Minnie

They pass by her as if she were invisible.

A look of pure astonishment crosses her face and she swivels to follow their movements.

Their attention is focused on the back of the church.

On me.

Minnie’s eyes widen in disbelief.

“Run, Marlowe!”

I throw the container with holy water toward them and back away.

The liquid splashes onto the floor, touching their feet. But it barely makes them wince.

Minnie throws back her arm, a spear of ice growing in her hands, which she throws at the demon leading the formation.

But just as it’s about to strike it, a shield forms over the demon formation, repelling the spear.

Minnie repeats the action a couple more times from a few different angles, but the result is the same. When she realizes they will not stop their advance toward me, she flashes herself in front of me.

“What’s going on?” I ask.

“I don’t know,” she mutters in a strained voice. “I’ve never seen high-level demons behave like this before. By all accounts, they should be sentient and have a fully developed personality at this level. But this… This is more like a hive mind mentality.”

“They’re linked through that smoke,” I point out.

“Not only. They’re linked through whoever is controlling them.” She takes a deep breath. “I’ve been in countless battles over the centuries, Marlowe, but I’ve never encountered a Son of Tenebreis who could control so many high-level demons at once, and remotely.”

“Do you think he might be near?”

“I don’t know. I truly don’t know what’s going on anymore. They’re not after me, that much is clear.”

The march of the demons continues. They’re not belligerent, nor do they initiate an offensive. Their actions so far have been only defensive, which makes this all the more confusing.

“Then what the hell do they want?”

“I don’t know,” she repeats on a whisper. “But whoever is controlling them must be extraordinarily strong to make these demons immune to my blessings chants.”

“What do we do then?”

She purses her lips. Reaching for my hand, she gives me a quick squeeze.

“If we can’t hurt them, then the only thing left to do is protect ourselves.”

Cold seeps into my skin, transferring from her body onto mine.

The shimmery energy surrounding Minnie extends to me, slowly materializing until it becomes a sphere of pure ice, and we are both encased in it.

The demons don’t react.

They move forward until they reach the sphere, and that’s when they break formation. They create a circle around the sphere, keeping their dark smoke tether in place.

From my vantage point, it looks as if they’re holding hands in a circle around us, ready to start dancing. If this hadn’t been a life-and-death situation, I would have perhaps laughed at that mental image.

“What are they doing?” I ask Minnie, who’s watching them with apprehension. She anxiously nibbles on her lower lip.

“I don’t know,” she whispers.

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