Page 44 of Bewitched By a Vampire

Lilian screamed again as he tossed it behind him and flames engulfed it. She hurled her hands forwards and that fire swept towards him, becoming an inferno as it swallowed him. He bellowed and beat his wings, twisting this way and that as the flames licked over his skin and scorched his flesh.

The demon beside him growled and turned on her, and sense kicked in as he launched in her direction, his heavy footfalls shaking the ground. She spun on her heel and ran, fear blasting through her as her rage ebbed and reality sank in. She had just attacked a demon and any moment now, he would be joining his friend in coming after her, and he was going to be furious.

Furious demons had a bad tendency to play with their prey.

Lilian cast a spell on her legs that would make her fleet-footed and lurched forwards as she suddenly sped up, her focus narrowing on the Georgian mansion ahead of her so she didn’t feel sick as the world streamed past her. It didn’t last long, wore off as she reached the door and went barrelling through it.

“Run!” she screamed, fear at the helm, the need to get the five remaining humans clear of the battle zone propelling her and keeping her going when all she really wanted to do was get the hell out of Dodge.

The building wasn’t going to offer much protection. Not from two demons.

She stilled, cold trickling down her spine as her magic tingled in her fingertips.

Not two.

More had appeared. How many? Was the demon who wanted Night and his family dead among them? She shoved those questions aside, because she wasn’t going to fight them. She was going to flee. She was getting the five servants and she was blazing a trail that would take them all far from the demons.

She sprinted through the house, heading for the smaller servants’ quarters in the basement, sending up a prayer that they would be there.

They had to be there.

Her shoes were loud on the stone floor as she reached the basement and hurried along the cool corridors, checking each room she passed. She paused and backtracked as she found one of the humans. A woman.

The brunette stopped packing and looked at her, her dark eyes wide. “What? I thought we had time until the next set of cars?”

“I said to run,” Lilian snapped and grabbed her arm, pulling her from the room and along the corridor.

“What’s this all about?” The brunette already sounded out of breath.

Lilian found two men in the room at the end of the corridor.

“Demons,” she breathed and their eyes went as round as saucers. “A whole bunch of demons just showed up and unless you want to be on their deadly dance cards, you all need to run. We’re in a whole heap of shit.”

As if to illustrate her point, the ceiling shook and glass smashed, and then someone shrieked.

That really wasn’t good.

A demon laughed and another scream rent the air, and then a thud and a series of grunts, each one followed by another desperate cry. Lilian didn’t want to think about what the demon was doing to the human he had caught. She focused on the ones she had before her. Three she could save.

“Let’s go.” She shoved the woman at the two men. “Stick close.”

“What are you going to do against—” The man fell silent as a glow lit her palms and she summoned her strength, calling on every last shred of her power.

She was going to need it if they were going to make it out of here.

“Move.” She hurried along the corridor, building a spell as she went, one that would hopefully be strong enough to shield the three humans sprinting to keep up with her.

Panic threatened to shake her as she heard crockery smashing and realised that escaping through the basement exit was a no-go. A demon was in the kitchen. No matter. They were all still escaping this hell. She drove the panic back, sharpened her mind and focused on surviving. She would survive this. She would get these humans away from danger. She raced up the stairs to the ground floor, trying to figure out the best escape route as she went. A window would be better than any of the doors.

Lilian sent out a dozen small seeker spells, ones designed to search for the demons and relay to her where they were. It was taxing to use so many, but she didn’t know how many demons she was up against, and it was vital that she got a clearer picture of the odds she was facing.

The humans stopped running when glass smashed and the walls shook, and she turned back and came close to yelling at them. Only she found them cowering together close to the entrance to the basement, their faces pale and fear brightening their eyes.

“We have to keep moving. If we keep moving, we can get out of here before they close in on us.” She grabbed the arm of the nearest man and looked up into his eyes. “Just shut out all the noise and focus on me.”

He nodded and she glanced at the other man and the woman. They nodded too.

She kept hold of the man’s hand and he linked hands with the woman, who took hold of the other man. If she had to move in a chain with them to get them all out of this, then she would. She could cast magic one handed.

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