Page 85 of Kiss of Magic

Below him he saw the new weapons in use. They were large and heavy but they worked. The demons were driven back as they realised their prey now had lethal force at their fingertips. Yet Kam couldn’t help but feel desolation gnawing at his heart.

Yes, the thermal guns gave them an edge. But for how long? The demons were free. Even if the key was activated right now, it would make no difference. There was no longer any seal to use it on.

All they could hope to do was keep the creatures contained to Arjhan for as long as possible and try to thin out their numbers. The war would be long and brutal. And they no longer had the aid of the single species who were strong enough to defeat them.

He cursed the witch who’d run away. She could have saved everyone if she’d accepted her destiny. Now it was too late. He flew onwards, his wings heavy with despair.

Behind him, unnoticed by anyone, a solitary figure crawled from the ruins of the palace and collapsed unseen among the rubble.

Thirty Nine

Valkar

The first demon was destroyed almost immediately, mostly because neither of the creatures perceived the weapons as a threat. The second one took evasive action as its companion was obliterated.

It leaped and swerved, its body flickering in and out of vision, getting ever closer to the line of troops firing towards it.

“By the gods, hit the damn thing!” snarled Salaq. But it was too fast.

It smashed through the first line of troops, pausing long enough to pull the head off one soldier and gut a second one. It sprang away, heading towards the castle.

Towards the families and children sheltering there.

Ren looked at the soldiers in disarray, fighting to turn the guns so they could aim at the monstrous form as it capered across the fields. It was much bigger than she had imagined it would be.

“Father, what shall we do?”

“Stay here.”

Salaq reached down and lifted one of the weapons off its stand. It was heavy; his muscles bulged and the horse beneath him danced sideways, unused to the extra weight. Then the jinn took off after the demon.

Ren followed.

“Come on, Mistral,” she muttered under her breath. She knew her stallion was spooked by the scent of the demon but he obeyed nonetheless.

Salaq fired as he went. The recoil slammed the weapon into his chest repeatedly, making him grit his teeth against the pain. But the demon was moving too erratically. Some kind of rudimentary shimmering ability, he realised.

Ren caught up to him, unencumbered by the weight of the weapon, and he shouted over to her.

“I cannot get a lock on it. It’s too fast.”

Ren gazed ahead. The castle was only a few hundred yards ahead of them. If the demon got inside…. Her mind skittered away from the image of children being ripped to shreds.

“We need to give it another target,” she said. She urged Mistral forward.

“Morenna, stop!”

But Ren was overtaking him. She galloped after the demon, screaming to get its attention.

“Hey! Over here!” It looked round. “That’s right! I’m right here! Come and get me!”

With a snarl, the demon changed direction. It lunged for her, intent on taking down both horse and rider. Ren wheeled Mistral in a tight turn and bolted away from the castle.

Sensing it was being chased, the stallion put on an extra spurt of speed. It wouldn’t be enough, Ren knew. But if she could distract the demon long enough for her father to get a bead on it, maybe he could destroy it.

She glanced behind and her heart leapt into her throat.

The demon was less than fifty yards behind her and closing.

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