Page 64 of Surrendering Hope (The Hope Legacy)

If only she knew.

A man appears above us in a dirty sheath and reaches for Lorene. She smiles at me, an innocent one only a child can offer. Her tiny weight disappears from me as she wraps around the man.

“Papa,” she says.

He pulls her head back and kisses her forehead before locking eyes with me and reaching out his hand. I grasp it, pulling myself up. “Thank you,” he says as the woman with the same features as the child slides into the embrace, the child’s arms wrapping around her neck.

Nathan appears on the other side of the gap and pushes the robed figure into the same flames he was feeding with the lives of the innocent. I turn away from him to find Lawrence and Ty in the center of the island holding their own against Zac, Zee and Duncan. With a determined stride I approach them, studying the shield they’ve erected. Zac blasts it with his electric blue power, it bounces off. I fortify my mental shields with “Rise” by Katy Perry as Ty’s gaze studies my movements with a cold precision. Whereas I felt stalked by Archan - it was like being hunted by a naked flame - Ty is the opposite, his glacial heart doesn’t beat for me, he wants my power, he wants to control me for his own reasons. He grins as I study the shield, it’s not Lawrence’s. Ty’s holding it with little effort. I come to a stand next to Zee.

I open the telepathic connection to Zee. He doesn’t blink as he lets me, and even more impressive he doesn’t grimace at my expert rendition of Rise.

“Ready to go Wreck it Ralph on his ass?”I question.

“Fuck yes.”

I extend the connection to the rest of the team.“On the count of five, let’s give it everything we have.”

“Good idea,”Duncan says.

Nathan appears next to Zac and gives a quick nod in my direction.

“Zac?”I question.

“One,”he says. The ass just has to be in control. I roll my eyes and focus on the shield and a smug looking Lawrence and Ty. The latter catches my views and tilts his head with a wicked smirk. Lawrence’s eyes flick over my shoulder.

“Two,”Zac says.

I follow Lawrence’s gaze, finding the island almost empty of the humans as the last of them runs over a board acting as a crude bridge and into one of exits. In their place, shadows crawl out of the surrounding fire. One of them looks up as he pulls himself onto the ground, jagged white teeth smile at me and where his eyes should be there are only holes.“Wait,”I shout,“behind us.”Nathan and Duncan spin around, whilst Zee and Zac keep a close eye on the terrible twosome in the center. Another shadow clambers onto the island, followed by another. I spin around, finding us surrounded. Oh shit.

“Shadow demons,” Nathan tells us.

A shudder works down my spine. “Like Khalkaroth?”

“Lesser versions of him.”

“But what they lack in strength, they make up for in numbers,” Zac adds.

I slip the swords from my back. My power brushes against me as blue flames erupt down the blades. “Badass,” Zee mutters next to me. I grin. “Only you could look happy in the face of multiple demons,” he says as the first of the shadows leap towards us. Duncan spoils my fun, as a shot of blue pierces the demon. The shadow breaks apart like spilled ink on to the floor and all the demons pause. Assessing.

“Don’t touch it,” Zac says.

“Because that was my first impulse,” I mutter. The blobs of ink expand, shift, and swirl into the air. Four new demons take shape. Why me?

“You’re not known for your intellect, but you are for your curiosity.” Fair enough.

The next demon rushes me. “How do I kill them?”

“The heart,” Zac shouts, “blade or power, but it has to be through the heart.”

I lunge to the left, looking clumsy. He takes the bait, as I alter my course and pierce his heart with my blade, the slide of metal entering his body like butter. Instead of ink, he explodes into mist, the particles of black shining as they scatter in the room. Sparkly demons? What next? Unicorns pooping rainbows?

“Hey, are unicorns real?” I shout.

“What kind of random question is that in the middle of a demon fight?” Zac grits out as his fire bolt misses a demon’s heart and blasts his stomach. The ink blots spray across the floor before converging like magnets.

“Zacy, you need more target practice,” I say.

“You offering?” he shouts.

---