Chapter 15 - Kira
The shards of darkness merged together, forming a long, muscular shape that resembled a snake.
Unlike the other demon Kira had seen, this one had a glimmer to it, like the sun was catching off scales and reflecting back.
It was dark as night but seemed to have substance to it, unlike the flat black demons she’d seen before.
Two glittering gold fangs expanded in the darkness, and a deep, growling hiss filled the air.
Joshua grabbed her and whipped her around, putting himself between her and the demon.
It lunged. Kira cried out, her hands instinctively lifting.
The protective webbing burst between her fingertips, ballooning out to wrap around Joshua.
The demon smashed into it as Joshua swung his fist. He caught the demon at the side of its head and sent it flying back into the tree.
Joshua’s arms wrapped around her before she had more chance to react.
In a moment, he’d slung her over his back and shifted to his wolf form.
She clung to him, fingers digging into his fur as he raced away.
Kira looked back. Glimpses through the branches showed the golden cage she’d made was still in place, pinning the demon in place.
It slashed at the ribbons of magic until the golden strands started to snap one by one.
Then the forest swallowed up the tree, the demon, and the cage.
Kira shifted herself, trying to see if the demon was returning, but there was too much foliage in the way.
The movement jostled her and Joshua both, and she tipped, nearly falling off.
Joshua shifted himself, getting her back into place, then growled lightly.
Kira buried her face into his fur and did her best to stay still after that.
It was a demon. He wasn’t overreacting that day on the beach.
The demon was coming after her. Worse—even this time, she hadn’t sensed anything.
It wasn’t until Joshua had reacted to the demon’s presence that she’d seen it.
If he hadn’t been here, it would have gotten her.
In the past, she had sensed the dark energy. But this demon? Nothing.
So how did Joshua sense it when she couldn’t?
***
As soon as they were back in town, Joshua dropped Kira off at Gwen’s house. He pressed his head into her stomach when she tried to go to the car and huffed lightly, his tail swishing.
“You’ll go directly to the town hall and warn everyone?” Kira asked anxiously, twisting her hands. She needed to call Chelsey.
Joshua nodded once, then sprang away. He looked back once to make sure she was still on the porch before he sped away.
After that, she went inside to tell Gwen what happened and call Chelsey to warn her to stay within the town limits.
By nightfall, the whole town was on alert.
Various special ops teams began to scour the island again, with Joshua among them.
Feeling guilty about not believing him about the demon on the beach, and wanting to help out as much as she could, Kira moved her stuff back to Joshua’s place.
She spent long hours with Chelsey working on various potions, mostly of the healing variety.
When Joshua came home, he thanked her for the dinner she’d made, took his plate, and went to his room.
Kira’s heart sank. She’d really fucked up, hadn’t she?
***
There was no sign of demon activity over the rest of the weekend.
On Monday morning, Kira, Gwen, and Chelsey were at the ferry.
Rafael and Michael stood by while Gwen put a protective net around it.
Chelsey had only planned to come home for the weekend, and she was eager to return to school.
Kira wished she wouldn’t go, afraid that the demons would follow her to the mainland.
“They haven’t attacked me yet,” Chesley said, hugging Kira. Though she tried to sound confident, her voice wavered.
“You can always stay. You can email your professors and tell them that you have a family emergency,” Kira suggested.
Chelsey shook her head. “I don’t want to stay.”
The admission was soft. Kira winced, but she released her sister, trying to smile. If only she had known that Chelsey didn’t want to stay on the island before she married Joshua. But would that have even stopped me?
“Take care of yourself,” Kira told her.
“You, too.” Chelsey hugged her one last time before trotting onto the ferry.
Just as the boat started to pull out, dark shapes surged through the water. Dozens of them in varying sizes, twisting and darting like the pieces that converged into the snake at the cedar tree. The golden net shimmered, intact as the passengers screamed and the ferry rocked.
Chelsey pitched to one side. She stumbled, then fell over the edge of the ferry.
Instantly, the demon pieces sped toward her.
Ocean spray kicked into the air, and Kira screamed, throwing her hands forward.
Golden light spilled from her palms, but she couldn’t make it take form.
Gwen was shouting, struggling against Rafael as he held her back.
A dark shape leapt from the docks into the water. Michael. He reached Chelsey just as the demons converged on her. Kira’s foot caught on something, and she fell, her shield flickering out as she braced to catch herself.
By the time she’d pushed herself back to her feet, Michael had dragged Chelsey back onto the shore.
Water sloughed off his fur as he pulled her by the back of her shirt.
Chelsey choked as she scrambled to find her footing.
The demons lifted and shot toward her again, but this time the protective barrier around the town diverted them.
Kira and Gwen rushed to Chelsey. Rafael shifted to wolf form and howled.
The demons fled, disappearing as quickly as they had arrived.
“I’m alright,” Chelsey insisted as Kira worried over her.
Kira’s heart wouldn’t stop pounding as she pulled her sister close. “You aren’t going anywhere.”
Chelsey groaned but nodded. “I guess not.” She glanced over at Michael, standing nearby with his gaze locked on the ocean still. “Uh… thanks.”
Michael jumped, then gave her a piercing look. He snorted and trotted off, shifting to human form to help the ferry redock. Passengers spilled back onto Nightfall, shaken and sobbing.
“Asshole,” Chelsey growled under her breath.
Kira hugged her again. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”
“At least I’ll be here to help with potions, right?” Chelsey smiled, shivering. “But first…” She glanced at her sopping clothes. “I need some dry clothes.”
***
Over the next week, there was no further sign of the demon.
And day by day, the pattern stayed the same.
Kira, Gwen, and Chelsey would get together to scour the grimoires and discuss new types of potions.
The special ops would be out all day. After Chelsey went home, she refused to be driven out of her own house, insisting that it was just as safe as everywhere else in town—Kira would make dinner and wait.
Joshua always came home late, thanked her for the meal, and took his portion to his room.
Even when she asked him to eat with her, he would gently refuse.
She understood. Even if she hadn’t treated him so badly after making love in the forest, he was busy. He must be exhausted and frustrated at not being able to make progress in finding the demon.
One night, as he took his plate away as per usual, Kira put her hand on his arm. “Wait.”
Joshua lifted his golden gaze to her.
“I’m sorry I—” she started.
“You don’t need to apologize for anything.” Joshua pulled his arm away.
“Joshua—”
“I’m tired. I need to go to bed.” He lifted his plate slightly. “Thank you for the food.”
He left. Kira didn’t try to stop him. If he didn’t want her to apologize… well, maybe now wasn’t the time to insist on it.
So she tried her best not to think about it.
Instead, she focused on trying to improve her magic.
Whenever she wasn’t making potions, she and Gwen worked together to make their magic stronger.
Kira was surprised at how much better she was now.
She was able to maintain her protective field for several minutes, and when she tentatively started to use offensive magics again, she had a lot more control over her spells.
That continued for yet another week. Still no demons. Chelsey at one point suggested that maybe it was safe for her to return to school, but Kira shot that down quickly.
“You’ve got the online accommodation. Just wait until the demon has been found, okay?” she pleaded.
Chelsey sighed. “I just… really like school.”
Kira stared at her. There was something else, she knew there was. But Chelsey didn’t seem to be in the mood to share anything.
The next day, while Kira was making supper and hoping this time Joshua would eat with her so they could talk, the doorbell rang.
Frowning, Kira turned down the heat on the stovetop and went to answer it.
To her surprise, Mark and Susan were outside.
Both of them had their arms filled with tin-foil dinners.
“Oh! Come in,” Kira said, holding the door open for them.
She’d seen them on and off since that dinner they’d had together, but hadn’t spent a significant amount of time with them. The delicious smell of food wafted through the air as she led them to the kitchen.
“We know you’ve been busy with your training and Joshua’s patrols,” Susan said, setting her containers onto the table.
She embraced Kira tightly, making instant tears spring to Kira’s eyes.
“I’m so sorry we haven’t been here sooner.
After hearing about what almost happened to your sister…
well, we should have stopped by before.”
Kira fought past the lump in her throat. “You called.”
“Calling isn’t coming to see how you’re doing, though,” Susan said mildly.