Chapter 25
The guys moved so quickly most of them were simply a blur of motion.
Colt’s body trembled before his human form was replaced with a wolf.
Declan and Ronan ran onto the lawn, shifting as they moved.
The massive black and white dragons took flight, circling above.
Trace’s hands and arms were encircled with purple fire.
And Dash began chanting in that language I didn’t recognize.
“What’s happening?” I couldn’t hide the slight tremor in my voice as Trace, Dash, and Colt formed a circle around me.
Trace’s body vibrated with fury. “We have an alarm if there’s a shadow demon attack.”
Memories of the one shadow demon I’d seen surged in my mind, and a shiver wracked through me. Then the memories of Colt injured, nearly dying came.
“How many?” I whispered.
“We don’t know,” Trace gritted out.
That was when I saw them. At least a dozen, rounding the house. They moved, but it was as if they floated just above the ground. They had limbs, but those limbs weren’t moving. They didn’t walk. They glided.
But the movement itself was unnatural. Their beings were wispy smoke but thicker, and they left a trail of darkness in their wake.
“Oh, God,” I murmured.
Colt let out a low growl as Trace cursed.
Golden fire spewed from the air, striking one of the shadow demons. A horrible, inhuman scream sounded as the creature was engulfed in flames.
Another shadow demon threw up a hand, and a bolt of a black tar-like substance hurtled into the air. Ronan ducked and weaved, narrowly missing the stream.
My heart lurched as yet another creature took aim at Declan. But he was too quick, sending silvery ice-fire in the shadow demon’s direction. But it blocked the attack.
The others moved in our direction in that creepy glide.
“What do we do?” I rasped.
“We fight,” Trace growled. “And if something happens to us, you run.”
My stomach plummeted. If he thought I’d leave them when they needed me most, he was in for a shock.
But I wouldn’t argue with him now. Instead, I searched deep within myself for that knotted tangle of magic, for the colorful threads that were gifts from all my guys.
I tugged on a golden thread and a fireball gathered in my palms.
Dash’s gaze jerked to me, his eyes widening. “Careful.”
“I know. But I have to do something.”
He nodded. And it was then that I realized they thought we were completely screwed. If they didn’t, Dash would be telling me to put my reckless magic away.
A shadow demon surged forward, making a beeline for Colt. But Colt saw the move before the creature had gained a single foot. The wolf leapt into the air, sinking its teeth into the shadow demon’s neck.
The creature screamed in pain, the sound so high-pitched and desperate it felt as if it would burst my eardrums.
Trace let free streams of purple fire. He took out one demon, but the others blocked his attack with that disgusting tar-like substance. What the hell was that?
Dash chanted, and a green smoke moved toward the demons, skimming across the ground. It grabbed hold of one of the demons, pulling it down and choking it.
Another shadow demon opened its mouth and blew. A black smoke took aim at the green and consumed it.
Dash cursed. “Where the hell are the guards?”
A pit formed in my stomach. If they weren’t here, they had to be fighting more shadow demons.
Two creatures shot forward, going for Trace. He took aim at one, and I threw my fireball at the second. My aim wasn’t especially good, but it hit the demon’s shoulder.
Snarling, its gaze shot toward me. Its mouth curved in a terrifying smile, exposing those fangs dripping with tar. “Little Phoenix. You’re going to be delicious.”
My jaw went slack as panic gripped me. How did this monster know?
It moved so fast I didn’t have a chance to pull up any more magic. I screamed as it lurched for me. But Dash’s self-defense lessons came flooding back. I kicked out, sending the creature stumbling back a step.
It was all Ronan needed. Golden fire shot from the sky, engulfing the beast.
It writhed in front of me, hands reaching out, trying to get me. The smell had bile surging up my throat. A mixture of rotted meat and something darker.
Two shadow demons turned on Ronan in retribution, shooting that tar into the sky. Ronan ducked and rolled, but his wing took a hit. He howled in pain, and I cried out, feeling that hit somewhere in my chest.
Declan moved beneath his brother, taking his weight until Ronan could get steady in the air again.
The demons tried to take aim at both of them, but Trace’s purple fire shot out, taking one out and then the other.
Movement caught my eye, and panic lanced my chest. “Dash! Watch out!”
I hadn’t even seen them coming. A group of another six shadow demons had rounded the opposite side of the house. But they were already on Dash.
I screamed as one sank its teeth into Dash’s shoulder, and he went down.