Where Shadows Lurk

Chapter 10

Olivia hated this. The waiting was always the worst part. Especially on the days when she didn't know whether an attack would come or not. She just wanted this over already.

She wished she could take a page out of Silver's book. He seemed relaxed, considering the situation and especially compared to Ferrous. He'd been getting tenser and tenser with every passing minute. Much more and his jaw might break.

Olivia felt a sudden chill. A familiar chill. One she'd been both dreading and waiting for.

"Guys..." She wrapped her arms around her stomach and tried to figure out how to explain this.

It was a creeping cold, like a slithering glacier that was getting stronger.

Luckily, both of them must have picked up something in her voice.

"Perfect, any longer and I might have fallen asleep."

There was a pitch in Ferrous' expression. Like he smelled something bad. But he was moving into the position he'd pointed out what felt like an eternity ago.

She couldn't move yet, not until the rift appeared.

She took a shaking breath. Everything in her telling her to run, but she focused on Silver standing and stretching. Like he was preparing for a boxing match or something. Ferrous didn't look worried either.

Maybe it really would be okay.

They would all get through this. They had to.

Her next breath didn't tremble.

The energy in the air hit her like the crack of a whip. The sensation couldn't be different from a lightning strike.

The rift. The tear in the walls of her reality that the demon had been using for six months to try and drag her to whatever part of hell it called home.

But not tonight. Not. Tonight.

She ran, following the plan and putting everything that remained of her faith in Silver and Ferrous Lightbane. Those boys had better know what they're doing.

Silver's grin as she passed him reinforced that faith.

She stood in the center of the circle Silver had put on the ground back when going over the plan. She wasn't sure what it was made of, but it was a light grey color that reminded her of ashes.

There was nothing for her to do now but stay out of their way. She hated it.

Please...please be okay.

She couldn't quite see what Ferrous pulled out of his jacket, but it shimmered before the the rift opened much, much wider than she'd ever seen. She wanted to panic, but this was the plan. It would be much weaker here and thus much easier to kill.

Hands. So many hands. They emerged from the gaping hole that was the rift. She tried to count them, but... they were moving too much and it was too dark.

It had lots of eyes too, six that Olivia could see.

And tall. It towered over all of them, but not over the trees.

It was making those noises again, nothing she could make any sense of. It leaned down and moved around on some of its hands like a spider.

Ferrous and Silver were both standing tall.

She couldn't tell where it was looking, whether it cared or noticed that she was there.

It was so spindly, the movements slow and creeping as its head twitched.

She'd only ever seen its hands before this. She'd never thought about the creature they were attached to before.

But the boys weren't panicking.

Ferrous' movements were calm. Deliberate. The object in his hand was some kind of long knife, and he was pointing it at the demon.

Hands darted towards Ferrous. The closest one to him severed as a gunshot rang out.

Olivia's eyes focused on Silver, a gun in his hand. Olivia recognized it as the same gun she'd seen him use in his office. And here he was again, holding it like it was just an arcade gun.

Another gunshot. Another hand flying away, blood trailing behind it.

Ferrous was fast, faster than she remembered. Dodging hands as Silver shot at them.

The first one Silver had shot was starting to regrow. It could heal? That fast? What chance did they have?

Ferrous stabbed his knife into one of the demon's eyes. But the creature was still moving like he hadn't even hurt it.

Silver stopped firing his gun. He was still as a statue in front of her. "Silver?" She couldn't bring her voice above a whisper.

That seemed to snap him out of it. He shook his head and then lowered his gun. "Ferrous! The eyes are fakes!"

What?

"What?" Ferrous called back.

"You've got to take the head off entirely!"

There was a very loud, very annoyed sigh.

Ferrous pulled his knife from out of the demon's face. Then stepped back. He looked towards Silver, or maybe both of them? They were both in his eyeline.

Olivia wouldn't be surprised if Ferrous could see the worry on her face.

Ferrous squared his shoulders and stepped forward. In a movement so fast she couldn't really follow it, he swiped his knife across the creatures neck. A torrent of blood this time, covering poor Ferrous.

He must hate that, poor thing.

The head rolled off with a disgusting splattering sound.

Then, just like at the office with the severed hand, the entire body began to melt. Falling into the grass and roots and freezing solid into sheets of red. It...was strangely beautiful.

Ferrous!

Olivia looked up at him to see the blood wasn't solidifying on him. Leaving him a dripping mess.

Silver turned back to her with a grin, "Hey, you're free now! Demon's dead!"

He was right. He had to be. The head was a puddle of glass at Ferrous' feet.

It was dead. It was over. She didn't have to worry about it anymore.

Her legs crumbled under the weight of her relief. She collapsed with her legs underneath her as she sat in the grass. She wanted to cry. Or maybe dance. Or...something.

Ferrous made his way over. "Like we said, nothing to worry about. You are free to do whatever you wish. I am in desperate need of a shower."

Silver laughed, "You should stay the night. It's way too late to go back to that apartment of yours."

She had brought an overnight bag just for that. "Thank you. For everything. Both of you."

Ferrous waved her off, "It's what we do M-" he corrected himself. "Olivia."

She smiled at him, progress.

Silver's eyeroll was comforting, "Ignore him. Ferrous can't celebrate to save his life."

She probably shouldn't feel as tired as she did, but perhaps it was all the nights of lost sleep catching up to her at once. The forest swayed and she distantly heard Silver call out to her as the world went black.