The Seraphim Project

Chapter Two

Sunny let out a squeal that put most girls’ to shame and ran for the table. Beast flipped it on its side, sending food and plates clattering to the floor as we all crowded behind it. Hushing Sunny, I tapped Hawk on the ear. He nodded his understanding, and we all sat perfectly still while he worked his magic.

Way back when we were still at the Labs, Hawk lived in the crate below mine. We used to play a game where he would call out descriptions of the people passing by, and I would tell him if he was right. He always was.

His head tilted in a different direction every once in a while as he listened before he finally said, “They’re huge. Heavier than Falcon. Two outside the front door, another one sneaking around to the back. Kite, I think they’re—“

Just then, one stepped through the shattered doorway, and I didn’t need Hawk to describe them to me anymore. Demons, the fourth and last thing that the Labs had created, and by far the most vile. They were huge, at least seven feet tall, with leathery black skin, horns curling from their temples, and huge bat wings stretching from their backs. They were the only project that the Labs hadn’t exterminated the earliest, and thus eldest, generations of for one simple reason: they were evil and bloodthirsty, making them the perfect weapons.

I hadn’t seen a demon in seven years, and even when I was in the Labs, I’d only seen glimpses of them. They’d always been kept far from the rest of us, especially the angels like Hawk, Falcon, and me, because they’d terrified us. I’d never seen one up close, but I had a feeling I was about to.

“Injuries?” I whispered, scanning the group.

Everyone shook their heads except for Sunny, who looked distraught. “My cape!” he said, just a little too loud. “It’s ruined!”

Shrapnel from the exploding door had torn holes in his cape, some of them slightly singed. I rolled my eyes.

“Not the time for this, Sun.” My mind whirled, trying to find a way out of this. They had us surrounded. Both doors were blocked, and though we could easily leave through a window, there were none in the area of the house we currently occupied, and I doubted we’d make it to one before they caught us. That only left one option—we’d have to fight our way out.

“Russ, Change. You and Falcon take the one around back.” I glanced around the table as I heard clothes ripping and a low growl. There were two huge demons standing just inside the living room, the slightly bigger one standing closer to the kitchen. I assumed that he was in charge, as the smaller one watched him and followed behind.

“Hawk and I will take the bigger one. Beast, you and Sunny take the smaller one. When I say go, take ‘em out.”

We positioned ourselves to dive out from behind the table. Very, very quietly, I whispered. “Three… two… one…. Go!”

We burst from behind the table. I dove at the biggest demon, but it—I couldn’t really tell what gender it was—grabbed me out of the air by the neck. Choking, I clawed at its hand around my throat, but I couldn’t get any leverage with my feet dangling from the ground. Just as spots started dancing in front of my eyes, Hawk landed a well-placed blow on its elbow, breaking it with a snap.

Howling, the thing dropped me and turned on Hawk. I landed in a crouch and tried to swipe one leg under its legs in the hopes of unbalancing it, but it was so big that my leg just bounced off. It didn’t even seem to notice as it reached for Hawk. He tried to slip behind it, but he didn’t seem to notice it reaching for him and ran right into its hands. It gripped him by he wings and yanked them backwards, making him scream. I winced, knowing how much that hurt from wrestling with the boys.

I jumped up with a stunted beat of my wings in the small room to get me higher. On the way down, I fisted my hands together and brought them now on its head with enough force to knock out any normal human being. The thing only seemed to get angrier, turning faster than should have been possible for such a hulking creature and hurling Hawk at me.

We landed in a heap, and before we had time to untangle ourselves, it grabbed us by the hair. I yelped as it yanked me upright before slamming my head against Hawk’s. It dropped us, and, dazed, I stumbled and fell to my knees, Hawk next to me.

I recovered first and, screaming with rage, I leapt at it, grabbing its horns and wrapping my legs around it just under its arms. I tried to throw myself backwards, a move designed to bring my foe over my head and crashing to the ground, but the thing was simply too big, and I was built to be light. The thing stumbled a little and took a few steps, putting us with our backs to Hawk.

I glanced back at him to see him staggered to his feet facing just to my right. I shouted at him to bring his attention to the right place. Hawk bent low to the ground and charged at the thing’s legs, hitting just below its knees. With the added unbalance, I managed to flip the thing in its head, its immense weight enough to knock the thing out.

I lay next to it for a moment, panting. Hawk sat on his knees next to me, rubbing at the bases of his wings. I didn’t want to move from that spot, but I knew I had to check on the rest of the misfits.

I hauled myself to my feet to take stock of the damage. Sunny and Beast had finished their demon, and Sun was fauning over his damaged cape. I rolled my eyes.

Glanced around the corner at the back door, I was just in time to see Falcon shove their demon over the rail of the back porch and down into the abyss. Our home was built on the edge of a cliff, and we used the back area as flight practice. But for a demon with wings mauled by a wolf, it was a plummeting death. The other two demons soon followed.

“Injuries?” I called through the house. “And no, Sunny, your cape doesn’t count.”

The most serious injury that turned up with Hawk’s wings, but they were good enough to use. Which was good, since we had to leave. I glanced around our ruined home. I would miss this place. I’d spent seven years of my life hear, and it was the only place where I’d ever felt safe, the place where I’d discovered what it was like to have a family. But now it was also the place where the Labs had found us, and it wasn’t safe anymore.

“You okay?” Hawk asked. He’d always been the most perceptive, plus we’d been friends for as long as I could remember. Sometimes I felt like he could read my mind.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” I sighed and addressed the whole group. “Everybody grab your go-bags. We’re getting out of here.”