Equinox (Book One of the Firebird Chronicles) WATTY AWARD HIDDEN GEM WINNER 2015

Chapter Thirty Six: The Epiphany

My heart hammered. Fabian was concentrating on maintaining the circle of wind, and I saw how much energy he poured into deflecting the daemon outside it. Like a mother, the daemon outside had become more ferocious since the second had disappeared, and began to cry in a most disconcerting manner.

I watched as the second daemon listened, before howling back.

Frederick had managed to make some deep cuts in the creature's hide, and Roan had sliced along its wings so that it couldn't fly. But the creature seemed unconcerned about the superficial damage being done to it, and focused on Scarlett. The arrows fired by Sakura and Kirsten were doing frighteningly little.

The monster's claws swiped, and caught Scarlett's legs, pulling them out from beneath her. She let out a frustrated scream, but her face smashed against the rocks beneath her feet. My own mouth was opening, screaming-- Fabian! -- as the claws flew towards his back.

I was wrong. These creatures might not be intelligent, but they adapt!

The wind faltered, and Fabian stumbled, caught between two daemons. Two very, very angry daemons. His back had been cut open, but thankfully as the daemon's claws had reached for him, Sakura had timed a brilliant arrow to crash into the base of the daemon's skull.

The creature was still alive, but where she had hit was doing damage. The daemon struggled to co-ordinate, couldn't seem to attack where it aimed. The monster staggered.

But still, Fabian was alone against two daemons. He drew his sword, deflecting the sudden lunge of one, but whilst he did stop it, he was also propelled backwards off his feet. The daemon that had been hit in the back of the neck was trampling and howling in a depressingly human scream, smashing into Sakura, and she lost her bow. Frederick tried to finish it off, but its movements were so erratic that he too was hit.

Scarlett lifted herself from her stunned position on the floor, and looked around immediately to find Fabian. He was darting around the stronger daemon, the one who seemed to burn with hatred for the one that had kept up the barrier. Kirsten was running towards them, bow drawn, but the arrows bounced off the creature and only seemed to annoy it more.

Around the group, the guards of the prison began to mutter. Focusing my control, I pushed them to step forwards. Help them. Help them! I commanded.

Their steps were slow.

Too slow.

Roan was climbing the back of the daemon, raising his sword to plunge it into the daemon's neck, beside the arrow Sakura had placed there. Half of Frederick's group were amassing on the stronger daemon by this point, but were blown off their feet by the creature flapping its wings forcefully. Scarlett hung onto Fabian to avoid being blown backwards, but he was the only one unaffected. He raised a hand, and the wind stopped hitting his friends, and instead curled backwards towards the monster.

Continuing the attack, Fabian flew into the air in one huge jump, flying high over the creature's head. Following him, the beast opened its mouth and snapped towards the angel hovering around it. Fabian's sword slashed as he neared the daemon, hitting teeth and bone but never slowing it down.

On the ground, Scarlett released a knife, sending it whizzing towards the daemon's throat. It lodged there, on the underside of its jaw, causing it to scream in pain. Her second knife flew between the daemon's eyes, missing the vital shot by an inch.

Seeing Scarlett in danger and unarmed, Fabian dived. He dropped like a stone to the ground, gaining speed faster than the creature's sharp claws, which were opening into a swing. Before he hit the ground, the wind caught him and sped him along, whisking Scarlett into his arms and out of harm's way.