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Chapter 8: Awareness

Chapter 8: Awareness

 

THEIR FORCES, COMPOSED OF EVERY single Adept old enough to fight, drew together and then surged forward like a tidal wave intent on washing all the black pollution away. Their front lines – Water and Fire Adepts – held strong as the Earth kids backed them up. Air knocked the charging Demons off their feet – or tentacles, in some cases – and made them slam straight into mounds and walls Earth raised. Drawing water from the moisture in the air, Water Adepts formed constricting lines that held Demons down and Fire slashed through them with blades wreathed in flames.

The first Demons charged and broke upon the magic of the front lines, but their numbers started to crumble from the right side. It couldn’t be their forces – no one in their right mind would charge that far back into the horde, or even be able to get there in the first place – and yet the Demons fell in waves, turning back into shadows and bits of metal. A roar shook Camp’s walls over the already-chaotic din.

The shadowy remnants of the dead Demons cleared slowly, to reveal a feline form, black as a starless sky – hard to make out among the crowd of other bodies – with claws and whiskers of silver. It leapt into the hordes of Demons, harsh light reflecting off the swirls and whorls of its fur, and started to attack its own kind.

Daniel! Kurt’s urgent mental voice reached him though it sounded soft and faraway. You got into her mind once, you can do it again. Stop her!

B-but… As he hesitated, the tiger-like Demon roared again and the others skittered, kirins tossing their heads and stomping the ground with their hooves. It can’t be her. She’s no Demon. And I can’t get into her mind again. I told her I wouldn’t.

It advanced, making Fire Adepts in its way draw back, weapons at the ready. A cockatrice hissed and dived, but with a flash of a silver and black paw, the monster dissolved into shadows, metal scales falling to the ground with a clang. When one Fire Adept stepped forward, Daniel found his feet suddenly in motion. "Stop! Amber, snap out of it!" But his yells went ignored – could she even hear him? – and its claws lengthened and swung down and the Fire kid was tossed aside like a rag doll, blood staining his mangled shield. 

The Demon leapt forward, its snarls sounding like the whirring of a chainsaw, but Daniel made it just in time, skidding to drag the Adept away from the flashing claws. A centaur's hoof can down to stomp their heads but Robert threw himself over the two of them and his stomach twisted as they teleported away. 

Calida fell to her knees at the injured kid's side when they appeared next to her. She murmured to herself, and flames sparked to life just above the boy's skin, sinking into the slash wounds and making them scab over. 

He'd been in that class that Daniel reprimanded just that morning, one of the laughing faces that answered him in Japanese. He couldn't remember his name. 

Daniel stood with Robert, squeezed his shoulder in thanks for the save and turned to the battle once more. His katana was still sheathed at his side, even though he was a mid-range fighter. 

Demons shifted in their ranks, having spread out to give the feline one space. It gave another roar and took a threatening step forward, black tail lashing in aggression. The other Demons balked and cowered at its flattened ears, then began to stream out of Camp, climbing over each other to scramble for the exit. The feline one's gaze swept over the Adepts and seemed to hone in on Daniel. It had silver plates for eyes. He saw himself reflected in them, though they were on opposite sides of the room, and he looked fearful, like a coward.