Age of Demons

Chapter 46 - Ashlyn

Detroit Safe House

I was outside when the alarm started ringing. It resonated eerily across the ground to where I was.

One minute, I was beyond the boundary, reveling in the shadows that flickered like dying embers into the air. And the next, I was inside the line, shoved back from the onrush of demons—and they followed me in.

I didn't notice it at first. Too focused on the energy that sizzled from my fingertips to the pit of my stomach. A couple demons rushed me. I took a defensive stance. I jerked into motion at the first demon converging—but then it was racing past me, and so were the rest. I nearly fell after trying to attack. What the heck? We're they done trying to kill me? I surveyed behind me to witness them advancing across the field. They had crossed the line. Some had gotten to the door.

"No!" I shrieked. Had I done this? Did I shut off the electric field? I wasn't supposed to be out there on my own, but I couldn't resist after my argument with Sylvia. I stood there frozen, my arm stretched out, grasping at nothing, watching helplessly as demons flooded the entrance and entered into the safe house.

And then I saw him. He came from out of the doors the demons were slinking through. They ignored him, darting past him inside the building.

Des strode out onto the field, his trench coat flapping around his legs in the wind.

"Stop them!" I shouted at him. But he ignored it and continued walking toward me. Soon, he was only a couple feet away.

"What are you doing?" Dread squirmed inside like a living thing.

"Setting everything in motion." He stuffed his hands in his pocket.

The sun was hiding behind the buildings. Its rays lined it in bright red flames.

"You let them in."

More demons flew past us. They didn't care about us. They only cared about the hundreds of defenseless people inside. My body itched to run after the demons, to stop them from harming anyone. But my mind was having a hard time processing—nothing was clicking. I didn't know why Des was acting that way.

"It's not a human world anymore, Ash. You're either a demon, crazed, or possessed. Humans are too weak to fight against the earth's pull toward change. I'm simply nudging it all in the right direction."

I was shaking my head before he even finished. "No, this isn't right. We have to go in and save everyone—"

Des interrupted, "Everyone was doomed anyway."

"No. You doomed them." I stabbed my finger at him.

He scratched at his beard. "I was hoping you'd understand better than Jace. I know you'd been talking with Sylvia."

"I agree with Jace. You're crazy," I said. The wind picked up, racing almost as fast as the demons infesting the field. "Now move out of my way so I can fix what you've done." I stepped forward, but Des raised his arm.

"I can't let you do that."

I bristled. "Too bad." I avoided his reaching arm and brushed by him. Scores of demons had already entered, and I feared the worst. I couldn't stop the images of Deliverance Safe House burning to the ground from surfacing.

Des grabbed me from behind and snatched me into a bear hug. I tried squirming out, but his grip was strong. I kicked at his shins, but he didn't budge an inch.

"Let go!" I roared.

"I can't let you ruin this."

I tried tapping into the ocean of power that swelled within me, but he still overwhelmed me. I raged into the air, screaming at him to let me go.

Finally, I grew limp in his arms and watched helplessly at the demons infiltrating the safe house.

"With Sylvia, I'll dominate everything," Des said, dipping his head down to whisper it right into my ear.

"Fuck you," I muttered through gritted teeth.

"She's right, by the way. You're not strong enough to resist," he taunted.

I struggled against him in response.

"I can see it. The demon. It's so close. Just one more nudge..." And then his hand was on my head, gripping the roots of my hair. I shouted in pain, but his nails dug deeper into my skin.

A weird sensation submerged my body. Even with the darkening sky, whiteness crept in around my vision. I was as light as a feather, and any moment I knew the wind would catch me in its current and blow me away.

I woke in the center of chaos. Footsteps thumped in front of my face. Screams piled into my ears. I pushed myself off the ground, groaning, but then slipped back down on my abdomen.

I glanced around and noticed I lay in a pool of blood. It was brown on the gray carpet. I jolted up, backing away from the stain. My hands were covered in it—my clothes soaked.

In front of me was room 301. My room.

Dread plummeted in my gut like a boulder. My hands shook.

"Ley..." I stumbled to the door and flung it open. Darkness permeated every space. Night had fully descended. Nevertheless, I could see everything clearly. The beds were still in place—everything positioned how it normally was. Two forms hunched beside one of the beds.

"Ley!" I called. I could see her face clearly—how the distress expanded the whites of her eyes. How she clutched onto Niko.

"Ash?" Disbelief coated Ley's voice. She stood up on unsteady legs and stepped toward me. She stopped when she noticed the blood. "Are you hurt?"

"I don't know."

Niko was in front of her then. As if he were protecting her from me.

Leyla gasped, her eyes directed at something behind me. I spun around and was face-to-face with a demon.

Out of habit, I attacked. The demon was gone in seconds. I felt like a mosquito—fat with life force. It hummed in my veins, making me light-headed, satiating me more than anything ever could.

My sight was going in and out. I stumbled forward, and I noticed Niko push Ley behind him. I saw her face scrunch up in annoyance, saw her move forward, lending out a hand toward me.

And then I was falling. I didn't even feel the floor. I only knew I fell because I was staring at two pairs of sneakers. Ley was calling my name. Niko was trying to hold her back. But she wasn't taking it.

"Don't come... close," I tried to say, but I didn't know if anything came out. The world spun so fast I thought I might puke from the dizziness of it.

And then I got up. Leyla jumped back in alarm. I flexed my fingers.

"Are you okay?" she asked, her eyes wide.

I didn't say anything. I turned around and left. After that, I blacked out again. 

A/N: Chapters are getting shorter as the action to the final point speeds up! What do you think is going to happen to Ashlyn? Will she be able to save her friends or finally lose control?