The demons grin—dozens, maybe hundreds. Their jagged smiles glint in the light of the portal, oily saliva dripping from their teeth like venom. The sound of them laughing together makes Heidi’s skin crawl. It’s not laughter meant for joy. It’s a noise made to shatter courage and remind prey that their predators are patient, hungry, and in no rush.
Morgan tilts his head, smirking like this is just another measly cup of tea. He doesn’t look afraid or even close to it at all. Instead, he raises his voice above the horrible chorus. "Remember this," he bellows, turning to every Moon Blessed like a general in a war which frankly, he might be right now.
"We’re not just fighting demons tonight... We’re fighting for the chance to go home. That portal is the only way out. You want to live?"
His eyes flash, hard as the Aether steel in his hands. "Then fight like it!"
Then, with a grin that’s far too delighted, he roars, "CHARGE!"
The command detonates through the Moon Blessed like an explosion. They surge forward, weapons raised, throats screaming in defiance against the tide of terror crashing toward them.
And then the two sides collide.
The sound of the collision rattles Heidi’s ribs. The ground itself seems to tremble as the wolves surge forward together. And then, chaos erupts. The horde of demons descends like a collapsing storm of teeth, claws, and blades flashing. The clearing turns into a bloodbath.
Heidi ducks as a demon swings a jagged blade at her head. She slices upward, her knife slashing its throat. Hot blood sprays across her arm, wet and burns with an acrid stench. Her wolf growls, clawing beneath her skin, desperate to rip and tear, but she forces herself to stay human.
The rune—don’t lose the rune.
She spins toward Junie, who’s trembling inside her translucent shield. "Junie!" Heidi shouts over the din with a raw throat. "Use the shield for yourself and run! Get through the portal as fast as you can!"
Junie, who is pale and shuddering inside her glowing dome, shakes her head frantically. "What if I—what if it tears me apart? I don’t have the rune anymore, Heidi! You saw—my hand..."
Val shoves her glasses back up his nose, even as she drives her blade into a demon’s throat with a strangled growl. "We don’t know that!" she shouts. "You had the rune once. For all we know, it’s in your blood now. Don’t give up before trying!"
Junie looks at her like she’s just asked her to jump into fire. "The fairy who drew it never said that!" she cries, voice breaking.
"It’s better than nothing!" Val snarls, sweat dripping down her brow. "Don’t you dare give up!"
Heidi’s tired of them constantly telling Junie to put on her big girl pants and be courageous. She can’t blame a girl who was just a YouTuber a few weeks ago and now has to fight blood thirsty demons like it’s nothing.
Yet, none of them has it any better. They are all in this together and are all trying to survive it.
But Junie’s eyes are wide with panic, her good hand is clutching her broken wrist as if it might magically sprout a rune if she just wills it hard enough. Heidi’s heart aches. Gods above, not now. Not when they’re so close.
Heidi wants to grab and shove her through, but there’s no time—because a demon barrels into her side. She crashes to the dirt, the wind blasting from her lungs. Its rancid breath washes over her face as claws descend...
... and then Grayson is there, his Aether blade slicing the creature in two. The corpse disintegrates into ash before it even hits the ground. He snarls down at her, eyes like burning steel. "Move, Heidi!"
She scrambles up, chest heaving.
The battle swells around them, dragging her attention away. Five Moon Blessed manage to break free of the melee, sprinting toward the portal’s searing light. They leap as one, runes blazing on their arms... and vanish into the swirling maw.
Heidi’s heart leaps when she sees who’s among them: the boy with the mutilated leg, carried between his two friends. Against all odds, they made it. She almost sobs in relief as their silhouettes dissolve safely into the portal’s glow.
But there’s no time to savor it.
"KEEP MOVING!" Grayson roars, Aether blade flashing as he splits a demon clean in half. His face is streaked with blood, his eyes glowing. "FIGHT THROUGH OR DIE!"
Demons shriek, wolves snarl, and the night becomes a blur of violence.
And then, more figures streak into the clearing. Heidi whirls, hope sparking as it finally seems like they’ll all make it, only for her stomach to drop.
The good demons. The ones who had sheltered them, who had given them scraps of food, who had spoken of peace. They’re sprinting straight for the portal, faces desperate, and eyes bright with hope.
"No!" Heidi screams, throat tearing. "STOP!"
Others take up the cry. "DON’T—YOU CAN’T..."
But it’s too late.
The first demon leaps into the shimmering wall of light. For a split second, Heidi hopes—hopes that maybe kindness, maybe loyalty, maybe sheer desperation can grant passage.
Then the portal screams.
The demon’s body explodes into ash and gore, shredded into nothingness. The others follow, one after another, their cries cut short as the portal devours them whole. Flesh, bone, soul... all obliterated. The air reeks of burnt meat.
Heidi clamps her hands over her ears and squeezes her eyes shut, but the sound is seared into her brain. She can’t breathe. She can’t even scream.
When she finally looks again, only dust remains.
Val is sobbing beside her. "Oh, gods..."
Morgan doesn’t even flinch. He spits on the ground, his mouth twisting into a cruel sneer. "Idiots."
Heidi wants to hit him and claw his smirk off. They had only wanted freedom. Oh, those poor things...
She can’t. Her heart can’t handle this grief.
Val stumbles to her side, face pale under her now cracked glasses. "Gods help us," she whispers. "They thought they could..." She cuts himself off, shaking her head violently. "We can’t—we can’t think about them now."
She’s right. They can’t. They don’t even have the luxury of grief right now.
More Moon Blessed manages to bolt past the carnage, diving into the portal’s maw. One isn’t so lucky. A demon hooks him by the throat, lifts him screaming into the air, and tears him in half before the others’ horrified eyes.
Heidi screams.