My Demonic Ghost #3: Hunters and Creators Page 11

  With every exhale, I could see my breath roll out in white mist. “Getting chilly in here isn’t it?”

  “What are you doing here? What’s going on?” Gargoyle stormed up to him, “Where’s Miira?”

  “Oh, she’s watching. Don’t worry. She sent me in her place.” When I looked over at Nathan, his face seemed familiar. Had I seen him before? If so, where? I checked the ceiling for Chō but he hid himself, obviously wary of the upcoming situation.

  “You can break the chains?” Gargoyle asked in a disbelieving snort.

  Nathan shrugged carelessly, “Well, there’s been a change of plans.”

  “Just spit it out already you worthless little-!” Damage stormed forward as Nathan held his hands up, chuckling into his chest.

  “Your sister is a fiery one, Gargoyle. Be sure she watches her tone when she addresses her superior.” My attention shifted back to Damage. She’s Delilah? I looked at her with fresh eyes, reeling my mind back to Gargoyle’s story of what her life was like. How she used to be. She doesn’t smile anymore.

  “You’re a superior now?” Gargoyle scoffed.

  “Yes, looks like I’m Miira’s new favourite student. How does it feel? To be squandered on the surface like a worthless dog, while the rest of us get promoted before you?” He mocked, and Gargoyle’s jaw tightened, his fingers curled into fists. Chaos quickly stepped forward, putting himself in-between the two.

  “Just tell us what’s going on!” Chaos demanded with uncharacteristic anger.

  “Ah, Chaos. My, my, my you were once a Hunter of the greatest nobility and of the highest rank. Now look at you, playing in the mud with your dog of a friend! And Rachael…” He shifted his gaze to me and I felt myself stiffen. Unlike the other Hunters, Nathan didn’t wear a white uniform. He was dressed in black leather, a fitting selection to match his mohawk styled hair that ran down his skull like a spine. “Family was always so important to me. I’m so glad to see you’re doing the Hasting name proud.”

  “What are you talking about?” I scrunched my brows at him, looking from the three Hunters to where he stood casually against the podium.

  “Don’t recognise me? Guess I’m not surprised, we did only meet once when you just a mere girl clinging to your mother’s skirt. I would catch you up on everything you’ve missed, but we’re about to have a family reunion with the rest of the clan. Oh yes…” Nathan’s eyes rolled upwards, “Can’t you just hear the stampede of their arrival?”

  Gargoyle, Damage and Chaos all stumbled onto their back feet, heads tipping upwards, obviously able to sense an impending danger that I could not. I kept my eyes on Nathan, digging through my memories and trying to connect the dots. There was something about him that was familiar, that’s all I was sure of. Chaos was the first to leave. He bolted from the corridors without making a noise. Damage looked back at Gargoyle, fear stricken over her face before she, too, bolted. Gargoyle ran towards the backpack, digging through its contents madly.

  “You’re all about to be ripped apart in a couple of minutes, so I guess it doesn’t matter that I let you in on a little secret…” Nathan licked his lips, “It was no accident that the Creator is down here. Miira kicked it out. She wants it here on earth with you idiots!”

  “What? Why?” Gargoyle barked. Nathan shivered like he was joying himself.

  “Soon Miira will be stronger and all your demon buddies will be her scapegoat. They always blame the demons; I mean come on, look at them. Aren’t they just so… terrifying?”

  “Why are you doing this?” I demanded. It was so cold now that my toes were numb and my hands shook.

  “Don’t take it personally.” He shrugged, then simply vanished. There was a growing roar, like stampeding feet and monstrous howling closing in from all around us. It emanated from just outside the walls, just beyond the thin strip of shadow. Gargoyle fished out what appeared to be a knife which he ran over to me, pulling my head down to look into his eyes.

  “Take this and don’t drop it, both human and spirit can touch this blade. You have to go. They are coming for you.” He passed me the blade and made sure I gripped the handle tightly, “This can kill demons. If any of them tries to grab you, stab them.”

  At that moment, Damage rushed back panting. “They’re everywhere. We can’t-”

  “We have to try!” Gargoyle took my elbow and dragged me forwards down the aisle. Chaos ran into sight, blocking our path.

  “No! Not this way!” He pushed against us.

  “There’s no time!” Damage screamed.

  Thunder roared overhead. The walls started to tremble just as a storm hit the school. A cloud of raining soot exploded from the high windows, pouring into the hall and completely flooded the entire hall. Gargoyle threw me to the ground, trying to hide me underneath the chairs. I covered my ears. The noise radiating out from the smoke was deafening.

  Damage let out a blood-curdling scream. Something circled her ankles, hauling her off her feet and dragging into the unnatural fog. Chaos was next; something hit him hard and fast throwing him across the room. Amongst the mess, Goons materialised out of the smoke. There were heaps of them of all different types. They charged Gargoyle, taking him down easily. They tore, thrashed, and threw him around like a toy.

  His back hit the chairs further away from me and I covered my mouth to stop my screams. It was horrific. They were being slaughtered and I was sitting here hiding like a coward. Bright white bolts flashed through the storm cloud much like lightning. Chaos fought them with all the strength in his body. Damage was lost among the destruction, I couldn’t even hear her among the shrills of battle. Chō… I looked up into the fog pouring down on top of us, searching for the familiar teal blue. I couldn’t see anything. It was hard to breathe. I clutched the knife to my chest tighter. I had to do it.

  “Chō?” I jumped up and ran towards the flashes of white, trying my best to not let their animalistic howls cause me to falter. A demon frog jumped out at me from the smoke. I held my hands to my face to protect myself when the frog was suddenly slapped away. At the same moment, power surged through me; it was like a heavy vibration that radiated from my chest. I almost lost my footing, the intense sensation strong enough to momentarily blind me before buckling my knees. What? What was that? A flash of hot white blinked from behind my eyes, and I felt Chō channel my fear. He soaked it up and inhaled it, transforming the frantic beating of my heart into heated energy. Then BAM, he threw it at the oncoming monsters. It was strange that Chō didn’t even seem frightened at all, but acted as if this was some sort of game. Another Goon tried to pounce on me but it too was shoved off course. Chō appeared by my side, flickering among the dust, beating the demons off me as I ran. Every hit felt exhausting, the power filled me up until I thought I was going to burst like an overfilled balloon. I put my hand out to Chō to stop him. It was too much. My vision began to fade, and that was not an option now.

  I found Gargoyle first. His shouting had goose bumps crawling over my skin. I ran into the violent frenzy and Chō managed to disperse the demons like popping balloons. Gargoyle crumbled to the ground, badly bruised and groaning. He looked up as I crashed down to his side, cupping his head into my palms.

  “No… Rachael…. You have to... you have to go.” He struggled.

  “I’m not leaving you here!”

  “Please.”

  “No! No, Chō can fight! We can help.” The remainder of Chō’s power pulsated through me like a headache. I swallowed hard. I can do this.

  “No! You must understand. Chō is a ticking time bomb… Don’t fight, just run… It’s too dangerous. Don’t let them … get Chō, don’t let them get… you!”

  He pushed me away forcibly and I stumbled back. A new spark of energy fired through him and Gargoyle jumped to his feet, summoning up magic and lashing out at the Goons that scampered by his feet. He was impressive; he was dodging and rebutting the ongoing attacks that rushed at him from every angle. His internal beauty glowed like a lone star in a va
st dead space.

  “Hunter Gargoyle?” A voice called from the melee, the smoke parting as a lone Reaper rode forward on the back of a giant wolf. Gargoyle paused; the Goons stopped advancing, as the silver eyed Reaper approached us, his wolf pet’s muzzle snarling with smoke. The Reaper eased off the canine and straightened his clothing.

  “You’ve gone too far. Give her back to us. If you do, we’ll let you and your Hunter friends go in one piece.”

  “Classic Reaper ignorance, how fast you forget your place in the world! Do you think you can bully us with those demon pets? Have you forgotten how we can still crush you into nothing?! There’s no way I’m handing her over to you.” Gargoyle stepped backwards and protectively stood in front of me, creating a barrier with his body.

  “You can’t beat me, Gargoyle, don’t be an idiot!” The Reaper warned with a mocking laugh, “This will not end well for you.” His wolf growled menacingly, begging for blood.

  “I’ll remind you why we’re still on top.” Gargoyle charged at him. The Reaper kicked into a run, the two powerful beings clashing in the middle where a heavy shockwave rippled away from them, knocking the others back. Flashes of white and gold ripped the air. A sound like firecrackers, coloured sparks whipped around them. They fought like two lions slashing at each other’s throats. It was Gargoyle who came out on top, raising his fist preparing to hammer it down.

  “You’ll pay for your crimes!” He shouted just as a sonic boom torpedoed into him, and catapulted him through the air. He landed with a heavy thump and skidded to a stop. The masked man that crashed into him was completely covered in shadow. He stalked around Gargoyle’s body, snickering under his breath. Two others rushed to his flanks, also masked in shadows; except for their eyes which burned gold and blue through the smoke. They’re Banished Spirits.

  Gargoyle groaned, clutching his torso where the masked man had landed his hit. “That’s not playing fair, Lock.” The spirit he called Lock grunted in disgust, his eyes a sharp blaze of green amongst a shadowy face.

  “I do not go by that name anymore Hunter! It’s not fun being the one in the dirt, now is it?” His voice growled from the depths of his throat.

  Gargoyle struggled up as Lock ran at him, white sparking against the dark, but the Banished was too fast, too powerful. With every swing, Gargoyle was deflected and attacked like a child lost in the dark. Gargoyle had fashioned himself a sword out of the pure light, but the Banished used his agility and hunger to snap the blade in half, wrenching it from his grasp so it shattered into shards. They danced around each other with fluid agility, but Gargoyle was hurt making him slow, Lock landed every hit and I found myself wincing. With a final, powerful strike, the Banished was able to knock Gargoyle to his knees. He coughed into his hand, Lock finally ceased his almost unforgiving attacks.

  “You may look older, but you are still the same boy, Lock.” Gargoyle grimaced, fighting to stand. Lock shoved his boot into Gargoyle’s chest, knocking him back to the ground.

  “Don’t do anything foolish!” The Wolf Reaper barked, but the Banished snarled cruelly.

  “For too long I’ve ran from him, I won’t run anymore. Tonight we finish this!” He raised his fist, a dark knife appearing in his fist and I leapt to my feet.

  “No! No you can’t!” My voice hit the ceilings and silence overtook the hall. Lock paused, whipping his eyes over his shoulder to where I stood. It’s him... Fear choked me. The green-eyed monster! It’s really him! He looked back at me, a collage of emotions lost on his face. He was tall, built behind the cloak of darkness and his eyes a scarring mint that pierced my mind. I feared I would dream of him even in death. The questions of why me? Why pick on me? They all vanished into the abyss beyond these walls. My mind snapped shut and I fell silent.

  He watched me as if I had been the human he had ever seen. His sharp focus was making me sick. Even the Reaper stood in stunned silence.

  Gargoyle seized his moment and tackled Lock to the ground, “Run!”

  I didn’t hesitate. I bolted the moment those paralysing eyes slipped free of mine. I ran as fast as my pathetic legs could carry me. I felt my shoulders hitting the walls, rebounding off the bricks and trying to fling myself further away. I was lost within moments, the school corridors morphing into a maze of illusions and mirrors. All the while, I could hear the snarling Goons following me. I dared a glance over my shoulder, but they were mere shadows on the walls. One of them was a cackling hyena, its croaky high laugh echoing down the halls as it nipped at my ankles. I hit a corner only to have the wolf appear in my path, its shoulders hunched and its teeth bared. I skidded and stumbled over it.

  The wolf did not lunge at me. He was held back by something, some sort of fear. Silver smoke poured out of his eyes, nostrils and mouth with each of his pants. When Chō appeared, the wolf pinned its ears back and snarled, flashing me its rows of teeth before vanishing. Chō hissed back at it. The hyena Goon was nearly on top of me, but Chō managed to repel it, the Creator quickly speared tackled the demon and I took off again down the hall. Heat flashed through my body so fast I was sweating just trying to keep up with the rapid temperature changes. I had to keep moving, I had to get away from here as fast as I could before Chō really dried me up and spat me out.

  I kept running even when I felt a rip in my calf muscles; the spasm hit me like a snake bite that shot pain throughout my body. I was getting tired really fast and I slowed regardless of the adrenaline pumping through me. Sweat coated my skin. Exhaustion clenched my chest. I stumbled and fell into a wall, barely able to breathe. Something suddenly jumped out at me from around the corner, reaching out to grab my shoulders. I screamed and thrust the blade into its chest. At the contact, a hot hiss sprouted from the puncture point. He jumped away and pulled the knife out hastily. I stumbled back, watching as green eyes fluttered uncontrollably, quickly losing their focus. The smoke faded away from his face, revealing the true identity of the green-eyed monster. He was… He was merely a boy, not much older than I was. He had a nest of deep black hair, a sharp face with defined cheekbones, a tall lean body and meadow green eyes filled with pain.

  His face became laced with black veins spreading quickly underneath his skin. A whirlwind of ash spiralled towards him, sucking in the warmth so only the crisp cold remained. Dark smoke lashed out like ropes trying to lasso anything it could. Something must’ve snapped within his mind and he lost control. Chains materialized out of smoke bound my neck and wrists, pulling me down into the spiralling darkness that was swallowing him. In a split second, the darkness sucked me into a vortex until something else started to build over the black.

  It formed in hazy sections. A brown wooden floor, piles of boxes, and a stream of soft sunlight spilled in from a high window. There was music. No, not just music, it was that song. I was sitting in the attic back at the Whitehaven place. I could almost reach out and touch the CD player as if it was real. Suddenly the image was vacuumed up and snapped shut. I fell backwards as the restraints were torn off me. Chō slapped the chains away, hissing at Lock as he scrambled desperately in a pit of shadows forming by his feet. They were dragging him into the ground and the Banished was powerless against the shadow’s greedy claws. He fought it with every breath he could take, until it eventually swallowed him whole.

  His image blinked once, and then he was gone. I didn’t dare to breath for a moment. I sat there watching the ground, waiting for him to spring up; but he didn’t. I exhaled, relieved, until a force equal to a speeding car slammed into me. It shot out of the concrete, picked me up and slammed me against the walls. A cuff bound itself to my neck in a steel grip. I hit my head hard against the wall and darkness washed over me.

  Chapter Seventeen:

  When I woke, pain pulsated against my temples. I groaned, turned over very slowly and eased myself up into a sit. Cold poured through my body where the cuff encircled my throat. I touched my neck, searching for the cuff, but I couldn’t touch it. I looked around. No one was there, not even Chō. My
eyes blinked against something bright, was that… daylight? I must’ve been knocked out and a pounding headache began to build. I rolled over just as Gargoyle groaned and picked himself up. He was close to me, sprawled out on the ground. I immediately rolled over to him, checking to see if he was okay. He was badly injured, bad enough that he couldn’t even sit up properly.

  “Gargoyle? Gargoyle are you okay?”

  “No…” He groaned, hooking his fingers into my clothes to haul himself up. He was trembling badly. “I can’t … walk. I need… your help.” I nodded, looped my arm around him, and hoisted him onto my shoulders. Thankfully, I was uninjured; thanks to Chō, not a single demon was able to hurt me.

  “They got… him… they got… Chaos.” Heartbreak weakened Gargoyle’s voice.

  “Is he…?” I started and Gargoyle shook his head.

  “I don’t know... when they captured him… he was still okay…” We started to walk down the halls towards the courtyard when Gargoyle pulled me back, “Wait.” He indicated back towards the corner when he pointed out a smoking cluster of ash pressed into the point. “Is that…?” The creature groaned, rolling onto his back so his face was uncovered.

  “Urg…” The Banished Lock exhaled in a frail whisper. He was critically injured from the stab wound in his chest. The knife sat unsheathed on the tile floor near him, its blade glistening with black blood. I gently placed Gargoyle next to the wall before I walked over and scooped up the knife. Its handle felt strong underneath my grip as I flexed my fingers. I went back to the Banished, looked down at his withering body and clenched my jaw in fear. His eyes squinted up against the strain, revealing just a dash of green, “Don’t…don’t….”

  “Why should I spare you?” I growled. Lock’s eyes suddenly widened. Words failed to form, and for the first time, confusion hit his face. The black veins still plagued his skin, but they were ever so slowly sinking beneath his white complexion.