Protect him, my animal growled, dumping power into my body.
No shit. But I can’t just barge in or they might let him go.
I assumed a casual air and walked in, pushing the door open wider as I did so. A male and female demon had their hands on Hadriel, holding him outside of the window. Another male stood close by with a big grin on his face. He snuffled, soaking up Hadriel’s terror.
Recognition unfurled within me as I registered their scent.
The demon from the other night, my animal said, meaning the creature on the other side of my door. The other two were the ones from the grounds.
“What’s going on in here?” I asked in an unaffected tone.
The demon that had been outside of my door startled and looked my way. He hadn’t heard or smelled me come in.
Red eyes in a waxy oval face gave him an inhuman quality. His nose was mostly flat and his hair resembled a bird’s undercoat of feathers.
“Your human shell needs work, buddy. You look a mess,” I said.
The other demons slowly pulled Hadriel back into the room. His chest rose and fell quickly, his face incredibly pale and his eyes rounded. They didn’t give up their hold on him, and my animal coiled in rage.
I sauntered in farther. If they tried to flip Hadriel out, I wanted to be close enough to grab him.
“I know your smell…” Feathers snuffed the air, his smile resulting in pointed teeth.
“Yuck. You’re ugly.” I stopped and looked around the quaint interior. “Not much to this room, huh, Hadriel? Not even a fitting reading chair.”
Feathers kept his eyes on me as he crossed to the door. He closed it, his eyes gleaming.
“I smelled your fear the other night, little girl,” he said, and a spark of pain flared in my middle.
My animal answered with a gush of power. She snarled just below the surface. Shit was about to go down, and if I didn’t rise to the challenge, she would.
I had no problem rising to the challenge.
“You might want to lock it, too.” I winked at him. “I wouldn’t want you escaping.”
“You wouldn’t want us escaping…” he repeated, apparently thinking that was just hilarious. He twisted the lock on the door. “I will feed on your fear and your pain as you slowly die.”
“Promises, promises.”
Fifteen
I pointed at the other two, their faces both square with the same dark brown eyes, the same points at the tips of their long noses—they looked like identical twins with different-length hair. One male, one female. “You two, let him go.”
They offered me the same sort of smile, delighted and condescending. They thought they were at the top of the hierarchy in this room.
“I don’t think we will,” Male Twin said. “He is giving us just the right amount of terror.”
“Hadriel, if you get access to your animal, will it make you stronger?” I asked.
“I think I do have access…” he answered in a quavering voice. “I feel him.”
“Will it make you stronger?”
Feathers drifted against the wall, trying to trap me between him and Female Twin. He moved slowly, as if I were a flight risk. I ignored him for now.
“Y-yes,” Hadriel answered, palming his chest. “Yes, it will.”
“Good. Don’t let them throw you out of that window.”
I fell into the fire pooling in my body, pulling it up and yanking it through my being. More power gushed in from Nyfain’s dragon—he’d clearly sensed our activity through the bond and was quick to help. Full to bursting, I ripped out my dagger and launched at Male Twin. He thankfully let go of Hadriel, who then tried to rip out of Female Twin’s grasp. As long as he didn’t go out the window, I didn’t care. I’d be on hand to help him when he needed me.
Male Twin pushed forward, reaching for me with outstretched hands. Claws curved down from the ends of his fingers. He was clearly trying to grab me. What an idiot.
I sliced his forearm as I happily accepted his open-armed embrace. Once within his reach, I stuck my blade into his side and ripped across. Skin parted and insides dumped out. I stuck him again in the breastplate and used my other hand to shove him back.
His expression was one of surprise. He staggered and then slumped, falling to the floor.
Hadriel struggled with Female Twin, slapping at her hands. It was a very odd fighting style. Great for distraction.
Feathers ran at me, his claws out and face a mask of violence. I stepped in at a diagonal, closing the distance between us. He slashed through the air, and I dodged the blow easily, faster by far. I struck, missing the kidneys. It would still hurt like the bejeebus, though.
He squealed like some sort of wild boar, bending and slapping his hand to the wound. I left him there and darted to Female Twin, who had just about gotten Hadriel turned around and her arm around his neck. That was exactly what I wanted to avoid. We didn’t need a hostage situation.