EXCERPT:

While admiring my new additions, fascinated with the fins, a large number of scenarios on their usefulness coming to mind, I noticed glowing orbs in the distance—orbs of differing colors, some yellow, some orange, others red…the same red as my own eyes. I was being watched, my onlookers no doubt unsure of what to make of me. How often does a half-demon—if I still could be considered only half-demon, I was pretty sure I was now more demon than man—just magically appear in the demon realm? Did I still smell human? Was my soul still bound to my body giving me that tell-tale scent all demons picked up on?

Who I was inside could not be dictated by my exterior. I was still me, maybe with less control of the beast within, but I was okay with that. I’d contained my true self for too long and look what keeping my demon side on a leash had gotten me—my daughter taken from me, my friends either dead or in trouble, and my body banished from the human realm. Bad guys didn’t play nice, why did I have to?

The surrounding orbs grew closer, the demons building up their courage for a better look at the newly arrived inhabitant of their world. Some crawled along the breathing walls and ceiling like lizards. The muscle and flesh materials of the walls looked even more alive than the demons approaching me.

Prescott’s smug face entered my mind, reminding me I needed to locate a way out of this fiendish place and find him—find him and make him suffer the way I had, take from him everyone he loved before his very eyes. And quite possibly take his eyes, as well—make him a twin to the wizard he’d had do his dirty work for him. That thought satisfied me. I enjoyed the idea of Prescott’s world being turned upside down, the snake of a man learning that you couldn’t step on everyone during your ascent up the ladder of success. Some of those people gnawed at your ankles, preventing you from ever reaching the top…sometimes gnawing far enough to reach the bone, until you lost your hold on the ladder and tumbled gracelessly to the bottom of the barrel.

My thoughts of revenge were disrupted when two of the investigating demons came closer than the rest. Scouts? Probably. They appeared smaller, weaker than the others, and that was the demonic way—send in the weaker demons to assess my motives and power. Two was a small number when someone possessed the strength and the tools I possessed, power with which to end their existence with a wave of my hand. Still, I had a lot of aggression pent up within me, consuming rage demanding to be unleashed on someone or something. Might as well be these demons.

I smiled, exposing my fangs, a behavior I’d trained myself over the past year not to do in the human realm. I looked terrifying enough to most people, thanks to my color and shape and wings, but when I added the sight of my fangs, people tended to flee the other way. Here, I needed that fear to be instilled on my approaching friends. They needed to know that the end of their lives was approaching and I was going to be the one responsible.

The two demons paused, their glowing eyes scanning all around then looking back at the larger demons as if to ask if they should continue with the scouting mission. A deep, rumbling growl from behind them answered their query and the duo of demons warily continued toward me. Both walked on all fours, each reminding me of the creature from those Lord of the Rings movies, Golem—long lanky bodies, large eyes, thin midsections that outlined their ribs and chest plate. Easy prey.

I didn’t want to reveal my full power or fighting prowess so I extended one hand before me, bent my elbow up so my hand was a foot from my face and snapped my fingers. Exerting my will with the action, I sent forth a spell of destruction. Both of the small demons suddenly burst into flames. So, the magical black and purple fire within me remained unchanged.

The burning beasts writhed and howled in agony, the fire I’d unleashed rapidly consuming them. They rolled around, leapt from the ground to the walls. But they lost their grip as their skin melted away, the fire taking its toll on their fingers and toes, and they fell back to the ground. Finally, they stopped moving, the flames having extinguished their life. The fires feeding on their frail frames slowly died out leaving smoke rising from the charred corpses. I smiled, again exposing my teeth to the demons lurking in the background… challenging them to try their hand at me.

At first nothing happened. The only sound came from the surrounding walls that breathed and pulsated in and out. Then, a deep, gravelly voice from somewhere in the dim distance shouted, “Get him!”

The world erupted in a wave of demons launching themselves at me, some from the rocks they’d hidden behind, others slyly veiled within cracks and crevices that ran along the walls and ceiling.

My initial instinct was to draw my blade, and I reached impulsively for the scabbard that usually hung from my belt. My hand found nothing but thin air, and then I remembered that I had no weapons. I hadn’t carried Dreadstorm with me when I’d attended the meeting between Paul and Kerr. The violet glowing blade still hung in my room at The Attic, unless Prescott had stolen that blade, as well. My beloved Demonsbane was already in his possession. Still, not having a sword didn’t mean I was unarmed.

I waited, allowing the approaching fiends the opportunity to build up their confidence. Upon my initial observation, I’d counted at least twenty sets of eyes, but I was sure there were more gruesome beasts lurking in the shadows—a second wave of demons prepared to take up the battle once their brethren fell…which they undeniably would. Strategies played out in my mind, different paths on how best to deal with these beasts. A large part of me desired for them to suffer as I’d suffered. Another part, the more logical side of my brain, knew full well the longer I took to dispose of them, the harder my task would become.

The foremost demons drew closer, within striking distance, and I came alive. Utilizing my newly formed fins, sharper than any blade I’d ever held within my hand, I struck. I swept my arm forward, slicing into the first demon. The fins on my arms immediately severed its head, the sharpness making quick work of the beast’s tough hide and bones.

I continued the momentum of my attack, spinning on my heel to bring me behind the next demon. I stabbed the fins into its back and knelt down, dragging the blades along the demon’s spine, opening its flesh and exposing its innards for a moment before the sinewy entrails splattered out onto the ground.

I knew the fiends I’d damaged weren’t dying. I’d either have to take the time to search for their hearts or take the easy way out and set each one ablaze. However, my power was limited, and I knew burning every one of them would drain me, leaving me powerless once the second wave decided to tactically join the fray. So I stuck with this method of assault, content to simply dismember them. The fallen would heal, but not until I was long gone.

The fight intensified. I found myself battling repugnant foes from every angle.

As I fought off a demon larger than me that was using its hulking strength to try to pin me down, a smaller demon leapt up behind me and latched onto my back, its small spidery hands covering my eyes. I recognized, while fighting the larger foe, that my physical strength had increased during my transformation, making me immensely stronger than I had been in my midnight blue skin. At one time a beast this large would have had the upper hand, its brute force overpowering me. But now I was able to hold him off, our opposing strengths bringing the two of us to a standstill. A forceful front kick to the larger demon’s midsection gave me the small break I needed. The well-placed punt struck my opponent like a sledgehammer causing the oversized beast to release its fervent hold on me, allowing me to spread my wings. I immediately took flight, placing some distance between me and the horde below, still blinded by the small demon on my back.

Fierce growling and howling rose up from below, echoing along the animated walls as I took flight. I tried to navigate the caves with the small beast pulling back on my head, its small wiry fingers digging into my eyes. I ascended just high enough so the earthbound demons could not grasp me, then I reached back and grabbed the small creature obscuring my vision. It squirmed and writhed in my powerful grip. It tried to bite my hand with its tiny teeth, but I was able to yank it off my back. I held the little critter dangling before me, gripping its throat tightly with one hand. The creature defiantly gnashed its small teeth—gnashing at me.

I snarled and flew toward the nearest wall. When I got close enough, I grabbed the tiny demon by the head, my hand covering its entire skull, and slammed it against the pulsating wall. A satisfying squish accompanied the mush in my hand where its head had once existed. I released the body, letting the remains fall to the ground below. The limp form landed on a few demons gathered below me.

Creating a dull breeze, my wings flapped behind me as I hovered above my assailants, deciding how best to take them down. They were close enough together that blasting them wouldn’t expend too much of my limited energy—energy I’d require soon enough if this barrage of demons continued.