Demon's Doorway (43 page)

He pushed himself to his feet with his wings as Anatol stalked him from across the room. Anatol shoved the tables separating them aside like they were nothing. Alex tried to vanish as Anatol threw another punch, but it simply didn't work. Whatever Anatol was doing to the prison, it was changing the nature of the realms. There was no vanishing into the spirit realm, and Alex felt his nose break as Anatol connected yet again.

Victoria wasn't doing any better. She could handle a few demons, but there were far more than a few. She lashed, clawed, kicked, bit, but they kept coming. She had to be mindful of the fire still spread about, which the demons cared nothing about.

She screamed as several demons grabbed her and shoved her face into the fire. Alex tried to move to help her, but Anatol lifted him by the throat. He couldn't vanish, couldn't break his grip. He tried to lift off with his wings, but Anatol grabbed his right wing and held it steady, keeping him in place.

"You're making a terrible decision," Anatol taunted. "The humans have had their time. Now, it's our turn. You both should be a part of this."

Alex wondered why he was still alive. Anatol could kill him without much trouble, but he still wanted their support.

He wouldn't give it to him.

Anatol threw him across the room again. He slammed against the wall not far from Victoria. She managed to break free from the demons' grip, but half of her face was burnt. She joined Alex and pulled him to his feet.

"What do we do?" he asked.

Victoria had no answer. A group of ten demons marched in a line toward them, with more behind. Anatol approached from the side.

"Can you do anything about that sphere?"

"I don't know anything about that thing. The demons won't listen to me."

She took a breath. "We have to kill Anatol. No witch, no magic."

She made a desperate dash, running in front of Alex toward Anatol, but the demons moved in position to intercept. Three of them tackled her to the ground, narrowly missing a burning table. One bit into her shoulder and tore out a chunk of flesh. She howled and kicked with her legs. Another demon bit into her calf. In a matter of seconds she couldn't see the cafeteria at all. She only saw demons, circling her, drooling on her. One carried burning wood from a bench and poked her with it.

Victoria snarled. She was hurt, bleeding, her skin burnt, but after four hundred years, if it was her destiny to die, it wouldn't be on her back.

Jumping to her feet, she swiped at anything that moved. She couldn't see Alex, but could hear Anatol continuing to beat him. Her friend was resilient, but she knew he wouldn't survive much longer. She needed some space. She needed a chance at Anatol without so many demons in the way.

Alex shouted in pain, and three more demons rose from the shadows. One stepped through the fire, setting itself ablaze, and wrapped its four arms around Victoria from behind. The fire burned her back and neck, destroying what was left of her shirt. She didn't even get a second to catch her breath before they were on her again, slamming her to the ground. She looked up into their horrible faces, the flames dancing behind them. One of them grabbed her ankles and dragged her to the fire nearby, ready to pitch her in. She wasn't sure how much fight was left in her. She caught a glimpse of Alex sailing above her, flying through the air, with Anatol leaping behind him.

For the first time, she wondered if they'd survive.

A noise erupted around them. She thought she imagined it, but the demons looked up and searched, momentarily forgetting about her. She heard it again, and was just as confused as the demons.

Thunder.

Something wet struck her skin. She thought it was blood at first, but noticed the rain falling. More thunder rolled, and she saw the small clouds completely covering the ceiling.

A storm was brewing, right in the prison cafeteria.

She peered in between the demons to see Kevin standing where the door used to be, a portal behind him. He looked up at the clouds, admiring his magic, as the rain put out the fire around them.

"Sorry it took me so long," he said. "But I'm here now."

Anatol forgot about Alex as he approached the cauldron and sphere in the middle of the room. The demons made no move as they awaited new orders. Victoria slowly crawled away, not making a sound.

"I thought you smelled odd," Anatol said. "But, to be honest, I've smelled so few witches in my time. That, mixed with your fear, and I wasn't sure what I was smelling."

Kevin adjusted his coat. "Oh yeah, I'm terrified. But I think I'm more scared of me than you, if that makes any sense. The demons are pretty scary, too. But you, not really."

Anatol laughed as he pulled out a vial. He crushed it, and a ball of fire formed in his palm, immune to the still-falling rain. Kevin didn't look concerned at all as Anatol reared back and threw it at him. Kevin held up his hand, and the fire spread out across the shield created by his rock.

Anatol scowled. Victoria's jaw dropped as the demons not far from her walked away. Anatol was silently controlling them, and they were no longer interested in her.

"Kevin! Get out of there!"

Kevin backed away as demons surrounded him. He tried to run through the portal behind him, but it closed on its own just as he reached it. He was in the middle of drawing another one when the demons closed in. Victoria shoved the agony of her wounds as far away as she could and rushed forward to help. She'd only made it halfway across the cafeteria when four demons blocked her path. One was about to strike when Alex jumped in front of her.

"Stop right there!"

The demons paused, and confusion crossed their faces, an odd look for them. The four of them hesitated before they each bowed in respect to their master.

Alex held Victoria by the waist as she leaned her weight on him.

"Anatol's losing focus," he said. "He can't control them all."

"We have to help Kevin."

They looked in Kevin's direction, but they were too late. The demons were huddled together, ripping and tearing at something. Victoria's heart sank, but something wasn't right. She saw no gore, no blood. Even Anatol wasn't convinced as he pushed his way through his small army.

He separated the demons to reveal nothing. Kevin was gone.

"That little projection trick is neat, ain't it?" Kevin said. His voice boomed all around them, but he was nowhere to be seen. "I thought it'd be weird using it, but it's not that bad. I see why you like it so much."

Anatol looked in every corner, completely ignoring Victoria and Alex. A few more demons lowered their heads as he lost more control.

"You arrogant little witch," Anatol said. "I've forgotten more magic than you'll ever learn in your short life."

"You might be right. But I'm a full-blood, so that makes me better."

Anatol hesitated as his eyes turned red. For the first time, Victoria recognized the nervousness in his face.

"Find him," he told the demons, and faced Victoria and Alex. "Kill them, and find the witch."

Only half the demons responded. Alex backed up a step, keeping Victoria behind him. He didn't say a word, simply willing the nearby demons to action. Demon fought against demon as Anatol howled in rage, his fangs growing.

The demons under Alex's control made no move to harm Anatol, however. He was immune, just like Alex.

Anatol moved forward with purpose, shoving aside demons as he went. His gaze was locked on Alex as his hands turned to claws.

Alex flinched, knowing he couldn't take another round with Anatol, especially knowing he wouldn't be holding back.

Victoria stepped in front of him, her own claws and fangs growing.

The vampires didn't trade words or insults. Anatol didn't try to sway her to his side, and Victoria didn't make any speeches. They didn't say anything at all. Anatol growled slightly, and Victoria only smiled. She wasn't at full strength, but she wouldn't let him harm Alex or Kevin. She would kill him, even if the cost was her own life.

Alex watched as the vampires fought. He'd evened the playing field for Victoria, but still felt useless. If he tried to fight with her, he'd no doubt get in her way. All he could do was keep an eye on the battling demons. With every strike Victoria made, another demon was his once again. He could barely keep up as they swiped and snarled at each other, even using the environment to their advantage. Anatol picked up a table with one hand like it was nothing, and threw it at Victoria. She was quick, though, and slid under another table to avoid his attack.

A hand grabbed Alex's shoulder. He turned to see nothing, and thought he might have been losing his mind, until Kevin slowly appeared into view. The sight was very similar to how Cindy described Alex appearing from the spirit realm.

"Kevin? Is that really you?"

"Yeah, it's me."

Alex ducked slightly and moved closer to the wall to avoid two demons fighting. He pulled Kevin with him.

"We have to move this fight," Alex said. "Anatol and I, we're both fighting for control—"

"Yeah," Kevin interrupted. "I can see what's going on."

"But we can't get too far from the cauldron, or more demons will pour through. Victoria needs more space. Can you teleport this whole room outside somehow? Maybe into the prison yard?"

The look on Kevin's face gave Alex a reassuring no.

"Okay, then we have to—"

Alex stopped himself as he saw a demon charging behind Kevin. It had broken away from the mob, and was heading straight for the witch, blood drooling from its mouth. He shoved Kevin to the floor, and the demon inadvertently tackled Alex, taking him to the floor.

The demon howled. Regardless of the fight for control, no demon could touch Alex without feeling pain. He fought to breathe for a moment, the terrible stench taking his breath away. He grabbed the demon on both sides of its head. It let out an ear-piercing scream and ran away on all fours.

He pushed himself to his feet with his wings and held a hand out to Kevin. The witch didn't look afraid, merely annoyed, as a demon slammed another on a table not far away. Alex pulled Kevin to his feet.

"Are you alright?"

Kevin straightened his coat and cracked his knuckles. His response caught Alex by surprise.

"I'm sick of this."

Alex grabbed Kevin's shoulder. He tried to remember they were out of Kevin's comfort zone. It was hard enough making their way through the prison. To see actual demons once again may have been too much for him.

"Try not to be afraid," Alex said. "Demons feed off fear."

Kevin looked at the chaos around them, demons fighting, Victoria and Anatol ripping into each other. The terror he felt as they encountered ghosts and darkness was gone. Jack was right. He was a witch, and it was time he acted like one.

"I'm not afraid. I'm irritated."

Kevin pulled away from Alex's grip and walked toward the center of the cafeteria. Alex went to stop him, but something in Kevin's eyes kept him in place.

Kevin pulled out two vials, and smiled at the significance of the potions. One was a potion of his very own mother's, a little on the old side, with some nasty ingredients. The other was one of his own making, a simple potion to control the elements. Mixing them together would be very interesting.

He poured one into the other, and downed it in one gulp. The wind began to swirl five feet around him, slowly at first, but then the sound started to drown out the rain around them. The wind moved with him as he walked forward, still picking up more speed, and the demons took notice. One broke free from a skirmish and ran toward him, leaping through the air. He barely moved as the demon hit the wind around him, and like hitting a jet engine, was flung across the room.

It was like Kevin was the eye of a hurricane.

More demons tried to get close, all with the same results. He didn't slow his stride as demons stopped within five feet of him and were thrown away. Demons smacked the walls and ceiling, not knowing what to do. Alex had to hide behind a support beam as Kevin walked in between two tables, and one sailed in his direction.

Kevin wasn't surprised as he approached the cauldron and sphere, and neither one moved. They were protected by Anatol's magic. The light from the magical doorway was bright, and he had to squint to see Victoria and Anatol fighting on the opposite side of the room.

Victoria was in bad shape, and losing the fight. Her earlier attacks from Anatol's demons had weakened her. Anatol was slowly picking her apart. He was distracted for a moment by Kevin, and he looked up to his doorway, his way of resetting the Earth. Victoria tried to make a move, but Anatol swiped a claw across her face and circled around her, wrapping his arms around her throat. She grabbed at him, but couldn't break his grip. Her blood-covered cheeks flared as he squeezed.

"Hey!" Kevin shouted. Anatol looked up as another demon tried its luck and failed. Kevin glanced at the cauldron, watching the purple liquid move and bubble. "What do you think will happen if I ruin your cauldron here?"