Fire Fall

“We’ll be all right,” I said. “I’ll help you. I’ve been training with Leon, using my Amplification.”

She shook her head. “No. We should run.”

“We can do this.”

“We can’t.”

Something in her voice gave me pause. “Tink?”

“There’s another one behind us.”

I spun around. Tink didn’t have a Knowing, but Guardians could sense Harrowers, and she had sensed this one. This demon was farther away, but it was moving faster. And it wore no human disguise, no flesh to hide its form. Silver caught the light as it ran. Red claws tapped along the sidewalk, scraping and clacking.

“Okay,” I said, sucking in a breath. “That’s bad.”

I turned again. From the other direction, the girl was still slinking forward. She seemed to be murmuring something, whispering, urging—harsh rasping sounds that weren’t quite words but made my skin crawl.

Fear tightened my chest, and I fought against it. I grabbed Tink’s hand, dragging her with me as I stepped toward the second Harrower.

“This one,” I said.

“What?”

“Leon will handle the other.” He hadn’t appeared yet, but I had no doubt that he would soon. “Come on!”

As we ran, I began amplifying. I built a co

“Go for the throat,” I told her.

“I know.”

The demon reached us. It crouched low for a moment, and then its body whipped upright, one arm arcing outward. Claws slashed toward Tink. She shrieked and ducked backward, evading it. Through the bond between us, I felt her panic rising—but the Amplification held. As the demon lurched forward, I struck, blocking its attack and trying to catch its throat. But the demon was too fast. It jerked away, out of my grasp. My fingers closed on empty air. The demon lunged again.

Then Leon was beside me.

His arm wrapped around my waist. He twisted sideways, lifting me against him and pulling me out of the demon’s path. His free hand shot out, and he hit the demon with such force that it flew backward through the air. It went sprawling onto the concrete, then rolled onto all fours, watching us, wary.

The other Harrower was much nearer now. Her voice hissed out, loud in the quiet.

Leon set me to the ground, one hand on my shoulder, steadying me.

“I’m not hurt,” I said, looking up at him. “I promise. Tink and I have this one. You take the girl.”

For a second, I thought he would argue. Our eyes met, and I saw the worry in his gaze. Lightly, he touched my face.

“Guys?” Tink said from beside us. “Not the best time to be having a moment.”

Leon’s hand dropped. He divided a look between Tink and me, his expression going strict and serious. “Don’t take any risks. Do it quick and clean.” And then he was in motion. He vanished, reappearing an instant later behind the red-haired demon. She spun around with a noise that was half-snarl, half-howl.

I turned to Tink. Her face was ashen. A thin trail of red was beading along her collarbone where a claw had grazed the skin. “You okay?”

“No,” she said, and launched herself at the Harrower.

It rose to meet her, parrying her blows as I hurried to help. Tink struck again and again, her hand a blur of color, hot light trailing through the thick blue of dusk. The demon latched onto her arm, but Tink was stronger than it was. She broke from its grip with ease, even as its talons clenched. One claw caught her shoulder, leaving a long rent in the fabric, but it didn’t sink in. No blood welled up in the tear. Tink shoved the Harrower away, moving forward as it fell back. I was quick to follow.

We pushed the attack. This time when the Harrower dodged Tink’s blow, my own strike co

Kill it, I thought. End it.

But I hesitated.

My thoughts spun back to Susa

For just a moment, my fingers loosened.

A moment was all the Harrower needed. It wrenched free, staggering backward. One hand swung out wildly, catching Tink and tossing her to the sidewalk. She landed on her side a short distance away, gasping, the impact a heavy thud that reverberated through both of us.

The co

The strength in my arm died out. The demon whirled toward me, teeth bared and gnashing.

Leon teleported between us.

“Don’t amplify,” he warned, and his arm circled me once more. He drew me tightly to him as the demon sped toward us. Its claws sliced the air. We blinked into nothingness.

The teleportation lasted less than a second. Sudden dark enveloped me, a gap in my senses, and then we were on the street again, a few short steps from the demon. It pivoted, searching, a growl rumbling within it.

“Ready?” I asked Leon.

He nodded.

Amplifying with Leon was easier than with Tink. We’d been working at it, training for months—and our co

We moved without a word spoken between us. With Leon’s abilities Amplified, the demon seemed to realize that it was no match for us. It looked as though it might flee, escape back into the waiting Beneath. But it lunged instead, throwing itself forward with a burst of strength. Leon deflected it effortlessly, and then caught it by the neck. I took a step back. My fingers curled into a fist.

The end came quickly. Leon’s grip tightened. There was a sudden crack. The demon’s body slackened, sliding free from Leon’s hands and collapsing onto the sidewalk. It lay there, lifeless, its milk-white eyes sightless and staring.

“Tink?” I called, moving toward her.

She lifted herself onto her hands and knees, then climbed unsteadily to her feet. “I’m fine. I bit my tongue, that’s all.”

“You sure?”

“I’m sure. What happened to the other one?”

We turned to the sound of a scream.

A few feet away, the red-haired demon lay writhing on the street. Her legs bucked upward, her heels slamming against the asphalt. Her head rocked backward and struck the curb. She screamed again, but her cry was cut off with a sudden cough. A spray of blood plumed into the air. Then, from below, tendrils of shadow crept up around her, dark vines that covered her, choking her. Steam rose from her body, seeping into the air. The shadows tightened, squeezing her until she lay flat against the road. There was a sickening crunch. Then the demon went still. Her body lost all trace of humanity, her flesh dissolving into scales. Crimson bloomed on her face, sticky trails sliding from her eyes and mouth.

Tink covered her own mouth with her hand. She backed away. “Ugh! That’s disgusting.”