"You've got to be kidding me," gasped Paige.
The demon was nearly ten feet tall and four feet wide. It had two sets of arms ending in claws six inches long. It had cat-like eyes that were a dull yellow. Its skin was a deep black that glistened in the light of the flashlight. Two rows of razor-sharp teeth filled its mouth.
"Humans," hissed the demon as it raised one arm and pointed at them. "Destroy."
The lesser demons took a couple of steps forward hesitantly. Angered, the main demon turned to the one nearest it. A stream of liquid shot from the demons mouth, obliterating the lesser demon.
"Destroy," commanded the demon again.
The lesser demons surged forward. Obviously, their fear of their master was greater than their fear of the White Lighter. Piper exploded one and Amy vanquished another with the crossbow. Seeing they would be overwhelmed, Leo pushed the women out of the room and pulled the door closed. He then pushed them back down the corridor.
They had only gone a few feet when the door swung open and demons surged through. But they were bottlenecked in the doorway. Everyone turned and attacked. The demons were vanquished one by one as they attempted to move through the doorway. Piper exploded one, and then Amy vanquished another with the crossbow. Almost as quickly, Paige would vanquish another with one of the potions.
Soon, no more demons were left. They stopped appearing in the doorway and everyone caught their breath. The doorway was much too narrow for the main demon to get through. Nothing happened for several moments.
Suddenly, a pair of demonic hands grasped the frame over the doorway. A second pair of hands grasped the side frames. With little effort, the demon ripped a hole in the metal wall large enough to accommodate its massive bulk.
Amy raised the crossbow and fired. The bolt struck the demon in the shoulder. It howled in pain but reached up and pulled the offending weapon out, casting it aside. Paige threw one of the potion vials but the demon simply reached out and plucked it out of the air. As it caught the vial its enormous strength crushed the fragile container. The potion exploded totally obliterating the demons arm.
The four watched as a new arm suddenly grew back from the bloody stubble. The demon flexed the arm once, and then continued its advance. Piper closed her eyes and concentrated. She brought all of her power to bear as she raised her hands. Then she released her power in the most massive explosion she could deliver.
The demon exploded in a thousand black shards. As the explosion radiated outward, the shards suddenly reversed direction and reconstituted the demon. It shook its head once, shaking off the effects of the explosion, and then began to move forward again.
"Not good," said Piper.
"Paige," called Leo, "we have to get out of here."
He took hold of Amy and orbed them away. Paige didn't hesitate. She reached over and grabbed Piper and then she orbed them both out of the corridor. The demon howled in anger as it watched its prey vanish.