A/N Thank you pineapple8193 for the help :P Thank you guys for reading :D Happy New Year!
They wouldn't give up the prisoners without a fight. They were ready to rage war on their own front steps. I knew I shouldn't have gone back and saved the rest. Then maybe we would have been able to leave without being detected. He will find me. I am not ready to confront him. I know that it was cowardliness that was talking but I couldn't help it.
If it is a fight they want then it is a fight they shall get. At least, this way we stand a chance of surviving. The group was staring at me, wondering why I had suddenly stopped. I called them all together and explained what was waiting for us in the distance. They began to panic and lose all hope. Their thoughts screamed fear and loss of control and it was clouding up my mind. I had to get them to stop. I needed to think. I tried to raise a mental barrier blocking me from their thoughts. And it worked to some extent. They were quieter like background noise. I pulled Piper, Phoebe and Paige to the side and explained to them what I had in mind.
"Guys, quiet. We don't have much time. We going to have to try and fight them. Those, who are not young, with offensive powers come forward."
About 30 stepped up. I led them to the front next to Piper. The children were standing too close to the front. They were in a small group surrounded by the oldest one who was a girl of 16.
"What is your power?' I asked her.
"Shielding and telekinesis", she replied.
"Your job is to protect the children, and lead them to safety" she seemed to exhale with relief at the thought of not joining in the fight.
I turned to face the oncoming swarm ahead. The battle had begun.
Angry shouts and flames flew through the air. Bright lights flew all around hoping to hit their targets. I pulled my athame out of the lining of my long boots. I aimed for the neck of a demon fast approaching the children. On impact, the demon burst into flames, leaving a trail of ashes behind to be absorbed into the earth. I called my weapon backed to me and it flew into my hands. Piper blasted away at the demons near her, whilst Paige and Phoebe hit them with potions, spells, everything they had. Malik raged against them using the agile strength of his kind. Most demons were not well trained in hand-to-hand combat so that played largely in our favour. I grabbed the nearest demon to me and turned his neck from left to right; watching as her lifeless body fell to the ground and crumbled away. I flinched as an energy ball skimmed my shoulder. At least the tougher demons had not shown up otherwise we would have been in deeper water. We were outnumbered and favour was not on our side.
A wave of fear and cold overwhelmed me; something was coming, He was coming. I turned around and ran to the group of children.
"We have to get them out of here. Take them far away... No wait a second" I said as I realised my voice could barely be heard over the battle.
Phoebe, Paige, Piper, we need to get everyone out of here and I have an idea of how. Get everyone here now. We are going to have to be quick before the demons reach us.
They managed to rustle up the group together as fast as they could. Many were injured but they would live to see another day if we got out of this before He arrived.
"Quickly, everyone form a ring around the children and hold each others' hands. We are going to have to share power."
"I call you Mercury, god of travellers,
Take us away from this godforsaken battle,
Keep us from danger, protect us from harm,
We call to you with this travelling charm."
There was a niggling doubt at the back of my mind. Something I had forgotten or someone. I cursed as I asked myself where did Malik get to?
I could feel the power of the circle rising and the heat of the magic around us. I had to stay. I had to find him. It would be cruel of me to leave him against so many demons especially with no warning when there is something I could do. As I felt the circle prepare to leave, I broke out of the chain as they were transported out. At least they were alive and safe. But where had they been sent?
Walking over the scattered corpses of the demon hosts and the dust of their departed essences, I searched for Malik. The surviving demons were too busy tending to their wounds and trying to salvage what was left of their wounded pride. Meanwhile, the feeling of terror grew and grew within my heart, filling me with dread.
"Goodbye, witch", a voice whispered in my ear as something cold made contact with my neck. Pain struck me instantly as the blade passed over my throat. My last thought as I gasped for some air was Oh no, not again.
Not the darkness. Not again. Voices of the past flittered by. Trying to help me remember something that would aid me. But what? Vivid colourful images flittered before me but escaped before I could acknowledge their significance or meaning. Something pulled at me, dragging me back. It saved me from the darkness at least for now.
Gasping for breath, I awoke lying upon the gravel. I touched my neck, to check that I had really been sliced and died. I could feel a faint line where the huge gash should have been and my neck was sticky with blood, my blood. My eyes scanned the place, checking that I was really there. Well, that is not something that happens everyday. Being resurrected once is rare but coming back from the dead twice, that was a different ball game. I was just happy to be away from the darkness but at what price?
A deep cough interrupted my thoughts. I looked up to see the demon of my nightmares, literally, Lucifer. Life seemed to be treating him well. His skin had an odd glow giving off an air of arrogance. His strong defined jaw looked relaxed yet his eyes spoke a different tale. A storm was brewing in his eyes. Dark swirling clouds consumed all. I averted my gaze, not wanting to fall into that trap again. His hand reached out towards me, aiming to help me up. I looked at it and then proceeded to try and get myself off the hard gravel. My arms slipped and I fell back onto the gravel. I sighed and decided to lay back and enjoy the view of the clouds.
"Always so stubborn", stated Lucifer, in his silky alluring voice. The clouds were very nice. I was not going to let him pull my focus. I could sense him moving and he leant over me blocking the view. He gripped my arm tightly and pulled me up. I refused to use him as a support and as he let go my legs almost buckled. He quickly grabbed my arm again.
"Did you believe that you could hide the fact that you were back?"
I shrugged as much as I could anyway with him gripping my arm. Fear was not something I wanted him to see in me. He looked around at the wreckage left from the battle. Then he looked at me, it was as though he was searching my face, my mind. I felt as though he could see deep into my consciences and it made me feel vulnerable. I tried to focus on the victory of part of the demonic army we faced being destroyed.
" Those demons did not matter, Keaira." he replied to my thoughts. He proceeded to wind his arm around my waste to support me. I grumbled in protest but he just tightened his grip.
"Look", he demanded. Blood began leaving the bodies that were scattered across the plane of gravel. Slowly, in thin lines, it moved like raindrops slithering down the windowpane. They ran off separately from the bodies and began to join together. They were being drawn to the same place. Beyond us, at the edge of the small hill, lay a field. The blood went towards the middle of the field and began swirling as a circle and then 3 lines broke off the circle. These lines began branching out. I recognised it as his symbol, the one that was previously burnt into my shoulder.
"You see I am strong without them. Stronger then I was. Earth is my playground, demons and humans my toys. In time, you will join me again but it is not time yet." He said as he released me from his grip and disappeared; leaving me with my whirlwind thoughts. Incidentally, as soon as he let me go, I fell onto the hard gravel, grazing me knees. Just my luck, I thought.
I let out a frustrated groan. " Are you alright?" shouted Malik from across the way.
"Where have you been?" I asked angrily
"Searching to see if anyone was left inside. Speaking of which, where is everyone?"
"Safe for now, could you please give me a hand?", I asked feeling like a defenceless child. He gave me a questioning look.
"I will explain later", I said. He shook his head and climbed over the bodies to help me up. As he supported me and we left the scene, I glanced back to find that the blood symbol had been soaked into the soil. I sighed and thought I really needed to get out of the here, out of the country. I needed a plan, we needed to win and soon.