"Door!" Adriane said, just as Lindsay bolted.
Lindsay slammed into Alex, who had jumped in between her and her escape. She was shaking violently now, and her stomach was rebelling against her, doing back-flips and twisting its way into her throat. A snarl ripped through her mouth, and the room was tilting and twirling.
"I can't do it!" she screamed, though she wasn't sure just how loud. "I won't! I can't! Let me go! Let me go, Alex! I can't face him! He's supposed to be gone! Goddamn it, Alex, let me go!"
He was holding her shoulders firmly though, and his eyes were locked sternly on hers.
"No," he said, but his voice trembled.
No, she couldn't be here. Fighting his grip, she kneed him in the stomach as hard as she could while her legs threatened to collapse under her. He grunted and winced, momentarily loosening his hold. Taking advantage of the opportunity, she broke free, ducked under his arm, and nearly fell through the door. She heard Alex yell out after her, but she was already gone.
"He's supposed to be gone. Why can't he just leave me alone?" she thought aloud, and then, disappeared into the woods.
"I'll go get her," Alex said, heading for the door.
Zach shook his head. "We'll talk to her later, when she's calmed down. If she doesn't want to help, so be it."
"Zach, that's not fair," Gabby said. "You know how bad that scarred her."
"But he's still right," Marlin said. "It was six years ago. She needs to move on; she's holding herself back. Right now, there's a threat to the camp, her friends, and she can't help. "
Alex cleared his throat. His hands were gripped white, and he still stood in the doorway. "What happened six years ago? And what was on her head?"
"She's a demon, isn't she?" Leon asked, stoic as ever.
The older mages and Gabby nodded.
"Ears?" Alex exclaimed. "Those were ears?"
"Wolf ears," Gabby clarified.
"Can we trust her?" Leon asked.
"Leon-!" Elena protested.
Kara raised a hand to stop her. "Do you think we would have her here if we couldn't trust her?"
"She doesn't trust herself," Alex said to the floor.
"One day she will." Gabby sighed.
Loren shifted around uncomfortably. "Well, we can't wait for that one day right now. We need to figure out what to do about these demons. If they attack the Fairy Glade, or worse, here, lives will be in danger and everyone's magic will be at risk."
"Then we need to take an offensive," Elena suggested.
"How?" Gabby said. "We can't just leave the campers."
"Right," Kara agreed, "and who? We need time to rally our allies. We can't take on an entire army alone."
"Who says we don't have our own army?" Alex said. "Who says we have to leave the campers? We have an entire legion of mages right here. What better way to train them than to take them into battle? Have them do something useful?"
"Do you realize what you're suggesting, Alex?" Emily said. "Some of these kids are only six! The point of this camp isn't to make soldiers out of them. The point is to give them a purpose for their magic and to grow lasting friendships."
"He has a point though," Leon said, "the campers would be a huge asset. What's the point of teaching them if they will lose their magic and possibly their friends?"
"And you're underestimating them," Alex added. "If you tell them what's going on, they will want to fight. Those that are scared can stay here, but those who are brave and want to do what is right should be allowed to fight."
"You're underestimating what we're up against," Gabby said. "Demons are not fully in control of their power, particularly new ones. There is a constant war going on inside of them and the human part of them is typically on the losing side. If Hunter is their leader, he won't let a human conscious get in the way of his plan to manipulate the beasts in them. He'll teach them to be ruthless."
"Then how does Lindsay stay in control?" Leon asked.
Marlin laughed curtly. "Did she look 'in control' to you?"
Emily glared at him. "Lindsay never fully absorbed Thunder's power. She stopped before she killed him. Because of that, she was able to stay human, for the most part. When she was younger, she was constantly being overpowered, but with a lot of help and quick learning by all of us, she learned to keep the balance between her and the demon. The reason she is particularly unstable here is because of the memories haunting her. She's told us she has few problems with it at home."
"You say 'the demon' like there is something else inside her, like it has a personality," Alex pointed out.
"There is. It does," Zach said.
To answer their confused faces, Adriane explained, "In essence, she absorbed all of the darkness in Thunder, and it grew into its own form. We've spoken to it. It calls itself Night."
"Do all demons have that?" Elena asked. "Do they all have a different soul in them?"
Emily shrugged. "We don't really know. We think that the reason Night is so separate from Lindsay's soul is because she never fully absorbed Thunder's soul. In the case of those like Hunter, we think that the souls bind and become something else altogether. Instead of two separate souls competing for control, there are two halves to a soul overshadowing each other. Less like being possessed, more like having split personalities."
Suddenly, there was frantic banging at the door. When Alex opened it, it was Cinder and Erin, gasping for air as they sputtered something about a fight.
"Slow down," Zach said. "What's wrong?"
"Wolves!" Cinder exclaimed, waving his arms about.
"And cats and pegasi!" Erin added, mimicking her brother.
"What?" Adriane demanded. "What about them?"
Erin straightened up and sucked in a breath before explaining at a hundred words per second, "They're attacking the students at the manor and they look seriously scary and a bunch of them are huge and everyone is running but a few are fighting and it's mostly Lindsay and Mitch and that new girl Zoe trying to defend them and it's not looking good and something seems strange about Lindsay and we need help!"
Everyone shot up from their seats and raced towards the manor.
"These guys could really not have worse timing!" Lindsay growled at she sent flames swirling at another demon wolf.
Zoe, who gripped Nia for dear life and had electricity jumping through the air around her, stopped for a moment to ask in disbelief, "Is there good timing for a random attack!?"
Lindsay shrugged. "I suppose not."
Mitch and Finn were busy ushering as many students as they could manage out of the manor through the back. They had convinced many of the older students to accompany the younger students outside and protect them for any other attackers that may await them out there. This also kept some of the do-gooders, particularly those who weren't as strong as they wished, out of the main line of fire. Zoe had offered to go with them and help, but it was best she stay clear of a large group when she wasn't in control of her power: they would rather she accidentally electrocute an enemy than an ally.
A demon Pegasus charged towards Lindsay. Quickly nodding at Thunder, fixing the beanie she had hurriedly shoved over her head, and taking a deep breath, she jumped on its back and clamped her scalding hot hands down its neck. As it reared in pain, Thunder lunged for its back leg, sinking his teeth in deep and tearing away when it bucked. Desperately trying to rid Lindsay from its back, the Pegasus raced around the room in a frenzy, kicking Thunder in the head, before slamming through the front doors and barreling out into the great lawn.
In its final attempt to fling the burning person from its back, the Pegasus took off straight up, zigzagging and maneuvering erratically. Unprepared for the sudden, violent vertical assent, Lindsay's grip loosened and she was hurled from its back about fifteen feet in the air. Panic overwhelmed her as she came face to face with the ground, and at the last second, dissipated into a cloud of mist.
Her thoughts scrambled by the change in form and instability of her magic, she couldn't change back to her human self. She watched as the Pegasus fled to the forest, and Zoe charged out of the manor looking for her. Zoe looked around a moment in confusion, calling Lindsay's name, but Lindsay couldn't answer.
Got you.
She heard its voice and the pain set it. She started screaming but no one could hear.
"Lindsay?" Gabby heard Zoe yelling as they reached the manor.
"What the hell is that?" Alex said, pointing to where Zoe stood.
"What?" Emily said.
"There's just pain and panic everywhere," he said as they got closer.
"What do you-"
Gabby broke off as a soul-ripping scream deafened her. She nearly crumpled to the ground before Adriane caught her. Around her, Emily was leaning on Marlin, and Zach was all but carrying Alex, whose hands were gripping his head. The screech never let up for a moment as they staggered towards Zoe. A light mist had overtaken the front of the manor, making it hard for Zoe to see them as they approached.
When she finally spotted them, she ran over, out of breath. "Lindsay's disappeared. She was fighting a Pegasus thing when she fell and now she's gone."
The mist began letting up as Zach sent everyone but Alex, Emily, and Gabby ahead. He asked if she had seen anyone else approach her.
"No, I just saw her fall and the Pegasus ran off. There was no one else out here that I could see."
"Um, guys," Alex's voice was barely a whisper as he pointed to the start of the main road.
There stood Lindsay, hands in pockets, looking up at the night sky. She seemed not to notice them as she started walking down the road.
"Lindsay?" Gabby called after her.
Lindsay stopped, her foot scraping on the ground.
"Are you okay?" Gabby asked. "Where are you going?"
Lindsay shrugged.
"Gabby—" Alex said.
"Come back over here. We'll look you over."
"Gabby—" Alex tried again.
Lindsay ducked her head and slowly trudged back over.
"What the hell were you thinking?" Zoe said as she got closer. "I thought you freaking died."
"Guys, really, something isn't right," Alex said, backing up a bit.
"Not right?" Gabby echoed.
Lindsay let out a low chuckle, not raising her head.
Everyone held their breath.
Slowly approaching her, Gabby craned her neck to see Lindsay's face. "Lindsay?"
Everyone backed up a few steps when she lifted her head.
Her eyes were completely dark, black orbs sitting in their sockets. As she smiled, they could see her wolfish canines that took up most of her mouth. She tilted her head, hands still in her pockets, and studied them. They stared back, stomachs in their throats. Ill from the stench of the aura surrounding her, Alex could barely hold back the urge to vomit.
"Lindsay?" Zoe choked out.
She laughed, which sounded more like heaving.
Her face contorted into a vicious sneer. "She's not home right now. Can I take a message?"
Alex stiffened. "Not funny," he said, and leaped at her.
This is long overdue. A shorter chapter, but I hope you guys enjoyed it. :) Review!