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Chapter 8

8

There’ssomething about an electricity failure that unnerves. The sudden lack of lights being part of it, the absence of any humming or electrical sounds the worst. Not that I had silence for long. The initial shock wore off within seconds, and people lost their minds.

“What’s happening?”

“It’s the end of the world!”

“Someone turn on their phone flashlight.”

“We’re all going to die.”

Given the many hollers of terror and pain, the latter seemed likely. Several phones around me suddenly shone, beacons against the dark that did little to illuminate. It didn’t help that, according to the few remaining passengers on board, the train was filling with smoke.

Not smoke, demon fog. A fog I’d have preferred over the sight of monsters creeping in, crawling on hands and feet, their heads tilting left and right, noses flaring as if they were scenting for something. Please don’t let it be fear, because I sweated it from every single pore.

A man to my right pointed to the demon nearest him and yelped, “That ain’t no rat.” For a second, I was relieved to know someone else could see them.

Until the demon sprang and bit off the guy’s finger. The demon hit the floor chewing, and the man bolted screaming, his hand spurting blood. He jumped out the nearest door with the demon hot on his heels. Given how abruptly his cries ceased, I had a feeling he’d never make it home.

Then again, neither would I.

The phones illuminating the scene might not be perfect, however, they provided enough light for me to see the demons headed in my direction.

One, two, three… and that was just from my left. A peek right showed even more.

Eep.

Maybe I shouldn’t have eschewed Nova’s offer to take me to the witch guild. At least there they had people who knew how to fight these things. Me? I had nothing. Not even a purse to swing.

Was this how it ended? Spinster torn to pieces by mysterious assailants on a subway? What a shitty way to die.

As the demon nearest to me hissed and showed off the fangs it planned to use to bite, a familiar male voice grumbled, “Hold tight, Sadie. I’m coming.”

Cain?

He was at the far end of the train car, his scythe swinging, the blade carefully avoiding the few people sobbing and cowering in their seats. The tip of the hook impaled the demon about to kill an old woman wearing a grocery store smock. Cain yanked it away and pinned it to the floor before slicing it in half.

The death of the demon caused the monsters stalking me to lose interest. As one, they focused on the real threat: Cain, wearing his long coat, grim-faced and sexy with determination.

The demons ran for him. Not all of them on the floor, I should add. A pair used their claws to climb the wall and then race across the less obstructed ceiling. It played like a scene in a horror movie, not that Cain seemed bothered. He stood tall in the middle of the aisle, looking badass in the feeble cell phone lights, his blade a weapon of deadly massacre.

He felled the monsters, each swing of the blade taking heads and limbs. One by one, step by step, he destroyed the demons, and hope returned—Hell yeah, I’m not dying today!—until he yelled, “Behind you!”

I whipped my head around as a demon launched itself at me. My hands went up defensively, and I screeched. Not a brave warrior yell, but a sound of pure fear that turned to revulsion when the hot, leathery skin of the demon hit my palms. The momentum flung me to my back, and it took all my strength to keep the gnashing jaws from biting off my face.

“No. No. No,” I chanted as those teeth got closer.

“Hold on, Sadie. I’m coming,” Cain bellowed again.

I didn’t have time to wait. The jaws inched closer, and I closed my eyes. If only I really were a witch like Nova claimed, then I’d blast this fucker to hell.

Drool dropped onto my cheek, burning like acid, which activated a new fear of being permanently maimed in the face. At my age, I didn’t need extra scars to go with my crow’s feet, and it adrenalized me to holler hotly, “Fuck off with your slobbering.” I shoved with all my rage and terror.

A shove that actually sent the demon flying. It hit the far wall before doing a slow slide down. Dead, I should add, with two palm-sized burn marks on its chest.

Burns caused by my glowing hands.

I gaped at them stupidly as Cain joined me, gruffly asking, “Are you hurt?”

“Uh, no. But there’s something going on with my hands.” I held them up, and his lips flattened.

“Try to not touch anyone,” he advised, glancing from the demon I’d killed to my suddenly dangerous hands.

“Will it go away?” I huffed, holding them far from my body lest I accidentally incinerate myself.

“No idea. Never seen that trick before.”

“Not reassuring.”

“My job ain’t to coddle your ass. What do you say we get out of here before another wave of demons appears?”

“More?” I took in the carnage with wide eyes. Not of the demons. They were already vanishing, their bodies puddling into a goo that evaporated. But the trauma they’d inflicted remained. A handful of people remained, huddled and crying. Blood spattered the inside of the train. Bodies lay across seats and on the floor.

So many dead. And I’d almost been one of them. The shock of it glued me in place.

“Don’t you fall apart on me now,” he growled. “Move your ass.” Cain tugged at me, and I staggered with him to the nearest door, holding in a whimper as I had to step over a young guy missing half his face. On the threshold, I hesitated. Cain jumped down first and waited for me.

The drop of a few feet would be easy, but the whole leaving the subway for the tunnel beyond? I trembled.

“What are you waiting for? Jump.”

“I don’t know. Maybe we should hole up inside the car and wait for help to arrive.”

“You want to explain this to the cops?”

Not really. I could only imagine what Detective Williams would say if he found me caught up in yet another murder scene.

“It’s dark. How do I know what I’m jumping on?” My hands had lost their glow as suddenly as it had appeared. The murk outside had almost no light, just a single cell phone lying on the ground, shining upwards. I didn’t want to think of its owner.

Cain leaned his scythe against the train and held out his hands. “For fuck’s sake. Jump.”

Don’t ask me why I trusted him. I leapt, and he caught me in those burly arms. I let myself lean my face against his chest for a second. Just one. Because the guy quickly dropped me to my feet and grabbed his scythe.

“Let’s go.”

“Go where?” I muttered.

“We’re not far from an exit. Stay close.”

As if I planned to go wandering. We walked past my train car to the next, the doors also opened with bodies hanging half in, half out.

“Stick close to the wall if you don’t want to step on anyone,” he advised.

He didn’t have to tell me twice. I hugged that concrete like we were in the beginning stages of dating and did my best to not hyperventilate when my foot slid on a patch of something wet. The car after had its doors closed, and people pressed against its windows, cameras upheld, some shining lights, others videotaping. I turned my face away and basically became a tick on Cain’s ass to avoid being seen. Last thing I needed? Williams spotting me on some viral video.

Next, we came alongside the head of the train. An emergency light inside illuminated the smashed windshield. No sign of the conductor.

Cain said nothing as he set a brisk stride, one hard to follow as we left the weak light behind and it turned dark. Dark enough I couldn’t see my own hand in front of my face. I worried about tripping or running face-first into something. Say, like a demon’s mouth.

Ahead, far in the distance, bobbing lights.

“Help is coming!” I’d never been so happy to—

“Argh!” The shrill scream came a second before one of the lights hit the ground.

More yelling and the arriving rescuers suddenly became more victims.

I didn’t even realize I clung to Cain until he murmured, “There’s an access door three yards ahead. Time we got out of the tunnel.”

The door wasn’t locked. Even better, once inside, there was light. Praise be!

Cain paused long enough to crouch and wedge something in the seam between door and floor. On the one hand, it would prevent the monsters from following. On the other….

“No one else will be able to escape this way,” I pointed out.

“Whose life are you more concerned with? Those of people unlikely to make it to this door, or your own?”

Before I could argue that made us selfish, he started up the stairs. Since I wasn’t about to stay behind alone, I trudged after him. Despite the door being blocked, I couldn’t help glancing over my shoulder, convinced I heard the scrape of claws and that the demons had followed. I didn’t realize I was hyperventilating until Cain barked, “Calm yourself.”

“Fuck you! I will not calm down,” I huffed. “I just saw a whole bunch of people getting slaughtered.”

“Don’t tell me you mourn for strangers.”

The callousness had me blurting out, “Have you no empathy?”

“I do, or I wouldn’t risk my life to fight demons. But I also know that falling apart because people died accomplishes nothing.”

“Maybe we should have stayed to fight.”

“We?” He snorted. “Don’t you mean me?”

“I killed a demon,” I reminded.

“By accident. Are you sure you can do it again?”

“Maybe. I don’t know. But you certainly can. You fought like eight of them on your own.”

“Twelve, actually. I had to take care of a few when I moved from my car to yours.”

“Don’t you feel bad leaving, knowing there are more demons coming to finish off those people?”

“Nope. Someone needs to report this infestation so that we can mount a proper team to enter those tunnels and cleanse them.”

“Those people will die before that happens.”

“Yup. But guess what? I value my life more than theirs.”

“That seems kind of selfish.”

He eyed me over his shoulder. “Okay, since you’re Mrs. Altruistic, let’s go back there and you can swap spots with someone. Would that appease?”

“No.” The honest truth. “I don’t want to die.”

“Then stop trying to guilt me into returning to a very dangerous situation and doing something stupid. The brotherhood has few enough reapers as is without me pulling an ill-advised vigilante act. Yes, it’s sad those people won’t survive. However, I have to look at the bigger picture. Every scythe will be needed to cleanse this city of demons lest it become overrun.”

He kept clomping up the stairs, and staring at his broad back, I found myself asking, “How come you were on that subway when shit happened?”

“I was following you.”

He didn’t even deny it. “Following me? Why?”

Cain tossed a glance over his shoulder. “Because while you might want to pretend nothing has changed in your life, it’s obvious something has.”

“Like what? I’ve not pissed off any old ladies who might want to curse me. I didn’t have a near-death experience unless choking on my coffee the other morning counts. I’m not some teenager hitting puberty and inheriting powers. I’m a nobody with boring parents. So why me?” A whiny speech if I ever heard one and yet a culmination of the past few days.

“I don’t know. But I will remind you I offered to take you somewhere to find out. You told me to bugger off,” he pointed out.

“Because the whole thing is insane.”

“For fuck’s sake, would you stop being so goddamned stubborn? It’s a miracle you survived one demon attack, let alone two. Keep pretending this isn’t happening and who knows what will occur when they try to come after you again.”

“What do you mean, come after me? Are you blaming me for this?”

“No. The demons in the tunnel would have likely attacked no matter what. Although it is interesting that of all the routes that pass through daily, they chose the exact train you were riding.”

“This is not my fault,” I grumbled, suddenly finding the energy to stomp past him up to the next landing, which had a service door.

“It might be.”

I paused to nail him with a glare. “Excuse me? Why would you say that?”

He shrugged. “Because it was pretty obvious they were gunning for you.”

“The dozens of other dead people would say otherwise.”

“They died because they were in the way and demons are bloodthirsty. But you were their target.”

“So you do think it’s my fault,” I accused.

“All I know is you’re the common component in these attacks.”

“Says you.”

“Yeah, says me. A guy who knows more about demons than you.”

“I haven’t exactly had time to learn.”

“I offered to take you somewhere to be taught. You refused, but the offer still stands.”

I made a moue of annoyance. “Was this all part of your master plan with Nova?”

“She came to see you?”

“As if you didn’t know, snitch.” I remained salty about it.

“It was my duty to inform her of your existence. I didn’t expect her to go see you herself.”

“Why?”

“The Regina for the sisterhood usually delegates the task of interviewing potential witches to others.”

“Lucky me,” I mumbled.

“What did she say to you?”

“Basically, that I should go to her guild and get tested because she thinks I might be some rare reaper witch.”

“Let me guess, you told her to fuck off.”

“Kind of.” I shrugged. “At the time, she seemed full of shit.”

“And now?”

I held up my no longer glowing hands. “Maybe I should hear what she has to say.”

“Praise be, you’re finally starting to talk some sense.”

“Don’t be a jerk about it,” I snapped.

“That’s priceless coming from your stubborn ass. You just can’t admit you were wrong.”

“Be nice before I change my mind about going,” I said as I slipped through the door into a long hallway that had a few more doors along the middle. I ignored the ones marked Electrical and Communications as I stalked for the door at the end, which had a sign that read: Exit to Street.

Cain suddenly bumped me aside before I could grab the handle. “Let me go first and make sure it’s safe.”

“Go ahead. Better your face eaten than mine.” I crossed my arms as he opened it and peeked out.

He gestured. “Coast is clear, but it won’t be for long. We’ve reached the concourse leading to the platform the subway failed to reach.” He exited, and I poked my head out before joining him in the silent, curving hall lined in tile.

"Where is everyone?"

"Most likely the station shut down when the train came to a stop. No point in people sticking around for a subway that isn’t running."

"Or the demons ate them." My lips turned down as I glanced to the curve that would lead to the stairs going down. The concave mirror that was supposed to show around the bend had been graffitied.

“Doesn’t matter why it’s empty. We have to go before the cops arrive.”

We took off at a rapid pace, turning a corner, only to halt and skedaddle backwards as we saw police officers at the bottom of the stairs leading to the street. They appeared to be donning their bulletproof vests and helmets. Would that be enough to protect them? I had my doubts, but of more concern, “How are we supposed to get past them?”

“Not easily. You’re going to have to get close,” Cain advised, tapping his scythe to shrink it and shoving it into his pocket.

“You want me to get close to them? I’ll be arrested.”

“Not them. You need to get close to me so my cloak can render you invisible,” he muttered as if it were obvious.

“Hide me how? Your coat ain’t that loose, and I might be petite, but not that petite.”

“So long as you’re touching me, the cloak’s invisibility spell will cover you. Stand on my feet facing my chest and wrap your arms around my waist.”

“You’re kidding, right?”

“Are we going to just stand here arguing until the cops show up?”

“This is dumb. It will never work,” I mumbled as I did as told, placing my feet atop his big, booted ones. I tucked my cheek to his chest as my arms went around his solid middle. Now probably wasn’t the time to notice how nice he felt and how good he smelled.

“Ready? Just remember to hold on and stay quiet. I’ll get us out of here.”

I had my doubts, but I gripped him tight as he took an awkward stride. Then another. I felt like a little kid at my aunt’s wedding again. I didn’t know how to dance so my dad had me stand on his feet and held my hands while we swayed.

As we neared the cops, their voices getting louder, I shut my eyes as if it would make a difference.

“…lost touch with the employees sent to check on the stalled train. One person emerged from the tunnel, screaming about smoke everywhere and rats killing people.” A woman’s voice gave the quick briefing.

“I hate rats,” exclaimed a male voice.

“No going into the tunnels until those portable lights arrive. I don’t want anyone accidentally shooting someone.”

I knew that voice. Detective Williams. I stiffened, and to my surprise, Cain put a hand on my back as if to reassure. Given the closeness of the speakers, I expected at any moment to get called out.

To my surprise and relief, we kept moving without issue. The stairs Cain climbed were the most awkward part. When I felt the air indicating we were outside, I moved to disembark, but he whispered, “Not yet. Hold on a little bit longer. There are a lot of people looking.”

I could hear them now that he mentioned it, snippets of conversation from folks wondering what had happened. Most assumed a suicide on the tracks. As the din faded, I waited for Cain to say we were clear.

The rank stench of an alley wrinkled my nose. Surely we were clear now?

“Just a few more seconds,” he murmured.

A strange hum filled the air, and static snapped at strands of my hair. The air got suddenly cold. So very, very cold. And then warm again. The rancid smell disappeared, replaced by that of a pine as if I’d entered a forest.

Despite what he kept saying, I pushed off from him and stumbled to the ground.

Paving stones, to be specific, and not asphalt. I wasn’t in an alley. Or the city, for that matter. I had no idea where the fuck I was because the forest I gazed upon didn’t exist anywhere within walking distance of Toronto.

“Where are we?” I asked, craning upwards to see the trees extended far, far into the sky.

“Welcome to the forumdomus, the guild house for reapers and witches.”

“Wait, what?” I pivoted to ask Cain to clarify, only to end up gaping. My jaw hit the ground hard as I spotted the biggest castle in the distance.

No denying, I wasn’t in Toronto anymore.

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