The Taking (14 page)

How are they breaking through my barrier?
 

I don’t know if it is because I didn’t raise my barrier before the initial demon's touch, or if these demons have some special power to get through it. Even though I feel them draining me, I must keep fighting. Kicking out behind, I send the guilty parties flying backward and hear their thuds as they hit the far wall while I continue to reach out and touch, or stab the demons standing in front.
 

In the background, I can hear the butterfly swords clinging at certain points. At a very quick glance, I see Ben swinging and slashing with his swords. There are several demons surrounding him, just out of reach. I don’t have time to count them, but I know there are many. Unless other demons have fallen, we would have an even number of six demons each to defend off and destroy. As I watch Ben, I see him dash forward with his swords aimed at one of the demons in front of him. While he is distracted, the other demons behind charge to touch him on the back. Instantly, I see the level of energy drop. I hate seeing Ben weakened, but right now I have my own battle to fight. I struggle to remain standing as more demonic hands break through my barrier.
 

Swinging my arms back, I knock the hands off my skin and reach out sideways trying to touch them. A flash of yellow catches my eye, and I look. Cindy is spinning with a Chakram in her hand, blade side facing out. It is keeping the demons away for the moment.
 

A light illuminates the bedroom from the bedside lamp behind her. I gaze into the room and see Ethan is up, his face wearing the look of disturbed sleep. Bare-chested and wearing maroon boxer shorts that hang around his thin hips, he is heading into the area of our battle. His forehead holds a frown while he progresses to the door.
 

Panic surges within as I watch him stop at the doorway leaning momentarily on the doorframe. He would not be able to see us, yet we can certainly see him. He needs to stay in his room or else he will be in the middle of the battle. He glances around the small living space that is currently an invisible battlefield and seems puzzled. It almost appears as though he can sense something is wrong. I know that if he is taking a bathroom trip he will have to pass through us.
 

As Cindy spins, she spots him and inches her way closer keeping her back in his direction. I am trying to make my way over to him, but I am constantly being stopped by more demons blocking the way. Each time I reach out to touch or stab them they just keep out of my grasp. My barrier is penetrated again, and the hands reach out and touch me. This time it was more than a couple, and I lose so much strength that I buckle to my knees.
 

While I am on the floor, I see Ethan step forward. Cindy must have caught sight of it too as her face fills with panic, and she turns to observe. As she does this, she misses seven of the demons moving in on her all placing their hands on her at once. Instantly she crumbles to the floor. They had been waiting for her to be distracted.

“Nooo!” I yell as I struggle to get up.
 

I see Ben trying to fight his way over to her, his butterfly swords gliding through the air. He takes down one demon, then another, but he still cannot make his way to her. I see one of the demons move toward Ethan, its unsightly hands approaching his head.
 

“Nooo!” I yell again.
 

I manage to stand and aggressively advance toward Ethan. With my arms spread wide, I strive to touch any demon that came close enough, but with no flying space and so many around me, they were calculating their moves. They were not like the dead bodies back in Somalia.
 

Ben was fighting harder with his swords, but they were starting to throw black pulses at him because they were having trouble getting past his slashes. He is doing an excellent job dodging the pulses at the same time as keeping up his defences with his swords.
 

They remove their hands and Cindy does not move. I need to see if I can heal her or if it is too late but I cannot get there, and there are other pressing matters. The demon is hovering over Ethan about to touch his head. I can see Ben working hard to get to him, and he is only a couple of meters away when I see several black pulses fired at him from all different directions at once. He dodges most of them but two sink into his skin. His eyes quickly search for mine as he falls to the floor motionless, the swords clattering to the ground.
 

I let out a bellowing groan of protest. I want to go to him and Cindy, yet I also need to run to Ethan before it is too late. Ethan walks into the area slowly with a cautious look in his face, and the demon makes contact, which instantly stops Ethan in his tracks.

Harder, I burrow into my energy, pushing my way near him. There are too many for one angel, but I am not going to give up. Success on this mission means the world to me, and I need to get my friends back to safety if they are still alive. Black pulses are let loose at me, and my barrier stops each one. I cannot understand how this is possible when the hands have been breaking through it. My questions are soon put to rest as several hands approach the places the pulses have hit, and they reach through to touch my skin. I look down to see black holes in my shining protective barrier, just enough space for them to reach their large unsightly hands inside. Their contact hits me. Despite my determination to keep standing and fighting to protect our Innocent, I collapse to the floor. My head hits the carpet, and my vision tunnels quickly. The last thing I see is images of Ben, Ethan and Cindy as everything goes black.

- Chapter Thirteen -

Strange noises surround me as I stare at the inside of my eyelids. The effort to open them is unbearable. Something hard is pressed against my back slightly distanced by the feathers from my wings. I think I am lying down, but I am not sure as my head will not stop spinning. A musty, moist smell fills the air, and the strange noises will not stop. An array of shrieks sounding similar to a cat’s mix with guttural cries. They are not helping this throbbing head recover.
 

As I attempt to piece together my thoughts, I lie still. My head is fuzzy, and I am clueless as to what is happening. Endeavouring to lift my hand to rub my aching head, I find my muscles will not move. My mind traces my memory for an answer. It searches through the clouded darkness until a glimpse of light appears. As it digs to the light, images flash into vision. Cindy then Ben, lying on the ground lifeless, a room full of demons. I gasp — Ethan.
 

Adrenaline pumps through my body. Instantly, my eyes fly open. Natural darkness surrounds me. Using my angel vision I look around and confirm I am lying on my back.
 

The ceiling covers the room a couple of storeys above. It's dark grey making this lacklustre place drearier. Annoying dripping sounds in the background are heard over the continuing loud sounds. As I turn my head, I spot several dark distorted figures of demons surrounding me, motionless except for their casual fluttering of their bat-like wings and their irritating noises. Illuminated red eyes focus unrelenting on me.
 

I begin to fret. My wings.
Please don’t tell me that they have cut my wings.
It is the best feature of being an angel. I try to sit, but I still cannot move.
I guess this answer will have to wait.
Tilting my head to look around further I see a patch of yellow. Cindy.
If I’m alive, she must be too.
She lies motionless. I hang on to hope as I look for any sign of external injury. She is lying flat on her back on the concrete floor, golden yellow wings tucked neatly under her back. Her fitted yellow bodysuit lay intact. I watch the slight rise and fall of her chest and almost smile; I am so pleased to see the movement. Golden locks of hair fall to the floor away from her pale face and her button nose points to the ceiling. The Chakram are missing from around her neck and wrist.
 

Wriggling my fingers on my right side I feel for my dagger against my thigh. It is also missing. As I peer behind her, my eyes fall on the red-eyed demons watching my every move. They line the mundane concrete walls patterned in patches with moss, dark and absent of the green produced by sunlight.

My eyes travel further. Just to the side of Cindy, a light flashing dimly catches in my vision. Moving my head to look at the spot better, I squint to focus and find the charm I created with two female angels flashing, Cindy’s and my angel. Ben’s angel remains dull. It makes sense, as he wouldn’t need warning that he was in trouble. The flash from the charm is showing a royal blue background. I look harder and find Ben with the charm still attached to his fitted long pants.

 
I search the side to check that he is not injured. My eyes glide up his pants, gazing at the skin of his trim torso; happy to see the slight definition of his ribs with the rise and fall of his chest. I continue my search up his arms all the way to his face. His long black eyelashes point downward as his eyelids remain closed. My eyes trace his pointed, perfect sized nose and defined cheekbones, glimpsing over his rounded ear and up to his forehead. His dark brown, almost black hair lay dishevelled framing the olive skin on his face.
 

I long to go to them and see if I can heal them. Even though both Cindy and Ben are unconscious, I am comforted to know that they are near and hopefully will also wake.
 

Tilting my head upside down, I continue looking to see if Ethan is here too. My search is fruitless. I hope that he is safe and untouched, but I do not know and probably will not find out unless I get out of here.
 

A familiar cackle sounds in the room, and I frown wondering where I have heard it before. Searching for the source, my eyes survey every corner of the large room. It seems about the size of a major hotel’s lounge area but severely lacking the extravagancies.
 

The cackle sounds again, and it sends shivers down my spine. My eyes continue to search for the owner of the horrid sound. A strange shuffling sound comes slowly in my direction. Tilting my head forward, I attempt to sit, but my body will not budge. A terrible weakness overwhelms me, and I am not sure if this is the reason I cannot move, or if I am restrained to the floor. Glancing back at Cindy and Ben, I do not see any physical restraints holding them down. It makes me think that the multiple demon contacts must have taken so much of our energy.
 

The shuffling sound is nearly upon me, and the cackle sounds again, louder this time. A faint memory of that horrible sound comes to me. I know where I have heard this sound before and terror seeps into my body while I realise just how much danger we are in. Rotating my head, I gaze in the far right where I think I heard the origin of the echo. My suspicions are confirmed as I see the bandaged head with the one bulging eye approach from around the corner. My body reluctantly stiffens using up much-needed energy. I would not forget that face anywhere. The gatekeeper’s eye falls directly on me, and the spine-chilling chuckle leaves his mouth. I try again to rise and fail. The closer he gets the louder the screeching and guttural sounds become from the surrounding demons.
 

- Chapter Fourteen -

The bristly feet shuffle slowly along the plain concrete floor. I feel so helpless. I am unable to concoct enough energy to do anything. The only movement I have available is to tilt my head and wriggle my fingers. I want to scream in frustration yet I know that will not achieve anything other than waste more energy.
 

Is this how they captured Orange?
I wonder. However, at the clearing in Somalia these demons weren't there, only the gatekeeper and what seemed like the spirit demons controlling the dead bodies.
 

The gatekeeper limps forward using the long stick as a cane. I eye it trying to see if there was anything special about it. All I see is a plain and ordinary stick about the thickness of a good-sized snake. With my angel sight in the dim light, I watch the dark, wrinkly skin sway with each movement. With his head wobbling slightly in consistent jerks, the one eye flicks briefly from me, to Cindy, to Ben; then the dry, cracked lips part into that horrid cackle. Each laugh is the same as the other, producing an unwelcome action from my body. Besides sounding evil, there just seems to be something off about the sound. His tongue lashes around his cracked, dry lips.