Emblems

Chapter 10: Stop and Stare

Chapter 10: Stop and Stare

BUT, LIKE SOMEONE HAD PRESSED “pause” on a video, the shapes jolted to a stop in midair. He recognised the silver flash from Robert’s broadsword, and the bird-shaped silhouette disappeared, wisps of black barely visible against the night sky. “Hurry up!” Calida called. The figures fell slightly and Daniel felt his stomach drop with them. They righted themselves, though, and turned to whizz towards them.

The four of them tumbled into the bus, a mess of blades and bleeding limbs. Daniel staggered to the front and put a hand on their temporary driver’s shoulder. Step on the accelerator and get us out of here. He slipped his orders through the cracks in the man’s mind, not forcing his consciousness through – he wouldn’t let his magic do that. It was simply a higher level of persuasion. Then they were off, leaving the mess of shadows behind them. You saw nothing tonight, just a bunch of drunk teenagers who’ll disappear tomorrow. Don’t talk to them.

Yet, the remaining Demons didn’t give up. With the howls of the amaroks as their war cry, they gave chase. We’ll just have to pray that they don’t catch up, or we’ll be— Something thudded into the side of the bus. “Shit,” Daniel cursed and another round of projectiles shattered the windows of the bus, making the way for the next wave.

Daniel tackled Amber behind a row of seats and yelled, “Get down!” The other two hit the deck as the spines landed in the shower of glass shards. He saw that they were metal, but coloured a flat black at the sharp ends.

Amber looked at him with stormy grey eyes. Giving her a weak smile, he got off her supine form, leaving a bloodstain on her shirt, and said, “I’ve got your back.” She nodded, and he followed her gaze to the spines sticking out of the floor. “They’re poisonous. Don't let any hit you, okay?” She nodded again, eyes still fixed on it.

Crouched between two rows of bus seats, Robert took something out of the pouch at his side. Daniel met his gaze and nodded. The boy took a deep breath, wincing slightly as he tried to straighten. Blood dyed his thigh red. Flapping could be heard now, along with the roar of a provoked lion. Robert seemed to count silently to himself while another round of deadly projectiles thudded into the bus.

And then Robert was shooting up from his crouch and the fingers of his large hands clenched and released. Another roar shook the night, but this time less angry and more of a scream of agony. The flapping sounds stopped completely.

Faster! Drive towards Washington, D.C., Daniel told the bus driver, who complied instantly. That should’ve worried him, but he supposed he was past that point already. With one foot, he swept the dangerous spines to the other corner of the bus as they disintergrated slowly. Then Daniel flopped onto the row of seats, taking up all the space as Amber looked at him, her eyes distant, but a touch of something shone through that almost made him smile. He touched his side, where blood was seeping through the fabric of his shirt. “Calida?” he called. “I don’t suppose you have the energy to do a little healing for all of us?”

A groan of pain was his only answer. “She’s, uh, a little busy right now,” Robert replied instead. “I think she should heal herself first, or she’ll be the first to die.”

“Calida?” Amber asked as she helped him get off the seats and hobble to the girl’s side, glass crunching under their feet. “What happened?”