“Bravo!” Bastian yelled. “Nine point nine six!”
She stuck her tongue out at her brother and walked out of the way.
“Ben, you’re up!” Ellie pointed to her brother with a huge grin.
Ever since we got him home a week and a half ago, he’d absolutely blossomed. He listened, he did his chores, he did his homework, he was always ready and dressed for school on time. Once or twice I’d caught him just sitting in his doorway, smiling and reading a book. He’d already scored a 90 on a spelling test he only had one day to study for. Wren was thrilled, personally and professionally, and was writing an observation paper on him.
His Cars-themed gotcha party had been yesterday, and we were just burning off the extra energy the kids had at the park today. They’d been bouncy all day, so we just grabbed everyone and found a playset.
“Ready, man?” Ellie was in place to catch him whatever happened.
Lincoln and Bastian snuck up on me and poked my sides. I screamed and missed the push, but Ben was ready anyway. He twisted and leapt off at the top of the swing and sailed into the air. I could see he was going for the full 360 to land facing his sister.
The rip that sounded through the air tossed us all to the ground—with the exception of Ben who was snatched out of midair by a massive red hand with deadly claws on the tips.
I forced myself up off the ground even though I felt like I’d just been hit by a speed steamroller. Ben was screaming, and there was a quivering black line in the air above us, desperately trying to seal itself.
Glancing around, I followed the sound of Ben’s screams to a massive black and red creature that looked like some sort of…well. It looked like the rancor from Return of the Jedi. It lopped around on three legs, holding Ben tightly in its fist.
“What the fuck is that?” Bastian gasped, holding his arms over his stomach.
“I have no Goddamn idea.” I glanced back at Ellie and she was crawling to her feet. “But it’s not good, and it’s got Ben.” I moved myself as quickly as possible over to where she and the twins were trying to get themselves together.
“Get up, come on,” I said, wrapping my arm around her waist. “Come on, get the twins over to Wren.”
“Where’s Ben?”
“Get the twins to Wren!” I snapped.
The rancor-ish thing roared and Ellie whipped around, her eyes going wide as she did. There was a dark, strange flash around us, and when the light came back, Ellie was holding her flameblade and her wings were folded back against her.
Wren was suddenly there, her anjir blade in hand, wrapping her free arm around the twins and pulling them back. “Go, Ellie, go!”
Bastian and Lincoln were there next. Lincoln with his anjir blade and Bastian with his rifle.
“Where the hell did that come from?” I snapped.
“Same place as the swords.” He shrugged. “I’m better with the gun.”
“Will a gun kill a demon?” Lincoln asked.
“Dunno.”
“Ellie’s going to need help,” I said.
Wren looked at the three of us. “I’m going. Stay here. Protect those two.”
“Temperance!” I barked the name, but she was already halfway to where Ellie was standing, sword raised and blazing in the growing sunset.
“Hell,” Lincoln swore.
Wren side-stepped to the right of Ellie, her sword low. The demon growled at her, and then at Ellie and then snapped it’s jaws at Ben. From what I could see, Ben was frozen in fear, and he wasn’t going to be able to take part in his own rescue.
The creature grabbed for Ellie and she jumped back, but brought the sword up to swipe at it. As it was focused on her, I saw Wren stab it in the hind quarters.
It turned around and snapped at her, just as Ben seemed to come out of his stupor and scream at the top of his lungs.
Ellie took the opportunity to slash down the flank and stab it in the foot—but it turned back in time to snap at her, and grab the blade. She was stuck for a second, then got yanked up off the ground with the sword.
“Turn it,” Wren called. “Push it in!”
Wings snapping out to stabilize herself, Ellie adjusted on the sword and pushed forward, turning. The blade slipped between the creature’s teeth and found contact on the roof of its mouth.
Screaming, it dropped its jaw and lunged for Ellie again, but this time, Ellie wasn’t there. She was above the thing, her wings hovering her there, while it whipped around at Wren and started to lunge again.
“Call Miriam,” Bastian said. “Call Laxmi. Call someone!”
Lincoln had his phone out, and I groaned. They needed help, and they needed help now. I didn’t even know if the texts and phone calls were going to be enough, because as I watched, the thing swept down at Wren and took her feet out from under her.
I reached back and with the intent that Lily had told us we needed, I pulled my own anjir blade out from behind me.
“What are you doing?” Bastian gasped.
“Someone has to help.” I stood and got ready to run over to them.
Before I could take a step, and to all of our complete horror, Tim shot forward out of Lincoln’s grip and grabbed the sword. He ran as fast as he could away from us, toward the creature, holding the weapon like it weighed nothing.
“Oh my God,” Lincoln yelled. “Timothy, come back here!”
He started to stand and give chase when there was another rip followed by a deafening bang, and both Miriam and Laxmi stood there in full versilange regalia.
Miriam put a hand on Lincoln’s shoulder to keep him from running, while Laxmi ran into the fight that was getting slightly out of hand.
“Let him go,” Miriam said. “We won’t let anything happen to him.”
“He’s seven!” Linc snapped.
“He’s versilange,” she replied. “Even if he hasn’t been called yet.”
“Miriam!” I barked. “Stop being mystical! He’s a child! Versilange or not!”
“Watch.”
I hadn’t stopped watching. Lincoln was riveted and Bastian clutched Tabitha to him as they watched as well.
Wren had pulled Timothy close to her, and they were…glowing? A pale white blue color, faint, that shimmered and danced around them like a hologram.
“They looked like force-ghosts,” Bits whispered, and glanced back at Bastian. “Like Obi-Wan.”
He nodded. “They do…”
And glancing over at Laxmi, who was next to Ellie, there was a faint red glow around them, dancing just like the blue around Wren and Tim.
“What the hell…” Bastian whispered.
“What is that thing?” I asked.
Miriam had her flameblade at the ready, but she was clearly there to protect us from the fall out. “It’s a reekail, a pit demon. Set it on something, and it will do whatever it takes to capture it and return back to the pit.”
“Not with my son,” Lincoln growled, and started to stand.
“Hold on, Linc.” Miriam pushed him back down. “Always such a damn hot head.”
Ellie and Laxmi were constantly poking at the thing…reekail. Whatever. Poking and slashing and trying to get it to do something that would give Ellie, and possibly Tim, the chance to get Ben free of its hand. But it seemed the damn thing was a master of being able to split its attention two ways, and had a hide as thick as the foundation of Philadelphia’s City Hall.