Sounding the fire alarm cleared the shopping centre within ten minutes. Tora and Markl watched from the top floor the trickling of the last of the security guards and staff. The four floors below each had one Ross standing there, scanning the area. Damien appeared on the second floor, turning his face upwards.

The fire service is ten minutes away. I can probably stall them a little more before they come in, but we'd better get this over with quickly.

Let's hope we can afford that, Tora thought to herself, mentally edging away from the pot of golden liquid swirling enticingly in the corner of her mind. Even if it meant coming home in three separate bags, she sure as hell wasn't touching that thing again.

Markl disappeared with Damien to close the portal, located somewhere in one of the card shops' storage areas. Carlos followed Tora as bid; both swept the second floor in the sports and sports car areas.

"Man, some of these rides are swe-e-e-et!" Carlos said, whistling and eyeing a silver Mercedes revolving slowly on display. "I always fancied myself some flash cars when I'm old enough."

Annoying as he was, his voice was soothing – the one thing that maintained some kind of normality. That was what life was like, filled with Carlos's mundane observations, without Damien's wariness, Markl being unavailable, and Ross wanting to kill her all the time. And without Cyrus and these goddamn demons.

"Hmm, this style is very trendy right now, you know?" He paused to peer at the display glass of another shop, rubbing his chin as he surveyed the hooded sweatshirt. "The brand, the cutting, the colour – so hip right now."

Tora laughed. It was amazing how nothing changed despite all the stuff that had gone to hell. Her heart swelled. The worries she had seemed like yesterday's. She wished this moment could last forever, just her and her friends joking about, taking life not too seriously, enjoying themselves.

Maybe there is hope, after all.

"Tor!"

Tora came to just a little late. With a bellow, a four-legged demon slammed into her side, sending her tumbling sideways and skidding onto the floor. It didn't even hurt; the surprise made it difficult to sink in. Her brain rattled against her skull when she banged against the wall. The surroundings flickered into blackness for a brief moment. As she came to a rest, she looked up, incredulous.

Five demons came cantering round the corner, long-legged, ending in claws, and hairy all over. They were little more than warped furry versions of deer, with horns that grew haphazardly; some skewed to the side, branching without pattern or grace and others corkscrewed almost back into the head from which they grew. Bloodlust burned in their black eyes.

The one that had slammed into Tora, thankfully, didn't have horns that curved forward; otherwise she might have found herself disembowelled before any fighting started.

Carlos wasn't so lucky.

"You ugly mother—" His words were swallowed into a grunt when his assailant thrust its head further, closing the distance between its twisted horns and Carlos's chest. Tora jumped to her feet and swung her leg at it. Her knee crackled. Pain shot up her calf; her ankle spasmed, her toes curling.

The demon stumbled aside far enough for Carlos to deliver several punches to its chest before a powerful kick sent it skidding into oncoming monsters.

"Hell, these things are stupid heavy."

Her right knee throbbed. Tora hoped she hadn't tore a ligament or something ridiculous so early in the game. She hobbled on the spot. The demons surveyed them. Several more were coming down the back stairs.

"C'mon, let's go!" Carlos shimmered out of sight. A cacophony of furious demons approached. Tora eased her breathing as much as she could. The pain started to fade.

Swallowing the alien feeling in her stomach, Tora turned to look behind her and her stomach did a somersault. From seemingly out of nowhere, another group of demons had appeared. She was surrounded.

"Crap." She clenched her fists. Hunger oozed from every one of their pores. Some had stalks twitching atop their antlers.

The sound of the ones behind her indicated they were approaching. This was a terrible place to fight, sandwiched between ugly. Sucking in a breath, Tora flung a telekinetic shield forward to shove the group in front to the side. They skidded a little but didn't open up a space. Spotting a glass bridge to the left between a housing estate and a travel agency, she took the chance, half-hobbling half-running. Screeches echoed behind her, the monsters hot on her heels. She took the turn and skidded to a halt.

She swore under her breath.

More demons.

Growls from behind reached her ears once more.

Her t-shirt stuck to her chest. A quick glance confirmed what she dreaded: no Seeker was in sight. Carlos's yells echoed from at least fifty metres away.

Some of the demons on the bridge had matted fur, as if they had already been through one of the Seekers and just about escaped. Two smoking corpses lay on the floor between them and Tora. She stood over the dead bodies, her heart pounding.

Without startling the creatures, Tora hooked her left foot beneath one of the dead bodies. At least forty pairs of eyes stared at her, watchful of her every move.

She kicked the body forward. Squeals came from the crowd as the heavy lump scattered them like bowling pins. Her right leg twinged, making her wince. She threw a forcefield to the left, forcing the left group to stumble backwards, falling over each other.

Snarling, the remaining group leapt towards her. Tora didn't have time to shield herself. Her hand flew to her face, her other fist slammed into the face of the first oncoming demon. The strain sent a lightning bolt of pain across her head and from her hand up to her shoulder.

The demon's face caved in. Teeth broke off, some embedding in her knuckles and tearing the skin. More pain erupted, making her swear. Blood and bodily fluid sprayed her face and open wounds, leaving a burned smell. The furious creatures behind the forcefield rammed against the wall. She was acutely aware of their bodies slamming against the telekinesis.

Hand throbbing, Tora ducked the next jump and caught the third one by its arm. It clamped its jaws over her flesh. She yelled, fire searing up her previously-uninjured side. Gritting her teeth, she covered her bleeding right hand with telekinesis and smashed it into the demon's stomach. Even with the shield, the impact sent a shudder up to her shoulder. Her heart thumped hard against her ribs. With her breathing increasingly laboured, a fuzz began to settle over her mind.

The monster, little larger than a dog but more leggy, collapsed at her feet. No time to rest. The group of creatures over the glass bridge clamoured over the collapsed creature, shrieking.

Tora's hair fell over her eyes. Grunting, she slapped the strands out of her face. Both arms weighed like lead. Her eyes darted to the ground: a pool of her blood grew as she watched – not that she had much time to come up with poetry for it. Shielding her leg, she slammed her calf into an oncoming monster, forcing it to crash into its neighbours and knocking them off-kilter. Her fist connected squarely with the next wave. She swore and bit her lip. Her telekinesis wavered and her eyes watered, but she swallowed any cries of pain.

Tora's vision flickered. Gritting her teeth, she forced the third wave of demons back, swinging a half-dead thing in her mangled and bloodied hand like a club. She flung it backwards, hearing it hit the group behind with a wet slap.

Her breath came in gasps. Whatever the hell these things are, they're taking the piss, she thought. They're totally ripping me a new one.

They attacked from all sides. It was all she could do to evade the deadly assaults and repel the bloodthirsty monsters. Their bulky physique and unbelievable strength made any chances of annihilating them – by herself, at least – a distant dream. The ground became slippery with her own blood mixed with demon juice. Not a coherent thought could form in her mind aside from the innate instinct to stay alive. Her arms throbbed, a few chunks missing and spurting blood. A heaviness draped over her, a combination of sweat, blood, and fatigue.

At least ten demons lay dead and smoking at her feet, but there was no time to rest. They came in an unforgiving rally, hungrier than a school of piranhas and with more deadly teeth. Her punches became weaker. Each shove were steadily more ineffective and her recovery time lengthened, her reaction sluggish.

Something rammed like a cannonball to her left. Fiery pain coursed down her legs, followed by a gush of thick, hot liquid. Her feet left the ground.

For a delirious moment, Tora wondered if she'd been hit by a car and had wet herself in shock.

Glitter showered over her, reflecting light off its surfaces.

How bloody fancy.

A grey uniform surface came into sight about two metres away, sliding a bit before coming to a standstill. Tingles covered her body. Warmness washed over her in waves.

It wasn't glitter. It was glass. She'd gone through a glass window. A large shard impaled her on the way through. The top half stuck out like a shark's fin atop her stomach, making it hard to breathe. Dark shapes moved through the hole she'd made, leaving tinkling noises in their wake. Tora couldn't close her eyes. Her peripherals darkened but it was all too obvious what was going to happen. She gritted her teeth, determined not to show weakness.

These scumbags won't get the last scream.

Sharp teeth ripped into flesh, tearing into tendons and blood vessels. Hungry growls filled the air. Tora fought back cries as they crushed her bones, adding snaps and cracks to the orchestra of chaos. The agony was like thousands of flaming spears piercing her body, shredding all of her semblances to a human shape. Tears streamed from her eyes. Nausea smothered her in a deadly blanket, swallowing her existence in a maelstrom of pain and despair.

Images flashed before her eyes. She was Tora, and at the same time, she wasn't. Her surroundings were pitch black with a sliver of light at the end. She burst through it. Delicious foreign air filled her nostrils, promising delight and death. Strength filled her to the core, empowering every tendril of her soul. Around her were black shapes, snarling, drooling with bloodlust. She moved with a powerful, purposeful gait, eyes fixated on her target.

She had one task, and that was to bring hell upon this realm.

Her eyes flew open.

Stop.

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