"There's Ross!"

Damien followed the direction of Carlos's finger. Sure enough, sitting one of the remaining standing escalators was the lieutenant, clutching her chest and wheezing. From the pains she was experiencing, Damien guessed she'd suffered a collapsed lung or something.

"Wait!" He grabbed Carlos and yanked him back into their hiding spot again, by the café. The service counter had proved to be a relatively stable and safe area to huddle in whilst the monsters clashed, screeching and screaming. There were so many forms of demons he'd never seen before darting and tearing at each other he'd soon lost track of which was Tora and which was the Shifter.

Judging by their identical ability to become almost any demon and to eat the shadow demons, it seemed Ross was more than right. Tora was a Shifter and she was one of them.

But why on earth was she fighting against him if he was her ally?

He could feel Markl stirring, too. He had to get the team together.

"God, it's like world war three here," said Carlos in awe. The two Shifters had turned into dragons and clashed halfway in the air, their massive wings beating furiously. Debris was tossed around, making Damien squint. He had to duck several times to avoid larger bits of stones soaring towards his head. "If Tora had told us about this, fighting would have been so much more fun."

A figure darted behind the flames. His broad body was unmistakable.

"Markl."

"Where?"

Damien pointed. His back pressed against the side of the lift, Markl took a tentative look at the skies and dived out of the way. One of the dragons crashed onto where he stood moments ago; the metal doors caved in and the glass sides shattered. Markl sprinted across to the solo ticket machines before darting to where Ross sat. He squatted in the shadows.

"I still can't imagine Markl being so butt-naked."

Markl caught Damien's eyes and gestured. Damien nodded and tugged at Carlos.

"Come on!"

They jumped behind the fallen pile of rubble that was the bridge stretching from one end of the station to the other. Peeping round and ensuring both the demons were occupied, they discreetly made their way to Markl and Ross. The station no longer looked part of human civilisation. It strongly reminded Damien of one of his favourite post-apocalyptic films, where humans fought and killed each other for survival and small communities grew bigger only to be ruined by greed.

Except none of those films featured destructive fire-breathing dragons.

Carlos peered outside. Ross sat up, her breathing gradually slowing. She didn't look particularly injured, but Damien knew the psychological trauma by those shadow creatures – that Tora ate – hurt much deeper. She brushed her loosened red hair back with a trembling hand before following Carlos's gaze. Her jaw dropped open.

"What the hell's happening here?"

"Demons," said Markl in a tight voice. Ross made no comment of his nudity. He rubbed his head, a dark look on his face. Damien noticed a mark on his right shoulder for the first time. It looked similar to the medical logo that sometimes featured on ambulances in television series, with two wings and a pair of tails that intertwined, except those tails were very short on Markl.

"Well, one demon and Tora," said Carlos.

Ross looked like she might faint again.

"What?!"

"Yeah, turns out you were right." Carlos's carefree tone made Damien wonder if he actually appreciated the gravity of the situation. "She's a – what did you call it, Markl? A Shifter. She's just turned into a bunch of demons and she's beating the hell out of that blonde guy you saw on the roof. Seems like she's got this under control."

Ross stared at him.

"Did you smack your head just now?" she managed. "She's a demon. I don't care if she's taking grannies across the road or doing a pole dance – she's a killer and we've got to dispose of her!"

She winced and touched the side of her head. The remnants of her deepest memories maintained their after-effects.

"Where are those shadow things anyway? God, they'd better not come near me ever again."

"She ate them."

"She—" Ross closed her eyes and heaved a sigh. "Please tell me you're joking."

"She turned into a dragon after she ate them. Look, she saved me and Damien. We were about to be killed and that other weirdo was saying things like transform, or your friends will die. So she did, and she saved us."

"Look at her." Ross jerked her head. The two dragons encircled each other before diving at each other's throats. "That's a demon there, fighting another demon. It's not human. It's not a Seeker. She's too far gone."

At that moment, one of them caught the other by its claw and tore off several digits. The screech that emanated shook several pieces of cracked glass from their panes.

"We have to take her down."

"For god's sake, man, that's Tora."

"That's a demon and it's going to kill us if we don't kill it first."

"It?" Disgust caused Carlos's voice to rise by several octaves. "That's one of our own and the moment something goes wrong, she's not even a creature anymore?"

"You don't have those doubts when we're killing demons."

"Because they didn't have humanity, ever." Carlos's face darkened with an expression Damien had never seen on him before. "You disgust me, Ross."

Ross hesitated. It seemed Carlos's resolution was giving her doubts.

"She won't return to normal," said Markl from the dark corner. Carlos sagged at his words. "We have to put her down."

"I can't!" Carlos blanched.

"Are you disobeying orders?"

There was a dangerous undertone to Markl's voice. Damien's heart rate picked up as cold sweat broke out.

"No – I – but—" Carlos swallowed. "You said she was one of us, part of the family!"

"She's a Shifter, an enemy of all realms, humankind's included. It is the Lyres' most important task to eliminate them all."

"I thought your most important task was to get hold of the Artefact?" Damien said. Markl's face darkened further, if that was even possible.

"If the Shifters get in the way, then they are to be eliminated."

"But they don't have the Artefact."

"Surely it's more important to use this chance to grab the Artefact now – us four are here," said Ross in a slow voice. "If that's also what the Shifters are after, our best chance is to go now when Tora's occupied with him."

"Tora has to go!"

The heat in Markl's sudden outburst made all three Seekers stare at him. Markl scowled.

"Don't you understand? We're all at risk here. If they get out of this station, numerous humans' lives will be at stake. Do you have any idea how many residents there are above those main street shops, how many people will be arriving for work in two hours' time – and how our existence will be exposed very soon if we don't sort this out?! As a Lyre—"

"But you're not a Lyre, Markl," said Damien quietly. He fought the instinct to cower when Markl turned furious eyes on him.

"What did you say?"

"That demon called you by something else."

"A Sentinel," said Carlos, eyes locked on the leader also. Ross stared between the two lot, confused.

"I don't see what this has to with—"

Markl was cut off by Damien, whose voice grew stronger along with his confidence.

"You're not a Lyre. You said you were demon police, but that other demon called you a Sentinel. I don't know what that is but he also said you're using weapons made by Lyres – but you're not one of them. If you're not demon police, then – then – what part of what you told us is actually true?"

"Are you doubting me?" Markl said, incredulous.

There was silence.

"I'm sorry, Markl, I can't go through with this."

"Me neither," quipped Carlos. "Look, man, no hard feelings, but that's Tor up there. I'm getting her back no matter what. She's one of us."

Ross bit her lip, her fists curled. The turmoil was evident on her face even without Damien's telepathy aiding him.

"Ross?" prompted Markl, his eyes glittering.

"We can't fight two dragons – or whatever they are." She swallowed. "She's a threat, no doubt about that, but—"

Her words were drowned. There was an almighty crash that shook the ground beneath them. All four fell onto their sides. Dust and rubble rained from the skies, bouncing off the escalator above their heads. Damien coughed, eyes smarting and lungs burning.

The dust settled, revealing one of the dragons lying on the shattered remains of one of the waiting shelters. Two fallen decorative lamp posts lay across its tangled legs. The battered wings twitched. Cracked scales peeled off, mixing with the dark pool of blood collecting beneath its body. Each cut and graze became clearer as the sky overhead brightened; day was coming.

The other dragon landed at the crumpled lift opposite, looking equally worse for wear. It wobbled on its stocky legs, a few talons missing from its feet. Blood fell in fat droplets on the cracked concrete. Its huge chest heaved; a small jet of fire danced in front of its jaws with every breath.

"There's your chance now!"

With that, Markl jumped forward, fishing a golden rod from out of nowhere. Bare feet slapped on the ground. Ross followed him almost out of instinct. Damien and Carlos stumbled after, looking terrified. How did Markl know that was Tora? He couldn't kill her. He just couldn't. Even staring up at the massive creature with such a destructive potential, all he could imagine was that lanky dark-haired girl with the bad mouth and endless energy.

The leader approached, waving his weapon around. He yelled, catching Tora's attention. He threw rocks and jeered. She hissed with pain and backed up when they hit the bare bits of flesh that were exposed in her broken armour. Her golden eyes blazed, furious.

Why's Markl playing at being such a... dick bag? That's not how he normally fights...

It's almost like he's trying to get her to react.

Tora sent a blast of fire at him. Ross leapt back with a shout. The flames engulfed Markl, turning the ground around him into charcoal. The heat made Damien squeeze his eyes shut and turn away. When the fire disappeared, Markl was intact, his weapon held in front of him like a wand.

Markl wanted Tora to attack him

Ross appeared as ten copies, the familiar look of immense concentration on her freckled face. Carlos had vanished already. They separated and surrounded Tora, waiting for an opportune moment to strike. Her tail flicked. Despite the reptilian appearance, she looked at them with expectant fascination, as if she was waiting for a performance. It wasn't unlike her usual expression when warming up to fight demons.

She was still there. Damien knew it.

Tora, listen to me.

When he reached his mind out to her, a torrent of animalistic sounds and raw emotions met him.

Tear them... eat them... crush them...

Tora, listen to me! I know you're in there. It's Damien. Your friend – remember?

Kill them all... taste their blood... so good. So good!

Tora! Pull yourself together. Remember us? Seekers? Remember Carlos, Ross, Markl? Your friends!

Demons don't have friends... eat or be eaten, kill or be killed. Allies are for the weak.

She was responding. Relief flooded through Damien like fresh oxygen to lungs.

Remember all the demons we fought? You liked to fight them with your bare fists and you always took your time. You liked being useful. You liked training and the monkey bars.

Carlos was such an ass, being so lazy and goddamn useless... I want to kill him...

Remember what he looks like!

In her warbled mind, a fuzzy outline of a brown-haired human face came to form.

Not human... I'm not human...

You're a Seeker. You're one of us. Family.

Family...

Markl's voice sounded in Damien's head through Tora's.

We can solve this problem as a team. You're family. We've been through worse than this and we've always come out on top.

Markl's face came out of the dark, clear in Tora's mind. He had known she was a Shifter. He'd been watching her all along.

No... I'm a monster.

She was slipping away.

Hang in there, Tora! Damien summoned all of the happy memories he could bring up at that point: the first day they'd played together on those monkey bars; her beating up Carlos when she realised he was peeping on her in the showers; the time she'd left the stove on without realising and Ross had hit the roof; when she'd dived head-first into a toxic demon at a farmhouse and it exploded, covering her in rotten stench that lasted for weeks.

It's okay. It'll be okay. You're such a strong girl. It's okay.

A hollow, racking noise filled the air. The Seekers froze, uncertain. It took Damien a while to realise it was from Tora's demon form. She was laughing.

She sat back, tucking her broken wings by her side. The Tora he knew formed again, full of laughter and mischief. She grinned at him, bearing numerous sharp teeth.

"Watch out!"

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