We were doomed. 

I could see no way out of the situation we'd gotten ourselves into; or rather the situation The Oracle had gotten us into. But I couldn't find it in myself to be angry at her: we'd got what we came for and now it was just our turn to deal with the consequences. 

Although at this rate, everything would have been in vain. Those blades had our names written all over them. 

Dev and I stood back to back in the centre of the hall, facing the killer monks as they made their way towards us. They were particularly slow and a part of me was tempted to rush forward and take them face on, but those horrible knives kept me away: I would be no use to anyone if I was in utter agony. 

Dev threw a fireball at one of the monks to his side, but the only thing that caught alight was the dingy robe and the figure continued on now only a walking bundle of bones. I tried using a bolt of electricity on one too but the same thing happened again. It was like these things were invincible. 

And they were all laughing. Every single one of them. High-pitched, cold, merciless cackles filled the room and echoed throughout the tomb, goading us, taunting us, reminding us that we were here to die. 

"Roman...what the hell are we going to do? They're invincible!" 

"It's just those knives," I said angrily, throwing another pointless fireball. "If we could get them away..." 

I stopped mid-sentence. That had given me an idea. A risky, possibly suicidal idea. But it was the only solution I could think of. 

My plan was something a warrior demon was only allowed to do in the most desperate of situations, but I think the pressing massacre by a group of un-dead monks counted as one of those times. 

Each of us had another ability other than the mastery of both fire and electricity. It was gift we were meant to keep secret and exposure led to ridicule, which is what had happened recently to one of my colleagues after he started floating in mid-air randomly. I'd managed to keep mine on the low down but it looked like now I would have to reveal myself, which was ironic, considering what my ability was. 

I sighed. It was another secret I would have to trust Dev with, and it felt unwise to share as much information as I had with one individual. But I didn't have a choice. They were closing in on us. 

I blinked three times and took a step forward. The laughter in the room suddenly stopped and an eerie silence began as the monks ceased their attack momentarily. 

"Roman? Roman?" Dev cursed, looking around frantically. "Where the fuck are you?"

I rolled my eyes and smothered a laugh. Clearly Dev had not been expecting me whatsoever to suddenly turn invisible, and I was a second away from taking a photo of his hilarious expression, which was a mix between puzzled distraught and panic. But I couldn't mess around. I had work to do. 

"No matter," the head monk sneered. "One demon is still enough to quench our thirst!" 

They started again, but by that time I had snuck around Dev and was facing three monks who were essentially blocking our exit. Their knives weren't raised very high and they weren't expecting anything. It was the perfect time to attack.

I put all the force I could possibly muster into my legs and I sprung myself off the ground, propelling my body so that my feet blasted into the middle monk's chest. He fell back with a thud and I landed next to him and wrenched the clenched fist holding the sword away from the body. The bones cracked with a sickening crunch and I plunged the glinting knife into its decaying ribs. 

The demon cleavers were clearly dangerous to all supernatural beings, as the skeleton turned to dust as soon as the blade touched it. The other monks let out a blood curdling howl as its body disintegrated and the leader started to snarl in fury. "Who did this?" 

My invisibility had become more powerful over the years so that now whenever I held something, it disappeared into thin air too. And that was how I got the opportunity to stab the two monks either side in the back. 

As soon as they turned to dust the rest of them went from releasing howls of pain to screams of fury. Dev had frozen in the centre of the huddle, looking awestruck at the events unfolding in front of him. He needed to move. Now. 

I blinked three times and reappeared. "Dev!" I yelled over the screaming. "Run!" 

He didn't need any more instruction. He bolted towards the opening I had created and had almost reached me when I heard that sinister creaking sound over the roaring noise. 

"Not so fast, demon," the head monk hissed, and I watched in horror as he lobbed his blade with a nasty crack straight towards Dev's retreating form. 

As soon as he reached me, he let out a cry of utter agony as the blade embedded itself in his left calf. He collapsed into my arms and I was forced to yank the knife out of his leg as he continued to wail in pain. I threw him over my shoulder and ran as quickly as I could away from the killer monks.

The screams followed us out of the hall. I stumbled and almost fell a couple of times. Dev was heavy and his constant cries were making it hard to concentrate, but then the door we had broken into to get here appeared in front of us. I made a dash for the smell of fresh air and as soon as we cleared the catacombs that could've been our eternal tomb, I shifted. 

My L.A apartment was pitch black when we landed in the living-room. I laid Dev face down on the marble floor and went in search for the light switch and a first-aid kit. I wasn't so sure Dev would be able to heal himself that easily, as the wound had come from a supernatural weapon. 

He was groaning and writhing madly when I walked back over to him, and I got my first proper look at the wound. It wasn't a pretty sight but it could've been a lot worse. The cut wasn't as deep as I thought it would be, so it seemed that it was purely the magical element of the knife causing the majority of the pain.  

"Calm down," I said in a soothing voice, placing a restraining hand on his lower back. He did stop slightly but I knew I wouldn't be able to put in stitches with the amount he was moving. "Have you tried healing yourself?" 

"Yes," he said in-between strained groans of pain. "But ah...it only...ah!...works a bit." 

I nodded, trying to keep my voice gentle and warm. "Right, I'm going to clean the wound and bandage it up, and I want you to keep trying to heal yourself." 

"Okay," he gasped out. 

I soaked a cotton ball in the antiseptic and started to tentatively dab the wound. Despite the care I took with it, Dev's moans continued to grow in intensity and he started to writhe madly again. I put more force into my other arm to keep him still and I tried to calm him down again, but it wasn't really working. I'd never seen the guy like this before, and it was starting to worry me. What even was that blade? 

I finished cleaning it and got the bandages, giving the wound three dressings to give him some sort of support. I picked him up and took him to one of the guest rooms, sitting him up on the bed. 

"I'm going to get you some pain meds and water. Don't move an inch." 

He nodded as I left the room, his face still twisted in pain. But the groaning had ceased slightly which was at least a small sign he was getting better. 

As I came back to him he gratefully accepted the pills and downed the water with them. I took the glass away from him and came back over. "Sleep here tonight and I'll check on you in the morning. Remember to keep trying to heal yourself." 

He nodded, and I was about to turn away and go before he stopped me. 

"Thank you, Roman, for looking after me," he said in a strangely sincere tone, and I almost jumped back in surprise as he folded his arms around my torso and pulled me in for a hug. I felt stunned. Demons never showed affection. Not any of them. I rarely even got a handshake from most, let alone a hug. Dev must've really been in pain. 

After I got out of my initial astonishment, I returned the hug and stayed with him for a few moments before he moved wordlessly to a sleeping position on his stomach, closing his eyes almost immediately. 

I stared at him a few seconds more, still absolutely shocked, before I snapped myself out of the surprise and left my confusion and, admittedly, my feelings of flattery behind.