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“There’s something here,” Rayna said. “I can feel its power. It’s trying to get inside our heads.”

“A spell?” Marcus suggested.

“I’m sorry,” Willy said. His brown eyes returned and they stared at me with sadness. “I didn’t mean it.”

 
“Neither did I…none of us knew what we were saying.”

“I did.” Vincent smiled. His demon was gone, but long fangs still hung from his mouth.

“Of course
you
did, but something else is here. It has the rest of us thinking these thoughts. It wants us to fight amongst ourselves,” Rayna said.

“She’s right. I can feel it pushing against our magic. It's trying to break through,” I said.

Rayna’s eyes darted carefully around the valley. She reached down and unlatched her whip, gripping the handle and letting it unravel to the ground. “Everyone, get behind me.”

We all stepped back at once while Rayna snapped her whip to the ground. The silver claws hit the rocky earth and sparks shot around her. She continued pushing her element together with mine and it swirled around us, shielding everyone from whatever was out there.

Foreign magic splintered our shields and I could feel its anger. Outside our circle of protection, they were fighting back, smashing our power away, one layer at a time.

“It’s breaking through,” I said.

“I know!” Rayna scowled.

The shield shattered and the foreign magic swarmed in. I could feel it around my throat and it made it difficult to breathe. It moved through my head, like sandpaper against my brain, and I winced. Angry thoughts filled my mind and I squeezed the dagger in my hand, turning angry eyes on Willy.

Rayna brought her beast to the surface and managed to keep it in control. She didn’t struggle against its force, but it was the beast looking out of her bright green eyes. She snapped the whip again and smiled. “Gotcha.” She threw the whip forward and the silver tip soared through the air. The claws moved towards a towering rock and when she snapped her wrist back, the whip coiled around what seemed like nothing. The air around the whip blurred for a moment and Rayna pulled back, but there was resistance on the other end. She tugged again with force and power exploded over us. The whip snapped back towards her, and a figure appeared, soaring towards us with Rayna's whip twisted around its neck.

The demonic magic broke, and the angry thoughts vanished. The creature hit the ground and dust shot up around it. Rayna dragged the beast towards her, and it struggled to pull the coil from its neck, but Rayna kept the whip tight, not giving any slack.

We crowded around as the dust settled and the body became visible. White scars decorated slate gray skin. Breasts sagged off its chest and from the waist down was the body of a snake: thick and slimy scales with a rattle flickering at the end of its tail. Red eyes were wide with black veins running through them. Scarred flesh dangled where its eyelids had been chewed off. Pieces of dried skin still hung over one eye and tiny jagged teeth filled its lipless mouth.

“Filthy creaturessss,” it hissed. “Ithreal will have your soulssss!” Its voice was demonic, with a white snake tongue slipping out over its face.

“Wh–, what… is it?” Willy asked, stepping back from the squirming serpent.

“It’s a Visceratti,” Tiki said.

“What the hell’s a Visceratti?”

“They are snake women. They can put the most horrible thoughts into your mind, and as you’ve seen, make themselves invisible. They force their prey to turn on one another and when there are only a few left, the entire nest swarms and eviscerates them.”

“Charming,” Vincent stated.

“That’s not the worst of it. If they get inside your head, you become their puppet. They gain full control over you and your magic.”

“Did you say an entire nest?” Marcus asked.

“That’s right. They travel–” Tiki’s feet flew up into the air and his head smashed against the ground. Everyone drew their weapons, and the sound of swords sliding from their sheaths ricocheted off the stone walls around us.

“Shit. They’re here. All of them,” Rayna said, her beast prowling behind her eyes.
 

Hissing came from every direction, followed by the rattle of a snake about to strike, but they were unseen.

“I can’t see them!” I yelled.

“I can.” Rayna tugged the whip tight against the demon’s throat and pulled out her dagger.

“How do we kill them?” I asked.

“Hurt them to break the invisibility. Cut off the head to kill,” Tiki said.

“Put your shields up; don’t let them in your head,” Marcus shouted.

“Give us our Missssha back,” one hissed.

I turned in a circle, following the voice, but there were only rocks.

Willy yelped as his body was blown back by a solid force, and he crashed against a rock wall. He crumpled to the ground and released a growl. Rolling onto all fours, he pushed his beast to the surface. Brown eyes shifted and became colorless with a single black pupil.

“I can see them.” He spoke with a lisp as his fangs came down from his mouth.

“Where?” I yelled.

“Two, right behind you.”
 

I turned with all the speed I had and swung my sword through the air. Orange blood exploded from nowhere and splattered against the blue and black stones. The demon hissed and her body came into view; a deep gash across her chest had bright orange liquid trickling down her body.

“Marcus, right in front of you!” Rayna yelled.

He sliced the short sword through the air and fire exploded in front of him. A headless body revealed itself as it burst into flames and crumbled to a pile of glowing embers.
 

“To your left, Chase!” Willy yelled.

I ripped my blade through the air. I felt it hit something but the blade stopped. I pushed harder and turned my whole body with the blade until I heard a snap. The demon’s body exploded in flames and more hissing surrounded us.

“Kill them all,” the voices said unanimously. They chanted the words repeatedly, and I followed the voices to my next victim, thrusting my sword into her stomach.

Tiki slashed his claws sporadically, trying to hit anything he could. His body jerked into the air and then smashed into the ground. He tried to get to his feet, but something was holding him down. Claws tore across one of his arms and blood spurted from the wound. He swung his claws forward, trying to break the demon’s hold, but his arm was pushed away and pinned to the ground.

Vincent lunged over Tiki, shifting into his demon form in mid-air. He tackled the transparent creature and tore into her with razor talons. The creature’s magic faded and her tail slapped against the ground as Vincent tore at her throat.

I called my element to life and pulled it around us. A wall of blue flames shot up and a ring of fire encircled us. Hisses followed as the flames caught several Visceratti. As soon as they were visible, I pushed the power over them. The demons caught fire with ease, immersed in blue and silver, and everyone moved towards the ones we could see.

Willy finished his transformation and pounced, bringing two down with his massive claws. His fangs ripped into each of them savagely, leaving smoldering ash behind him as he stalked his next victim.

Rai released a thunderous scream from her tiny beak. Feathers exploded into the air like someone had torn open a pillow. Bright light flickered around her, and in moments, she was a massive version of herself. Four huge wings cut through the air, pushing her higher into the sky. She struck her talons together and lightning flashed, exploding over the ground. Rocks burst into the sky and rained over us. Among the falling rocks was a trio of Visceratti, a hissing song coming from their lips as they hit the ground. Rai dive-bombed to the earth, her huge claws grabbing a handful of demons and pulling them into the navy sky. A blood curdling screech came from her beak, and she tore them to pieces, leaving white and gray ash to snow down from above.

I leapt over the fire and brought my sword down to kill a flaming Visceratti. I cursed as unseen claws ripped through my shirt, catching my shoulder. I swung the sword behind me and hit nothing but air. Claws sliced into my stomach, tearing away strips of flesh. I grunted and arched the blade above my head, bringing it down and stabbing the air in front of me. Orange blood spilled from the snake’s back and I drove the blade through her. Her cries were masked with a hiss and she slithered away, vanishing again with the sword stuck in her gut.

I watched the air closely, as though if I focused I could see her. Her body reappeared, red eyes thick with hunger. She reached down and snapped the blade jutting from her gut and the rest of the sword slipped out her back and clanked against the ground. She was bigger than the other demons, a tarnished silver tiara sitting over matted black hair.

“You dirty half-breedsss. You think Ithreal’sss dagger can sssave you, but you’re no match for his power!” Her body weaved from side to side as she slithered towards me, leaving a thick, viscous fluid behind her. She lunged forward, her tail rattling in the air. Her lipless mouth opened wide and long fangs came towards me. I pulled a dagger from my back and ducked. Her mouth snapped as I slipped away and brought the blade back around, cutting into her tail. Orange blood pooled beneath her as her rattle fell limp to the ground. The demon turned to face me and I jumped towards her, plunging my dagger into her throat. The muscles snapped as the blade sliced through. They rolled under her skin and she screamed. I tore the dagger out and she brought slate gray hands up to cover her throat, trying to hold in the steady flow of blood. I moved behind her and gripped thick, matted hair with my fist, pulling her head back and opening the gash. Her screams turned to gurgles as the blood flooded her throat. I pulled again, using every ounce of strength I had, and her body bent back with me. Her skin tore as I stretched the wound and brought my blade down in a single, swift motion. Her head separated from her body and she lit up in a glow of orange and yellow before all I was holding was a handful of ashes.

“The princesss! She’ssss dead,” one demon shouted.

“You will pay, half-breedsss!” The hisses came from everywhere and the remaining demons slithered away. “Our queen will not be pleasssed.” Some of the demons disappeared into the shadows while others dove under rocks and burrowed into the ground, leaving us with the faint sound of rattles.

“Are they gone?” Tiki asked.

Willy ran towards us, orange blood covering him. A growl rumbled between his black wolf lips and colorless wolf eyes looked up at me.

“They’re gone,” Rayna said, gasping for air.

“Strange. I’ve never heard of a creature that could see a Visceratti,” Tiki said. “Their bodies are frail, but their magic is strong.”

“Thanks for the heads up on those.” I slipped the dagger back into its sheath and picked up my sword. The blade was split in half and what was left was bent and mangled.

“They are not supposed to be here. They are not from this world and they would not have come by choice. Nobody comes here by choice. Someone knew we were coming. I fear we may be unequipped to handle this.”

“I second that.” Vincent raised a once pale hand, now stained with dried orange blood. “We should leave.”

“We’re not stopping. We need to destroy the ring.”

“Tiki makes a good point.” Marcus slid his blade into its sheath. “We got lucky, but there are still vampires and who knows what else out there. We aren’t prepared for this.”

“Did I mention I agree?” Vincent chimed in.

I glared at Vincent and turned to Marcus. “Let me rephrase this.
I
need to destroy the ring, so
I’m
not leaving. If you need to go, I understand, but I can’t stop.”

“Don’t be foolish,” Marcus said.

I looked around until I found the blue moon and started walking. I threw my broken sword into a pile of shattered rocks and footsteps trampled up beside me. Rayna watched me with intensity as she coiled her whip and latched it to her hip. Orange blood had stained her shirt, and there was a single tear in the fabric near the bottom, drying blood coloring the open gash around the wound.

“Are you–”

“I'm fine,” she said.
 

More footsteps came and Tiki’s sandaled feet walked over the rocks with ease. Willy ran up beside us. His shirt was gone, revealing an overly hairy upper body. His pants were on, but completely torn along both sides.

Marcus sighed. “Let’s go.”

“So, on we go then. Wonderful,” Vincent said.

Chapter 28

Thankfully, Willy’s torn pants were salvaged enough to cover the necessities. We’d come to a rocky wall that had forced us to climb, and the last thing I wanted was Willy’s naked butt above me. Rai soared over us, her voice screeching into the sky. The sound made me wince, but as I pulled myself to the top of the wall, I saw what she was excited about.

The large blue moon was partially masked behind a massive stone pyramid only a few miles away. We were nearly there.

I helped the others as they reached the top and everyone was happy to know we didn’t have to climb down the other side. We were on level ground now, and the landscape had changed.