Ash & Flame: Season One (30 page)

He paused at the first shout, stopping to pick out where he’d heard it. He listened, his head canted to one side, until the next cry sounded. Ren’s voice.
There
. He fixed it somewhere up ahead, maybe off to his right.

Running in that direction, Kevin moved by instinct, feeling his boots clomp on the highway. He gripped the pendant and focused on Ren’s panicked cries for his daughter. His hip slammed painfully against something solid and he nearly stumbled, barely keeping his feet. He frowned. Kevin was going to save them both.

Somewhere a switch must have flipped and the storm died out, like it had suddenly had its fill. The reddish haze settled, wafting away on the calm breeze, replaced by an unnatural stillness.

The first thing Kevin saw was the Hellfont. He nearly stopped running, his mouth open in awe. Even miles away still, the great spires towered over everything, like talons stretching out of the earth. The skies were red here, saturated by the dust and whatever else the Grigori had brought with them. He heard a faint hum, vibrating in his ears, and he quickly looked away, afraid of what he might hear.

The second thing he saw was the demon.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Wilson Geiger has been gripped by fantastical worlds not quite our own ever since stumbling upon his father’s copy of
The Fellowship of the Ring
. He has written fantasy and science fiction ever since, and has several published stories in select anthologies. During the day Wilson maintains networks, troubleshoots servers, and fights the good fight against computer illiteracy. Wilson resides in St. Louis, Missouri with his wife, two boys, and a possessive cat. You can find out more about Wilson, including his published works, at
wilsongeiger.com
.