We sprinted down the main road, with the Pit Demons hot on our tails. From Grimstrom’s reaction in the carpark, the Demons weren’t our major issue. It was whatever the fuck those Shadar things were. On my occasional backward glances I couldn’t see them anywhere. I could see the Demons slowly gaining on us because I wasn’t fast enough. I shouted to my friends. “Run ahead! I’ll keep up I promise.”

“We’ll not leave you Clive. We run together.”

“I’m not fast enough, I’ll have to use Neuma.”

“Ah, of course,” Sania replied. Grimstrom looked confused, but as Sania increased her pace once more, so did he.

Once they pulled away a little, I concentrated on my core to boost myself into the air. I found it way harder to access than it had been on Falritas, and I suddenly found myself wishing that I’d checked this out before I sent my two companions away. Because I was concentrating on something other than a headlong sprint, I began to slow.

It became a very close-run thing between propelling myself from the ground and being caught. A pit demon's claws raked my back just as I sent myself skyward. Thankfully, it made little difference to my escape as I soared over head of Sania and Grimstrom. Sania had to leap over an oncoming car, that swerved to one side to avoid her. I felt a pang of guilt cutting through the adrenaline, as the marauding Demons made no effort to avoid cars and anyone unfortunate enough to still be on the street. There were clear casualties, but if we had remained in the retail park and fought there would have been a lot more. I had to strengthen my resolve. Leading them away had been the best option.

“I’m fine!” I shouted down to them. “Go faster if you can.”

They both acknowledged my words by speeding up notably. Satisfied that they were likely to stretch out a lead over our pursuers, I focused on my meridians to maintain my flight. Using one at a time, like giant walking sticks I moved through the air at a slowly decreasing altitude. I was well in front now, so I took a moment to look back.

They had gained enough breathing space from the marauding demons to be comfortable, but as I prepared for another boost of height from my core. I spotted an elderly couple walking down the street toward the oncoming destruction. They moved slowly, the lady focused on supporting her husband as best she could while he tottered uncertainly, waving a white stick in small arcs along his path.

“Ah fuck,” I groaned. “I’d seen it now, and these two poor fuckers were dead if I didn’t do anything about it. I landed nearby, raced over to them, dropping to a knee.

“Sorry about this. You’ll die if you stay here,” I said as I grabbed them as gently as I could around their waists and ran with them both to the nearest turnoff.

As I moved, I made sure to warn Sania through the bond to keep going on the path we’d taken from my flat. And to not follow me.

My two charges screamed pathetically as I ran, the old man whacking me repeatedly with his stick. When I put them down in relative safety, the old git tried to hit me with the stick again.

“You little fucking prick! When my boy hears about this, he’ll hunt you down and break yer bastard legs!”

I smiled as I took to the air once more, to the sound track of the old man’s threats. ‘Ah, the thin veneer of civilization in the city I once called home.’

Once airborne, I made to quickly catch up with my two companions. As I came in close, I spotted movement in the shadows to the right of Sania. I did a double take as there was nothing there, but as I was about to look away and dismiss it, the shadow itself jumped out and struck at her.

She fell in a screaming heap as they and the Shadar thankfully left her and focused on Grimstrom, not appreciating the bundle of Clive coming its way. I shouted to Grimstrom who turned, immediately took everything in producing an epic ball of crackling darkness. It slowed, but only a little. The ball of darkness seeming to have surprisingly little effect on the Shadar.

Instead of controlling my descent toward the fight, I brought up my right hand to send out a tendril of golden Neuma at it. It struck the creature having a far more dramatic effect than Grimstrom’s power as the shadow creature screeched an unearthly noise, and staggered, injured to one side before dissolving into the shadow of a building.

I managed to slow my descent marginally and land on my feet, close to Sania, about to help her up when I was by a Shadar. A deep icy feeling shot through my body, and despite the massive constitution I had, I still felt the strength leave my knees as I dropped to the ground in pain.

I heard it hiss in pain as a one of Grimstrom’s balls of darkness hit it, followed by a second in quick succession pushing it away from me, as he approached, smoky black axe materializing in his hands as he approached.

As he swung at it, the second Shadar reappeared and hit me again as I tried to rise. This second attack deepened the bone deep cold that paralyzed my body and I fell forward onto my face. Only my mind worked now, and I made an attempt at creating a tendril of Neuma to help as Grimstrom faced off against the two deadly enemies alone. It didn’t work, but I had no time to dwell on it as Grimstrom took a blow and dropped down to one knee.

Despite only seconds having passed since the first Shadar had attacked Sania, I knew the other demons were about to join the party if I didn’t do something quick. I flooded my body with Neuma, which I was still able to do. The numbness quickly vanishing from my body. I told Sania to do the same while shooting out a tendril of Neuma to hit the nearest Shadar. This time the attack was telling, and it fell in to a shadowy pool on the ground with a piercing shriek. The second Shadar, scored a second hit on Grimstrom as this occurred, which caused the powerful dwarf to fall over to one side completely frozen up.

As it turned toward me, Sania appeared at my side but facing behind me.

“Incoming Clive.”

I ignored her to focus on the battle ahead, sending another tendril into the approaching barely perceptible face of the Shadar. It too went down into a puddle of shrieking shadow and like its partner, began slowly slithering back to the nearest available natural shadow.

“Run,” I yelled at Sania, while I lashed the two puddles with sliver of Neuma stopping them forever. I didn’t stop to consider the victory as in my next move I gripped the drooling Grimstrom by his belt and launched myself into the air. Only to be hit with a huge weapon in the back at a bout ten feet up.

It caused the kind of damage that could only be caused by an ascension weapon, and Grimstrom and I smashed back into the ground.

I rolled to the side, wanting to heal myself, but not knowing what was approaching from behind. A dark, glowing hand from Grimstrom pulled me violently back as a fiery glaive crashed into the ground where I’d been headed. The pit demon above me growled raising its glaive again when Sania came from seemingly nowhere and slashed at its neck. She landed on the ground and rolling then dodging an attack from the next demon to arrive.

“It’s only a few minutes from my house. Run again,” I shouted.

We backed off first. I hit one of the pit demons in the chest with Neuma as Grimstrom’s own ball of black crackling energy smashed into the same one. It went down permanently from the double dose, falling in front of the second and giving us the chance to run once more.

“I’ll fly again, don’t wait,” I screamed, then dug back into my core for the power I needed. I briefly acknowledged that my core had shrunk. Then dismissed the concern. That was the least of my problems.

Once in the air and on my upward arc, I pushed Neuma into the wound in my back, managing to focus on keeping aloft just in time, with another push from my core.

As I looked down to where my companions ran, I noticed they were both substantially slower than they had been previously, and the closest pit demon was hot on their heels. I had to use my meridians again to attack instead of guiding my flight hitting the nearest demon. Unsure if one attack would kill it even with a head or chest shot, I aimed for its leading knee. It went down hard and would have been funny if it wasn’t for the situation.

Grimstrom turned and smashed it in the face with one of his own blasts of power and I added another shot to its head finishing it off.

Grimstrom and Sania continued their escape and I reached for my core once more and pushed to give myself more altitude. The energy seemed to falter a little and I only gained half of the height of my previous jumps.

It appeared that Nuema fatigue had arrived without the Notification. Knowing that I would have very limited use before it became inaccessible, I didn’t attempt to keep myself in the air. Instead, landing a few feet in front of Sania and Grimstrom and re-joined the footrace to freedom. If I had to use further energy, it would have to be in a weaponized form.

“Were not gonna make it, lad.” Grimstrom said as we approached my home.

“Can we beat these last three?” I replied. “Though, I barely have any energy left.

“A reckon it’ll be painful, but aye, we can do it.”

“Clive, watch out!” Sania yelled and I dove to my left as wicked burning spear narrowly avoided me. Rolling back to my feet, I deflected the follow up thrust with my demon arm. It cut deep, but I stood my ground and returned a Neuma coated right hook of the golden variety into the pit demon's ribs. I heard a satisfied crunching with the impact, then tried to dive back as the second demon of the three slashed at me with a glowing axe. I hadn’t managed to jump back far enough, but another axe partially shrouded in darkness caught the blow. Grimstrom had saved my ass again.

I turned to the dwarf to see he was fully shrouded in darkness and moving about five times faster than he had any right to be.

He killed the demon I’d injured and deflected another blow from the second demon. Slicing though its arm with before doing the same to its right knee in a blur of movement. The demon went down at the same time as the shroud of darkness vanished the axe and his body. He sagged visibly as he attempted to finish it off. I wanted to help, but Sania was currently avoiding blows from the remaining demon without any answer to attack back. She was tiring too, form the running battle and most likely the after effects of the Shadar’s attack. As I took in the scene she staggered. The demon altered his sweeping blow and there was no way she was going to avoid it.

Panic surged in me and started running to help, striking out desperately with a tendril from my golden meridian. It made it half way across the distance before faltering and snapping out of existence. As it disappeared I was hit with the now familiar wrenching ache in my abdomen. Neuma exhaustion.

I kept moving toward her as fast as I could, but it wasn’t going to be fast enough. My eyes filled with horror as the axe continued towards her what would surely be a killing blow and there was nothing I could do about it.

A mighty, crashing, honking, sound filled the air and to my disbelief the axe missed her.

The demon fell to the ground and though it was still alive, that only lasted for a few seconds as both Sania and Grimstrom jumped on it and proceeded to beat ten pails of shit out of it the old-fashioned way. Fists and Feet.

I barely watched them. My attention was on the demon’s undoing. A white Transit van with a crushed front end, smoke billowing from the bonnet. Despite the smoke, I could still make out a very white-faced Joel beating down an airbag.

I ran over to haul him and Lierin from the van. Thankfully, they were both uninjured. Just shaken. They’d both been very lucky not to have been crushed in the impact.

“You fucking beauty,” I said gripping the crazy bastard in a crushing hug. I only released him when he began coughing.

Then I hugged Sania with relief as we all stood there panting. Grimstrom had the nerve to have a smile on his face.

“That was special. I’ll remember it for the rest of my years. We shouldn’t be walking away from that.”

“We very nearly weren’t,” I said looking around at the carnage. “I think it’s probably time we got the hell out of here, too.