Chapter Twenty-Seven

Callum reacted instinctively. Launching himself at Melissa’s prone body, he rolled her down the mound they had been standing on and, to his relief, the action smothered the fire. She came to a stop at the bottom, several metres away, conscious again, and gasping with shock and fright.

‘Melissa! Are you OK?’ Callum shouted, but then he felt the heat of the other demon coming up behind him. He turned to leap out of the way, but the creature’s long, bony fingers grabbed him by the hair and hauled him up. Red flames from the demon’s hellish hands licked at Callum’s hair, igniting it instantly. With a cry, he kicked out at the beast and it released him for a moment. Callum’s hands flew up to his head and batted the fire away desperately, but the demon was rounding on him again.

He saw Melissa run for cover near a ruined wall, but his relief was short-lived, as the two fiery creatures stalked towards him, their eerie, orange glow lighting up the night sky. Callum stared at the demons in terror but then he felt something take over: an odd sense of calm . . . and a word beginning to form in his throat.

‘NO.’

Callum threw himself at one of the creatures, who now looked like a tangle of hair and flame and evil. It felt like he’d grabbed a bucket of hot coals. The force of Callum’s attack knocked the creature into its partner, and Callum rolled away from them, swiping out stray flames, as the two demons scrambled once more to their clawed feet.

Shield, Callum thought . . .

An image of Jacob flying backward in surprise flashed across Callum’s brain. He grabbed at the memory, held out his hands, felt the energy flowing from his body.

One of the demons sprang towards him but then faltered.

Back.

Callum threw his entire being into the shield.

As if in slow motion, the demon jerked backwards, pushed relentlessly by the force of Callum’s invisible barrier.

BACK.

Callum was determined. For the first time ever, he was fully in control of his power, but he didn’t have time to feel pleased; he was focused entirely on the task at hand. Concentrating so hard that he didn’t notice the dozens of small burns on his hands and face, Callum forced the evil creature away. But just as he thought he had the upper hand, the second demon leapt at him. Taken by surprise, Callum was forced into a crouch, desperately trying to hold the two creatures off by extending both hands and trying to create a dome of protection with his shield.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a huge shadow loom over them.

‘Doom!’ Callum cried. He’d never been more thankful to see the huge, nightmarish dog. With one ferocious snarl, Doom sank his teeth into one of the demons and pulled it off. Callum could see Jacob standing a short distance away with Melissa at his side. She seemed to be saying something, but Callum couldn’t quite make it out.

Then he saw it: a tree branch, hovering above the other demon. And, somehow, Melissa was suspending it in the air . . .

It was like a super-charged version of her floating spell with the pencil. Melissa had her hands raised up and, with a sweep of her arms, she sent the branch hurtling down. It smacked into the creature’s back, making it howl, then burst into flames as it bounced away.

‘Callum, get away!’ Melissa shouted. But Callum saw that the demon was distracted, and he seized his opportunity. Flexing his fingers, he almost instantly felt the shift in the power in his palms. Callum raised his hands towards the creature and released the energy that had gathered in them. It slammed into the fiery demon, pulsing around it in bursts. The central core of the bolt seemed to be pinning the demon down on to the ground, while the air around it crackled. The evil creature began to dissolve. It writhed and squealed, but Callum held it fast, the stream of energy from his hands growing broader and stronger as he concentrated. Callum felt a distant thrill of exhilaration, but he didn’t let success distract him from finishing the job.

And a moment later, the thing was gone – blown into the ether.