“Do it!” she growled. I’d never heard her take that tone with her little brother.
The man’s eyes darted to the youngest Ryel, his head unmoving. It was unnatural, frightening. Bex slowly walked to the wall, wary of the pair of eyes that studied his every move.
I pulled my infant daughter closer to me, turning slightly so that my shoulder was in a position to protect her. I didn’t notice the movement until I realized it had drawn the man’s attention back to us.
“Desecration,” the man breathed. His was more of a hiss than a voice. “Even more than your father.”
“Do not speak to her,” Jared said, his tone low and terrifying.
Ryan looked to Claire. He was confused and worried, but he didn’t move.
The man took another step.
Jared stood, and lifted his hand, pointing at the black-haired man. “She belongs to Him. You can’t touch her. You may kill us all, but He’s commanded that she live.”
The man took in a deep breath through his nose, his eyes rolling back into his head. His lids shuttered, and then popped open, focusing on the baby. When he spoke, his voice was many; distant and loud simultaneously. “If you’ve noticed, I quite enjoy doing things He forbids.”
“Should I shoot?” Ryan whispered out of the corner of his mouth.
“No,” Claire said, her voice strained. “Don’t move.”
Ryan frowned, clearly unsettled. “What is it?”
“The Devil,” Bex said.
The man’s pupils bled into the whites of his eyes, the darkness inside them glistening from the light of the fire outside. He took another step.
A large vein bulged from his pasty forehead as his calculating eyes targeted my daughter.
Jared didn’t wait for him to take another step. He charged, stopping abruptly when the Devil grabbed him by the throat. Claire immediately reacted, attacking him with astounding speed. Her small body flew against the wall, and Ryan reacted.
She held up hand. “Don’t,” she said, standing.
Jared managed to pull free, and then he attacked him again with a series of punches. They traded blows, and suddenly Jared was struck to the ground. Claire rushed Satan again, but she was blown back, this time held by an unseen force high against the wall. She screamed in agony as dozens of deep, bloody gashes formed across her face, neck and body. Blood oozed from her wounds and down the front of her clothes, dripping from her shoes onto the floor beneath her.
“No!” Ryan yelled, raising his weapon.
Bex reluctantly stopped him.
Ryan grabbed Bex’s collar. “Help her!”
Jared crawled to all fours, and then attacked the King of Hell again. He groaned and grunted with each heavy blow Satan dealt him, and soon he was overpowered, and thrown to the floor. The man in white jerked his hand, commanding Jared’s body against the wall under Claire. Her blood flowed from her wounds and dripped in a steady stream onto her brother’s shoulder.
Claire closed her eyes, her lids fluttering. “Help us,” she whispered. “Don’t you see? Help us,” she begged.
The Devil took another step. He was just a few feet from my makeshift bed. I held my daughter’s tiny head in the crook of my neck and touched my lips to her white, wispy hair. She smelled like her father, but softer; more pure. I looked up at her assassin from under my brow, terrified and hopeless; cowering in his presence.
Jared took off once again, his form obscured by the speed. They crashed together, and with barely visible movements, they blurred from one space in the room to the other, stopping momentarily, and then moving again. Soon they were back where they started, and Jared was on the floor, his blood spilling from his wounds.
Satan leaned in slowly, relishing my terror.
“Help her,” Claire begged in a tiny whisper.
Ryan moved toward me with desperation on his face, but Bex grabbed his shoulder. “Let me go!” he said, struggling. Bex wrapped both of his arms around my friend, forbidding him to step in.
Bex and Ryan were going to watch us all die. If Bex could somehow escape with Ryan, Claire could be saved, but that would leave my child vulnerable. A million thoughts ran through my head, hopes that even if I were killed, Jared would survive long enough to get our baby to safety.
In that moment, anger replaced my fear. I remembered Eli’s words, and courage I never knew I owned swelled inside of me. “You can’t have her,” I seethed, lifting my chin in defiance. “I am not afraid of you.” My eyes filled with angry tears.