Page 57 of Knight’s Dominion

She nodded, not taking her eyes off Chaos.

Chaos turned to her, then and dipped his chin, then he was gone.

“Move in,” she said.

James repeated her order, and they rushed for the house.

"Let's give the bastards a surprise party they'll never forget,” Brent said, an evil grin on his face and a wicked-looking knife in his hand.

Grace rushed the front door and kicked it in with a grunt. James, Brent, and several other demi moved in behind her, while the rest of her crew came in through the back. They ran through the small house, feet pounding, weapons drawn and—

Nothing.

The house was empty.

A roar filled the air from below the house, so loud the ground shook beneath their feet and several windows shattered. The knights were fighting the beast.

Grace spun around. “This doesn’t make sense,” she yelled. “They wouldn’t leave it unguarded.”

A shriek came from the other end of the house.

Grace gripped the knife in her hand, ready, the space was too confined for her bow.

Demons appeared out of nowhere, swarming the house, climbing up from beneath the floorboards, dropping from the ceiling. “Take them out!” she yelled.

Moonlight filtered into the house, the only light to see by. The demons came at them, some with vacant gazes, some with glowing eyes full of excitement. The sounds of fighting and the roar of the beast below echoed all around them. Grace moved in with a cry of rage, engaging the first demon that came at her, ducking his fist and following through with one of her own to his throat. Spinning, she kicked it in the chest, and he staggered back toward James. James grabbed its hair, face twisted with rage, and dragged his blade across it’s throat, removing his head with quick efficiency.

The next moved in, and at the same time a weird sensation moved across her skin, like someone had plugged the place into an electrical socket, lifting the hair on her arms. The demons began to vanish, then reappear all around the room, making them impossible to follow.

One appeared in front of her, knocking her knife from her hand. She swung, but it vanished. She spun, looking for it. Suddenly he was back in front of her. Before she had a chance to react, he plunged a blade into her right side.

Crying out, Grace looked down in stunned disbelief at the knife lodged between her ribs. All around her demi fought, engaging wildly, confusion on their faces as demons popped in and out of the room.

With a hiss, Grace clutched the knife in her blood-slicked hand and pulled it free. When the demon appeared in front of her a second time, she brought the knife down in an arch, catching it and spraying her and the wall with the demon’s blood. She didn't know where she’d injured it, or how deep, but it was not enough to incapacitate it because it came at her again. This time pain shot up her thigh. The fucker bit her.

“Backs to the wall!” she yelled.

At least that way the demons couldn’t reappear behind them. Christ. They couldn't fight this. Her people would be slaughtered.

The floor began to shake, then the floorboards in the kitchen exploded, giant splinters firing across the room like daggers. A scaled claw broke through.

“Get out now! Now!” she cried.

She stumbled but managed to right herself, starting to feel weak from blood loss. Demons were still popping in and out of view, ruthlessly attacking. She forced herself to stick to the walls so at least her back was covered.

She'd almost made it to the door when another blow came from her left, a fist to the jaw so hard she almost blacked out.

More of the floor exploded, demons and demi falling through to the Hell beast’s cavern below. Demi scattered, the rest escaping through the door.

One of her people fell on the floor a few feet from her, badly wounded.

Fighting consciousness, she stumbled to him, gripped him around the waist, and hauled him up with every bit of strength she had left. Brent grabbed his other side, and the three of them all but threw themselves out the door.

"Where's Mark?” she called out.

A sob burst from Laney. “He didn’t… Grace, he didn’t make it."

She wanted to scream, to rage, to cry, but demons would erupt from the house at any moment and there was no way they could outrun them. All they could do was brace for the attack—