Shandra enters the principal's office unannounced. Beside her is a middle-aged, blue-eyed man, whom the secretary, Miss Stuart, immediately recognizes."Oh, my goodness! I'm so sorry about everything. I'll get the principal right away." The woman looks at Shandra, who is wearing jeans, a black jacket and sneakers of the same color. Her expression is one of total apathy. "I'm sorry, dear."The girl makes an almost imperceptible head gesture. Soon after, the employee uses the answering machine to communicate with the school principal.Sam says in the girl's mind, "will you miss it here?""Not a bit," she replies, also mentally."Really? You don't have a single good memory of this place?""No. I've always hated this school, and I think I'll spend the rest of my life hating it."The chuckle he lets out in mental communication is so real that Shandra has to look at his face and confirm that he didn't do it with his mouth."I wish I had something as useless and simple as a school to hate."
Shandra is sure that her voice is not being noticed by Sam. The two walk back at a comfortable pace as the girl sends a mental message to the redhead:"Julian? Is that you?"And who else, little witch?""But how can you do that? I thought only Sam could get into my mind like that.""Sam has many tricks. I have powers. That's our difference.""So all demons can communicate mentally?""Not all. Only the strongest and most... Empowered."The way he spoke of others of his race sounded a lot like when Sam belittled demons who possessed human bodies. It was clear that strength, status, power and glory were things taken extremely seriously in Hell.She squinted at the man next to her. He really couldn't even imagine the parallel conversation that was going on. But how?"Isn't the merger we did supposed to make him listen to me?" the girl asks Julian."Even though you share many things in common, luckily, that's one of the ones not affected by the spell. So, no, he can't hear me. And he can't
Without a shadow of a doubt, one of the worst parts of that miraculous plan was having to get rid of the cell phone. In addition, using one of the many spells in his arsenal, Sam managed to create a kind of doll identical to Shandra's image, almost as if it were a wax statue. In the demon's words, that would be the "body" found at the site of the "accident"."You know they need to examine some things to verify that it's me, right? Dental arches, that sort of thing," she says, under the tree at the meeting point."You have very little faith in me," the man replied, looking at the redhead behind them. "Everything okay over there?'"What do you think, handsome?", Julian replies sarcastically. "Just waiting for your signal.""Great." Sam looks at Shandra, "Let's just go over things, okay? Tell me exactly what you've done in the last five hours.""I got rid of all my belongings, documents, phone, house keys.""What about your favorite clothes?"She rolls her eyes."Also."Sam's fire-colore
All Shandra can see in the very few seconds before the car comes barreling down on her is the cold, bloodthirsty stare of the driver, who makes no mention of even trying to brake hard when he sees the girl standing still and frightened in front of him.She uselessly puts both arms over her head. Then...Time seems to stop.No, not stop, but slow down completely. She can still see the car approaching, as well as the other cars on the avenue, but everything seems to be in slow motion.The only one who seems to be moving normally is Sam, who is standing right in front of her, with his hands in the pockets of his black pants. The social shirt of the same color has the first buttons open, and it is at his chest that Shandra looks first.Not because his beautiful chest is partially exposed, although that could be a perfectly convenient reason, but because of the imposing black medallion that rested under his fair skin.It was quite different from the Goddess' Medallion. It was triangular in
Sam obviously knew that Shandra was not dead.But it was still hard to face the deep, sinister grave that had been dug in the local cemetery, next to the headstones of his parents, who had died a few days earlier.He was wearing a sleek black overcoat, as well as dark long pants and boots. Side conversations did not go unnoticed to him either. Most of Shandra's teachers were there, as well as some classmates and also her ex-boyfriend.Sam overheard when one of the teachers, a balding potbellied man, whispered in another teacher's ear:"I heard that the coffin is closed because she had a very nasty accident.""Is that right?""Yes. The poor thing was wandering alone in the rain and couldn't swerve in time. The bastard driver didn't even render aid. It was instantaneous death.""She was such a good student..." The woman wipes her tears with a handkerchief before continuing, "She never gave me a hard time. She was well-behaved, hard-working. Maybe a little outcast and antisocial, but..."
Shandra looked once more through the small crack in the old wooden wall. Everything seemed deadly quiet outside, just as it had been for the last fifteen minutes. Julian's voice, who is sitting on a bale of hay, is gloriously bored:"I told you, we're safe here.""You can't blame me for wanting to ensure our integrity." She fiddles with her hair. "Or rather, my integrity. You are immortal and have three hundred different powers."The redhead jumps to the floor and stretches his arms as he stretches."Don't overdo it. And you have powers too, little witches.""Powers I don't know how to use right.""Then how nice that we are here. I can teach you at least the basics."Interested, Shandra gets out of her strategic lookout position and goes over to him. They are both surrounded by hay and trinkets, but there is no sign of animals or people around. That shed had been abandoned for months, or so it seemed."Do you know how much magic exactly?""Enough to survive. But I'm a demon, not a wit
Shandra leans her body more to the side imperceptibly, ready to hear Julian's account, who interlaces the fingers of his own hands and begins to stare at a fixed point in the shed."Sam isn't just the exiled prince of the hell realm. I mean, that seems like enough on its own, doesn't it?"The girl says nothing. The redhead sighed."Sam is one of the craziest guys I've ever met. He doesn't seem to care much for Order and the Law. He just does what he thinks is right, no matter who's in the way or if anyone besides him will suffer the consequences.""Is that why he was kicked out of Hell?""Sam was kicked out because he was an arrogant, overbearing jerk who believed he had more power than anyone else there. He seems to have forgotten what Darin did in his reign.""Darin?""Your Majesty, King of Hell.""Oh."Shandra is silent as Julian pulls himself together and continues with the story:"I was honestly surprised when I heard that he was exiled. I even thought that because he was an heir
The black beam coming out of the creature's twisted, blue hand goes straight through Shandra's torso, and she is hit hard.She screams in pain as she is thrown and falls to the hay floor of the shed.Sam screams as if his own had been hit, and Julian quickly takes the original demonic form and begins to attack the stranger.When he gets close to the creature, the small slits that make up its nose dilate and contract. Julian is detecting its scent."Damn, I told you it was to suspend the mission! What's your problem, huh?!"Lying on the floor, panting and feeling a terrible burning in her stomach, Shandra's eyes widen. Was the demon really dialoguing with the invader?!"The creature growls, or speaks in a weird dialect she cannot understand. Julian shouts again:"Which part don't you understand, you imbecile? I found it before you did, so you didn't have to keep looking! How can you be so dumb?!"Sam growls mercilessly at both the monster and Julian."You left that thing around to try
The final walk along the last trail that would lead them to the Tenebris Mountains was much more tense and silent than Shandra had imagined it would be.Nervous, the girl was paying attention to the vegetation around her; the way the trees and plants looked now that she knew they were all interconnected with Gaia.And speaking of Gaia, the entity's words still rang in her ear constantly. She takes a deep breath as she gropes around in her pocket for the strange artifact she had been given as a gift.Would she need to use it that day?Sam's voice sounded in her mind:"Disturbed?"Shanda looks discreetly at him before answering mentally as well:"Evidently so. Don't you?"His fire-colored eyes, always so confident, were somewhat misty that morning. A few seconds later, he finally replies:"I'm more than disturbed. I'm terrified."The heartfelt answer takes the girl by surprise. He continues:"At some point, Shandra, everything... Everything will come to light. The fact that we are inter
Shandra was still absorbing the shock of Gaia's strange contact, as well as her sudden disappearance, when a low voice whispers behind her."Shandra."She turns around quickly. Julian is standing with a totally apathetic expression on his face."Did you see it?", she whispers.The redhead nods his head in confirmation."Was it an important errand?"Shandra bites her lip, thoughtful about what to say about Gaia's words. She decides to be subtle and direct:"Yes."Julian waits for the explanation, but the girl just holds the jewel tighter and starts walking back to the camp."Wait a minute."She stops. The demon approaches again and asks:"What's going on? Are you okay?""I am.""You don't know how to lie very well, you know that?"Shandra snorts."I just don't want to talk about it."Julian looks at the girl's closed hand and stares at her as if he is about to question her about it."Please, please, don't ask me questions," she pleads.Genuine anguish takes over his expression."Let me
Shandra knew she was awake.Therefore, what was in front of her could not be a dream. Considering all the stress she had been under in the past weeks, however, she thought she was suffering from a delirium.Everyone else was asleep, except, of course, the demons. Although they felt no sleep, both Sam and Julian liked to lie down, close their eyes and apparently rest. Caleb and Ezan are also immersed in a deep sleep.The girl keeps looking at what at first she thought was just a trick of light and shadow: the thin, unusual silhouette that strolled by as if it were a mere traveler.However, the energy of that silhouette, the way it moved... This was certainly no ordinary person. Then Shandra stood up to take a closer look.The person, creature or whatever it was didn't seem to be intimidated by being noticed. Its skin was transparent, almost ghostly, and a subtle blue light radiated from it.Strangely enough, Shandra did not fear it. No, there was nothing aggressive or strange coming fr
Shandra feels her heart resounding inside her chest. A small shiver runs down her arms as she slowly takes a step towards the final trail; the one they would make before finally arriving in enemy territory.Everything could end well: Eluna would be rescued, and everyone could return to their respective homes.Or...She imagines the bodies of Sam, Julian, Ezan and Caleb lying on the ground like a sack of potatoes; their throats slit. Was cutting throats an easy method of execution for supernatural creatures?Shandra knew that killing a demon was too difficult a thing to do, so she doubted it very much. Werewolves, on the other hand, seemed weaker in that respect."Let's walk some more and get camp up," says Julian, who until then had been completely silent and immersed in his own thoughts.Shandra nods, trying to push away the dark misfortunes troubling her, but it is incredibly difficult. She knows she cannot let fear take over. Together, the group continues to advance along the narro
Shandra knew that she would never, ever be able to fully recover from this.As the small group headed towards the mountain range, the young woman barely opened her mouth to say anything and ate only what was necessary. The magic was dormant, still ready to spring into action, but she deliberately ignored the feeling.Looking up at the pale dawn sky, Shandra huffed audibly. It was very soon before they finally put the plan into action. There was still no word from Marcus and his group.Not that she didn't trust the abilities and strength of the pack. They could take good care of themselves.But would she, Julian, Sam, Caleb and Ezan be able to single-handedly accomplish a mission of that magnitude and not get screwed in the process?"It's going to be okay," Sam's voice breaks into her dark thoughts.Annoyed, the girl looks at him, and mentally communicates as well:"Are you reading my thoughts?""I don't need to. Your expression already says it all."Irritated, Shandra just keeps walki
As soon as Caleb's huge sharp teeth dig into Elara's unprotected torso, the vampire screams terribly in agony. The bite causes her a stabbing pain.Elara lets out another scream when, after having her skin torn apart by the wolf, her body is thrown backwards by the impact of this attack... Julian also approaches quickly, taking the opportunity to strike a powerful blow against Elara, hitting her full on.Sam once again looks at Shandra, obviously proud to see what had happened there. Ezan, Caleb and the yellow-eyed demon continue to attack relentlessly; Shandra stays focused on her task of neutralizing the vampire's artifacts. With the items weakened, Elara is no longer invincible, but still poses a danger.Sweating, the young woman realizes that she needs to keep her own energy connected to Elara's items. There was no way, or at least no easy way, to permanently deactivate them.Although she was obviously weaker, Elara was not vulnerable. Even though she is suspicious as to why her t
Shandra feels a mixture of relief and gratitude when, finally, Julian takes flight and attacks Elara, holding her by the neck and throwing her to the ground sharply."You really think you can take me, you pathetic demon?" she sneers, probably ready to use one of her many artifacts.And that is exactly what she does. One moment, Julian is strangling her without a shadow of mercy. The next, he is breathing hard, gasping like a smoker after climbing two flights of stairs.Sam, focused on destroying the vampire, casts more fire elemental magic energy, but at the last second the girl flinches, causing the flames to only burn the tip of her hair."You bastard!" she shouts, leaving Julian temporarily behind.Shandra quickly raises a shield to protect him, but the wall fails.Ezan's voice sounds behind the girl:"Beacon of Light!"She widens her eyes and addresses the older werewolf. The girl is surprised to see him in human form. Caleb, unlike him, remains as a wolf."Beacon of Light, we are
Shandra panics as she sees the werewolves advancing towards Elara, ready to attack. She knows that a fight between the werewolves and the vampire can be extremely dangerous and doesn’t want anyone to get hurt. With a mixture of despair and determination, she stands in the way, trying to prevent impending violence."No!" cries Shandra, her voice full of anguish. " Stop! It’s not worth it! Elara is not our enemy!"Useless. Completely useless, you know.The beautiful girl, seeing the two angry wolves coming towards her, drops her cloak, revealing pale skin like the moon and slender, thin and seemingly fragile arms and legs. Immediately Elara puts herself in a fighting posture, smiling as she feels the adrenaline taking over her body.Shandra can barely understand what happened when, out of nowhere, the vampire just disappears.But her energy was still there. Had she become invisible?The impact of a sharp blow to Ezan’s jaw, which makes him fly for a few meters, frightens the girl and gi
Shandra, Sam, Julian and the other members of the group stand on alert, watching for the approaching silhouette. Tension hangs in the air as everyone prepares for any eventuality.As the figure approaches, it becomes clear that it is a tall, elegant woman with long black hair and a piercing gaze. She seems to exude an aura of power and authority."Elara," Sam murmurs, with a mixture of surprise and apprehension in her voice.Shandra frowns from one to the other, wondering what could be happening, but doesn't have time to verbalize a single word.The werewolves transform into their lupine form and start growling loudly and menacingly. Elara doesn't seem to be upset or afraid of that sight."Interesting company you have arranged," are the first words she addresses to the coppery-eyed demon."Is that really serious?", Julian grumbles."Who are you?" asks Shandra.The questioning makes the woman laugh."Aren't you going to introduce me to your friends, Sam?"The prince from hell looks hes