Page 55 of Claiming Demons

“Stay still, I’ve got you,” I told her. “I’ll get us out of here.”

She gave a faint nod, mostly limp in my arms.

I moved forward with care through utter darkness until a flickering exit sign came into view down another long hall.

“Thank the gods,” I breathed.

When I reached the stairs, they only went up. We were on the lowest possible floor of the hotel. I started up, counting basement levels as we passed them, but when we got to what should have been the first floor, a cave-in had crushed the stairs above us and the doorway out.

Heavy slabs of concrete were held precariously above us by the set of stairs leading up, and it looked like it might give way any moment. Even healed as I was, and strong as I was, I didn’t think I could physically lift that much collapsed concrete, especially not while holding Harmonia.

That left only one option.

I whispered to Harmonia. “I’m going to use my chaos to make a hole.” I’d never had someone with me inside my chaos before, I figured I should warn her.

“If you need it,” she mumbled. “I can use my harmony to help balance your chaos.”

“No, save your strength,” I said. “I can do this.”

Or so I hoped.

I wasn’t sure how much chaos I’d need to burrow through this rubble, but if it was too much… I might lose control like I had in Queens.

I couldn’t let that happen, not with Harmonia in my arms.

This was it, my ultimate test.

I summoned my strife. It tore at me, wanting to be let loose as I expanded the swirl of chaos to tear at the debris around us.

“Gods, this is terrifying,” Harmonia whispered.

Welcome to every damned day of my life.

I summoned more and more chaos to tear away at the massive slab of concrete blocking our path. It was slowly shredded into smaller and smaller bits, but the doorway still hadn’t been uncovered.

With a roar, I pushed my chaos to its limits. That did it, the concrete was blasted away and so was the door, but beyond was only more rubble. I waited for my chaos to consume me… but it didn’t.

I couldn’t believe it. My strife was blasting through me, but I was still calm and in control. Seeking within myself, I was surprised to find a part of Ana had remained within me. I felt her abiding and enduring love. She soothed the tempest in my soul and grounded me, steadied me. Because of her, I could fully summon my chaos without losing control.

I love you, Ana! My goddess, my savior!I sang into my soul.

Then I pushed onward, moving through the rubble, step by slow and careful step, blasting the debris away until we finally stepped out to find the night’s sky above us.

I released my strife as we left the debris behind. Even with Ana’s stabilizing influence, keeping my chaos controlled and at its max for so long had taken its toll on me. I fell to one knee, having to put Harmonia down.

“That was the most amazing and frightening thing I’ve ever experienced,” she breathed.

Amazing and frightening? Yeah, that was me to a tee.

ANAIS

After I finished with Ramsey,I found a set of stairs and ran up into the lobby of the hotel.

“Everyone out!” I shouted at the milling mass of people who seemed to be staggering around in shock.

They began to run, even as heavy cracks formed in the ceiling above me, spider-webbing out far too quickly and raining down small bits of plaster.

“Fuck,” I breathed and sprinted for the door, as heavier chunks began to fall.