Demons 👿 part 6

You should probably read the first parts of this, otherwise it won't make much sense.

"No!" I yell.

All three of their heads whip around. 

“Es, listen-” Dad starts.

I shake my head. “You can’t!”

“We just want you to be safe.” He says.

I cross my arms. “I finally get to leave, and I have to go to a boarding school?”

“It’s not for humans.” Papa says. 

I look at him. “What?”

“It’s not for humans.” He repeats.

Jack’s eyes widen as he looks at Papa. “You didn’t.”

“I did, I’m sorry.” He says, dropping his head in his hands.

“Arlo!” He shouts. “You promised!”

“Seriously?” Dad asks.

“Wait, what? I’m not human?” I ask.

Papa shakes his head. “You’re half elf.”

“Elf? Elves are real?”

Dad sighs. “And demons, and dragons, and vampires, and giants, and-”

“What?” 

“You already know you're adopted. I adopted you from an orphanage near Demon’s Hill. They were able to hide your ears-” Papa says.

“You went to Demons Hill?” Jack yells.

He shakes his head. “No, I said I went near it.”

“Arlo!” 

“I’m sorry!”

“You should’ve told us!”

“This is why I didn’t!”

“Isn’t she in even more danger if she’s not human?”

“Well, yeah, but she also has a better chance of being able to defend herself.”

“You promised!”

“I’m sorry!”

“Stop arguing!” I yell.

They stop, and look at me. 

“Please, Es. We need to keep you safe.” Dad says.

I cross my arms. “I want to know what happened first.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I ask when they’re done explaining. 

Jack sighs. “We wanted to keep you safe.”

“We didn’t want you to get hurt.” Papa admits.

“Telling me would’ve made more sense.” I mutter. “But fine. I’ll go.”

“Call us everyday, okay?” Papa says after hugging me.

It took a month to get me applied for the school. I have some stuff packed in a suitcase Jack’s pulling out of the house now. They’re sending a magic bus or something. I nod to Papa, and wrap my arms around Blaze. He licks my face, and I laugh.

“I’ll be back.” I promise. I wish I could take him with me.

I stand and go hug Dad. “I love you.”

“Love you, too, Es. Be safe, okay?” He says.

I nod. “I will.”

“Do I get a hug?” Jack asks.

I smile, and put my arms around him. “Of course.”

“Behave, okay? No more unnecessary fights.” He says.

I grin. “I’ll try. Don’t worry too much.”

“I’ll try. I don’t know if they can, though.” He says, tilting his head towards Papa and Dad.

“I heard that!” Papa yells. 

Jack grins at him. “Am I wrong?”

“No.” He mutters.

I laugh. “I’ll be fine. Really.”

“They’ll be here soon.” Dad calls.

I smile at them. “I’ll be fine, guys.”

A black bus appears at the front of the driveway. The driver has huge sunglasses, long brown hair, and gray skin. He leans out the window.

“Esma here?” He yells.

I wave my hand, and pick up my bag. I walk over to the door of the bus, and turn around. I wave at my dads, and climb in. 

“Find a seat.” The driver says, rolling up the window. He has a name tag that says Cap. The bus is a lot bigger on the inside than it would seem. 

I look at the different people on the huge bus, and try not to gasp. There are all kinds of creatures inside. About thirty in all. I put my head down as I walk past a group of satyrs whispering. I scoot around the two giants arm wrestling. I avoid the two elves making out in a seat. 

“Esma?” I hear.

I look up. Ryan? What’s he doing here? “Hey,”

“Come sit with me.” He says, waving me over.

I do, and he smiles. “What are you doing here?”

“I found out a month ago I’m part elf.” I tell him. 

His eyes widen. “Does that have anything to do with the angel in the classroom?”

“Yeah. Why are you here?” I ask.

He blushes. “I’m part dwarf. All of my family has gone to the school, and they wanted me to go too.”

“Well, I’m glad. At least I’ll know someone.” I say. 

He nods. “My older siblings might be there, but they don’t really like me since I’m part dwarf like my mom, and they’re all part giant.”

“You must be good at something.” 

“Not really.”

“You’ll figure it out.”

“Do you know anything about the school?”

“No? None of my dad’s have ever gone there. I just know it’s the safest place for now.”

“It’s supposed to be like a boot camp thing.”

“Oh.”

“I think they’re supposed to be training us to be able to protect ourselves.”

“Really?”

“Maybe. I don’t know if my siblings were telling the truth.”

“Everyone buckled?” Cap calls. “One more stop, and we’ll go to the school!”

“Close your eyes.” Ryan whispers, squeezing his shut. I look around and see everyone else doing the same thing.

“Why?” I ask, following his lead. 

Suddenly, the bus lurches forward. It starts spinning, and then I hear a loud pop. 

“We’re here!” Cap shouts. 

I open my eyes. We’re at a different house now, and everyone else went back to talking.

“What happened?” I ask Ryan.

He shrugs. “Some kind of magic, I guess. I’m not really sure.”

The last person gets on the bus, and we travel again. The school is huge. We get off the bus, and walk in a line to the front doors. A tall man is standing in front of the doors with his hands folded behind his back. 

“This is it?” He asks Cap.

He nods. “Yep. I’m surprised it’s this much. We usually only get ten.”

“Arius isn’t going to be happy. He was expecting more this year.” He mutters.

He pats the man's arm. “I’m sure you’ll handle it, Gruff.”

The man grumbles something, and moves out of the way. Cap waves us in, and the doors shut behind us. Nobody talks as we walk down a long dark hallway. The walls are decorated with all kinds of weapons. 

“Here we are.” Cap annonces, stopping at another door. “This is where you’ll be training!”

FIVE YEARS LATER:

“Listen, I know you’re upset right now. But I’m still really mad at you.” I tell Leaf, sheathing my knife. He’s an elf with curly purple hair. 

He frowns. “Why?”

“Because it’s your fault he can’t walk!” I yell.

He nods, fiddling with his bow. “Right.”

The school has been training us. Not only to defend ourselves, but also to run dangerous errands for them. 

At the beginning of the first year, we got separated into different groups. We trained together, and when the principal decided we were ready we went on our first mission. Somehow, I became the leader of our group. There are five of us, Ryan, Leaf, Owen, Agni, and I. I’m the only girl, but also the toughest one. We’re ranked the lowest out of all of our age groups.

“God.” I mutter before turning around to Ryan. “Is he alright?”

He nods. “He’ll live. But we’ll have to carry him back.” That’ll be fine. Agni’s not that heavy. I wipe some dirt off my face.

Turns out, Ryan is really good at medical stuff. He grew his hair out, and now it’s in a short ponytail. He’s taller and stronger, too. He hates to actually have to fight, but he will if it’s needed. 

Agni’s part dragon, and has huge green wings. His hair is bright green, and he has sharp teeth. He fights with his hands and teeth. He snarls as Ryan wraps a bandage around his leg. He got shot with a spell by one of the witches. 

“Calm down, okay?” Ryan says to him. 

He grumbles something, but quiets down.

“Owen.” I say. “Go with Leaf and make sure the coast is clear.”

He nods. “Anything for you.”

“Go.” I snap. We’re inside an abandoned building in Northwick. That’s where most of the creatures with magic are. 

Owen’s a werewolf that declared his love for me a week after we met. There’s nothing wrong with him, I just don’t like him like that. He uses whatever weapon he has, but, like me, prefers a knife.

“How far are we from the alley?” I ask Ryan.

“It’s down the street.” 

I nod. “Alright.”

Leaf and Owen jog back inside. “We’re good.”

“I’ll carry Agni.” Ryan says, already picking him up.

We run outside, and into the alley we came from. Leaf pulls out the portal remote, and presses the button. Blue smoke rises from the top, and forms a portal we all jump through. We land in our training room.

“Finally.” Cap mutters when he sees us.

I glare at him. “Your welcome.”

“Did you even get it?” 

I throw the bag of ingredients at him. “There.”

“Hmm.” He says, looking through the bag. “Acceptable.”

I roll my eyes, and follow Ryan out of the room. We walk to the infirmary where he leaves Agni.

“So, when are you going to ask him out?” I ask Ryan when he comes back out.

His eyes widen as he blushes. “W-what? I don’t know what you're talking about.”

“Oh, please. It’s so obvious.” I laugh.

“Please don’t tell him.”

“I won’t.”

“Okay, thanks.”

“No problem. Want to go to the cafeteria?”

“Uh…”

“What?”

“Your dads are here, remember?”

“What? No. That's next week.”

“No, it’s today.”

“I totally forgot!”

“Well, hurry.”

I nod. “See you later.”

I walk down the hallway towards the lobby. The school has different family days since some creatures don’t get along with others. I get to spend the rest of the day with them.

“Es!” Someone yells. I look up and see Papa waving. They're sitting in some chairs by the front doors.

I laugh, and jog over to them. “Hi guys!”

“What happened?” Papa asks, eyes wide. “And why do you have a knife?”

Oh, right. I’m still in the clothes from the mission. I must look terrible. I forgot about the knife.

“I’m fine, don’t worry.” I assure him, not mentioning the weapon.

He frowns, but hugs me. “We missed you.”

“I did too.” I say, going to hug Dad.

He ruffles my hair. “How’s school?”

“Fine.” They don’t know about the “errands” we go on. If they did, I’m sure Papa would make me leave. They know I train and stuff, but not that I could very possibly die everyday.

“What is it with you and the word fine?” Jack asks.

 I shrug, and hug him. “How’s Blaze?”

“He’s alright. I think he misses you.” Dad says. 

I sigh. “I just have to wait till summer.”

“He’ll be fine.” Jack assures me.

“So, are you dating anyone?” Papa asks casually.

I groan. For some reason, he really doesn’t want me to be single. “No, I do not.”

“Do you like anyone?” He asks.

I shake my head. “Still no.”

“Seriously?” 

“Yeah.”

“But I want grandchildren!”

“Heard of adoption?”

Jack and Dad laugh. Papa makes a face, but lets it go.

We spend the rest of the day walking around the school. I’m looking for Ryan, but sadly Owen finds me first.

“Hey, Essie.” He says.

I roll my eyes. “What do you want, Owen?”

“I was wondering if you wanted to go on a date with me?” He asks.

Seriously? “No.”

“Fine, some other time, darling.” He sighs, walking away.

Dad raises his eyebrows. “Who was that?”

“Owen.” I mutter.

Papa grins. “Your boyfriend?”

“No.”

“Does he know that?” Jack asks.

“Somehow he doesn’t.”

Suddenly, a siren blares. It’s the attack bell. I curse.

“Language.” Dad and Papa say immediately.

I can see students running down the hallway to the safe rooms as the guards head to wherever the danger is.

“C’mon.” I say to them.

We walk down the hallway quickly. 

“Es!” Someone calls. I turn and see Ryan and Agni running towards us.

Can he walk already? “Yeah?”

“They need us to…” Ryan trails off when he sees my dads. 

I sigh. “Where?”

“Dorms. Witches.” He replies under his breath.

I nod. “I’ll be there soon.”

“Got it.” He says before running off with Agni.

I turn back to my dads. “Okay, don’t freak out, but I kind of have to go…”

“What is it?” Dad asks.

I bite my lip. “Um, I need to help them with the witches?”

“Witches?” Papa exclaims.

I hold up a hand. “It’ll be fine. Just go down the hallway and to the room on the right.”

“But-”

“Please.”

Jack puts a hand on Papa’s shoulder. “C’mon. She’s got this.”

“Thank you.” I say to him. After a second, I say, “Love you guys.”

 I run down the nearly empty hallway to the dorms before they can say anything. Leaf, Owen, Ryan, and Agni are waiting.

“What happened?” I ask.

“Somehow the witches followed us here. They’re trying to find a way to get in.” Owen says. He's got some kind walkie-talkie thing for his ear, like each group does. It makes it easier to communicate. When something like this happens, he never flirts.

I nod. “Where do we go?”

“Cap said the garden.” Leaf says.

“Lets go, then.”

We head outside, and I curse again. There are a lot of witches. I can see some of the other groups coming outside and staring at the horde of witches flying in. 

“I didn’t know they actually flew on broom sticks.” Leaf says.

I groan. “We’re so getting blamed for this.”

“If we live.” Angi points out.

We all look at him. 

“What? This is a lot!” 

Ryan sighs. “Not the most positive thing to say right now.”

“Oh.” He says.

I shake my head. “It’s fine. Just... try not to die?”

“Isn’t that what we’ve been doing?” Leaf asks.

I sigh. “Yeah.”

"Uh, guys?" Owen says.

"Yeah?"

"There are other creatures coming up the hill."

"What?"

"Yeah, it's not just the witches anymore."

"Where are the adults?"

"Protecting the front gates, apparently."

We go to the far side of the garden, picking up shields that are lined up on the wall. We hold them in front of us to block the spells. 

This is more than we usually handle. If they had to call us to help, then it must be serious. There are a lot of witches. I don’t know how we’ll be able to hold them off without killing them. As far as I know, none of us have actually killed a person before. We’ve just temporarily injured them. That’s one of the reasons we’re the lowest ranked group.

“Es, you okay?” Ryan asks.

I shake my head. “Are we going to have to kill them?”

“I don’t know.” He admits.

I close my eyes for a second. If it comes to that, I will. But only if I have to.

“Get ready.” Owen calls. I open my eyes. Blast of all kinds of colors are raining towards us. The shields are like one sided mirrors. We can see from behind them, but from in front, they can’t see us.

The witches start to land, which is a relief. We wouldn't have been able to do anything if they didn’t.

“Ready?”

Okay, I know this was six parts. There probably won't be a part seven unless someone really wants there to be. I hope you enjoyed it!