My own breathing quickened when they entered the clearing. I swept the beam of my flashlight over each of them, shocked by the grotesque figures in front of me. Haniel had been too kind in his assessment of them. To say they were horrific looking would have been putting it mildly. Their heads were covered in multiple horns that rose grossly from their heads. Outwardly, they had a red tinge that I had always associated with what a demon would look like, but as they made their way toward us, I realized the reddish tint was more of an oozing bleeding mess. It was as if all their skin had been melted or peeled off. As grotesque as they looked, it didn't come close to the stench that permeated the air around them. The only features that came halfway close to what I was expecting were their menacing glowing eyes that distorted their features even further.
"Holy crap," Sam said next to me.
"Pretty sure there's nothing holy about them," I said dryly from the corner of my mouth.
We all stood ready as the trio of Daemons approached my group. Their hoofed feet made the snow sizzle and melt where they stepped. My stomach turned as I realized that the offending stench they were emitting came from the smell of the burned skin that clung uselessly to their shapes. I couldn't fathom how it remained there without completely falling off.
"Protectors-s-s-s," One hissed, eyeing John, Paul, Shawn and Jacob. “It’s been a long time since I’ve tasted human flesh,” another growled. They paced back and forth, eyeing us eagerly as if waiting for the command to charge.
"Demon trash," Shawn countered, making the one closest to Jacob spit what looked like green slime in the white snow. The snow sizzled from the acid-like slime that melted its way down to the ground below. Sam and I exchanged horrified looks.
“Ooh, tough guys-s-s. Let’s see how tough you are when I’m sharpening my teeth with your bones-s-s. Or you,” it said, pointing to Sam. “I will wear your intestines around my neck, prettiness-s-s.”
The Protectors shifted around apprehensively in front of us, waiting for an oncoming attack. I could feel the slight panic and anxiety of our group like pins pricking me all over my skin. These Daemons were different than anything any of us had ever faced before. I had to do something or this mission would be over quicker than we thought. I closed my eyes and concentrated to filter the negative emotions I was feeling from my friends. I could feel the fear and doubt swelling up inside me as I focused, redirecting the pent-up energy towards the trio of on-looking attackers.
The Daemons jerked back as if they had been electrified.
One of them glared at me through the gap between Jacob and Shawn. "An Archangel?" It snarled apprehensively.
"No!" I retorted without thinking. Instantly, I kicked myself, wondering if they would have left if they thought they were facing an Archangel.
"Then what?" The Daemon furthest from me snarled.
I clamped my mouth closed this time, stubbornly remaining silent.
We watched in disgust as the three of them snuffed the air with what we could only assume were their noses. Each one protruded from their monstrous faces in a different size and shape, making it hard to decide which Daemon was the least attractive. As if to accentuate how disgusting they were even further, one of them reached up with its long talon covered fingers and scratched the side of its gourd-like nose. The razor sharp talon sliced through the skin on its nose, making it ooze a horrific burnt orange colored substance. My stomach turned over as it wiped the goo on the back of its hand and then licked it off with its long forked tongue.
I could feel the fear and tension of my group rising again, and worked to filter their emotions with confidence.
"You lie Angel girl. No mere Guide possesses that kind of power," the Daemon in front said, raking its claws across its forehead as if to wipe away sweat, but instead managed to slice through skin instead. “Why does it matter what she is, we are superior,” another said belligerently.
Sam snorted beside me.
I looked at her astonished.
"Seriously?” Who are they trying to fool? They don't even know how to scratch their noses without maiming themselves," she laughed like I had never heard her before. The Daemon’s red eyes burned even brighter as they hissed their distaste at her words. I was confused why she was egging them on, and could tell by the way that Shawn stiffened up, he was equally as shocked. I wanted to filter confidence into our group, but this was pushing it. Sam looked at me imploringly, nodding her head in the direction of one of Daemons.
"Run along little doggies, I'm sure The Dark One didn’t mean for his pets to get out," she said, taunting them more. Her words incensed them further, making them gnash their sharp teeth together, causing more liquid to pour from their mouths where their teeth pierced the scaly flesh.
The more Sam taunted them, the more they tore at themselves in some sort of self-mutilating fit of rage. Now I understood what she was up to.
Shawn finally understood too, “You must not rank too high in the pecking order to be out here against mere humans,” he prodded, joining in on the mockery.
"We are an asset to The Dark One," The Daemon on the left of me said in despair, jerking one of the horns off its head in frustration.
"I'm sure you're right, even The Dark One needs a gofer," John said condescended, joining in on the act. His words set the three Daemons in front of us into a frenzy. I watched in dismay as they gouged at their faces, scrapping their talons across the skin leaving a ragged mess behind.
Their self-mutilating actions made my stomach twist and turn and I began to feel pity as I watched them shredding their faces. "You know, I think I actually feel sorry for you," I said kindly, trying to stop their pitiful downward spiral.
"You dare speak to us with pity," the Daemon closest to me demanded. "You Angel wannabe bitch!" It spat at me enraged, taking off in a full sprint towards our group. Shawn acted quickly, jumping forward with his pickaxe already in hand. With accurate precision, he threw the ax, burying it in the charging Daemon’s head, sending it sprawling backwards. The remaining two Daemons were sent completely over the edge, tearing themselves completely apart until only a mess of their former selves remained. The leftover body pieces smoldered in the snow in front of us, emitting a smell that burned the inside of our noses.
My friends and I stood around the smoldering mess, astonished. After a few moments the pile was reduced to nothing but ash. A breeze blew across the clearing sending the black ash swirling away from us, swallowed up by the night sky. The demise of their glowing bodies plunged the clearing back into darkness requiring all of us to use our flashlights to see.
"Talk about wacked-out," Shawn said, retrieving his ax from the burnt marks on the ground the trio left behind. "Surely killing Daemons can't be that easy."
"We can only hope, although you’re pretty handy with that ax." John said.
"Yeah, you looked like Roger Clemens, the way you whipped that in there,” Jacob commented.