The Ascended (The Saving Angels 3)

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.

"I think they were just a test, things will get tougher." I said, breaking into the guys' chatter.

"What do you mean a test?" Amelia asked.

"I think The Dark One is trying to figure out if I really am an Ascended. I'm guessing the next attack will be a lot different than that one. Now he has the information he was seeking," I said matter of fact.

"How do you know all that?" Sam asked curiously.

"I'm not sure, but I just know. Ever since becoming an Ascended, I see certain things with insight and clarity. I only have to think about something for a moment before I can completely see into the situation."

"Wow, that's intense," Sam said, awestruck.

"Tell me about it, having everything laid out so completely in front of me is a surreal feeling."

"We should get moving," John said, using the beam of his flashlight to illuminate the forest in front of us.

"I would avoid eating that snow," Shawn teased Sam as we walked around the spot where the Daemons had self-mutilated themselves.

His teasing made all of us crack up.

"Ya think," Sam said, giving him a light nudge in the back of his knee, making his leg collapse out from under him. It was hilarious watching Shawn trying to steady himself so he wouldn’t land face first into the undesirable spot.

"Sorry babe, I couldn't resist," Sam said, still chuckling.

"Well, you know what they say about payback," he said, shining the flashlight on his face, making himself look sinister.

"I'm holding you to that," Sam said solemnly.

Her words jerked us back to reality as Shawn returned her look intensely.

"You can bank on it honey," he said huskily, reaching back to squeeze her hand.