He made it a dozen feet before something hit him in the back and stopped him. He was almost pulled off his feet and backward by a tug on his backpack. Briefly pulling against the force, he turned around to see a taunt rope between him and the armored figure.

  A sudden jerk knocked him off his feet and dragged a few feet. Tobian quickly loosened the straps on his backpack. The next tug jerked it off of him. He quickly got to his feet and ran.

  “Keep running,” Eryx said behind Tobian as he fled. They passed through several rooms as they raced towards the exit. “We can hide out at your parent’s house for safety.”

  Before they entered the entrance hall, Tobian stopped, the demon lightly bumping into him.

  “What are you doing? We need to get out of here.” Eryx shouted, almost in Tobian’s ear.

  “We can’t go to my parent’s house, and I’m not,” an explosion interrupted Tobian. The impact lifted him and threw him into the center of the room. His mind barely had time to absorb the joy of flight before he collided with something hard, followed by the resounding clang of a bell ringing. Pain exploded in his right shoulder, the world going white as he slid down and then lay crumpled on his right side.

  In the silence, he struggled to sit up, rolling over to his left. He quickly pulled out the sword, waiting for the butcherer to come and take it.

  “Eryx, do you see anything?” Tobian whispered, hoping the demon could help warn him or at least help fight.

  The silence lingered and settled in like the dust from the bell. The demon was nowhere to be seen, nor was anyone coming. “Eryx, where are you?”

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  Using the sword, Tobian lifted himself to his feet. Once standing, he still didn’t see the demon anywhere. He wondered if the creature had gone invisible. Hopefully, the demon would not push to head back to his family. If that killer had followed them here, Tobian was sure he would follow them to his parent’s house.

  After a few minutes, someone came through the doorway. It wasn’t the murdering monster Tobian had expected, nor was the demon. Tristan, covered in blood, stepping into the room like a vengeful angel. Her mace raised as she scanned the room for any threat. She glared at Tobian and pointed at him.

  “State your name,” Tristan demanded.

  Tobian felt a mental pull, almost a compulsion forcing him to answer before he could ponder why Tristan would ask such a thing. “Tobian Nickerson,” he said.

  Relief washed over Tristan’s face briefly; then she glanced around. “Are you safe? Did you ring the bell?”

  “I am safe; I rang the bell by accident,” Tobian said.

  “I couldn’t save Marcus.” Tristan blurted out. She placed her mace on a belt loop and closed her eyes briefly while taking a deep breath. “Are you hurt?”

  Tobian sheathed his sword and nodded, his brain glossing over the name Marcus. “An explosion threw me into the bell, hit it with my shoulder. At least it wasn’t my head.”

  Tristan dropped to one knee and gently laid a hand on Tobian. “Just the shoulder. You’ll be fine until I can rest. Perhaps we should get you some armor as well.”

  “Darius, Sirah, and the Professor?” A brief vision of the Professor being stabbed flashed in Tobian’s mind. “The Professor….” The memory of the Professor’s real name, Marcus Glassier, rushed to the forefront of his mind.

  “Gone.” Tristan looked away for a second, then back at Tobian. “I mean, Sirah is gone; the bell took her. Darius is stable but will need healing once I can rest. The Professor…” Tristan closed her eyes and looked away rather than finish her sentence.

  “Is he gone for forever?”

  “No one can bring back the dead.” Tristan took a deep breath and stood up.

  “I mean the butcher, the man who attacked us.” Tobian said, his eyes glancing towards the entrance.

  “It took them a few days, even during the war, when the veil was torn open, and we fought them at its precipice. Also, we don’t know which plane he went back to; it could be we’ll never see him again.”

  “But if we do, how do we stop him?”

  We will have time to figure that out. First, we go make sure Darius hasn’t wandered off looking for another fight. After I heal you guys, we’ll head to Shuma and see Magister Lucius. We’ll figure out what that sword is, and on the way, Darius will teach you how to use it.”

  “What if the sword is cursed and will kill me?”

  “My dear boy, if the sword was going to kill you, I’m sure it would have done already.” Tristan started walking towards Darius.

  The room where the Professor’s body lay. With heavy feet Tobian followed.