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Sparks floated in the air, dancing on the hot wind of the fire limning the oncoming demons. Aiden’s stomach dropped like a stone. The village would soon be overrun.
He pelted back along the side of the town hall with Corson at his side, and not one bucket between them.
“Where’s the water?” Burcham demanded.
Aiden struggled to speak between gasps. “Demons. We. Have. To. Go.”
“Demons? Here?”
Corson waved a hand back the way they’d come. “Through the forge. You need to go! Protect the children and get out of here.” The demons strode on through the smoke, slow but implacable. “I’ll hold them.”
“Corson!” Aiden yelled. “Stay with us.”
“No.” Fire glinted off Corson’s blade as the demons strode closer.
Corson pushed them both away. “Get the children and the rest of the village safe.” He glanced back at the spiders along the front wall. “Take the back gate across the bridge. I’ll follow.”
“We’ve got his back,” a swordsmith assured them, pushing Aiden away and stepping in with her friends to help Corson.
The village square was filling up, the villagers crammed into a smaller and smaller space. Some emerged from buildings with rescued possessions, others retreating from the boundary fence.
Where’s Keera!
She was not so far away, with the Faulkners and their children and his parents.
“What about the mirror?” Keera was asking Alice. “Couldn’t we escape through there?”
Alice shook her head. “Too many people. Besides, it’s in there.” She pointed at the burning building.
The bell tower creaked alarmingly and toppled, its bell clanging deafeningly as it smashed to the ground. The one remaining bell tower dinged forlornly.
“We’re off!” Burcham roared. “Leave everything. We need to go.”
The crowded courtyard erupted into a flurry of activity. Mostly people diving back into houses. Keera among them.
Aiden grabbed her hand. “What are you doing?”
“The swords! You stay with the children.” Keera peeled away and ran to his parent’s cottage. Fortunately, it had escaped the flames—so far.
Aiden glanced after Keera and saw Burcham following her into his parents’ house.
