27.

  Cole held his burning claymore up to light the way as he led Benny and Gregor through the dark halls of the academy’s basement. “She has to be around here, somewhere,” Cole said, taking a left, then a right, working through the maze-like hallways, desperately searching for Tav.

  “Gregor, you got any ideas? where’s the damn center of this place?” he said as he took what had to be the fourth right turn in a row.

  Suddenly there was a scream, a cry of pain that rang through the halls.

  “This way!” Benny said as the three turned left and ran down a long dark hallway.

  Without a pause in his step, Cole lifted his mighty burning blade up and with all his strength slashed the door open. In the great central hall of the basement, the black Ichor swirled around in a giant spiral reaching high with tentacles of pure evil swinging around it in every direction. Cole looked up at the apex of the swirling ichor and saw Tav, held up in the air by her arm, thrashing and screaming, trying to get loose.

  “Tav!” Cole called out, “Don’t worry, I’m coming,” he said as one of the tentacles swung towards him. Cole held true to his blade and ripped the Ichor’s appendage in half. A sharp scream seemed to reverberate from the entirety of the inky black mess.

  “What’s the plan, how do we kill this thing?” Benny asked, holding his weapon up as he stood strong and ready to fight.

  Cole looked to Benny and Gregor, “Hack away at it, keep it busy on the outside, I’m going to try and get to Tav,” Cole raised his blade and sliced another swinging appendage off, getting another shriek from the monster.

  Benny and Gregor followed Cole’s lead, dodging swings, and getting hits in where they could. It seemed to not matter how much of the thick black ichor they sliced away, the dark ooze seemed to slither back to the center pillar and reform into it no matter how much they hacked away.

  Cole leaped over a swing, and sliced again, hacking, and slashing his way to the center pillar of the Ichor, “Let her go!” He swung his blade into the center of the Ichor, “Let her go! Let her go!” over and over and slashed and hacked at the Ichor, causing the pillar of black evil to shake and move, tossing Tav back and forth through the air.

  “Tav!” Cole looked up.

  “Get…out of here, he’s too powerful, we can’t stop it,” Tav said, crying in pain as the Ichor forced more of itself into the slice on her wrist, moving into her arm and swinging her around like a ragdoll.

  “She is the future of our kind, she is the darkness of this world, you cannot stop her,” The Ichor’s voice boomed through the basement cavern.

  “Like I care!” Cole said, slashing away at the demon, the fire on his blade singing and burning away the black ooze of the creature's body.

  “You will not stop the end, you will save her, and you will be responsible,” it said, talking in cryptic riddles and warnings.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  “I don’t give a damn what you say, let her go!” Cole rammed his blade deep into the Ichor, burning it away at its center.

  The Ichor raised Tav up, “Why do you think these are your allies, they would seek to stop your destiny, your beautiful destiny,” it said to her, its voice worming its way into her mind.

  “No, I won’t be what you want me to be, I can’t,” Tav balled her fist, and tried to rip it free from the Ichor’s grasp, “You want me to be a demon?” she asked.

  “Yes, be who you are, what you are, there is no fleeing it, there is no escape, be the beauty you are meant to be,” it said.

  “You want to see a demon? I’ll show you a demon!” Tav shut her eyes tight and concentrated, grabbing the Ichor’s tentacle and screaming out as she released all the power stored inside her, the full force of her demonic bloodline.

  Cole looked up and saw a twisted black fire begin to encircle Tav. Tav raised up higher into the air, and the black fire formed into a pair of wings on her back. He could see into her eyes, glowing red with fury and power as she screamed out, the black fire spinning around her and consuming the Ichor.

  “Now’s our chance!” Cole called out to Benny and Gregor, they continued to hack and slash at the creature as the fire began to twist and fill the basement. The pieces of Ichor they hacked off were no longer slithering and regrouping, bolts of black fire shooting from Tav’s body consuming and destroying them.

  “This is what you are, beautiful, beautiful,” the Ichor said in a death gurgle. Cole continued to slash, rip and tear the oily demon as Tav’s fire continued to burn it away.

  With her other hand, Tav grabbed onto the tentacle slithering in her palm. She grabbed it and slowly began to pull it out, “Get out of me! You will not control me, you will not tell me what I am,” with a great twist, she ripped the tentacle out of her wound, and black fire gathered around her hand as she began to dissolve the creature. Cole’s slashing and hacking were finally starting to work, the creature falling back, falling down, collapsing under its own weight as the Demon Hunters continued to slash away at it.

  Finally free of the creature, Tav fell to the ground. Cole looked up and saw her, tossing his sword to the ground and reaching to catch her.

  She felt so cold in his arms, her skin even paler than it was when he walked in on her in the shower. Her horns were prominent, maybe even more so now. He could feel this radiating dark energy around her, her hair that deep violet, her skin alabaster, and she had never looked more beautiful. Cole got on his knees, lowering Tav to the ground as the Ichor dissolved around them. “Tav, Tav, wake up,” he shook her, running his hand through her violet hair, “Please Tav, it’s over, you did it, you’re safe,” Cole started to pant as he desperately tried to shake Tav awake.

  Tav’s eyes fluttered open, “He’s gone?” she looked at her hand, the wound in her palm fully healed somehow, “Did he,” she brought her hand to her head, and felt her horns, “No, he lied to me,” she said, her voice light and half-dazed.

  “It’s not your fault, he tricked you, that’s what demons do, but you got him in the end, you were amazing, Tav,” Cole smiled.

  “But I’m still,” she looked down, “I’m still me,” she said.

  “That’s all you ever have to be,” Cole said, lifting her up, and cradling her in his arms.

  “I’m so sorry, I didn’t know he would do this, he tricked me, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she began to gasp and started to cry.

  “It’s not your fault, and you stopped him, we could never have beat him without you,” Cole said, holding her close, “You’re safe, that’s all that matters,” he said.

  “But I’m still…” she bit her lip and looked down, “I just wanted to be beautiful,” she said, tears starting to run down her perfect face.

  Cole ran his hand through her hair, caressing her horns, he tilted her head up, “Tav,” He took a deep breath, “You are,” he said, leaning forward and pressing his lips to hers. She wrapped her arms around him and returned the kiss.

  Gregor looked at the two, “I suppose that the entire faculty will be here momentarily, we best think of what we’re going to tell them, about what happened-”

  Benny put his hand on Gregor’s shoulder and shook his head, just looking at his friend and smiling as Tav and Cole had their moment together.