Free Ordained by Devon Ashley Page A

hike without protection than Abby being left alone in the woods with demons about.
    “No, I’m gonna clean this up. Just stay quiet, stick to the path and you’ll be fine.”
    “But we were already on the path,” whined Mira as Darby led her on. Emily unwrapped the thin muffler from her neck and passed it to Abby.
    “Here. Be careful.”
    “Thank you.” She wiped the blood away. “Are you sober enough to get them back safely?”
    “Yeah,” she replied drearily. “If ever there were a sober-inducing moment, that was it.”
     
    Two hours had passed and Abby still hadn’t found the grinloch’s mother. Unlike the uneducated hunters at the school, Abby knew what the creature was that attacked them. The youngling that jumped from the tree was probably more scared than the huntress it landed on. Hell, given its age, the thing probably fell out of the tree. Even more so, she was surprised the mother left it alone to fend for itself, even if temporarily.
    Abby paused in the woods. The air had changed slightly. There was a bitterness that wasn’t there before. She found the source within minutes.
    The demon was in a small break in the woods, still unaware of her presence. Abby looked down at her dagger with regret. The weapon was inadequate for a beast this size. It would take something longer to pierce through the scales.
    On all fours the grinloch didn’t seem too daunting. But Abby knew it could extend the hind legs and stand just as easily on two as it could on four, allowing the front appendages to be used as arms. The mother was easily twice Abby’s size. The razor-sharp teeth and three inch claws were of particular concern. She would have to get close for the dagger to pierce the underbelly – really close.
    Abby slowly retreated backwards, her eyes dead set on the demon.
    SNAP !
    The sudden sound caused the demon to rise up off her front set of limbs and stand on two alone. Within a second of snapping the twig, the demon was shooting towards her, swiping its claws. Abby whizzed quickly towards the demon. She thrust the dagger into the grinloch’s side, but it barely pierced the thick reptilian skin. She struggled to remove the weapon and received several damaging swipes for her effort. The searing pain was excruciating. She knew she should retreat, but the dagger was her only weapon. The grinloch’s talons slit into her as easily as a knife through butter.
    The grinloch lifted her up by the throat and dangled her in the air, her claws pricking the skin. Luckily for Abby, suffocation was not going to injure her further. She kicked her way up the demon’s chest and pushed herself up and out of its grasp, somersaulting backwards. She felt a burning sensation as the claws scratched her neck during her escape.
    She pulled the dagger with all her strength. Blood flung from both the demon and herself as she ripped it out and away. As the demon screeched in pain, she stabbed the thinner abdomen skin and sliced upward, splitting the stomach open.
    Abby was hit with a force that sent her flying sideways for several yards, slamming her into a large pine tree. Stunned and angered, Abby and the demon were fixed in a stone-cold glare, both bleeding heavily.
    Abby’s breath deepened. Heat developed within her chest and spread through her body. Her eyes turned black as night. She shut them tight, shaking them off. No. Not now, not here. The hotness faded.When she re-opened her eyes, they were a blinding shade of white. She looked to the clear, dark sky above her. Fierce winds and rumbling thunderstorms rolled in fast. The light from the moon faded to nothing and left them in complete darkness. A lightning bolt cracked and struck the grinloch directly in the head. The pulsation sent the demon’s body plummeting lifelessly to the ground.
    Abby collapsed to the base of the tree. Her eyes returned to normal as the weather dissipated as quickly as it came. The moonlight and stars returned. She lay there, slumped against the