Aidan wasn’t quite sure how to describe traveling through a portal other than not quite knowing where to place his feet upon arrival. He couldn’t even remember if he was surrounded by darkness or light. He just blinked and suddenly found himself in a soupy patch of muddied grass and broken flowers.

If possible, the rain came down even harder, stinging Aidan’s exposed face and hands. He took a few steps forward, finding it difficult to pull his feet out of the soupy mud with every step.

Rather than be blind, Aidan used his magic to shield his face from the rain, allowing him some visibility in the storm. However, he was soon questioning why he wanted to see in the first place when he focused on a purple light a few yards in front of him.

It wasn’t the giant sphere of light that worried him. It was the four creatures surrounding it.

He glanced behind him in fear when he realized that Fabien and Ravick hadn’t made it through the portal yet. And after just a glance at the purple sphere of light, he knew that it was important to the overall safety and security of the university and people that lived here.

Taking a deep, steadying breath, Aidan focused his center and calmed his mind. He was decent with a knife but not good. His aim was about three out of every ten throws. His true talent lied in his magical abilities.

Thinking back to when he was fifteen, he remembered training with a rogue Demon Hunter who showed him a technique that would make him nearly invisible to demons after he mastered it.

He silently carved out a path in front of him with every step he took. It was almost effortless. Aidan knew it wasn’t normal for him to use his magic without spells, but he wasn’t worrying about that at the present moment. His gaze was fixed on the four creatures slowly getting closer inch by inch.

His magic made his feet silent and walking through the mud felt like walking on even ground. He narrowed his eyes and used the glow from the ward to help him see the demons better.

He held his breath to hide a startled noise that threatened to escape. Memories of ten years ago threatened to consume him body and mind. The demons were each about the size of a large dog but had the body of an overgrown lizard. Thick, rough scales a sickly shade of acid green covered their bodies head to toe. Aidan knew from experience that the demons had about three rows of deadly sharp teeth that could rip through the toughest metal.

At the end of each leg were sharp, poison filled claws that could slice a human in half. Saliva dripped from the demons’ mouths, forming thick pools on top of the standing water. Horrid hissing reached Aidan’s ears as he inched ever closer to the monsters.

Their bodies were slithering through the standing water like snakes. It didn’t help that the relentless rain was pounding into the ground like a roaring waterfall.

Aidan risked a glance behind him before swearing in his mind. 

He was alone. 

And no one was coming to save him this time. 

Control, Aidan thought to himself. All I need to do is control the flow of magic.

Aidan slunk closer to the demons, watching with slight curiosity as they flicked out their slimy forked tongues.

He deducted that they were tasting the magic in the air. He could feel it too—the raw power that the ward gave off. The magic surrounding it was very potent to the point of almost being deadly.

Aidan doubted that an untrained person could withstand that much raw power. He was trying to decide the perfect moment to take out one of his knives when the hissing suddenly stopped.

Aidan forced his body to relax as he saw four sets of six gleaming, blood red eyes lock on him.

“Well, I guess I could use some more practice.” Aidan said to no one in particular. 

The demons let out a vicious hiss as their heavy tails swished back and forth in anger. Aidan held off attacking first. He wasn’t sure if they were going to herd him into a trap or attack him from different angles. His only experience with demons had been ten years ago. Everything else was steeped in theory.

With a sudden jerk, the demon closest to him propelled across the water at an alarming rate. It was all Aidan could do to roll to the side to avoid getting a bite taken out of him. Cold, harsh water consumed him for a second before he broke the surface and pulled out a knife, narrowly avoiding a vicious claw.

A thick wave of water and mud splashed up and coated everything in a thin layer of slimy goo. It didn’t help that bits of demon saliva were mixed in with it.

Sparks flew from Aidan’s knife when he spun around and countered a bite. The demon’s teeth grazed off the metal as if it were nothing more than an irritating bug. To his right, another demon suddenly sprouted from the water, knocking him off his feet, the knife he held flying from his fingertips.

Aidan let out a shout of fear as he rolled over and lunged closer to the sphere of purple light surrounding the ward.

From what he could gather, the demons had breached the magical barrier from a weaker section and were trying to absorb the magical essence of this significantly stronger ward.

Another demon came at him from above and shoved Aidan at least two feet in the mud, one of its claws narrowly missing his face. Water collapsed on top of him as he struggled to free himself.

Closing his eyes, he forced his mind to utilize the situation to his advantage. Part of dark magic was using the source of another’s magic against them by absorbing it in a concentrated form and blasting it back at the weak and defenseless demon.

“In theory,” Aidan muttered when his head broke through the surface of the muddy water. He had never attempted this, even in practice.

He quickly expanded his aura, searching for the others surrounding him. A cold shiver traveled down his spine when he felt a haunting, dark essence fill his mind. It was painful and threatened to halt him in his tracks.