Smoke and Mirrors ▹ Alec Lightwood [1]

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
STAY WITH ME

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

     All Adrian could feel was blinding pain. His hands stretched out, the other keeping the demon's mouth at bay, desperately searching for his seraph blade. It wasn't in reach, and another swipe of the claws made the weapon fly from his mind. He needed to get away, before this demon ripped him into pieces. He cried out when the claws sank into his abdomen. It didn't slash across his skin this time. It was a deep wound, one he could feel through his entire body. He doubted he'd survive another hit like that; he wasn't sure he would last much longer regardless.

Something flew into the demon then, knocking it off of Adrian. He choked when the claws came out of his skin. When he coughed, he felt something wet fly out of his mouth. He turned his head to see what had attacked the demon, and saw that it was a large dark brown wolf. He tried to sit up, but his hand slid in a pool of blood. He didn't know if the blood was his or someone else's. His vision blurred when his back hit the ground again, fresh pain flowing through him. He supposed it was a good sign he was still in pain. The last thing he needed was to go into shock. He tried to get up again, and this time hands helped him. He blinked through the haze and saw that it was Oliver, naked save for the human and demon blood all over his body. He'd been the wolf that had killed the demon before it could kill Adrian.

"Come on, Dri, get up," Oliver said, desperation seeping into his voice as he helped Adrian to his feet. Adrian could barely stand straight, hand pressed to his abdomen, trying desperately to keep what little blood he could from escaping the wound. Oliver supported most of his weight and led him to the edge of the ship, where Adrian had been headed. Looking down, Adrian saw Luke's truck floating casually on top of the water. His vision blurred again. He heard Oliver shout down, and then Oliver was cursing. "Can you handle jumping without passing out? Magnus is going to soften the land as much as he can, but—"

"I think—fuck—I think so," he gasped out. That was all Oliver needed to hear. A second later, they were falling. And while Magnus had softened the landing as much as he could, he still crumbled to the truck bed as soon as his feet touched the metal. Oliver caught him and rolled him onto his back, then proceeded to yank on a large t-shirt and jogging pants as Magnus slid to Adrian's side, hands already emitting blue sparks as they swatted Adrian's hand away. With a shock, Adrian realized that he was freezing. He didn't know if he was going into shock or if it was because the night had already been cold to begin with.

"What did this?" Magnus asked as he worked. He had made Oliver rip the hunting gear open, and Oliver had tried to use his discarded jacket to wipe the blood around the wound away. More blood took its place, so he gave up. "Was it poisonous?"

"It was a demon, so I'm going to assume it was," Oliver responded. He had moved to Adrian's head. He pinched his cheek hard each time Adrian's eyes slid closed for more than a second.

"It—was an—Oni demon," Adrian gasped out.

"Good. An iratze can heal any poison in your system. Can you draw a rune?" With shaking fingers, Adrian reached for his built, avoiding Magnus's now glowing hands. He felt around for a second before he let out a small curse.

"I must have—lost it—in the fight," he mumbled. Magnus said something sharp in another language. It sounded Indonesian, but Adrian's mind was too cloudy to be sure.

"Dammit, okay, let me—what was that?" Temporarily, Magnus's focus was drawn away from Adrian. Even Adrian grew distracted when he heard a loud, booming groan, like metal was being stretched and torn apart. He raised his head, watching in disbelief as Valentine's large ship seemed to tip to one side. For a moment, he thought he was hallucinating because of lack of blood, but even Oliver and Magnus seemed to be staring in astonishment. The ship was tipping over at an abnormally fast rate, like someone had blew a hole into one side. It was only when it started tipping toward their magically-floating truck that Magnus placed his hands on the truck itself. A moment later, they were zooming away, stopping at a safe distance.