Chapter 15

**Clary**


I checked the rearview mirror, and it was like everything around me froze. My hands, feet and face suddenly felt like ice as my eyes fell on the bloodied demonic fae in my back seat. All of a sudden I could smell his blood, feel the heat radiating off from his tortured skin and see the rotten toothy shark grin he speared right back at me. Without thinking I came to a careening stop that propelled me forward and strained the seatbelt over my chest.

The creature gave a shriek and flew into my headrest, I then suddenly accelerated again, hearing the tires squeal on the asphalt and my poor enjin groan in protest as we went shooting forwards. The creature went flailing backwards in a flurry of limbs and hisses. Desperately I cried out in my mind for Hezerial, not having any idea of how the hell to actually get a hold of him.

*Hezerial! HELP!*

For a second the road disappeared from in front of me, replaced by dark faces in front of me and the sensation of falling backwards off of a cliff face.

The wind rushed my back in an updraft, billowing my dress’s skirts all around me and slapping my hair against my back before I felt myself starting to plummet. “Hezerial!!!”

The blare of a horn brought me back, I swerved through a few cars who tooted and yelled at me as I drove my way to the bridge over the river that stretched out along the highway. I was almost there, I had no idea what I would do once I was on the highway, no kuken clue, but I had to have something to focus on.

I felt blistering claws wrapping around my neck and gasped, almost careening into one of the barriers as a jolt of fear stabbed through me. With one hand I quickly reached for the pocketknife I always keep in the cubbyhole. The fingers tightened around my neck and its nails raked over my skin, leaving behind a stinging pain. I gasped for a lung full of air as its fingers suddenly tightened painfully, cutting off my airway.

*Hands wrapped around my throat, a dagger held above me as I pulled back my hand to punch-*

I found the pocketknife and grasped it but almost let it fall as I was yanked backwards by the neck, my head slamming into the headrest. The car swerved as I struggled against the creature’s grip. I flicked open the knife and with a snarl I stabbed backwards at one of the arms.

The screech the creature let out was deafening in the confined space. The fingers around my neck ripped away violently and the nails raked my skin as they disappeared. Suddenly there was a flash of light behind me. I glimpsed Hezerial grabbing the creature with a look that could send demons cowering back into hell and he disappeared with it.

Another pop resounded in the space around me and someone suddenly appeared in the passenger seat.

“Afternoon you wretched child!” He greeted with a massive grin. “Time to take you home!” He announced happily, and before I could stop the car, before I could turn the car away from the bridge railing that it was about to crash into, I saw him haul up a limp body with blonde hair and wearing my clothes…

“What the-,” There was a sudden pressure in the air and a release, I was now on the passenger side in his arms and the limp body was now where I sat just a split second ago! My mind reeled, and I saw the wide river churning far below us, but just as quickly as I saw the edge of the railing I felt a pressure around me again, then suddenly we were outside in the air above the river and the road watching as my car crashed through the railing and dove nose first into the rocky river below.

I gasped for air, my heart hammering a mile a minute in my chest. The sound of my car crunching into the rocks reverberated through my skull. Or was that the headache?

“Not bad! I would say that this little performance is much better than I could have hoped for.”

I looked up and saw his face clearly for the first time now. His hair was still black, but much longer now than it was in the past. His eyes sparkled with mischief and success. It was Noch, Noch that was like my brother at the Order, Noch that always teased me and pulled pranks on me, Noch that always ended up bribing me with wine.

My throat closed up and my eyes stung. We were both hovering over the wreckage, in the middle of the air. I could feel it… I could feel his magic manipulating the air particles underneath us. I was held tightly under his right arm, like I was a sack of potatoes, his arm was digging into my sides and my diaphragm, but right then I didn’t care. It was really him!

“Noch!” I wheezed as a tear slipped down my face.

He looked down at me and smiled warmly. “Hey Demon Spawn.”

The nickname made my chest warm and bubble. I could feel more tears rolling down my face now.

*“Hey Demon Spawn.”
“You little terror!”
“It was the Hellspawn…”
“You really are a demon child…”*

My head was throbbing but I didn’t mind. All the sentences, all the comments and all the conversations where he used that stupid nickname came flooding through my head. It really was him, he was solid. Out of pure impulse I pulled back my free arm and elbowed him in the gut. He gave a startled grunt and switched his grip, making me yelp as I fell a bit just for him to catch me by the legs again.

“What was that for?!” He asked indignantly.

“For making me almost shit myself!” I yelled back and then started laughing even though I was hanging upside down high above a rocky river where my car had just died.

He snorted and pulled me upright, swinging my left arm around his neck so that I was at least upright. My head was hurting so badly that I could barely see, the crying and laughing didn’t help it much either. In fact it felt worse.

I stopped laughing and crying as Noch floated us down to the rocky shore and hid us underneath the bridge. I didn’t slip my arm off from his shoulders when we landed. In fact I didn’t think I could anyway. Not without landing butt first on the rocks.

Now that the excitement had died down, my headache rained down on me with a vengeance, and my body started shaking. Whether from leftover adrenaline or the effort of not breaking down in front of Noch completely.

“Are you okay?” He asked, taking out a handkerchief and swiping it under my nose. Suddenly I wasn’t under the bridge anymore…

*Noch was standing over me, smirking at me as I breathed hard while lying pinned on the ground. His obnoxious leer at beating me at sparring once again was making the side of my jaw tick with irritation.*