Her gaze went around the chamber and settled on the alcohol in the corner. She crossed to it, took a deep swig, then flung it against the door. The glass carafe exploded. She threw another and pulled the final from the fridge. As if reading her intentions, Hannah forced herself out of her shock and hurried to the low-burning hearth. She snatched the lighter on the mantle and ran to the door, standing close until the alcohol lit and spread.

Fire licked across the wooden door. The door bucked again before all went quiet. Hannah stood close to her, and Katie stared at the door, willing their fire to keep the demons at bay. For a long moment, she thought their simple plan worked, and she closed her eyes to concentrate on the portal.

The door exploded open in flames, wood, and black fur. Hannah dragged her down as fiery splinters sailed over them. The two fanged figures battled until one lifted the other and cracked its back over its knee. It slammed the creature onto a broken piece of burning word. The dying creature let out an otherworldly roar of pain as it burned. It went limp.

The remaining creature turned to them. It contorted into a human form, and Katie cursed. "Lunchmeat," Jared said with a toothy smile. "You brought a snack to our little party."

"Hannah, you have to trust me when I tell you jumping out that window is a better death than what this thing will do to you!" Katie said, dragging her sister toward the window.

"Easy, Lunchmeat. I came to help, at your half-breed's request," Jared said, holding up his hands. "I smelled you from outside the castle. Oh, the sweet smell of-- "

A roar in the hallway made him whirl.

"Come with me, morsels," he said. "I'm your only ticket out of here."

Katie hesitated. Jared morphed again into a massive creature. It beckoned for them to follow with one paw and knocked the burning door out of the way. She trailed it, wanting nothing more than two minutes of relative peace so she could summon a portal. Hannah clung to her arm as they entered the hallway.

Jared launched himself at the demon barreling toward them. Katie gasped and flattened herself against the wall as they soared past them. She grabbed Hannah's hand and bolted for the back stairwell at the far end of the hall. Steadying herself against the walls of the winding stairs, she ran as fast as she could without stumbling, aware of what likely followed them. Barks and roars from further down the stairs made her stop and grip the railing.

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