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bomb had gone off. Tom and Kara flew backwards in the air. Tom hit the wall first and crumbled to the floor. Kara flew further back and crashed hard on the kitchen floor. Putrid gas blanketed her in smoke. She raised her head from the floor and gasped.
    A massive creature with four insect-like legs crawled towards them. Its humanoid head, torso, and arms sprouted from the beast’s middle. The human skin was blistered and raw. Green pus oozed onto the floor in thick puddles. It had two abnormally large red eyes, on a man’s face that looked as though it had been stretched like melted wax. The air smelled of rotten flesh. Kara could see a third eye on the creature’s forehead, as though it were branded there.
    The monster opened its mouth and wailed. The sound burned. Kara put her hands on her ears and cried out in excruciating pain.
    With a roar the demon leaped into the air and crashed down beside the terrified Tom. The creature snarled, black liquid dripping from a gaping mouth. The smell of rotten flesh was all around them. It stuck to her M suit like a filthy mist, trying to wiggle its way inside the skin.
    Tom staggered and fell. The demon lifted its molten head and sniffed the air, like a wild animal smelling out its prey. It cocked its head to the side, and pounced.
    Kara jumped to her feet. She threw her backpack on the ground, and pulled out a Soul Blade. She leapt to Tom’s aid brandishing her weapon.
    But the demon had Tom in its grasp. Tom kicked and screamed, like a rabbit caught in the talons of a great eagle, but with no effect. The demon lifted him up in the air like a ragdoll. Kara watched horrified as the demon pierced Tom’s forehead with one of its forelegs. Tom opened his mouth in a soundless scream. Bright white light spilled from his throat. The demon brought Tom closer to its putrid face. Its red eyes flashed hungrily. It opened its mouth and placed its bloodless lips around on Tom’s forehead. Kara moaned as it began to suck out Tom’s essence.
    “NO!”
    Kara threw her Soul Blade with precision. It hit its mark, and perforated the demon’s neck.
    The creature threw its head back and wailed, momentarily distracted from its feast. It reached out with one of its insect legs and pulled out the soul blade. Black blood oozed out of the wound and spilled onto the floor in heavy droplets. Kara watched in horror as the soul blade bubbled and smoked. The black blood ate away at the metal like acid. The blade dropped to the ground, like a thick mass of silver pudding.
    “Kara—help me!” Tom wriggled desperately, hitting the creature with his legs and arms.
    Hopping she could distract the demon long enough, Kara pulled a Firestone out of her bag and threw the glowing red orb at the demon. It hit. With a thundering boom, red light exploded and for a moment Tom and the creature disappeared into a cloud of red smoke. Then it dissipated.
    The demon stood with Tom in its grasp, and it was unharmed.
    She watched in horror, helpless as the demon pressed its mouth against Tom’s forehead again, sucking out his soul like a vanilla milkshake.
    Desperate, Kara ran into the kitchen, grabbed a large butcher’s knife, and charged to meet the demon head on—
    She staggered back. Tom’s mortal clothes lay crumpled in a pile on the ground. Kara blinked. As her eyes adjusted to the brightness, she could see an illuminated figure as bright as a star dangling from the demon’s grasp. She knew she was staring at a naked angel desperately clinging to his delicate soul.
    Without a second thought, Kara flourished her knife and charged at the demon. She raised her arm and slashed with her knife, slicing off a leg. Black blood exploded in a fine spray out of the wound. It showered at Kara’s chest. She leapt aside. Grey smoke coiled from her clothes. The cotton withered and peeled back. The demon’s blood burned its way through her mortal clothes, and Kara wailed in pain as the creature’s blood burned at her core like