A foot away on each side. She froze with terror.

A bellow sounded over the gunfire. Cadeon hurdled the line of bullets to get to her. Scooping her up in his arms, he tucked her against his chest. Just as the shots reached them, he pressed her against the wall until his body covered every inch of hers.

He gritted his teeth when the first bullet hit him, unable to turn to run without risking her. She burst into tears. Two bullets, three, four…

He stared down at her, those jet eyes seeming to consume her, and grated, "No more…running from me. Yeah?"

"Y-yeah," she whispered brokenly, crying harder every time his big body jerked from the impact.

Over his shoulder, he roared at them, a furious warning growl, and she whimpered. His voice a harsh rasp, he said to her, "No, no, female. Shh." He petted at her tears with huge fingers tipped with short black claws.

The shots abruptly stopped. Holly peered over Cadeon's shoulder. The robed demons were attacking the gunmen.

As the others clashed, Cadeon sprinted toward those double doors with her in his arms. He turned in midstride, hitting the doors with his bullet-riddled back, bursting them from their hinges.

Charging out into the night, he made for an older truck parked off to the side of the manor. After opening the groaning cab door, he tossed her inside on the cracked vinyl seat and followed her in. He pinched the key and turned. Nothing.

"Is the battery dead?" she asked, shaking off some of the shock and fog. "Does this thing still run?" Wrappers and crushed cans littered the floorboards.

"Hey, hey, no disrespecting The Truck. She's gotten me out of a lot of scrapes." He finessed the gearshift up and back. "I just need to make sure…she knows we're in neutral." Holly thought she heard a click. "There."

The engine roared to life. He cast her a patronizing glance as soon as they were tearing up the shell drive.