Chapter 11; 2:05 am Monday Morning Saint James Hospital

Shadow Demons last walked the earth during the last Great War between men and magic. William felt the building shake and watch as the ceiling gave away when demon lashed it's arms out.  Letting out a shriek that pierced the air so loudly that it forced everyone to cover their ears; Jacob seemed to suffer even more.  The sound forcing him to the floor with tears running down his face.  The demon's screams ended when it separated itself into two creatures. While each demon was half the size they still stood in over six feet tall, and now they moved twice as fast. One darted towards Jacob while he struggled to regain his footing.  In a roar an orange fire with a mystical green aurora that only a special few in the hospital could see sprayed from the demon's mouth.  The hallway was a washed in flames. Jacob hit the floor again, forcing himself below the flames. He felt the heat flood over him, so intense he could feel the air evaporate over him. He held his breath, for the heat was causing a vacuum in the hallway. William watched patients and doctors disintegrate before his very eyes. Now William understood why the fire burned so long and bright at the restaurant. Night Fire is an aggressive fire that could not be extinguished by anything man-made or magical that William knew of. You just had to let it burn itself out.

Bai made a simple gesture of extending his arm, palm out, fingers and thumb extended upright, Marci did not see anything-special come from the gesture, but she felt the walls shake. The half of the Beast still near Bai hit the wall; pinned by an invisible force that Marci couldn't see.

"Office Cain! Buy us some time my dear boy. I can get Gwen to safety." William shouted at Jacob who was huffing as if he was delivering a baby.

Jacob turned and looked at William, Jacob's face covered in sweat. His eyes had change shape, to almost an almond shape. He tossed a set of keys towards William. William caught the keys, while his ability to blink could get everyone to safety, he could only travel a so far. A distance that shortened with the more people he brought with him.  So after emergency escape they would need a vehicle. Jacob let out a wolf like howl and in what seemed to a painful yet smooth transition a Werewolf stood in the hallway. This wasn't your Hollywood style werewolf either. Of course, he looked like a cross between a wolf and man; however, his size did not change. His face extended, teeth growing and adjusting to fill the gaps, his nails reshaped to black claws. Marci looked on in terror from Gwen's room.

"Marci my dear we need to go." William put his hand on Marci's arm ever so gently; he could feel her trembling with fear. He touched Gwen and before Marci could even understand the seriousness of their situation, they were safely out in the parking lot. She didn't even realize they had moved until they were just there, in the night air.

"Marci are you okay dear?" William sounded like a concerned father.

Marci's eyes glossed over, she vomited and passed out. William laid Gwen down gently. He pressed the key fob. A Black Van chirped in response. William picked up Gwen in one arm and Marci in the other. Under any other circumstance, he would avoid such a display, but the fire burning on the ICU floor distracted the crowd of spectators.

Back in the hospital inferno

Bai noticed the creature even when pinned to the wall was more concerned with killing the humans then fighting him. No wonder the brazen attack, they were not going to leave survivors. Bai went to make another attack on the pinned creäture; however, the monster separated again into two smaller  halves, each equal in size; but smaller then when they had been together. The speed of their movement increased when they charged Bai. Before the demons could reach Bai, The Dragon on Bai's shirt uncoiled, one moment it was on his collar; next, a large red and gold dragon was in the air just before Bai. The dragon laughed at the Shadow Demons as they approached. The Dragon's clawed hand grasped one of the demons in mid stride; the monster struggled against the Dragon's scaled hand. The second Demon moved along the wall, his talons allowing the beast to climb like a spider. The Dragon laughed at the creature's attempt to get passed him, he slapped the Demon with his tail. The blow sent the Demon hurtling through the floor to the basement of the Hospital.

Jacob stalked down the hallway towards the other Shadow Demon. He moved cautiously; while Jacob knew all about Werewolves, Vampires, Ghouls, Zombies, and Ghosts, he never had any idea demons where a thing. With his knowledge of other supernatural beings, he also knew that while in wolf form other than the plant Aconitum napellus (commonly known as Monkshood or Wolfs bane) very little could kill him; Bullets, silver or otherwise hurt of course but have never been a threat outside of his human form. If decapitated, well that would end him in either form. Fire burned, but he would heal over it quickly. Jacob stepped over a body that was burning on the floor. It had burned to the point where Jacob could not tell if it was a man or a woman. The pain that poor individual felt had to be unbearable, Jacob's inner wolf grew savagely angry over the thought of how this poor person suffered before they died. Jacob lunged at the tar like monster, with his transformation Jacob's speed, endurance, senses, all multiplied. However, strength was only equal that of a wolf with a human frame and muscle mass. Therefore, he was stronger, but in comparison to the Shadow Demon, he was weak. His claws passed into the beast; to Jacob it felt like he was trying to cut through sand. The demon slammed Jacob to the floor. When the demon leaned on Jacob, he could feel the floor tiles breaking under him, he could feel his ribs and sternum break, heal, break. It hurt, a lot. His skin burned where the beast held him; burned with so much intensity for the first time Jacob could see the skin growing back. Usually he healed so quickly he didn't experience any feeling of pain.

William appeared back on the ICU floor. He was in what remained of the hallway, the air was thick with smoke, the night fire was so hot that the sprinklers had gone off and you could not tell. The heat caused the water to evaporate before it could touch the floor. So much death around him, even with Bai, Cain and him intervening they could not stop this massive loss of life. Bai was checking bodies while his Dragon Spirit of Fire Ryuu was dealing with a Shadow Demon. Bai just shook his head in defeat with everybody he discovered.

"Bai, we need to go." William had to shout over all the chaos, Bai nodding in agreement.

Bai made a simple gesture of breaking a stick and pointed at Officer Cain. Another Dragon, with beautiful blue and white scales rose from his clothing. She clapped her hands together and a funnel of wind barreled down the hallway, it roared with so much power that the few drops of water you could see in the air struck the walls, ceiling tiles, and floor leaving behind perfect indents of their splash patterns. While being in a liquid state those water droplets left impacts like they had been solid. The vortex of wind collided with the Shadow Demon that had pinned Jacob to the floor. The beast mouth was open as if it was calling out in pain, yet you couldn't hear anything, for the wind swallowed all sound.

Grateful for the assist, Jacob rolled to his feet, and dashed back toward the two old men. William had a firm hold on Bai already, and once Jacob was within reach, William grabbed him and they blinked into Jacob's van. Gwen and Marci both were unconscious in the back of the van. Jacob climb into the front seat. Slammed the van in drive; with tires squealing he pulled out of the parking lot.

2:20am Saint James Hospital helipad

Detective Stone stood on the Helipad next to the Hospital. While usually it is impossible to read his emotions, at this moment they were clear; Anger.

He suspected a Shadow Demon after finding ash oil on Gwen's window, but not multiple Shadow Demons. The plural meant things are far graver than he thought. The demon that confronted him fled the scene quickly once it realized Stone was the larger threat then force the Demon could muster. Takes a lot of power to create Shadow Demons, even more to control them to this level. The Moirais where clearly killed to keep this individual's identity from Stone. He was not powerful enough to hide from the Fates, so he murdered them. Scott being the oldest could see the past, Dale being the middle child could see the present day, Jane being the youngest, sees the future. So now, he had to find Jane, he watched on the pad as the firefighters trying in vain to put the night fire out. Stone felt guilty has he watched the tail lights of Officer Cain's vehicle disappear into the city. He had to find Jane before he could be any further help to Gwen. If Jane was still alive and the force behind this could use her gifts to see the future..

End Chapter 11