"We've handled that many before," Shawn reassured her.
"Yeah, but with the help of the other Bands," she said, mentioning the other Guides and Protectors that lived in various locations.
"Their assistance will not be needed tonight," Haniel reassured the group. "Jordyn will handle this. The Protectors will only intervene if need be."
"She can't take them all on by herself," Krista said, stepping in front of Haniel to glare at him.
"She can," Haniel answered, not intimidated in the slightest by my five-foot-nothing aunt.
"The Daemons know we're here," Lynn said, looking pale, even in the dark.
I was on the verge of asking her if she was okay when I remembered that Guides got sick when Daemons were around.
"Jordyn, prepare yourself," Haniel ordered.
"I got this," I said, strutting toward the village with confidence. I may have a shitty memory of my past and no soul mate, but I could take out Daemons in my sleep. I could sense the others following behind me, but they kept their distance as I tuned them out. My senses kicked into overdrive as I approached the entrance of the village. I spotted three Daemons in their ugly-ass form hanging out in the middle of the small village. They were waiting for us. Their ignorance made me chuckle. They thought being in their Daemon form made them more menacing and harder to destroy. I'd be able to take them out before they even knew what hit them.
"What's this?" one of them snarled at me. "You must be from the Junior Angels' Academy?"
"That's funny. Remember you said that when you're flat on your back with my foot on your throat," I said, smirking at him as I worked on not breathing through my nose. Their stench was enough to scar my nose forever.
Their sinister laugh at my threat made it clear they weren't intimidated—yet.
"This is a joke, right?" he taunted as he and the other two began to circle me. "Chickie, you're not tall enough for this ride. Better go find mommy."
It was a shame they weren't using human hosts. I would have loved to give my onlookers a show, but I would have to make do with what I had.
"You don't smell like any angel I've ever met," he said, breathing in deeply through his snout, which reminded me of a cross between a pig snout and a snout you'd find on an ox. It was massive in size and oozed green shit that made me glad I skipped breakfast.
"How you can smell anything but your own stank is beyond me," I said, trying to bite back my grin as they closed in on me.
"Your angel pals too scared to join you?" one of them snarled as he reached out to grab me. His breath reeked of dead flesh and god knows what else.
"Nah, they're just here for the show," I said, darting out of reach, not quite ready for him to discover what my touch could do to him. The others closed in. I kept my stance casual, biding my time for the perfect strike. The circle of Daemons around me closed in, blocking out the village. When I could no longer stand the stench, I made my move. With the palm of my hand and all my force, I struck the Daemon in front of me in his ugly-as-sin snout. His howl of anger turned to confusion as flames licked their way across his face, turning it to ash. Without pausing, I roundhouse kicked another directly behind me, sending him flying backward from the force. I smiled in pleasure as I observed the distance I had kicked him. I'd broken my record on that one. I was still smiling when the third Daemon made the mistake of reaching out and grabbing my arm. His hand immediately burst into flames.
"What the hell are you?" he yelped as the flame licked up his arm.
"I get that question a lot," I openly laughed at his shock.
My laughter was cut short when he swung out with other arm. The blow caught me on the head and my vision blurred slightly. Pissed off, I reached out blindly, grasped the offending appendage, and smiled in satisfaction as he screamed in anger. His second arm disappeared into a pile of ash. Finally, I turned on the Daemon I had dropkicked.
"You're one freaky bitch," he snarled, looking at the piles of ash at my feet.
"So I've heard," I said, just as he lunged for me. Anticipating his move before he even made it, I reached up and grasped both the horns that stuck out on either side of his head. Pulling with all my strength, I ripped them off before he could react.
The Daemon screamed in agony, dropping to his knees and clasping his hands to his head.
I pivoted around again, feeling the back of my neck tingle as before. Three remaining Daemons stood ready, still occupying human hosts. By the looks on their faces, I knew they had learned from the mistakes of the hell scum I had just taken out.
"Come to join your friends?" I taunted, kicking one of the piles of ash at my feet.
"I've heard of you," one of them snarled. "You think the training from some sell-out has-been is going to help you against us?" he added, indicating the two other Daemons that flanked him in their human host forms. "I've been sending your kind to meet their maker for years."
"My kind?" I asked sarcastically. "Are you sure about that?"
"You may think you're hot shit, but you're no different than any of the other angel scum you hang out with," he mocked, taking a menacing step toward me.
"Really? That's funny because it seems like I'm the one who's been kicking Daemon ass," I smirked, standing my ground as they closed in on me. Haniel had schooled me on the benefits of making the enemy come to me. It allowed me the advantage of calculating how to take them out by the way they moved. Every movement was nothing but an equation in my head that I would use against them. It was just another benefit of my gifts. My mind was like my body, a well-oiled machine that was attuned to defeating the enemy.