Chapter 12 The Race Against Death
Cressida's POV
My legs burn as I sprint down the street.
Fifteen minutes to the hospital. Twenty minutes before Thaddeus kills Landry.
The math doesn't work.
"Cressida, slow down!" Isolde gasps behind me. "We need a plan!"
"The plan is run faster!" I dodge around a homeless man, my lungs screaming for air.
My phone buzzes. I glance at the screen while running.
The timer: 18:47... 18:46... 18:45...
And below it, a new message: "Use your powers. Save him instantly. Or watch your brother die because you're too weak and slow. Your choice. Sable"
The darkness inside me roars to life. It knows what I want. It can feel my desperation.
Let me out, it whispers. I can get you there in two minutes. Save Landry. Complete the trial later.
"No," I say out loud.
A car horn blares. I barely dodge a taxi.
Isolde catches up to me at a red light. She bends over, hands on her knees, wheezing. "This is... insane. You'll never... make it... in time."
"I have to try."
"Then think!" She grabs my arm. "You're playing Sable's game. She wants you to use your powers. That's why she's doing this."
"I don't care about Sable! Landry is dying!"
"Is he?" Isolde pulls out her laptop, balancing it on a mailbox while her fingers fly across the keys. "Give me thirty seconds."
"We don't have thirty seconds!"
"Trust me!"
I want to keep running. Every instinct screams at me to move. But Isolde saved my life with her hacking skills before.
I wait. Each second feels like an hour.
Isolde's screen shows the hospital security feed. She pulls up Landry's room.
My brother lies in his bed, machines beeping steadily. No Thaddeus. No pillow over his face. Just Landry, peaceful and alone.
"It's another fake," Isolde says. "Sable is trying to trick you into using your powers."
Relief floods through me so hard I almost fall over.
Then my phone buzzes again.
A new video. This time it's live I can see the timestamp in the corner.
Thaddeus walks into Landry's room. His golden armor gleams under the hospital lights. He looks directly at the camera and holds up a sign: "Not a trick this time. You have 17 minutes."
Then he closes the blinds, blocking the camera's view.
"No, no, no!" Isolde types frantically. "I'm trying to get other camera angles "
My phone rings. Unknown number.
I answer. "What do you want?"
Sable's voice purrs through the speaker. "I want to help you, Cressida. I really do. Use your demon powers. Fly to that hospital. Save your brother. Who cares about some stupid trial?"
"Mara said "
"Mara is testing you to see if you're worthy of being human." Sable laughs. "But here's the thing: humans are weak. Slow. Pathetic. Why would you want to go back to that? Embrace what you're becoming. Demons are powerful. Free. We don't follow anyone's rules."
"You're a demon?"
"The best kind. I chose this. And I'm offering you the same choice." Her voice drops to a whisper. "Save Landry with your powers. Fail the trial. Become a demon. Then you and I can do whatever we want. We'll be unstoppable."
I hang up.
Isolde stares at me. "Was that "
"Later. How far to the hospital?"
She checks her phone. "Twelve blocks. Maybe ten minutes if we run."
I check the timer: 16:23.
We might actually make it.
"Let's go."
We run. My human body protests every step. My muscles ache. My chest burns. The black veins pulse with each heartbeat, reminding me that I could be so much faster.
Just one drop of demon power. One shadow-step. I'd be there instantly.
But then I'd fail. Lose my humanity. Become the monster everyone thinks I am.
Eight blocks left. Timer: 12:15.
Six blocks. Timer: 9:47.
We can make it. We can
Isolde screams.
A car swerves onto the sidewalk, tires squealing. It heads straight for us.
I grab Isolde and dive into an alley. The car crashes into a trash can, missing us by inches.
The driver's door opens. A man steps out. His eyes glow silver another hunter.
"You're fast for a human," he says. "But not fast enough."
"Get out of my way!" I pull my knife.
"Can't do that. I have orders to slow you down." He draws a sword of light. "Nothing personal."
Timer: 8:21.
I don't have time for this.
The hunter swings. I dodge, but barely. He's fast, trained, and I'm just human right now.
"Run!" I tell Isolde. "Get to Landry!"
"I'm not leaving you!"
"One of us has to make it!" I block another strike, my knife vibrating from the impact. "Go!"
Isolde hesitates, then runs.
The hunter tries to follow, but I tackle him. We crash to the ground, and his sword skitters away.
He punches me in the ribs. Pain explodes through my chest. I punch back, hitting his jaw. My knuckles split open.
We fight like animals. No powers, no grace. Just desperate, brutal violence.
I'm losing. He's bigger, stronger, better trained.
The darkness whispers: One shadow-claw. That's all it takes. Kill him. Save Landry. Stop being weak.
No.
The hunter slams my head into the pavement. Stars burst across my vision.
"Just use your powers," he says, pinning me down. "I know you want to. I can see it in your eyes."
"Go... to... hell."
I grab a broken bottle from the ground and slash his arm. He yelps and falls back.
I run.
My head is spinning. Blood drips from my split knuckles. Every breath hurts.
Timer: 5:03.
Four blocks left.
I round a corner and crash into someone.
Isolde.
"Why didn't you keep going?" I gasp.
"Because I can't get into the hospital." She points ahead.
Mercy General Hospital looms before us. And standing at every entrance, glowing with celestial light, are hunters. At least ten of them.
"Mara said the hospital would be crawling with them," Isolde whispers. "She wasn't kidding."
Timer: 4:12.
"There has to be another way in," I say. "Service entrance, loading dock, something "
"All guarded. I checked." Isolde's voice breaks. "Cressida, I'm so sorry. This trial is impossible."
She's right. No human could fight through ten celestial warriors in four minutes.
But a demon could.
The darkness surges inside me, eager and hungry. One word. That's all it takes. One word, and I become something powerful enough to save Landry.
My phone buzzes.
Sable: "Clock's ticking, little monster. What's more important your humanity or your brother's life? Choose."
I stare at the hospital. At the hunters blocking every entrance. At the timer counting down Landry's life.
Then I look at Isolde. At her terrified face. At the hope dying in her eyes.
She lost her mother to this choice. Watched Sarah Chen choose demon powers and lose everything.
Now she's watching me face the same decision.
"I'm sorry," I whisper.
Isolde's eyes widen. "Cressida, no "
I close my eyes.
The darkness rises, ready to consume me.
But then
"Stop."
Mara's voice.
I open my eyes. The Contract Keeper stands between me and the hospital, glowing brighter than all the hunters combined.
"The trial was never about reaching the hospital in time," she says calmly.
"What?"
"It was about choosing your humanity over everything else. Even over someone you love." Mara gestures at the hospital. "Your brother is fine. Thaddeus left five minutes ago. This was all a test."
Relief and rage war inside me. "You used Landry as bait?"
"I used your love for him to test your resolve." Mara's silver eyes show no remorse. "Many candidates use their powers the moment someone they love is threatened. You didn't. You chose to stay human, even if it meant watching your brother die."
"That's sick!"
"That's the trial." Mara touches my chest, and one of the black veins dissolves into nothing. "First trial complete. You have four hours until Stage Two now."
Four hours. Better than two, but still not enough.
"What's the second trial?" I demand.
Mara's expression darkens. "The second trial is harder. And there's something you should know: Sable isn't just watching. She's planning something. Something that will force you to use your powers before the trials are complete."
"What is she planning?"
"I don't know. But I can feel it." Mara starts to fade. "Be careful, Cressida. The next few hours will test you in ways you can't imagine. Trust no one. Not the hunters, not Sable, and definitely not the darkness inside you."
She vanishes.
The hunters at the hospital disappear too.
I collapse against a wall, shaking. My knuckles are still bleeding. My head throbs.
"Hey." Isolde sits next to me. "You did it. You passed."
"Barely."
"Still counts." She smiles weakly. "Four hours is better than "
Her phone rings.
She answers, her face going pale as she listens.
"What?" I ask. "What is it?"
Isolde's hand trembles. "That was the police. They found five bodies in a warehouse across town. All killed in the last hour."
My stomach drops. "Who?"
"Judge Martinez. Officer Devon. Amanda Pierce the CEO. And two others from my list of corrupt people." Isolde's voice shakes. "Someone killed them all. Carved their crimes into their skin, just like you used to do."
"I've been with you the whole time. It wasn't me."
"I know." She shows me her phone screen. Security footage from the warehouse. "But look who it was."
The video shows a figure in black, moving with superhuman speed, tearing through the five people with shadow claws and brutal efficiency.
The figure turns toward the camera.
It has Landry's face.
But his eyes are pure black.
And carved into his forehead are the words: "STAGE TWO COMPLETE."