Before Eli could react, the double doors swung open, pushing her backwards. She stumbled back but did not drop the blade in her hand.
She positioned her feet and raised her head. All movements were now purely instinctual.
The mage descended from his throne unhurriedly. A scary shadow, his eyes blazing, surrounded his face. A red aura of power formed around his fists.
A small army of naked, angry creatures stood ahead, shielding him. Their height was no more than his waist.
She swallowed. Eli had survived worse before; a little pack of short demons wouldn't be the end of her. Though she knew not many people encountered a mage and lived to tell the tale.
"Seize her," the mage commanded softly. The creatures charged toward Eli as if released by his order. She had half a second to pull another dagger from her belt before attacking.
If she were going to die, she would take as much as she could with her.
With one blade, she stabbed the first creature's bare skin in the gut that closed to her on her right and slammed her elbow into the mouth of another beast approaching her from the left.
They both groaned in pain. The one Eli had cut clutched her stomach with her hand to stop the bleeding, hissing at her—the other made room for the third, who rushed towards Eli with open claws and sharp teeth. Eli pushed one of her hands away, cutting her arm, but the nails of her other hand landed on Eli's face, slicing her cheek, lip, and jaw.
Eli screamed and shoved a blade into her shoulder and pulled it out. The creature shrieked and fell. Thick black blood dropped on the floor.
Her own blood, warm and smooth, flowed down her face, dripping on her vest. Her face was on fire.
Eli had only a second to catch her breath before a male charged at her, shouting. She ducked his punch and carved a deep cut on his thigh. The movement cost her as another male lunged at her, throwing her backwards down the stairs behind her.
Eli's head hit the stairs from behind. The daggers slipped out of her hand. Her vision blurred for a few moments, and the sounds became muffled. But she quickly came to her senses, blinking the tears away.
Eli clutched the stairs' stone railings and stood up quickly to steady herself.
Her head throbbed.
The bloody and wounded man was lying on the side of the stairs with his legs open, grabbing his balls. Blood dripped between his fingers. From the looks of it, Eli's blade cut him while falling.
Eli didn't spend much time on him. One of her blades was at the foot of the spiral stairs, and the other was nowhere to be found.
As she raised her hand to wipe the blood from her face, two more beings attacked her.
One had wings.
The dancers.
Eli punched the other as the female launched forward and sank her long, sharp fangs into Eli's neck. The fangs cut through leather and cotton and pierced into her flesh.
Eli screamed. Pain shot through her collarbone and shoulder. She punched the female so hard that she was thrown back a few stairs. The female hissed at the pain, showing her bloody fangs to Eli. She quickly got up and aimed to attack again when a calm voice commanded her, "Careful, Takana. Show her our hospitality." The voice had a hint of darkness that even Eli halted for a second. She didn't look up to find him at the top of the stairs. She was staring at Takana, the female dancer, and her wings were trembling alarmingly. Even the rest of the creatures halted to see the two, panting and bloody, only a few stairs apart.
Eli's clothes were getting hot and sticky layer by layer. Blood flowed from her shoulder to her chest and stomach. Each breath sent a shot of pain to her shoulder. She already felt her left hand was getting numb. She swore under her breath. Takan's fangs were poisonous.
A male came to Takana and helped her stand up. He was winged, too. And still naked. To Eli's satisfaction, Takana winced in pain. Beyond the transparent dress, some nasty bruises were forming under her ribs where Eli punched her.
The male launched at Eli. She blocked the blow with her hand only to receive another in the ribs. She shrieked and kicked his balls hard with her knee, pushing him down the stairs.
Her vision blurred for a few moments. She was losing blood, fast. She had to run away.
But from the looks of it, there was no chance of leaving this cursed house alive. And no future welcomed her without the ruby.
She descended a step backwards, spitting blood on the floor. Her left foot stepped on something. It was her second blade. She looked at Takana, still staring at her, and bent to grab her blade without breaking eye contact. She wasn't giving up.
Takana grinned, her teeth red with Eli's blood. "Your blood is so delicious," she licked her lips. "I can't wait to taste more."
She struck again. Eli was ready.
But another little beast struck alongside Takana, catching Eli off guard. Eli darted the blade directly at the male beast coming down the stairs. The dagger plunged right into the middle of his chest, causing the creature to let out a cry.
A shout came from behind her, and then something heavy fell on Eli's wounded shoulder, causing her to lose balance and fall back on the stairs. It was the same winged male that Eli had pushed down the stairs. The wooden stairs hit Eli's jaw and ribs hard, pulling her breath out of her lungs.
She groaned in pain and tried to get the damn demon off of her. But the male pressed Eli's face against the stone step with his firm palm and pinned his knee on Eli's shoulder wound. He was shockingly strong for his size. Eli could not breathe.
"Bring it to me, Takana, before Gheiys kill her." The mage was somewhere above Eli.
There were stomps of the steps, and then, a moment later, hands clasped Eli's hair, lifting her. Eli breathed deeply, making her body fire up in pain everywhere.
"I want her alive," the mage said at the top of the stairs, his voice dangerously low. "For now."
Eli moved to escape their grasp; she wasn't done fighting, even though her left arm had lost its senses.
The mage raised his fist and pointed it at Eli. A bright red aura danced around his hand, like a bloody dragon ready to strike. Before Eli could react, he whispered something, and Eli lost consciousness.