Ethan crouched like a cornered animal, low to the ground as the demons swooped in on him, their voices a repulsive cacophony of roaring, screaming rage.  His whole body was tense, like a coiled spring.  As the first demon came at him, Ethan moved with uncanny swiftness to whirl his cloak around its face, and the snarling gargoyle had no choice but to fly blind and drag him in its wake as it soared upwards.  It hauled itself up higher in the sky to keep itself from smashing into the mountain, and then it began struggling to escape the cloth around its face. 

            Ethan had a firm grip on the cloak, however, and was using all his strength to twist it tightly about the demon’s head.  It let out a muffled growl as it lashed its head from side to side, and swooped through the sky in an attempt to dislodge its unwelcome passenger.  Ethan gritted his teeth and held on, spinning from side to side as the monster flapped around in mid-air.  The other demons howled in frustration, not knowing what to do as they watched their cohort flap around with Ethan on its back.  Ethan hoped they wouldn’t decide their friend was expendable and attack anyway.

            Blinded, the demon began flying erratically.  They spun dangerously close to the nearby mountain face, and Ethan felt the bottoms of his feet drag across the rock.  He had to run along it to keep his feet from harm.  He kicked off the solid mass, propelling himself into the gargoyle.  Ethan locked his arms around the demon’s neck and spun himself up onto its back, where he could use his weight on its wings to direct its path.  He forced it lower, towards the ground, and at the same time caused it to curve back towards the mountain.  He leapt off just in time to tumble into drifts of snow and crash the monster headlong into rocks with a strangled cry of pain and rage.  One down.

            He picked himself up from the snow, poised for the attack of the remainder.  He knew he didn’t have a chance, but Ethan intended to go down fighting.

            “Come on then.”  He gestured at them with his hands to come closer, daring them to attack.  He counted at least a score or more of the black monstrosities floating in the air, flapping their membranous bat-like wings.  They gnashed their teeth and growled a challenge of their own as they dove towards him, creating a horribly loud sound that threatened to shatter his eardrums.

            The horde of demons roared and rushed at Ethan, their dark wings blocking out the sunlight and covering him in shadow.  He stood his ground, fists clenched, every muscle tense. They descended on him like a cloud of fury, their horrible maws gaping wide, their claws outstretched.  As fast as a striking hawk, Ethan leapt into the air and tackled one of the winged creatures, slamming it forcefully backwards into another.  The three of them crashed to the ground in a struggling pile while the rest wheeled around to join the fray.

            Ethan kicked one fallen beast to the side, breaking its jaw as he got a stranglehold on the second.  He struggled to evade its slashing claws, and delivered several quick blows with his elbow.  The monster grunted in pain but continued to fight back.  His compatriots were almost upon Ethan and he looked up at them, seeing death in their eyes.  Just as he was certain of his impending doom, when the biting teeth of the lead demon were but inches from his face, a blinding light smote the centre of the demon pack and scattered them to every side.

            Everywhere there were shrieks of pain and whirling bodies being flung from side to side to strike the mountainside.  Ethan and the demon in his clutches watched with eyes wide, their mouths gaping, as the entire gaggle of dark creatures was thrown down.  When it was all over, they saw Mara hovering in the air, her eyes ablaze with holy fire, her sword shining in her hand.

            “Hi baby.  Miss me?”  She asked.

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