“If I kill him, you lose,” Gervais said. “Not that you stand much of a chance to begin with.”

  “Then why not just do it?” Charis asked. “Cut off his head and end the game right now.”

  Gervais smiled. “Oh, I’d love to, after what he did to me.” The knife point dug in a little deeper. “But there’s something we need that is much more important than this one.”

  I looked at Sarah. Her body was trembling in anger at her inability to help me. She was the reason the Beast had brought us here. She was the prize. He had already gotten what he needed from Charis and I, but he had to kill Sarah, to take all of her Divine infused, mortal blood in order to gain his full power. He didn’t even care about the Box; it was useless to us without her anyway.

  If I could speak, I would have told Charis to get Sarah out of here, to run as fast as she could. There was no value to my existence if the Beast took Sarah; it would be a short existence after all. I looked at her and tried to express it in my gaze, and she looked back at me and it seemed as though she understood, but I could sense the reluctance to just give me away.

  “Well, my dear?” Gervais asked. “Will you surrender to me, to save your friend? You never know, maybe he’ll even find some way to save you. He’s certainly proven himself to be quite resourceful.”

  Sarah’s face grew wet with tears, her fists clenched, and I could almost feel the heat of her anger pouring from her body. She dropped her eyes to the ground, and then let it all go. “Yes,” she whispered.

  I had to do something. I tried to make eye contact with Charis, to beg her to take Sarah away, right now. She wouldn’t look at me. She knew what she was supposed to do, and she wouldn’t do it. Why? I felt my anger building, and I knew I had to do something.

  “Just step over here then,” Gervais said. “A simple trade. Landon for you, and then we will leave together, through the rift and then back to his prison.”

  Sarah’s head nodded almost imperceptibly. This couldn’t happen. I couldn’t let it. If I was the bargaining chip, I only had value if I was alive.

  I closed my eyes and focused, willing strength into my body. I knew Gervais would sense it, and I could feel his own power growing. He was expecting me to try to escape and throw his arm off. He didn’t plan on me pulling forward to dig the dagger deeper into my neck, to try to sever my own head.

  “No,” he shouted as the blade bit into me. He couldn’t fight back against my pull in time. The only thing he could do was let go, so he did.

  I immediately began to fall. The weapon had gone deep, piercing my esophagus and nearly reaching my spine, leaving me only centimeters from reaching my goal. The blood poured from my neck, and I couldn’t help but be reminded of Rebecca. She had done nearly the same thing to me, and now I had done it to myself. Was that balance?

  Things seemed to slow down for me then. Gervais turned, reaching for the blade, to get hold of it before I could make another attempt at suicide. In the corner of my eye I saw Charis, her arm drawing back and then shooting forward, loosing her blessed sword towards the archfiend like a spear. At the same time, a glimpse of Sarah, running towards us, her fingernails impossibly stretched into daggers of their own.

  It felt like ages, but it happened in less than a second. Gervais got a hold of the hilt of the weapon, and I felt the slick coldness of it being pulled from my neck. Charis’ sword slammed into the archfiend, biting deep into him, entering his chest and piercing right through, forcing him back. Sarah leaped towards him, her hands raised high, her face as feral as any I had ever seen, and yet so familiar to me.

  My body didn’t reach the floor, smacking against the wall behind me. The dagger gone, it was already healing, and I managed to catch myself before I tumbled over completely. Gervais was run through by the sword, but it didn’t seem to matter. He ignored the wound, catching Sarah as she flew towards him, spinning her around and pinning her against the painting, the weapon against her throat. There was stillness for a heartbeat, and then another. I watched the archfiend, waiting for his body to hiss and steam, waiting for even a trace of blood to bloom from the hole in his body. Neither happened.

  “Stay still,” Gervais said, holding Sarah. She struggled below his grip, so he whipped the butt of the weapon around, knocking it against her temple. He caught her unconscious form before she could collapse.

  “You can’t kill her,” Charis said, approaching cautiously.

  He turned, glancing at me, and then looking at her. He hefted Sarah over his shoulder. The sword was still lodged in his gut, but he didn’t seem to notice, or care. “No,” he said. “But you should be more worried about yourself.”

  A growl reminded us that we weren’t the only ones in the room. With Sarah out of action, the demons had recovered, and now they launched themselves towards us.

  “Farewell, mon ami,” Gervais said, laughing. “Enjoy playing with your box.”

  Charis tried to grab him, but was intercepted by a hellhound. She stepped out of its lunge and punched it hard, knocking it to the ground. A devil took its place, and she ducked away from its claws and used her cursed dagger to remove its head. “He’s getting away,” she grunted.

  My neck almost healed, I dove forward and took the shotgun up in my hands, squeezing the trigger. I had never fired a gun before, and the kick threw my aim, but the demons were so close it didn’t matter. The front line fell back, sprayed with holy water. The monsters were parting around their master, and he had almost reached the front of the room.

  I pulled the trigger again, and watched more demons scatter. Charis took up position next to me, slicing at any of the demons who came too close. Wasn’t this how the Templars at our feet had died?

  “This is bull,” I said, getting to my feet. I took the shotgun and threw it out, into the air over the demons, focusing and guiding it so it didn’t hit the ceiling. The chain of shells trailed behind it, unspooling from the box they were piled in, extending like a ribbon.

  I didn’t need to tell Charis what to do. A moment later all of the shells burst, the holy water pellets raining down on the demons, diving into their skin. The mass cried out in pain, and I grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the exit.

  “Wait,” she said. “We need the Box.”

  “Not a good time,” I replied. She stopped letting me lead her, and pulled back the other way.

  “It doesn’t matter if we get her back, if we don’t have the Box. You go ahead, I’ll catch up.”

  It was a lousy time for an argument. The demons would shake off the effects of the water any second. “Charis,” I started to say.

  “I can get back through this rabble,” she insisted. “Go.”

  I didn’t want to leave her. She hadn’t left me. She took away my choice, grabbing me and throwing me towards the door with focused strength. I crashed through the demons, landing ten feet away.

  “Go,” she shouted.

  I kicked and punched my way out of the scrum, reaching the exit. Gervais had dropped Callus’ sword there, but he and Sarah were already gone. I picked it up and threw it back into the room, guiding it until it thunked into the wall next to the painting, and then turned and raced after them.

  I could still See the archfiend, already on the stairs and climbing fast. There was no way I was going to catch them without a better route.

  “Try the windows,” Ulnyx said, his voice permeating my desperation and finding its way into my mind.

  The windows? I wasn’t sure what he was getting at, but I let his voice lead me. I diverted to the far side of the room, where a wall of floor to ceiling glass awaited.

  “Let me drive,” he said. “You know I won’t keep you.”

  He had already proven that. I gave my body up to him, feeling it shift, growing into the demonic monster that was the Great Were. We didn’t even slow as we changed, and Ulnyx bunched us and lunged forward, leading with his claws. They cut deep into the thick glass, breaking the crystalline bonds and compromising the entire surface. Our body went next, and we crashed through, out into the air.

  “Push us back,” he yelled.

  I was so impressed with the feeling of running through the window I hadn’t been paying attention. I focused, bringing a gust of air to shove us back against the building. We had lost a couple of stories, but Ulnyx made it up in a hurry, scrambling up the outer frame like Spiderman.

  We raced up the side of the tower, but I could See Gervais was nearly to the rift. It was going to be way too close. I focused, giving us an extra boost from behind, and we reached the summit with one final shove that sent us out over the rooftop, a massive pounce that brought us directly in line with the fleeing archfiend. He Saw us coming. I knew he would, but it was enough to divert him from the rift. He turned and raised his hand, and all of the air around us vanished, leaving us choking. He ducked as we fell, tracking us with his hand, keeping us in the vacuum.

  Ulnyx hit the ground and spun, ready for another go. “The angels,” I said. We weren’t the only ones on the roof. They charged towards us, all except the Beast, who watched with an intense gaze. I could swear I saw the hint of fear in those eyes, but I didn’t have enough time to tell.

  “It was a fine effort, Landon,” Gervais shouted. He dropped his hand so he could resume his journey towards the rift, giving us back our air. Not that it mattered, we had our hands full.

  Unlike the demons we had found in the safe room, these angels weren’t some pity party meant to distract. They came on in an organized way, three at a time, encircling us. I knew this was standard procedure for taking on a Great Were, and I knew by their numbers if I didn’t come up with something else they would win. I could only hope to hold out long enough for Charis to reach me. Giving her the sword had eased my concerns that she wouldn’t make it.

  I kept my Sight focused on Gervais while Ulnyx faced off against the angels. He would be gone within seconds, and I didn’t see any way of stopping him. “No,” I shouted, taking back control of my body from Ulnyx, roaring with anger and lashing out at the nearest seraph. My foot caught him in the chin, sending him flying backwards thirty feet or more. It didn’t matter, I couldn’t reach Gervais.

  That was when it happened. Call it luck, call it destiny, call it the hand of God. Call it whatever you want. Gervais was no more than six feet from the rift, when it suddenly burst into flames. Not the typical soft burning hellfire on the runes that made up the circle, but a literal gout of heat and fire that filled the entire circumference and made it appear as though someone had unplugged a tunnel that led directly to the heart of the Pit itself. The hellfire launched up into the air one hundred feet or more, causing the archfiend to begin stumbling backwards, the angels to cry out in panic and begin beating their wings in an effort to escape, and that hint of fear on the Beast to grow into a full-blown worry.

  A human figure stepped out of the flames.

  Izak.

  Gervais tried to shift Sarah so she would be between him and the demon, but he came too fast, somehow managing to slam his fist into Gervais’ face and at the same time catch Sarah before the archfiend could drop her. He laid her tenderly at his feet, and then looked up at his enemy.

  “He isn’t supposed to be here,” I heard the Beast hiss.

  I started running, not for Gervais or the Beast but for Sarah. I know Izak knew I was coming, and he stepped gingerly over her to put himself between her and her father.

  “That might have hurt,” Gervais said, recovering from the blow and straightening up. His nose was shattered on his face, but again there was no blood. “If I could feel pain.”

  He raised his hand, and I heard a groan from behind us. I turned to see that the now charred and somewhat melted radio tower the rift was located beneath had lost its base, corroded in an instant by the demon. It started teetering and then fell towards us, threatening to crush us all beneath it.

  “What are you doing?” the Beast cried. “I need her alive!”

  I needed us alive too. I focused, pushing my will against the tower, demanding it to stay up, or to fall any direction that wasn’t this one. I felt the energy flowing, felt the strain of the demand as the universe countered my desires with its laws and rules and math. Still, I pushed. It wasn’t enough.

  I picked Sarah up, still focused, still trying. Her eyes opened the tiniest bit, but she was groggy.

  “Izak,” she whispered.

  “He’s here,” I said. I looked at the tower. There was no way I could outrun it, no way I could stop it.

  “He came,” she said with a small smile. “He heard me.”

  I didn’t have time to ask her what she had done. The tower was getting closer, and I pushed back, as hard as I could, feeling the strength draining from me. I could have stopped it before the Beast had taken some of my blood.

  Charis couldn’t have picked a better time to get to the roof. She appeared out of the stairwell, her body covered in demon blood, her hair a mess. She saw the falling tower, she saw us under it, and she added her power to mine, pushing against it and forcing it away. Combined, we took control, moving it off the side of the building and letting it tumble to the ground below.

  Izak hadn’t even noticed the tower. He charged on Gervais, his hands lighting up in hellfire, his punches rocketing in at the archfiend. Gervais took the hits, letting them throw him backwards and burn him, getting back to his feet and laughing it off, taking the hits again. It only enraged the demon more, and he came on stronger. Gervais retreated away from him, reaching the edge of the rooftop. When he did, he gave Izak one last look, and jumped off the side. I don’t care what he had done to not bleed or feel pain, nothing could survive that fall.

  With Sarah safe and Gervais dealt with, I lowered her back to the ground and turned towards the Beast. He had been watching the fight, but now he noticed me coming.

  “Do you surrender?” I asked as I approached.

  I was sure he had the power to will someone to cease to be just by looking at them, when he had control of his full power. At least, that was how it seemed by the look he gave me.

  “You think you’ve won?” he asked. “Just because you got lucky here? You think this trap, this Box, is the only play I have? You still don’t get it, do you, kid? You still just don’t understand what you’re dealing with here. Enjoy your little victory. Go pop some Crystal, get wasted, and screw your women. Do it first, because I’ll be doing it last. In the meantime, I’ll give you a little better working sample on being a god. Keep your eyes open, kid. You might learn something.”

  He smiled again. That damn smile. A second later Callus’ sword shaved the angel’s head cleanly off his body, but I knew the Beast had already abandoned it.

  “You have the Box?” I asked.

  Charis nodded and patted a new pocket that had sprouted from her pants. “Right here,” she said.

  I went over to where Sarah was sitting. Izak had reached her first, and he had his arms around her, holding her so tightly it seemed she would suffocate.

  “Izak,” I said. “I’ve never been happier to see you.”

  The demon raised his hand in greeting without breaking the embrace.

  “I don’t want to rush the moment here, but we need to get moving. The Beast is pissed.”

  As if to back up my claim, I felt the ground below us shift, and heard a deep rumble.

  “What the heck is that?” Charis asked.

  I ran to the side of the building and looked down. It had to be a hundred stories at least, but I could see the dust forming around the base of the building. I could See Gervais standing there, his hands out, causing it.

  “He’s bringing down the whole building,” I said in shock. The rumbling started to get louder, followed by the sound of the superstructure bending and cracking. “We really need to get out of here.”

  I turned and raced back towards Izak and Sarah. “Izak, we need to go, now,” I shouted. “This building is coming down.”

  He scooped Sarah up like she was a little girl, and we ran for the rift. Everything began shaking around us, the ground lilting and swaying like we were on a boat.

  “Light it up,” I said, reaching out and taking Sarah from him. He crouched down and began scratching into the ground with his fingernail, leaving the runes that would change the rift’s destination. He poured his power into it then, and the runes flared up.

  I heard a snap, and saw the rooftop behind us begin to disappear as the building collapsed from the south. Within seconds it would be gone, toppled onto who knows how many human souls, destroying who knows how many lives of those stuck inside of it. I could only hope the massive influx of Divine had driven most of the people from the area.

  “Go,” I shouted. I handed Sarah back to Izak as he stepped through, and then grabbed Charis. My left foot made it through fine, but my right began to slip as the matter beneath it started rushing away. What would happen if I was caught in between and the rift was destroyed? I pulled hard on Charis, using the force of her momentum smashing into me to get us both all the way through before we lost the world around us.

  I didn’t have a chance to get my bearings as we came through. I stumbled, the kinetic energy driving me off balance, knocking me onto my back with Charis on top of me. Our eyes met.

  My first thought had something to do with timing. I discarded that one, and ditched the rest too. I leaned up and found her lips with my own, thanking her for not leaving me, thanking her for saving my life, and thanking her for staying alive. She didn’t hesitate to respond in kind, and while it was a short moment, it was one I would never forget.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  “There’s a smart-ass quip in here, somewhere. I just know it.”

  Obi’s voice ripped me out of the moment I was having with Charis. She gave me a small smile and pulled away, rolling off and getting to her feet. Obi was standing over me, his face shining with the hugeness of his grin. He reached out and helped me to my feet.

  “It’s good to see you again, man,” he said, clapping me on the back.

  “You too,” I replied. “Sarah.”