Note: Chapter 112 was edited to actually be chapter 112 sorry for the confusion

 

By the time Beth stepped through the portal to the secret volcano, the others had already arrived. She walked out of a small, thatched home into what looked like a village. Tink had dragged a table into the largest opening separating the houses and was having a very animated debate with Eulalie and Reggie. They were surrounded by dozens of rats who watched the conversation with twitching ears.

Unsure if she should interrupt, Beth noticed a beautiful Hawaiian woman in a white dress watching from outside the ring of rats. Recognizing the divine aura right away, Beth skirted the group and walked over to the woman. When she arrived, she gave a polite bow.

“My name is Beth,” she said, then looked up at the goddess. “Are you Pele?”

The goddess didn’t move, but her eyes shifted away from the discussion to take Beth in. “I expected you sooner.”

Beth nodded. “I was supposed to be here some time ago, but had to speak with the centaurs before coming here. I apologize for my delay.”

“The goblin referred to me as Hot Rock Island Coochie when she got here.” Pele sniffed in indignation. “Then informed me that the families on my island are in danger from bony fucks. So I’m still not entirely sure what is happening.”

Chagrined, Beth gave a quick explanation to Pele of what had transpired. At numerous points, the ground rumbled ominously beneath them, but Pele didn’t otherwise react. When she finished talking, the goddess turned away and stared up toward the ridgeline of the mountains.

Beth gave Pele a couple of minutes to digest the information, then cleared her throat and stepped forward. “When I’m done here, I’m supposed to drop in on what’s left of Paradise and speak to the merfolk. We need to know sooner rather than later if they will help the Order and us hold back Francois’ army.”

“Hmph. I sincerely doubt they will. This is a land walker issue, after all.”

“Mike thought they might listen to you.”

The goddess shook her head. “I doubt it. I am the one who boiled their people alive.”

“And that’s exactly why you should.” Beth moved toward Pele and put her hand on the goddess’ shoulder. Pele’s skin was hot enough that Beth pulled her hand away. “They deserve to know why you did it and maybe what’s at stake.”

“I think that you and the Caretaker should prepare for further disappointment.” Pele turned, her hair billowing away from her as if carried on the breeze. “But I will do whatever it takes to save my people, even if it means wasting a few moments on the merfolk.”

“Mike also wanted me to ask why the night marchers can’t come out during the day. And please don’t say, ‘because they’re called night marchers.’”

Pele frowned. “Why would I say that?”

Beth shrugged. “Force of habit. I live with a man who acts like he can get into heaven by telling dad jokes and a tree who only encourages his behavior.”

“I…don’t know quite how to respond to that.” Pele smirked and sat on a nearby rock. “How much do you know about spirits?”

“Less than I should. I sort of live with the Grim Reaper and have a dullahan as one of my boy-toys. It does come up in conversation sometimes.” Beth leaned against a nearby tree. “I know that a good chunk of a spirit’s behavior can depend on what they believed while alive.”

Pele nodded. “For the Hawaiian people, they are tied to the land both physically and spiritually. The night marchers are a manifestation of this bond, ancestral warriors that have sworn to protect their chieftains and this land from those who would harm it.”

“Do they remain because they were buried here or is it bigger than that?”

“In many cultures, a spirit is attached to their resting place, or perhaps an object that holds great meaning. For the ancient warriors of Hawaii, this place wasn’t just somewhere to live. It was their forever home, a place that meant everything to all those who would come after. These warriors fought, bled, and died on this land, their bones interred in cliffs and secret caves that their mana could return to the soil and give back what they had taken from the island. As long as the spirit of Hawaii itself lives on, then so shall the night marchers.”

“I understand all this. But that doesn’t tell me why they only come out at night. We need their help during the day.”

Tink shouted something particularly obscene, and both Beth and Pele leaned over to see who or what she was shouting at. The goblin was busy climbing one of Eulalie’s legs, while the Arachne tried to shake her off. Quetzalli had joined them and was trying desperately to pull them apart.

“Does the Caretaker really think she can handle this?” Pele scowled at the scene.

“He trusts Tink implicitly. So do I.” Beth cleared her throat to regain Pele’s attention. “The night marchers. How can we get them to manifest during the day?”

Pele sighed and leaned back against the rock and tucked a flower in her hair. “The spirits of the dead are beings of energy, in a way. They require energy to manifest in a physical sense, and this usually comes from the presence of living beings. All day long, the spirits will slumber and gather ambient lifeforce on their own. But it’s a delicate balance. Too little and they don’t appear. Too much? They can burst.” She looked up into the sky and studied a cloud that had rolled over the lip of the volcano. “The sun can also provide this energy, but how do you contain it in a non-existent vessel? It overwhelms them immediately unless they find a way to hold tremendous focus. They were able to manifest shortly before sundown when Francois tried to climb the mountain, but only because they had raw anger coupled with the shade of the trees to insulate them from the direct effects of the sun.”

“So the spirits need an energy source, but the sun is too strong?”

The goddess nodded. “That’s extremely reductive, but yes. Should you wish to summon the night marchers, you would need to replicate both the insulating effects of night time while providing them a sufficient energy source to manifest.”

“FUCK!” Tink fell off Eulalie just as the Arachne leapt straight into a tree. Quetzalli stood between them, lightning crackling between her fingers. “STUPID FUCKING SPARK DRAGON, EAT TINK’S ASS!” The goblin jumped to her feet and tried to bite Quetzalli’s hand, but the dragon shocked her again.

Beth stared at the three women, then grinned. “Done,” she said, then turned to face the goddess.

“Done? You’ve figured out how to summon the marchers during the day?”

“Yep. But that hinges on your ability to cause an eruption.”

Pele rolled her eyes. “The only reason I don’t do it more often is that I like to treat each one as if it were a work of art. When you rush them, it can be rather boring.”

“Good. Then let’s go to Paradise and speak with the Order and the merfolk.” Beth took Pele by the hand and pulled her to her feet. The goddess frowned, then looked at Beth’s hand.

“You’re a brave one, aren’t you?”

“Only because I don’t have the time to be scared.” Beth was already moving toward the hut with a portal to the airBNB by Paradise. “Now, c’mon. Let’s go back to Paradise and figure out what we can do to save your people.”

---

Sarah opened new eyes to see her mother standing nearby with her arms crossed. Elizabeth had her head tilted to one side as she inspected Sarah’s new body.

“Well?” It was a question her mother had asked dozens, if not over a hundred times. Every body was a new experience, due largely in part to what made a person unique in the first place. When Sarah first moved in, there could be mental limitations to bypass, poor mana channels which meant burning new ones, and even something as basic as a gluten allergy . Sometimes there was quite a bit of pain accompanying possession, which was always a warning sign that the body wouldn’t last long. Other times, the new meat suit felt like a comfortable sweater, or even a well worn jacket.

Bodies rarely lasted more than a few days, especially when Sarah was forced to rely on magic. Over at the conference table, Darius’ corpse had been arranged to look as if he was taking a nap while still wearing his sunglasses. Upon closer inspection, anyone could see that the man’s eyes had burst, a result of the power required to subvert an entire village full of angry centaurs.

But this body was different. Many times in the past Sarah had worn corpses of the Order, marveling at their strength and durability. Not only was this body perfectly suited to the kind of magic Sarah wanted to wield, but Laurel herself had been extremely easy to dispose of. Sometimes it was all Sarah could do just to suppress somebody’s mind, but Laurel was easy. The woman had been broken on a psychological level, and it had been no challenge for Sarah to scoop away what was left until the mage had simply given up and died. As a result, the intrusion had been almost effortless.

Sarah raised her new hand and curled the fingers in, casually summoning heat into her fingertips. With a snap of her fingers, fire sparked to life and hovered above the palm of her hand. Pain immediately rushed up her arm and she allowed the spell to fizzle.

“It feels good.” This wasn’t a body that felt like a coat, or a sweater. This was a body that felt like home. Sarah grinned at her mother, then slid her fingers beneath the strap of her necklace. 

“Are you sure?” Elizabeth asked. “If you pull that off and you’re wrong, it’ll cut your time in that body in half.”

“And?” Sarah put her hands on the cord and lifted, pulling the necklace up and over her head. Unlike other times when she had tried this, there was no blacking out or sudden dissociation. This time, her soul was firmly entrenched in her new, permanent host. Smiling, she handed the necklace to her mother. “Success.”

Elizabeth smiled, then let out a laugh. “I never thought I’d see the day,” she said.

“Tell me about it.” Sarah moved to the nearest reflective surface and studied herself in the mirror. Not only was the body a good fit, but Laurel had been moderately attractive. Sarah had wondered more than once if she was destined to end up in an ugly body or even as a man. Still, those options were far better than the alternative of burning in Hell for all eternity as some demon’s slave. She summoned another handful of flames and let out a sadistic giggle.

“Stop that.” Elizabeth swatted at Sarah’s hand. “Just because your soul wasn’t rejected doesn’t mean you should force your magic through it so readily.”

“You’re right.” Sarah dismissed the flames again and saw that her fingertips were already charred. Frowning, she pinched them together and frowned at the sharp pain. “I can’t just go body hopping again, now can I?”

“Not for many, many years.” Elizabeth put the necklace around her own neck. The blue gemstone had faded to black and now looked like obsidian. “The tear of the phoenix was always meant to be an emergency measure specifically because of how long it takes to recharge. You’ll need to take much better care of this body than you did your own.”

“Fuck you.” Sarah undid a couple of buttons on the collar of her shirt and pulled her hair out of its ponytail. “Dying is probably the best thing that’s ever happened to me. If not for what happened in that greenhouse, there’s a good chance I would have been killed in the blast that now has our dear leader reconstituting himself one molecule at a time across time and space.”

“Don’t talk about him like that.” Elizabeth’s features had paled significantly.

“Oh, he’s too busy screaming about his succubus to give a shit, even if he could hear me.” Sarah tugged her shirt open and looked inside. “This girl had great taste in underwear.”

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and turned away from her daughter. “We won’t have long before someone suspects a problem with Darius,” she said.

“Let’s just tell them that the centaurs poisoned him or something. He gave his life to complete the mission or some bullshit. Hoorah.”

“You’re very belligerent tonight.”

“Hell, yes, I am.” Sarah swayed her hips from side to side as she did a small dance. “I’m fucking alive again! No more rotting from the inside, no more body hopping, no more doing the Curator’s—”

“Watch it.” Elizabeth’s tone was like steel.

“Infiltration missions,” Sarah finished. “I’ve had so many people’s memories in my head that I thought I was going to go crazy as a result.”

“While that is probably true, I would like to remind you that our benefactor expects a certain level of respect from those he has supported. When we return, you know he will want to run some tests.” Elizabeth frowned at the floor and stomped on a rather large wolf spider.

Sarah nodded. The Curator had made several hypotheses about why she had been unable to find a suitable body, and the only reason she wasn’t afraid he would dissect her to learn more was because he had given his word not to do so. The Curator was one scary bastard, but the man kept his promises.

There was a knock on the door. Both Sarah and Elizabeth looked at each other and then Darius. Sarah cast a minor illusion which made it look like the man was breathing while Elizabeth walked to the door to answer it.

Dirk stood in the doorway, his features serious. “We have a situation,” he said, looking at Darius. Sarah gave the corpse a nudge with her magic, causing Darius’ head to tip like he was listening.

“What is it?” asked Elizabeth.

“Somebody just knocked on the main door.” Darius looked at Elizabeth. “We checked the cameras but didn’t see anything.”

“Shit.” Elizabeth looked at Sarah. “Most likely a spirit. It could be the Grim Reaper.”

Sarah bit her lip hard enough to draw blood. During this whole operation, their primary fear had been allowing Death to spot her. The Reaper’s abilities were severely limited in regards to living beings, but when it came to souls that refuse to depart, he could easily rip Sarah out of whatever body she inhabited, including this one.

“What do you want us to do?” he asked.

“Have your men form up.” Elizabeth looked over at the corpse. By now, her shadow had stretched across the floor, allowing her to take control of it. Darius nodded his approval. “Prepare for an assault. Authorize lethal force by any and all means. When you get a moment, have somebody check on the prisoners and then call up whoever is watching them. They’re just kids, a pair of guards will suffice. Sister Laurel, we will require Order personnel to assist with our defenses. Once we repel the attackers, we need to prep for evacuation. They were never supposed to find us this quickly.”

“Of course.” Sarah gave a little bow and walked out of the office. In the control room, men watching screens were already mobilizing, many of them heading into the hangar to bolster field teams. Atop a pair of guard towers, the M134 miniguns that had been installed were already being prepped. 

“Do we have audio?” she asked, moving closer to the screen that displayed the entrance to the secret base. The man closest to the screen didn’t respond, but pressed a button that caused the speakers to burst to life.

“I say, we do know you’re in there. It would save us quite a bit of effort if you would just crack the door a bit and return those children.” A dark shape briefly appeared as Death walked to a different part of the door. “If we do have to come in there, you certainly won’t like the results.” The dark shadow disappeared again, and the faint knocking of bone on steel could be heard.

“Yep. Reaper.” Dirk was standing behind Sarah now and checking his sidearm. “The psychopomp is harmless, but I’m guessing if he knows we’re here, the others are coming.”

The monitor went black. The man running the monitors clicked through to a couple of other cameras, but they had gone dark as well. He turned in his chair to look at Dirk.

“Feeds are down.” He looked at the console and smashed a spider that was near his hand. “Damned bugs.”

“We expect contact any moment people.” Dirk moved toward the door and paused to look back at Sarah. “Get your group up here. Things are about to get hot.”

Sarah smirked and followed him out of the control room. Even though the Radleys had found their location, there had always been a contingency plan. Once she secured Mike’s children, she and the Order personnel would escort them out through a secret exit tunnel that they could easily collapse behind them. She had been here decades ago when the place was built, after all, and knew where everything was. By this time tomorrow, she could hand the children over to the Curator and be done with this affair.

In the hangar bay, the temperature had dropped substantially. The Sons of Sin were glancing at each other with knowing looks as their breath turned to vapor. This had to be the work of the kitsune, Yuki. A couple of men back behind the barricades were already pulling out propane heaters and turning them on.

Mumbling to herself, Sarah went to the elevator and pressed the down button. The hangar door creaked behind her, and she turned to observe as frost began forming on the inside of the door, curling in on itself and forming into the shape of a large lotus flower.

“Cute.” Knowing it wouldn’t change anything, Sarah tapped the down button impatiently until the elevator door slid open. When she stepped inside, she turned around to get one last look at the Sons of Sin. She doubted that any of them would survive. The doors slid shut. As the car descended, Sarah noticed a tiny spider by the Open-Door button. Using her thumb, she smashed it.

---

Cyrus winced as he got to the top of the landing and turned to look up. They were only three floors down from the hangar now, and he still didn’t have much of a plan. Sighing, he looked at his charges. Callisto had already taken the slap bracelet off. He and his sister had been conserving charges on it this whole time, which was a fortuitous stroke of luck. With the bracelet on, Callisto could go up the stairs without any difficulty, but it was still physically demanding. His cheeks were red from the steady climb.

Grace had zero issues with the stairs and wasn’t winded at all. She was carefully holding her skirt so that it didn’t drape over her body as she crawled along the underside of the stairs. Scuttling just ahead of Cyrus on the ceiling, she turned to look at him.

“Up?” she asked.

“Yes, up.” Cyrus coughed into his hand, then looked at Callisto. “She sure is chatty all of a sudden.”

“She catches on quick once she learns something. You should have seen the mess she made when she figured out how to undo all the child locks on the cupboard. There was peanut butter and jelly everywhere, even on the ceiling.” Callisto held the slap bracelet just above his wrist. “Do you want me to go up without you?”

“No.” The mage sighed. The centaur had been sprinting up the stairs each time he put on the bracelet to minimize its usage. “Just give me a second to catch my breath and then you can follow me.”

“Up?”

“Soon.” Cyrus gazed up the stairwell and scowled. His current plan was to bring the children into the hangar and hope nobody spotted them. He had already given the tracking bracelet to Callisto with the instructions ‘run like hell’ once he figured out a way to get the door open. That would be the children’s only task as he did his best to hold everyone off.

Could he do it? He wasn’t sure. But he had to try, despite the likely outcome.

“Up?”

“Yes, up.” Cyrus groaned inwardly and resumed marching up the stairs. Once he had crested the next landing, Callisto put the slap bracelet on and dashed up. Grace stayed where she was and waited for them to climb just above her position, at which time she crawled up and over the railing. The Arachne grinned at both of them, then made a hissing sound that Cyrus interpreted as a happy sound. It made his skin crawl.

The trio made it to the top of the stairwell. Cyrus glanced over at one of the ventilation shafts and cursed under his breath that it was no bigger than a few inches across. Young Arachne were really only limited by what their head could fit through, and he’d prefer sending her to safety as she was most likely to be shot on sight out of fear.

He placed his ear against the door and listened.

“Up?” asked Grace. Her brother promptly clamped his hand over her mouth, which she bit. When Cyrus shushed her with a finger over his lips, she stopped biting her brother to do the same thing in Callisto’s direction. Cyrus snorted, doing his best to hold back a laugh.

Waving the children back, he stepped into the hangar bay to assess the situation and was surprised to see that the area was largely deserted. Instead, the men of the SoS were hunkering down behind barricades, their weapons drawn and pointed at the hangar door. Stunned, Cyrus stared at the lotus pattern made of ice that formed on the inside of the hangar door. Someone was trying to get in, which meant that the Radleys had successfully found the place.

But how? Shaking his head, Cyrus turned back toward the hangar door. It really didn’t matter how. For the first time tonight, he felt like everything was going to be okay.

Opening the door, he had Callisto and Grace come out and stick to the shadows. With everyone’s attention on the hangar door, nobody was even looking in their direction. There were plenty of supply crates and vehicles to hide behind, so the three of them leap-frogged their way along the wall whenever nobody was looking.

Crouching down by an SUV, Cyrus peered around the corner to see the witch Elizabeth emerge from the control room along with Dirk. Her fingertips were glowing an ominous shade of crimson that made him nauseous to look upon, and the numerous shadows that stretched away from her moved independently of her actions.

“Fuck,” he whispered.

“Fuck,” Grace whispered back. Cyrus stared at the little Arachne in horror.

“Your dad is gonna kill me,” he muttered. 

Grace nodded solemnly in response. 

“Let’s prepare a proper greeting,” shouted Elizabeth as she raised her palms toward the corners of the ceiling. Crimson runes that Cyrus hadn’t seen before ignited, the hangar now lit much like a dark room. The men of the SoS looked on nervously as their own shadows stretched away from them and took on a life of their own. The shadow soldiers rose from the ground and spread themselves out, taking on defensive positions of their own.

Cyrus just shook his head. Elizabeth was strong, of that there was never a doubt. But the magic she utilized suggested that she had contracted with a very powerful demon, not something that could be summoned up quite so easily. Witches like her often did this, approaching powerful entities and bartering away their souls for power. He suspected she had several far more insidious tricks up her sleeve.

 A frozen mist forced its way through the gaps of the door, and the lights flickered and popped. In the ominous glow of the hangar, Cyrus guided Grace beneath the SUV and moved Callisto behind some thick crates and barrels full of water. He didn’t know how much protection they would provide in the fight to come, but it was better than nothing.

“Once the way is clear, you go.” Cyrus poked at the tracking bracelet on Callisto’s wrist. “Make sure your sister goes with you.”

The centaur nodded, then looked at Cyrus’ hands. The boy frowned when he saw them shaking.

“You’ll be right behind us?”

“As much as I can be.” The mage tousled the boy’s hair. “But I’m also going to help your daddy so that we can all go home together, okay?”

Callisto nodded, then pressed himself against the wall and squeezed out of sight. Cyrus sighed and moved back over to the SUV and drew a wand. After emptying the pockets of the Order members who had survived his assault, he had locked them all in the containment cells. Now he was carrying a small arsenal of magic that would likely scorch his soul to the very core, but he no longer cared. His life was packed full of shitty things he had done for the Order, and while this wouldn’t balance the scales, it was the first time he would be doing it for himself.

“One last mission, old-timer.” He caught movement from the corner of his eye and saw that Grace was staring at him from her spot under the car.

“Papa Cyrus.” The Arachne grinned.

“That’s right. Papa Cyrus.”

The little girl folded her fingers together. “Family.”

His breath hitched in his chest. “That sounds real nice,” he whispered. “Now go hide by your brother.”

The Arachne scowled at him, then scurried over to join Callisto in the darkness. Cyrus jogged out into the hangar and took the spot right behind Elizabeth. The witch looked over her shoulder with some surprise.

“You’re not with your team?”

He shook his head. “Popped up here for another reason, but looks like something’s about to go down. What can I do to help?”

The witch’s lips curled into a grin. “We’re just holding them off. Laurel is already taking care of the rest. The kids will be evacuated through a secret tunnel momentarily.”

“Ah.” He tried not to frown. A secret tunnel would have made this mess a hundred times easier. That also meant that Laurel would return soon with news of his betrayal. So much for buying time. He cleared his throat and moved just ahead of Elizabeth. The hangar door groaned as something massive struck it from the other side. “Well, let’s get to it, then. Shadows yours?”

Elizabeth nodded. “Each one has the strength of ten men. Light weakens them, so please try to avoid anything flashy.”

“You’ve got it.” He withdrew the lightning rod from his pocket and clutched it tightly in one hand as he drew a knight’s blade. The heavy thudding on the door increased, and something on the other side let out a howl of rage. “We have any idea what’s out there?”

“The kitsune and the Reaper.” Elizabeth stuck a hand in her pocket and pulled out a black ring adorned with a sapphire. She slid it onto the middle finger of her left hand. “If it’s just the two of them, we’ll be fine.”

A chunk of stone broke free of the ceiling as the door bent inward.

“I don’t think it’s just the two of them.” Cyrus gripped the rod and trickled mana through its intricate runes. The magical implement immediately grew warm in his hands. “Didn’t someone say that those doors could take a hit from a missile?”

“Missiles don’t usually keep striking the same spot over and over again.” Elizabeth grinned and the sapphire ring started glowing. Thin tendrils of power connected her to a group of summoned shadows. Eerie blue auras formed around them.

“So what’s the plan? Let them bust the door down and counter? How long will Sister Laurel need to get away?”

“Right now, she’ll be leading the prisoners to the tunnel. I think five minutes will suffice.”

“Ah.” Cyrus glanced over at the elevator. “Do you happen to have another secret escape plan for us?”

Elizabeth licked her lips. “You give me the next five minutes of your life and I don’t care what you do afterward. Continue fighting, flee, it doesn’t matter. Should we ever meet again, I will consider it on good terms.”

“It’s always good to have a witch in your pocket.” Cyrus winced as the door creaked again, sending another shower of stones onto the ground. Other members of the SoS were forced to move lest they get crushed. He glanced over toward the wall where the kids were hiding, then looked the other way in order to pretend he was simply scanning the area.

Cyrus put on a silver ring and cast the protective shield spell it contained. Once it was in place, he pulled out a small string and wrapped it around his pinky. Yet another protective barrier wrapped itself around him, doubling up on his defenses. Elizabeth considered him for a moment, then nodded her approval. 

The hangar door gushed frozen mist from bent seams and then burst. A massive hunk of steel rocketed straight down the hangar where it slid across the floor and showered the room in hot sparks. A cold fog rolled in immediately behind it, just barely obscuring the massive figure that came running in.

“GRACE!” screamed Bigfoot, and the SoS opened fire. Thick walls of ice sprouted around the sasquatch, protecting him from the M134 miniguns as they whirred to life. Stunned, Cyrus could only watch as Bigfoot danced around and then hid his massive bulk behind a concrete pillar.

“Hold your fire!” shouted Dirk from the darkness. “Squads one, three, and seven, flank!”

Three teams moved toward Bigfoot’s position, but stopped when he tossed something small and black into the room. Jenny the doll stopped just a foot above the floor, hovering in place.

“There’s something so familiar about that doll,” Elizabeth muttered. However, her eyes were on the opening of the hangar where Yuki the kitsune strode through. Three of her tails were a beautiful red and gold, but the other two were made entirely of golden light. “And now the fox has come to play.”

Yuki threw a handful of tarot cards out as the shadows rushed her. Cyrus considered stabbing Elizabeth, but knew that it was highly unlikely that he’d get away with such an attack. Sighing, he took the sword and jammed it into the ground between them. The witch was already caught up in coordinating her attacks, and one of the miniguns twisted around to point at Jenny. The spray of bullets spread away from her, but Cyrus watched the doll falter and drop as she protected herself from the storm.

“Well, it’s now or never.” He pulled the lightning rod into view and frowned at the white-hot runes carved across its surface. The damned thing vibrated in his hands as it struggled to hold itself together. As the electrical charge built, he watched the hair on Elizabeth’s head float up and away from her. She turned to look at him in horror.

“What are you doing?” she hissed. “That thing is unstable.”

“Oh, I know that.” Cyrus pulled a different wand from his pocket and took aim at the men manning the minigun. A tiny spark shot across the hangar and exploded into a miniature sun’s worth of light, blinding anybody who might be looking. Almost immediately, the minigun swung away from Jenny, allowing the doll to hop away and hide. 

Before Elizabeth could act, he shoved a massive amount of mana into the lightning rod once again. Taking a page from Mike Radley’s book, he grinned at the witch’s direction. Maybe, just this once, a one-liner would be okay.

“Trust me, I’m just as shocked as you are.”

He threw the rod at Elizabeth and then ran like hell away from her. A shadow grabbed him by the feet, but the ensuing blast from the lightning rod hurled him across the room and to freedom. As he smashed into the wall, the numerous magical shields he had built around himself crumbled away. He fell to the ground with a grin, his ears ringing.

That had felt better than it should.

---

Beth's return to Paradise was bittersweet. Upon her arrival, she found Lily (as Mike) eagerly chatting up anyone who would listen while the merfolk helped members of the Order build a bonfire on the beach to cook up all the fish they had donated. Most of the staff members lived on-site, which meant they were temporarily homeless until arrangements could be made to move them elsewhere. The merfolk were very apologetic and doing their best to mend fences.

At least they had been. The moment Beth announced Pele’s presence to the royal court, the atmosphere immediately became tense. The goddess strode forward with her chin held high, looking down her nose unapologetically at the merfolk. It was far from the attitude she had displayed back at the volcano, and Beth could only assume that this was due in part to her position. One didn’t typically become a deity by apologizing all the time.

When the merfolk approached Pele, the goddess immediately singled out Kailani. The princess wore a few bandages from wounds she had received in the fight, but had no trouble summoning a sphere of water to sit on.

“You killed my people,” she said, the mermaid’s voice like ice.

“Because you allowed that man near my island with that monster of his.” Pele pointed out into the bay. There were dozens of tiny ships barely visible on the horizon, silhouetted by the setting sun. “His misdeeds are the source of your people’s deaths. I was doing my duty.”

“Damn your duty.” Kailani’s face turned a unique shade of purple. “You boiled them alive!”

“And I would do it again.”

“Okay, enough of this.” Beth moved between the goddess and the princess. “It’s going to be a long night and we have limited time. Your majesty.” Beth turned to Kailani. “The Captain has informed us he intends to kill every human on the island if he doesn’t get what he wants and we were hoping that your people would help us hold him off.”

“The landwalkers?” Kailani looked past Beth at the Order, who were watching with uncomfortable looks on their faces. “Why should I do anything for them?”

The ground rumbled, and part of the rubble shifted. Ratu walked up behind Pele and put a hand on the goddess’ shoulder to help calm her.

“This isn’t about landwalkers or merfolks,” Ratu said, her voice like silk. “This is about survival. Francois wants something that will either grant him immortality or the power to someday achieve it. He betrayed your people and won’t hesitate to do so again. If it were up to me—”

“We’ve seen how you handle your problems.” Kailani jabbed a finger at the ruins of Paradise. “I fail to see how your Caretaker is any different than Francois is.”

“Did somebody say my name?” Lily-Mike sidled into the conversation.

“Nobody said your name, you charlatan.” Kailani scowled. “The fact that he sent a facsimile in his stead just proves my point.”

Lily-Mike frowned. “How could you tell?”

“I felt the Caretaker’s wrath before he left this place. It left quite the impression.” Kailani tapped right above her own heart and sneered at the succubus. “One which you don’t quite fill.”

“Hey, if you want something filled, I—” Lily-Mike was cut off when Beth clapped a hand over their mouth and pulled her back.

“We want Francois to assume that Mike is here,” Beth muttered, locking eyes with Kailani. “This deception was never intended for you.”

“Where is he, then?”

“Rescuing his children.” Beth tilted her head toward the Order. “While he was here helping you, those guys conspired to break into his home. When that failed, they abducted his children.”

Kailani frowned, the anger in her eyes fleeing immediately. “They double-crossed him?”

“Yes, they did. And once he gets his kids back, he’s planning to come here and help everyone. You, the people of the island, even the ones who betrayed him.”

“Hey, this looks like a serious conversation here.” Wallace strode up to the group, and Kailani immediately tensed up. Ingrid was close behind him. “Which means we should probably be involved.”

“And by we, he means me.” Ingrid gave Wallace a push. The man smirked as he continued walking past the group, then sat down on a rock about thirty feet away.

Kailani’s eyes were practically bugging out of her head as she glared at Wallace. Eventually, she turned her attention back to Beth, and then nodded at Ingrid.

“You should know better than to let him address me directly.”

Ingrid rolled her eyes. “We are so far past protocol breaches I don’t think it really matters anymore. However, I overheard most of what you all were saying. Francois is planning some kind of invasion?”

“Hardly the word I would use for the genocide of my people.” When Pele spoke, her voice was soft. However, the ground rumbled again, causing a couple of people to cry out in alarm. “But sure, yes, a siege.”

“Ingrid, this is Pele. Yes, that one.” When Beth gestured to the goddess, Ingrid immediately stiffened up and then bowed.

“Forgive my rudeness,” she began.

“I don’t have time for this.” Pele took a step away. “The only reason I came here was on the advice that it may expedite the safe rescue of my people. Will the merfolk help us?”

Kailani opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by her daughter.

“Of course, they will,” said Leilani. “It should never be a question whether we would.”

“Leilani!” Kailani spun in her floating sphere of water. “You do not speak for our people!”

“Yeah, well maybe I should.” Leilani slammed the butt of her trident into the sand. “And if I don’t, then everyone here should know that I will defend the waters of this island by myself if I have to.”

There was a gentle murmuring amongst the royal court of the merfolk. Beth had almost forgotten they were there and now saw the dubious looks they threw at each other.

“Perhaps it’s something we should discuss,” said one of Kailani’s advisors. The man was wearing a decorative collar made out of coral and had a tail adorned with jewelry. “After all, it may help re-establish diplomatic ties with the Order after this…incident.” The man gestured at Paradise.

“Technically, this isn’t even our fault. The Director of the Order was responsible for this.”

“You tried to abduct me,” said Beth.

“For a very good reason,” Kailani replied.

“Mother, please. You’re being stubborn.”

Leilani and Kailani devolved into an argument with the advisors taking sides and starting a debate. Beth groaned as members of the Order tried to get involved, which immediately started a fight between them and the merfolk. She walked away from the others to stand on the beach where the ocean met the sand. The cove was filled with mersoldiers, many who simply nodded in Beth’s direction as she ventured out into the water.

Using a mental command, Beth allowed the waves to carry her out into deeper waters. From water level, the distant boats somehow looked more imposing. While she bobbed in the waves, a merwoman surfaced next to her, carrying a spear.

“What are you doing?” asked the mermaid.

“Trying to figure things out.” Beth jerked a thumb over her shoulder and looked back. Wallace was now physically restraining Aurora, who had thrown her clipboard in the sand. “Away from that.”

“Ah. Right.” The mermaid pondered for a moment, then gestured toward the open water. “We’ve got patrols that go out about another mile, so it should be safe. We haven’t seen any undead, but also can’t guarantee your safety. They caught us off guard before.”

“I saw that.” Beth glared at the distant ships. “I wonder why he’s got so many boats?”

“It allows him to hide. We’ve tried to make contact a few times, but finding one boat when you’re looking at dozens of them makes the task impossible. And it doesn’t help that they’re packed full of dead humans who leap out at you.” The mermaid looked past Beth and winced. “Not that it’s my place to comment, but it looks like things aren’t going well.”

Beth looked back again and saw that Ratu was physically keeping Leilani and Kailani apart. Both princesses were extremely animated as they spoke to each other in their native tongue.

“What are they saying?” asked Beth.

“It’s best not to comment. But in short, Kailani wants to leave you land walkers to your fate and is implying that her daughter is a…what is the word for someone who takes dick in exchange for money?”

“Whore.”

“Yes, that. She is trying to sell out our people in exchange for the Caretaker’s dick.” The mermaid brightened. “Speaking of, is it really true that he—”

“Probably, yes.” Chuckling, Beth swam out a bit further and closed her eyes. She could feel the ocean’s caress, every wave pressing into her and holding her afloat. It was starting to feel like coming here to speak with the merfolk was a mistake. The high-pitched yelling of the merpeople on the beach was impossible to tune out, so Beth took a deep breath and let herself sink below the water.

She descended in darkness until her feet hit the sand. With a tiny twist of magic, she captured some air bubbles for her eyes so that she could see. The ocean was dark, illuminated only by the setting sun above. There were still remnants of skeletons among the sand, along with broken weapons and chunks of Paradise that had already been swept out to sea.

Mike was relying on her. For this entire trip, she had been forced to sit things out and wait. If she didn’t contribute now, then what good was she? Annoyed, she sank her mind into the distant sound of the waves crashing onto each other, letting the current carry her troubles away. Her magic permeated the water, causing bubbles to appear from nothingness and then rise to the surface.

Sitting on the ocean floor, she felt a faint buzzing in the back of her mind. She reached back to the makeshift holster at her hip where the rod of Osiris was. The phallic wand reacted immediately to her touch, sending a ripple of magic out through the waves that briefly illuminated the ocean floor.

Clutching the rod in her hand, she felt the ocean currents still around her as the mana spiraled away from her as if exploiting the environment. It had been decided some time ago to lock up the rod to avoid incurring the wrath of Isis should the goddess think they had stolen it. As a result, it had only received cursory inspections from Ratu.

What did she remember about Osiris? He was the god of agriculture and fertility, but it had turned into something more. What was it? That’s right, cycles. The natural ebb and flow of growing and the harvest.

The rod pulsed in her hands once more, and a few curious merfolk circled her from above. Had the rod reacted to the ocean? Or was it reacting to her magic? She had trained with magical implements, but unlike most humans, was able to use her magic without them.

Curious, she channeled her magic through the rod. She didn’t ask anything of it, or make demands. The rod was just a conduit for her energy, after all. Closing her eyes, she let her magic flow through the rod of Osiris. She didn’t even worry about how long it was taking; after all, she needed to learn how to use the damned thing, anyway.

All of the sudden, her consciousness expanded. She was no longer sensing the water nearby, but the call of the distant depths, the feeling of sand brushing across itself at the whims of the tide. The reef was in the back of her mind, the tiny creatures that lived there clicking at each other as they lived their singular purpose. At some point, it became difficult for her to remember where she ended and the ocean began.

Without thinking, Beth breathed the ocean in and they became one. The salt briefly burned her nasal passages before a sense of well-being consumed her. Sitting in the sand, she could feel the raw power of the ocean around her, the unending depths that regarded her with curiosity. She inhaled, breathing in the ocean and tasting the salt on the back of her tongue.

It was bliss.

When she opened her eyes, it was to a different spectrum of light. Even with the waning light of day, there were details to be seen that had been hidden away. Digging her fingers in the sand, she could sense the tiny creatures that lived beneath. She could smell a nearby school of fish, along with a turtle that had come in for a closer look. The ocean had a pulse in a way she’d never truly appreciated, connected together in thousands of tiny…

Cycles.

Clutching the rod to her chest, she finally understood. The legendary artifact was powerful enough on its own, but all it had done so far was to concentrate her magic, allowing her to fully connect with the element she loved.

Looking up, she saw that a bunch of the merfolk had surrounded her, gazing down upon her in awe. Turning back toward the shore, she commanded the ocean to carry her and it obeyed. She emerged from the water carried in a pearlescent orb which shimmered and burst upon stepping on the sand. The court of the merfolk along with her housemates all gazed at her in amazement.

“Is this your magic, land walker?” Kailani’s tone was saturated in disbelief. “Who is doing this?”

Beth opened her mouth to answer and promptly vomited up all the ocean water in her lungs. Apparently, her newfound command over the waves didn’t magically teleport the liquid from her lungs.

With a wave of her hand, she extracted the water from her lungs, resolving to remember this next time she chose to make a dramatic entrance.

“I’ve come to a conclusion.” Beth looked at Aurora. “Your people have family on the island. We’re going to need their help.”

“We’re not allowed to tell them about what we do here,” said Aurora, uncertainty on her face.

“Fine. Let them die then.” Several members of the Order flinched. “You see, we’re planning to abduct the entire damned island tonight. If your people help and get fired, Mike will compensate them.”

“He can afford to do that?” Aurora glanced at Lily-Mike.

“Yep,” she replied. “I am well known for how I share my endowments.”

Ratu smacked the succubus. Beth looked at Ingrid.

“What do you think? Can you organize the people who are left here to help us with the defenses?”

Ingrid glanced left and right. The remnants of the Order had made a small bonfire and there were maybe a hundred people capable of fighting.

“With the Director’s departure, I am the highest-ranking official and will accept all responsibility for our actions.” She gave a meaningful look to Aurora. “I intend to break protocol, despite your best advice.”

“Thank you.” Aurora bowed her head at Ingrid and then turned to Beth. “You will need to let me know what our people should expect.”

“We will. Our best are already on the job and you can expect a full defense of the island to be mounted by sunrise, with or without the help of the merfolk.” Beth looked over at Pele, who was regarding her coolly. “The wounds you have dealt the people of the sea are far too fresh. I apologize for wasting your time and bringing you here. It was my hope that they would greet you with the reverence you’ve come to expect.”

Pele studied Beth for a moment, then looked down at the rod of Osiris. “On the contrary, I have zero regrets. Things have been interesting since your family arrived, but now I may even claim that they’re…exciting.”

“Thank you.” Beth looked at Ratu and Lily-Mike, then turned her eyes on Princess Kailani. “Am I correct in assuming that your people won’t help because it’s not a merfolk problem?”

Kailani sneered. “Honeyed words still taste salty in the water, land walker. But yes, I intend to tell my people that we will not get involved. Enough of my people have died over this business already, I won’t see more floating in the waves.”

“Okay, then. I can respect that.” Beth hooked her fingers and yanked the aqueous orb supporting Kailani’s weight. The mermaid crashed to the ground with a yelp of fright, and her court along with her warriors immediately rushed to her side.

“You dare attack me?!?” Kailani tried to summon more water to lift her up, but Beth commanded it all to leave. Anyone not walking on legs was immediately dumped in the sand. Ratu and Lily-Mike immediately moved next to Beth and eyed the merfolk cautiously.

“You and I have unfinished business.” Beth waved the wand of Osiris and the bay emptied itself out into the open water, leaving several other merfolk stranded. “By your decree, you have slandered my client with malevolent accusations along with my own attempted abduction as a means to gain his cooperation.”

“Stop speaking so fast. Leilani, help me!”

“No.” Princess Leilani moved next to Beth. “I would like to hear her out.”

“The way I see it, you owe me and my family for attacking us, for putting us in a position where two of our own were abducted. Your friend out there started it, and you helped him. So I demand recompense from you and your people.” Beth’s eyes widened and she raised her hand to use a blast of water to send a spear off course. It slammed into the sand next to Wallace, who immediately moved uphill a ways.

“What would you have of us? Treasure? Magic?” Kailani spat. “You would hold me hostage for it?”

Beth crossed her arms and stared down at the princess. Her magic hissed to the surface, turning the water that still clung to her skin into steam.

“No. I’m going to give you and your people two options to repay me. Your first option is to—” Beth’s danger sense clicked into place just as Lily-Mike snatched another spear out of the air.

“I gotchu, boo.” The succubus blew her a kiss.

“Your people can choose to commit to the defense of this island. I know yours is a powerful voice capable of swaying their decision and conveying the importance of what is about to transpire.”

“Waves take me, you just keep talking.” Kailani rolled her eyes. “What is the second option?”

“Your other choice is I get to see you crawl.” The steam curled around Beth’s arms, twisting above her like a waterspout. “Me and every other person here gets to watch Princess Kailani crawl back into the ocean on her belly like a coward, away from the mess she helped make with a guy she kept around for his dick. And even though you’ll command your people to never speak a word of it, it’ll come out. You’ll be whispered about in the shadows of the reef, the Princess who traded her integrity away for a little land walker action. Also, I’ll personally see to it that every mermaid colony on this whole damned planet gets a chance to see the video.”

“Holy shit,” someone from the Order whispered before being shushed. As if on cue, several different cell phones came out of pockets and were raised toward the beach where the conversation took place.

The color drained from Kailani’s face as she realized what had just happened. She looked at her advisors who now pointedly ignored her gaze. This decision was to be hers and hers alone.

A few minutes passed as Kailani contemplated her options. It was clear that the princess didn’t want to commit her people to a war, which Beth understood. At the same time, Beth simply didn’t care.

Kailani’s gaze shifted from Beth to her daughter Leilani. A dark look briefly appeared on Kailani’s face, then vanished.

“It occurs to me that my opinions on this matter may be…a conflict of interests.” Kailani smirked at her advisors, then turned her full attention back to Leilani. “Until the sun sets tomorrow, I am allowing my daughter Princess Leilani to act fully in my position. Any decisions or mistakes will be hers to make and it shall become a test to see if she is worthy of the mantle of leadership someday.”

“Mother!” Leilani looked positively horrified. Beth noticed that a few advisors nodded their approval. The other merfolk exchanged uncertain looks, many of them giving looks of disdain to Kailani herself. The princess was throwing her daughter to the sharks and everyone seemed to know it.

“She may act in your full capacity?” Beth tilted her head to one side.

“Yes.” Kailani was suddenly demure. “I and the other princesses shall sit back and watch her actions with great interest. Let it be known that all shall obey her word as if it were my own.”

“Excellent.” Beth snapped her fingers and the bay filled back in. Instead of slamming into the stranded merfolk, the waves gently swallowed them up. “Then our business is officially concluded. Now kindly fuck off. The grownups have a lot to do tonight.”

“YEAH!” Lily-Mike pumped her arms over her head. 

The royal court obeyed Beth, leaving Leilani on her own with a small squadron of soldiers that waited in the bay for their orders. The princess looked like she was sick to her stomach, a feeling that Beth shared. As the royal court fully disappeared under the waves, Pele moved to stand next to Beth.

“Interesting indeed.” The goddess of fire grinned. “Shall we head back and hear about how you’re going to save my people?”

“In just a moment. Leilani?” Beth moved next to the princess and took her hand. “I didn’t know she would do that to you.”

“It’s fine.” Leilani’s tone made it clear that she was lying. “Just tell me what to do and my people will make it happen.”

“We’ll get through this together.” Beth looked at the setting sun and sighed. She only hoped there was more she could do. Taking a moment to study the ships on the horizon, she turned toward the people awaiting orders on the beach.

“Let’s get started, people.” Even though her body was on a beach in Maui, her mind was already back east, wondering if Mike was okay.

---

The trees shivered in anticipation as Mike sprinted through the clearing, Daisy only a few feet in front of him. He kept his eye on the glittering trail she left behind, his senses expanding to reveal every nook and cranny that the forest had hidden in the dark of night.

The spiders had caught word from their brethren about a place under the mountain, a city of stone that had recently come to life with bright lights and stinking spray that had killed all their food. Mike hadn’t managed to meet up with the others yet, but had sent the location via fairy.

There was a flash of blonde hair, and then Dana was sprinting alongside him. She slowed down, turning her head to contemplate him. Her blue pupils were dilated, partially due to the darkness, but mostly because of what she had been eating.

“Here, take Tick Tock and Mace.” Mike slid the bag off his shoulders and pulled the Grimoire out before tossing the mimic to Dana. “Don’t wait up for me.”

The zombie nodded, then threw her arms through Tick Tock’s straps and shot forward through the trees so fast that he only saw a glint of the daggers in her hands. Mace did a happy little twirl behind the zombie, then moved ahead of her. 

Determined to keep pace, Mike tried to run faster. Sadly, no amount of grit or determination was going to close the gap between himself and Dana. His stamina was great, but she was truly tireless.

The branches bent away from him to let him pass, the trees calling to each other with their leaves as if a mighty wind were blowing across the top of them. In Mike’s mind, all he could see were his children’s faces, and then those who were already there, fighting to protect them.

Yuki. Bigfoot. Jenny. Even Death, though no physical harm could be done to the Reaper. Dana would be there soon enough, but what if something bad already happened? What if he arrived and…

Tiny motes of golden light curled around his fingers and fell to the ground where they ran alongside him for a few seconds before disappearing into the dirt. With each step, he heard thunder in his ears as if the sky were breaking apart up above.

Please be safe, he thought, his heart hammering against his sternum. All of you.

His cadence increased, his stride carrying him longer distances with every step. Daisy looked surprised when he caught up to her, then redoubled her efforts to lead him to his family. The spiders following in his wake chittered in annoyance as they fell behind, but a bunch of them stopped to release strands of silk that pulled them into the air, allowing them to float on the breeze in his wake.

Breaking free of the trees, he found himself in a long valley. Sprinting across its length, he mistook the golden light that drifted down on him from above for starlight.

---

Cyrus got to his feet, a pair of wands in each hand. Coughing through the blood that trickled from his nose, he glanced over in the direction Elizabeth had been. The witch was missing, and the sword he had jammed into the ground to divert lightning away from him had actually melted. He didn’t know if she was out of the fight, but her shadows were gathering together and swarming in his direction. On the other side of the hangar, Yuki had used the distraction provided by Cyrus to fill the nearest turret tower with hundreds of staves that had pin-cushioned the men manning the gun.

Of Jenny, there was no sight. Bigfoot had charged into one of the squads and was using one man to beat another man to death. When somebody opened fire on the sasquatch with a shotgun, Bigfoot dropped his makeshift club and grabbed his attacker in both hands. Letting out a roar, Bigfoot ripped the man in half, then threw the remains at the other attackers.

“Subtle.” The mage turned his attention to the approaching shadows. They swirled wildly, as if unable to properly maintain their shape. His left ear was no longer ringing, but he also couldn’t hear anything out of it. His right knee felt like it wasn’t connected properly anymore, and the dull pain that seemed to live in the base of his spine was now a sharp one that went all the way up his back and between his shoulder blades. He sniffed in an attempt to stop the flow of blood down his face, but his nasal passages were swollen shut.

The men of the SoS were busy with Bigfoot and Yuki. The only thing between the children and freedom was the shadow army, most of whom were staring at the old man with crimson eyes.

Master Cyrus grinned in anticipation.

The first shadow to reach him turned its hands into sharp blades and tried to cut him in half. He fired the mostly depleted wand of light into the thing's torso, blowing it apart. The shadow behind it tried the same tactic, but Cyrus had already drawn a spare blade and unfolded it. Catching the assault, he twisted away and sliced the creature in half.

“Ten men, my ass.” He walked away from where the kids were hiding, moving back toward the guard tower. The shadows followed, sliding across the floor at uncanny speeds. They shifted as they walked, their limbs melting back into their bodies. Cyrus turned his attention to the runes that lit the room and wondered if they were contributing somehow.

There was only one way to find out. He swapped out the depleted light wand for a pair of stone stress balls. Spinning them casually in his hand, he raised his palm to his mouth and whispered a single word of magic. The first ball activated and shot across the room where it embedded itself in the stone, causing part of the magical runes to flicker. Satisfied, Cyrus repeated the process with the remaining ball. When he did, the second ball broke the sound barrier as it shot across the room to reunite with its mate.

The explosion knocked loose a section of wall which collapsed into rubble. Almost immediately, several shadows disappeared and Yuki’s ice crept along the floor where they had been standing. Men hiding nearby fled in panic, and two of them were caught by large stalagmites that Yuki had summoned beneath them. The dying men struggled as the ice encased them, the temperature in the room dropping rapidly.

The kitsune summoned a sphere of ice that looked like a snowglobe. She stood inside and raised her hands as multiple mercenaries opened fire on her. Bigfoot picked up one of the SUVs and hurled it like a shotput. It crashed through the attackers, who quickly broke rank to flee.

Death casually strolled in through what was left of the front door, his hood pulled back to reveal his skull.

“I warned you,” he said in a voice that carried across the room. Someone took a shot at him, the round passing harmlessly through the Reaper. 

“Death!” Cyrus screamed, hoping to catch the Reaper’s attention. “Callisto, Grace, go!”

The shadows came for Cyrus. He fought them off with blade and wand, but their amorphous nature made it hard to predict their movements. His left arm got slashed open, the sleeve of his coat drooping away to reveal a bloody bicep. Hissing in pain, he stuck his hand in his inside pocket and pulled out a flashlight.

“Fuck you, too!” he shouted, then clicked it on. The shadows immediately withdrew as if terrified of the beam. Cyrus sneered at them, daring them to come closer. Along the far wall, Callisto broke free from his hiding place, galloping across the hangar as Grace clung to him. The little Arachne stared at Cyrus with wide eyes.

“Keep going!” He turned to shine his light on the shadow nearest him and was surprised when it regarded him with bloodshot eyes. The smell of burnt hair somehow forced its way through his nasal passages, and he realized he was looking at Elizabeth herself.

He wasn’t sure what she struck him with, but it sent him flying across the room. When he landed, he felt something in his chest pop, and it suddenly hurt to breathe. Gasping for air, he scrambled to his feet and backed away from the witch. With her return, the shadows were coordinated once more, and moving toward Yuki.

“You,” she declared, revealing that she had chipped a tooth. Her eyes shifted away from him to look at the children. “So you couldn’t handle it, could you? You’ve forgotten that they’re nothing more than monsters, creatures to be used and then discarded.”

“They’re…” Cyrus wheezed, unable to properly speak. He had been about to espouse the virtues of humanity and how Callisto and Grace were still kids. There was also a good chance he would dramatically reveal that he had been working against them since the beginning. However, it hurt to breathe, and monologuing was for villains. How many ribs had he broken? He felt his ribs, then slipped his hand into a pocket to grab the heart seeker dagger.

“Goodbye, Master Cyrus.” Elizabeth’s eyes turned white, and a funnel of black reached out for him. The temperature dropped, and he realized if that stuff touched his body, it would drain him of what little life he had left. The shadows closest to Yuki turned into a tide of ink that flowed across the opening of the hangar, causing Callisto to turn at the last moment to avoid them. His eyes were large and frightened.

“I resign.” Cyrus drew his hand back as if firing an invisible bow, the dagger hovering just above his palm. When he shoved his arm forward, as if doing a palm-strike, the dagger made a high-pitched whistling sound as it slammed into Elizabeth’s sternum, piercing her heart. The witch stumbled back, the cyclonic spell fading away.

“Wha…what?” She looked down at the hilt of the dagger. “You…stabbed me?”

“Yep.” Cyrus said, looking for his flashlight. “I’m…surprised…worked.”

Elizabeth glared at him in contempt, then grabbed the handle of the dagger and pulled it out. The heart seeker blade hissed as if releasing steam, the enchantment that sought to stop a target’s heart not yet fulfilled. The witch grunted as the dagger tried to stab her again, her eyes flashing as her magic battled the dagger’s.

“Uh oh.” Cyrus tried to limp away, but the shadows had surrounded him. He saw his flashlight lying twenty feet away, the glass shattered out. Grunting in disapproval, he started chanting an Enochian passage under his breath. A cone of white light surrounded him, severing the limbs of the nearest shadows.

“That may work on my shadows, but it won’t work on me.” Elizabeth walked toward him, the blade clutched so tightly in her hand that she was bleeding. “I’m going to pull your spine out through your ass.”

“At least…buy me…dinner first.” Chuckling, Cyrus closed his eyes, wishing Lily could have heard him.

IT’S MY TURN!

The mage opened his eyes to see that Elizabeth had stopped and was contemplating the menacing doll that stood nearby. Jenny cackled in glee and took a step toward the witch. When Jenny spoke, it was like she was shouting inside Cyrus’ head.

“I do know you,” Elizabeth muttered. “I’d recognize my own spellwork anywhere.”

Jenny said nothing and took a step forward.

“Tonight is simply full of surprises.” Smirking, Elizabeth stretched a charred hand in Jenny’s direction. “What was your name again? That’s right, Janey. To think that little Janey is the doll that gave us all so much trouble.”

Jenny took another step forward.

“I guess you’re in luck, then.” Elizabeth made her fingers look like scissors. “Let’s just snip that thread holding you here, shall we?”

She made a cutting motion in the air, and the doll flopped lifelessly on the ground. The witch tilted her head to one side, then looked over at Cyrus.

“My magic was the only thing keeping her here,” she explained. “And just like that, she’s free to move on. Now about your spine…”

Elizabeth stepped toward the protective barrier of light, but her head suddenly jerked backwards. In the dim shadows of the hangar, the spirit of a young woman with long black hair that hung over her face had appeared, one hand closed tightly around the long, scorched braid in Elizabeth’s hair.

Not so fast, wicked witch. The spectral figure lifted her head to reveal a demented smile that stretched from ear to ear. Nobody tells me where to go.

“What?” Elizabeth screamed when Jenny dragged her across the ground and slammed her into the nearest concrete pillar. The shadows all leapt at Jenny in an attempt to protect their summoner, but the spirit ignored them as she flew into the air and carried the witch with her.

Let’s go to Oz, the spirit declared, dragging Elizabeth toward a nearby air vent. Click your heels for me, bitch.

Seeing that Jenny had things well in hand, Cyrus moved toward the doll’s physical body and scooped it up. His knee locked up when he jogged toward the exit, making his movement more of a stiff-legged dance. Death stood with the children now, consoling Callisto by patting the boy on the head.

“There, there,” he said, then pushed the centaur behind an SUV that Bigfoot had thrown earlier. “Master Cyrus, you are looking well.”

Cyrus spat a mouthful of blood onto the dirty concrete. “We need to get through this mess right away,” he said, gesturing at the shadows that blocked their exit. “These shadows might be some kind of summoned spirits. Here, Grace. This is yours.” He handed the doll to the Arachne, who scooped her up. “No man left behind, right?”

Grace nodded and squeezed the doll against her chest. 

Gunfire ricocheted off the nearest wall, and the group ducked down as a result.

“Hmm, yes. Okay.” Death turned to study the shadows while pulling out his scythe. “There may be some room for interpretation here. I may be able to cut them.”

“What’s to interpret? It either works or it doesn’t.”

“Reaping is an artform, Master Cyrus.” Death walked toward the mass of clinging shadows. “Though I admit, I often make it look effortless.”

The Reaper studied the wall for a few seconds, but was interrupted when a silver blade sliced through the shadows from the other side, followed quickly by another. Death stepped away from the barrier and placed a hand on his chest as the shadows exploded, revealing a slender figure behind them, carrying a blade of the Order in each hand. Dana stepped into the hangar, her eyes looking to Cyrus first, then the kids.

“Take them and go,” she said. A bullet punched through her shoulder hard enough that she spun in place and fell into a crouch. “Okay, maybe not yet,” she muttered.

A wall of ice sprouted up from the ground between Cyrus and the SoS. Cyrus picked up Grace and ran for the opening in the hangar door with Callisto right behind. The centaur shot ahead of them and through the gap, followed closely by Death. They had just cleared the opening when the ice behind them exploded, showering Cyrus with razor sharp shrapnel which dug into his flesh. He fell to the ground, using his body to cover Grace.

“You’re not going anywhere.” A figure strode forward from out of the darkness, the crimson light shining on Elizabeth’s face. The skin of her face had been partially peeled away to reveal a scaly visage beneath.

“On the contrary, I believe we are.” Death placed his body between Cyrus and the witch. “May I ask where our friend Jenny has gone?”

Elizabeth spat, then tried to push her skin back into place. “I’m surprised you didn’t cull her yourself.”

“She has unfinished business.” Death put away his scythe. “It would have been rude.”

“Well then she’s going to have to stick around for a very long time if she thinks she’s going to get one over on me.” Elizabeth moved toward Death, but spun around and caught the edge of Dana’s sword. “The pizza girl,” she sneered.

Dana yanked her blade away and slashed repeatedly at Elizabeth. The witch dodged effortlessly and then summoned a handful of shadows from the ground which restrained the zombie by wrapping her up in dark tendrils. 

Inside the hangar, Bigfoot let out a roar, followed by a scream of rage from Yuki.

“It’s a shame that Mike isn’t here to see this.” Elizabeth drew a dagger and moved toward Cyrus. “I would love to see the pain in his—”

Death took a step forward and punched the witch in the face. There was a flash of golden light along with the sound of sleigh bells as Elizabeth was launched into the mountainside. The Grim Reaper chuckled and adjusted the brass knuckles on his fist. The words Christmas Cheer were engraved into the top of them.

“I borrowed these from a friend of mine,” he explained as he slipped a second one onto his other fist. “You see, I was feeling rather frustrated after being teased by the mercenaries about being harmless. It really didn’t help that they broke one of my favorite mugs. After all, I do hold a position that demands some respect. But don’t worry, they only work on people who’ve been naughty.” The Grim Reaper stepped toward the witch. “And you have been very naughty.”

Elizabeth growled and extricated herself from the rubble that had tumbled down with her. In the light of the moon, Cyrus could now see more of her scalp. The scales on her body were serrated, and one of her eyes had turned black.

“How dare you,” she growled. 

“Indeed.” Death held up his fists like a pugilist from the 1920s. “Master Cyrus, I would suggest getting the children to safety now. Elizabeth the proper cunt, please put up your dukes.”

“Fucking hell,” muttered the mage as he scrambled to his feet with Grace in his arms. The Arachne repeated his words, but he didn’t bother correcting her as he and Callisto ran away into the trees. Behind him, he heard a shriek of rage followed by another pealing of silver bells.

“HO HO HO, BITCH!” Death’s declaration was followed by another high-pitched shriek of rage.

Cyrus didn’t know which way to go. Callisto was barely visible through the trees, clearly following the mage’s advice and running like hell. However, Grace was with Cyrus instead of her brother, which meant she was currently moving at the speed of a tired old man instead of a horse. He set Grace down and commanded her to stay close behind him. They would move much faster this way.

Groaning at the pain in his knees and his inability to take a deep breath, he tracked the centaur. Behind him, the sounds of gunfire and magic receded as he speed-limped after the boy.

Guided only by the light of the moon, he followed the centaur’s footsteps for almost fifteen minutes before emerging from the trees into a clearing. A huddled figure lay crumpled on the grass and standing over him was a woman holding a wand in her hand.

“Cyrus.” Laurel’s face was inscrutable in the dark.

“Sister Laurel.” Cyrus set Grace down. “I see you caught the boy. Well done.”

The woman snorted. “Let’s not waste each other’s time. I’m aware you helped them escape. I just don’t know why.”

“Is the boy okay?” Cyrus walked toward the mage, his hands in his pockets. There was something off about Laurel, but he couldn’t place what. “I’m guessing you got out through the secret tunnels.”

“I did. And I hate running.” Laurel shifted her weight and raised her wand. “Last chance, magic man. Who are you actually working for?”

“Does it matter?”

“Perhaps. It’s a big world, and there are a few toes I don’t want to step on that have interests aligned with ours.” The tip of Laurel’s wand started glowing. Cyrus frowned. That wasn’t a wand or spell he was familiar with. “But I would rather beg for forgiveness than see you take another step forward.”

“That’s fair.” Cyrus scratched his chin and gazed at Callisto. The boy was already stirring, shaking his head as if trying to regain his senses. A dark shadow moved through the grass, circling behind Laurel. Sometimes, it paid to monologue. “Okay, I’ll talk. I was working for someone else before I got pulled into this job.”

“Who?” Laurel’s free hand started glowing with a similar crimson light to the runes in the hangar. It was enough to illuminate her eyes, which were no longer brown. They were an icy blue, almost white.

The mage casually adjusted the collar of his coat. His sleeve was still hanging from where the fabric had been torn. Digging his toe into the dirt, he shifted sideways to present a smaller target.

“Family,” he replied.

“You don’t have a family.” Laurel cocked her head to one side, the light of the moon revealing that there were dark lines all across her face.

He nodded. “That’s right, I don’t. But there’s something that you clearly forgot.”

“Which is?” The way Laurel spoke, it was almost like she was an entirely different person.

Cyrus saw Grace take Callisto by the hand and pull. Laurel turned her attention to the children and raised her wand.

“They call me Master Cyrus for a reason.” The moment the words left his lips, the frost wand was in his hand, an icy blast smacking Laurel’s wand hand away from the kids. Rather than drop her wand, she let the blast spin her in place so that she could take aim and fire. The crimson beam of energy narrowly missed Cyrus, but tore a huge gouge across the landscape where it struck, eventually splitting a tree in half. Flames rose up from the blast, immediately scorching the hair of his beard.

Cyrus’ jaw dropped in shock. He didn’t know the spell, but he recognized the smell. The faint stench of sulfur wafted across the clearing.

“You sold your soul to a demon? When?”

Laurel laughed. It was a loud, throaty cackle that filled the clearing. When she looked at him again, he could see the malevolent energy in her eyes. She raised her open hand and Cyrus saw a terrifying eye in the center of her palm. The eye blinked, and Cyrus was assailed by a terrible energy that blasted his mind. It felt like fishhooks had pierced his body, each one attached to a string that pulled in a different direction. Cyrus screamed and fell to the ground, clutching at his face.

“She looked up to you, you know.” Laurel walked toward him, her hand outstretched and the eye watching. “It’s why she felt so threatened by your presence. I don’t pretend to understand. It was nothing more than some classic daddy issues, honestly. I guess that’s just what happens when you grow up without parents.”

Cyrus looked up at Laurel, blood leaking from his eyes. He muttered a single word in Enochian, using sheer force of will to dismiss the demon’s oppression. Laurel’s eyes widened in disbelief as Cyrus rammed the dagger he had tucked into his belt through her thigh. She went down on one knee, her eyes bulging out of her head in pain.

“The safe word…is…chucklebunny.” He headbutted the witch wearing Laurel’s body, then jammed the ice wand into her gut and fired. A starburst of ice flash froze the woman’s torso, and she stumbled backward in shock.

“How dare you,” she growled, flames now licking across her skin. The ice on her body melted and sloughed off. Cyrus raised his wand and attempted to fire again. However, his hand from the wrist down was encased in ice. When he tried to wiggle his fingers, he realized he couldn’t feel them. The witch leapt forward before he could attack, then slammed the palm with the eye in it on top of his head.

“I regret that I can only kill you once,” she muttered. He felt the eyelid open against his skin, and then pain wracked his body and he screamed so hard that something in his throat tore. Minutes, hours, days went by and his entire existence was agony. He prayed for mercy, for death, for oblivion, anything that would keep him from feeling the sensation of his soul being ripped apart.

And when the end came, it was in the form of a little girl who threw herself at the witch, biting and punching. Laurel staggered away from Cyrus, desperately fighting off the Arachne. The fight should have been one-sided, but the witch was strong. Eventually, she managed to grab the child with her demonic hand and slam her into the ground.

“What in the hell?” Laurel wiped blood from her face, which the eye seemed to absorb. “You’re…the girl?”

Cyrus stared in horror as Grace rose from a crouch and stared defiantly at the witch. She bared her teeth, and Laurel fumbled to raise her wand. The eternity of torment he had just experienced was meaningless in the face of what was about to happen.

He opened his mouth and tried to tell Grace to run. But only one word escaped him, a single, powerful syllable.

“Why?” he whispered.

“No man left behind.” Grace touched the dog tags around her neck. “Papa, up.”

“Abomination.” Laurel raised her wand and fired. Grace dodged away from the blast, the landscape exploding beneath where she had been standing. Hellfire rained across the landscape as the witch tried to blast the little Arachne, but Grace was far faster than the witch could ever be.

However, where speed was an asset, lack of experience was her downfall. Cyrus immediately realized that Grace was attempting to hunt the witch, and when the little Arachne slid beneath a beam of fire to leap at Laurel, the witch slammed her demonic palm into the child’s forehead. Immediately, the Arachne fell to the ground next to Cyrus, her legs curling up beneath her.

There were no final words, no moment of contemplation. Laurel lowered the wand directly at Grace, the air around it shimmering with heat. By the time the magic surged down her arm and through the wand, Cyrus had wrapped his body around the child, using every last bit of magic and knowledge to wrap the two of them in protective shielding.

Cyrus screamed, the protective sigils on his coat igniting and flaring out before his own magic could take over. His magic wrapped around the two of them as a silken cocoon made of light, his adrenaline skyrocketing. There were so many rules of magic put into place to protect spellcasters, to keep them from accidentally killing themselves when they channeled magic.

Cyrus broke them all. He yanked magic from the earth without asking, even tried to pull it from the heat of the hellfire. The magical items in his pocket fell out as the magic of the coat failed, and he forced the energy stored within them into his barrier. Ice, lightning, and fire flickered around the edges of his vision, the protective magic reflected in the shimmering eyes of the child beneath him. The ground around them caught on fire and turned to ash as the flames burned his flesh, but did not penetrate his body.

When the flames ended, Cyrus toppled over, Grace still clutched tightly against his body. He felt light-headed, the stars above dancing around in a way that made him nauseous. Grace was motionless, her body tucked into a little ball in his arms. An Arachne’s main weakness was fire, it disoriented them by destroying all the fine hairs on their body.

He tried to call the child’s name, but couldn’t. Something had broken inside of him and it felt like he was floating.

“Fucking old man.” Laurel walked around the two of them. She knelt down and looked in Cyrus’ eyes, then nodded in approval. When she turned her attention toward Grace, she smirked. “Hopefully there will be enough left of you that—”

Grace unfolded her body so fast that Laurel had no time to react. With immense speed and dexterity, she stuck the fire wand that Cyrus had forgotten to take from her into Laurel’s mouth and said a single word. Mana flared down the child’s arm, activating the wand.

“Bad.”

There was an explosion of fire, followed by a shriek of pain. Then everything went white.