Chapter 28

To my left,yet another hole opened in the ground. A dozen more monsters crawled out, howling for our blood. Too many…too many, my brain screamed. I ignored the voice and started ripping the creatures apart.

Behind me, Typhon roared. Whether it was at the sight of his creatures dying or at something Ronan or Daisy did, I wasn't sure, but I couldn't turn to look.

The creatures climbed over the corpses of their fallen brethren trying to get to me. I tore them apart with magic as fast as I could, but for every one I killed, two more emerged from the ground.

Esme, her claws and fangs bloody, ripped into the monsters. They responded by attacking her with their own claws and teeth, opening wounds on her side and one wing. I took pleasure in shredding the ones that hurt my little cat-dragon and letting them suffer a bit before they died.

In the middle of the battlefield, I stilled. I'd killed a number of creatures and even people out of necessity, but I'd never taken pleasure in it. Yet here I was inflicting pain and actually enjoying it. What the hell was happening to me?

I glanced down at myself. I was covered in goop and innards, bloody from a dozen wounds, and shrouded in dark magic that licked the air around me like flames. Anyone who saw me in that moment would have thought I was either a sorcerer, a black witch, or something worse. I was immensely grateful neither Sean nor Malcolm could see me right now. That pain—and shame—was worse than any of my wounds.

With an impressive battle cry, Lucy waded into the swarming mass of monsters, slashing at everything within her reach. She moved with the grace of a dancer, killing with her blade almost as fast as I could with magic.

For whatever reason, Mariela seemed to have gotten the worst of it. She'd rolled to her back and tried to rise, but without success. She'd be a threat as soon as she could start throwing magic or spells, but I couldn't get to her with all these creatures between us.

Just as I thought that, I realized I had a much more immediate problem.

A small knot formed in my upper abdomen, just below my ribcage. The knot felt like a snarl or tangle of black magic. Every time I used magic to kill a monster, it tugged at the knot, and the knot grew. Well, that can't be good, I thought.

Typhon and Ronan had been trading blows virtually nonstop, with Daisy getting in bites whenever she got a chance. They seemed about evenly matched. That would have worried me more if I hadn't been currently up to my eyebrows in monsters.

On the other side of the mass of nightmarish creatures, Mariela finally lurched to her feet. The creatures didn't attack her; Typhon must have communicated to them somehow that she was an ally. She caught my eye and smiled.

Ronan had said we had to kill Mariela to prevent Typhon from following her commands. She'd murdered a child and indirectly caused the deaths of hundreds of people, and I had no problem seeing her die for those crimes. But was that justice, or vengeance? The line seemed blurry now.

Not that I could reach Mariela to dispense either justice or vengeance; every time I thought I might be able to get through the horde of creatures, more came out of the ground between us. How the hell many of these things would there be?

Suddenly, a huge creature much larger than Daisy, with a segmented body and a dozen thick tentacles like a cross between an ant and a squid, erupted through the rocky ground, sending ash and rocks flying. It screeched and headed straight for me, giant fangs clacking.

"Alice!" Lucy shouted, but she was too far away and surrounded by a half-dozen monsters of her own.

Dark-magic whips spiraled from my hands. I slashed at the squid creature and lopped off one of its tentacles. It shrieked. With surprising speed, it wrapped two tentacles around my middle and squeezed.

I dug my nails into its hide to get its blood on my skin and used my dark magic to tear it apart. As its flesh split and black viscera splattered me, excruciating pain shot through my middle. The knot within me swelled.

A small monster darted forward and chomped into my arm. The wound bled profusely, and the creature's saliva burned like acid. The pain barely registered over the sensation of dark magic pulsing through me and the discomfort in my abdomen.

I shredded my attacker and a second large monster right behind it. Another wave of pain hit me, this one far more intense. I stumbled, my hand on my stomach. Whatever was going wrong, I needed help. "Daisy!"

With a howl the Furies could probably hear back in Edis, my wolf thundered across the rocky ground, leaving Ronan to deal with Typhon. She plowed through the swarm of creatures in front of me like a golden bulldozer, sending pieces of them flying.

Esme and Lucy flanked me, slaughtering every creature that got within their reach, but there were too many of them coming up from the ground.

I stole a glance over my shoulder just in time to see Typhon roar and blast Ronan with black-edged bright orange fire from his mouth like a dragon. When the fireball rolled past, Ronan was on the ground. As far as I could tell, he was unburned, but he didn't get up. Maybe the fireball contained magic. Typhon bellowed.

Ronan? I asked, not sure if he could hear me.

No response came. He didn't move.

A large but surprisingly fast creature slammed into Lucy from the side and knocked her to the ground. With a snarl, Daisy chomped the creature in two, dropped its carcass, and whined.

"Oh, no." I ran to Lucy.

The creature had opened a large wound in her side. She held it closed with bloody hands, her face white with pain. "Damn it, I let that thing get the drop on me. Trev will never let me hear the end—" She broke off and groaned. Blood poured through her fingers.

I thought fast. The wound was bad, possibly fatal. I could heal her with blood magic, at least enough to keep her alive until we got back topside, but it would take time—time we didn't have. Ronan was getting back on his feet, but he looked like hell. Even if he had the ability to heal Lucy, he had his hands full with Typhon.

I pulled a crystal out of the leather cuff on my right forearm and showed it to Lucy. "Tom's blood magic healing spell. It's gonna hurt like a son of a bitch."

"Do it," she said through gritted teeth. "Please."

I slipped the crystal under her fingers, against her side. "Can you sense the magic?" I asked.

She nodded. Her lips were turning white.

"Focus on that magic and when you're ready, say Stardust."

"Interesting choice for an invocation word." She took a shuddering breath. "Go check on Ronan and kick Mariela's ass, okay?" In other words, don't watch her use the spell. I understood all too well.

I dragged my heel through the thick layer of ash on the ground and made a circle around Lucy. It wouldn't last, but it would keep her safe for at least as long as it would take for the healing spell to work. I drew runes in the ash, closed the circle with a dab of my blood, and invoked the ward. The circle flared.

I turned away from Lucy to give her privacy. Mariela was making her way toward Ronan and Typhon, spooling blood magic. Daisy and Esme were both bloodied but they fought the creatures tirelessly.

Behind me, healing magic surged and prickled on my skin. I hadn't heard Lucy invoke the healing spell over the snarling and shrieking of the creatures, but I heard her strangled scream when the first powerful wave pulsed out of the crystal and into her body. I flinched. I knew exactly how much a strong healing spell hurt.

Ronan's sword—the spelled one he'd driven through a tree while skewering Kyrios, then pulled free without damage—was broken. He tossed it to the ground. Typhon roared again, the sound strangely like a lion's and full of triumph.

Several of the largest creatures attacked Daisy at the same time. I ripped two of them apart without thinking. The burst of pain in my stomach drove me to my knees.

Halfway between Typhon, Ronan, and us, the ground split again. More creatures clawed their way to the surface. Mariela saw my expression and laughed.

As Esme attacked one of the creatures near Lucy, another leaped and raked its claws across the little dragon's side, nearly slicing her in half and flinging her twenty feet. She hit the ground, rolled until she hit a rock, and lay still. I let out a half-sob, half-scream of rage and grief.

Daisy crushed the creature who'd hurt Esme in her enormous jaws, then ran to the little dragon's side. Esme let out a piercing cry that hurt my ears. It rolled across the plain and echoed even in the emptiness around us.

Daisy raised her head and howled. The sound was the mournful cry of a wolf with a wounded and dying pack mate. She nudged Esme's bloody body with her muzzle, then went berserk on every creature she could get her teeth or claws into.

We were losing this fight.

I didn't want to watch Lucy, Esme, or Daisy torn to bits by these nightmare creatures. I didn't know if Ronan could die, but I definitely could. That knot of death magic in my abdomen felt like a lead weight.

My wolf, my cat-dragon, my Guardian partner, and that ass of a fallen angel had to live. I had to live. I had to live and get back to Malcolm and Sean and our pack. And to Valas, who'd fucked me over for absolutely the last time.

Typhon bellowed and raised his serpentine arms to pound Ronan into the ground with brute force. I wouldn't be able to get to him in time, not with more of the creatures clawing their way up out of the hole that had just opened between us.

Typhon started to bring his arms down.

Ronan reached behind his head and drew an enormous flaming sword out of thin air. My breath caught. Oh, holy cats.

Typhon's arms crashed down onto the sword. The shockwave and flash of blinding light nearly knocked me flat. When my vision cleared, Typhon and Ronan were locked in battle—the giant's size and powers versus Ronan's honest-to-God flaming angel sword.

Mariela screeched in pure fury. She hurled a blade at Ronan. It sank hilt-deep into his ribs on his right side. If he'd been human, the wound would likely have been fatal.

For a moment, Ronan did little more than flinch. He threw one of the silver-blue balls of magic like Ekto had thrown at Aira in the tavern, but his aim was off and it barely grazed Mariela. She stumbled. Magic shimmered around her: protection spells strong enough to save her from an angel's magic. Damn it.

Ronan took one more swing at Typhon with his sword, staggered, and fell.

Around me, the creatures shrieked with what might have been glee, but didn't swarm me or Ronan. I didn't know what they were waiting for. Typhon bellowed.

Can I wield that fancy flaming sword?I asked Ronan.

His voice was a shadow of itself when he answered. No.

I glanced behind me, where Lucy huddled in the circle I'd made. I couldn't tell if she was conscious or not. The healing spell had finished its work, but she'd lost a lot of blood.

Can Lucy?I asked.

No.

Fine. I was a mage, not a swordfighter. I didn't need a damn blade anyway, not even an angelic one.

The lore says Zeus wounded Typhon with thunderbolts and imprisoned him, Ronan said, his voice in my head growing faint. In truth, it was the Archangel Michael who struck him down, back when the earth was young.

Thunder rumbled. Purple lightning split the sky.

This is a strange storm,Ronan said in my head. Then…nothing.

He wasn't dead; somehow, I knew that. But he was badly hurt, and now there was nothing between Typhon going topside with Mariela but Daisy and me.

If we were topside, I could use my air and earth magic to conduct the lightning, as I'd done on a rooftop to take out my aunt Catherine when she tried to burn down a condo to get at a rival cabal. Down here, my air magic didn't respond to the power of the lightning, and my earth magic tingled only a little. My dark magic, however, surged along with the lightning.

I caught movement out of the corner of my eye: Esme, trying to get up, despite her terrible wounds. She let out another piercing cry of pain. Daisy shredded any creature that came near them, but more emerged from the ground. Soon we'd be completely overrun.

If I was going down, I was going down swinging.

I dropped my shields and reached for the dark power in the creatures around us. With my magic, I pulled all their death energy into myself, sucking it from their bodies as if I was taking a huge breath of the foulest, dankest, most poisonous air.

These were creatures of the Darkness. That darkness, tinged with the primordial power of Chaos, filled me with the most horrible and sickening magic I'd ever known. The knot in my stomach swelled and hardened.

With shrieks and wails, the creatures fell, their bodies shriveling. Typhon roared and the ground shook.

Lightning burst overhead. In the distance, I spotted a huge, black form silhouetted against the sky, headed our way. When the lightning faded, I lost sight of the creature. Whether it was friend or foe, I had no idea, but I'd have to deal with it later.

Full of dark power and death magic, I reached out with my now almost-black air magic and seized the power of the storm. I expected pain, since every time I'd conducted the power of storms or ley lines it was excruciating. Instead, I felt only enormous power—and grief for Esme, who lay unmoving. Stay with me, little dragon.

Ronan was right at Typhon's feet. If I hit the giant with a bolt, I might fry Ronan to a crisp.

"Hey, you big idiot!" I shouted at Typhon. I didn't know if he understood, so I flapped my arms and made chicken sounds, which seemed to be a universal form of communication. "Big ugly idiot, come get me!"

He roared and lumbered in my direction.

"Stop!" Mariela screamed. Whether she was talking to Typhon or me, I wasn't sure. And I didn't care.

I formed the power of the storm into a massive bolt, one larger than any I'd ever attempted to wield before. Tiny threads of lightning sparked across my skin. Daisy crouched protectively over Esme.

With a scream, I brought the bolt down on Typhon's head. The resulting thunderclap was louder and more powerful than two trains colliding.

The shockwave sent me flying. I landed hard on a pile of hot dirt and ash near one of the holes the creatures had made coming up through the ground. Daisy had protected Esme, and Lucy still lay in the circle I'd made for her. She didn't move, but she was breathing. Probably unconscious.

I staggered to my feet. Typhon lay on the ground, black smoke curling up from his body and chunks of his head and left side missing. He wasn't dead, but he was at least down—for now. The snakes that formed his body writhed and hissed and spat in fury.

A powerful blood magic spell hit me from the side and bounced off. The sensation was like being struck with a huge rubber ball. I staggered. Warm magic that smelled like parchment flared: Carly's Return to Sender spell, held in the amulet in my pocket.

The spell Mariela had thrown at me rebounded and hit her square in the chest. I expected it to dissolve against her protection spells, but she must have used black magic. It went through her protection spells like they weren't even there.

Mariela screamed.

She screamed as it stripped off her skin, screamed as it ate away at her bones, and was still screaming when she collapsed to the rocky ground in a bloody pile of clothing and liquifying flesh. She finally stopped screaming when her eyes dissolved and ran out of their sockets. In seconds, her body was nothing but blood and bits of blackened flesh.

I put my hands on my knees and took a shuddering breath.

Mariela's death didn't feel like justice, and it sure as hell wasn't a cause for celebration. Without her to demand further investigation into the Glen Grove bombing, would any of the perpetrators face justice now? At the end of the day, it was the bombers who had set this all in motion. Mariela was responsible for a lot of death and suffering, but none of it would have happened if it weren't for their bigotry.

A spell fractured with a puff of foul odor and an echo of death. Mariela's black magic spell that had invoked Typhon had broken. Now that she was dead, we could bury Typhon. How the hell we were supposed to do that, though, I had no idea.

Typhon rumbled and started to rise. The wound in his head was already healing. Blasted immortals.

To my surprise, Esme raised her head again and let out a feeble cry. Overhead, something screeched in reply. Another burst of lightning illuminated the source of the sound: a dragon so huge, it dwarfed Typhon. It was either the one from the walls of Edis or the same species. The dragon swooped toward us, moving so quickly I had no time to get out of its way.

As it turned out, I was not its target.

The dragon grasped Typhon in its claws and settled its massive body on top of him. The giant looked like a mouse in the talons of a hawk. Typhon bellowed and roared as the snakes that made up his body attempted to bite through the dragon's scales, but it didn't seem to notice their attacks.

To my surprise, the dragon didn't take off immediately. Perched on Typhon's body, its weight crushing the giant to the rocky ground, it leaned down toward Esme. Its teeth were larger than Ronan's sword, and there were dozens of them.

I didn't stop to think. I ran in front of Esme and found myself face-to-snout with the dragon. Like Esme's, its eyes were brilliant, glittering emerald green.

The dragon puffed warm, magic-tinged air in my face in what might have been exasperation. It carefully nudged me aside and lowered its nose to Esme's bloody face. My little dragon raised her head and touched her nose to the newcomer's much-larger snout.

The dragon shimmered with violet magic. Warm air and magic blew from its nose and swirled around Esme, wrapping her in a shimmery blanket.

Violet magic was fae magic. I'd seen it only twice before—not counting the traces of fae magic in my aura thanks to a distant fae ancestor—and its beauty and power would never cease to leave me breathless. Daisy paced at my side, clearly uneasy about such an enormous dragon so close to her little pack mate.

The magic faded, revealing Esme curled up in cat form, fast asleep. Her fur was bloody and dirty, but her wounds were gone. I let out a little sob.

Moving very slowly so my gesture wouldn't be interpreted as an attack, I rested my palm on the side of the dragon's head. Its scales were hot and pulsed with magic. "Thank you," I whispered.

Two of the vipers that made up Typhon's body hissed and tried to strike me. The dragon whipped its head around, bit off the snakes, and swallowed them. Yuck.

Under the dragon's claws, Typhon roared. The dragon made a satisfied noise and looked down at Esme.

"I'll take care of her," I promised. "Stuff that asshole back under a mountain, will you?"

The dragon puffed warm air at me and took off with Typhon struggling and bellowing in its grip. Though it was careful not to hit us with its enormous wings, the downdraft knocked me flat. The dragon snuffled in what might have been an apology.

I sat up and watched it rise high into the air and fly off in the opposite direction of the distant mountains, toward a pitch-black horizon and hopefully the deepest pit the Underworld had to offer.

I hurt all over and the knot in my stomach felt like the size of a baseball. I was so hungry that the gnawing sensation was painful, but it was just one more pain I couldn't do anything about at the moment.

Lucy's voice startled me. "Was that a dragon you were talking to, or was I hallucinating?" She sat up, pale and shaky, but alive.

"That was most definitely a dragon. Luckily, it was on our side." Using a rock for support, I got to my feet. I scooped up Esme and headed for Ronan, who hadn't moved since he went down with Mariela's blade in his ribs.

When we got to him, his wings had disappeared, as had his flaming sword. Other than the knife in his side, I saw no other injuries despite the very brutal fight he'd had with Typhon. I wondered how he'd gotten all the other scars. Maybe he could choose when to heal himself.

Lucy staggered up next to me as I knelt beside Ronan. I touched his face, expecting it to be cool because of how pale he was. I hissed and yanked my hand back. "His skin is burning."

Tis's voice came from behind us. "That blade is poison for our kind."

I whirled. Tis stood about ten feet away, with Ammit at her side. "She likely brought it to threaten one of us," she added, studying Ronan. Her face and tone were devoid of emotion. "The bounty hunter had the misfortune of falling victim to its power."

"His name is Ronan." I got to my feet. "Why are you here?"

"We approve of the outcome of this battle." Her tone was beneficent, as if we'd been awaiting their judgment, and I was in no mood for it. Daisy growled.

"Oh, do you now?" I snapped. "How kind of you."

Her eyes narrowed. "Tread carefully, mage."

"You dumped us on this plain to fight for our lives and the lives of thousands more," Lucy said. Her sword trembled. Given how much blood she'd lost, I had no idea how she was even on her feet, much less brandishing a heavy blade. "We barely survived, and Ronan might die."

"All this is true," Tis said.

As maddening as her lack of emotion was, we might have a bigger problem. I turned to Ammit. "Do you still plan to feast on hearts?"

She smiled that eerie crocodilian smile. "Not at this time. Mariela's death and Typhon's return to the Darkness have robbed me of that opportunity."

At least we wouldn't have to fight her too. "Thanks," I said.

She blinked at me with two sets of eyelids. "You seek justice above all else, mage Alice. And you, warrior Lucy, have begun to do the same, after a fashion. See your motives remain true, for the good of your souls." The scent of iron and incense wrapped around us. "I would take great pleasure in devouring your hearts, should they find their way to my plate."

With that threat hanging in the air, she vanished with a surge of magic.

A woman stepped from a shimmery tear in the air about fifteen feet to our right. She was very tall and blonde, with glacier blue eyes. Another fallen angel, I guessed. She wore gray fighting leathers and two swords on her back.

"I have asked our sister Eir to heal your wounds, in recognition of your honor and bravery," Tis said.

"You're a healer?" Lucy asked as Eir approached. "You look like a soldier."

"One does not preclude the other." Her voice was melodious. "Battlefields require medics as well as healers."

"I'm not going into debt to anyone for healing," I stated. "I have healing spells, and there are hospitals and healers topside."

"This gift of healing is freely given," Eir said. I sensed magic when she spoke, as if those words were a bond between us. "At the request of my sisters, and in appreciation for your skill and courage in battle."

Lucy and I exchanged a glance. "You're a mess," she told me with characteristic bluntness. "Blood magic healing spells are good at what they do, but they suck dragon balls. I vote we accept the offer before you fall down."

I sighed and handed Esme over to Lucy. "All right."

Eir's hands glided over my body, her silver-blue magic warm and comforting. My cuts, bruises, and other injuries healed painlessly.

When she found the knot in my stomach, however, she flinched and stepped back. "You can't do anything about that, can you?" I asked.

She looked sad. "I cannot."

I'd expected as much. I couldn't be that lucky.

Since most of Lucy's injuries had already been healed by the healing spell, Eir took only a minute to tend to what was left. Lucy was still pale from blood loss, but when Eir finished, her hands no longer trembled.

I gestured at Ronan. "Now your brother needs your help."

Eir rejoined Tis. "I am forbidden to help him."

"What the hell did he do?" I burst out. "Why doesn't he deserve the least bit of compassion?"

"Whether or not he deserves compassion is immaterial," Tis snapped. "We have orders."

"What, from Michael?" I demanded. "Or from whoever put a bounty on Ronan's head?"

"Both." For the first time, I saw what might have been real sadness in her ancient eyes. "We all answer to someone, Alice, even the Fallen. My sisters and I keep the peace and see justice is done in this realm. Without us, many would suffer and die in the chaos. We cannot risk our own annihilation, not even for our brother."

"Fine." I went to my knees at Ronan's side. "If you won't help, I will."

"How?" Lucy asked, crouching beside me. "You take a course in angel first aid?"

"I'll figure something out." I cupped Ronan's face with my hand. His hot skin hurt my palm. His chest barely moved.

I leaned close so I could murmur in his ear. "We are all getting back on that train, you ass. Plus I've got a message for you, knight with no court or kingdom."

No response.

I pulled the knife out of Ronan's side and dropped it on the ground. The jagged obsidian blade was full of very black magic. Putrescent flesh surrounded the bloody wound. I gagged.

"You may kill yourself if you attempt to save him," Eir warned.

I snorted and stuck my fingers into the wound in Ronan's side. "If I had a quarter for every time someone told me that." I took a deep breath and closed my eyes so I could focus.

With my blood magic and dark magic, I tried to pull the poison and black magic out of Ronan's body as I'd drawn Kyrios's poison from Daisy, but its tentacles went deep into his flesh and didn't want to come out.

"Damn it." I cut my fingertips on the edge of Ronan's broken sword, sucking in a breath at the pain. I stuck my fingers back into the wound in his side, lowered my shields, and pulled the vile mix of magic and poison into myself instead.

My blood and earth magic burned away most of the poison and black magic as it left Ronan's body. I shuddered. My skin burned hot all over as the remainder entered my bloodstream.

Someone wrapped their slim but strong arms around me and held me tightly so I didn't fall over. Lucy. Daisy chuffed in my ear, maybe to reassure me that she was beside me as well.

I drew poison and black magic from Ronan's body until I couldn't take anymore, and then crawled away from the others to vomit. What came out was black and horrible and tasted like blood and the inside of a dumpster, and cut the inside of my belly, throat, and mouth like razors as I expelled it onto the ground.

Finally, when it was over, I collapsed on my side, my chest heaving with harsh breaths almost like sobs. I was sick and exhausted, but I was alive, and so were Ronan, Lucy, Esme, and Daisy.

The ground rumbled. With my head resting on the hot, ash-covered rock, I heard a distant roar that sounded very much like Typhon bellowing from within the earth. Our dragon ally had found someplace very deep to stash the Son of the Darkness. "Same to you, pal," I rasped.

Someone knelt beside me. I opened my eyes, expecting it to be Lucy. Instead I found myself looking up into Ronan's glacier-blue gaze. He looked haggard, but his hand was only just warm and not scalding when he cupped my cheek.

"I owe you a great boon," he said roughly.

"No debts between friends." My voice sounded no better.

He produced a cloth from a pocket of his pants and wiped my face and mouth. A black scar marked where Mariela's knife had punctured his side. Something told me he'd bear that scar for a very long time.

When his fingers grazed my lips, magic tingled. Whether it was mine or his, I couldn't tell. "I have a question for you," I murmured as he finished cleaning my face.

"Yes?"

"Who put the bounty on your head?"

The corners of his mouth turned up. "Freya. It's a long story."

I blinked. Freya, as in the Freya? "I bet."

He offered me his hand. I took it and he lifted me to my feet without showing any strain. And he flexed when he did it. I rolled my eyes.

The ground rumbled one more time, then went still.

We'd won.

Hadn't we?

Torryn's prophecy said I wouldn't succeed in stopping the Furies, bringing Mariela back, or getting the scroll so Malcolm and I could make it home. I hadn't had to stop the Furies, as it turned out, and Mariela was most certainly not returning to our world unless someone scooped her remains into a bucket. That left the scroll.

I made my way through the shriveled corpses of the dead creatures to the puddle of bloody goop that had once been Mariela. With the smell of the poison I'd pulled from Ronan's body still fresh in my nose, I barely noticed the odor of her mostly liquid remains. It was still about a twelve on my personal gross-o-meter.

"Want me to do it?" Ronan asked, making me jump. I hadn't realized he'd followed me.

"I'm going to put a bell on you." I sighed. "I've got it." I braced myself, crouched, and felt around in the slurry of blood, dissolved bones, and flesh. "Eww, eww, eww," I chanted under my breath.

I thought I heard Ronan chuckle, but when I glared up at him he just raised his eyebrows.

I pulled her clothing out first and searched it, then used a rock to nudge several amulets out of the puddle, not wanting to touch them and risk falling victim to whatever magic or spells they held.

When I found her leather bag, I opened it and carefully dumped its contents onto the ground: dirty clothing, a bottle for water, dried meat and fruits in small bags, some toiletries and other odds and ends, and a leather-wrapped bundle so completely devoid of magic that it had to be magical and protected by strong wards.

The problem was, I had no way to know what those wards were or what they would do if I tried to open the parcel. They might destroy the contents, kill me, nuke the entire vicinity…the possibilities were endless. I'd bet the wards had deadly landmines that would try to kill me if I tried to unweave them. I didn't want to leave the Underworld until I knew if the scroll was in the parcel, and the apparent accuracy thus far of Torryn's prophecy made me uneasy.

Ronan held out his hand. "May I?"

I hesitated. "There's bound to be some very bad magic in here."

"I know." He continued to hold out his hand. "I'm willing to take the risk. I doubt she thought she'd need to ward it against me."

"She knew she was coming down here to see them," I reminded him, indicating Tis, who watched us without expression. "She had the foresight to bring that angel-killing knife."

"Alice, I know all that," he snapped. "Will you just give me the damn thing and accept help when it's offered?"

Damn it. Of all my many neuroses, that one drove Malcolm and Sean crazy the most.

"I'm not very good at that," I said.

"No shit."

We eyed each other.

"Okay," I said reluctantly. "Be careful, Wings. I've already had to save you once. I don't think I've got another miracle in me today."

His mouth turned down. "Since you did save me, I'll let ‘Wings' slide. This time. Step back, just in case."

I moved back about ten feet. Lucy and Daisy joined me, with Esme nestled in Lucy's arms. Tis stayed where she was.

With his boot, Ronan made a circle around Mariela's remains and the bundle, then crouched to mark glyphs in the ash along the perimeter of the circle. The circle flared with silver-blue magic. My skin prickled.

Ronan used one of his knives to cut the rope around the bundle. The blade blazed blue as some kind of spell or curse flared, but Ronan seemed fine. The knife must have absorbed the curse. I let out a breath.

With the tip of the knife, Ronan unfolded the top layer of leather wrapped around the contents of the parcel. Another flare of blue magic on the blade, much more faint. The protective spell on the knife had reached its limits. Ronan flinched as the remaining part of the curse hit him, but it didn't seem to do much to him.

Though the knife had no more protection, he used the blade to flip back the other part of the leather wrapping. He stared and jerked in surprise.

Several things happened seemingly at once.

Red and black magic flared so powerfully that I covered my eyes instinctively to protect them. Lucy gasped and turned away from the intense brightness.

Something flew past me with a great flapping of wings, moving so quickly I saw only a blur and smelled the sea. Silver-blue magic seared my skin, but it wasn't Ronan's. I recognized it from the tavern. Tis.

I lowered my hand and squinted.

Radiant with power and magic brighter than anything I'd seen since we arrived in the Underworld, Tis crouched in the center of Ronan's circle, her wings folded to form a shield over the bundle. Ronan lay a few feet away, his body over the line he'd drawn in the ash. He appeared stunned, but he was moving.

A blast of sea-scented cold air washed over us. In it, I caught the distinct odor of something burning and familiar ancient magic.

"Oh, no," I breathed. "No, no, no."

Tis raised her head. Dark streaks spread across her face and wings—traces of the curse she'd contained. She shook herself briskly. Silver-blue magic burst from her skin and wings and pulsed through her body. The streaks began to fade.

My chest tight, I headed for the circle. Tis lifted her wings. Her eyes glowed with power.

The leather wrapping was gone, reduced to fine ash. On top of that ash lay a charred wooden spindle and bits of half-burned papyrus.

"I contained the final curse on the wrappings," Tis said as I stared at all that remained of Valas's treasured portion of the Writings of the House of Darkness—the key to getting us home.

"I also attempted to preserve this bit of foul magic, but it was already destroyed," Tis added. "It is likely your enemy spelled the scroll to self-immolate on the event of her death." She rose smoothly. Her wings folded behind her back and vanished.

Lucy and Daisy joined me at the edge of the circle. Daisy whined.

Ronan got to his feet, his eyes dark gray. "Alice." His tone held sympathy, and I wanted to punch him for it.

I picked up one of the cloth bags Mariela had used for food. I emptied it and gingerly put the charred bits of wood and papyrus into the bag, along with the obsidian stone I'd had in my pocket since the mirror dumped us in the ruins of Northbourne.

I got to my feet. "Tis, I need my backpack from your tavern, please."

She reached to her right, the air rippling and folding around her arm. When her hand reappeared, she held my backpack. She placed it at my feet without a word.

I tied the bag containing what remained of the scroll and put it into my pack. "Thank you for trying to save the scroll, and for protecting Ronan, despite your orders. I'm not sure about your sisters, but you're actually kind of cool."

To my surprise, a hint of a smile turned up the corner of Tis's mouth. "High praise indeed."

"What's the plan now?" Lucy asked.

"Same plan as before." I put my backpack on my shoulders. "Get back topside, get Malcolm, go back to where we landed in your world, and go home. Did you request a pickup for us?" I asked Ronan.

Before he could answer, Tis spoke. "I can send you directly to the doorway back to the human world, if you would prefer a faster mode of transportation."

"I appreciate the offer, but your way is kind of rough on humans," I told her. "Besides, I kinda liked the train."

"Charon should arrive shortly," Ronan said. He bowed to Tis. "My thanks, sister. Please tell Aira she's welcome to try to collect that bounty the next time I'm here."

Tis's eyes sparkled. "If you are lucky, she will have lost interest by then. Safe travels to you all." She vanished.

Ronan touched my arm. "I'm sorry about the scroll."

"I'm still going home," I told him, my eyes tracking a fast-moving black shape heading directly for us across the plain. "And Malcolm, Daisy, and Esme are coming with me. I'll find a way to get through that mirror-door. I don't give up that easily." My stomach cramped hard from hunger. I nearly doubled over.

His fingertips brushed my abdomen where the hard knot had formed. His eyes darkened. "This is death magic."

"I know." I took Esme from Lucy. The little cat-dragon didn't stir. "But there's still time."

He didn't ask me time for what.

We watched the train approach, slow, and stop in front of us. The door slid open. Lucy and I boarded first with Daisy and Esme. Ronan climbed aboard and sat down across from us. The door slid closed.

As the train crossed the plain toward the distant mountains, I ate the last two protein bars in my backpack, drank the remainder of my bottled water, and lay down on the seat with Esme curled up against my stomach, still sound asleep. Daisy sprawled out in front of me and put her chin on the seat. I rested my hand on her head.

Lucy took out her blade and started cleaning it. "You know, I expected your sword to be quite a bit bigger than it was," she told Ronan.

I fell asleep with the sound of his chuckle in my ears.