23

Walter

I was practically hyperventilating as I approached Bez's headless former host, which twitched from the electricity circulating through the wires attached to the large golden lance impaled through the stomach. I stared through the holes of the metal-grated floor of the railing, cautiously searching for anything in the darkness. Meanwhile, Kell lay on the railing, sprawled out on her stomach, kicking her feet back and forth behind her while casually typing away at her laptop.

"You realize this is a trap, don't you?" I asked.

"No." Her fingers strummed with a steady ticking along the keyboard. "It could be a trap, I suppose. It could also be a coincidence."

"Oh, definitely." I scoffed. "The portal just coincidentally sealed right after we stepped through, separating us from Bez and Mora."

"They'll be fine. We're perfectly fine. They're probably trying to open it from their end right now." Kell snickered. "Without the slightest clue in what they're doing. Eons of wisdom between the two of them, and they wouldn't know how to flip a light switch here."

"Nope." I shook my head. "This is a trap. We're trapped here while Bez and Mora are out there, likely being attacked by who knows how many demons. We're going to be attacked next. Captured or killed or—"

"Stop catastrophizing."

"I'm not catastrophizing," I snapped, mostly due to the fact I was unaware of the term, and that pissed me off more than Kell's nonchalance.

"Point is, you're manifesting a lot of negativity preparing for all these unknown outcomes, and it's clogging the air and bad for my pores—you know, the ones recovering after being set on actual fire. I get it, keep your expectations low and assume the worst will happen. Mora does the same thing. Really says a lot about your personality, though, Wally."

"This isn't paranoia for the sake of paranoia. We know Eligos has been running this place or helping at the very least. We know he's after us. We know he knows"—or thinks—"Bez shares his essence with me. We also know there are other demons working with him. What we don't know is how many there are, where they are, or if they're here plotting right this second."

"That's a long way of saying you have no idea what's going on."

I furrowed my brow.

"Focus less on what you don't know and more on what you do know," Kell said, still playfully kicking her feet back and forth, not a care in the world.

"Well, maybe if you planned more for the unexpected, you wouldn't get set on fire so much."

"Rude," Kell said, twisting her lips into a soured expression. "If I let all the unknowns of a situation, of the world, control me, I wouldn't accomplish anything. But in the few minutes since you started spiraling, I've already gotten into the systems, taken a looksee, and achieved step one of what I can control. What have you done?"

I huffed, releasing my frustration and some of my fear. She had a point. If I dwelled on all the potential and very likely horrors, I'd stand here frozen, incapable of doing a damn thing to help.

"Here's what I do know: this place is running on magical fumes." Kell jabbed her screen, pointing to a bunch of codes, numbers, letters, and symbols I couldn't make the slightest sense of. "Despite connecting Bez's body—well, his old body—to the network, the ship isn't funneling essence from him, which means there are bound to be outages since a bunch of Diabolics have been released from their orbs."

She pointed to the shattered glass from the six orbs stationed at the edge of the railing that were littered about, catching the light of blood dripping through the grates of the metal walkway. The blood was glittery and must've belonged to the Faes Eligos used as host offerings to the Diabolics he'd released.

"Hence, why I choose to believe it's a coincidence until I have more info to formulate a sound plan. Right now, I can fix glitches."

The click, tick, and clatter of Kell's typing created a rhythmic echo in the near-silent engine room. A few machines hummed, but nothing with the roaring bustle like my last visit, meaning the dimensional capabilities had lost functionality or, at the very least, were limited.

"So, instead of trying to predict every possible outcome, why don't you prioritize what you can control?"

Right. I peered over the edge, taking in the hundreds of orbs still placed on pillared mantles in large groups, positioned throughout the lower end of the engine room. None of them were shattered, at least from what I could glimpse. Which meant Eligos probably just released the six demons up here on the railing that were trapped inside those Diabolic orbs.

"It doesn't look like any of the orbs below have been disturbed, which makes sense considering they're the only thing keeping the basic life support and magic of the ship intact, so I guess we don't have to worry about him releasing more."

"Doubtful," Kell said. "Only half the pillars are wired into the systems. I mean, they're all connected, but according to the diagnostics, they're not doing much of anything. My guess? The knight in tacky armor lacked enough host bodies to free the others, so he's just keeping the others on ice. Figurative ice. Do you think the orbs have a temperature? I wonder if I could find out."

"Focus." I said it to Kell but honestly needed to take my own advice and figure out what was going on and how I could help. Could I help?

"Heh-heh-heh." An unsettling, deep laughter rained from above, accompanied by a wheezing exhale.

I looked up, unable to see anything other than the starry black temporal void that kept the engine room contained within the villa yet separated by dimensional magics.

"Kell," I whispered, panicky and not-at-all paranoid. "I was fucking right."

"Yeah, yeah, untwist your panties, Wally." Kell hopped up. "Of course there's a demon here, but I had to wait for him to reveal himself before making a move."

"There might be others," I thought, replying through the telepathic link Kell had created.

"No. Six shattered orbs. We killed one; Bez and Mora killed a second." Kell clamped her jaw. "And from the brief glimpse I caught before losing contact, Mora's dealing with three others."

"What?"

"That makes five, meaning this one is the final demon that asshole knight released."

"You should've said something," I snapped, unable to stifle the words into a thought because if I'd known, I could've planned for it.

"While you were spiraling, all woe is me? Couldn't risk tipping the demon off."

She's using psychic perception right now; she could've easily told me without alerting the demon.

"Believe it or not, my magic is a finite source," Kell thought, proving even my internal musings linked to her active telepathy. "And I'm using a lot to keep from passing out every minute."

I reached for my sheathed dagger since it was the only thing I had which stood any chance of harming Diabolic essence.

"Keep it concealed. It's best not to tip our hand until we know what we're up against," Kell thought, and I felt the snap as the link between us went silent.

That meant she wouldn't be able to call on the Four Corners. I wondered if she'd lost access to any of the others, prioritizing her magic and essence to heal her substantial wounds, injuries I'd made light of because she shrugged off everything she'd endured playing it cool. I had to do better.

She stared at the ceiling before moving her gaze toward the empty white wall where we entered.

Maybe she'd figured out a way to open the portal.

"If you need me to stall"—I swallowed the lump of insecurity tightening my throat—"I can buy you time to hack the doors."

"Unless you can buy me an hour, I think we're going to have to move to plan B." She nodded to the white wall. "The shroud is solid, almost impossible to see, but it's there."

Shit. If Kell could barely register the presence with Mora's essence coursing through her, what was I going to do? I couldn't see anything out of the ordinary.

"Heh-heh-heh." The taunting laughter came from the other side of the engine room.

I whipped around, saturating the railing walkway, desperately hoping I'd be able to conjure a strong enough barrier to withstand a blitz attack.

"I thought you said the demon was over there."

"He was." Kell shifted her stance. "He's fast. Faster than the other one."

"Heh-heh-heh."

The Diabolic shroud vanished, revealing a behemoth of a demon perched at the end of the railing with his spikelike feet wedged into the metal grates. My stomach churned, not at his features, but at the mess of blood and literal guts he adorned across his sunshine yellow skin. All he was missing was the cheery smile to add to his sadistic appearance. This demon didn't possess a Fae—not really. It was more like he wore the body as an accessory. Limp, bloody arms dangled around his trunk-sized neck like a scarf. Glittery flesh stretched in long meaty strands across the broad, muscular torso of the demon, and the legs swung in front of the demon's waist like an apron. He reached on either side of the railing, gripping the bars with each of his six flexed arms, slowly approaching Kell and me.

The way he treated his host body, the fact he didn't need to coil deep within the core to restore discombobulated essence like Bez required after his near fifty-year stint trapped inside a Diabolic orb meant the six demons Eligos released probably hadn't spent as much time locked away. He wasn't the only demon to carelessly wreck a host body either. The first demon I'd encountered literally chomped away at the flesh as opposed to using it to restore herself. This proved they didn't require host bodies and added to the question of why Eligos didn't reserve those Fae bodies for other demons like those locked on the lower platforms positioned on the pillars. Did he think the six locked away were in worse condition? Did he believe he could challenge a devil, even a weakened one, with only six demons? I eyed the other orbs below. Was there something wrong with those demons? Were they too weak? Or were they uncontrollable in some way?

"Would rather be eating that cowardly demon king," the demon said with his voice carrying two tones: one deep and breathy, the other had a lighter lilt like my own. The rattling combination made every muscle in my body tense, too anxious to saturate my terrain.

"What did you say?" Kell perked up.

His words came from the gaping Fae's mouth, whose face was stretched across the demon's bulbous head like a warped, bloody beanie that covered the Diabolic's eyes. I shivered at how he'd ripped through the Mythic he possessed. This was because he rushed to create a composite. Bez had explained composites took time and required organic shifts, constrained by the confines of the host; instead, this demon forced and pushed the limits of the body well beyond measure until he'd snapped nearly all the elasticity of the flesh.

"Heh-heh-heh." The laughter came from his actual mouth, a twisted swirl of jagged teeth. "Was supposed to catch the mage with devil essence. Beat him. Contain the devil." He snarled, mouth widening as he sucked in a vortex of air. "No devil essence here. No essence in the mage at all."

He sniffed out my lack of essence as quickly as the demon possessing the pink Fae. Not sure if that put a bigger or smaller target on my head. On the one hand, without Bez's essence, they had no use for me, so the demons wouldn't prioritize abducting me. On the other hand, without Bez's essence, they had no reason to keep me around and would probably just—

"Guess I get to eat the little misfit mage now." He released another breathy chuckle.

Yep. That answered my question. I was fucked. We both were.

"Be a dear, Wally." Kell took off her witch's hat, handing it to me.

I did as she asked, watching her run her fingers along her shaved hair, amplifying the glow of green veins on her hands but lessening their potency around the burns on her scalp. Kell redirected the flow of essence, ushering it from prioritizing healing to what I assumed was preparation for an assault on this demon. Would she add it to her spells or simply reveal some Diabolic level strength and speed? It was mesmerizing to witness how much control Kell had over the essence Mora shared with her.

"One of these days, I'm going to have to sit down and actually clean this thing out." She rummaged through her hat, ignoring the demon slowly encroaching on us, and tossing items out from cosmetics, a decorative pillow, all the way to a collection of scrolls possibly containing ancient spells. None of it caught her eye. "Oh, hey, little guy. I forgot you were in there. Sorry, Trix."

Kell pulled out a fluffy white rabbit and kissed his scrunched nose, then dropped him back into the hat, continuing her search.

"Did you just pull a rabbit out of your hat?" I asked, eyeing the demon who took deceptively deliberate steps.

"Magicians aren't the only ones with fun stuff up their sleeves." Kell winked, unphased by the frightening presence, while I wanted to collapse in a puddle of dread as the demon's shadow loomed over us.

He was toying with us, given he could've been on top of us in a second flat. He wanted to savor this. Or had orders to stall—not sure how that'd benefit Eligos other than keeping us as half-dead hostages to use against Bez and Mora. I hoped whatever Kell wanted to retrieve would shield us from his attack.

"There it is." Kell dug her arms in deep and fished out a large gun.

I think that's a gun.

Military-grade based on the size, but the Collective never made it much of a priority to learn about human weaponry, aside from neutralizing barrels, clips, triggers, and ammunition through single casted low-level incantations.

This one had a huge sawed-off short barrel with a rounded clip and a hot pink grip that Kell playfully slapped against her palm, carelessly waving the gun back and forth.

"Is that some type of modified super shotgun?" I asked, searching for the faintest traces of magic tucked within the weapon but finding nothing.

"Goddess, no." She bit her thumb. Blood pooled, quickly replaced by black essence holding a green glint. "It's a grenade launcher."

"Why?" I asked, baffled.

"It's for the modern girl with modern problems." Kell posed. "Remember what I said about magicians and their sleeves?"

"Heh-heh-heh." The demon clutched his bloody stomach with two of his arms, his body shaking as he stifled a laugh.

It didn't matter that Kell wielded military-grade artillery, I highly doubted she'd get a clear shot on a demon moving at blurring speeds.

She shook her hand loose, blowing on the pooled blood on her thumb. A toothpick fell from the loose, frayed sleeve of her dress, and she eyed it, then me. Right. Magician's sleeve was code for something. She had a plan. I just didn't understand a single part of it, and considering this was Kell, I couldn't be certain she knew a single part of it either. She planned on shooting the demon with a grenade launcher—a literal fucking grenade launcher—and wanted me to stab it with a toothpick opposed to my actual dagger?

I knelt to retrieve her secret after-dinner weapon and sighed. I was going to die, either at the hand of this demon, a misfire by chaotic Kell, or an untimely demise by whatever she'd spelled on the toothpick. The magic radiated off it in waves, unlike her actual weapon.

"Get ready." She smeared her bloody thumb on the side of the grenade launcher, willing the essence to obey her, and guided it with her hand toward the barrel.

"What're you doing?" I asked wide-eyed.

"In case he tries dodging."

The demon extended all six of his arms, letting out a deranged cackle. "Please. I have no fear of anything mortal or magical you throw at me. Hit me with your best shot."

"Sure thing, Pat." Kell fired a grenade.

It let out a loud pop, whooshed ahead, and hit the demon's chest. Kell grinned when it bounced off and immediately burst into a huge explosion of black fire.

The demon belted out a deep, pained roar and an anguished shriek. His two voices screamed in a disharmonious melody cracking the actual air in the engine room. Black static popped, making each inhale hot and dry as the atmosphere changed.

I understood. Kell didn't only use the essence to ensure it'd move fast enough to catch the demon if he fled but to augment the explosive power with something that'd burn up his essence.

"Anytime, Wally." Kell whistled.

Right. I picked up the toothpick, completely unsure what to do until the bristles tickled my palm. Seriously? Kell used size distortion to warp a broom into a pocket-sized tool. That was such an advanced spell. Geez—I really needed to step up my game. I squinted, then scratched off a sigil. When the broom expanded to full size, I straddled it and waited for Kell to hop on before zipping away from the black flames engulfing the railing.

"Not that I don't like your surprisingly well-thought-out plan, but we don't exactly have a lot of flying room." I whipped a sharp turn once we reached the ceiling and flew along the top of the engine room, keeping an eye on the flaming demon.

"All I need is a bit of distance." Kell wrapped an arm around my stomach and waved her other, aiming the grenade launcher.

"We're gonna die." I squeezed the broomstick tightly, steadying the turbulence caused by frantic mana casting.

"Maybe, but that's half the fun." She popped off another two rounds, propelling grenades directly at the demon still ablaze with black flames.

He vanished, refusing to allow another explosive shot to hit him. I jerked the broom handle, flinging us around to scan the room. The demon's screams raged from one end of the engine room all the way to the opposite side as he used his six hands to smother the traces of fire that clung to him despite zipping back and forth.

"It won't work now that he's aware."

"Wait for it," Kell whispered.

A second fiery eruption hit the demon in the back, swallowing him in black fire.

"I'm willing the essence to track him, target him." Kell giggled. "Way better than heat seekers. He can outrun my fraction of essence, but this small space doesn't give him a lot of options."

Wow. She'd accounted for everything.

By the time the demon had gathered his bearings and zoomed away from the fire, the other grenade gave him chase, forcing him to move at blurring speeds to avoid a third strike. Chunks of scorched flesh fell to the floor, discarded remnants of the Fae body the demon wore. A trail of glittery blood, black flames, and sizzling essence zigged and zagged throughout the engine room in every direction. It didn't matter. The explosion caught him, lopping off one of his arms and throwing it into the air. It flopped onto the ground, lifeless and severed.

I squinted, having trouble seeing without my glasses, but it looked like a straight cut, much cleaner than I expected from a grenade.

"We're not trapped in here with some dull demon," Kell said, aiming her grenade launcher. "He's trapped in here with a wicked witch and a misfit mage."

I surged with mana, absorbing the confidence radiating from Kell. Saturating the dry air, I laced it with magic which offered more mobility and control during flight as well as making it easier on our breathing.

Kell popped two more shots. "Gotta reload."

I muttered incantations, preparing a barrier and counterattack if the demon attempted to chase after us. But I wouldn't let that happen. I continued flying circles around the engine room, tracking the freshest paths of carnage made by the demon as he avoided Kell's last two grenades.

Another explosion hit, far to my right, farther than I realized he'd moved. I stared at the fire burning his chest, centered and controlled by telekinesis the demon cast. It charred his skin, but he kept the flames contained with his remaining five hands, working tirelessly to condense the fire, intensifying the heat into a tight ball.

Shit. I knew what he was going to do, and I wouldn't let him use the same trick Kell used on the first demon we encountered.

I flew away, racing in erratic patterns, ignoring Kell's profanities as she tried to reload. As expected, the demon contained the explosion and hurled it at us, steering the shot with telekinesis. This wouldn't end until he found a target. While I believed in the barrier I'd created, I didn't want to chance it with such an amplified Diabolic attack. At my best, I could probably only withstand a few physical strikes from a demon before my barrier cracked.

Whipping back around, I allowed the ball of fire to close in.

"If you're expecting me to stop that, I hate to break it to you, but—"

"Hold tight, Kell." I slammed all my mana into the broom, shifting our trajectory and sending us plummeting toward the floor.

"Dammit." Kell squeezed my ribs tightly as her grenade launcher flung from her grasp. A heavy clunk of her weapon hitting the metal grates of the railing pulled my focus.

We could double back for it. But first, I needed to lose this targeted strike. I flew furiously, following the splattered trail left behind by the demon, and turned onto the freshest trails until I reached him.

His mouth widened, teeth stretching out of his massive mouth like outstretched hands seeking to snatch Kell and me into his gullet. One of the teeth stabbed my shoulder, another cut my forearm, and black tendrils seeped through the cracks in his jagged teeth, latching onto my arm that held the broom steady. I trembled desperately, wanting to run, but I maintained my hold, waiting until the last second.

When the sizzle of the fiery grenade's eruption he'd condensed closed in, still following us, I retrieved the Demon's Demise, using the dagger to hack at the tendrils and then propelled us straight up to the ceiling. The fireball landed in the demon's wide-opened mouth.

Essence exploded, raining across the engine room.

Limbs flailed through the air, tattered and ripped apart with ragged tears.

The scream the demon bellowed became faint and disjointed, like bits of his vocal cords attempted to carry sound but were scattered among the muck of his broken remains in every direction.

I did it.I fucking did it. I helped, and I stopped a demon.

Kell hugged me, resting her head on my back as I slowed down.

"Woo," she boasted, hiding the wispy breaths of exhaustion she took. "We did it."

Right.

A bright yellow arm cut through the smoke holding a grenade. Wait—the fifth one never exploded. I'd been so fixated on the demon catching the fourth one mid-explosion, I'd overlooked the fifth one. But how was he moving his arm? His body was riddled with injuries, torn to bits, and… This arm. This was the first one he'd lost; I recognized the perfectly clean cut.

"Fuck." I pivoted as the thumb holding the grenade released. "He sliced off his arm intentionally."

He'd accounted for the overwhelming force of Kell's weapon, made it seem like he'd lost a limb, and planned to use it to turn the grenade against us one way or another.

I channeled all my mana, knowing there was no way to outrun the grenade inches from us, and amplified the barrier hoping it'd hold.

A blast raddled my eardrums, sending a painful piercing through my entire body.

Fire flooded my vision.

I spun in circles, and Kell's grip faded. Not happening again. Fighting through the carnage, I wrapped my arms around her, squeezing her close and safely within the confines of my barrier. I had no clue how I did it, how I found her amidst the fire and smoke, but I couldn't let anything happen to her, to me.

We nosedived in a spiral, crashing hard onto the ground.

I gasped as my back slammed and spasmed, releasing Kell before I flipped and rolled over a few times, thudding against a pillar.

My vision was hazy, but Kell was fine. As fine as someone could be after barely escaping an explosion.

Glass shattered.

A dozen or more orbs lay in broken bits surrounding me as chaotic essence lashed around me.

No. I couldn't stand, couldn't move. I couldn't even catch my breath. How was I going to survive a whole horde of demons?