But after some time, that light began to fade. Not completely, but it wasn’t intense enough to deter the creatures still stalking me. The only thing I had going for me was the fact that the cave seemed to be widening out again, and if I remembered correctly, that meant the exit was no more than fifty yards or so away.

  Fuck it, I thought, before turning and making a run for it, my barely emitting grace providing me with just enough light so I could see ahead of me as I ran, while I tried not to trip on the treacherously slimy floor as I went.

  Eventually, I could just about make out the dull light of the exit up ahead, at which point my grace stopped working completely, leaving me in total darkness. In a panic, I ran blindly toward the light at the end of the tunnel (story of my life), hoping I would be fast enough to outrun the creatures chasing after me, having no fucking idea of what I was going to do once I exited the cave, and especially if those shadowy fuckers came screeching out after me.

  The closer to the exit I got, the faster I ran, pushed along by the hellish symphony of screeches and screams that echoed off every surface. I was in such a hurry to leave the cave, that I forgot the ledge outside was so narrow, and in fact, I didn’t realize this until I was already tumbling head first into nothingness…

  …at which point, I started to scream.

  35

  I was still screaming when I felt hands shaking me, forcing me to open my eyes and realize that I was standing safely on solid ground, and that Mullin was standing in front of me, smiling his ironic smile.

  "It’s okay, love," he said, clearly amused by my still petrified demeanor. "You can stop shaking now. I teleported you before you could plunge to your death."

  I stood and took several deep breathes before speaking, noticing as I did that we were back at the clearing in the forest. "I thought I went over the edge," I said. "I felt myself falling…"

  Mullin rolled his eyes at me. "If you’d fallen, you’d still be falling, believe me. I caught you just in time."

  Noticing the smug smile on his face, I gave him a sarcastic smile of my own. "My hero."

  "Now is that any way to talk to the demon who just got you what you most needed in this world?"

  I shook my head at him. "Please," I said. "You have my fucking soul, don’t forget."

  Mullin smiled. "That I do, and I always collect."

  "When?"

  He shrugged. "Whenever it pleases me to, though I’m not known for my patience."

  "You’re an asshole, you know that?"

  "Yes, I’m the asshole who now owns your soul."

  The Demon Blade was still in my hand, and I gripped it tight as I stared at him.

  "I know what you’re thinking," he said. "You’re thinking you’ll maybe test that blade out on me. I wouldn’t advise it."

  I turned the blade in my hand. "Why not?"

  Before I could even blink, Mullin had rushed forward and disarmed me of the Demon Blade, holding its edge to my throat. "I hope you are quicker than this when you come to fight Abigor," he said, for the first time showing real menace, his eyes glowing a deep orange as he glared balefully at me. "Perhaps you should let someone more qualified wield the sword instead."

  Anger flared in me at that moment, partly because I was pissed off that he would put a sword to my throat, and partly because I knew he had a point. So what if I now had the Demon Blade in my possession? That didn’t mean I was going to be able to kill Abigor with it, a being more powerful than I could ever imagine.

  Not that I was going to admit any of that to Mullin, so instead I shot my left hand up and wrapped my fingers around the sword, not even caring that it was cutting into me. At the same time, I shot my right fist out and landed a grace punch on Mullin’s abdomen. Shocked, his grip loosened on the Demon Blade as he went flying back, leaving the weapon in my rightful hands again.

  Mullin glared at me a moment after he had regained his balance. Then he smiled as if the punch meant nothing. "Feisty."

  "Fuck off."

  He smiled again, this time more cryptically. "Things around here are promptly about to get rather interesting, which coming from a demon who's interacted with and granted contracts for the better part of ten millennia, that's an accolade a filthy mortal such as yourself shouldn't take lightly. You my dear are someone I've been most fortunate to come into contract with, just as it was fortunate to get your mother’s contract as well."

  I almost did a double take. "What? You have my mother’s contract?"

  "Just remember our contract, little Nephilim, that is the only one you need to worry about." He bowed his head slightly as if about to make his exit. "Whatever happens, you’ll be seeing me again soon."

  Before I could say anything else, Mullin smiled and disappeared.

  I didn’t move from the spot I was standing on for at least a minute as I stared at where Mullin had been. The bastard owned my mother’s soul. It was no coincidence that he of all demons had heeded my call earlier.

  He had been waiting on it, as if he knew it would eventually come to this. That, or he was in cahoots with Abigor. Either way, it didn’t matter.

  All that mattered was that I now had the means to kill Abigor and save my brother.

  With my hand still bleeding, I was anxious walking back to the cabin, not because I would have to explain where I just was, but more because I wanted to know how Lucas was doing. It didn’t seem to matter that the world could end for all of us soon. That only made me want to be with Lucas more. I was beginning to see that when two souls really connect, as mine and Lucas’s had, it didn’t matter what was going on around them. Not even a coming apocalypse could break that connection. It was comforting in a way, but also slightly terrifying, because what if I lose him?

  "Jesus…" I breathed as I continued through the woods, Demon Blade in hand. Dawn was breaking, so I couldn’t have been gone that long, even though it felt like I’d been gone for days. Clearly time moved much slower in Hell than it did on Earth, which didn’t surprise me at all, as time was probably used as just another way to draw out the torture in that god forsaken place. Despite having just visited for a short period, I felt soiled, as if my soul—which belonged to Mullin now—was unclean. Lord knows how my mother was getting by in that in that asshole of the universe—if she was getting by at all, and her humanity hadn’t been crushed by years of unending—and unspeakable—horror. It didn’t bear thinking about.

  As I neared the edge of the woods, I stopped suddenly when I realized I had come upon the spot where I buried Kasey, recognizable by the patch of freshly turned earth, which was slightly higher than the rest of the ground surrounding it. Walking to the grave, I crouched down and placed one hand on the damp earth. A sudden ache of grief made my stomach tense, followed by a predictable wave of guilt. For a moment, I wished desperately that things could go back to the way they were a year ago, when it was just me and Kasey and whatever drugs we managed to score. It wasn’t a great life by any means, but at least it was simple and predictable for the most part. Now nothing was simple, and everything was dangerously unpredictable.

  As I stood up, it hit me: I had traded my soul away for a sword.

  I hadn’t really thought about it up until then, but now the enormity of what I had done was sinking in, and a kind of numbness with it.

  "It’s over for me," I whispered as I stared ahead at nothing. "No matter what happens."

  I was now at the mercy of a demon who would probably delight in taking me back to Hell, but for good next time.

  At least now I could begin to understand everything that my mother did in the past. There was no way I could blame her for anything now, not when the apple didn’t fall so far from the damn tree.

  In fact, I’d be joining her soon enough.

  Maybe everyone will, I thought, just before I leaned over and vomited.

  "Where the hell have you been?" Frank asked as I walked into my bedroom. He was in the middle of putting all of Eva’s stuff back in the box he’d brought it in. His eyes quickly went to the Demon Blade in my hand. "What is that?"

  I stood in the doorway for a moment, still a little disorientated from my express trip to Hell and back, not to mention from the bites and scratches all over me. "In a minute," I said distractedly as I walked toward the bed, toward Lucas. "How is he?"

  Lucas certainly looked better than the last time I saw him. He was still unconscious, but most of the black poison under his skin had faded, and he didn’t look so gray anymore, which I’m sure had everything to do with the fact that he no longer had that black shard going through his chest.

  "He seems to be recovering," Frank said.

  "His body needs time to heal itself," Eva said from behind me, having just walked into the room. "He was lucky he was so strong. A lesser demon would not have survived."

  A huge sense of relief washed over me, and I went to Eva and hugged her. "Thanks Eva."

  Eva smiled, her eyes inevitably going to the sword in my hand. "You can thank me by explaining where you have been the last few hours, and what that sword is in your hand."

  "You could’ve let us know what you were up to," Frank said. "We thought something had happened. I thought I explained the importance of team work to you."

  I nodded. "You did, and I’m sorry. It was just something I had to do alone, that’s all."

  "What do you mean?" Frank asked. "And why do you look like you’ve had a fight with a clowder of alley cats?"

  I held the sword up for them to see. "This is called the Demon Blade. Guess what it does?"

  Frank shook his head and looked at me deadpan. "Kills demons?"

  I nodded. "More importantly, it can kill Abigor."

  Eva looked at Frank as if she was skeptical, then Frank took the sword from me to examine it. "Well," he said after a moment. "It’s not like anything I’ve ever seen before. Even the glyphs are strange, and what is this reddish substance in the center?"

  Eva came to examine the sword as well, staring intently at the symbols engraved on the blade. "These glyphs are Hellion," she said, then looked at me. "Where did you get this, Leia?"

  Crunch time. Do I tell them the truth, or do I lie?

  After a moment of painful deliberation, I finally settled for somewhere in between. "I’d prefer not to say for now."

  They both looked at me, clearly taken aback by my response. "You’d prefer not to say?" Frank said, then shook his head. "What the hell, Leia?"

  "I know it sounds bad, Frank," I said. "But trust me, it’s best you don’t know where I got the sword from. All that matters is that I got it, and that it’s real. It can kill Abigor."

  "How did you even—" Frank stopped and puffed his cheeks out. "You know what, forget it." He held up the sword in front of him. "This thing can really kill that bastard?"

  I nodded. "Yes, it can. If you knew where it came from, you wouldn’t doubt me."

  "I’m not doubting you," he said. "But you have some big time fucking explaining to do if we ever survive this mess we’re in."

  "Absolutely," I said nodding, just glad I didn’t have to tell them I had traded my soul away. Frank would be super pissed at that, apocalypse or not.

  "Okay then," Eva said, still giving me weird looks as if she was trying to work out where I’d been. My paranoia kicked in, and I started wondering if she could somehow sense that I’d been to Hell. Frank did mention she was an empath of sorts, so it wouldn’t surprise me if she somehow intuited where I’d been. If she did, she was electing to say nothing of it. "I suppose we just have to find Abigor now, and confront him."

  "Actually," Frank said as he handed the Demon Blade back to me. "I’m way ahead of you on that one."

  I raised my eyebrows. "Oh?"

  "While Eva was taking care of Lucas, and while you were…gone, I did a Location Spell to find Josh."

  "Of course," I said nodding. "Wherever Josh is, Abigor is probably there as well."

  "That’s the thinking, yeah," Frank said.

  "So where is Josh?" I asked.

  "The Warehouse District," Frank said. "I even managed to pinpoint which warehouse he was in."

  The thought of having to confront Josh made me sick to my stomach. He was my twin brother, and I was about to potentially engage him in battle. It wasn’t right, and my rage at Abigor grew as my grip on the Demon Blade tightened.

  "Are you okay, Leia?" Eva asked.

  I allowed myself to breathe, then nodded. "I just want my brother back."

  Frank and Eva said nothing for a moment, as if they refused to utter any platitudes designed to instill false hope. Not that I expected them to, as I already knew the odds were stacked heavily against us.

  "We had better go and get ready," Frank said eventually. "Given that we don’t know how many seals Abigor has left to break, we can’t afford to wait around."

  "I’ll be along in a minute," I told them as they both walked out of the room, Frank giving me an intense look before he left, though I’m not sure what it was supposed to mean.

  My attention was now on Lucas anyway. I laid the Demon Blade on the floor and sat gently on the edge of the bed as I took hold of his hand. A few seconds later, I was surprised and delighted when he half opened his eyes and looked at me.

  Smiling down at him, I said, "Hey," in a quiet voice.

  He did his best to smile back, but he was still far too weak. Instead, he squeezed my hand, though I barely felt it.

  Leaning over, I gently kissed him on the lips. "I’m glad you’re alive."

  "Me…too…" Lucas said in a whisper, then tried to smile again.

  "Shhh…you don’t have to talk."

  I sat for what seemed like quite a long time, just staring at him as he did his best to keep his eyes open, unsuccessfully. Eventually, I took a deep breath, then said, "I’m sorry, but I have to go now. You already know what for." One of my tears ran off my cheek and splashed his face. I reached down and softly wiped it away. Then I realized that he was trying to say something, and I leaned my ear close to his lips so I could hear.

  "…No matter…what happens," he whispered. "I will…see you…again…"

  His eyes closed, and they didn’t open again as he fell back into what I hoped was a deep, restorative sleep.

  Sniffing back tears, I touched my finger to my lips before touching his. "I hope so," I whispered back.

  36

  Roughly two hours later, Frank parked his Chevy at the end of a road somewhere in the middle of the Warehouse District. About five hundred yards up the road was a large square building, which according to Frank, is where Josh and hopefully Abigor would be. As Frank cut the engine and killed the lights, I leaned forward from the back seat to look between him and Eva. It was dark and wet outside. Although lights glowed from some of the surrounding warehouse buildings, I saw no light coming from the target building.

  "Are you sure they’re in there?" I asked Frank. "The building looks empty."

  "Location Spells don’t lie," Frank said. "I know Josh is in there. Not sure about Abigor, but we’ll soon see, won’t we?"

  The Demon Blade lay next to me on the back seat, and I wrapped my hand around the grip of the sword. Back at the cabin as we were gearing up in Frank’s cellar, I broached the subject of who was going to use the Demon Blade against Abigor. Although I felt that it should be me, given everything I had to do to get the weapon in the first place, I wasn’t arrogant enough to think that was reason enough to keep hold of it. Both Frank and Eva were far more experienced than I, and much more skilled when it came to welding a sword, so I offered the Demon Blade to them. When I did, they both looked at each other for a moment, then back at me.

  "You got the sword," Frank said. "You should use it."

  I shook my head as doubt attacked me. "I’ve never even fought with a sword before," I said. "Least of all against a demon as powerful as Abigor. I stand less chance than either of you."

  Eva came forward and smiled as she put a hand on my shoulder. "It’s not always about skill or experience, Leia," she said. "Sometimes, it’s the one with the most to lose who is more powerful. You have more motivation to kill Abigor than we do."

  Frank came forward as well, and stood beside Eva. "Don’t worry," he said. "If you die, one of us will take over."

  Eva elbowed Frank hard in the ribs. "Frank!"

  I laughed and shook my head. "Jesus, Frank."

  "What?" he said, then sighed. "Look, no one is going to die tonight if I can help it, except that bastard Abigor. No matter who has that sword, we work together, okay?"

  "All three of us?" I said. "Shouldn’t we be rounding up the cavalry for this?"

  "The cavalry?" Frank exchanged glances with Eva. "We are the cavalry."

  "What? Surely there must be other Watchers…"

  "There is," Eva said. "Just not that many. I called a few who are on their way, but it will take them several hours to get here from other cities, which by the way, are presently just as chaotic as ours, so yeah... we're all the cavalry there is."

  "In other words, we don’t have time to wait," Frank said.

  "Jesus." I shook my head. "This is beginning to feel more and more like a suicide mission."

  "Look," he said. "I know the odds seem massively stacked against us, but I don’t think I’ve ever been on an operation where the odds haven’t been stacked against me. This is how it always is."

  "Unfortunate, but true," Eva said. "We usually find a way to prevail. If your mother were here, she would probably say, 'Stay alive, keep fighting'. It was kinda her motto."

  "Personally," Frank said. "I prefer look good, do good."

  I shook my head at him and smiled. "Wise up, Frank."

  He smiled back. "Hey, at least I get the first part right."

  "You wish."

  "Seriously, though," Eva said. "You do your mother proud."

  Swallowing back my emotion, I said, "Thanks Eva."

  Now, as we all sat in the car, the prospect of dying seemed a lot more real than it did back at the cabin, at least to me.

 

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