The Devil's Backbone (A Niki Slobodian Novel: Book Five)

by Murray, J. L.

  “Because you’re my friend,” I said. “Do we have to get mushy?”

  “Nik,” said Gage, “I am not worth it.”

  “Yes you are,” I said. “One good man is worth risking everything for.”

  “So you haven’t lost hope, then,” he said.

  I bit my lip so it wouldn’t tremble. I didn’t know how to answer. The screams hadn't dulled at all. If anything, they grew louder and more plaintive.

  “If it comes down to it,” said Gage, “you gotta let me go. I’m done, sis. I’ve lived my life. Truth is, it’s been like one long rainy day since Sarah died. I think you of all people can understand that. If the best I can do is sleep next to her until the end of time, goddamn I’ll take it. And be thankful. She was the one thing that gave my life meaning. But knowing you, Nik. It’s been an honor. I’m sorry I yelled at you. You’re the strongest woman I’ve ever known. Hell, you’ve brought down gods before. What’s one more?” He smiled, then let it fade. “Niki, if there’s a chance, don’t worry about me. I’ve done all I can do. I’m not worth risking your life for. I’m just a tired old man now.”

  “You’re not dying,” I said, gritting my teeth. “No one is dying. Understood?”

  Gage smiled. “Sure, sis. Whatever you say.”

  Lucifer pulled me aside.

  “Are you sure we should do this?” he said.

  “What do you mean? This was your idea. You said Typhon would eat all the worlds.”

  “Yes, but maybe we could run,” said Lucifer. “We could take Matthew and run.”

  “That’s no kind of life,” I said. “Even for us. I can’t run like that. I have to fight.”

  “What about the child?” he said, raising his voice from a whisper. Gage looked over at us.

  “I don’t even know if that’s true,” I said.

  “Niki?” said Gage. “What child is he talking about?”

  “Nothing,” I said.

  “The hell with that,” said Gage. “Are you knocked up?”

  I glared at him. “Piss off.”

  “Nik, if you’re having a baby…good God. Don’t do this. Let me go. Ain’t nothing worth losing a child over. There’s never anything more painful. I should know.”

  “I’m not going to lose it,” I said. “It’s not an ordinary child.”

  “Niki…”

  “No!” I said. “It’s time to go. Bobby’s not dying, I don’t even know if I’m really pregnant, and we’re going to go and bash the hell out of some evil damn witches. Understood? Now someone go get Aki from whatever place you’ve stashed him, and let’s get out of here. We can stop this. We’ll stop the Grace and Typhon, and then we’ll stop the others. Because that’s what we do. It’s why we exist. It’s time to save the world. Just like we always do.”

  “You’re the boss,” said Gage. But he looked apprehensive.

  I tried to ignore the voices in my head. The voices that I’d been hearing ever since I had gone to the World to find Aki. Some were screams and some were whispers.

  They were prayers. Prayers for death. Growing louder by the second.

  * * *

  It was far easier than I thought it would be to Travel. I’d never done it with so many people, but with nothing more than a flash and blur we were there. Not everyone found it so easy, though. When we lurched to a stop, Ash ran to some scrubby bushes and retched. Luckily we had emerged a small way from the actual Backbone. But now that we were close, I could see what the fuss was about.

  I could see why it was called the Devil’s Backbone. A range of oddly-shaped mountains filled the background, needle-sharp points jutting into the sky made up of the red stone that made up the cliffs near Erebos. They filled up the sky, hundreds, thousands of points as far as I could see, a landmark impossible to cross.

  Set right up against the Backbone, a circle of stones were set into the ground where the witches stood as was their custom. I knew there would be markings on the stones. Gage would probably be able to read them, but I doubted it was necessary. From our perch on a jutting hill across from the Backbone, the witches appeared camped in a bowl, surrounded by hills and cliffs the color of dried blood, with a sky to match. There were shapes on the ground all around the women. Squinting, I saw that they were Lucifer's fallen soldiers; those who accompanied him on his disastrous first journey here. There was a muffled sound of running water, and the smell of sulfur mixed with smoke. I looked for the dark circle opening into another world, but I didn’t see one.

  “Where is Typhon coming from?” I whispered.

  “I don’t know,” Lucifer said. “But they’re doing something down there.”

  It was true. The witches had gathered in a circle just as they had the day they tried to take me. The telltale golden circle began to glow and I could hear bits and pieces of their chant.

  “What are they doing?” I asked Gage. He shrugged, shaking his head.

  “It’s some kind of Summoning,” said Ash. He swallowed nervously. “They’re…they’re Summoning a god.”

  “Is that possible?” I said. “I thought you could only do that with demons.”

  “Archangels can,” said Lucifer. “That’s why they took their power. It wasn’t for them. It was for him. Typhon. To give him the strength to cross over.”

  “Can we stop it?” I said.

  “We can try,” he said, looking grim.

  “I’m going to take us closer,” I said. I looked to Gage and Ash. “Are you two ready?”

  “Ready as I’ll ever be,” said Gage, pulling a book out of his satchel.

  I looked at Aki. I realized he hadn’t spoken since Lucifer had brought him out back at the tower. His pale eyes were glazed.

  “What did you do to him?”

  “Nothing,” said Lucifer. “Just sort of…calmed him down.”

  “What do you mean calmed him down?”

  “He was in a lot of pain,” said Lucifer. “Even after Ash healed him. I gave him something to help with the pain.”

  I sighed. “Great. The shinigama is stoned.”

  “He’s dangerous. Maybe it's better this way.”

  “Not as dangerous as me,” I said.

  “She makes a fair point,” said Ash. I narrowed my eyes at the smooth-headed demon and he looked away.

  Ash looked into Aki’s eyes and said a few words and the shinigama flinched, looking around.

  “What the hell just happened?” he said.

  “You were wasted,” I said. “Ash unwasted you. You ready for this?”

  “Do I have a choice?” he said.

  “No.”

  “Then I guess I’m ready.”

  “If Typhon gets out it won’t just be the Trifecta he’ll attack. It will be all the worlds.” I raised an eyebrow. “That means your worlds too, Aki.”

  “Yeah, I get it, Lady Death. You’re just doing what you think is right.”

  “Is that somehow different than how you blackmailed me into finding the Yuki-onna?” I said.

  “Touché,” said Aki. “Let’s do this.”

  “We really need him?” said Gage. “I got a bone to pick.”

  “After,” I said. Gage glared at Aki. Aki grinned back.

  “Keep smiling, smoky,” said Gage, grinding his teeth.

  Lucifer handed me something that looked like some kind of strange, black metallic space gun.

  “Is this from a cartoon?” I said.

  “Hellion weaponry,” he said, pulling another out of his waistband. “Just in case.”

  “Just in case,” I said. “Is this what the demons used when Michael invaded the city?”

  “Some used these. Most had larger weapons that have since been destroyed. I didn't want the lords using them against each other.”

  “Or you?” I said. “How do I use it?”

  “Just pull the trigger.”

  I tucked it in my belt. “Are we ready?”

  “It’s not too late,” said Lucifer.

  “No,” I said. Gage was already imme
rsed in his Casting book. There was a soft glow coming from his eyes. Same with Ash, only the light was darker. Like a bulb that’s been painted black. “Don’t ask me,” I said.

  “Can you still hear them?” said Lucifer.

  “Hear who?”

  “Don’t play coy, Niki.”

  “What’s he talking about?” said Aki. “You hearing voices?”

  “No,” I said. “You know who you need to get to, right?”

  “This is not my first rodeo,” said Aki.

  “It may be your last.”

  Lucifer was watching me closely, but I ignored him. The Grace needed to be stopped. Even if humanity ended. Even if it was dangerous. They had done all of this. Taking Lucifer away from me, releasing monsters and gods on the World. Destroying Erebos. And they had gotten the Creator to scurry away like a frightened rabbit. I felt the fire inside of me. It was growing stronger every second. And if there were a child inside me… I couldn’t think about that yet.

  I could already feel the power coming from Gage and Ash. It seemed to be bouncing back and forth between the two of them. The hairs on my arms were standing on end.

  “Bobby, you sure you can do it from up here?” But Gage was already lost in his spell. I nodded.

  “Niki,” Lucifer said gently into my ear. “I’m sorry. We have to go before they realize we’re here.”

  I nodded and slipped my hand into his. I looked into his eyes.

  “We can do this,” I said.

  He didn’t answer, but squeezed my hand. I didn’t want to let go.

  “You and me,” I breathed. “Forever.”

  “Forever,” he said. There was fear in his eyes. I looked away. Aki was watching us.

  “It’s time to go,” I said. I squeezed Lucifer’s hand and put a hand on Aki’s shoulder. “It’s our last chance,” I said, knowing how crazy I sounded. Lucifer was supposed to be the crazy one, but it was me that was leading us to our deaths. Or to saving humanity.

  The screams grew louder as I pulled the three of us in a blur down the hill. Into the belly of the beast.

  * * *

  Something went wrong.

  Light flickered in the dark. I tried to focus, my head swimming. The light flickered again, then rose in intensity, becoming so bright that I had to shield my eyes. It was glaringly bright. So bright that I…

  Gold. A golden light.

  I came back to myself in an instant. I was floating in the golden bubble of light. I could see the shapes of the women standing around the circle, could hear their chanting clear as a bell. I was in the magical circle. At the mercy of the Grace.

  “How did you do this?” I said, looking down. It was as if I was floating in thick, warm golden honey. The air around me shimmered.

  “The same way I took your Creator’s power. All the powers of His precious angels. He didn’t even suspect.”

  “How?” I said. “You’re just a human. You shouldn’t have that power.”

  “Shouldn’t I?” And then the light cleared in front of me and I saw Leda. She smiled as I focused on her. “A woman can accomplish so much when men are involved. They never suspect that we can hold such power. You must know that. Mistress of Death. Watcher blood. Even the soul of an archangel. But I didn’t have to burn to get my power. It’s what makes us different. I take what I need. They give their gifts to you, don’t they? You don’t even have to ask. They cannot wait to surrender to you.” Leda looked at me quizzically. “Why is that? What is this power you hold over them?”

  “It isn’t a power,” I said. “I never asked for any of it.”

  “Yes, you love to trot out that rhetoric. I have heard it even from the Pit. You didn’t ask to be extraordinary, you didn’t ask for a war, you didn’t ask for everyone you ever knew to sacrifice themselves for you. You didn’t ask to be a god.”

  “I’m not a god,” I said. I had to find Lucifer. I couldn’t turn around, though. Couldn’t move to find him. I just hovered in the molten gold of the spell.

  “Ah,” said Leda. “That is where you are finally correct. But you carry one inside of you.”

  I touched my stomach protectively. In reply, I felt the fire reaching out to me. And then I could feel it. I could feel her inside of me. Tiny and bright and perfect. Not yet fully formed, but mine. This baby was mine and I would protect her. She wasn't the Creator. She was a child. My child.

  “You can't have her,” I said.

  “The child will be mine,” said Leda, her voice more explanatory than cruel. “You know that, don’t you? You cannot keep it. It’s not a child that is meant to see the light of day. It belongs to him.”

  “Who?” I said, narrowing my eyes. “Typhon?”

  “He will consume you, and then he will consume the World,” she said, a reverence in her voice that sent a shiver up my spine. “It is your power that will give him what he needs to fill the worlds with his vengeance.”

  “If you hate men so much, why would you follow one?” I said.

  “He is grateful for what I have done for him. For the trials I endured,” she said. “And Hell shall belong to me.”

  “You mean it will belong to the Grace.”

  She gave a sly smile in reply. The women around the circle were still chanting. I realized they hadn’t even moved since I had arrived. They had barely spoken the last time I had seen them.

  “What’s wrong with them?” I said.

  “They were broken in the Pit,” said Leda. “It was very tragic. As a woman you will understand what it is like to lose a sister.”

  “You didn’t lose them,” I said, suddenly knowing. I could see it. In darkness, Leda’s tormentor had fled. Abaddon had escaped to the World. Leda took up his mantle and tortured her sisters until they were hers. Pliable and easy to control.

  “I took their strings and made them sing,” she said. “They did not share my devotion. They needed to obey. Hell will be mine. After it is empty.”

  “Empty?” I said. “You’re going to kill the demons?”

  “Of course,” she said.

  “Why are you telling me this?”

  “I don’t have to be alone,” said Leda. “You are worthy. You and I could be happy together. Two powerful women ruling a world. Alone, but for each other. We could be great, you and I.”

  “You want me to stay with you?” I said. I tried to twist, but Leda had some hold over me.

  “All you have to do is surrender to him. He will reward us.”

  “Surrender,” I said, feeling sick. “You want me to give my child to Typhon.”

  “It’s not even a child yet. Just a tiny, malformed thing. More insect than baby, wouldn’t you say?”

  “No. I wouldn’t say.”

  “I know your pain,” she said. “I had a daughter once. She caused pain to many. A war was fought in her honor, for her beauty. Like you, she had men surrendering at her feet. Such a cold beauty she was. Not like you. You burn hot. Just looking at you is like standing next to a roaring blaze. You burn the very earth that you walk upon.”

  Even as she said it, I could feel the fire within me. White hot and scorching. The pain was good, though. It burned away my doubts, and I felt it growing, spreading. The gold around me seemed to melt away and I turned. Behind me hovered Lucifer and Aki. The shinigami hung, nearly lifeless, black smoke coloring the light around him. Like blood in water. It fanned out around him and then slowly crawled its way up toward the sky. He stared at me, smoky blood turning his pale eyes black. He wore hopelessness on his face like a mask. He mouthed something that I couldn’t hear. But I could see what he was saying. He said them slowly and I read the words on his lips.

  “All for nothing.”

  The Creator had been right. I fought and I lost, just as He predicted. I’d brought Aki here and as I watched the light go out of his eyes, I felt his hopelessness too. All for nothing. We were going to die here and there was nothing I could do. Aki had died for me, because I had asked him to come, and now he was dead. We were all goi
ng to be dead soon. Bobby, Lucifer and me. And the baby.

  The baby.

  Lucifer’s mouth was moving like he was trying to speak. He screamed with no sound.

  “Why can’t he speak?” I said, and my voice was like cold iron.

  “Because I do not will it,” said Leda, behind me.

  Lucifer pointed up, toward the sky, screaming with complete silence. Finally I looked up.

  I wanted to scream too.

  Directly above the glowing circle, the sky was on fire. And running through the fire, a river. Through the middle was chaos. Water, fire, stars flaming so brightly they looked like tiny suns. As we stared, a frigid wind blew down, blowing back our hair and spreading goosebumps over my body. Aki's blood, black smoke pushing through the gold, was being pulled up through the fire, through the water. Aki was Typhon's now.

  “Oh Jesus,” I said. Something was coming out of the sky, emerging slowly, a centimeter at a time. Something dark that make my stomach churn to look at. Something so big that I could see the shape of it behind the fire and water and stars.

  “Typhon,” I whispered.

  I could feel something coming from above beneath the chill. He saw me, I could feel it.

  “Stop this,” I said. “This is crazy.”

  “I cannot stop even if I wanted to,” said Leda. I ripped my eyes away from the sky to look at her. “It’s too late,” she whispered. “Stay with me. I can protect you.”

  “Let Lucifer go,” I said. “It's not me who needs protecting.”

  Her smile turned to a scowl. “You don’t need him.”

  There was a flash on the other side of the circle and one of the women screamed. Leda whipped her head toward the woman. Another flash, another scream. Two women fell to the ground, either unconscious or dead. It didn’t matter. We would end this.

  “Let Lucifer go,” I said.

  “What are you doing?” said Leda. “How are you doing this?”

  Another flash, then another, then another. I smiled.

  “Let him go.”

  “This does nothing,” she said. “The circle holds.”

  “Maybe,” I said. “But in a minute you’re going to lose all that power that you stole.”

  Balls of gyrating, flashing light hovered above the bodies. Suddenly Leda laughed. I stared at her, uncomprehending. But then one of the balls began to rise, slowly pulsating upwards, crackling as it hovered over us for a moment, before shooting into the sky. Into Typhon. A triumphant roar filled the air.