Satan’s eyes were wide, his mouth moving soundlessly. He’d never been more vulnerable.
Cleaver hit; an invisible unstoppable force. The Wraith hit the Devil with a knuckle-duster-covered hand and followed that up with two shotgun blasts to the face. He then let go of the weapon – it appeared when he dropped it – and picked up the Lionheart blade, which instantly vanished. The Devil staggered back, crisscrossed with new wounds as Cleaver sought out any vulnerability.
Lilith watched until Crowe tried to help the Devil. She ran at the witch, striking her around the face and the stomach, driving her back. Ken was coughing and rolling away to the right.
Cleaver pressed the Devil hard. He didn’t just strike from the front but took time to sidestep and move around his adversary. A sword strike to the chest made the Devil grunt and fall to one knee.
Lilith wanted to point it out, but Cleaver was already on it. The Devil was forced to defend his chest across the bottom of the pit, all the way to the pool of ichor that lapped at the back of his heels. Cries were still going up around the area and demons were wailing in defeat, but then the Devil bellowed at them.
“Help me, idiots! I can summon infinite terrors through the hellgates, but if I die here all the hellgates close. And then you lose!”
Demons rose up from underneath the ichor, dripping and snarling, their pointed teeth the only thing visible. They steadied the Devil from behind and then climbed out; thin, scaled and spiny beasts that appeared to be covered in thick oil, and moved all around him, blocking Cleaver’s access. The Devil walked forward.
Lilith punched at Crowe’s exposed flesh, making her fold over. She elbowed the woman and then kicked her ribs. The pale face looked up as she collapsed onto her knees. Still, she licked her lips and grinned. She was an abomination. Pure evil. Hell would be weaker without her.
Lilith jumped onto her back, dragged her around, and plunged her head into the pool of ichor. “You like that shit?” she said. “Eat it.”
She held Crowe’s head under with unrelenting determination. Nobody moved to help Crowe, despite everything she’d accomplished. No demons, no devils. Which was where supporting evil regimes really got you.
Lilith held on until Crowe stopped kicking. Then she pushed off the sticky body, hands slipping, covered in ichor. She rose and turned. The oil-coated demons had surrounded Satan. Cleaver still struck in wraithlike form. His blows hewed and smote bodies, but the dripping ichor streamed into the new wounds and healed them. Lilith saw Cleaver strike three incredible blows – but the Devil pinpointed him and, after the third blow, struck swift and hard, grabbing at the space, his arms catching hold of Cleaver. And they held tight. Lilith’s eyes saw the Devil’s hands moving erratically left and right but she knew he’d snatched the Wraith.
No.
The Devil shook his captive as a mad dog would shake a rag doll. The Lionheart blade clanged onto the ground, falling from Cleaver’s grip. The Devil laughed, confident again, and began to recite what Lilith knew was an incantation for the hellgates. She’d heard it before. It would spew thousands of new demons into this world. And then, even if the Old Ones survived, humanity would not.
She prepared to launch herself at the ichor-demons. If she hit her father hard enough, he might let go of Cleaver. She couldn’t wait a second longer because the incantation was already a third through.
She leapt at the demons, barging them aside. The Devil half turned. Then Ken was up again, roaring, darting in from the right and grabbing hold of the Lionheart blade.
“I am the sword-wielder!” he screamed.
Lilith grabbed her father’s left arm and used every ounce of her strength to pull it away from his body. Ken was right there. In that glorious instant they had a split-second chance to end all this.
Ken plunged forward with the sword.
The Devil didn’t fight, but just stood there and laughed.
Ken stopped with the sword tip an inch from the Devil’s chest. His face turned red. He shuddered, still pressing forward, but couldn’t plunge the blade’s tip that last few inches. Lilith couldn’t understand it. What had happened? Was something invisible in the way?
“It is the soul bargain,” the Devil laughed. “You remember making it, don’t you? When I spared your dog, the one called Felicia. I spared her life and you made the bargain.” He spat laughter and then fire from his nostrils. “Remember?”
Ken clearly did, for he fell to his knees, his face twisted and suddenly old. The Devil had beaten him a long time ago.
Lilith backed away. The Devil wrenched at Cleaver’s arms.
“You cannot kill me,” he bellowed.
“No,” a new, unseen voice said. “But I can!”
Felicia hit hard, leaping in wolf form and locking her jaws around the Devil’s neck. She was insanely powerful, bearing him back and sending him down to the ground. Her teeth bit deep straight into bone, crushing even that. Her fore and hind legs clawed at his thighs and chest, shredding flesh and scratching bones, seeking organs. She bore down hard, and bit deep and then dug her claws in to give her purchase to slide up, over the horned head and down the other side, twisting the neck tendons. The Devil clawed up at her, screaming as much as he was able. His ichor-demons struck at her, but Cleaver, Ken and Lilith reached through the stinking oil that covered them and pulled them away.
The Devil was on his knees. He reached up, took a firm hold of Felicia’s body and pulled with all his might. Felicia yelped. Muscles cracked. She lost her hold and fell at the Devil’s cloven feet.
But as she fell, she reverted to human form, grasped the fallen Lionheart blade and plunged the sword straight upward.
Up through his chest and his heart and out of his back.
The Devil stared in disbelief. He retched. He breathed fire. His claws curled and he flung his head toward the skies to let out a long, undulating bellow as his body burned, as molten chunks dropped off it, and as pure flame melted it from the inside.
Flame formed by the holy length of the Lionheart blade.
The Devil’s last act was to meet the eye of everyone there. He sneered once and then he imploded, gone.
All around the pit, demons wailed. Some died instantly or flung themselves to their deaths but not all. Not every demon was intimately connected to its lord, Lucifer.
Lilith was on her knees, still wary. Felicia was on her back, clad in tatters and gasping, holding her back and legs. Ken was crawling over to her, broken wrist supported by his left hand and bending, pressing his right cheek to her left.
“You found us?”
“I followed your scent. Wolves are pretty good at that.”
He laughed and she hugged him, groaning with pain. Lilith crawled over to them as Cleaver reappeared, trying to look serious due to the small but continued danger, but unable to keep a straight face.
“Did we win? Did the Chosen win out there?”
“I think so,” Lilith said. “I heard something about the Old Ones. I think Jade and Amber brought the cavalry.”
And there, in the midst of the pit, at the center of the Devil’s new hell, the heroes smiled and held hands and celebrated their victory. Any day was a good day when you came out of it alive, but this one was extra special.
“Do I remember something about meeting at Mandalay Bay?” Cleaver asked.
“I seem to recall that,” Felicia said. “Are you guys ready?”
“Dude,” Ken said, grimacing as he rose. “I was born ready.”
Felicia shook her head. Cleaver laughed. Ken couldn’t see why. The bright skies above were waning toward dusk and the promise of the greatest sunset the world had ever known beckoned them.
Not great because it might be stunning to see.
Great because they were alive to see it.
CHAPTER FORTY FIVE
I stood at the center of Las Vegas Boulevard, the entrance to Caesar’s Palace at my right, the old Flamingo casino at my left. The Old Ones had practically swept Vegas free of demon
s, saving us all, but some stragglers remained. In particular, those inside Caesar’s where the Devil had held sway. We’d all seen the crimson glowing lights shooting up from inside Caesar’s just a few seconds ago.
Demons came pouring out of the doors. Men and women groaned around me. I felt the same. Another battle just as we thought we’d won. I braced myself but then I realized these demons weren’t attacking.
They were fleeing.
And then half their number died on the spot. They collapsed and withered, turning into black, flaking husks. Others ran away from us. Some couldn’t do more than crawl. Those soldiers that were able, finished off as many as they could, but we all sensed something deeper going on. It felt . . . it felt as if cleansing the world of all demons didn’t really matter anymore.
I plonked my ass down on the road, right there in the middle. I was so exhausted I could barely function. It wasn’t just the battle, it was the loss of good friends, the deaths of uncounted soldiers and civilians. It was the struggle of the last few months. The loss of Lucy. The pure nightmare that had been inflicted upon our world.
I sat there a while. Around me many others did the same. I saw shellshock on their faces and I guessed the same expression was mirrored on my own. Belinda came up and offered me an ice-cold bottle of water. I gulped it down in about three seconds flat.
Lysette settled herself down on the asphalt before us, readjusting the scarf that covered her eye. The skies above were streaked with red splashes of sunset. A cooling breeze swept the city. I heard very little noise, which was a blessing, but I did hear sobbing, quiet conversation and people on their cellphones, checking on the status of others.
“Kinkade has news,” Lysette said.
I looked up. The last thing I wanted was to hear more observations on this war, but we all needed to know our new position.
“Don’t tell me it’s bad,” Belinda said.
“No. It’s quite good actually. He has eyes on all but the Death Valley hellgate. These are his words . . .” She tapped the laptop screen she’d taken out of the truck. “I see the hellgates shimmering. No, they are collapsing, folding. Demons are dying in the streets. The stronger ones are fleeing. Even more are flinging themselves back through the gates! They are leaving . . . they are leaving . . . they are . . .” Lysette looked up and smiled. “You get the idea.”
“Even our friendly gargoyle gets excited.” I said.
Leah Aldridge came up to us, wiping her hands and face with a wet, dirty rag. “Was that my old friend?” She nodded at the laptop. “I sensed him leave me about ten minutes ago. How’s he doing?”
“Very good,” I said. “He’s reported an exodus of demonkind. They’re jumping back through the gates.”
Leah grinned and sat right down alongside us. “Wow, that’s fantastic.”
“Something happened in there.” Lysette nodded at Caesar’s. “The Devil must have been killed. I don’t know who did it, or how. I can’t read any living minds.” She bit her lip and now I saw a suggestion coming.
“You want to go inside,” I said unhappily.
“Our friends, our soldiers could be inside. We can’t ignore that.”
“Anyone who killed the Devil is a lifelong friend of mine.” I hauled my weary ass up and stretched. “I’m ready. Who’s coming?”
They were all with me. And then I saw Lucy and Ceriden and those soldiers closest, the ones who’d overheard, all coming over. We waited a few moments as we saw Amber and Jade trotting their horses toward us, coming from the other end of the Strip.
Amber climbed down from her horse and stroked its neck before turning to us. “Is there more trouble?”
I indicated the casino. “Somebody killed the Devil in there. We’re going in to see if we can help them. Oh, and thanks for saving the world by the way.”
Jade joined her sister. “Everyone played their part,” she said. “But the Old Ones have departed now. Back to their abode. It is crucial that the Devil was killed and all his hellgates destroyed. Whoever is inside deserves this entire army to march and rescue them.”
We tooled up. I tested my power. It was weaker than it had been, but I still packed a punch. Leah was more than ready to offer up her healing skills. Belinda tugged at her flak jacket and smelled her armpits.
“Ugh.”
I shook my head at her and started toward Caesar’s. “One last spin of the dice,” I said. “And then it’s a suite at Mandalay Bay.”
Belinda scratched her head. “I wonder how many times that’s been said in this town.”
“The difference is,” I said. “I mean it.”
We’d just entered a set of entrance doors, with the check-in desks in front of us, the still-running air-conditioning wafting cool bliss over our bruised and battered bodies, when four figures emerged from the depths of a long corridor to the left. I heard the sound of a sword dragging along the floor. Of sharp nails clacking along. Of a shotgun being reloaded.
I knew those guys!
We spotted each other and we recognized each other and I ran toward them. I was ecstatic. I was jubilant. In the wake of all this death, pain and heartache something good had arrived.
I hugged Ken and Cleaver whilst waiting for Felicia to revert to human form. I then gave her the longest hug I could manage. Leah shifted between all four figures, offering her healing powers, closing their wounds and infusing some energy. We were the best of old friends and we were all well met.
“It’s so good to see you,” I said.
Finally, Belinda stood back. “So,” she said. “Did you guys kill the Devil?”
“Working together,” Felicia said. “We did.”
“How?” Lysette asked.
“With a sword, a Wraith, a daughter and a wolf,” Ken said. “We took out Emily Crowe too. But I see you guys weren’t exactly hiding in a basement somewhere.”
I shook my head and looked at us. The torn, bloody and dirt-caked clothing. The bruised flesh. Lysette with her makeshift eye patch and Leah coated heavily with the blood of others.
“Well, I’m definitely gonna need a new T-shirt,” Belinda said. “Shall we follow protocol and head to Mandalay?”
We nodded and we turned; we left Caesar’s and all its devils behind. We took a long, slow walk up the Strip as the darkness above us deepened and the seemingly undimmable lights of Las Vegas grew brighter. Soldiers and civilians walked with us, spread out, talking quietly or laughing because they were still alive and wanted to celebrate it. I guessed there would be a summit meeting at some point, where our commanders and Lysette and Ceriden would talk about what might happen next. I guessed most of my new friends would eventually drift off to see what remained of their homes.
And maybe some of us would stay together.
I walked with my friends, unwilling to let them go.
*
Hours later we sat outside the House of Blues restaurant inside the Mandalay Bay hotel and casino. We didn’t know why this hotel had been shunned by the demon horde, but we were grateful for it. We’d all found the nearest rooms we could, taken quick showers, grabbed sandwiches and drinks and then headed back down to the lobby. We wanted to stay together, to be together for a good while yet. It felt wrong to be parted at a time like this, wrong for us and wrong for all our dear friends who were no longer with us. Those that had sacrificed everything so that we could live in peace.
Belinda sat at my table. We were still in a melancholy, thoughtful mood which was reflected by her new T-shirt, which read, We will never forget.
The slogan had been used many times before, and we never did.
I started off the tributes to all those that had died. “To the soldiers, men and women, and the civilians that helped.” I raised a glass of Pepsi because I would never touch alcohol again. “To the Dino Hunters, wherever they may be. And to the fighter pilots, the drivers, the men and women that fell and will never be remembered. This is for them.”
Lysette toasted to Giles, our best leader and Ryan, ou
r fighter who gave everything for Aegis. She didn’t bother wiping the tears from her eyes and neither did we. Lucy toasted Ethan, Eliza and Milo. Cleaver toasted Johnny and Natalie, Devon Summers and Cheyne. We took a break, our emotions shredded, and then we finished it. Jade and Amber raised their glasses to Eleanor and Eldritch, their queen and king who had died on Miami Beach protecting us all. I toasted Tanya Jordan, our greatest warrior.
“We saved the world,” I said finally, and it struck me right then that the Chosen hadn’t actually saved the world in the end. Jade and Amber had destroyed the Devil’s army with the Old Ones and Felicia had killed the Devil.
Felicia, I thought. She’d killed hierarchy demons, Dementia, the brother of Dementia named Rapatutu and then Satan himself. Who’d have thought the bubbly, flighty, funny little lycan I first encountered in Giles’ kitchen could achieve all that?
“What’s next?” Ken asked after a deep silence.
Lysette glanced around the casino where survivors wandered, congregated and talked. Men and women sat around us too, trying to keep whatever nightmares they wrestled with at bay.
“I guess we rebuild,” Lysette said. “That’s what we normally do. Regroup and rebuild. Ask survivors to move closer, maybe, so that we’re not too disjointed. The millions we’ve lost will never be forgotten but we will be strong again.”
“And the Chosen?” I asked. “What of them?”
Lysette looked across at Ceriden for an answer, but the vampire shook his head. “What are we?” the vampire snapped, still gutted and overwhelmed by all his losses. “Oracles? Clairvoyants? Who knows what will happen to you?”
“Hey,” I said, trying to break him out of his fugue, “maybe if you go find David Beckham and rub his golden boot, you’ll be able to see into the future.”
Ceriden raised an eyebrow, trying not to smile. I’d mentioned his favorite person on the planet on purpose, to elicit that response, and grinned back.
“Is Beckham even alive?” Lucy asked without thinking.
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