Westland had always been a beautiful place to live, with its manicured lawns, big trees, and friendly people. Now it looked like it was hit by a zombie apocalypse. Neighbors in bloodied nightgowns and ripped business suits wandered the streets in a daze. Broken glass littered the asphalt, wrecked cars steamed and wailed, and in the distance, the sound of sirens approaching.
Quinn stared out the Jeep window as Marcus maneuvered through block after block of devastation, dodging broken fire hydrants, busted mailboxes, and people alike. Her home was a battleground. Shadows clung to the city like smog, choking out the sun and infusing the air with the smell of sulfur. The heavenly Elite forces engaged demons on the ground, in the air, on every corner, pushing them back one by one. For now, they were winning, but what would happen if Lilith opened that box?
Marcus pulled the Jeep into a narrow back alley, gravel popping beneath the tires. Thankfully, it looked empty, almost serene compared to the rest of the streets. He rolled to a stop in back of Jeff’s house. Marcus opened the door for Quinn, and she stepped out into the chilled air and looked up at the large two-story Spanish Colonial that was her sanctuary during her parents’ divorce. A chain-link fence separated the perfect backyard, complete with pool and covered patio, from the alley. How many times had she and Jeff swum in that pool? How many dinners had she eaten there? How many movies had she watched snuggled up with Jeff on the couch? Now he was gone, and so was Kerstin.
In her heart, she once wished them both dead at least a million times; now she wished Kerstin stood in front of her with some snide remark. Dark shapes moved in the arched windows, and Quinn shivered.
She startled when Caleb clapped her on the shoulder. “You okay?” he asked. Deep scratches lined his skin—nail marks from Quinn’s mother.
She nodded, grabbing the black duffle bag from him and throwing it over the fence. If she didn’t get Aaron back and keep Lilith from crossing the veil, their deaths would be the first in a long line of people she cared about.
“Guess we should go.” Quinn looked at Reese and grabbed her hand.
“Yeah, let’s get this over with before I change my mind.”
“Ladies first.” Caleb boosted Reese over the top of the chain-link fence, followed by Quinn. Marcus scrambled over, along with Caleb. Azrael waited on the back porch, screen door cracked open, concern written on his hardened face.
“Is it just us?” Quinn asked.
Azrael nodded. “We are on our own. This attack has every spare Elite engaged. As, I suspect, was Lilith’s plan.”
“Can’t we do it here, near the door?” Reese asked, shying away from the gloomy doorway. “I don’t think I can go in there. What if his blood is still on the floor or something? Jeff’s blood, Quinn.”
“Quinn’s best chance of entering the Underworld is where the veil is thinnest. Where the boy’s blood was spilled, she must spill her own. Dark magic to light, the balance will open the door,” Azrael insisted.
“Blood, demons … this is some dark stuff,” Marcus muttered.
“The taint in this house is beyond anything I have seen before. I’ve cleared it twice since I got here, but for every demon I kill, three more cross the veil. Darkness has taken root, and even I cannot weed it out. If you want to do this, I will go with you, but the humans should go home. They will be a liability.”
“Who are you calling a liability?” Marcus puffed out his chest in challenge.
“Where would we go?” Reese said. “You’ve seen what those demons are doing to Westland. Azrael’s right. There is no safe place. We’re coming with you.”
“And then what?” Quinn ran a hand across the back of her neck. “Will the protective runes be enough?” She turned to Azrael.
“They will help, but there is no safe place,” Azrael answered. “Not for anyone anymore. We must not fail.”
Reese tightened her grip on Quinn. “I’m not leaving you, not now, and neither is Marcus or Caleb. Right?”
“It’s dangerous, Reese,” Quinn said.
“You’re stuck with us, Blondie. Whether you like it or not,” Caleb said.
Marcus nodded. “It’s settled. We’re all in.”
Quinn looked at her watch, and then to the sky. “Fifteen minutes until the eclipse starts.” She handed Marcus the duffle bag, and he slung it over his shoulder. “You will all need to do exactly as I say and watch your back until we get the runes drawn, and you’re safe in the circle.” She drew the Qeres dagger from its sheath and handed it to Caleb. “You’ll have to be their eyes once I enter the portal. Once I’m on the other side, they won’t be in my bubble of protection anymore, which means Reese and Marcus will no longer be able to see the demons coming. I’ll be leaving them blind and vulnerable. It will be up to you to warn them, protect them.”
“You can count on me.” Caleb ran a thumb along the edge of the blade. It glowed in response to his gift.
“Don’t wander off. My barrier can only reach so far.” Quinn closed her eyes and pictured a bubble of light around her. She expanded the bubble until Caleb, Reese, and Marcus’s essences were encased in light as well.
Azrael drew both blades, one golden as the sun, the other cold as moonlight, and handed one to Quinn. “If anything so much as threatens you, don’t hesitate.” A rare smile of encouragement lit his face.
Kaemon’s Qeres star-blade hummed in her hand, its blue runes crackled like lightning, casting an otherworldly light on the floor. She stared at it pulsing in her fist. Azrael would be vulnerable without it—his golden sword did not hold the poison that could kill, the reason he coveted Kaemon’s blade, part of the reason he took it.
Azrael stiffened as she wrapped her arms around him in a hug. I’m sorry I doubted you. She spoke her forgiveness through their link and felt him soften.
I’m sorry, too. He let the tips of his wings enfold her, then smiled, and let her go.
“Okay, let’s do this.” Quinn held out her hand, and Reese took it. Marcus took hers in turn, making a chain with Reese in the middle and Caleb at the rear. “Don’t let go of my hand unless I tell you it’s okay.” They all nodded.
“Do not fear. I will be right behind you,” Azrael said.
The door squeaked open on its hinges. Quinn peeked inside. The windows were boarded up, and shadows grew like dark, twisted vines across the floors and up the wall of the kitchen.
“Holy mother of God,” Marcus said under his breath. “Is this what you were dealing with all on your own? No wonder you were afraid nobody would believe you.”
Quinn nodded and stepped into the kitchen, and the shadows parted like a curtain, shrinking back from her barrier and the light of the blade. Whispers upon whispers overlapped one another, and Quinn sensed anger and disquiet in the air. It was like walking into a pile of fire ants. The darkness was agitated, upset at her presence. This was their feeding ground; she had no right to it.
“Something’s not right, Quinn.” Reese’s nails dug into the back of her hand, and she could feel her friend’s rapid heartbeat through her fingertips. “I feel so sad, like there’s no point to anything. Can’t we stop here? I want to sit down, to sleep or something.”
“It’s the demons, Reese. They’re trying to get to you, to feed off any negative feelings you’re having. Think about something happy, something good.”
Quinn felt it, too; the dark power was strong here, an oppressive weight on her chest dragging her down. Guilt and regret sucked at her heart. Her barrier winked around them as she fought to keep it from bursting under the heavy melancholy pressing against her essence. What was the point of all of this? She should give up, let them in.
Azrael touched her on the shoulder, and some of his strength poured into her. Her shield became stronger than before. The light inside him flickered and pulsed as her shield brightened, snapping her out of despondence.
Quinn straightened. Squeezing Reese’s hand as tight as she could, she led the way down a deserted corridor, the blue light of her sword reflecting rows of glass frames filled with Jeff’s smiling face. A face soon buried six feet under, skin brittle and cold, eyes worm eaten, flesh decayed. She shook her head to erase the morbid thoughts.
A short hallway ended at the bottom of an enclosed staircase so narrow that Marcus’s wide shoulders almost touched both walls at the same time. Dark walls enclosed the steep wooden steps that led to the second floor. Quinn stopped on the first step and stared up the dim narrow stairway. They would have to go one at a time, Reese behind her, Marcus behind Reese, and Caleb at the rear.
“Hold tight,” she whispered. “Don’t break our connection.”
She couldn’t see two feet in front of her. Even the glowing blue of the star-blade couldn’t penetrate the darkness. She swallowed and took a step. The floorboards creaked, and something stirred above her. Hundreds of bat-like demons hung from the ceiling above them, wings folded against their furry bodies, talons digging into the oak beams. She turned to Reese and Marcus and pressed her finger to her lips. Five more steps until they reached the top.
Four steps. Three. Quinn stiffened when the next step squeaked and groaned beneath her weight. Two demons opened their red, glowing eyes, and Reese screamed. Letting go of Quinn’s hand, she pushed at Marcus to get past him, and he stumbled backward and down.
Quinn’s barrier trembled as they stepped outside her protection. Exposed, a demon wrapped its leathery tail around Reese’s neck. Reese whimpered as Marcus swiped at it, but it blinked out in a puff of smoke and reappeared, hovering above Caleb. Quinn grabbed Reese’s hand and pulled her back up the stairs, expanding the bubble of light around them again.
“You can’t let go,” Quinn stressed. “It’s taking all my focus to keep us safe. All of it. Holding hands makes it easier, but it still takes a lot of energy.”
“S-Sorry,” Reese stammered and nodded.
A deep breath calmed her hammering heart. The demon hissed and rubbed against her bubble, looking for a vulnerable spot. Quinn sagged against the wall, exhaustion creeping up from her toes into her legs, but she fought against it. There was too much at stake to quit now. The light on the Qeres star-blade burned hot, and Quinn slashed out at the demon. It roared in hate, twirling out of her reach and waking its brothers with a loud screech.
A whirlwind of wings, and fur encircled them. Reese and Marcus pushed close to her, until there was no space between them. She could feel Reese’s trembling and Marcus’s rapid breathing. Caleb stood with his back against Marcus, dagger at the ready. Rows of sharp teeth snapped at the air around their faces, talons reaching for them, but they were unable to penetrate Quinn’s defenses.
If Quinn could access her power, she might be able to banish one, or maybe even two, but that would mean letting go of the protective bubble. She didn’t have enough energy to do both at the same time. Sweat dripped from her forehead, salt stinging her eyes. Demons poked and prodded her shield on all sides, and she was afraid one of them would find a weak spot. She held firm, concentrating all her thoughts on keeping them out, unable to move forward and unwilling to go back.
From the bottom of the stairs, Azrael taunted the demons, brandishing his sword, trying to draw their attention, but the demons had no interest in him. They wanted Quinn, wanted to feed on the fear growing inside their little bubble.
Caleb turned to Quinn. “They’ll follow me, right? As soon as I leave your protection?”
“Yes, but—”
“That’s all I needed to know, Blondie.” Before she could stop him, Caleb let go of Marcus’s hand, and jumped down three steps and out of her barrier. Smelling his vulnerability, the demons howled and charged him.
“Go. We’ll hold them off as best we can.” Azrael and Caleb stood back to back. Azrael’s golden blade flashed as it cut through the first beast that came at them. It dissipated in a puff of smoke and reappeared as the sword passed through it, but Caleb caught a wing with the point of the dagger and the demon howled in pain. The dagger’s poison would slow them down, but the only thing that could kill the demons would be the Qeres blade, and Azrael had given it to Quinn for her own protection. Of all the things she thought about Azrael before, selfless was never one of them. Maybe she had been wrong; maybe Aaron had too.
“Go while they’re distracted!” Caleb called to her.
The handle of the Qeres star-blade burned against her palm. One slice, two, she slashed out at the demons that pushed against her from above. Inch by inch, she cut their way up the stairs, the poison from the metal blade finding its mark every time and turning them to dust before her eyes.
Reaching the landing, she let herself take a deep breath. A long hallway ran along the second floor. Inky webs crisscrossed the entire hall, each strand as thick as a finger. From behind, Quinn listened to the beating of leathery wings, more demons gathering in the narrow stairway behind them, cutting her off from Azrael and Caleb. No way out. They were trapped now.
Quinn used Kaemon’s sword to cut through the strands of webbing. Something skittered in the shadows, the vibration on the giant web disturbing whatever had made it. Quinn swallowed, and she heard Marcus gasp.
“Please don’t tell me those are giant spiders,” he whispered.
“Don’t even dare,” Reese spat.
“Through there.” Quinn pointed toward a doorway where a large shadow moved back into Jeff’s bedroom. She kicked the cracked door all the way open and jumped back, waving the sword in front of her. When nothing attacked, she tiptoed forward, Reese and Marcus pressed firmly against her back. This room made the rest of the house look radiant and cheery. Shadows, so dark not even a sliver of light could penetrate, clung to the windows. It was as if they entered a black box, a coffin.
Using the light from the star-blade like a torch, they inched their way to the middle of the room. The air was so cold, like a tomb, that she couldn’t stop shivering. Blood stained the hardwood floor, and she heard Reese suck in a breath.
“It’s not fresh.”
“And that’s supposed to make me feel better?” Reese asked.
Something scuttled in the corner, and Quinn whirled the blade around to illuminate the gloom, but its light reveled nothing.
“What was that?” Marcus asked.
“Nothing.” Quinn wiped a sweaty palm on her jeans. “Let’s get this over with and get out of here.” She looked at her watch. Seven minutes to go.
Reese fished a page from the pocket of her jeans, the protection runes drawn in prefect detail, and Quinn held the blade over it to illuminate the writing.
“I don’t see how a few symbols are going to keep us safe. Not in here.” Reese held out her hand, and Marcus passed her a white candle from the duffle bag
“You don’t need to understand it. You just need to do it exactly as I told you.” The atmosphere of the room shifted as Azrael entered the room, his light penetrating the murk, and Quinn’s hope swelled.
Caleb followed. Demon ash covered his hair and his clothes, but he smiled at Quinn, and she shook her head. “I can’t decide if you’re stupid or brave, Meathead. You could have been killed.”
“It will take more than a few demons to get rid of me, Blondie.” Caleb winked and took a black Sharpie from the duffle bag.
A low hiss came from beneath the large four-poster bed.
“Um, Quinn … ” Reese pointed a trembling finger as a hairy leg disappeared back into the underbelly of the mattress.
“We must act quickly.” Azrael snatched the marker from Caleb and drew a giant hexagram, in perfect proportions, across the floor. “The candles go here.” Azrael pointed to each of the six tips of the hexagram. Caleb and Marcus placed a candle on each tip and stood back.
In the center of the hex, Jeff’s blood spilled dark red across the wooden floor. With his sword, Azrael etched a triple spiral in the dried blood, symbolizing Quinn’s essence. West of Quinn’s symbol and between two of the points, he used the marker to draw a rising crescent moon, and on the east, a setting sun.
“But doesn’t the sun set in the west?” Reese pointed out.
“In your realm, yes.” Azrael didn’t add more, and Reese seemed to take that as a sign to be quiet and let him work.
For the next step, Azrael raised his golden sword and brought the tip down hard, the boards shuddering with the impact. He then scraped a wide circle around Caleb, Reese, and Marcus, digging a deep groove into the floor with the tip, connecting each tip of the six-pointed star. When the circle was complete, it flashed with orange flame, and then winked out, leaving a scorched outline; then he nodded to Quinn.
Using the star-blade, she carved four curling shapes into each corner of the circle. Harmony, love, faith, and protect—the four opposites to chaos, fear, doubt and forsake. Each curl glowed blue before fading. Around them, Caleb traced the outer markings of the circle with thick lines of salt, reinforcing the protective barrier.
“Reese, you sit at the moon; Marcus, at the sun.”
Reese eyed the four-poster bed and shook her head. “I’m not putting my back to that. There’s something under there.”
“You wanted to come—insisted, in fact. You must find the courage now to continue. If you stay in the circle, it will not hurt you.” Azrael took Reese’s hand. Once she nodded, he guided her to her spot.
And they will be safe? Quinn asked Azrael privately.
Safer in this circle than they would be out on the street right now. You should say your goodbyes, but make it quick.
Quinn put her arm around Reese and leaned her head on her shoulder. “I love you.”
“Don’t even say it that way, like this is goodbye or something. Don’t you dare say that, Quinn.” Reese grabbed her and held on tight. “I love you too. I can’t finish senior year without you, ya know. This will work; this has to work.”
“No, of course it will work, but I needed, wanted, to tell you.” Quinn swallowed and forced a smile, pushing the last of her doubts back into the depths of her heart. “I’ll be gone for a blink of an eye. You won’t even have time to miss me.”
Reese gave Azrael a pointed look. “You better take care of her.”
“It is my duty.” He bowed low, wings expanding up and out until they touched the ceiling.
Quinn felt the weight of Marcus’s muscled arms join her best friend’s as he squished them into a bear hug. “You better bring my bro back with you. I’m tired of all this girl talk and chick flicks.” Quinn and Reese laughed.
“Yeah, I need to meet this Aaron guy, see if he’s worth all the trouble.” Caleb stood before her, brown eyes bright.
“I think the two of you are going to get along just great,” Quinn assured him.
“Let’s just get this over with, okay?” Reese squared her shoulders, took a deep breath, and sat cross-legged on top of the moon symbol.
“Agreed,” Caleb said.
Marcus knelt in front of Reese and kissed her forehead. “Caleb and I will be with you the whole time. Nothing to be afraid of; we can do this.” He smiled at her, and she hugged his neck.
Marcus winked and settled himself across from Reese, leaving enough room from the edge of the center of the hexagram so they wouldn’t be sucked into the portal or whatever might happen when it opened. Azrael passed Caleb a lighter. The lighter clicked and ignited. Caleb held the flame to each wick until it caught. Orange light flickered and danced across the walls, deepening the contrast between shadow and glow.
“Caleb, you stand at the southern pinnacle, and Quinn will stand here.” Azrael pointed to the empty spot next to him.
“Well, Blondie, I guess this is it.” Caleb stared at the Qeres dagger in his hand. “You sure you don’t want to take this with you?” He offered it to her.
“You’ll need it more than I will.” Quinn wrapped her hand around his. Warmth spread from his skin to hers, and she smiled. “Promise you’ll take care of them?”
“I promise.” Caleb cupped her cheek and looked into her eyes. She let his lips say goodbye. A soft, lingering peck, bittersweet. “Good luck, Blondie.” A quick hug, and he took a step back and into his place.
“Thanks, all of you, for believing in me.” Quinn swiped at a tear. “I couldn’t do this without you.” Quinn looked at her friends, selfishly wishing they could come with her. Her knees wobbled, and sandpaper coated her tongue. Would she ever see them again?
“No time for crying. You’ve got demon butt to kick.” Marcus winked. “We’ll be right here when you get back.”
“It is time,” Azrael said.
Quinn stepped within the circle, legs vibrating with excitement and fear, and stood at the northernmost tip of the hexagram. She looked down at the dark stain of blood beneath her purple sneakers.
“How long will the portal stay open?” Quinn asked.
“Until your blood dries. Fifteen minutes, twenty maybe,” Azrael answered. “And then it will close behind us. Time moves differently in the Underworld than it does here, slower. What may seem like hours or days would be only minutes here,” Azrael said. “If everything goes to plan, you will not even have a moment to miss us.”
Quinn checked her watch. Eight fifty nine, the eclipse would start in one minute. Holding her breath, she waited for the second hand to tick the last few seconds, not sure what to expect. Exposing her palm, she dragged the Qeres blade across her lifeline and winced at the cold sting as metal bit into her flesh, and then handed the sword back to Azrael. He slid it into the scabbard at his left hip, and then they waited.
The candles burned brighter as the air stilled around them. Blood pooled dark and red in the creases of her skin, and she tipped her hand up, letting her vital fluid spill down, a waterfall cascading from her hand onto the floor. Fresh blood collided with the dead, and the wood crackled as her blood ate away at the floor like acid, turning the edges black.
As the door to the Underworld opened, something thrummed beneath them, buzzing. Quinn stepped back from the expanding hole and glanced at Azrael beside her. His wings trembled, every muscle tense as he crouched, fists tight, swords poised over his head, ready to strike. Reese covered her ears and closed her eyes, Marcus inched a little farther away from the edge, and Caleb raised his dagger, ready for a fight.
When the air exploded up and out, Quinn ducked. A swarm of giant wasps, each the size of a fist, erupted from the depths of the Underworld. Azrael didn’t waste any time, he twisted and flourished his swords, movements flowing like liquid, one into the other, as he cut them down one by one before they had a chance to attack.
Demon dust rained down upon them, and Reese coughed, waving a hand to fan away the smell of rotten eggs.
“That was dramatic,” Caleb wheezed.
“Yeah, remind me never to get on your bad side, Azrael,” Marcus said.
“Was that all of them?” Reese stammered.
Azrael cocked his head and listened. “It is quiet. Almost too quiet.”
Quinn chewed on her thumbnail. “She must not see me as a threat.”
“She doesn’t know you as well as we do, Blondie,” Caleb joked.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence. I’m going to need it.” Quinn wondered what going through a portal to the Underworld would feel like. By the looks of it, it would be a short journey. She’d expected an endless pit yawning below, but it wasn’t a hole at all: the ground itself had changed. Volcanic rock replaced the wood floor, revealing a piece of the realm that existed alongside her own. More like walking from carpet to tile, or stepping from one room into another, than falling down the rabbit hole.
“We have to go. Now, Quinn.” Azrael held out his hand, but before Quinn could take it, a gust of wind snuffed out the candles, immersing the room in night.
Reese gasped. Scurrying. Claws on wood. A faint click-thump-click-thump behind them. A shadow slithered from under the bed. Not a shadow, a person, on its stomach, arms bent at odd angles, but not really a person. Azrael drew his blades once again, their light illuminating a monstrosity. All loose tendons and muscles, it looked like a man stripped of his skin. Empty sockets stared out of an angled face, veins pulsed up its fleshless neck. It stared at Reese, its target, and licked blood from its lips. Its breath rasped through a half-decayed throat. Spit bubbled and gurgled at the corner of its mouth.
“Don’t move,” Azrael warned, but it was too late. In fear, Reese had stumbled outside the protective circle. She let out a scream as the thing grabbed her ankle. Marcus reached for her, wrapping his hand around her arm as Caleb slashed with his dagger, but the thing started dragging Reese under the bed. Marcus grunted, using all his weight to pull her back.
Quinn lunged forward to help, but Azrael stepped in front of her, blocking her path.
“Let me go!” Quinn screamed and pounded her fists on his chest.
“There is no time. The portal will close soon, and all will be lost. Go. I will get her back.”
“Screw the portal. Azrael, I command … ” But before she could direct him, he lifted her up and pushed her through the open portal.