The end.
A fine sheen of sweat formed on her forehead. Any minute now, it would roll down her face and probably drip off the end of her nose. What a weird last thought.
She tugged the Key out of her pocket, and the metal snagged almost as though it didn’t want to come. But it did—no magical reprieve there. Was she still hoping for a happy ending? She’d believed she’d given up on them long ago.
She dangled the Key in front of her. Jack reached for it, and she edged away. “Wait, I have to remove the spell first. Otherwise…poof.”
He cast her a dirty glance, but he did step back. No one wanted to go “poof.” Andarta was watching her, her face expressionless, but at least she didn’t appear suspicious.
“So you’ll take me with you, let me be part of this?”
“Of course. I said so, didn’t I?” Andarta sounded just a mite irritated.
“So you did.”
She dug into her other pocket and pulled out a pin; she needed blood. Then she had to speak some words. For a second, her mind went blank. Crap, she couldn’t remember the words.
Panic threatened to envelop her mind, drag her down, and swallow her up. Under her breath, she muttered a calming mantra and slowly her brain cleared.
She could see the words in her head, crystal clear. Raising the pin, she looked around her one last time. And stopped. The pin poised in mid-air.
“Don’t you fucking dare.”
A group was running down the embankment toward them. Piers led the way and it was his words that hung on the night air. Did he know what she meant to do? Well, he was too late.
“It’s not too late.”
The guy was a fucking mind-reader.
“Roz, you don’t have to do this.” He came to a halt meters away, weapons drawn. “Trust me.”
Oh, God, she wished she could.
“Piers?” Andarta spoke softly from beside her, but Roz couldn’t drag her eyes from Piers.
“Come on, Roz, put the pin down— you don’t have to die.”
But somehow she couldn’t seem to move. Her arm locked in place, the Key gripped tight in her fingers, so she could feel the cold metal against the burning heat of her skin.
“Die?” Andarta spoke into the silence. She darted forward. “Lying bitch,” she snarled. “You meant to kill us all?”
She grabbed for the Key. Roz tried to hold on, but the woman had inhuman strength—probably because she wasn’t human—and the Key was ripped from her fingers. Andarta leapt for the open portal. Roz made to follow; she could still work the spell if she could catch the demon.
“Get back,” Piers yelled.
If she followed Andarta now, there was a chance. But she thought for a microsecond too long. Andarta vanished into the portal and it closed behind her. At the same time, someone grabbed Roz from behind, digging hard fingers into the flesh of her upper arms. As she struggled, the hold tightened, so she went still in his grasp and was drawn back against a hard body.
Jack leaned in close to her, so she felt his cool breath against her throat, and she braced herself for his bite.
It didn’t come. Instead, he whispered into her ear. “So you want to come with us, do you?”
“Er, no. Actually, I’ve changed my mind. I think I’ll stay. And as your girlfriend seems to have abandoned you, I’m thinking—so will you.”
“She’ll be back. As soon as the Key is safe.”
“Really? I doubt you mean that much to her.”
“Maybe not. But she’ll want you dead. And so do I. I preferred your friend—you’re a little mouthy for my tastes—but I’ll make do.” Putting his face close to her skin, he sniffed. “And you do smell sweet.” He turned her so she once again faced Piers. “Back off and lower the weapons. Or she dies now.” He leaned a little closer and whispered just to her. “Instead of later.”
The coolness of a blade pressed against her throat. Roz held herself very still.
Piers lowered the shotgun he carried and stepped back. “Let her go, Jack.”
“Now, why would I do that?”
“Because if you don’t fucking let her go, I’ll rip you limb from limb. If you do, I might just let you live.”
“Like I believe that. No way.”
“Look, you’re stuck here—I’m guessing you don’t have the power to open another portal. So come on, Jack, I give you my word. Let her go, and I’ll let you live.”
Piers might let him live, but Roz certainly wouldn’t. She had plans for Jack—painful plans.
“Why would you do that? What does she mean to you?” Jack paused and Roz could almost hear his brain working. “Shit. You love her.”
Piers ignored the comment and quite rightly—it was a ludicrous idea. “The Order offered her protection,” he said.
Well, what had she expected? A declaration of true love? Never going to happen.
“Christ, you do—you’ve got the hots for her. Andarta is going to love this.”
Roz’s mind was working furiously. Could she break free? Maybe elbow him in the side? She shifted her arm to see if there was any leeway in the hold, but his grip tightened.
“Stop wriggling, bitch, or I’ll knife you right here.”
“That would be a bit stupid—you’d lose the only thing that’s keeping you alive right now.”
His fingers dug in cruelly. Had she hit a sore spot? Did Jack not like being called stupid? Maybe she could get him mad enough to do something even more idiotic. She’d always been good at getting people mad. “But from what I’ve seen so far, intelligence isn’t one of your stronger points. Maybe you’re useful for beating up little girls and nuns but not much use in the brains department.”
“Shut up,” he snarled. Then he gave a short, triumphant laugh. The air straight ahead shimmered, and a new portal opened.
“Shit,” Roz muttered. Andarta hadn’t abandoned him after all, though there was no sign of the demoness. Jack started dragging her toward the black gaping hole. She so did not want to go there.
Behind her, she heard the click of guns being drawn.
“Don’t shoot,” Piers said. “You might hit Roz.”
Aw, maybe he did care after all.
She started struggling. What the hell if she got hurt? It was better than ending up down in the Abyss, and she wouldn’t let herself be used as some sort of hostage. Not that she really considered anyone would give up much for her. But it was a nice dream.
She’d rather die now than end up down there. But she was pretty pissed off that they’d ruined her plan. She’d been going to die doing some good—destroying the Key and ending the wicked Andarta’s dastardly plot for world domination.
Now, she was just going to die.
Shit. Crap. Bugger.
She struggled some more, and felt the blade slice into her skin. Not deep enough to do serious damage, but it stung. And he didn’t slow down.
They were almost on the edge now. If she peered over, she would see the shadows waiting to pull her in, swallow her. So instead, she glanced over her shoulder and saw Piers standing, gun hanging from his hand, raw frustration etched on his gorgeous face.
“We’ll get you back,” he shouted. “Just stay alive. We’ll come after you.”
They were on the edge now. All around her the lesser demons were streaming past, spilling into that break
