“So...” Cer drew out the word. “Now, you and the Dragon are a thing?”
“A temporary thing,” Torin injected quickly. “The spell will wear off.”
Verin grunted in a way that implied uncertainty.
“Luke is going to blow an Angel gasket!” Cerberus exclaimed with none of the glee I would have expected to accompany that statement. “He's going to lose his divine shit! He's going to go Old Testament on all of your asses! He's going to Gamora and Sodomize you! He's going to release the Kraken! Well, maybe not that last bit but—”
“Yes, thank you, Cerberus,” I said dryly. “We get the picture; Luke will be upset. He will also get over it.”
“Lucifer wasn't there to save her,” Gage said with a shrug. “He'll be happy that someone was.”
Cerberus snorted. “Happy is the only thing he won't be. Luke is going to be pissed that it wasn't him who saved her and even more pissed that you fuckers didn't give him the chance.”
“Never mind Lucifer!” I snapped. “We need to get to Slate. Is everyone ready or what?”
Darcraxis stood up and pulled a knife from his belt in answer. The knife.
“Good. Who's got the bombs?” I demanded.
“I do.” Torin hefted the satchel over his shoulder. “We're ready. Let's get our soldiers and go.”
There was no more discussion after that. Even Cerberus shut up. We used the castle charm to contact William and ask him to ready the troops. By the time we made it out to the courtyard, a hundred Shining One knights were standing at attention, waiting for orders. Darc, Torin, and Declan took charge of their soldiers, giving the order to meet at the Oregon Zone. Our knights had sent scouts ahead so they'd be able to travel in groups, all at once. Once everyone had their travel stones—and travel buddies—in hand, a signal was given and all of us went through the Veil and to the gates of Slate's zone. Once again, we were spotted by cameras within minutes. This time it was Aaro's voice that came through the speaker.
“Elaria, I hope you have a better plan this time,” he snarled.
“I do. Just get him down here, Aaro. And, if possible, tell the Gargoyles to stand down.”
“I'll try but they're... unsettled and that army at your back won't help.”
The speaker cut out.
“Unsettled; that's Gargoyle speak for pissin' their pants with fear,” Cerberus declared.
“Oh, how I've missed you,” I said with a grin.
He chuckled. “Yeah; me too, El. You think I should go Hellhound?”
“Oh, absolutely.”
Cerberus grinned broadly as he began to rapidly strip.
“Wait until he's gotten here.” I rolled my eyes.
“Why? You think it's going to surprise Gargo that we're here to kick his ass?” He shot back.
“Yeah. Good point. Go ahead and get naked.”
Cerberus did and he did it with a grin; mostly directed at the female knights who couldn't help checking him out. When his clothes were in a pile beside him, Cer shifted into his other form; that of an enormous—and I mean the size of a flatbed truck—three-headed canine. Cerberus was one of those rare breeds of shifter who could alter his size as well as his shape; to a certain point.
Verin and Gage followed suit; tossing off their clothes before shifting into their beast forms. Verin elongated into his Dragon; a creature of deep blue scales, flaming orange whiskers, and crimson fins. He wouldn't be as deadly out of water but that only meant he was slightly slower; the difference between a tidal wave and a tsunami. Gage went Griffin, which means his body turned into that of a lion, all golden-furred and beautiful. But, at the base of his neck, a ruff of leonine mane melded with the pale feathers of an eagle head; a head proportionate to the lion body. Eagle wings of the same magnitude stretched from his back and flapped once before settling.
“Oh, look; they've brought their pets,” Gargo declared as he strode out of the Zone's gates.
I gaped at him. Slate's features had sharpened and broadened. It wasn't a good look for him but that may have been because it reminded me of Gargo's original body. In addition to his altered facial features, a pair of Gargoyle wings extended from Slate's shoulders even though he wasn't in Gargoyle form. The wings were similar to those Slate had in his Gargoyle shape but they looked more menacing, with an oily sheen to their membranes and talons that flexed at their tips. The physical changes both horrified me and gave me hope. They suggested that the transformation from Slate to Gargo was nearly complete. Terrifying but it also meant that Slate had a better chance of surviving a knife in his heart.
Behind Gargo came a host of Gargoyles—more than I'd expected—with Aaro, Binx, and Jago on the front line. The ranks went back into the Zone as far as I could see. They looked grim, especially since they were all in Gargoyle form, but Aaro nodded at me crisply. They were with us. Our odds of winning just went up.
“You think you'll be enough to take me down?” Gargo laughed. “You had a bigger army last time and you still needed a God to get me out of Poseidon. A God who is notably absent.”
“We don't need him this time,” I shot back. I didn't waste time on more banter.
A staticky spinning wound up into the groan of guitars; the intro to “The Devil Within” by Digital Daggers. I called up my magic and, for the first time in a very long time, I did so without fear that it might overwhelm me and kill us all. I was whole at last and could focus all of my intent and power on the music. What a fantastic feeling! If I hadn't already been singing, I would have whooped in joy.
At first look—or listen, rather—the song was an odd choice for a battle. The lyrics spoke about invading a person, not a city; creeping into them and
