It was hard to tell who he was trying not to look at more–Rachel or the terrifying black angel.
Why hadn’t the black angel collected Larry already?
Of course, why hadn’t the black angel taken vengeance on Hilario, for that matter? Black angels weren’t supposed to collect souls before they left the body. But he’d known them to be impatient before.
It had to be Rachel holding this one back. Somehow.
There had been two at her side back in the cavern. One had left with Lord Igidbon’s filthy, evil-soaked spirit. The other…
Well, it came along for a ride, didn’t it?
He didn’t believe it would leave without collecting a soul.
He commanded the fingers of his left hand to unclench from the steering wheel. They stole to the gold and sapphire amulet in the hidden pocket at his chest.
Rachel had told him she would need it soon.
But she hadn’t told him for what.
He had his suspicions, though.
Somewhere up ahead was the Eye of Malachi they had come through to Lord Igidbon’s world.
She hadn’t told him, but he knew they were going back through it. And not back to the realm of the gem witches as the amulet had been spelled to do.
The end of the world is coming.
His gaze stole to the blood red bag draped over the engine cover. The gold rope thread through the open end glinted in the flickering green light.
A gift from Sinzerklaazz.
You’ll know what to do with it.
Would he?
Was that time coming soon?
“Come back to us,” Rachel said, “We need your strength.”
Talking to the Sapphire Witch?
A low moan escaped the Lady Sapphire’s lips.
“Come back, Sapphire,” Rachel said.
Hilario put his other hand back on the steering wheel. The puzzle pieces were coming together now. Queezleyan sitting on the Sapphire Witch’s shoulder, whispering in her ear…
Odom slapped his metal fist into his hand. A sound that rang hard enough to make Hilario wince. And probably everyone else, too.
“I should have seen it,” the paladin said. He gestured to Marco. “Give me that creature. I’ll ring its neck and deliver its soul to the demon mother myself.”
“No,” Rachel said, “We need it. We need all of you.”
Hilario glanced at the still form of Rodney. Everyone? Including an unconscious pizza delivery driver and the stinking corpse of a dark lord?
“Pah, I see no point in this,” Odom said, “The power of the dark lords will not last in the normal world. Magic always weakens there. A few weeks and they will whither away. Problem solved.”
Sure, except for all the dead people in the city. And the tortured and traumatized ones that managed to survive.
Rachel didn’t move from her position over the Sapphire Witch. Her hands still held the sides of the Lady Sapphire’s head.
“Hilario,” she said, “Would you like to tell our Paladin why he is wrong?”
His heart skipped a beat. Perhaps several beats. He sucked in a quick breath. Him? She wanted him to tell a Paladin–even a runty one–that he was wrong? Was she trying get him beaten and killed?
And why the heckity heck did she think he knew? He been thrown from one realm to another all night long. With little to no explanation for anything. How as he supposed to put it all…
Oh…
“You can see it now, can’t you, dear Hilario?” Rachel said.
Was that a note of strain in her voice? A hint of worry?
And he could see it. The whole poopity poop line of it.
He cleared his throat. Glanced at the rearview mirror. Odom’s sapphire eyes were fixed on him. His regal brows furrowed in a frown.
“Ah, noble paladin, sir,” he said, “Do you know what a beachhead is?”
Odom’s brows furrowed even further. “Is that some sort of beast?” he asked. He fingered his sword hilt. “Are we to battle it?”
Sigh.
“No, noble paladin,” he said, “A beachhead is a military term. It means a portion of land taken from an enemy, which is then used to launch a further, stronger attack on an enemy.”
“Why didn’t you just say that?” Odom said, “Don’t throw silly human terms around.”
Hilario barely restrained an eye roll. “Yes, of course, noble paladin, sir,” he said, “Anyway, that is what the dark lords are going to do. In the breach created by Larry Sparrow’s death, they plan to establish a zone in the normal world that is and is not the normal world.”
Odom barked out a harsh laugh. “That is ridiculous. The normal world is the normal world. The unseen is the unseen. They do not mix, silly clown.”
Hilario’s fingers clenched the wheel so hard his knuckles creaked. He ground his teeth together to hold back the first words that tried to escape his mouth.
“If only that were true, noble sir,” Hilario said, “But the more subtle truth is that there is no real difference between the normal world and the unseen world. We are part of a body. And the normal world is the heart of this body. The normal world is not devoid of magic. It is the source of all magic.”
He stopped. Let his own words sink in to himself. Was it true?
Of course it was. Magic worked in the normal world just as it did in the unseen world. Just…differently. And sometimes more intensely. As he well knew.
He glanced at the rearview. Odom seemed lost in thought, his metal fingers running over his chin.
Rachel was back to her humming incantation. And the Sapphire Witch still moaned and rolled her head.
And the black angel still sizzled in the air behind him.
What would happen when the dark lords struck at the very heart of the universe? They thought they were
