“Do you have the medallion?” he asks.
I nod and fish into my pocket and pull it out. I gasp as it begins to glow pink. We’re definitely pretty close.
“Which way?” I ask.
“This way,” Jinx says, pointing.
“How do you know?” Mel asks, looking around. “Everything looks exactly the same.”
Jinx points up.
“Except the sun. I’m not following landmarks, I’m following the actual direction we walked in,” he says. “And if Aziza and I are right about the location, we’ll be following the medallion soon enough.”
I take a couple of steps in the direction Jinx pointed in and I smile.
“He’s right,” I say, holding up the medallion so the others can see it.
The pink glow is getting darker, more red. I keep walking, my eyes trained on the medallion. The others follow me, and Rye comes to walk beside me.
“I’m still not completely convinced Nexus is right about one of us being the Horseman,” he says. “But if she is, then the minute you have that weapon, they’ll fully realize who they are and remember their mission. You are going to have to be careful, Sailor, and not let your guard down with any of them, even for a second.”
I nod my head.
“I know. Don’t worry. I’ll be ready when the attack comes. And Rye? I’m going to separate the two souls. I won’t fail. None of them will die at my hand.”
He doesn’t say anything. He just gives me a sad smile.
“You don’t think I can do it?” I say.
“It’s not that,” he says quickly. “It’s just… is it worth the risk, Sailor? After what Nexus said about trapping their soul in limbo if the timing is off by a second.”
“When we thought we knew who the last Horseman was, that ended with me killing an innocent man. This is my chance to make up for that,” I say.
“I get—duck,” Rye shouts, his voice changing.
I crouch down and a fire ball sails over my head.
“What the…?” I say, looking around.
The sand stretches out for miles in every direction and there is no one in sight anywhere.
“Ven Demons,” Aziza shouts from just behind us. “They’re invisible until they take a wound.”
She starts throwing fire everywhere, and as a few pained cries go up, sure enough, the demons start to flicker into sight. If it wasn’t for the fire balls, I never would have guessed these guys were demons. They’re all really good looking, and they all have bodies to die for. They look like an all-star football team or a group of Hollywood stars rather than a band of demons, but as I study them, I see their beauty is a cruel beauty, all hard lines and sharp angles. The biggest giveaway is their dull blackened eyes. There is no sparkle there; they look dead behind the eyes.
I duck again as another ball of fire flies in my direction. Aziza is still throwing flames everywhere, and Jinx and Ya-Ya have joined her, throwing their powers at the seemingly empty air around us too. Mel, Rye, and Sunday are already running toward the demons who have become visible, and for a moment, I find myself standing alone, the fight raging around me.
Fire balls and blue balls of electricity crash in the air, causing a fizzing sound and making my hair stand up slightly as the air around me becomes charged. I wince as more and more Ven Demons come into sight. The worst part of it is we won’t know for sure if we’ve exposed them all or not until it’s potentially too late. And it does nothing for my confidence when I see the number of them there are.
As I watch the fight raging on, I do figure out one thing though. Our best chance is getting up close and personal with these things. The ones getting fried by the powers are healing quickly and seem to be taking no real injuries, or at least not immediately. I think being given a couple of blasts of any of the team’s powers would kill them, but right now, Jinx, Aziza, and Ya-Ya are concentrating on making them visible rather than killing them, and the only disadvantage it seems to give them right now is becoming visible to us. But the ones fighting hand to hand are being chopped down quickly. Their fire balls don’t seem to work at close range, and for all they’re armed with various swords and knives, they don’t seem to know how to use them. I don’t suppose learning to sword fight is a priority for something that’s invisible and can throw fire balls from a distance.
I jump to the left as a fire ball comes in my direction and then I spin around, looking for the best place to enter the fight. I see two Ven Demons materialize away from the rest of the team, and I run towards them. I don’t want them being able to throw accurate fire balls at the others while they’re otherwise engaged.
I pull out my sword. They spot my sudden movement and they rain fire balls in my direction. I find myself jumping and ducking to avoid being hit, but I don’t let them slow me down. While they’re focused on firing at me, my plan is working. I am getting closer to them, and within minutes, I am close enough that their fire balls seem unable to get near me.
I swing out with my sword and decapitate one of the Ven Demons in one easy stroke. I don’t have long to celebrate my victory. The other Ven Demon has focused his sole attention on me now and his sword is wicked sharp with a long, chunky blade. He swings at me and I block his shot with a clang of metal. The shock waves run up my arms and I grit my teeth to stay in control of my sword.
He strikes out again, and again, I block the shot. I push hard with my sword, forcing him to
