seconds, then fall still as life leaves Femur’s body. Its flesh turns a dark red colour, then crumbles away like ash. I pull my arm free and study the mess, lips curled with disgust. I start towards the waterfall to wash clean and sluice out my wounds. Then I have a better idea and direct magic at my arm. Seconds later—spotless, unmarked flesh. Coolio!
My first thought is to go to Beranabus’s aid or help Kernel with Spine. But then the magician’s warning kicks in. Juni Swan is public enemy number one. She has to be stopped. I’m not sure I can do it—the doubts swim back inside my head—but I have to try.
Skirting Beranabus and Lord Loss, I hurry to where the transformed Juni is chanting into the crack, arms spread wide, words coming fast and furious. For a second I think I glimpse a face in the rock, just within the opening of the crack. But then it’s gone and I’m not sure whether it was Bec, the first of the demon hordes or a trick of the light.
I don’t want to touch Juni—the thought of physical contact with her repulses me. So I bring my hands together and summon a bolt of magic to fire instead. Nothing happens. I can feel the magic, but it’s like there’s a barrier between us, blocking the lines of communication. Then I realise what the problem is—the werewolf. There’s a full moon. Beranabus told me I’d have no trouble suppressing the wolf now, but it would always be there, scratching away beneath the surface, whining, trying to break free.
“No time for games, wolfie,” I mutter, and mentally drive the beast deep down within me, to howl in silent, imprisoned protest for at least another month. The magic burns brightly inside me as soon as the way’s been cleared. Once again I tell it what I want and this time I feel energy gather in my hands. Pointing them at Juni, I unleash the power. A huge ball of magic shoots straight at her— then hits an invisible barrier and crackles away into nothing.
Juni glances around, sneers at me, carries on chanting.
“’Ubbs!” Dervish grunts as I prepare a second blast. He’s straining to get to his feet. Beside him, Bill-E’s staring at me as if he doesn’t know who I am. “’Ubbs!” Dervish shouts again, mouth constricted by his gag.
I wave a hand at my uncle and brother. Their gags and the ropes binding them burn away. As soon as he’s free, Dervish thrusts himself up and throws his arms around me. “I thought you were dead!” he cries, burying his head in my chest.
“Not me,” I grin, hugging back hard, momentarily forgetting the fight and all that’s at stake. It’s so great to see him again, to have him hold me, to be home and with the closest thing to a father I have left. If the world ended here and now, for me it would be a good end.
“Grubbs?” Bill-E says hesitantly, studying me warily. “Is it really you?”
“Sure is… little brother.” I smile at him awkwardly.
“You should have told me,” he growls, pointing a finger. “All this time… if I’d known… all my life I thought I was alone. You should have told me!”
“I know,” I sigh. “I was a fool. Forgive me?”
“No way, baldy,” he smirks. The smile quickly fades when he spots the woman next to the crack.
“Yes,” Dervish snarls. “The face might be different, but the evil stench is the same. She told us you attacked her, Grubbs. That after killing Ma and Pa Spleen, you…” He pauses. “You didn’t kill them, did you?”
“Of course not,” I huff indignantly, not admitting that I’d thought the same thing myself.
“I told you,” Bill-E says proudly. “I knew Grubbs wasn’t a murderer.”
“I didn’t think so either,” Dervish mutters. “But she was so convincing. Sobbed hard when she came back. Said she saw you murder them, that you tried to kill Billy, but she lured you away. She was a pillar of strength. Guided us through the burials. Comforted Billy. Helped deal with the police enquiries. I loved her more than ever.
“Then she said we could find you, that she could use the magic of this cave to locate you. Fool that I was, I believed her. Billy had moved in with us. Juni said we should bring him along, that it might help with the spell. I didn’t see how, but she was stronger than me. She knew more about magic. I trusted her.
“When we got here, the demons jumped us. Juni clubbed me over the back of my head and they trussed us up. Lord Loss told us he was going to open the tunnel. A sacrifice had been made and the killer would join with the rock and keep the tunnel open. He said he’d let the Demonata cross, then murder me slowly. Said he had something extra special in mind for Billy. He—”
“Dervish,” I interrupt softly. “If she finishes that spell, we’re in for seventy-seven different types of hell. We need to kill her.
Dervish nods grimly. “OK. You work on bringing down the barrier. I’ll handle the rest.”
“You’re sure?” I ask, grateful that he’s offering to take the horrible task out of my hands, but wanting to provide him with an alternative if he feels he can’t slaughter the woman he once loved.
“I’d fight anybody who tried to kill her before I had a shot,” Dervish says, and the burning hatred in his expression scares me.
One quick glance behind. Kernel’s pinned Spine to a stalagmite and wrapped the demon’s stinger around the needle of calcium. He’s pummelling its face with his right fist, holding the tip of the stinger in place with his left hand.
Beranabus—his flesh an even darker shade of purple than before—is locked in combat with Lord Loss, the demon master howling like a dog, the snakes in his chest cavity lashing the magician with their forked tongues. Artery has worked both hands under Beranabus’s skin and is trying to get his head in too, to chew his way through the bones and into the meaty innards. It’s not looking good for the old magician, but I know he’d rather we killed Juni and let him perish than go to his rescue and leave her free to open the tunnel.
I let magical energy charge within my fists again—charge
The barrier starts to give. Each ball of magic crackles louder and lasts longer when it smacks against the energy field. A few more and she’ll be at our mercy.
“Master!” Juni screams. “Help me! I need more time!”
“Spine!” Lord Loss roars. “Femur!” I sense him looking for his familiars. Then he curses. “Attack them, Artery. Leave Beranabus to me.”
Ripping sounds. Bill-E yells a warning. “Grubbs! Look out! He’s—”
Artery lands on my back and I stagger. Before I can turn to deal with the hell-child, Dervish grabs his legs, swings him round and batters his head off a low-hanging stalactite. The skull splits down the middle and brains ooze out. Lice fall from the fiendish baby’s crown and scuttle around on the ground. Dervish twirls the demon overhead a couple of times, then throws him far across the cave, where he smashes hard into a wall and collapses. Artery will recover, but it’ll take him a minute or two. That should be more than enough time.
“Master!” Juni screams again, spitting the cry out between the words of the spell that she’s chanting. Her real face looks far less commanding than the one she wore when she was pretending to be our friend. It carries the scars of fear and low character. “One more minute. That’s all I need.”
Lord Loss howls louder than any wolf, then reluctantly releases Beranabus and whacks him aside. I hear a whoosh as he propels himself towards me. “Grubbs!” Dervish yells.
“Just a second,” I mumble, taking aim, letting off one last blast of energy. It sounds like a gunshot when it hits the barrier—then crashes through and connects with Juni, knocking her to the floor.
I open my mouth to cheer, but Lord Loss is on me before I can, cursing foully, eight arms around my mouth and throat, squeezing, tearing, intent on pulling me to pieces and choking me all at once.
Gasping for air, I grab two of his arms, focus my magic and tug with all my strength. The arms rip free of their sockets. Lord Loss wails and tries to reattach them, but I send fire shooting up the limbs and they burn away to nothing before he can restore them.
Dervish steps in to help. “No!” I yell, feet dangling a few centimetres above the ground as a furious Lord Loss clutches me to his chest, where the snakes fight with each other to bite out my eyes. “Kill Juni! I can deal with—”
The demon master gets a few mangled, lumpy, bloody fingers into my mouth. They lengthen and extend
