Beranabus stares at his ex-assistant, shaken by her hideous appearance and the mad hatred in her expression. “How did it come to this?” he croaks. “Life with me can’t have been worse than what you’re going through now.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Juni says. “You were far worse than Lord Loss. I serve him willingly, by my own choice, but I was a slave to you, with no say over what happened to me.”
“But—” Beranabus starts.
“No!” Juni barks. “You’re not worth arguing with.” She glares at the rest of us. “You can choose too. You don’t have to serve this fool or perish with him. Join me now and live. Stay loyal to him and die.”
Dervish laughs. “You’ve lost your marbles. Nadia Moore would have known that wasn’t an option. Even Juni Swan could have seen that it’s a no-brainer. But you’ve become something warped and inhuman. Do you honestly believe any of us would throw in our lot with a thing as twisted and insane as you?”
Juni’s lips tremble and the skin around her cheeks cracks in a series of tiny channels. “How dare you speak to me like that!”
“You were my love,” Dervish says. “I’ll speak to you any way I like.”
She starts to curse him, then restrains herself and giggles. “We’ll be lovers again, darling Dervish. I’ll keep you alive in a body even more wretched than this. I’ll lavish you with torment and pain. You’ll beg me to kill you, every single day for the rest of time, but I won’t.”
“Sounds nasty,” Dervish yawns.
“Um, I don’t know how these things normally work,” Kirilli speaks up, “but shouldn’t we be ripping her into a million pieces instead of trading insults?”
“Don’t knock the insults,” Dervish growls. “This is the best part of a fight. If you don’t get the digs in at the beginning, there’ll be no time later.”
“Who is this charlatan?” Juni huffs, glaring at Kirilli.
“A Disciple,” Beranabus says. “A friend and assistant, as you once were.”
“Assistant only,” Juni corrects him. “Never a friend.”
“You were Kernel’s friend,” Sharmila says softly. “You saved his life, even after you had turned traitor. Do you hate him too? Will you kill him along with the rest of us if you get the chance?”
“Without blinking,” Juni says coldly. “I warned him not to get in my way again. I might not kill him today—if he has any sense, he’ll slip away when the rest of you are dead—but I’ll catch up with him soon. It’s the end of mankind’s reign. Within a year we’ll cleanse Earth of its human fungus and take the world forward into a new demonic era. Your precious billions are living on borrowed time, Beranabus, but you reckless fools don’t even have that. Which is where Cadaver comes in…” She nods at the demon behind the lodestone.
“He stole the demon which was masquerading as Kernel’s brother,” Sharmila reminds him.
Cadaver whines and strains his neck. He’s not a willing participant in this. He’s a prisoner. When he opens his mouth and speaks, we learn who his captor is.
“Greetings, my brave, doomed friends.”
Cadaver’s lips are moving, but the words and accent aren’t the demon’s—they belong to the sentinel of sorrow, Lord Loss.
“A cheap trick,” Beranabus grunts. “Too afraid to face us in person? Reduced to speaking through a puppet?”
“Why not use Cadaver’s mouth?” Lord Loss counters, speaking from his realm in the Demonata’s universe. “I gave it to him. I could have made use of any of my familiars, but I thought this one most fitting. Such a pity Kernel isn’t here. I’m sure Cadaver’s appearance would have revived many fond memories.”
“I have had enough of this,” Sharmila growls. She takes a step forward and raises her hand, taking aim at Cadaver.
“Wait,” Beranabus stops her. “He’s close to the lodestone. If we kill him, his blood will drench it.”
“Will that make a difference?” Sharmila asks.
Beranabus grimaces. “I doubt he’s there for show.”
“Astute as always,” Lord Loss murmurs through the unfortunate Cadaver. “You would have made a fine demon, Beranabus. You have wasted your talent on a far inferior species. But it’s not too late to change. Join us. Live forever as one of the rulers of the universes.”
“Nature is about to be reversed,” Lord Loss says.
“By who?” Beranabus asks. “Your shadowy master? What’s his name? I can’t serve him if I don’t even know his name.”
Lord Loss tuts. “No names, not unless you join us.”
“Well, that’s not going to happen,” Beranabus sniffs. “And I don’t think you really expected me to switch sides. So why are we here? Do you want to gloat before your master kills us?”
“No,” Lord Loss says. Cadaver’s head swivels and his eyes fix on me. “We want Bec.”
Beranabus, Dervish and Sharmila shuffle towards me, forming a protective barrier. I’m touched by their show of support.
“What do you want with me?” I ask in a small, trembling voice.
“Your piece of the Kah-Gash, of course,” Lord Loss says.
Beranabus puts a hand on the nape of my neck. His fingers are shaking. By reading his thoughts, I understand why. Though I’m afraid, I place my hand over his and squeeze, giving my assent.
“You can’t have her,” Beranabus croaks. “I won’t let a piece of the Kah-Gash fall into your foul hands. I’ll kill her first.”
“But you love her,” Lord Loss gasps with mock shock.
“Aye,” Beranabus says. “But I’ll kill her anyway.”
Kirilli is gawping at us, confused and dismayed. Dervish and Sharmila look distraught but resigned.
“Then kill her,” Lord Loss purrs and I catch a glimpse of his wicked leer in Cadaver’s terror-stricken eyes. “It makes no difference. If she dies, the piece will be set free and faithful Juni will capture and deliver it to our new master. Death isn’t an obstacle to us, not any longer.
Beranabus squints at Cadaver, not sure if this is a bluff.
“The piece was originally mine,” Lord Loss says petulantly. “It lay dormant within me for hundreds of thousands of years. But when I shared my magic with Bec, back when I wished to preserve humanity, it slipped from my body into hers.” Cadaver shakes a hairy finger at me.
“It can move from one being to another?” Beranabus frowns and his thoughts move quickly. He uses a spell to communicate directly with me.
“Master,” Juni interrupts. “This window will close soon. If I am to return to your side, we must act now.”
“Of course,” Lord Loss says. “Wait a few moments more, my dear. Then you can come home.”
Cadaver bends forward over the lodestone, but his eyes remain rooted on us. “I must say farewell, old friends,” Lord Loss murmurs. “I don’t think any of you will survive the coming battle. You have caused me much displeasure over the years, but I shall miss you.”
His eyes settle on Dervish and he smiles. “Don’t worry about how Grubitsch will cope without you. He walked into a trap, just as you did. He will be dead soon if he isn’t already.”
Dervish hisses and starts to respond, but Lord Loss is looking at Sharmila now. “There will be much chaos before the end,” he tells her. “Humanity will be given time to scream before we cleanse the universe of its miserable stain. I will track down those you love and execute them personally. I will lavish extra attention on the children and babies.”
Sharmila is close to tears, but she holds them back and curses Lord Loss foully. He chuckles and his gaze flickers to Kirilli. The stage magician braces himself. “Go on,” he snarls manfully. “I can take any threat you dish out.”
“I don’t know who you are and I have no interest in you,” Lord Loss says dismissively, and Kirilli
