The Cabin Is Always Hungry

Arc 3 | Hells Grace (23)

HELLS GRACE

Part 23

Tessa pointed at the hidden trail. “It’s down there,” she said, bracing herself from what Hodge was about to do. She stared at the weapon in his hand. “Hey, you promised you’d let me go.”

Hodge chuckled and shook his head. “Not here, you idiot. Go on. Walk down that trail.”

“But I did what you asked! I showed you where it is!”

“Once I see the gem, I’ll let you go.”

“No, you won’t.”

“Are you testing me, bitch? I’ve got two shells eager to eat your face if you don’t do what I say.”

Tessa’s Resolve dropped to a bloody orange, and she stepped back. She didn’t want to get near the Core Tree and didn’t want to see what happened to Clay’s body after she left him to die. Whatever courage she had leading Hodge here was quickly dissipating. Her gaze darted toward the trees, and I realized she was looking for Old Growth, expecting him to hide behind the thick canopy.

Hodge clenched his jaw and raised the weapon. He stepped closer. “Don’t you fucking do it, girl! I won’t ask nicely! This is your final warning—”

“Shit!” Tessa exclaimed.

A javelin shot out from the trees, missing Hodge by a couple of inches. Old Growth would have him if he didn’t step forward that second, but he fired his appendage too late. The javelin slammed the back windows of Maxine’s Ford Explorer, shattering the glass. Hodge turned, aimed at the branches, and pulled the trigger. Old Growth leaped to the nearest tree as the shot obliterated the branch he was perched on. Hodge only glimpsed a huge shadow jump between the trees and, in a panic, ducked behind the explorer.

Tessa dropped to her knees mid-crouch, going in the opposite direction and disappearing from Hodge’s line of sight. Hodge fired another wild blind shot at the tree where Old Growth was lying low, missing the creature by several feet.

Oldie wasn’t as fast as last night now that he was missing two appendages, which would take thirty days to grow back. The missing appendages were now replaced by sharp arching claws. He wasn’t taking any chances for Hodge to get a lucky shot at him, so Oldie climbed down the trunk and blended with the nearby bushes, stalking toward his prey’s location, waiting for him to make a grave mistake.

“Tessa!” Hodge shouted. “Get back here!” Some of the shattered glass had sliced and embedded themselves into Hodge’s arm, and he pulled two tiny pieces from below his elbow. He quickly muttered a quick healing spell.

“I said you get back here!”

But Tessa had no intention of returning to him. She scurried behind Leo’s totaled van, clutching her chest and calming her heart. She looked around, trying to find the exit, but the tree line was too far away. If she started running for the forest now, Hodge would see her, and he would have a clear view to shoot her spine.

Oldie estimated Hodge’s actual location, moved closer, stopped, and waited. He didn’t want to give his prey any funny ideas of running once Hodge heard him coming.

Behind the Explorer, Hodge loaded two more shells into the shotgun. He only had four ammo left. He ran to the nearby Honda and took cover, inching closer to where he believed Tessa had run off. From above, I calculated that he was only thirty-five feet away from the white van and the girl. He wanted to call out her name again, but he knew Old Growth would also hear him.

Hodge rushed behind another car but tripped over a piece of metal buried in the dirt. “Gah!” He let out a strangled yelp as he tumbled and rolled behind the hood, slamming his back against the car door and clanging loudly across the scrapyard. Tessa heard it, got spooked by Hodge’s proximity, and darted out from her hiding place in a panic.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t as quiet.

Hodge heard Tessa’s scurrying footsteps, stood up from behind the hood, and aimed the weapon at Tessa.

The girl skidded to a stop and shrieked, raising her hands up in surrender. “No, no! Wait—!”

Old Growth dashed out of the bushes and jumped on top of the vehicle Hodge took cover behind, bucking the metal roof and shattering the glass everywhere. Some of the shards cut through Hodge’s cheeks, drawing red. The shell missed Tessa completely, and she ducked face-first onto the muddy ground.

“What the fuck!” Hodge staggered back and fell on his butt and gaped at Old Growth’s faceless majesty.

This would be the first time Hodge saw any of my archetypes and what a Dungeon Core could create. He didn’t expect to encounter literal monsters, expecting only deadly traps and possibly humans I had convinced to work on my side, like Maxine or perhaps Alvin. The monsters from myth weren’t real. They were just stories. He was used to fighting other humans and overpowering them with his spells. In a low-magic world like Earth, a sorcerer was untouchable.

How arrogant of him, I thought.

Then, the gravity of the situation hit him like a train. He was all alone in the woods. The rest of his cultists are nowhere to be seen or heard. He had lost contact with them for a long time. In that split second, as he gazed at Old Growth’s looming form, Coach Hodge realized everyone was dead except for him.

A monster pulled out from a nightmare killed all of his associates, maybe even his wife, and he was out of his depth to fight it. I could read him like a book, asking himself, how many monsters had Mark Castle created in this forest? His confidence waned, believing he had control over the situation since he stepped foot into my domain. He was farther from the truth, and ever since they arrived, they were already dead. What he needed was an army of sorcerers. What he needed was Jonas’s men. What he needed was the entire Cult of Astaroth raining down hellfire on my ass.

Too little, too late.

The Seat wouldn’t lend him a hand this early, not when they didn’t know how strong I had become. Resource and knowledge were power to those who hoarded them, and if they lost such paramount resources—such advantage—they would become nothing. They couldn’t risk feeding me all of them. Hodge and his sect were sent here to test my strengths. If Hodge died tonight, one of their celebrated “powerful” members, a man they saw plenty of potential, and I wiped out his sect in one night, well, it would send a clear fucking message.

No matter how strong they think they are, I am ready to face them and feed on them.

I would feed on their most powerful and venerated, starting with Hodge.

Old Growth looked over his shoulder at Tessa, still crouched in the same spot with her arms raised, afraid to make any sudden movement that would cause the creature to attack her instead. Oldie tilted his head and pointed his chin to Trail B.

What are you still doing here, Oldie probably thought. Run, idiot.

Tessa was confused for a second, but thankfully, she got the fucking hint and ran out of the scrapyard.

I wouldn’t let Hodge use Tessa as a meat shield when they reach the Core Tree. I wouldn’t allow him to order her around and pick up the gem herself. I wanted Justin Hodge to do all that—only him. I wanted Hodge to approach the tree, reach in, and grab my Core. I wanted to look him dead in the eyes as I snuffed out all semblance of hope that he won and wasn’t leaving this place alive.

As a permanent resident of Hell, the demon knew what incantation Hodge would use to bind me into his service. A potent spell that Archdevils and high-ranking demons used against one another during their countless hellish wars and petty rivalry. But the spell would take an hour to cast, maybe more depending on the caster’s skills. With Hodge, a mortal human on a planet with less potent Ways, it would take a long time, possibly the entire night, to do it correctly. One misspoken word or phrase, and he had to start over again. It was a spell of volatile invocation.

After all, it took them damn near forever, ritually sacrificing me to become a Death Core. I watched them kill me slowly for hours in the woods. But once Hodge got a hold of me, he’d have to flee my domain and go back to the cult’s arms in Portland. Perhaps that’s where he intended to bind me into a slave for the cult.

Like I said, Hodge was confident he’d win. He hated losing. Hated to feel weak. He grew up thinking he was the chosen one, and once that perverse mentality was ingrained within him, it clouded his judgment.

He glared at Old Growth and shouted, “Ignis!”

A thin bolt of fire shot out of his hand, striking the car Oldie was perched on and exploding upon impact. Oldie was quicker still, avoiding the flames by jumping to the next vehicle and scurrying out of sight.

That was what Hodge needed: a distraction. He scrambled up to his feet and ran down the trail that Tessa pointed out earlier. He was making a run for my Core.

He was making a run for me.

Just as planned.

“In positions, everyone,” I said to my archetypes. “Little Alice found the rabbit hole.”

Tessa didn’t dare stop running down the trail until she saw headlights up ahead. She stopped in her tracks and realized what it was. She dove into the bushes. Tessa wasn’t taking any chances if the monsters learned how to drive a van.

But Leo already saw her. He slammed hard on the brakes and climbed out of the van. “It’s me! It’s me!” Leo said. “I’m not one of them!”

Tessa popped her head out and burst into tears, practically throwing herself into Leo’s arms. She recognized the man who rescued her earlier. “We gotta get out of here!”

“Hey, hey, slow down. Where is he?”

“He’s back down there in the scrapyard. One of those things is with him.”

“Is Eliza with him, too?” Leo asked. He wanted to be sure, although he already expected the answer.

Tessa shook her head. “A killer with a fox mask and an axe got her. We were running, and one thing I know, she was—!” Tessa’s tears streamed down her face. “—she was on the ground, and I just ran for the woods, you know? I was so scared.”

“Hey, hey, it’s okay. You don’t need to explain.” Leo visibly shuddered. “A fox mask? Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. I’ll never forget it.”

“I know who you are talking about. Let’s get you inside.” Leo opened the passenger’s side door and helped Tessa in. He walked to the driver’s side and hopped in as well.

“Oh my gosh! Danny!” Tessa looked behind her and found the boy still sleeping soundly under the blankets she put on him.

“Don’t worry, he’s still with us,” Leo reassured her. “He’s stable. Alive.”

“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s get the fuck out of here!”

“You don’t have to tell me twice.”

But before Leo grabbed the stick shift and reversed the van out of the trail, the radio stuttered and skipped the music to the next one. “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) by Kate Bush, now playing on Spotify,” it said through the speakers.

Leo paused and muttered a curse under his breath.

“What? What’s going on?” Tessa asked. She tried pushing the button to shut off the radio, but the music continued playing.

“I made a deal,” Leo said.

“With Mark?”

“Whoever’s running this place. If I killed that guy, they’ll let us go.”

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“Don’t,” Tessa begged. “You’ve seen what Coach Hodge could do. He can blast fire out of his fingertips and make stuff move with his mind! He’s like Dumbledore or something.”

“He’s no Dumbledore. Dumbledore’s a good guy. He’s more of a Volde—you know what? Doesn’t even matter. You stay here in the van with Danny. I’m gonna go and catch up to him.”

“No, you don’t understand! There are other monsters in the woods that are much more dangerous than him!”

“Like I said, they’re not gonna hurt me.”`

“What if Mark changes his mind? I don’t think he’s human anymore.”

Leo bit the inside of his cheek. “The only difference is if we are dead now or dead later. I’d rather take my chances with the latter. I doubt he’d let us escape if I renege on our deal.”

Right on cue, Oracle manipulated the wirings inside the van and shut the vehicle off. Silence engulfed the cabin.

“See?” Leo pointed at the silent radio. “He’s not gonna let us leave that easily.”

Tessa grabbed his arm. “And you’ll be back?”

Leo studied the dark woods. “I’m not making any promises. If I’m not back in twenty minutes, take your chances with the van and get the hell out.” He left the keys in the ignition. “Sit behind the wheel.”

Tessa nodded. “Stay safe. If we make it out of here, I don’t think anyone’s gonna believe us,” Tessa said.

Leo chuckled. “You know, this is one crazy night. You think they’ll make a movie out of this?”

“Not a lot of people believe in ghosts and monsters.”

“I do now.” Leo opened the door and climbed out. He checked how many bullets he had in his gun and nodded over to Tessa. “Keep your eye on the clock by the dash. Twenty minutes, okay?”

The clock just hit 3:05 AM. “Okay. Twenty minutes,” Tessa repeated. “Wait! Dawn’s at 6 AM. That’s the cut-off.”

“To what?”

“If we make it until dawn, we survive the game. That’s what Danny said to me.”

Leo nodded. “Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.”

Tessa moved over and sat behind the wheel, watching Leo disappear into the woods. She shut off the van’s headlights just in case someone spotted the lights from afar and attacked the vehicle. She still didn’t believe what Leo said that the monsters wouldn’t harm them. I reckoned she was still confused on why Old Growth let her go earlier. Hodge was the bigger and much closer target back in the scrapyard. That made a lot of sense than the creature letting her go.

Tessa shrank into the seat, making herself as small as possible so that no one would spot her through the windows. “Come on, come on. Hurry up,” she muttered to herself. She looked over her shoulder and saw Danny was still curled up beneath the blankets, soundly asleep.

Leo delved deeper into the woods; the van’s headlights snuffed out behind him. He pulled out the flashlight he found inside the glove compartment earlier, following the trail that eventually led him to the scrapyard and the still-burning car. Hodge and Old Growth were nowhere to be seen.

Leo quickly spotted the broken bushes and the narrow trail it hid. He drew the flashlight closer to the broken twigs and leaves, studying the small splatters of Hodge’s blood on its surface. Confident this was the right path, Leo marched faster down the trail to catch up to his target.

“Almost there, Leo. Home stretch,” I said.

All the tricks I had tonight were now gathered into the final basket. I hoped all of this worked out in the end.

Leo heard a lot of shouting up ahead. He slowed and took cover behind a tree, turning off his flashlight. Just at the end of the trail, an otherworldly purplish and red glow emanated, surprising him. He had to compose himself and regain a little bit of his courage to keep going.

“You can do this. You know you can,” Leo hyped himself up.

Leo stepped forward and reached the end of the trail.

A bright orange flare erupted from the palm of Hodge’s hands, keeping back the massive creature made out of roots, bark, and vines. To the right, Goliath lay on his stomach, blasted by one of Hodge’s telekinesis. The giant slowly pulled himself up, crawling toward his fallen axe. The demon, now wearing Melanie’s body, rushed at Hodge, wielding a steak knife while the man was distracted with Old Growth. She stabbed him in the shoulder blade and leaped on top of his shoulders.

“Get off me!” Hodge screeched.

“What’s the matter, honey? This ain’t the first time your face was between my legs!” She wrapped her legs around his head and tried to suffocate him, laughing maniacally. “Use more tongue!” She shouted.

Hodge lost control of the spell, engulfing some of the bushes and the tall undergrowth nearby. The fire spread quickly, and Old Growth jumped on top of the Core Tree’s branches to avoid the slithering blaze, catching more of the bushes on fire. Plant creatures like Oldie were very vulnerable to fire, and he had to watch out for where he stepped next.

Hodge grabbed a fistful of Melanie’s shirt and launched her off him. This didn’t faze the demon, and they used the momentum into a backflip and skidded gracefully onto the dirt next to Goliath’s axe—superhero landing style. Melanie smirked, grabbed the axe, and threw the weapon closer to Goliath’s reach. “Here you go, big boy. Don’t lose your dildo next time,” she said and cackled.

“Get out of my wife, devil! Hodge screamed. “In the name of Astaroth—”

Melanie pulled another steak knife from behind her waistband. “Your mighty lord can suck on your wife’s tits, piss-pot! Yaaahhh!!!” She charged at Hodge again like a bull with nothing left to lose.

Hodge didn’t even hesitate to blast Melanie off her feet with the shotgun.

Melanie’s chest exploded into crimson and guts. She flew and crashed like a rag doll ten feet away from the sorcerer, her face skidding against the rocky ground. Bits of her cheeks folded out like paper, revealing the thin muscles underneath the skin.

Melanie shrieked and jerked on the ground, struggling to get up. “OW! Ow! That fucking hurt, you limp dick cocksucker!” Her gaze landed on Leo standing by the tree line. “Are you waiting for a tap on the shoulder, motherfucker?! Fuck him up!”

Leo ignored Melanie. He stepped out of the shadows and into the clearing and fired the gun at Hodge.

But Hodge raised his arms, and the shield lifted and surrounded him in a split second. The bullets barely passed the barrier, and the last shot shattered the spell’s effects. A trickle of blood came out of Hodge’s nose. He staggered, reeling from the reflexive summoning.

He’s getting weaker, I thought to my surprise and glee.

I could see it now. The difference between a mortal and a Core’s ability to draw power from the Ways was that a Core had a deeper well of endurance. To a mortal’s eyes, I could conjure magic all day without breaking a sweat. Much like I had a limit to how much Power I could use in a scenario, I wondered if a sorcerer had a limit to how many spells they could cast each day.

The System is like a game, I reminded myself. How long does Hodge have to keep going?

I was about to find out.

“Piece of shit!” Leo threw the spent gun away and charged at Hodge, wrapping his arms around the big man’s waist, grabbed hold of his waistband, and hoisted him off the ground. He slammed Hodge’s back onto the earth and climbed over him. The tackle sent them closer to the Core Tree, just an inch past the trigger for a psychic blast.

The Ways shivered and burst out of the Core, and Hodge let out a piercing shriek. A small trickle of blood poured out at the corner of his eyes and out of his ears, his eyes turning bloodshot.

“Wait! Stop—!” Hodge stammered.

Before Hodge could say anything, Leo punched him hard across the jaw, spewing blood out of his lips. I thought I saw a tooth fly out as well. He punched him again as Hodge struggled to get out from underneath Leo’s weight, but with his muscles incapacitated by the blast, his strength betrayed him. He couldn’t get enough of a foothold to push Leo off.

Leo heard the heavy snap of twigs and crunching of leaves behind him, and he quickly ducked and rolled off Hodge as Goliath swung the axe high and slammed the blade down Hodge’s neck.

But Hodge saw him coming, too.

With a second to spare, Hodge rolled away as the axe struck the spot where his head was a moment ago, nicking only the outer edge of his other intact ear. Goliath lifted and raised the axe again, marching toward his prey.

“Redite!” A blast of telekinetic air emanated from Hodge’s outstretched hand, crashing onto Leo and Goliath like a massive tide and throwing them back away from the sorcerer. Both men released some yelps as they crashed onto the ground—the first time I’ve heard Goliath’s muffled roar from behind the mask.

Hodge grimaced as more blood poured out of his nose. He tried to catch his breath. Still grasping the axe with [ Telekinesis ], Hodge sent the axe hurtling toward Goliath, and the blade slammed right at the center of the giant’s sternum. Goliath toppled over onto his back, breathing hard between gritted teeth but, thankfully, still alive.

But the blast knocked Goliath’s fox mask off his face, landing next to his prone body.

I’d never seen Goliath’s true face before: two large scars crossing at the bridge of his nose and one on his right cheek. He had green eyes, short black hair, and a thick, closely-cropped beard. He had a hard, gloomy face, one who had seen too much and yet too strong and stubborn to endure some more.

Leo froze, recognizing him. “Andy?”

Wait, what? Andy? Goliath’s real name is…Andy?

Goliath paid Leo no mind, gritted his teeth, and picked up the fallen mask, putting it over his head. Leo scrambled toward him and helped him to his feet, but Goliath shoved him away, annoyed that he came to help instead of fighting the sorcerer. He pointed at Hodge, who was now climbing up the tree and gazing at the glowing gem inside.

A wide grin spread across his smug and badly beaten face.

“You’re mine!” He said to me.

He reached in, and the gaping hole snapped off his limb like a nutcracker. One moment, his arm was still attached to his body, and a second later, it gripped my Core, but Hodge could no longer move his fingers to remove it until he gazed down at the spurting red stump below his elbow.

It took him another second to register what just happened, and the man let out a howl. “Whheeaaahh!”

Grasping [ Telekinesis ], my Core flew out of his grasp and out of the hole, hurtling toward his right eye. The gem’s sharp edges grazed through his eyeball and at the side of his face. I could feel his warm blood bathing my Core.

[Power: 2/10]

“Yes!” I flew toward Melanie’s waiting outstretched palm—

—but my Core suddenly stopped moving.

As Hodge staggered back and almost fell off the thick protruding roots, he still managed to cast [ Telekinesis ] and mentally grabbed my Core through the air. But his magic was getting weaker and weaker, and he struggled to get a hold of me. In a last-ditch effort, he flicked his hand and threw my Core to the side (and out of the demon’s reach), crashing across the grass. Hodge ran and picked me up, dashing for the woods, no longer suffused by the Ways.

Demon Melanie finally got up and shouted, “He’s getting away!”

But not for long.

I enjoyed watching the small glimmer of joy on his face when he was about to reach the edge of the clearing and saw the ice elemental step out of the shadows. He stopped in his tracks, wide-eyed, as the new creature emerged, cutting off his escape. He looked around for another way out, but he was surrounded on all sides.

He put me inside his pocket and opened the palm of his remaining hand toward the approaching demon, but no telekinetic blast came out.

Coach Hodge was now powerless. He clutched his hand around my Core for dear life.

Siren gleefully laughed behind the ice elemental’s fake mouth as her ghostly eyes gazed down at the helpless sorcerer. She reached down with both hands to touch the ground, quickly turning it into ice. That ice spread out toward Hodge like a lightning bolt. He didn’t even have time to run away as the snapping ice seized and froze his feet, up to his legs, waist, and torso, and rolled down his other intact limb. It sank into his skin, solidifying his muscles and blood vessels like a rock.

“No, no, no—!”

The frost engulfed Hodge entirely into an ice statue, cutting off his screams. He was still alive inside, screaming and slowly suffocating.

There was no escape for him.

Only death.

And that realization plummeted his Resolve to a sweet, sweet crimson glow.

Melanie whooped. “And there it is! Ding, ding, ding! Nice save, Siren!”

From behind, Old Growth leaped from the Core Tree and landed right behind the now-frozen Hodge. He swung his arms down onto the man’s shoulders like two sledgehammers, and Hodge exploded into frozen chunks and tiny shards, scattering all over the clearing.

[ You have gained 5 essences: Justin Hodge ]

[You have gained 750 crystals]

Five essences? Seriously? I usually got one or two. But five? That was the highest one yet.

Melanie let out a surprised whistle. “What a juicy little fuck.” The others gathered around Hodge’s broken and shattered mess.

“I guess killing a powerful sorcerer of Astaroth is worth more by the System,” I said.

“Imagine how much Jonas was worth, eh? Too bad this world didn’t have a large population with a bigger essence count. You’ll have to get it from a president or a senator or something.”

“I don’t care much about that anyway. As long as the people responsible for my murder are dead, I’m satisfied, essence or not.”

Melanie shrugged. “True, but it would still be sweet to have them.”

I smiled. “Yes. Sweet. Oh, thanks for picking me up, by the way. You can put me back in the tree.”

Melanie narrowed her gaze. “I didn’t pick you up yet, my liege. Did anyone see where the gem went?”

Then, who has my—

I turned around. So did the others.

Leo picked up the gem from the grass and glared at us.

“Hey! Give that back!” Melanie exclaimed. Leo took a step back, and the demon’s eyes flashed red. “Oh, you have no fucking idea how much I’ll cut you into ribbons, boy.” Goliath pried the axe off his chest from behind her, ready to throw it at Leo if given the chance.

“You want this?” Leo raised the gem. “Then, you’ll let us go. Andy, too.”

Melanie smirked and gave her own version of a Valley Girl accent. “Oh, the big guy? No, um, I’m afraid he’s not for sale. He’s like a big deal around here. Very good at cutting firewood and also chasing down virgins.”

“I don’t care a lick about your jokes. You let him go! He’s coming with me.”

“What’s he to you?” Melanie asked. “Boyfriend? Classmate? Brother from another mother?”

“Andy, do you remember me? Come on, man. You gotta. Remember Kabul 2020? Oman? Jesus, we served for five years together.”

But Goliath didn’t utter a word nor regarded him with sympathy; his grip around the axe’s handle tightened.

“You’re supposed to be dead, man. We buried you.”

“Hey! Pretty boy! He. Is. Not. For. Saaaaalleeeee,” Melanie repeated. “Now, give me back the gem before Big Dick Energy over here wrenches your spine out of your body from your ass up to your dumb brain. Your choice. Unless you are into that thing. I respect everyone’s kinks. There’s no shame in that.”

Leo looked down at the gem and then back to Goliath. “Is this thing keeping you here? Are you a prisoner?”

“Smash that, and you will pay gravely,” Melanie said with venom.

“So what? Maybe destroying this thing will destroy you, too.”

Melanie folded her arms. “Oh, go ahead. You’re not the first delver who got the bright idea that smashing a Core would destroy it. Do you think that rock is made out of cheap glass? Bitch, please. That’ll take more than a flimsy throw.”

“Then, why are you so worried?”

“Imagine stubbing your toes. Not a very nice feeling, right? And besides, once the gem’s off your hands, we’ll just jump you and kill you. Easy peasy.”

I glared at the demon. “And you had to give him funny ideas.”

Melanie’s smile dropped. “Oops. Sorry. Me and my stupid mouth.”

Leo glanced at the dark woods and the gathered monsters thirty feet before him. He was going to make a run for it.

As much as I was intrigued by the reunion between Goliath and Leo, I got to stop this before it turned into another shit show. I only had a limited amount of Power left to use, and I didn't want them to go to waste. Even though dawn was still less than three hours away, a lot could happen at that time.

Fuck it. I cast [ Heat Surge ].

[Power 1/10]

Immediately, Leo cried out and dropped the gem, sending it rolling across the grass. Siren turned the ground into slippery ice, and the gem slid toward Goliath’s foot. Goliath picked the gem up and handed it over to Melanie.

“Oh, thank you, Big Mac,” Melanie said, putting the gem inside her pocket. She smirked at everyone’s eagerness to pounce at the now-defenseless Leo. No matter how fast he ran, he couldn’t outrun half of the creatures in the clearing.

“We had a deal with him,” I reminded the others. “We had to honor that. He did help us take down Hodge.”

The others looked a bit disappointed, but I noticed their bodies relaxed.

Melanie let out a heavy sigh. “But we did have a deal,” she told Leo.

Leo’s eye twitched. “What? You’re not gonna kill me?”

“We swear.”

“Bullshit.”

Melanie rolled her eyes. “Hey, do you see me right now? I’m a demonic cunt wearing this shit excuse of a human. I have to honor our deal.”

“Demons also lie.”

Melanie pursed her lips. “Um, yeah, that’s also true. But this time, I’m actually telling you the truth. It feels weird, but there you go. We promised not to kill you and that girl. But Big McRib stays with us.”

Something must have broken behind Leo’s eyes, and he held a choking sob. “What have you done to him?”

The demon dropped all her pretenses and her sneering jokes, and gave Leo a genuine sympathetic frown. “Like all of us, he made a deal, and your friend has to honor it.”