Part 13 (1/2)

Elise looked triumphant. ”It works,” she hissed. ”All of you Fates are going to f.u.c.king die.”

The other wolves leaped, slamming into the Fate.

She fell under the a.s.sault. Her body vanished among snapping jaws and s.h.i.+mmering fur, but her scream was carried through the library on torrential winds from the sinkholes.

Elise flashed across the tower and wrenched James to his feet. She clutched his face in both of her hands, and the desperation in her expression sucked away what little breath remained. ”Are you okay? Did Atropos hurt you?”

”Fine,” he squeezed out. ”But-your powers-”

She embraced him tightly for an instant, pressing her ear to his chest as if to listen to the beat of his heart. Her fingers clutched at his back so tightly that it hurt, even beyond the strength of her infernal power.

The demon called Atropos beat away the wolves. Smoke streamed from every wound. As James watched, the injuries struggled to heal slowly-so very slowly, for a creature like her.

The flesh had been completely stripped from her right arm. There was nothing but bone and ichor underneath.

”What in all the h.e.l.ls are you?” Atropos snarled, hand las.h.i.+ng out to seize one of the wolf spirits by the throat.

She could touch it as easily as it touched her. She ripped its throat away.

Elise smashed into the other demon. They pitched over the railing, tumbling toward the fires. The howl of the wolf spirits swirled through the tower as they chased Elise down.

Abel stood on the edge, hands gripping the rail. It didn't look like his mind was with his body-he stared blankly down into the thras.h.i.+ng darkness. Sweat soaked through the collar of his s.h.i.+rt.

James rubbed his throat, sore from the demon's grip, as he staggered toward the Alpha. ”Abel? Are you all right?”

Darkness surged over the side of the mezzanine.

Atropos's face reared over James, too huge, her eyes vast pits and her mouth gaping. She had broken free of Elise and the wolves' a.s.sault. ”Kill the witch!” she shrieked.

Her barely corporeal form smashed into him.

James choked on the anger. The thoughts that struck him weren't rational. Weren't even his thoughts.

But he couldn't stop thinking of how Elise was always f.u.c.king so many other people, trying to make him jealous. Malcolm. Anthony. Lincoln. It wouldn't have been so bad if it hadn't worked, if she hadn't known how much it would hurt-and he would have to kill her for it.

He was going to kill her.

James stumbled backward, overwhelmed by the image of attacking Elise, hurting her, killing her.

No. It's the demon. It's just the demon.

He could see nothing but Atropos and Elise's swollen, bloodied face.

She deserved it. She deserved every ounce of pain.

James didn't even feel it when he stumbled through the sinkhole to Earth.

His feet slipped. The library vanished around him. His heart lifted into the back of his throat and he tumbled into the night, just like Benjamin had.

So many miles down.

As soon as James was on the Earth side of the sinkhole, Atropos's thrall lifted.

It was a long way down.

He had endless seconds to feel guilty for thinking violent thoughts about Elise. Long enough to realize that the burning coastline was rus.h.i.+ng up to meet him. Long enough to wonder if his dying thoughts would be anger at everything that happened in his life.

He couldn't seem to draw a full breath, so he didn't try. James closed his eyes so he wouldn't have to see the ground strike.

But darkness consumed him, and he never hit.

James landed safely amongst a torrent of papers from the Library. Not as hard as he would have landed if Elise hadn't caught him, but hard enough that the impact jolted through his spine like an iron spike.

The pain was good, in a way. It meant he was alive.

Small comfort.

”Good G.o.d,” he groaned, rolling onto his back.

Elise and Abel's landings were far more graceful. The werewolf managed to stay on his feet, spinning with his teeth bared, searching for the Fate that they had left behind. ”Where'd she go? Where's the b.i.t.c.h?”

”She's gone,” Elise said curtly, grabbing James by the wrist and yanking him to his feet. ”The whole Palace is gone.”

She swung a kick at one of the books that she had carried out of Dis, sending it flying across the street. It almost hit Ace, but the dog was fast enough to dodge it.

James scanned the street for b.l.o.o.d.y remains. There was no sign that Benjamin had struck anywhere near them-thank G.o.d.

Beyond that, James wasn't entirely sure where they had ended up. It was some kind of coastal American city. He could smell the salty bite of the ocean. The empty street was buried under inches of muddy ash, most likely as a result of the Breaking.

There was newer damage, too. Fragments of ethereal architecture had crashed into the skysc.r.a.pers, pulverizing at least two structures that James could see. The streets were filled with rubble-some ordinary brick, some of it that white cobblestone. Two blocks down, James could see the glow of flowing magma.

The only reason that he had lived to make it back to that desolation was Abel's intervention.

”Thank you,” James said, extending a hand toward Abel.

The Alpha grunted and walked away from them. When he pa.s.sed Ace, the dog growled and barked.

”Not now, boy,” Elise said, dropping to a crouch with her head cradled in her hands. The pit bull trotted over and licked her. She didn't react, not to pull away or smile or even attempt to pet him.

James watched Abel's back retreat. He seemed so defeated, like he had somehow become physically diminished in the loss of his mate. When he shapes.h.i.+fted into his black wolf form, even that seemed smaller.

Rylie had made him stronger. Now he was weak.

Abel raced away. Neither Elise nor James tried to stop him.

James started picking up books and stray papers. It looked like Elise had grabbed everything off of his worktable before chasing him down, but it was scattered over the entire block. ”Are you all right?” It felt like a strange question to ask, considering that he'd been the one a few seconds from pancaking on the ground.

”No,” she said.