Page 134 of Take You Home

Can’t die like this.

“What about‍—‍?” Everyone turns to face Micah. His face is scrunched up, like he’s trying to remember something. “Okay, hear me out. Can anyone here summon a demon from Tamaros? Not just open an interdimensional rift, but actually summon and‍—and compel one?”

The entire atmosphere in the room shifts. “Yes,” Bryant says slowly, her eyebrows pulling together. “But how wouldthathelp?”

“And‍—‍” Micah presses his lips together. “Is there a way to compel the demonbeforeit gets to Earth? To command it to do something in Tamaros?”

Gregorio’s eyes sharpen. “What are you getting at?”

“The Fount of Blessings,” Micah says, and the familiar name rocks through Chester. “It can heal all wounds and break all curses, right? So that means‍?—‍”

“‍—‍that means it can probably breakthiscurse, too,” JJ breathes, his eyes snapping to Cass. “Well? Can we?”

Cass looks like he’s about to be sick. “I hate the thought of condemning another demon to be stuck here for eternity,” he says, “but‍—but if the alternative is losing Obie, then I think we have to try.”

“Butcanwe?” Naomi’s jaw works. “I thought demons had to be in this dimension before they could be compelled.”

“Same,” Sawyer says quietly. “But maybe that’s just because no one’s ever tried?”

“One way to find out.” Ez’s eyes cut to Roma. “I’ve never done this before.”

“Me, neither,” Roma says, already zipping through the spellcasting resources on her cell phone. “But wecando it, hypothetically. The only question is‍?—‍”

“‍—‍whether we can compel a demon before it arrives on Earth.” Ez takes a deep breath. “But we should be able to stop the summoning if we realize that we can’t. We won’t be trapping a poor demon here if this doesn’t work.”

Roma passes her phone to Ez, letting her skim over the spell. “Dry run?”

“Dry run,” Ez agrees curtly, straightening her spine. “From the depths‍?—‍”

“‍—‍to the sky‍?—‍”

As the two of them race through the incantation, Chester pulls Obie closer against him.Obie? Baby, can you hear me?

It takes a long few seconds for a weak voice to twine through Chester’s head.Puppy.

Chester’s eyes sting.Yeah, Obie, it’s me, it’s‍—it’s your puppy. I’ve got you, okay? I‍?—

Chester, this… really hurts.Obie’s voice is strained, and the fact that he’sadmittingthe words makes Chester’s chest clench.I‍—I don’t think I’m making it out of this.

Chester buries his face in Obie’s hair, squeezing his eyes shut.No. No, you’re going to stay with me, understand? We’ll figure out how to save you. All your friends, everyone who loves you‍—we’ll figure out how to save you. Please, just‍—just hang on, okay?

I don’t regret it.Obie’s fingers twitch when they’re fisted in Chester’s shirt.Okay? I don’t regret saving you. It was worth it.

“Stop trying to say goodbye, youjackass,”Chester whispers into Obie’s hair.

Obie’s whimper of pain sounds just alittlelike a laugh. Futilely, Chester hopes that means he can hang on a little longer.

“All right,” Ez says, setting her feet and lifting her hands. “For real this time. From the depths‍?—‍”

Roma matches her stance. “‍—‍to the sky‍?—‍”

The two of them flow seamlessly through the spell, their months of dual spellcasting turning the incantation into a dance. Within seconds, the familiar purple-gold of a rift to Tamaros swirls to life in the middle of the room.

Ez scowls at it, craning her neck. “I can‍—I canseeit. I can see the Fount from here. If we can just get a demon‍—anydemon‍—Roma?”

Roma is whispering what sounds like an interdimensional tracking spell under her breath. Abruptly, she stills. “Found one. Help me try to compel her.”

Nausea licks up Chester’s throat. He knows how difficult this must be for Ez especially, knows that tearing a demon away from their home is something that she would never wish upon her brethren, but‍?—