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Sarai wasn't as dumb as I hoped. She returned fifteen minutes or so later with Rue and a group of humans, some of whom were the vampire hunters Losuc returned to her. They took me from the cell and left a frothing Killian behind, casting curses and vows of retribution after us.

“He's very passionate,” Sarai said as she escorted me down a corridor.

Rue had added handcuffs—magic-dampening of course—to my ensemble before he removed my leg shackle. He was at my back, guiding me forward with a heavy hand on my shoulder. I had been busy fantasying about burning that hand to cinders when Sarai spoke.

“Yes, Killian is passionate about everything he does. We don't call him Kill just because it's a shortening of his name.”

Sarai laughed delicately. “Was that a subtle threat?”

“Not at all. It was a bold, in-your-face threat. Anu charged Killian with guarding me. So, not only does he have love driving him but also divine decree.”

“Too bad God has forsaken you.”

The words were almost biblical and sent a shiver down my spine. I was angry with Anu and I'd said some terrible things to him. Thought them too. But ours was a relationship like that between parent and child. I knew I could say those things and be forgiven. Just as he knew he could pull some stupid shit, but I'd forgive him eventually. So, even though I'd said—and meant—that he wouldn't be showing up for me this time, I didn't think he'd forsaken me. Anu . . .

“Would never,” I whispered in revelation.

“What was that?” she asked.

I lifted my chin and grinned at her. “I am Anu's sword, and he is my shield. It's a sacred vow between us. He will never forsake me.”

“You've changed your tune.” Sarai's words sounded confident, but her expression had shivered.

“Not at all. I said he probably wouldn't show up because we had a fight. But I never said he had forsaken me. If I need God, he'll be there. He may not come himself, but he will protect me. He is my shield.”

“Well, then. I look forward to meeting God. Because I assure you, you will need protection.”

“Uh, excuse me, but what are you talking about?” one of the humans asked. “Why does this vampire think God will protect her? And why do you think he'll show up for her?”

“Yeah,” a few of the others added.

I glanced back at them and laughed. “I'm not a vampire, you fools. Vampires don't exist. This bitch has been using you to trap and kill Witches —humans born with magic. All those people you captured for her are innocent. They’re not murderers. You, however, are accessories—”

“That's enough!” Rue growled, digging his fingers into my shoulder.

“Hey! We want to hear what she has to say!” One of them pushed Rue.

Rue didn't budge. Instead, he turned toward them and bared his teeth.

“He's one of them!” someone shouted.

“Well, shit! You finally got something right,” I exclaimed. “Yes, Rue is a Witch. He's a Pack Witch—you know them as werewolves. Now, werewolves do exist. But, as I said, they're Witches.”

The humans gaped at me, then the whole of them buckled like a startled beast.

“Stop!” Sarai held out her hands as her voice rumbled through the cement corridor.

Everyone went quiet.

“She is not a vampire, but she is a Demon,” Sarai said. “I am toying with her. God is not her shield, nor will he come to her aid. He doesn't help Demons.”

“Uh, yes, he does,” I said. “Because he made Demons and Angels as two races. They're his people as much as humans are.”

“Do you hear this nonsense?” Sarai waved at me.

I grimaced, realizing my mistake. These humans weren't ready for the truth. They couldn't wrap their minds around it. They wanted to be the good guys, fighting for mankind. And people will do a lot to preserve their beliefs.

Sure enough, Sarai got them under control, and we were soon marching again. But I wasn't worried. Dax was on his way with a rescue team. They couldn't be that far. They'd get there before Sarai did whatever it was she was planning. Help always arrived in the nick of time for me.

That thought, combined with my earlier one about Anu, brought a warmth to my chest. He had manipulated me, and I was damn angry about that, but he had also saved me many times. Like on our last mission, when he compelled Extinguisher Connor Teagan to use his Bilocation Magic to find me and free me when I was bound to a chair by a madman. He had even brought people back from the dead for me in traditional Anu style. Damn it, he was reeling me back in, wasn't he? No, this couldn't be a set-up. Could it? Either way, it served to remind me of all God had done for me and mine. Maybe I needed that reminder.

Then we came to a door. The room beyond was something out of a horror flick. Shelves lined the wall, full of suspicious items, several of which were preserved in liquid. It was dark, of course, lit by lanterns that hung from chains. Black cement, painted with white arcane symbols stretched under my feet, leading us to an altar. An honest-to-God altar. Well, I suspected that it didn't have anything to do with honesty or God, but you know what I mean. It was hardcore—black stone, big enough for a body, ringed by candles set in standing holders, and equipped with shackles that hung from the four corners.

“Wow. An altar. Aren't they reserved for worship? What's a sorceress doing with an altar?”

“It's traditional. And it makes killing people easier. If it helps, think of it as a worktable,” Sarai said so casually that I had to laugh.

“Murder jokes! Girl, don't make me like you.”

Sarai grinned back, but she also motioned Rue forward. He lifted me onto the altar. I fought, but it was only to waste time. He got me shackled in the end, and there I was, strapped to an altar like a virgin, waiting for the Devil to appear and claim his sacrifice.

Whoa. Wait. I didn't mean that. Damn, Anu was good.

And that's when an alarm went off.

Sarai and Rue pulled out their cell phones and tapped the screens. Rue cursed.

Sarai pointed at the door. “Go! Gather the army and circle the house. Keep the vampires out for as long as you can.”

The humans ran out, some of them glancing at me as they did.

I waved, the chain rattling. Then said in a sing-song, creepy tone, “They're not vampires.”

To Rue, Sarai said, “Have the Demon reset the hakhil as many times as he can. Hold them off and seal the basement.”

Rue kissed her, then ran after the humans.

After he left, I started laughing.

“Shut up!” Sarai hissed.

“Oh, come on! You know who's out there, don't you? Only one man can drop a hakhil that fast.” I lifted my head to grin at her and waggle my brows. “The Devil's on your doorstep. He's come for his sacrifice. Me!” I laughed again, hooting with it since it had been exactly what I'd been thinking.

Sarai slapped me.

I grimaced at her. “Not cool. You gloated. I get to gloat.”

“Not when you're shackled to my altar, you don't.”

“Yeah, all right, I'll give you that.”

She snorted. “Does nothing crack your confidence?”

I sighed. “Let me tell you something that I don't normally tell the villains—I've been through some shit.”

“I'm not a villain. I just want what every human wants—more life. And we've all been through some shit. You're not special.”

“Ah, but that's where you're wrong. I am special, but I'll tell you a secret about specialness. It comes with heavy responsibilities and, even worse, consequences for not coming through on those responsibilities. I can't tell you how many times people have tried to murder me. I've lost count. I've been captured, tortured, seen my husbands and children put in jeopardy, and lost both of my parents—one was killed by a pack of fairy dogs and the other was murdered by my uncle and made into a zombie. Yup, a zombie. I've saved this world from lunatics and zealots. I've freed Hell from the OG Devil, Lucifer Morningstar. I've stopped an apocalypse three times. I've even held the Arma Christi in my hands. Do you know what that is?”

“No,” Sarai murmured, her expression rapt.

“It was a collection of three unholy, extremely powerful relics—the Crown of Thorns, the Spear of Destiny, and the Four Nails that bound Christ to the cross.”

“Was? What happened to them?”

“People tried to use them to conquer the world, so I had to destroy them with God's Light. Did Rue tell you what Anu's Light can do?”

“He said it could incinerate anything.”

I nodded. “That sums up one of its facets. But it can do a lot more than that.”

Sarai stared at me, then she shook herself and headed for a big desk pressed against the wall. There was a book there—big and black. Had to be the one we'd been looking for. She opened it, using a velvet bookmark to go straight to the page she needed. The sorceress was prepared.

As she gathered her ingredients and muttered to herself, I sent my senses out . . . and felt nothing. Right—I was cut off from my magic. But I had a feeling my team was out there playing hakhil hopscotch—Star kept breaking them while Sarai's enslaved Demon replaced them. Even if that enslaved Demon was successful, he'd tire soon. And my rescuers would doubtless gain ground with every broken shield. I just had to survive until they made it to me.

Sarai started to chant.

I started to sing “There's a Hole in My Bucket”—the most annoying song I knew. I knew it and its powers of annoyance because I have children.

The chanting stopped. The sorceress glared at me. I kept singing. The song makes it impossible to concentrate on anything else. Bwahahaha! Mommy power!

Sarai fetched something, stepped over to me, and wrestled with me until she got it in place—a gag. I made sounds through it, but they weren't enough to distract her. She restarted her chanting. Dang it.

I watched as Sarai mixed her potions and powders, my eyes widening when the mixture created colored smoke or sparked. It was a great show, but I could also feel power building in the air. Not with my psychic senses, mind you, but with normal human senses. It both tickled and laid heavy upon my skin. Whatever Sarai was doing, it was working.

What else could I do? How could I thwart her? I had run out of tricks. And then Sarai turned toward me with a glowing dagger in her hand.

Time was up, and no one was there to save me.

Maybe I was wrong. Maybe Anu really would let this happen. Not interfere, as asked. He could always find himself a new champion. Shit. I was going to die. I'd never see my babies again. I’d never hold my husbands. My father would have to mourn me. Parents should never have to bury their children.

My eyes filled with tears.

It was for the best. Full of tears, I couldn't see Sarai clearly. I knew she was crossing the room, coming to kill me. I saw her blurry form get closer. Then I closed my eyes and felt the tears slide down my cheeks. Steeling myself, I cut off the flow. I'd be damned if I let that murdering sorceress see me cry.

Through my closed lids, light burst. My eyes shot open to see a ring of fire circle the altar. And this was no ordinary Johnny Cash ring. Within the flames stood several Demons. And they weren't ordinary Demons either. All of them were in the torture forms, ready to lay the pain.

Oh, how I loved monsters!

The flames died down, revealing the soldiers from Hell. Cloven hooves clicked on the cement, barbed tails lashed at the air, and claw-tipped wings rustled as they closed. The King of Demons stepped forward and grabbed the sorceress by her throat. No hesitation. Just blammo! Claws to flesh. Honey, I'm home. Time to pay the Devil his due.

Massive and magnificent, Astaroth shone in the dark room. Even without my psychic abilities, his sovereignty was apparent. Crown? He don't need no stinkin' crown. Star glanced at me, green eyes glowing like supernatural acid, then focused on the woman he held several feet above the ground.

“Sacrifice accepted,” the Devil said. He brought Sarai closer to say, “And I don't mean Seren.”

Sarai started to scream and claw at Star. He let her struggle, cocking his head to enjoy the show.

“How many people have you murdered in this room, sorceress?” He lifted his horned head and sniffed the air. “That many? Oh, you will have a lot to look forward to on Hell. And I do mean on, not in. Hell is a planet and the torture fields are vast. But I have a special place reserved for you.”

Sarai went still, her eyes wide, and the sound of dripping liquid came. I cranked my neck to see a puddle of piss forming below her.

“Every scream, every ounce of torment, every plea for mercy will be paid for with pain,” Star went on. “God does not keep a tally, but I do, Sarai Morgan. I see your every sin, and I will personally ensure that your debt is paid tenfold.” Then he squeezed.

Blood gushed as razor-sharp claws sliced through human flesh. Sarai's head fell into an unnatural angle, and somewhere nearby, a wolf howled—a lone wolf.