Page 85 of How To Take Down A Cult At The End Of The World

I laugh. “That’s actually kind of genius. You’re a genius.”

“Don’t I know it.”

“Come on, Jaak is hurt and I want to get him healed. I’m hoping as soon as I get his wounds tended to his demon healing will do its thing and we’ll be okay again.”

We leave the kitchen and walk back to Jaak. The whole time Charlie is looking around the hallways and up at the ceiling. “Is it watching us?”

“Yeah, probably. I mean, it’s kind of everywhere,” I say, gesturing around us.

“Interesting. So it can understand me.”

A door we’re passing opens and shuts twice. Charlie screams and tucks and rolls away from the door with surprising speed.

“Your reflexes are getting better,” I tell him, walking past.

“Holy shit, the house can understand me.” He gets to his feet and staggers after me. “I gotta work out a communication system with it.”

I don’t say a word while he starts tapping on the walls and telling the house to tap twice for yes and once for no. Even though Charlie just got here, I feel better. Like a part of me that was missing is back.

Everyone is okay, I tell myself. Everyone is safe. You can still fix this, Meadow. All you have to do is save the world.

Chapter Thirty One

“So, when you said that Wrath was hurt, like how bad?” I ask as I pick glass out of Jaak’s shoulder. He just tried to magic it out but it wouldn’t budge.

“This was arcanely done. Powerful magic if I’m not able to use mine to remove the glass. Our enemy's power grows.”

I don’t want to know what kind of magic is more powerful than Jaak’s so I’m not thinking about that. I’m picking glass out of his shoulder with the tongs and bowl the house helpfully had Charlie get from the other room.

“Pretty bad. He was,” Charlie swallows and shakes his head before he looks away and out the front window, “There was so much blood. I thought-weallthought he wasn’t going to make it at first but he’s okay now. Sunday helped patch him up, even though she’s pretty banged up too. Elijah is nursing them back to health.”

My heart squeezes. I can’t imagine what the scene looked like. What Wrath looked like to Buffy. I look at Jaak’s bloody back and I feel sick. This is bad enough. What is Buffy going through right now?

“How’s Buffy?”

“On a rampage. You know the Harbinger.”

I smile and nod. “I do. Is she on the way? I wish I was there with her. I know she’s torn up about Wrath. Anyone would be.”

“She is. She blames herself for trusting Roy and the others, and to answer your question, no, she won’t be coming. I came on my own. Buffy went after the traitors and I personally hope she tears them limb from limb. She was dealing with them in town, so I decided to handle this.”

“Charlie, that's dangerous. You can’t be out here on your own. Anything could have happened to you in those woods with your demon twig.”

“It’s Demon on a Stick, thank you very much and you really gotta believe in me more, Meadow. I can hold my own and right now we’re spread thin, so a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.”

“What about your mind? Any episodes?”

He shakes his head. “No, I’m good. I felt a little lightheaded the second we got through the trees and into the front yard. Figured that was a good sign the book was near.”

I nod and drop another piece of glass into the bowl at my feet. “It’s in the basement. We hid it there and Jaak has been laying wards so I think it’s safe for now.”

“I’ll have to strengthen the wards before we go to meet the mage for our final battle.”

Charlie pales and looks between me and Jaak. “Wow, wait a minute. Final battle. I just got here. What do you mean, final battle?”

“What happened to a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do?” I ask him.

“That was before I knew we were at the final boss of the campaign. My nervous system really can’t handle all of this.”