Page 22

Chapter Twenty-Two

I struggled, kicking and flailing and felt a flash of satisfaction when whoever had me grunted in pain before a loud “STOP STRUGGLING” rang in my head.

“Callum?” I went limp with relief.

“Who else?” His hands wrapped around my upper arms, keeping me upright.

“I thought you must be one of Jack’s thugs.”

“I am not. So stay still and I will let you go. Be quiet though. Can you stand?”

I nodded and after a few seconds he let me go, stepping back. I whirled, not believing it was really him. Callum, dressed in his hunting leathers, looking darkly deadly, was the best thing I’d seen all day. I grinned idiotically, resisting the urge to hug him. Until I saw he wasn’t alone. Usuriel stood a few feet behind him, almost blending into the darkness except for the pale gleam of his hair. He, like Callum, was dressed in black leather. His seemed to suck the light out of the air.

My smile died.

“What is he doing here?” I shot Callum a glare.

He scowled back. “Supposedly helping.”

“Why?”

“I am not entirely sure. Nevertheless, he is here and given what I can sense in this place, that is a good thing.”

“It’s rude to converse when others can’t hear you, wolf,” Usuriel drawled.

I ignored him but switched to normal conversation. “How did you find me?”

“Your bracelet. Cerridwen sensed you were in trouble and reached out to Cassandra. Damon had already called her. His team noticed the car you were in taking an unusual route. And then its tracker was cut off.”

“Are they here too?”

“Damon and his…forces are securing the perimeter. The Lady Cassandra and her colleagues are elsewhere in the building. Or they should be.”

“Gwen’s here,” I said. “We have to find her.”

“We have to stop whatever that magic is,” Usuriel said, tipping his head in the direction I’d been headed. “No one is safe if it continues.”

“I think Jack is trying to summon something.”

“Yes. And his protections are strong. But I do not feel the little tanai with him. She was that way,” Usuriel said, jerking his head left.

I stared at him. “You can sense her?”

“I remember what her magic feels like. I know the magic of everyone who has spent time in my realm.” He smirked, reminding me I had spent time in his realm. “She used it not long ago.”

“Jack locked me into a VR again,” I said to Callum. “He might have done the same to her. If he has a way to make it work with a headset. She told me she worked out how to get out, but I don’t know if she can do it every time. Or if Jack’s watching her. He wasn’t watching me. But he said he wanted her, not me. Wants to use her in his summoning.”

“I would imagine he’s quite focused on completing his working,” Usuriel said. “Which does not give us long to stop him. Depending on what ritual he has chosen.”

Callum nodded. “I agree. Jack is the target we need to deal with. Damon’s men have been tasked with finding whoever Jack brought with him. There do not seem to have been many of them.”

“Well, it’s hard to find a bunch of nutjobs who all think playing with demons is fun,” I said, trying to sound as though a large part of me wasn’t screaming inside at the thought of facing another demon. “How do you want to do this?”

“You should make your way outside, find Damon’s men,” Callum said. “Get to safety.”

“That’s not what you’ve been training me for.”

“No, but this is more than you are ready for.”

I scowled at him. “I fought a demon before.”

“You cannot call lightning inside a building. Not without killing everyone else in the room. Usuriel and I have a better chance of stopping Jack. You should leave.” Callum folded his arms across his leather-clad chest.

“I’m not leaving Gwen.”

Usuriel raised a brow at this.

Callum looked resigned. “You are going to be stubborn about this, aren’t you? Like you were in the realm?”

“She still needs help.” He could say whatever he wanted, but I wasn’t changing my mind. I had to change his, so we wouldn’t waste time arguing. “It’s her Jack wants, not me. He needs her somehow. We can’t let him have her.”

“What use does he have for an untrained tanai?” Callum asked.

Right. They didn’t know Gwen was Jack’s daughter. “Untrained makes her more vulnerable,” I said. “Perhaps he thinks he can use her magic somehow to bring the demon through? Bind her, maybe?”

“He would need power over her for that,” Usuriel said sharply. “A bond of magic…or blood.” He stepped toward me. “What hold does he have over her? Did he do something in the game?”

Callum looked at him sharply. I cut him off before he could ask about the game.

“Not as far as I know. She admitted to talking to him. Or someone. I didn’t have time to confirm who it was.” God, had that only been this morning? “But they’ve never met. He couldn’t have bound her without meeting her, could he? She didn’t act like she was under a compulsion. And besides, he’s a witch, not Fae. I don’t even know if witches can do that.”

“Witches can do many things,” Callum muttered. “But we are wasting time.” He turned to Usuriel. “Maggie is right. If Jack wants the tanai, freeing her might be the quickest way to thwart his plans.”

“If he completes the summoning while we try, we will all pay the price,” Usuriel objected.

“You two go after Jack, I’ll find Gwen,” I said.

“You will get yourself killed,” Callum growled.

“Are you saying I’d be safer going with you to face a demon?”

He bared his teeth at me. “You should leave.”

I opened my mouth to argue but a wave of slimy magic pulsed across the room, cutting off my words.

Usuriel and Callum both pivoted toward the magic, like hunting hounds sighting prey.

“Go,” I said. “I’ll find Gwen.”

Callum turned back to me, mouth twisting.

“Go. Stop Jack. I’ll be fine.” That was probably a big fat lie but maybe, being Fae, he wouldn’t realize.

“She is right, s’ealg oiche,” Usuriel said. “We should hurry.”

For once he was on my side. I started to move back to the door, wanting to get out of there before he changed his mind.

Callum caught my wrist. “Wait.”

I tugged at his grasp. “I should go.”

Magic pulsed over me and I gasped. He stepped back. “Some strength for your ward. Now go.”

I ran, every nerve straining as I headed in the direction Usuriel had told me to go, searching for Gwen’s magic, hoping like hell he wasn’t somehow double-crossing us. Whatever Callum had done had strengthened more than my wards. The lingering effects of Jack’s drug and breaking out of the VR had vanished. As I worked my way through a confusing tangle of interconnecting corridors, I caught glimpses of the grounds outside the building, a fleeting impression of a weedy stretch of grass sloping down to a footpath in one spot and more empty parking spots in another. No glimpse of anyone else. If Damon’s security guys were out there, they were doing a damned good job staying out of sight.

I pulled my attention back to my surroundings. Good guys out there, but bad guys in here. Concentrate on them. And Gwen.

A noise up ahead brought me skidding to a halt, arms flailing to stop myself from crashing into the wall. It sounded like something thudding against a surface. Like someone trying to force a door open.

I set off again, scanning the door handles and straining to hear more. I knew I’d found the right one when I spotted one with the lock on the outside, like mine had been. But that made life easy. No need to pick a lock. A quick check for wards—clear, thank God—and I yanked the door open. Gwen nearly fell through, tumbling into me.

I caught her and pulled her close for a hug, feeling her trembling against me, breath shaky. I gave her thirty seconds, then pushed her gently back, to look at her. “Are you okay?”

Her face was tear-stained, her blue eyes bloodshot, the pupils wide with fear. Her hair looked wild as though she’d been pulling on it.

“Yes. It was Jack. Jack’s here. He woke me up, but I couldn’t move. He said something about behaving like a good daughter. You were right, he’s an asshole.” Fury briefly replaced the fear in her eyes. “Then he put a headset on me and he…he locked me into VR. Like you said. But I got out. Thank God. That was awful.” She swallowed hard, stopping her stream of words. “But I couldn’t open the door. Where are we?”

“I’m not sure. But help is here, we’ll be fine.” I tried to sound sure about that, but if Callum and Usuriel didn’t stop Jack, we were all probably dead.

Don’t think about that . We were going to make it out. And I would be making sure Gwen learned how to pick locks, and half a hundred other things to keep her safe, once we did.

“Help? The Cestis?”

“Yes. And Callum. And…Lord Usuriel.” I didn’t want her to panic and try to run if Usuriel suddenly appeared. “They’re here to stop Jack.”

“Good.” She nearly spat the word. “He’s…crazy. He was talking about demons and there was this thing…with him.”

I froze. A thing. “An imp?”

She shuddered. “No. Bigger. It was awful. Kind of gray looking. Gray and wrong. It wanted to touch me, but Jack said ‘no’. It didn’t seem happy.”

Fuck, fuck, fuck . A lesserkind. If lesserkind were already involved we were in deep shit. New plan. Get the fuck out of the building.

This corridor ended in a dead end, but I remembered the exit sign I’d seen before Callum had grabbed me. “We’ll figure out what it was later,” I said. “We’re leaving. This way.”

I half-dragged Gwen after me as I broke into a run, trying not to sprint flat out in deference to her shorter legs. She kept pace with me easily enough, making me vow to copy her more dedicated approach to time on the treadmill.

I retraced my path as best I could, trying to keep the feel of the demon magic on my left, so we were heading away from it. I’d faced a demon on my own once. I knew damned well I’d only survived through desperation and pure luck. And it had cost me the closest thing I’d had to a sister at the time. Nat’s death for my life.

I wasn’t going to make the same mistake. This time, I would save my sister and let the experts deal with the demon.

But all my good intentions came to a screeching halt when we turned into what I thought was the final corridor to find a lesserkind blocking our path.

Gwen’s cry of shock cut off as I shoved her behind me, raising my hands. I had to fight to keep them steady as the lesserkind’s acrid rotting scent, worse than a thousand imps, hit me and it blinked void-black eyes at me. Those eyes were pure evil. Pure malice. They made Usuriel’s seem perfectly human.

“Not so fast, witch.” The words were rough, the s’s hissing faintly over a mouthful of sharp black teeth. Not exactly like the one who’d controlled Ajax. But similar enough. Taller than an imp, built more on human lines, but every angle and curve of its body subtly wrong even without the gray skin and lack of hair.

Bile rose in my throat, sick terror flooding through me.

No. I had to save Gwen. No time to be scared.

Could I kill it? There was a chance. With enough fire, a lesserkind would burn. But I didn’t yet know how to call the kind of white-hot fire the Cestis had used to deal with Ajax’s. But I reached for my magic anyway. If I didn’t try, we would die.

“Foolish witch.” It lifted a hand, its claws glistening like an oil slick under the flickering lights. “You cannot kill me.”

“I can try,” I said.

“Not unless you want the girl to die, too,” the lesserkind said. Its mouth turned up in something that couldn’t be called a smile, but was viciously triumphant. Was it bluffing? I risked a glance over my shoulder, keeping my hands up.

A second lesserkind, stood behind Gwen, holding a jagged black knife to her throat.

Her eyes were wide and frantic as she gagged against the hand over her mouth.

Cold terror swept through me. I turned back, trying to stay calm. “You can’t hurt her. Jack wants her.”

“Jack wants a witch. You will do. Your power is known.”

“My power is mine,” I snarled.

“We shall see. But if you want the small one to live, then you will come with me, witch. No tricks.”

Gwen made a muffled noise of protest but I knew I had no choice. I slowly lowered my hands, nodding. “Okay. We’ll come.”

Presumably it would take us to Jack. And into the path of Usuriel and Callum, I hoped. Maybe even the Cestis.

The lesserkind jerked its head past my shoulder. “We go that way. Start walking.” It pulled a knife to match its friend. “My blade is sharp and I am fast, witch. Do not be stupid. My master will reward you if you serve.”

Reward me with a quick death, most likely. I wouldn’t let it take me. I’d rather die. But Gwen…I couldn’t watch her die first. I had to try to keep her safe.

Swallowing down the acid sting of lesserkind stink and bile at the back of my throat, I turned. The second lesserkind—thinner and more mottled gray—began to drag Gwen backward, lifting her with ease, so that only the tips of her toes trailed along the carpet, giving her no chance of getting enough purchase to try and fight back. Probably just as well. I was relying on Jack needing her alive, but a lesserkind could kill in a second if it lost its temper. One had killed Ajax with a single blow. Gwen was safer if she didn’t struggle.

Her eyes were closed. I didn’t blame her. I didn’t want to look, either.

But I had no choice. My lesserkind shoved me forward, moving fast until we were in the lead. The thought of the knife at Gwen’s throat was enough to stop me trying anything even as my instincts screamed at me to fight or run. Instead, I just walked, the lesserkind’s knife pressing into my jacket every time I slowed.

Instead of heading straight toward the demon magic, we went around, leaving through an exit door and going up a flight of cement fire stairs before entering again a floor above.

Did they know the others were here? The Cestis and Riley Arts? Or Callum and Usuriel?

With every step, I hoped someone we knew would appear.

Someone who could help us. Save us.

I would have even welcomed Usuriel with open arms. But there was nothing but more empty corridors and the feel of demon magic growing stronger. Every time I glanced back at Gwen, the sight of tears running down her cheeks felt like a gut punch even though I tried to take it as a good sign. If she was scared enough to cry, I hoped it was a sign she was still the one in charge, that the lesserkind hadn’t invaded her mind and seized control.

My shields were slammed shut as tightly as I could slam them. So far I hadn’t felt any attempt to breach them from the lesserkind. It knew Gwen was enough to buy my cooperation.

Fear had turned my heart into a jackhammer. The sensation of demon magic was growing, the feel of it feeding my fear as the wrongness of it made every nerve in my body rebel against taking one step closer.

But I did it anyway. Though I moved as slowly as I could, considering there was a lesserkind with a knife at my back and another with a blade at my sister’s throat. But any half second I could buy us was a chance for the Fae or the Cestis to reach us.

When we finally stopped at a door with a half-faded sign that read Oakes Conference 1 , I nearly laughed. A freaking meeting room. Jack was summoning a demon in a goddamned meeting room? It would have been funny if I wasn’t so scared.

I’d spent a lot of hours in anonymous meeting rooms in countless client offices over the years. Now I might die in one. I bit back the choked sound of half-hysterical amusement rising in my throat. The lesserkind carrying Gwen approached the door and it swung inward.

It was a larger room than I’d expected. About forty feet or so long and twenty wide. There was a second door in the far wall, but it was otherwise empty of anything you’d expect to find in a conference room.

Instead there was only Jack, crouched inside a glowing white circle that burned my eyes. He was using chalk to carefully inscribe a second circle with a series of symbols that resembled runes. Only a lot nastier looking than any rune I’d learned. The shape was almost complete.

Fuck. How long did we have until he finished?

The magic, whatever it was, filled the room, battering my senses. It made me want to spit, as though it was physically crawling into my mouth. I stopped in my tracks, then jerked as the tip of the lesserkind’s knife pressed into my spine.

The lesserkind prodded me forward and his companion dragged Gwen closer to the circle.

Jack glanced up and his face darkened. “What are they doing here? I don’t need her yet.”

“Found them,” the lesserkind behind me said. It was close enough that its breath blew across the side of my face. “Both free.”

“Free? How?” Anger burned in Jack’s eyes but he didn’t move, holding his chalk in place.

Right. So he couldn’t move or he’d ruin his spell.

“Do not know. But we brought them here. No time to waste.” The lesserkind sounded annoyed.

The one holding Gwen turned an assessing gaze on the circle. The expression reminded me lesserkind weren’t stupid like imps.

“Almost ready,” it said to Jack. “Time to bind her or break her and be done.”

Jack’s face twisted. “Fine. Give me a minute.”

He went back to drawing, his hand moving more rapidly. His forehead glistened with the faintest sheen of sweat.

Given the room was even colder than the rest of the building, perhaps Jack wasn’t quite so sure of himself after all.

Or else the magic was taking more from him than he might have expected.

So strong. I had no idea how to break it. Gwen’s eyes were open, but she was staring at Jack. She didn’t know enough magic to help.

Think.

After a minute or so, Jack made a final decisive stroke and lifted the chalk. The glowing ring of light became a column, the magic stretching from floor to ceiling, a ward against whatever he was going to do inside the circle. It was still translucent, so I had a perfect view of the smug smile on Jack’s face as he slowly rose to his feet.

My hands flexed with the urge to punch him as he took a deep breath and wiped his forehead, tucking the chalk into a pocket

“All right.” He moved to the edge of the circle and pushed a hand through the ward. “Give her here.”

“No!” I yelled as the lesserkind with Gwen shoved her toward Jack. He caught her hand and yanked her into the circle. How had he pulled her through the ward? It was strong. Stronger than any ward I’d felt. Was it keyed to her already? What had Usuriel said? Something about blood? Fear fogged the memory, and I couldn’t bring it back. Not with Gwen now inside the ward with Jack. Helpless.

She stayed still for a moment, as though dazed, before her attention snapped to Jack.

His smile widened. My hands twitched again. I wanted to rip his heart from his body. Rage burned back the fear a little. But there was still nothing that I could do.

“Now then, daughter. You can do this the easy way or the way that neither you nor I will enjoy so much. The demon won’t care. They don’t mind pain. But I don’t want to hurt you, Gwen. I just need your magic,” Jack said.

“No!” She stepped away from him, moving closer to the center of the circle. His hand clamped over her wrist, pulling her back to him.

“Uh-uh,” he said, wagging a finger at her. “You don’t want to stand there. Especially not once we get started. If you help me, you’ll live. You’ll benefit, even. You can stand at my side when I have everything. I’ll make up for all the years we’ve lost. But that spot in the center? Nothing will survive there once it opens.”

Opens? I stared at the ward, trying to understand the magic. There was a kernel of witch power to it, but the demon magic twisted everything. I had no more chance of pulling it down than I did of flying across the room to save Gwen.

Where the fuck were Callum and Usuriel?

Gwen, to my surprise, hauled back with her free hand and slapped Jack across the face. Hard. Hard enough that his head rocked back and she cried out from the impact. “Why the fuck would I help you?” she snarled.

I grinned viciously, unable to stop myself.

“Little bitch.” His own hand swung, but before I could react—try to warn Gwen—Usuriel stepped out of a patch of nothing, a long black sword at the ready. It glowed with something like icy fire and he cut the lesserkind that had held Gwen in half as easily as slicing through butter. Black blood sprayed everywhere as the two halves fell, a streak of it spattering across his face, shockingly dark against his skin.

The lesserkind holding me screeched in outrage. Acting on instinct, I rammed my elbow behind me and then launched myself toward the circle when the lesserkind let me go. Usuriel pivoted, then launched past me, sword swinging. There was another screech, a flare of magic and then another wet thunk, just as someone grabbed me around the waist, stopping me from hitting the ward, swinging me back.

“Stop,” Callum growled.

I struggled, arms stretching toward Gwen. “Let me go .”

“You can’t get through it,” he snarled. “It will kill you.”

I stared up at him and then twisted back to Gwen. My sister was crumpled at Jack’s feet, one hand on her cheek. The bastard had knocked her down.

“I’ll kill him,” I snapped.

“ We will kill him,” Callum corrected. “Now, clear your mind if you want Gwen to survive this.”

Usuriel joined us, still holding his sword ready. It was no longer on fire, but black blood was dripping from the blade.

“I didn’t know you could kill lesserkind with a sword,” I said.

“You could not,” he said, his attention fixed on Jack and Gwen. “But I am not you.”

Ugh. Even when he was doing the right thing, he was annoying.

But I’d deal with him later. Jack first. He stared down at Gwen, not moving to help her, face impassive. She was crying again. My hand flexed. I wanted to snatch Usuriel’s sword and cut Jack down. But it wouldn’t work if I couldn’t get through the ward. Me dying wouldn’t help her.

Feeling as helpless as Gwen looked, I watched her. Then movement on the other side of the circle caught my eye. Lizzie’s face appeared. Then Cassandra’s. And Ian and Radha. I stared, thinking for a moment I must be imagining them. But Lizzie gave me a fierce smile and tilted her head to the far door. Where Damon stood, a gun in his hand aimed squarely at Jack. Next to him was Mitch, gun in one hand and the other on Damon’s shoulder. I didn’t need to be able to hear to know that Mitch was telling his boss not to do anything stupid.

Good. Mitch would keep Damon safe, if at all possible. So I could focus on Gwen.

“The gang’s all here”, I muttered. Thank fuck for that. “What now?” I asked Callum.

Jack’s head snapped toward me. He was smiling again. A shark’s smile. And as much emotion as a shark behind his iceberg eyes. He was certainly not bothered by the appearance of the Cestis. Damn. He really trusted his ward. But he’d trusted his tech, too. We’d broken that.

He bent and hauled Gwen to her feet again. “Now, I use this stupid girl for the reason I had her birthed in the first place. None of you can enter the circle. It’s locked with my blood. None but mine can enter.”

Across from me Cassandra stiffened. She turned her gaze on me, making a tiny nod at the ward.

The ward locked with Jack’s blood. And he didn’t know I was his daughter. I could use that, surely. I just had to wait for the right moment. I braced myself, not taking my eyes off Jack.

He pulled a knife from his belt and pressed it into Gwen’s throat. “Now, where were we, daughter? I was explaining to you that it would be foolish to choose the hard way. I’ll give you a moment to reconsider. But first, a drop of your blood.” He moved the blade, slashing it down toward Gwen’s hand. A line of red blood appeared and he caught drips of it on the blade while Gwen stood frozen in shock.

Jack flicked the knife again and three drops spattered in the dead center of the circle, forming a triangle that flared blue-black like the heart of a flame, before sinking into the floor. The floor immediately started to move, swirling like mist. The stink of demon magic grew stronger, fouling the air, making me want to retch or spit.

Jack started talking to Gwen, or chanting, or maybe both, guiding them both closer to the edge of the circle, standing beside her not behind. She watched him like he was a monster from her darkest nightmares, too terrified to look away. The misty patch on the floor expanded, started to turn to black fog and a buzzing like a million enraged wasps filled the air.

If I was going to do something, I didn’t have long.

“He said, ‘locked with his blood’, right?” I said to Callum. Jack’s blood. Which ran in my veins. He’d pulled Gwen through. Maybe I could cross it, too.

“Yes. But that does not help us unless you have some on hand. We can break the ward with enough time. Cassandra will begin shortly. Wait.”

The center of the circle was almost transparent, a dark void that made every instinct I had scream at me to run. Gwen was crying, shaking her head. Underneath the demon magic I could feel Jack’s magic, more human, but corrupt somehow. He was slamming it at Gwen. If she broke—if she gave in and let him take her magic—it would be all over. We’d all die.

“No time.” I snatched one of Callum’s daggers from the sheath at his hip and sliced my palm open. Blood welled up and it stung like hell but I ignored it. Jack hadn’t noticed, too focused on Gwen.

Hoping like hell I was right and not about to die, I let the dagger fall and bolted for the circle, hand outstretched. I registered Damon shouting my name, then there was a snapping hiss as the blood on my hand connected with the magic, then a flare of pain like acid, but the ward parted, letting me in.

Jack spun as I broke through the ward, mouth dropping open. A blast of magic from behind shoved me forward, so I crashed into Gwen and Jack. Desperately, I reached for Gwen, twisted the two of us to try to stay clear of the roiling bubble of darkness in the center of the circle. It was starting to expand. And the column of light looked…fainter. Had I broken the ward? Or at least damaged it so it might break? I could feel the magic the Fae and the Cestis were pouring at it, a pounding sensation that rang through me like a huge bell tolling. Maybe I had done something. Enough to give the others a starting point to break the ward entirely.

Not that I intended to stay inside it while they did. Not with demon magic still pulsing around us, stronger with every breath. I shoved Gwen toward the ward, pushing her out, away from the bubbling fog and demon stink, hoping like hell she’d run. Be safe. Survive. Even if I didn’t.

“You! How?” Jack snarled from behind me. I whirled to face him, saw the deadly gleam of knife in his hand.

I barely had time to wish I’d kept Callum’s dagger before Jack lunged at me.

I dodged instinctively, all the months of training with Callum paying off. As Jack stepped past me, I pivoted and kicked, connecting solidly with his arm. The knife went flying, landing in the circle of fog and vanishing.

I had no time to celebrate that small victory. Jack lunged again, landing a punch on my left shoulder which made me yelp. But I wasn’t left-handed, and I snapped back a punch of my own, catching his stomach. He fell back, off balance, wheezing and staring at me.

Didn’t think I could fight, did you?

My focus narrowed to just him, all the tactics Callum had drilled into me running through my head. Before I could make a move, there was a blinding flash of white and the ward vanished. The buzzing stopped for a second, then seemed to redouble, making my spine crawl as the circle of fog crept outward.

“Maggie, get back .”

Damon’s voice. I obeyed it without thinking.

A gunshot cracked, cutting through the buzz, Jack crumpled forward, clutching his side. His knees hit the edge of the fog and his eyes widened in terror. “No!” He tried to jerk back but the black fog flowed over him, around him, and then swallowed him whole.

The sense of demon magic vanished so quickly, it was like I’d gone deaf.

I stood trembling, staring at a charred circle of cement where the fog had been. The symbols Jack had drawn had vanished. So had he.

I lifted my head and my eyes found Cassandra’s. “What the hell just happened?”

“A summoning can’t work without the summoner,” she said, somewhat wide-eyed. “And he’s…gone.”

“Dead?” I asked. My gaze sought Damon’s. His gun was still raised and the harsh satisfaction on his face told me he was the one who’d shot Jack.

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Cassandra said. “Though demons don’t generally deal kindly with those who disappoint them.”