The eagle's talons dug into his chest for purchase, and Constantine stopped trying to fight. His free hand came up to touch the bird's wing, gentle even as Caesar tore chunks from his arm.
Caesar's beak struck his throat.
Constantine's eyes went wide. His hand was still on the eagle's wing when the beak tore through his windpipe. The eagle didn't notice. Couldn't notice. He was just a wild animal trying to escape the thing trapping him.
Constantine's mouth worked. No sound came out except the wet whistle of air through the hole in his throat. His hand fell from Caesar's wing and reached toward the bird's head one last time.
Caesar pecked at the reaching fingers and tore out a fingernail.
I walked forward. Rafael's hand tightened in mine, but he didn't stop me.
Constantine's lips moved. Blood poured from his mouth, from his throat, from everywhere.
I raised my club and crouched down so he could see my face. "I might not have had a choice before," I said, "but I do now."
I brought the club down. Bone cracked. Constantine's body went limp. His hand fell away from Caesar and hit the floor, fingers twitching once before going still.
Caesar looked up at me, feathers matted in blood and still chained to his master's corpse. The eagle let out a terrifying cry and went immediately back to feeding.
"He'll starve eventually," Rafael said quietly. "If shock and dehydration don't get him first."
The bird had settled on Constantine's chest, still tearing away strips of meat. The broken wing dragged across the white suit, staining it red.
"Yeah," I said, throat tight.
Rafael stepped forward. The chain between our ankles pulled me with him.
Caesar's head snapped up. The bird screeched, wings spreading in warning. The broken one barely lifted.
"Lord, grant this creature peace. Amen." Rafael's bludgeon came down fast, hard and sure. It took only one strike, and then the eagle joined his master in death.
Then, the only sound was the guttering of the torches and our haggard breathing.
Rafael lowered his bludgeon and stared at the two bodies chained together. "He loved that bird."
"Yeah. But it didn't matter. They could never be equals. In the end, Caesar was just an animal, capable only of doing what he was taught."
"You're different." Rafael looked at me. His remaining eye was red-rimmed. Blood still dripped from the wound on his scalp where Caesar had raked him.
I swallowed and nodded, but the doubt nagged at me. I'd chosen this path, chosen to fight, to kill. But now that was all over.
Now what?
"Come on." Rafael squeezed my hand. "Let's get out of here."
I nodded and limped over to the pedestal. It held a single red button. I slammed my fist down on it and stepped back to wait.
The floor beneath our feet shuddered, and Rafael stepped closer to take my hand as it began to rise toward the surface.
I put my hand in his, because I knew one thing for certain. Whatever I did next, I wanted to do it with Rafael by my side.
The platform shuddered toa halt, and I squinted into the light. Lorenzo squeezed my hand once more and then released it.
My legs felt like jelly, and all I wanted to do was collapse and sleep for a few days, but that was out of the question.
A crowd of people was waiting for us, Aeacus and Rhadamanthys among them.
I started to take a step forward and then paused, tensing as Luka stormed toward us. "You stupid bastard." Luka threw his arms around Lorenzo. "You absolute fucking idiot."
