“It’s right here,” she says, crouching low and placing her hands on the ground. “I can sense the magick.”
“Great. You found the spot.” The Tower sighs, still exhausted from the whole ordeal. “Now what?”
“I don’t know, Kirin,” she bites back, getting to her feet and dusting off her hands. “Maybe we could put our heads together and figure this out.”
“There’s nothing to figure out!” he shouts. “We don’t have Ani’s blood. Game over.”
“He’s right,” the Devil says. “We’ve indulged you this far, okay? But this is bullshit, Milan. It’s over. We lost.”
“So that’s it?” She forces out a laugh, but tears track through the dirt on her cheeks. “Wow. I can’t believe I ever felt something other than disgust for you guys. You’re both spineless dickheads. I’m glad Doc and Ani aren’t here to see this.”
“The feeling is more than mutual, sweetheart,” the Devil says. “Believe me.”
The whole thing is beyond nauseating, but I’m glad for it. Their anger and bitterness will keep them distracted.
I give them another few minutes to trade their last barbs, take a deep breath before my performance, and finally make my move.
Fourteen
ANSEL
“St-Stevie?” I stammer, grunting as I drag myself into the chamber. “Baz? Kirin? Oh, thank Goddess! I thought I’d never see you guys again!”
Her blue eyes widen, then fill with fresh tears. “Ani?”
The Devil immediately steps in front of her, shooting an arm out and holding her back. The move almost seems protective, but then I realize he’s just assessing the threat for himself.
Marginally more intelligent than I’ve given him credit for, but no genius by any stretch.
He approaches me cautiously and clamps his hands on my upper arms, and I let him, forcing myself to appear both relieved and terrified.
“Everything is so messed up,” I whisper, forcing out a few tears. “It’s my fault. I needed to get out of there, and… Goddess, I can’t believe I actually found you guys. The Black Sun… he’s… somehow I forced him out, and…” I close my eyes and shake my head as if the memories are just too traumatic to recall.
“Ani?” the Devil asks, and I open my eyes to meet his gaze again, offering the meekest of smiles. “Fucking hell, Gingersnap. We thought you were dead.” He pulls me in for a hug, and the Star sneaks out around him, practically launching herself at me.
“Itisyou,” she whispers through her sappy tears, nudging the Devil away so she can embrace me herself. “I knew you’d find us. I knew you’d come back.”
The Tower joins the reunion, clapping me once on the shoulder, a thin smile breaking through his grim visage. “Welcome back, Ani. Unfortunately, we’re all in hell at the moment.”
The Devil drops his backpack and retrieves something from inside—a vial containing what can only be blood. Cass’s blood, I’m guessing. He holds it up, tipping it back and forth, coating the glass in red. “And unfortunately, we’ve got a mission to accomplish, and not much time to get it done.”
“Is that… blood?” I ask, my eyes wide.
The Star nods. “It’s Doc’s. It was everywhere, after you… The Black Sun, he…” The pain rises in her eyes, deep and endless, but she forces it away and gives me another pathetic smile. “It doesn’t matter. You’re here now, and we can do the ritual. Everything else can wait.”
“Do you think the objects can actually help you win?” The words are out before I can stop them, harsher than I intended. “I mean… the Dark Arcana are beyond powerful. Trust me—I had a front-row seat.”
“Not win, no,” the Star says. If she thought my comment or tone odd, she doesn’t show it. “But if we can reunite the four objects, we might be able to offer the Magician what he wants before he completely destroys the campus and roasts everyone on it. We’re hoping for a deal.”
“Not a deal,” the Devil says, clearly unhappy about it. “A surrender. There’s no other choice.”
“Surrender?” I shake my head, and this time, I don’t have to fake the disappointment and disgust. Does the Dark One even realize how weak the Light are? Why would he bother turning them at all? “But I thought... You mean you don’t want to fight him?”
“We don’t have the numbers, Ani,” she says. “All of this is Dark Arcana territory now. We just want to get out of it alive.”
“But then what?” I ask.
She sighs. “I don’t know. Go our separate ways, I guess. Try to live a quiet life somewhere away from all this.”
