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Slowly, I crawled to my feet, my heart slamming between my ribs as I watched the flames rise higher and higher.
The sounds of the battle below us were fading, I realized.
Gavriel’s burning body was like a beacon, a warning sign to all those who had followed him that their leader no longer lived. That he couldn’t give them any of the rewards he’d promised.
That his fate would soon be theirs.
Little flares of light rose up from all around the basin of the crater as demons, dragons, ogres, and gargoyles disappeared, abandoning the battle along with dozens of their brethren.
We had cut off the head of the snake, and now the snake was dying.
Chapter Thirty
Jayce shifted back, and Kai dropped his vampire form as they both came to stand beside me. Moments later, Kingston and Xero cut off their flames and joined us too.
There was little left of Gavriel but a blackened husk, a lump so twisted and deformed that it was difficult to believe it’d once looked almost like a man.
“Holy fuck, Pipes. What the hell did you do to him?” Jayce breathed.
“Uh…” I laughed, and it sounded strange to my ears. “I’m not the one who did that.”
“No, but what’d you do before that? You got his guard down. He had no shields up at all, no magic protecting him.”
“Oh. That.” I cleared my throat. Telling them I showed him what love feels like sounded way too corny, so instead I settled for, “I think I blew his mind.”
“Yeah. I’ll say you did. I never would’ve been able to get that close if you hadn’t shut off his brain somehow.”
“Thanks for that,” a gruff voice said from behind us. “The fucker was stronger’n we realized.”
I whirled around to find Michael supporting Vee as they both limped toward us. Or maybe she was supporting him. It was hard to tell.
They both looked beat to shit, like it was a miracle they were even walking, and they leaned heavily on each other, each using the other to stay upright.
“I’m glad you two are okay,” I said. I glanced around us. Several of the demons who had been sprawled across the ground were slowly picking themselves up. But a few didn’t move at all. “How are… how many casualties?”
“More than I was hoping for, much fewer than I feared,” Michael said flatly, and I knew that, just like me, he’d been hoping against hope for zero.
If only war worked that way.
“I thought I could hold him,” Vee muttered, disappointment clear in her voice. “I thought my trap would be strong enough.”
“You did hold him for a little while,” I said. “It almost worked just like it was supposed to. But I saw a peek inside his mind when I reached out to him with my persuasion. He spent so long—so much of his existence—chasing power that it was the only purpose he had left. That singular focus gave him a kind of strength that most people never have.”
“Well, he gave us all a singular focus.” Vee glanced over at the crispy, still smoldering body and spat toward it. “But I’m looking forward to broadening my horizons. To having a day go by where I don’t think about Gavriel.”
“A-fuckin’-men.” Michael nodded wearily.
Then he glanced down toward the basin of the crater where the Custodians, FU students, and fallen who’d come to fight on our side were picking off the remaining stragglers of Gavriel’s army—the ones too vicious or dumb to know that the fight was over.
“I hope this means we’ll have peace in the underworld for a time,” he added. “I’m no dummy. I understand how it works; it was the same way even on earth. We got rid of Gavriel, but we didn’t get rid of all the evil in the world. Or the underworld, for that matter. Eventually, someone will stand up and try to seize power again. But I hope it’ll be a long-ass time before that happens.” He snorted. “I’ve got a damn house to rebuild.”
“I might be convinced to help,” Vee said, shooting a glance up at him. “I built my home with my own two hands. Sturdy enough to withstand earthquakes or herds of cyclops.”
Michael glanced down at her, scowling a little, although I noticed a slightly pink tinge to his cheeks that hadn’t been there before. “I’ll have you know, I built my home all by myself too. And it was plenty sturdy.”
Vee shrugged, the movement hampered by the fact that she was still leaning against the broad-shouldered man. “Just saying. If you want any tips…”
“Tips? I don’t need tips. I can build a hut just fine, and if you don’t think so—well, maybe you’ll just have to come see for yourself.”
