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“Listen to me, we’re goan to back out of here.” We didn’t know what these Minors were packing—other than a taste for human flesh. “We’ll snag that leader after he turns in, and we’ll question him. We leave now.”
Joules hadn’t taken his gaze off that victim. “Sick o’ this world. Sick o’ this shite.” His accent was thicker than I’d ever heard it. “If I canna save a priest, then what do I have powers for?”
“To help us save the entire world.”
“Then we start by stampin’ out evil. These Minors are all cannibals. They cheered as that freak removed a priest’s heart!”
“Do it, Tower.” Evie’s voice was breathy, stunning. “Blow them to pieces.”
“Evie, tais-toi!” Shut up! “Dominija, get her off the comms.”
In a strange tone, the Reaper said, “Not possible at present.”
“Feckin’ hell, she’s right.” Joules’s charge glowed too bright, lighting up the back of the murky chapel. He raised his javelin, electricity crackling along the length.
The king turned toward the worshippers. “Return to us, favorite son of Satan. Filius Satanae, enchain us to your unnatural will. . . .” He trailed off as he spotted us. “Arcana!” He slapped his bloodied hand over his throat tattoo. “We’ve been waiting for you.”
Joules fired his javelin with blistering speed.
The king waved his free hand. The javelin stopped in midair, then dropped harmlessly.
Oh, merde—
Another wave of the king’s hand launched me and Joules back against the wall. IMPACT. Like a giant punch to the lungs. Somehow kept hold of my crossbow.
“Jack!” Evie screamed in my earpiece.
“Ah, the great Tower is visiting.” The king’s eyes looked feverish in the lantern light. “A Major for us to feast upon.”
Joules and I fought to rise. But the king kept one hand on his tattoo, the other directed at us.
“I’ll kill you all!” Joules cried, struggling against the man’s hold.
Finally making it to my feet, I tried to aim my bow. Couldn’t raise it. I grated into the mic, “He’s controlling my arms.”
Joules managed to stand. “Mine too.” Puppets on a string.
The king’s lips curled, revealing rotted teeth. “No, I am not controlling you. A demon has hold of you—and we control the demons!”
Nausea roiled. It did feel like invisible hands were gripping me. An actual demon? We couldn’t defend against a force like that.
Joules was losing it. “Some kind o’ demon’s got me arms?!”
“You won’t be able to fight back, but you’ll feel everything.” To his followers, the king said, “New meat delivered right to our door. And these look fresh.”
They all shared his smug smile. One Pentacle licked his lips as he stared at Joules.
Cold as ice, Dominija said, “Listen to me in full. Demons don’t exist; the Pentacles must be telekinetic. But their telekinesis is no match for electricity. When I count to three, both of you will drop to the floor at the same time, then fire. They won’t expect it. Tower, throw two javelins toward the back of the room and triangulate yourself as a third conductor. Jack, get out of the way.”
Could Joules do that? Dominija had helped him discover new abilities in the past.
I muttered, “Copy,” and Joules gave a tight nod.
Dominija intoned, “On my count of three. One . . . two—”
Joules hit the floor early, fucker, so I collapsed beside him. We severed the hold on us. Before the king could react, I fired my bow, tagging him in the heart while Joules landed a pair of javelins on either side of the altar.
With a flash of blinding light, electricity combusted between the spears. Heat flared, and the chapel shuddered.
“Come to papa!” Joules cried, his eyes glimmering silver. And the currents did, sparking from one javelin to the other, then branching out toward the followers on their way back to Joules.
I shot away just before he caught the streams.
Some of the Pentacles tried to use their own telekinesis, slapping a palm over their tattoo. Too late. They couldn’t escape Joules’s blitz. Their bodies spasmed, their hair standing on end, eyes bulging.
The last two tried to run. Currents seized them like outstretched fingers. Zaaaap. They dropped in their tracks, convulsing in pain, right up to the end.
Fourteen Pentacles. An entire suit. Electrocuted.
I blocked out the chatter on the comms, the smell of sizzling flesh making me retch.
Unfazed, Joules clambered to his feet and held a sparking hand out to me.
“Pass.” As I pulled myself up, he grinned and wiped sweat off his paled face.
He reminded me of Evie after she’d fought the Cups—overtaken by the heat of battle. Just like with Evie, I was bewildered by the power he’d just displayed.
Had others in the fort heard us? At least eight guards remained, and I only had five arrows left. I waited, bow pointed at—
The doors flew open. The original two guards stormed inside, guns raised.
I loosed an arrow; Joules lobbed a javelin. The guards’ bodies dropped, wedging the doors open.
