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“Wait,” I tell Beranabus. “It’s not a demon. We have company.”
Seconds later a window of orange light opens and two of Beranabus’s Disciples step through. One’s a beautiful, fiery woman called Meera Flame. I know the other one better, and shout his name with unconcealed joy. “Shark!”
“Been a long time, kid,” the ex-soldier grins, shaking my hand as Grubbs and Meera hug close by. Beranabus is squinting at the newcomers suspiciously. He doesn’t like surprises.
“What are you doing here?” I gasp.
“Came to catch the sun,” Shark laughs, then casts his gaze over my bald, caramel-colored head. “There’s something different about your eyes.”
“It’s a long story.” I smile broadly, still clutching him. We’ve spent long months in this foul universe, and Beranabus and Grubbs are poor company. The unwelcome flames of loneliness have been burning hot inside me recently. I’m overjoyed to see my old friend, to escape the dark feelings for a few minutes. I know Shark must be the bearer of bad news, that he and Meera wouldn’t have come unless things were serious, but for a few moments I block that out and pretend this is a social visit.
“Hi, Shark,” Grubbs says.
Shark frowns. “Do I know you?”
“Grubbs Grady. We…” He pauses. “Dervish told me about you. I’m Grubbs, his nephew.”
Shark nods. “I can see a bit of him in you. But you’ve got more hair. You’re a lot taller too—what’s Beranabus been feeding you?”
“Enough of the prattle,” Beranabus snaps. “What’s wrong?”
“We were attacked,” Meera says. “I was at Dervish’s. We—”
“Was it Lord Loss?” Beranabus barks. “Is Bec all right?”
“She’s fine,” Shark says.
“But Dervish…” Meera pauses, glancing nervously at Grubbs.
“He was alive when we left,” Shark says as Grubbs freezes with fear.
“But in bad shape,” Meera adds. “He had a heart attack.”
“We have to go back,” Grubbs says, darting for the window.
Shark stops him. “Hold on. We didn’t come here directly. That leads to another demon world.”
“Besides,” I chip in, “if the demons are still at the house…”
“We weren’t attacked by demons,” Meera says. “They were… werewolves.”
That throws me. Does she mean werewolf-shaped demons? Then I recall the curse of the Gradys. Lots of teenagers in Grubbs’s family turn into mindless, savage, wolf-like beasts.
Grubbs starts to tremble. Without waiting to be told, I turn, flex my fingers, and focus, thinking of Dervish. Lights pulse around me—that means the ex-punk is still alive. I begin to open a window that wi
ll take us to him. Then, on second thought, I focus on Bec instead. As much as I like Dervish, the girl is more important. She’s probably with him, but if not, she must take priority. Dervish is only human. Bec, like me and Grubbs, is so much more.
When a window of amber light opens, Beranabus rushes through, swiftly followed by Grubbs. “There are demons,” I tell Shark and Meera, sensing their presence in the vibrations of the lights. “Are you guys ready to fight?”
“Always,” Shark grins, cracking his knuckles.
Meera gulps, then grinds her teeth together and nods fiercely.
We cross.
I find myself in a hospital ward. Bec is lying on the floor. She looks like any normal girl, a bit smaller than most, but otherwise unremarkable. You could never guess from looking at her that she’d been dead for sixteen hundred years, or that this body wasn’t originally hers.
Two demons are backing away from Bec. One is some sort of lizard hybrid. The other looks like an anteater with several snouts. One of its eyes is missing, blood and goo surrounding the empty socket. I suppress a shudder as Beranabus growls at the demons, “What do the pickings look like now?”
