From, uh, a strictly, you know, professional standpoint, that is. I have nothing personal invested in this. This is just so I can redeem them.
Every time I tell myself that, it feels less solid. Less real.
“Hey, Beck, look out!” Remington yells, and he tosses the body toward Beckett.
Ah, crap. Beckett can’t possibly do the ritual and catch this guy at the same time. I put on a burst of speed and manage to catch the dead body, dodging another attack from a leaping corrupted as I do it. It’s like the world’s weirdest, most intense version of keep-away, and my heart is hammering in my chest like it’s going to explode.
The weight of the body nearly topples me over, but I manage to keep my balance. The corpse is going stiff, rigor mortis having definitely set in, and it makes it hard for me to move the body around while also dodging attacks and defending myself.
Beckett’s making the body move too, having it recreate, backward, the spell that our mark used to open the portal in the first place, so I nearly get hit in the head by the corpse’s own arms a few times.
It’s the most ridiculous thing I think I’ve ever done, and I’m kind of glad no other angels are around right now to see this because they’d never let me live it down.
“It’s working!” Phoenix yells, and for once he sounds energized and not like he’s just waiting for all of this to be over so he can go back to his video games. “I can see it closing!”
Sure enough, the edges of the portal are starting to draw together, the hole shrinking.
The corrupted seem to notice this too, because they let out horrible wailing screeches of anger and renew their attacks on us. I draw my angel blade from the ether and slash at the demons, yelling and snarling right back at them. I see Ford shoot me another grin when I do that, like he’s proud of me for giving in to my wrath a little, even if it is righteous wrath and I’m still on the side of good.
“Almost there!” Beckett bellows. “Just another minute.”
A corrupted sinks its dirty, broken, sharp nails into my arm, and I yell in pain, swatting at it. But the thing is tough and tenacious, and it refuses to let go, sinking its claws in deeper as it shrieks.
The dead demon’s body slips from my grasp and Remington snatches up the corpse before another corrupted can take it.
“Nix!” he calls, a warning in his voice.
“Yeah, I’m on it!” Phoenix grabs the corrupted that’s latched onto me and literally rips its head off, throwing it to the side like a football as the creature’s body sinks to the ground, its claws finally releasing my arm. The tousled sin winks at me. “Don’t you worry, babycakes, we’ve got you covered.”
The corpse in Remington’s hold is still moving along with Beckett, but its gestures are smaller now, more contained, and I realize that we’re getting to the end of the ritual. The portal is only big enough for one demon at a time to get through now, and it’s becoming smaller and tighter with every passing second.
Soon, it’ll be completely gone.
Yes! We’re doing this. We’re really doing this!
I’m so excited I can hardly stand it. After all of that running around, visiting sex dens, casinos, and witches, we’re going to succeed. Anderson is going to be so proud of me, especially since I got the sins to do a good deed while I was at it.
There are only a few corrupted left, and Ford’s got them well in hand, ripping into them like they’re made of tissue paper rather than supernatural beings wielding the power of Downstairs. I stare into the heart of the portal eagerly, ready for it to finally vanish.
But as I stare into it, I notice something.
It’s not just a glowing hellish orange hole. There’s something about it… toward the center… it looks like smoke at first, but the longer I stare at, it the more it starts to take on a shape.
It’s like the center of something, with tendrils spreading out, and out, leading to other dots or spots that are getting larger and larger until they look almost like dark eggs. Like I’m staring at a spider’s web.
What is that?
They grow larger and more solid as the portal shrinks, and I realize—
Oh, no.
Either the bookie escaped and warned the others who were involved in this, or maybe this failsafe has always been here, just in case someone tried to close the portal permanently. But I would bet anything—I’d bet my wings, even—that this black web I’m seeing is a network that’s about to create more portals the moment we close this one.
We’re about to solve one problem and create dozens of new ones.
“Beck!” I yell, wheeling quickly to face him. “Don’t—”
Don’t what? Don’t close the portal? But that’s ridiculous; we have to. We can’t just leave it open.
It doesn’t matter anyway. Even as I yell, the portal snaps shut like a rubber band that’s been stretched and is returning to its proper shape, and I see the dark lines of the spiderweb explode like fireworks.
“What the fuck was that?” Ford yells as we all stagger back and the body we’ve been using to undo the spell falls limp at last.
“I think those were other portals being created.” My voice is low, the words dragging slowly out of me. “Being placed around the Earth. I think it’s some kind of failsafe in case this one was closed.”
“Fuck. That’s a hell of a failsafe,” Remington mutters. He catches my gaze. “Were you able to count how many there were?”
I shake my head, feeling exhausted and sick to my stomach. “Whoever started this, they were really serious about bringing the corrupted into the world of the living.”
And I’m terrified about what that means.
Phoenix gives a low whistle as Beckett says, “I haven’t seen anything like this in a long damn time. This kind of full-scale invasion attempt hasn’t been done since the last all-out war, thousands of years ago.”
I shiver. “Is that what’s happening?”
“I don’t know.” His green eyes are sharp with concern. “This is different. Although battles between Heaven and Hell have been waged before, Earth has always been neutral territory. Their war spilled onto Earth, but they were never fighting for control of this plane of existence.”
“But whoever is opening up these portals?” Remington shakes his head. “They have an interest in Earth specifically. There’s something here they want. And if what you saw is true—if there are really dozens or hundreds of other portals placed around the globe, ready to open at any time…”
He doesn’t finish the thought.
He doesn’t need to.
I stare at the spot where the portal was until a moment ago, my throat tight and fear lying heavy in my stomach. I thought that I was finishing this conflict, resolving everything.
But now… it looks like the fight is really just beginning.
Chapter Thirty
Trinity
We need to get out of the way but still be able to observe what’s going on, so the sins use their charm to slip undetected into a nearby building, and I fly up to the top to meet them as they emerge on the roof.
It’s not a skyscraper, only about five stories tall, but from up here we can watch as people start to arrive to see what all the fuss is about. Firefighters and the police show up, trying to figure out what’s going on, and there are plenty of gaping onlookers.