He’ll be fine. He has to be fine. But now I’m on my own. Against … Imogen?
“I don’t understand.” I keep myself between Artemis and Imogen. Imogen is barely breathing hard, knife still in hand. “You’re my friend. You’ve always been my friend.”
“I’ve always been there for you, that’s true. Because I was assigned to you. To kill you, actually. Well, one of you.” She shrugs. “My mother decided to take a shortcut and go for more power since the Watchers wouldn’t let her just mercy-kill one of you. The prophecy needed two, after all. And it’s not like your mother didn’t have a spare.”
“The fire at our house!” The realization is horrible, but then I do the math. It doesn’t match up. “But your mother was already …”
Imogen smiles. “Yes, after my mother died horribly, the mantle was all on my shoulders. The fire should have worked, but no, you two just had to survive. And then your mother ran back to the Watchers. I waited for years. I couldn’t risk getting caught and missing my chance. If I wasn’t there to do it, no one would. And, god, they were so protective of you two.”
I’m braced for attack, but she’s just standing there. After the last blast from Artemis, I’m still shaking and off balance. I don’t feel anywhere close to myself. “The fire was you. You. You’re …” My head is spinning. “All this time, you wanted us dead?”
“Only one of you. I would have killed Artemis, if it makes you feel any better. But then last fall happened. And for a few brief moments, I thought that was it. I thought it was your apocalypse, and that we had failed to prevent it. That I had failed. And you know what? I was relieved. Happy, even. Because all these years my job has been protecting a world that couldn’t give a shit about me or my mother. I’m sick of it. I’m sick of all of it. Your prophecy was the very last one in the book, and I’d hate to deny the earth its grand finale.”
“You can’t be serious!”
“Follow your instincts, Nina,” she says, her voice a syrupy sweet corruption of herself. “If you feel like it’s right, then it’s right. I even made your sister a murderer, and you still forgave her! All you had to do was shove that sword in her stomach and release the power to end it all. God, you are so hard to corrupt, you know that?”
I shrug. “Hufflepuff.” My mind is reeling, but I finally realize why she’s telling me all this. Why she isn’t attacking. She doesn’t need to. She only needs to delay us all long enough that the power becomes too much for Artemis. I draw a stake and throw it straight at Imogen’s head. The blunt end hits her forehead, snapping her head back. She staggers, then rights herself.
“Actually, I know which one of you I can kill, finally. It’s pretty obvious who the world breaker is. I won the bet with my mother. She never did pay her debts, though.” She moves a wrist in a lightning-fast flick, and a sharp pain hits my shoulder. I look down to see a knife embedded in it. “If it’s any consolation, you’ll only beat us to the finish line by a few minutes.”
“What about the Littles? You took care of them. You can’t want them dead.” I tug the knife free, hissing at the pain. If I were in charge of treating myself, I would have cautioned myself not to remove the knife until professional help was available. But I’m not in charge of treating myself. I’m in charge of fighting Imogen. I need to get Imogen out of the way so I can figure out how to help Artemis. A quick glance over my shoulder reveals my sister trembling so fast her edges are blurring. Her eyes are squeezed shut, and she’s got her arms wrapped around herself like she’s trying to hold it together through sheer force of will.
Imogen laughs. “Like they’re really better off growing up? I’m doing everyone a kindness. Putting this whole spinning hellhole out of its misery. Did you ever think about why every other dimension is a hell, but somehow ours isn’t? Joke’s on us. We’re the original hell dimension, baby. We’re just too stupid to realize it.” She launches herself at me in a flurry of fists and kicks and flashing blades. My shoulder and the disorientation from Artemis’s discharge slow me down. I’m fighting to keep her away from Artemis but not to kill. Imogen is holding nothing back.
She grins, swiping a knife across my forearm as I try to block her. I get in a kick to her side, but she twists, absorbing the blow and elbowing me hard in the face. I stagger back. A searing pain, and I look down to find yet another knife sticking out of my lower abdomen. How many knives does she have?
I tug it out, my hands slick with my own blood as my brain registers yet another stern caution for removing a knife from a wound without any way to stop the bleeding. I can barely see Imogen because of the light behind her.
Oh no. Behind her. I let her get between Artemis and me. I can run and tackle her off the catwalk, but then Artemis will be up here alone. I don’t think I could get back to her in time. I’m going to have to throw Imogen off, even if it kills her. I rush her, but she’s ready. My vision is dazed by Artemis, so I don’t see Imogen’s club as she swings it at my leg. I fall to my knees, my right one unusable with pain. I grab for her, but she dances back toward Artemis. There’s the particular metallic click of a gun being cocked.
“No hard feelings. I’ll see you on the other side, okay?”
I hang my head. I have nothing left. I lost. Artemis protected me for so long, and I couldn’t return the favor. “I’m sorry, Artemis.”
Imogen screams. I look up to see two blindingly brilliant arms encircling her. Imogen’s clothes light on fire, and in the blink of an eye, she’s consumed. Where Imogen was is only Artemis.
She meets my eyes and smiles, an agonized expression through gritted teeth. She’s all blurry, literally falling apart. “Saved you.”
I crawl to her, and she drops to her knees.
“Kill me,” she whispers. “That might stop it.”
I wrap my arms around her. She tries to push me away, but I hold her tighter. It’s searingly hot, but I’m stronger than Imogen. I’m stronger than anyone except Artemis. I hold her against the vibrations, and, to my surprise, they calm down. “I’ve got you, and you’ve got me. We’re strongest together.”
She squeezes me back and holds me up while I hold her in place. All the darkness in me, everything I’ve been through, all the ways it’s changed me. It wells in me, carrying me past what I’m capable of. We’re here because Artemis walked in her own darkness for so long, feeling like she was the only person who could face it. But Buffy and Faith showed me the truth: We’re not alone in the dark. Not as Slayers, not as sisters, not as friends. Not when we hold the people we love as close as we can. The heat is unbearable, but for Artemis? I can bear anything.
“Nina!” The catwalk rattles as Leo runs across it. He puts a hand on Artemis’s shoulder. “I can take it, but I need somewhere to put it.”
“Give it to me.” Cillian’s father’s voice rings through the cavern. He drags Honora onto the catwalk and drops her. She groans, twitching. “I am the only option.”
“You’re not.” Cillian emerges from the cavern. His face is streaked with blood and dirt. Rhys limps behind him. “I’m half god. Let’s give it a shot.”