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D
imitri slid his arms around the criminal’s body, and Gabriel grabbed his legs.

Lukas stood between the shipping containers blocking the warehouse exit. “You’re not taking Andras anywhere without us.”

Dimitri shouldered his way past Lukas without much effort. “We assumed as much.”

“Make yourself useful and get the door,” Gabriel said.

Lukas rushed ahead of Dimitri and Gabriel without a word, with Priest, Alara, and Elle trailing after them, grabbing their duffel bags on the way.

“Come on, Kennedy.” Jared took my hand. He held it
just as tight as he had before I told him the truth about my mom.

You’re lucky.

But I didn’t feel lucky. I felt like someone had punched a hole in me, and all my emotions had spilled out.

Outside, Lukas was unlocking the trunk of a silver SUV as Dimitri and Gabriel waited.

Every inch of the trunk’s interior was lined with cold-iron grating.

The two men dumped the demon inside, and Dimitri rushed around to the front of the SUV and climbed into the driver’s seat.

Bear ran back and forth behind the car, barking and growling.

“Get in if you’re coming,” Gabriel said to us. “Holy water isn’t enough. Without other preemptive measures, those chains won’t hold Andras much longer.”

We piled in the back, before Gabriel could change his mind. It took Alara a few attempts to coax Bear into the car.

Andras banged against the grating.

Elle scooted forward to the edge of her seat. “He sounds really pissed off.”

“There’s an Illuminati safe house down by the stockyards. We’ll be there soon.” Dimitri turned on the radio and scanned through the stations, settling on the news.

I leaned my head against the window, watching the
traffic lights blur in the darkness. Everything looked different, and it took me a moment to realize why.

The rain and snow had stopped.

For the first time since the night I freed Andras, the sky was clear. But my thoughts were darker than the sky had ever been.

Why didn’t Mom tell me the truth about her past? Was she ashamed? Maybe she thought I wouldn’t forgive her… or maybe she didn’t trust me with her secrets.

If my mom had lied about who she really was, she could’ve lied about anything.

Like the way she felt about my dad.

A radio newscaster’s voice interrupted my thoughts: “In breaking news, the story of the seventeen missing girls has ended in tragedy. Seventeen bodies were found in the woods outside Topsfield, Massachusetts, earlier today. Initial reports from the coroner’s office estimate the victims died between three o’clock and five o’clock this morning. The FBI has yet to make an official statement, but local law enforcement officers believe the bodies will be identified as the teenage girls who disappeared over the past seventeen days.”

Topsfield. The location of the museum—thirty minutes from Faith’s house and less than an hour from here.

Andras probably killed them before he killed Faith.

Alara leaned over the front seat, gripping Gabriel’s headrest. “Turn it up.”

“Alexa Sears, Lauren Richman, Kelly Emerson, Rebecca Turner, Cameron Anders, Mary Williams, Sarah Edelman, Julia Smith—”

I didn’t listen to the rest of the names. I already knew them by heart.

Shannon O’Malley, Christine Redding, Karen York, Marie Dennings, Rachel Eames, Roxanne North, Catherine Nichols, Hailey Edwards, Lucy Klein—they’re all dead. And it’s my fault.

Dimitri guided the SUV through a wasteland of condemned buildings and rusted machinery before pulling up to an unmarked warehouse with a hazmat sign on the door. Gabriel jumped out of the car before it stopped and bolted to the door. He sorted through a ring of keys chained to his belt and systematically unlocked at least a dozen dead bolts.

Dimitri threw the SUV into park and dug through the glove box and took out a pile of ugly plastic sunglasses. “Put these on.” He handed each of us a pair and waited for us to put them on before he climbed out. “Stay here.”

“Nice try.” Alara opened her door and followed him around to the back of the car ahead of everyone else.

Bear stalked in front of her protectively.

Gabriel emerged from the warehouse carrying a wide-barreled rifle and a fire hose. “Heads up.” He tossed the gun to Dimitri, who caught it with one hand.

“Get back.” Dimitri aimed the gun at the trunk.

“It’s a tranquilizer gun like the ones they use at zoos,” Priest whispered to Jared as he dropped a duffel bag full of weapons on the asphalt, and the Legion members grabbed their own.

I hung back with Elle, afraid of how Priest and Alara might react if I tried to help.

Dimitri nodded and Gabriel opened the trunk, pivoting to the side.

The criminal’s muscular body lay crammed inside, motionless.

“He’s still out. That should make it easier to move him.” Dimitri lowered the gun.

As he did, Andras lunged from the trunk, knocking the tranquilizer gun out of Dimitri’s hands in the process. The demon was still bound in chains, but they didn’t slow him down. He pounced on Dimitri, snarling like an animal.

Jared, Lukas, and Priest opened fire, but the salt rounds had no effect on Andras. Alara dropped her paintball gun and dove for the tranquilizer gun. She scrambled onto her knees, aiming carefully.

A flurry of tranquilizer darts punctured Andras’ back. He whipped around, his black eyes focused on Alara and his legs still pinning Dimitri to the ground.

Bear sprang and clamped his jaws around Andras’ arm.

Gabriel turned on the hose, and a flood of water hit Andras. The force sent Bear rolling and threw the demon’s
body against the fender. Steam rose from his exposed skin, and he let out a piercing scream as he dropped to his knees on the asphalt.

Alara hit him with another dart.

Andras swayed for a moment, then collapsed.

Gabriel hauled the demon up by the chains around his wrists. A web of vicious burns marred his wet skin.

“That was enough ketamine to take down a grizzly,” Dimitri said, trying to catch his breath.

Alara walked by and shoved the tranquilizer gun into his hands. “You’re welcome.”

Gabriel hoisted Andras over his shoulder and rushed toward the warehouse door. “We need to get him inside fast, before it wears off.”

Inside, the warehouse was nothing like the one at the wharf. Instead of rusted paint and oil-stained floors, we followed Gabriel and Dimitri through a maze of hallways with shiny metal walls and fluorescent overhead lights. I looked for signs of whoever had been prepping the sanctuary, but the place seemed empty.

At the end of the hall, Gabriel led us down a narrow wooden staircase. At the bottom, Jared and Lukas had to duck under a low archway that opened into a claustrophobic tunnel. Portable construction lights hanging from nails illuminated wet stone walls.

Elle stepped closer to Lukas. “This place looks like a dungeon,” she whispered.

Lukas grabbed her hand, his eyes fixed on the barred door a few yards ahead of us. “I think it is.”

Elle stopped at the threshold of the cell, unwilling to go any farther. I understood why.

Aside from the stainless-steel toilet, the cell looked like something out of the Middle Ages—two hundred square feet at the most, with rough stone walls and a dirty mattress in the corner. A Devil’s Trap was painted on the floor, and the Eye of Ever covered the ceiling. A huge silver crucifix was bolted to the wall like a relic in a church.

“I thought we were taking him to a sanctuary,” Alara said.

Dimitri dumped Andras on the ground beneath two sets of shackles. “This is a sanctuary. It was blessed by a priest, and that cross”—he pointed to the silver monstrosity—“hung behind the altar of Our Lady of Saints.”

“The clock is ticking, so you might want to step outside.” Gabriel unchained Andras’ wrists and ankles and replaced the chains with shackles. “I don’t want to offend anyone’s fragile sense of morality while we try to save the world.”

“You’re gonna kill him right now?” Priest asked.

Gabriel looked disgusted. “No. I thought I’d wait until he finds a way to open the gates of hell and invite all his friends over.”

“The children of the Labyrinth do not need an invitation,” the demon said, his head still bowed. “They will find a way, with or without me.”

When he heard the demon’s voice, Bear shot to his feet, a low growl building in his throat. Alara ran her hand along his back. “It’s okay, boy.”

Andras growled, sounding more feral than the dog.

Bear snapped at Andras, baring his teeth.

Alara reached down and grabbed his collar, just as the Doberman lunged. She didn’t have time to pull her hand away, and the momentum hurled her body forward. Andras strained against the shackles, reaching for her.

“Alara!” Priest shouted.

Jared hurled himself at Andras, creating a wall between the demon and Alara. He slammed into Andras’ chest, and his protective sunglasses clattered to the floor.

Andras raised his head, holy water running down his face.

“Don’t look at him!” Gabriel yelled.

The demon’s ebony eyes locked on Jared’s pale blue ones.

“No!” The words tore from my throat, but it was already too late.

Jared hit the ground and fell forward onto his knees in front of Andras. With his arms bound in chains and Jared kneeling at his feet, Andras looked like a martyr from a Renaissance painting, staring down at one of his disciples. The demon tilted his head, and Jared mirrored his every movement, never once taking his eyes off the monster controlling him.

The criminal’s body jerked forward, his arms straining against the chains, and an invisible force slammed into Jared’s chest. The criminal’s body went slack, and Jared’s back straightened slowly, as if his spine was stretching one vertebra at a time.

We had witnessed the same scenario on the Boston streets, but this was different. It was happening to Jared. He was only a few feet away, but I couldn’t get to him fast enough. I scrambled in front of him, blocking his view.

Maybe there’s still time.

I grabbed his shoulders and shook him. “Jared, look at me.”

The blank expression on his face didn’t change. He stared straight ahead like a zombie, as if I wasn’t even there.

I held his face in my hands. “Jared, you can fight this. You’re stronger than he is.”

I ignored everything else in the room. Bear barking. Someone crying. Voices shouting.

I’m losing him. If I haven’t lost him already.

I took off my protective glasses and tossed them across the floor. “Look at me.”

“Kennedy, no!” Gabriel shouted.

Jared’s lashes fluttered, and his sleepy blue eyes focused on me. My heart leapt.

He’s going to be all right.

Alara’s hand closed around my arm. “Get away from him.”

“Wait,” Lukas said. “He’s okay.”

Jared reached up and curled his hands around my wrists, the first indication that I was breaking through. His icy touch sent goose bumps up my arms.

“I thought I’d lost you,” I whispered, choking back tears.

Jared’s pupils dilated, and the inky darkness spread, eclipsing his irises. “You did.”

“Move!” Dimitri shouted from behind me.

A hand grabbed the back of my jacket and dragged me across the floor. “Close your eyes, and put your glasses on.” Gabriel.

Jared lost interest in me and turned toward the door.

I put my sunglasses back on and followed his gaze to Dimitri, who stood just inside the cell, pointing the tranquilizer gun at Jared.

“If you kill me, you kill the boy, too,” Jared said, in a voice that wasn’t his own.

Gabriel rushed out into the hall and returned with a hose.

Andras’ eyes flickered with amusement. “What will you do now, Champion of God?”

Gabriel unleashed the holy water and Dimitri fired.

Jared charged them, pushing through the flood of water. His body jerked each time a tranquilizer dart hit him.

By the time the third dart hit, Jared was soaked and his steps were sluggish. How much longer could he hold out?

Fall. Please. Just fall.

Jared staggered toward Gabriel, but he couldn’t push past the pressure of the water. He dropped to his knees, coughing and sputtering. In one last effort to reach his attackers, Jared dragged his body across the wet concrete.

The fourth dart caught him in the shoulder, and Jared’s cheek hit the floor. Even as he lay there with a demon inside him, I wanted to lift his head off the ground and cradle it in my lap.

Deep down, he was still the boy who made my stomach flutter every time he kissed me. The boy who fought for me, even when I didn’t fight for myself.

He was still the boy who meant more to me than I could ever tell him.

Wasn’t he?

G
abriel jammed his knee into Jared’s back and looped a chain around his wrists.

“Stop. You’re hurting him.” I ran toward them, but Lukas grabbed me.

“It’s okay,” he said in a soothing voice.

There’s nothing okay about this
.

Jared lay motionless on the cell floor. With his lips parted and curls of dark hair stuck to his neck, he almost looked like he was sleeping.

Almost.

The burns marring his skin reminded me he wasn’t.

Gabriel noticed me staring and threw me a pitying glance. “This isn’t your boyfriend, kid. You’d better get that through your head.”

“You don’t know anything about him,” I snapped. “Jared is stronger than you think, and he’ll fight.”

Dimitri looked away and lit a Dunhill, crushing the empty pack in his hand.

Gabriel secured the chains with a padlock, yanking harder than necessary to test them. He was probably doing it to make a point, which only made me hate him more. He looked up at me from where he knelt next to Jared. “He’d slit your throat without thinking twice about it if he had the chance.”

“Don’t try to scare me so you can justify what you’re doing,” I said.

Gabriel pulled down the collar of his shirt. A jagged scar ran across the front of his neck. “You should be scared.”

Alara, who had barely moved since the attack, gasped.

“That’s enough.” Dimitri snapped.

Gabriel let go of his collar and the fabric slid back in place, covering the gruesome scar. “She needs to understand what we’re dealing with before she gets herself killed.”

Dimitri moved closer, until the two men were standing shoulder to shoulder. “I know how you felt about Elizabeth. But this is not helping.”

Elizabeth
. He was talking about my mom.

The thought of Gabriel having some kind of crush on my mother made my stomach turn.

“What are you gonna do with him?” Priest stared down at Jared.

My heart pounded in anticipation.

Dimitri passed Jared and walked toward the wall, where the Russian was shackled. He flicked his cigarette on the ground and dug a heavy key out of his pocket. He unlocked the first cuff.

The criminal’s arm dropped and his body lurched forward, his other wrist still chained to the wall. Dimitri slid the key into the other cuff—the one keeping the criminal on his feet.

“Someone needs to catch him,” Priest said, pacing.

“No need for that.” Dimitri turned the key, and the Russian’s body crashed to the floor in a heap. His lifeless eyes stared back at us, open and unblinking.

Lukas loosened his grip on me. “He’s dead? But we saw Andras jump from body to body a half dozen times. The people he possessed were all fine afterward.”

Dimitri shrugged, as if handling a dead body didn’t faze him. “Jumping from one body to another takes a lot of energy. He probably wasn’t strong enough to jump and kill the hosts. And every case is different, but the longer a demon possesses someone, the less likely it is for the victim to survive. Unless the demon chooses to stay.”

Alara chucked the plastic bottle of holy water from her tool belt across the room and screamed. It sounded like rage and frustration and a hundred feelings I couldn’t name, even though I was feeling them, too.

Gabriel bent down and hoisted Jared over his shoulder.
Jared’s dark hair obscured his face, and his limp arms hung down Gabriel’s back. He carried Jared to the wall, where the Russian’s body had been a few minutes ago.

Don’t chain him up. Please don’t let them chain him up.

Every muscle in my body tensed.

Gabriel held Jared upright as Dimitri closed the cuffs around his burned wrists.

Something inside me snapped.

No! No! No! Get him down! Get him down!

“Get him down!” I screamed.

“I wish I could, Kennedy.” Dimitri actually sounded apologetic.

“Then do it.”

Dimitri’s gaze flickered over my friends’ faces, then back to mine. “I’m sorry. One screwup is enough.” He looked down at the Russian’s body before throwing it over his shoulder.

I wanted to blame Dimitri, but I couldn’t. All this started long before he showed up. He wasn’t what my World History teacher referred to as the first cause—the initial action that set a course of events in motion. The first domino to fall. The finger that pulled the trigger. The one thing responsible for destroying everything that came after it.

Dimitri wasn’t the first cause, and he wasn’t the reason Jared was chained up in a cell.

I was.

Dimitri waved his arm. “Clear this room. I want everyone out of here now.”

“No,” I yelled as Gabriel grabbed my wrist. “I’m not leaving him.”

Jared was helpless—chained to the wall, burned and broken, with Andras inside him. Dimitri and Gabriel would do anything to destroy Andras.

What would stop them from killing Jared?

Nothing.

Gabriel dragged me a few feet, and I snatched my arm away. “Don’t touch me.”

Lukas crashed into Gabriel, plowing his shoulder into Gabriel’s stomach. “Get your hands off her.”

For a second, it looked like Lukas had a chance.

But Gabriel let his feet slide out from under him, taking Lukas to the ground with him. Once he had Lukas on the ground, Gabriel had the advantage. He fought like a seasoned soldier, flipping Lukas onto his back in one fluid maneuver. “I don’t want to hurt you, kid. But I will.”

I can’t let him hurt Lukas, too.

I scrambled to my feet, scrolling through the images of the cell in my mind. Were there any weapons in here?

A flash of white caught my eye.

Gabriel knelt over Lukas, his knee between Lukas’ shoulder blades. He cocked his arm, preparing to throw a punch.

I dove toward him and closed my hand around the whip and tore it from Gabriel’s belt strap. The weapon was heavier than I imagined, and it took all my strength to raise it. My execution wasn’t as smooth as Gabriel’s, but the white vertebrae unhinged and sailed above my head in a wide arc.

Gabriel turned, his body still pinning Lukas’. “You’d better drop my whip yesterday.”

“Then get off him.”

“Kennedy—” Dimitri reached out toward me. “Hand me the whip. No one is going to hurt you or your friends.”

My hand trembled violently. I could barely keep my shoulder raised. “I don’t believe you.” The words came out in ragged sobs. “You’d kill Jared to destroy Andras.”

Dimitri’s shoulders sagged and his forehead creased with what—worry? “No one is doing anything to anyone right now.” He glared at Gabriel, until he eased off Lukas’ chest.

“Give me my whip.” Gabriel stalked toward me.

My shoulders relaxed, and the vertebrae fell against my back. The barbs bit through my shirt, cutting my skin like razors.

Gabriel’s expression changed from anger to concern. “Don’t move. You’ll only make it worse.”

I cried out in pain.

“K-Kennedy?” Jared rasped. This time, it was his own voice.

I spun around, whimpering as the barbs cut deeper than the razor wire.

Jared’s head hung limp against his chest.

“He’s still in there.” My muscles seized with every breath.

Through the blur of my tears, I saw Jared’s head move. He raised his chin in tiny jerks, until he found the strength to hold it upright.

Slowly, the malicious smile stretched across his lips.

“He’s still in there.” The demon mimicked my voice, capturing it perfectly. Then Andras reverted back to his own hollow tone. “But not for long.”