“Deacon!”
“I lost my hand a long time ago.” He met my eyes. “I thrust it into a stream of acid.”
I watched, aghast, as the limb that had fallen to the ground re-formed, shrinking and twisting and turning into what looked like a small, golden cage.
With superhuman speed, Deacon dove for it. And then, before I could even blink in surprise, he threw it straight at my chest.
It didn’t, however, hit me. Instead, the thing seemed to have a mind of its own. It bent and twisted and re-formed itself over the gemstone on the Oris Clef necklace, making a decorative sort of cage. And the moment it stopped, I understood.
This was the third relic. Deacon hadn’t destroyed it; he’d hidden it. And I now wielded the Oris Clef, and all the power it promised.
And then, with the same incredible speed, Deacon burst forward, his feet not even touching the ground as he sailed through the mist and tackled me, drawing me out of Gabriel’s whirlwind. I was freaked and shaking, but dammit, I knew what I had to do, and with Clarence’s powers surging through my head, I called for the portal to open.
It worked. Thank God, it worked, and a portal opened in the floor only feet away. Gabriel raced after us, hand outstretched as he pulled for us, the tug lessened only by the massive power that Deacon had demonstrated. “In!” Deacon cried, and with him and Rose at my side, we leaped inside, the portal closing behind us even as Gabriel’s power yanked us backward.
But he was too late. We were in the void.
For the moment at least, we were safe.
It wasn’t over, though. I knew that. Not only did he need me to lock the gates, he also knew that I had the Oris Clef, and he believed that I’d use it. That I wasn’t going to lock out the demons but was going to step up to rule them.
Two visions of my future, and both of them called to me. Dark or light, and I would have to choose.
I shivered, thinking of what I’d seen in his head. The hordes bowing down to me. Worshipping me.
The vision had disgusted me as much as it had foolishly, shamefully, intrigued me and tempted me. To wield power such as I’d seen in Penemue. Could I do that? Did I have the strength within me to stand at the head of the demon hordes? Was my destiny, perhaps, to turn them to good? To help them, and me, find redemption?
Or was I only making excuses to slide into the dark?
I had no idea what the future held. No idea what I would do.
All I knew was that I had my sister back. We were, both of us, free.
I reached up and closed my hand around the Oris Clef, this strange relic that was both my salvation and my doom. Despite my uncertain future, I couldn’t help but be glad that I’d found it.
Because now I was the girl in charge.
And all I had to do was survive.