Page 93 of Realm of the Wicked

She shook her head.

‘Demon?’

She brushed a stray curl off Damien’s forehead. ‘Something in-between. Like I told you when we first meant, he was never meant to be a devil. So I was sent to watch over him. I tried countless times to make him take me on, in different forms of course, just to keep an eye on him. And then he met you, and I thought that was it for him. I guess it was. Just not in the way I expected.’ She smiled up at me.

‘I should’ve known.’ I laughed even as tears poured down my face. ‘Your cooking skills were too good to be human.’

‘I’ll take that as a compliment.’

I sniffled, my tears drying. ‘Will it work?’

She nodded, and opened her mouth to speak, just as the ground beneath us trembled like the world was cracking in two. Fist-sized pieces of ceiling were crumbling on us now, and whatever pictures still remained hanging on Damien’s study wall dropped and smashed on the floor. ‘We don’t have much time. They destroyed his soul without a replacement, and the Fringe can’t exist without a devil.’

I grabbed her offered hand. ‘Do it.’

Agatha reached for Damien’s hand, giving me a serious look. ‘Are you sure? There’s no taking this back.’

‘It’s always been his. Is it really giving it up?’

Agatha smiled. ‘He’s in good hands with you. You’ll have to look out for him. In the human realm. He won’t know how to be human any more.’

Another rumbling of the ground and a chunk of the ceiling fell in, the fireplace crumbling away to dust.

‘Right, time is of the essence. Enough waffling from me.’

Agatha pressed our hands together, whispering words from another world altogether, words I’d never be able to imitate in a thousand years of living. It almost sounded like she was singing.

There was a soft pulling in my chest, a warmth spreading through my body. It didn’t hurt, though. It only felt right.

Another piece of the ceiling fell away. The floor was shaking ceaselessly now. The door flew off its hinges. Damien’s eyes fluttered open, he gasped, and fell back in my lap. I couldn’t be sure over the noise, but I thought his breathing came a bit easier.

‘Is it done?’

Agatha nodded, yelling to be heard over the gathering wind. ‘Take care of each other, okay?’

‘What about Clarissa?’ I screamed.

‘I’ll deal with her. She’s been power hungry for far too long. Time someone taught her a lesson.’ Her smile made me smile. ‘In fact, I think it’s time I paid Hell a visit, a true visit, and cleaned up the mess down there. It’s been a while since they focused on the true Balance of souls instead of being in control.’

I chewed on my lip, thinking of everything I wanted to ask, and landing on, ‘How long do we have?’

Her smile grew as the trellises of roses whipped above our heads. Damien’s favorite. ‘It’s not an exact science, but it’ll be enough.’

Enough. I wanted to cry again, thinking about having enough time with Damien. The wall next to us fell away, and through the barely standing doorway, Archie raced in with a frantic cry, landing squashed between myself and Damien. Luna was only steps behind her, and gave Damien’s face a gentle lick before stepping away, standing next to Agatha. She wrapped her arms around the beast. ‘Tell him I’ll take care of her.’

I nodded, holding tight to Damien and Archie.

‘Close your eyes!’ Agatha called. ‘Think of home!’

I didn’t need to be told twice. I closed my eyes, clinging to Damien and Archie, and my first thought was of Damien’s arms. His smile when he watched me when he thought I wasn’t looking. Then I thought of Grace, our tiny apartment, where we were so happy, even with everything standing in our way.

There was silence. No wind. No sounds of crashing or destruction. I carefully opened one eye and then the other.

I was in the middle of a meadow, trees surrounding the edges, leaves tinted with the beginnings of fall. In the sky, only one sun proudly shone, no moon in sight.

We were back. I breathed a sigh of relief, and Archie leaped out of my arms, staring at me from a safe distance away with a baleful look.

I grabbed Damien’s arm. ‘Damien?’