Page 180 of Demons Dig Donuts

“Look, we’ll figure out how to get you down!” Indy called up to him. “Hang tight—”

“Fuck!”

“What now?”

“The dragon has Sariel!”

Indy stared in horror as Murray chomped down on Sariel, having likely snatched him right out of the air. He shook him like a dog would a toy, and even from this distance Indy could see golden blood gushing like rivers.

Day was on Murray’s back leg, trying to swallow it whole, and Dill and Izba were clobbering him relentlessly. Seymour was a tiny blip, swinging a bat or something at Murray’s other rear leg. None of it seemed to be hurting Murray in the slightest and he refused to let go of Sariel.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck—” Indy looked around, eyes wild.

Mr. Heiss and Lou were busy battling Mr. Mitternacht with the help of a scary Renn Fair lady, a weird horse man thing, and Flanders. Nyp remained a motionless heap, and for now it seemed like they had Mr. Mitternacht on the defensive and victory appeared likely if they kept going.

But Sariel might not have that kind of time.

“Hey!” Indy screamed. “Lou! Heiss! Hello! We need some fucking help!”

Lou and Mr. Heiss both looked over to see Sariel fighting for his life, and Lou shouted, “Go! Now! I’ve got this bastard!”

Mr. Heiss soared upward, his wings flapping as his body glowed. The crown between his horns exploded with pale purple flames and strange black tendrils slithered through the holes in his wings in an effort to make them appear whole.

The vine-like things looked as if they’d been roasted because their texture resembled burned wood. They were able to move as if liquid, however, and glistened as they snaked across Mr. Heiss’s body. They abruptly separated his limbs and his head to rearrange them and create some larger, more monstrous form.

Additional tendrils grew in to occupy the space between all the various parts until Mr. Heiss was at least ten or twelve feet tall. A wave of bright eyes popped up across Mr. Heiss’s back and shoulders, but they were blue now.

No, lavender again.

No—they kept changing.

The tendrils had woven together so that Mr. Heiss’s body was entirely covered by their inky blackness and magically iridescent eyeballs except for his wings, horns, and his crown. His wings flapped once, twice, and then he soared like a missile directly at Murray’s head.

There was an explosion of blinding purple light, Murray let out a furious roar, and Mr. Heiss came flying back out with—Sariel!

Sariel was in Mr. Heiss’s arms, but he didn’t seem to be moving. He was a faintly flickering being of light, golden rings, and glittering blood. His body was covered in an army of eyes like Mr. Heiss, but all of his were closed

Mr. Heiss landed beside the club, gently placing Sariel down on the ground. “He is weak, but he is alive.” Many of his eyes flickered toward Indy. “Stay here. As long as Mr. Mitternacht lives, he controls Murray and—”

“Got it, got it! Just go!” Indy shouted. “I got him!” His heart twisted up as he watched Mr. Heiss fly away again to rejoin Lou, and he tried to think quickly. He had no idea how to help a wounded angel, Dill and Aodnait were still getting their asses kicked, and Neil was stuck on the damn roof with no way down.

“Sariel!” Seymour screamed, running as hard and fast as he could toward them. “No, no, no!” He threw himself down beside Sariel, carefully easing his head into his lap. He sobbed as Sariel’s body dimmed even more. “Fuck! Someone help!”

“Help is on the way!” Gammy hollered as she appeared in a burst of light and purple hair, and Indy had never been so happy to see her in his whole life. “I’m here! I can help!” She held her hands over Sariel’s body and they glowed bright blue, the light pouring all over every inch of his battered body.

Whatever she was doing seemed to be helping as Sariel slowly reverted to his human form, and the blood stopped pouring out of him. His eyes fluttered, and he peered up at Seymour. “Seymour…?” He tried to sit up. “Day! Where is Day?”

“She’s fine!” Seymour said tearfully. “Stop. You gotta rest for a sec, just—”

“There is no damn time!”

Sariel was right, Indy realized as he watched the ongoing battle, and all the while his heart plummeted.

Lou and Mr. Heiss still had not managed to take Mr. Mitternacht down. The demon was too fast, too strong, and one good blow was all it took to put Lou on the ground. The spirits all swept into the fray to defend him and retaliate, but Mr. Mitternacht was unnaturally good at fighting things he couldn’t see.

Shit.

This was bad.