The rumble of the tomb went through Kat like an electrical current. She and Artemis staggered back into Kish whose eyes were as wide as possible as even the walls around them vibrated. Pieces of the ceiling shook loose and fell while the sound grew louder. She met Sin's gaze to see the confirmation of her fears on his face.
Kat laughed nervously. "Please tell me the cave just has a little indigestion."
But as it rumbled again and she heard a piercing shriek from inside the tomb, she knew the truth.
The Dimme were coming out.
Kat tensed, ready to battle as she saw the wiggling feminine fingers that appeared in a crack in the stone. They had long, black fingernails that pushed against the opening, trying to enlarge it.
"Get back," Sin snapped at all of them.
"I'm powerless," Artemis said. "I can't fight against a demon since I gave someone-" she glared at Kat-"temporary loan of my powers. At least it better be temporary..."
Kat shook her head. Yes, she'd given Sin his powers back, and taken some for her own, but she would never take away her mother's. They might disagree from time to time, but at the end of the day, she loved her mother more than anything.
Sin smiled as he gave Artemis a meaningful stare. "I think we found our sacrifice to them."
"Oh poo," Simi said petulantly, "we can't let the heifer-goddess die. Akri will die too if he can't eat from her." Her eyes flaming, she put herself between Artemis and the tomb. "C'mon, Xirena, you gots to help the Simi protect the bitch-goddess."
Xirena let out a disgusted snarl before she took up a position beside her sister.
Kish moved to stand next to Artemis. "Looks like the safest spot here for a human who doesn't want to get eaten."
Artemis raked him with a sneer as Xypher came to stand between Sin and Kat.
"Any game plan?" Xypher asked Sin.
"Don't die."
"I like it. Simple, bold. Impossible. Works for me."
Kat scoffed at his sarcasm. "What are you bitching about, Xypher? You're already dead."
He laughed. "You know, for once, it's good to be me."
Kat only wished she shared his status. She looked at Sin. "Any words of advice on how to kill these?"
"Not a one. It took three of us to trap them last time... trap, not kill because we never could figure out how to do that. They're nasty buggers."
Great. She couldn't wait to meet one.
All of a sudden, something crashed behind them. Kat turned to see Acheron entering the chamber with Zakar and the rest of their group.
"Seal the door behind us," Ash ordered Deimos.
Kish scowled at them. "Um, not to be argumentative or anything, but didn't we have to fight to get that opened?"
A female Dolophonus gave him a duh stare. "Well, if you want to leave it open and let all the demons in-"
"Close it, please."
She smirked. "I somehow thought you'd agree."
Deimos and his twin brother Phobos leaned against the rock that sealed the door. They were bloody and panting, as were the rest of them.
"Well," M'Adoc said as he wiped blood from his bruised brow. "At least there are only seven of these."
"Who are about twenty times worse and stronger than the others," Sin added.
"Oh goody," Kat said excitedly, "how it evens out." Deciding she was through with the games, she flexed her arms out and manifested blades in her hands as Zakar came forward. Sin handed him the Rod they'd taken from Ishtar's tomb.
"Simi," Ash said sharply. "Take Artemis to Olympus."
Simi let out a noise of aggravation. "One day I wish you'd just let me eat her."
"Simi..."
"I'm going, I'm going," she grumbled before she complied.
Sin passed a repugnant look at Ash. "Did you have to do that?"
Ash shrugged. "Forget the Dimme. If she dies, you'd have to fight me in my true form. You ready for that?"
"Not today. I'm a little battle worn."
Ignoring them, Zakar put the Rod into the lock. When he tried to reseal it, the Rod shattered. "I think we waited too long. It won't close again."
Kat eyed the Dimme fingers that were pushing at the crack. "They're awake and steadily chipping the stone down."
"What the hell kills a Dimme?" Xypher asked.
They all looked at each other as a deep green glow burst out of the tomb. The gallu demons outside were now pounding at the door, trying to shatter it. The Dimme were screaming louder, breaking away more of the stone.
How did someone kill something that was invincible? The question chased itself around in Kat's head until she was dizzy from it. And as she looked back at the tomb, a new thought occurred to her.
Kat turned to Sin. "I think we're asking the wrong question. Forget killing them. How did you trap them last time?"
"Three Sumerian gods and a chant."
Kish sighed. "Too bad we only have one out of the three."
"No," Ash said. "We have three out of three. Zakar, Sin, and Katra."
Sin froze as he caught Ash's meaning. It was brilliant. By saving Kat's life, he might have saved the entire world. "The blood exchange."
Ash nodded. "Kat shares Sumerian blood with you now. She can function as the third god."
Sin smiled as he met Kat's hopeful gaze. He looked at Zakar and for the first time, he truly felt they might survive this. "Do you remember how we locked them down?"
"Yes, but the Rod's broken. We need something else to use as a key."
"Will the sfora work?" Kat asked Sin. "It can move forward and back through time."
He wasn't sure, but it was worth a shot. "I think it will. All we can do is try."
Kat pulled her necklace off and handed it to Sin. "What do we need to do?"
After handing Zakar the sfora, Sin stationed her to the middle of the tomb while he moved to the far right and Zakar to the far left.
As soon as they were in position, Sin began chanting in Sumerian. "I am the one, the guide of the demons of this earth.
"We summon the forces that created us and gave us birth.
"To all that is here now and before.
"We protect and guard with our core.
"To the lives of others we are giving.
"Forevermore we will protect those who are living." Sin spoke the words twice before Zakar joined him.
Kat held her breath, trying to focus on and learn the Sumerian words as she watched the Dimme's hand slide further from its hole. The pounding of Kessar and his army echoed even louder as she joined their singing.
Any minute now, one, if not both, groups of demons was about to break into the room with them.
The sfora turned bright red.
"Zakar!" Kessar's voice rang out in the room. "Free the Dimme!"
Zarak faltered in his chanting.
"Stay with me, Brother," Sin said, his voice eerily calm.
Still Kessar shouted at Zakar to help them.
Zakar lowered the hand holding the sfora. His voice grew weaker as the Dimme laughed.
Kat looked to Sin.
"Don't move," he warned her. "We have to stay where we are for it to work."
Zakar was breathing more heavily now as Kessar continued to order him to free the Dimme.
"I won't let you control me anymore," he said from between clenched teeth. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he struggled for his freedom. "I am not yours. I won't betray my brother. Not again."
C'mon, Zakar, she whispered silently. Don't fail us.
Most of all, she prayed he didn't fail himself.
But as she watched, she saw the demon swelling up to take possession of him and it terrified her.
Quicker than she could blink, Ash moved to stand behind Zakar and whisper something in his ear.
All of a sudden, Zakar's eyes turned completely white. He raised his hand with the sfora and began chanting again with renewed fervor. Kat was desperate to know what was going on, but didn't dare break her own chant to ask.
A loud wind whipped through the room. It was so strong the Dolophoni were sliding into each other. Xirena tucked her wings in. Kat's hair whipped around her face.
It felt as if she were rooted to the floor and while it could pull at her hair and clothes, it couldn't budge her. The Dimme were pounding for freedom, their screams mingling with the chanting.
More light suffused the room as the gallu broke through the door.
"Attack!" Deimos shouted, running to engage them. Total chaos broke out as the gallu assaulted their group while Kat, Zakar, and Sin continued to drive the Dimme back.
The sfora turned brighter an instant before one Dimme escaped.
Kat had to duck as it flew at her head, but she held her ground.
"Let it go," Sin said. "Just keep chanting. Seal the tomb on the others and then we'll deal with her."
Kat stayed focused even while the others were fighting virtually on top of her. She watched as the tomb finally began to knit itself closed. Time seemed to slow down before the Dimme cries were finally silenced.
Covered in sweat, Zakar pressed the sfora to the lock and sealed it before he collapsed on the ground.
Kat was about to go to him until she saw Kessar from the corner of her eye. Before she could even blink, he turned aside one of the Dolophoni and lunged at Sin, stabbing him in the back, straight through his heart.
She couldn't breathe as she watched in horror. "No!" she cried.
Kessar laughed evilly.
Sin's eyes widened an instant before he sank to his knees. It was then she realized Kessar had taken Sin's sword that had been forged by Sin's people. It was the one thing that could kill the gallu and it was also able to kill Sin...
Her vision clouded by fury, she blasted Kessar with a god-bolt from her hands. And then she hit him with another and another until she had him pinned to the floor. She was so intent on him that she missed the other demon who ran at her back and knocked her to the ground. Kat sprang to her feet and turned on her newest attacker. She manifested a dagger in her hand and lunged for the demon. It dodged, then tried to bite her. Kat swept its feet out from under it, then plunged her dagger between its eyes.
She rose, looking for Kessar to kill him too... Unfortunately, she didn't see him. But she did see Sin writhing in a pool of his own blood.
Terrified, she ran to him. "Sin?"
He was shaking as she pulled him into her arms. "I've got you, baby," she whispered, placing her hand to his wound. Kat whispered as she tried to heal his wound. But it wouldn't close. How could that be? "I don't understand..."
"It's a Sumerian weapon," Ash said as he knelt beside them. "One designed to kill their gods."
She looked up at him and did something she'd never done before. She begged. "Heal him, please. I'll do anything."
"I can't, Katra. Not from this."
"He can't die. Don't you understand? Please... please, Daddy, help him."
Ash's heart broke as he heard the desperate love in her tone. Kat was willing to do anything to protect Sin. He remembered a time in his life when he'd felt that way about Artemis. And that love had turned on him and ruined his life. It had left him shattered and vacant. Lost and damned.
He could give Kat the knowledge to save Sin, but would Sin be like Artemis and cause her pain? Would she look back on this moment in time and curse it the way he did his own past? Would she hate herself later for this one desperate moment where her entire world was the one she loved and nothing else mattered except keeping Sin close to her?
Don't interfere with free will. She wanted Sin. Who was he to stop her from choosing to make a sacrifice for him?
Ash controlled fate. But the human heart was its own master, right or wrong. Good or bad.
Dread, agony, and love warred inside him as he clenched his teeth. What should he do? Protect his daughter from a future that might or might not happen or give her the one thing she wanted most?
But in the end, he knew he had no choice. The decision was hers to make, not his. Life was a series of choices made and the consequences that followed.
Please don't let this hurt her. Don't let her regret her love the way I regret mine. Please...
Taking a deep breath, he spoke. "Give him your powers, Kat."
She scowled at him. "What? I don't have the power to heal myself."
"I know. But your powers are from the Atlantean and Greek pantheons. They're not Sumerian. Those powers will negate the sword blade. It will save him. Trust me. But you'll have to give away your powers permanently."
Kat couldn't breathe as she heard those words. She'd never been without her powers... it would leave her defenseless. Vulnerable.
"Don't, Kat," Sin said, his teeth chattering from the pain of his wound. "Don't weaken yourself for me."
Those words cemented her conviction. Her heart pounding, she leaned over and kissed him. And as she did so, she summoned her powers from deep inside and let them leave her to fill his body.
Sin's head swam from the sensation of her gentle lips and from the power that suddenly filled him. He lay there unable to breathe as every sight and sound were amplified. He'd known Kat was powerful, but the magnitude of her powers hit him hard.
What she'd given up...
For him.
The fact that she'd never abused so much power or hurt anyone with it. It was mind-blowing and it made him love her all the more.
She pulled back to look at him.
Sin cupped her face in his hands as he stared at her in wonder. She was truly the most beautiful soul he'd ever encountered. "I love you, Kat."
Her eyes twinkled with mischief. "I know."
Invigorated, Sin pushed himself up. Kat stood to his right and Ash to his left. The instant they were on their feet, the demons retreated. All those who were able to vanished.
"Oh come on," Sin taunted. "You cowards."
But there was no sign of them now.
Deimos wiped his hand over his cheek as his comrades finished off the demons who were wounded and dead. "Did anyone happen to see where that Dimme went?"
No one had an answer. One by one, they all had to admit no one had seen her leave.
Deimos let out a heavy breath. "Well this sucks, huh?"
Kish scoffed. "Not from where I'm standing. If we lived, it's a damn good day."
Xypher nodded. "He does have a point. Trust the one person in the room who is currently dead."
Sin moved to Zakar who was still trembling and sweating even though he was standing.
"The demon is still in me," he whispered.
"I know." Sin pulled his brother against him. "And we're not going to let it win."
Kat looked around at the damage. There were demon bodies everywhere. The Dolophoni who were wounded were cauterizing their wounds. She was grateful they'd been able to confine their battle to this cavern.
But would they be able to do it the next time? "Can one Dimme end the world?"
Sin stepped back from Zakar. "Not as easily as seven could. Besides, she should be easy to spot. She won't have any social skills and she's hungry."
Kat hoped he was right. "When they attack do they convert those they bite?"
Sin shook his head. "No. They just kill."
"Well that's one thing I guess."
M'Adoc came forward to address Sin. "We'll patrol dreams, watching for the gallu to turn up."
"And I'll warn the Dark-Hunters, Chthonians, and Squires to watch for them," Ash said.
Kat sighed at the carnage. "I guess that's all we can do. That and clean our wounds."
"Yeah," Kish said, "but we saved the world just now. You have to feel good about that."
Sin agreed. "I do. But I'll feel a whole lot better when he find Kessar and his crew and the Dimme and eliminate that threat entirely."
"Believe me," Kat said, leaning against him, "we'll all feel better."
Sin laced his fingers with hers before he spoke to Ash. "Can you locate them?"
"No. They're off my radar. The best defense we have against them is you."
Without thinking, Sin put his arm around Kat. As soon as he did, he saw the look of warning from Ash.
Ash crossed his arms as he approached them slowly. "You ever hurt her, god or no god, I'm going to kick your ass."
Sin laughed. "Don't worry. I'd die before I let anything happen to her."
"You remember that, and you'll have a long and pain-free life."
Kat smiled as love for both of them welled up inside her.
One by one, the Dream-Hunters and Dolophoni left.
"Xypher?" Kat called as he started to leave too.
He turned toward her.
"I'll speak with Hades immediately to get you your freedom."
Xypher curled his lip. "Human for a month. I can't wait." But buried in that disgusted tone, she heard the underlying hope and anticipation.
With a nod to them, he vanished.
Ash held his hand out to Xirena. "You ready to return to Kalosis?"
"Am I ever. The human world just has too many humans in it for me, which wouldn't be bad if I could eat some. As it is, it's just too cruel to be taunted this way. Let me go back to my shopping room."
Ash paused. "I'll check in with you guys when I can. In the meantime, you know where to find me."
Sin turned to Zakar, "C'mon, Brother. Let's go home."
Zakar shook his head. "I think I need some time alone."
Sin frowned. "Where are you going?"
"I don't know. The world's changed... and so have I. I need to find my place in it again. Don't worry. I'll be in touch."
Kat felt the sadness in Sin as his brother vanished. "He meant what he said. He's not out to do harm."
"I know. It's just hard to see him leave like this." He leaned his head against hers. "I only hope he finds what needs."
Kat patted his ribs before she left his side to retrieve the sfora. She closed her fingers around it. It looked so small and insignificant, yet it had held back the destruction of the world. "Well, we averted this crisis. I can't wait to see what comes next."
Kish stepped out from the shadows. "Um, guys, can we go home now?"
Sin took her hand. "Yeah, we're going home."
Kessar stood back as he watched the remnants of his people. They'd suffered an atrocious blow today. But they weren't defeated. Even though this was a hard situation, there was still hope.
And hope had seen him through worse times than this.
Leaving his people to tend their wounds and set up their homes, he wandered through the new caverns they'd found to use in just such a case.
But honestly, he was tired of hiding. If they were to venture out, they would need an ally. One they could depend on who was just as angry and bloodthirsty as he was.
One who hated humans as much, if not more...
As Kessar paused in the lowest part of the cavern, the old adage played through his head. My enemy's enemy is my friend.
Drawing a circle on the ground, he filled it with the image of a dragon... an ancient symbol of a cursed race that had once been their enemies.
War made such strange bedfellows.
"Strykerius!" he shouted, summoning a different kind of demon from its home.
A thick smoke appeared from the circle to form the image of a man Kessar hadn't seen in centuries. Tall and well-muscled, he had short black hair and a nasty attitude that more than matched Kessar's.
Stryker looked at him with cold disdain. "I thought you were dead."
Kessar laughed before he removed his sunglasses to show Stryker his red glowing eyes. "I'm alive... and we need to talk."