He can’t die without seeing them one last time.
Brownie is talking again. Cass forces himself to tune back in. “—and Nasir said she wants this done as quickly as possible. Chin’s soul is too powerful of an asset to waste—if the alleged jailbreak-to-besucceeds,then we’ll have lost another weapon.”
Blondie scoffs. “Oh, come on. What are the chances of that?”
The words are barely out of his mouth before the interrogation room’s door flies off its hinges, crashing into the opposite wall with a strangely mutedbang.Both spellcasters whirl around, teeth bared and hands glowing with power?—
Purple-gold magic roars towards them, throwing them across the room like rag dolls. Two familiar figures streak past in Cass’s peripheral vision, clearly ready to finish the job, and now, the person blocking the harsh light above him is?—
“JJ?” Cass manages.
JJ’s face breaks into a watery smile. “Hey, sweetheart,” he whispers, and his fingertips briefly skim across Cass’s cheek before darting up to fumble with the strap at his forehead. “You were right, Cass—you were so,soright, and I’m so sorry I ever doubted you, and I love you so much, and we’re going to take care of you now, okay? We’re going to get you out of here, and?—”
“Less talk, more jailbreak,” Ez orders, and Cass dazedly squints in her direction. She strides up to his interrogation table, eyes narrowed and face pale. “What the hell did they do to you, Cass?”
“I think they tried to rip out my soul,” he rasps, and he bites back a whimper when JJ briefly has to tighten the strap around his chest before releasing it. “Testing isn’t just torture—they’re doing something with soul magic. And they’re experimenting with both demonandhuman souls. Demons and dissidents.”
“It looks less like they tried to rip it out and more like they tried to rip itapart.”Obie’s eyes are fixed on Cass’s chest, looking straight through Cass’s human façade to the shimmer of his soul underneath. “And I—I think they succeeded.”
For a split second, JJ’s fingers go still on the strap around Cass’s ankle. “What?”
Ez snaps her fingers impatiently. “Lesschatter,lackey. We can properly diagnose him back at home.”
There’s an undercurrent of fear in her voice that Cass is pretty sure only he and Obie can hear, and dread roils through him. He knew he was weak before the spellcasters even arrived, but they managed to shred his soul apart in less than anhour?How long have they been doing this? How many other demons have they tried to do this to?
How many other demons have theysucceededwith?
At long last, JJ finishes unbuckling the last corrosion-imbued strap. Almost instantly, Cass feels like he can breathe again. “All right,” JJ says. “Everything’s off. Can you walk, Cass? I can—I can help you walk.”
With a great effort of will, Cass fixes his bleary eyes on JJ’s face. He looks younger and more scared than usual, and when he smooths Cass’s hair away from his forehead, Cass can feel his fingers trembling. “Did you say you loved me a minute ago?” he asks hoarsely.
JJ laughs shakily. “Yeah. I did. And I—I do. I love you.”
The slightest bit of tension in Cass’s chest eases at the words. “I love you, too.”
“Nostringvadhaalive,”Ez groans. “The question was whether you can walk, Cass. Can wepleasesave the make-up for later?”
“I can try,” Cass says, and with JJ on one side and Obie on the other, they slowly pull Cass up to sitting. His stomach turns over on itself, vision swimming as nausea claws up his throat. “Just—just might need a minute.”
Abruptly, there’s a shout from across the prison. Obie curses. “Looks like they found Locke.”
“Yeah, we might not have a minute, Cass,” Ez says sharply, and none too gently, she grabs his arm. “On three, okay? One, two?—”
This time, Cass has to muffle a scream as the three of them pull him to his feet. Pain shrieks through him as some of his half-scabbed injuries split open, and the only thing that keeps his unsteady legs from buckling is his friends’ hands holding him up. “This isn’t ideal,” he manages.
Obie barks out a surprised laugh. “Understatement of the century.”
“Can you heal him, Ez?” JJ asks, a hint of anxiety snaking into his voice. “Or—or at least heal his worst injuries?”
“Not with the magic-blocking spell work. Our best bet is to get him out of here as quickly as possible, and then—” Ez cuts herself off, her eyes darting back to Cass’s chest. Back to where he knows his soul is hanging in tatters. “And then I’ll, um, see what I can do. About everything.”
The thread of apprehension in her voice is more pronounced now. Cass swallows hard, trying to settle his churning stomach.
“All right,” JJ says, and he pulls Cass’s arm over his shoulders, coaxing Cass to lean his weight against JJ’s side. Relieved, Cass obeys, letting JJ’s steadfast strength keep him upright. “Let’s get him back to Obie’s safe house, then. You two lead the way, I’ll protect Cass, and—and we’ll fix everything they did to him.”
It’s not going to be that simple. Cass knows it, and he’s pretty sure JJ knows it, too. But for now?—
For now, JJ is firm and solid next to him, holding him up and pulling him close.
