“That was stupid, Harker.” Titus shook his head. “You just lit us up like downtown Vegas at night.”
“No worries.” I pointed with my chin. “Our ride is here.”
A cage was dropping down from above. It was flimsy and narrow and swayed on its metal cable—and only one other sight had ever looked as beautiful to me.
“Seriously?” he grunted. “That contraption will never hold us both.”
“You first, then.”
“No, I’ll stay and fight.”
“It’syouthey want, moron, not me.” I rolled my eyes. “The way I smell, they won’t know I’m nephilim. ’Sides, you’re wounded, and you’re girl’s probably going crazy up there.”
“They’ll still swarm you in a frenzy.”
“Aw, I need the practice. Just promise me one thing.”
“What?”
“If I don’t survive this, save my girl for me and tell her—”
Tell her what? That I love her? I’ll be dead and it would only hurt her more. Tell her I’m sorry? Pretty sure she’ll know I was sorry. Tell her I wish we coulda had centuries together? That would only make her cry harder. Tell her to move on and forget me? She’d do that, anyway.
The cage hit the ground and an ash cloud puffed up around the base. Inside, I could see a string dangling from the top with an index card paper-clipped to it. As I shoved him inside, I asked what it said.
“Pull when ready.”
“If I don’t make it, rescue my girl and tell her I said thank you. Tell her she’s the reason I died a man and not a monster.” I met his eyes for a second. “Swear it.”
“On my life, it will be done.”
In a hurry now, I wedged him in the cage and accidentally whacked his injured leg. He groaned, his eyes rolling back in his head. Needing him outta here, I yanked on the string, then jumped back as something bumped into my foot.
“Wait!” He fell forward. “The pyx!”
Too late. The cage glowed gray and zoomed up way faster than it had come down.
As I called up my katana, I looked at the pyx where it fell. It’d be okay until I figured something else out. For now, all I could do was swing my katana fast enough to stay alive.
22. Saving Your Dumb Behind
Mira
I needed more metal, but there wasn’t any.
And we were almost outta time.
As the rupture spread a little more, I could hear horrific sounds coming from it. Rome had broken through the drywall into the outer office and carried Josef and Mimi out, then came back. Gigi was either invisible or ’porting too fast for us to see and Jax wouldn’t leave her, so the three of us moved everything out of the way and waited.
As Rome hurled the last of the cushy office chairs down the rupture, I choked back a hysterical giggle as I pictured a red-tailed demon lounging in one as bad elevator music hummed in the background.
“Aarrgghh!”
Something like a decaying pterosaur shot out of the hole with an ear-piercing screech to rival Jax’s. I reared back in surprise, then had to scramble to grab the cable before it fed all the way through the pulley.
Out of the corner of my eye, I glimpsed a blue glow as Rome sliced it up with his twin short swords.
“The longer this is open, the more will come up!” he shouted.
