CHAPTER 207

"I would like to go on record--" Lily began.

"Noted." Beth nodded at Kisa, who opened the door.

The hideous shrieking was diminished by the cotton, and Lily burst out of the house first, holding up the Grimoire. She pointed at Murray dramatically and started shouting.

"There once was a man from Nantuck--" Lily was cut off when War threw his sword, spearing her though the side and sending her sprawling across the ground.

Opal got further into the yard, her whole body wobbling dramatically. Pestilence flew through the air in an attempt to keep up.

Beth crouched down and walked along the deck until she had a good view of Murray. Opening the Grimoire, she began reading the incantation, feeling her entire body knot up in pain. The foreign magic she summoned coated her like glue, then spread outward along the ground. Unseen by Murray, it honed in on him and latched onto whatever magic he was using to move them back to Earth. Her magic sniffed out the boundaries of Murray's spell and sank into place.

"Aargh!" Lily squirted blood dramatically while holding her stomach. War strolled casually over, a shit-eating grin on his serpentine face.

"That was stupid," he told her once he was close. Over his shoulder, Pestilence had gotten a hold of Opal and carried her up into the air. Opal's body stretched dramatically, but the slime held it together as they disappeared into the mist.

Doing her best to ignore the others, Beth continued the recitation. The hair on her arms stood on end as she summoned primal forces that would lock the house in one location.

"Dumb bitch." War pulled his sword out of Lily, then picked her up. "I've been looking forward to this."

"Me, too." Lily's eyes lit up and her tail appeared. It darted forward and buried itself in War's eye.

The horseman let out a scream as he tried to push Lily away from him. She held on tight, her tail withdrawing and stabbing again. War turned his face away, sparing his remaining eye, then slammed Lily into the ground. The succubus let out a grunt of pain, and then cried out when War smashed her into the ground.

"Shit!" He gave her a kick, which sent her sliding across the ground. She tumbled dramatically, transforming back into her usual form. When she tried to stand, Famine stepped from the gloom and smashed her in the face with his heavy scales. Moments later, Opal fell out of the sky and exploded on impact with the ground. The sound was akin to a bag of soup striking concrete.

Beth finished the chant, and the ground lurched beneath her. The whole house creaked and groaned overhead and everyone but Murray fell to the ground. Death slid out of the angel's golden beam, and was almost to his feet before the light came crashing down on him again.

Murray's face twisted into a mask of anger as he dropped his attention to the house. Spotting Beth, he lifted a hand and pointed at her.

"She's there!"

Beth slammed the Grimoire shut and tossed it to the side where Kisa waited. The catgirl slid the book into Tick Tock as Beth went running sideways along the front porch. She felt powerful magic swirling in her hands as she chanted a series of words that condensed the air around her into a hot ball of energy.

Pestilence appeared from above, their body surrounded by black insects that swirled around them.

"Fireball, motherfucker!" Beth hurled the energy, willing it to ignite. The ball of fire caught Pestilence by surprise, and they fell onto the ground and rolled back and forth to smother the flames.

War smashed through the lattice of the porch, his sword left behind. He was almost upon her when Beth pulled Jenny out of her hiding place inside her sweater and threw her.

PLAY WITH ME!

Jenny smacked War in the face, causing him to backpedal in terror. He swatted the doll away, but she hovered in mid-air, a sickly aura surrounding her body as wooden planks and siding ripped free of the ground and smashed into the horseman.

Distracted, War didn't notice Kisa come from behind and unleash Tick Tock. Bladed arms slashed into War's legs, toppling him.

A void formed in Beth's gut and she clutched her belly in agony. A thick hand grabbed her by the hair and pulled her over the edge of the railing and onto the ground.

"You like that?" Famine asked. "That's what true hunger feels like. It isn't when you just miss a snack or a meal. We're talking days on end, a sensation that consumes your every thought."

Kisa came running up behind Famine, the scissors in her hand. Famine stepped aside at the last second and brought his hand down on the back of her head. Kisa let out a yowl as she hit the ground and went still.

Tick Tock sprouted metal legs, causing Famine to step away from Kisa. The mimic carried her away as Famine grabbed Beth by the collar and tossed her toward Murray.

"You have only delayed the inevitable." Murray shook his head. "I'm not sure what is sadder. The fact that you could have been my vessel, or the fact that mankind will never know you bought them an additional two hours of peace."

"I liked it better when you were a table," Beth said, then summoned another fireball and threw it.

The blast caught Murray in the face, scorching skin and hair. He cried out in pain, and Mehkhkahrel stopped blasting Death and turned its attention toward Beth.

"YE HAVE BEEN JUDGED," it declared, then lit up with golden fire.

"No!" Murray stepped between Beth and the angel. "Keep him down!"

Death was already on his feet, his dark cloak forming around him as he dashed toward Murray. Less than ten feet away, the Grim Reaper was blasted into the ground.

"That was close," Famine declared. Behind him, Pestilence rose from the ground, their hazmat suit covered in soot.

"Die! Die! Die!" War had grabbed onto Jenny and was busy smashing her into the ground with his foot. He stuck his hand out and his sword flew through the air and into his palm with a meaty thwack. Raising the blade high, tip pointed down, he laughed in glee.