CHAPTER 208

Reggie bolted out of the door and climbed up the horseman's leg from behind. He disappeared under the loincloth and War dropped the sword, barely missing Jenny, then clutched his groin.

As War yelled in agony, Reggie fell to the ground and scrambled to retrieve Jenny. He disappeared between the splintered boards of the porch, dragging the doll to safety.

"I am so tired of this fucking house!" War declared, then lifted his sword and slammed it into the siding. His blade splintered the siding, but did little damage otherwise.

"Soon, brother." Famine grabbed Beth from behind and pulled the cotton from her ears before pushing her to the ground. That gnawing pain filled her again as the strength was leached from her body. "Time to die, little girl."

"Wait!" Murray put out a hand and landed on the ground. "Don't kill her yet."

"Why?" War had stepped off of the porch, dragging his sword behind him. "We don't need her. And don't you dare tell me you want her to watch as the end of the world comes. That's fucking amateur hour bullshit."

"It isn't that." Murray's eyes gleamed as he knelt down to scoop up some soil. He licked it with an abnormally long tongue. "Oh, you are a clever one."

Beth groaned. She had figured out long ago that they were in a pocket dimension, and the spell she had chosen didn't just anchor the house in place. It anchored the house and the land around them to her very soul. If she died, there was a good chance that the horsemen would be cast into the Underworld, or wherever she was destined to go. The Grimoire hadn't been clear on what would happen, but the spell had explicitly warned about the dangers of tethering a location to a living being and then slaying it.

"If you kill her, it will be days before we return, if not weeks." Murray's eyes narrowed until they became angry slits. "It can be undone in hours while she lives, so don't harm her."

"Can we kill the others?" War glared at Lily with his remaining eye. "The human is off-limits, but what about that demonic bitch?"

Lily spread her wings and took to the sky, only to be tackled by Pestilence. She fought back, slashing with dagger-like nails, but Pestilence didn't seem to care.

"The human lives until I say otherwise. The others belong to you." Murray's jaw unhinged and he lifted into the air to sing his song of damnation once more.

Pain wracked Beth's body as she felt the spell she had cast being undone. The scream seemed to worm its way through her bones, vibrating her whole body.

The horsemen held a debate that she couldn't hear, and then War started shouting at Mehkhkahrel.

"Stop smiting him!" He yelled, holding his hands to his mouth. "Hey! Stop for a moment! We need you to do something else!"

Mehkhkahrel ignored them as Murray continued to scream. War waved his hands in frustration, but Beth couldn't follow what was being said. Between Murray's spell and Famine's magical hunger, she couldn't concentrate on anything other than breathing. Pestilence and Lily were trapped in a wrestling match where neither had the upper hand.

Every minute that passed felt like an hour. Beth felt the breath ripped from her as Murray finally undid her spell. The ground rumbled violently and Famine finally released her, tossing her to the ground.

"Hey, we need to borrow your angel for a second," Famine yelled at Murray. "To smite the demon over there."

Murray's eyes barely registered recognition as his scream took on a different pitch. However, Mehkhkahrel stopped blasting Death, allowing War to lift his sword and shove it down through his brother's rib cage. This pinned him to the ground, and the fire in Death's eyes blazed hot.

"I have decided that I am adopted," he declared loudly.

"Nobody cares, you skinny little shit," War replied.

Beth struggled to her feet, but Murray's eerie shriek had her so dizzy now that she was dry heaving. She raised her hand and tried to summon another ball of fire to assist Lily, but was pushed from behind by Famine.

"You bit off more than you could chew," Famine told her. "Made a pretty big show at the end. But now you're going to pay for it. When we get back, I'm going to hunt down anyone you've ever loved and personally devour them."

"You're free to smite the others, now," War said, his missing eye swollen shut. He pointed at Lily. "Start with that bitch."

Lily fought even harder, but Pestilence was unaffected by her efforts. The angel's eyes blinked out of order, as if malfunctioning.

"Fucker is all messed up now," War muttered. "Hey! Mehkhkahrel! That's a succubus right over there, she's a demon! Angels smite demons!"

The angel didn't move. Instead, it shifted, as if reality warped around it. It's baleful center eye was now looking at Lily, who crumpled under its golden gaze.

"DEMON SPAWN," it declared, and the air around it shifted. "YE HAVE BEEN JUDGED."

"Suck my dick!" Lily cried, smoke rising from her body. She cried out in agony as sparkling lights danced around her, like sadistic fireflies.

When the beam of light burst from Mehkhkahrel, Beth closed her eyes and screamed. Hot liquid sprayed across her body and she fell to the ground in shock. When she opened her eyes, she saw that she was covered in Opal's blue slime.

Opal, or what was left of her, lay melted on top of Lily. The crystalline decanter lay on its side, slowly dripping ooze onto the ground.