From where he was watching what was happening from inside Spitfire's body, Hades could see that Doll was lost in his own mind. There was too much trauma, too many horrible things had happened to his pretty baby lately for him to pinpoint what exactly Doll was trapped in. But that wasn't important. What was important was getting him out of it."Skin-sheath, are you able to hear me? Can you follow my voice?"Hades worried that speaking in Spitfire's voice wouldn't reach Doll in the same way. But he needed his attention. He had to lead him out of the darkness somehow."Rule one, small gods are seen and not heard. Is that right? Please don't hit me again." Doll curled in on himself. He seemed to be answering questions but not the ones Hades was asking."You are not a small god," Hades growled. This was frustrating. He had been able to help Doll before. He'd brought him back from the dead within days of meeting him. Now that their bond was fully made, why couldn't he do anything for him?I

"I am going to fucking kill you later, Hades, you fucking asshole!"Jinx was screaming as he tilted the helicopter to the side, trying to avoid a huge flying demon that wasn't interested in what it did to the invading toms on its way toward the gaping Hellgate. Jinx couldn’t spare even a glance to see if it got through. He was too busy focusing on what was in front of him.There was a span of about seven and a half seconds before the hordes of the Underworld realized a gate opened that was big enough for most of them to get through. Now they were trying to fly through a raging mob, going against the flow and trying not to be swept back out the Hellgate.Hades wasn't much help right now. He was muttering nonsense as his entire focus was on closing the gate behind them before opening a new one in front of them. But the more demons that pressed towards the gate, the harder it would be for him to close it.Jinx wished his friend luck with that

Even though he was tightly bound to the Marking chair and paralyzed with several different spells, Agent was still intimidating. Ink had turned the chair so he could no longer feel the no-fur's eyes on his back as he worked on making the ink required for the Marking Priest wanted.If having Agent glare at him wasn't enough, Ink was wrestling with his own doubts about this whole idea Priest had for Marking Agent for the draining ritual. It felt too dangerous. Like there was a power in the strange little no-fur they were not ready for. After all, Agent was in control of a small empire of toms and no-furs alike and had made some alliances with the Hares that Ink barely understood.Ink was growing tired of this game Priest was playing. Only it wasn't a game. The large Grey-furred feline was deadly serious about his use of the unfortunate no-furs who fell into his care. He really meant well. Draining the no-furs of their magick made them useless and unappealing to toms, but the Hares still

The sounds were absolutely deafening. Screams of Demons falling into the salt water, something they were not prepared for. The roaring of flames that followed the echoes of the helicopter exploding as it hit the deck of a huge metal ship. Other sounds, other creatures screaming.Hades couldn't make out the specifics, not with his ears still ringing from the initial explosion.At least the Hellgate had closed behind him. He hadn't been sure of his control of the hex magicks as they were spat out of the Underworld shortcut into the middle of the gods-forsaken ocean. At least there was a boat to catch their fall. Like the other two toms in the helicopter, Hades had jumped out as soon as he thought he could safely land on the deck of the ship. But that had separated him from both Jinx and Liam.There hadn't been time for a real plan in the few scant seconds between when Hades had come out of his trance to when it became obvious they were not going to regain con

Priest had returned to his cabin and taken something to help with sleep. He needed to be at his best and most accurate magically if he was going preside over draining Agent of his auric magick. So the first loud explosion he mistook for being part of his dreams. It took the second much louder, boat-shaking one to startle him awake.His first thought as he gathered up his weapons was to get to Ink. This had Agent all over it. Maybe he should have fought harder with his Orangelo lover to stay and observe the Marking. But they'd already had a brutal argument about Priest's plan and motivations. He didn't want to argue with the tom he loved anymore today. Why Ink couldn't see the logic of taking Agent down, the pirate Captain just didn't understand. Priest hoped things could be smoothed out after the ritual and the risk that came with it.But what if Agent was the wild card Ink feared he would be? More powerful than they thought. Lying in wait to strike. Then Priest had made a grave error