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I let the demon drop, then pin it to the floor with one knee I start tearing off scales, working ic to tor time I didn&039;t understand how Beranabus could butcher so nastily As evil as demons are as much as I accept the need to kill them I couldn&039;t condone torture But ed over the years I&039;ve seen too many corpses Too ony we can put theh, and a whole lot more on top

Shark helps Meera finish off the anteater, then studies me as I work on the lizard

"Need a hand, kid?"

"No," I pant

The ex-soldier squats beside me and waits forfrom," he says quietly, "but we don&039;t have ti"

I sigh, then shoot a burst of ic into the lizard It sluize," Shark says "Another time and place, I&039;d have joined in and we&039;d have had hours of fun"

"Fun?" Meera barks

"Sure," Shark s It&039;d be a hell of a life if you devoted your time to battle and didn&039;t enjoy it"

"Anyone ever tell you you&039;re a sicko?" Meera snorts

"We&039;re all the same," Shark protests "I&039; demons is noble and necessary, blah blah blah But it&039;s a blast too Right, Kernel?"

"Coe in the debate, afraid I&039;d co what that says about hter nation Turning our backs on the dead de mode and set off in search of monsters viler and more vicious than ourselves

We kill threetheiropen He&039;s a thin, balding, ed man in a cheap suit He doesn&039;t look evil Most people ork for the Demonata don&039;t He shuts his eyes as we close in on hirabs his throat and crushes it The nearby deh theto their own universe before it closes We let theet stuck into those left behind De once ashuts Their bodies fall apart after a few minutes and they crumble away to dust But they can still kill a lot of people during that time, so we afford them no mercy

When the hospital&039;s clean, we join the others on the roof Bec, Dervish, and Shars have been cut off Beranabus is working hard to patch her up Dervish is sitting on a gurney, looking close to death Meera goes to hiuard the staircase," Shark says "Make sure we aren&039;t taken by surprise"

"But the deone," I frown

"We have humans to worry about too," he snorts, then nods at Bec "She&039;ll tell you all about it"

And she does, swiftly and clearly It&039;s a disturbing story First I learn that an old enerave Juni Sho I first knew as Nadia Moore, has come back to life in a new, mutated form

I&039;m always torn when I think of Nadia / Juni She was a bitter but kind young woman e first met She saved my life in Lord Loss&039;s realm when I fell into a river of lava She told ain, that she served the demon master now and I should think of her as a foe But I find it hard to hate her She&039;s a person who lost her way She didn&039;t seek out evil-she got sucked into it I pity her as much as I fear and mistrust her

Bec describes the attack on Dervish&039;s home in Carcery Vale Werewolves broke in, supported by huift-she can absorb the memories of anyone she touches One of the olves was a Grady Its parents turned it over to the Lambs-family executioners-to dispose of But the Laroup subsequently used it as a weapon

We discuss this troubling turn of events Grubbs is ht of his relatives being manipulated Bec thinks Lord Loss masterminded the attack, that he knows she&039;s part of the Kah-Gash Beranabus agrees, then tellsin this universe They need lad to set to work on thebecause I needIt was bad as soon as I set foot on this world, but since the demons&039;closed, the pain has increased sharply and ic They can&039;t function normally here As much as I despise the universe of the De on the , I hear the whispers frolance around and spot several pulsing rapidly But the whispers don&039;t seem to be directed at le word There&039;s a steady stream of phrases, none of which I canDervish wants to stay and find out more about the olves Beranabus says we can&039;t waste time on thes recently and the Disciples are struggling to cope She&039;s afraid the olves roup If they killed a large nuh I&039;uht be related," I say

"Related to what?" Bec asks Beranabus waves her silent and frowns at me

"This could be part of the Shadow&039;s plan," I tell hi out by thehts have increased I have to concentrate hard to drown the to create scores of s so that its arh at once We&039;ll need the Disciples if that&039;s the case-we can&039;t be everywhere at the same time to stop them all"

"Maybe," Beranabus says "But that doesn&039;t alter the fact that Dervish will last about five minutes if we leave him here"

"I&039;ll be fine," Dervish snarls

"No," Beranabus says "Your heart is finished You&039;ll die within days That&039;s not a guess," he adds before Dervish can argue "And you wouldn&039;t be able to dothat time, apart from wheeze and clutch your chest a lot"

"It&039;s really that bad?" Dervish asks quietly

Beranabus nods "In the universe of "

"Then get him there quick," Grubbs says "I&039;ll stay"

"Not you too," Beranabus groans "What did I do to deserve as stubborn and reckless a pair as you?"

"It makes sense," Grubbs insists "If the attacks were Lord Loss looking to get even, they&039;re irrelevant But if they&039;re related to the Shadoe need to know I can confront the Lambs, find out if they&039;re mixed up with the demon master, stop them if they are"

"Is the Shadow the creaturein the cave?" Bec asks

"Aye," Beranabus says "We haven&039;t learned ether an ar hard to launch them across to our world"

He stares at Grubbs, and as he pauses, the whispers change They&039;re softer now, alhtly sick, but I&039;ve no idea why

"You&039;d operate alone?" Beranabus asks

"I&039;d need help," Grubbs replies, and asks for Shark and Meera&039;s assistance While they discuss that, I focus on theagain I&039;hts have alreat danger But there&039;s no reason to be afraid is there?

A pale greenopens Beranabus still hasn&039;t chosen whether or not to let Grubbs stay "Time to decide," I tell hiain

"Very well," Beranabus snaps at Grubbs "But listen to Shark and Meera, heed their advice, and contact ainst the likes of Lord Loss or the Shadow" He picks up the unconscious Sharh the

Bec doesn&039;t leave immediately She&039;s confused, not sure of what&039;s happening Dervish is busy saying goodbye to Grubbs and Meera, wishing the the fact that he can&039;t stay and help theh the , Grubbs has a short chat with Bec Then she faces me She looks more lost than I feel As difficult as it is, I force a smile "The worldto cheer her up

"What&039;s it like through there?" she asks, staring at the ith quiet terror

"Bad" My s the eradication of mankind and a nen of demon rule Others have threatened that before, but it&039;s convinced an army of deood on its vow We could be looking at the end this tiht but don&039;t cross fully, straddling two universes at the sao"

She looks back once, then follows h theto an oasis in the demon universe that Beranabus and I are familiar with We&039;ll be safe here, for a while at least

But I take no comfort fro a calhts a million miles removed from olves, the Lambs, Juni Swan, and the Shadow I feel sicker than when I saw the dismembered babies in the hospital

I&039;ve realized why the whispers unnerved , just before Beranabus o, clued

Beranabus should have brought Grubbs along He&039;s been wary of uniting the pieces of the Kah-Gash, but this was the ti to kill one of us or get their hands on a piece of the ancient weapon Beranabus should have kept us all with him, if not to unleash the power of the Kah-Gash, then to protect us We&039;d be a lot safer if we stuck together Leaving Grubbs behind was madness

Why did someone as experienced as Beranabus o along with his bad call?

Answer-the lights The whispers influenced us Soether, so it subtly interfered and split us up,hts!