“What?” I asked. “Is it Shax?”
“No,” Bex said, his eyes fluttering. “They've been crowding us since we got here, but they're....,” he opened his eyes, “all gone.”
“But...why?” I said, incredulous. The theme of the night had been that Shax had let us get away with his precious book far too easily. Their retreat only set me on edge, wondering when he would decide to put up a real fight.
Suddenly the door opened, cracking against the wall. Bex stood up, pulling me with him, using his body as a shield.
“You got a bathroom, Father?” Kim asked.
Father Francis scurried down the aisle, shutting the door behind Kim. “Of course, child. Just through there,” he gestured.
“Not funny,” Bex said, frowning at her as she walked past.
“What?” Kim said, oblivious. “Just because you're being chased by hundreds of demons, a girl can't pee?”
Bex just shook his head, laughing once, absent of humor.
I collapsed into the pew, exhausted. “Something is wrong. They should be here by now.”
Bex glanced at me, and then turned a page of the book, choosing to ignore my words.
“I should have helped him. Ryan was dragged to his death, and I just ran away,” I said, feeling the sting of salty tears well up in my eyes.
“I'm trying to read,” Bex grumbled.
A door slammed down the hall, and then Kim's loud footsteps announced her arrival before she came into view.
“Oh, geez. Are you crying?” she asked. “And where is everyone? They go out for ice cream or what?”
I dried my tear-stained cheeks with my sleeve. “Jared and Claire stayed behind to give me and Ryan time to get out. When we got to the alley, something took Ryan.”
“Something?” Kim said, eyebrow raised. “Like what?”
“I don't know. I couldn't see it. It was kind of like a shadow...but it was more...,” I trailed off, unable to find the appropriate word to describe it.
“Shadowy?” Kim said, unimpressed.
I rolled my eyes. “Not everything's a joke, Kim. Ryan's dead.”
“No he's not,” she replied, confident.
Her words peaked my attention. “Why do you say that? Have you heard something? Do you know where they are?”
Kim nodded to the door. “He looks like crap, but he's right there.”
I turned, gripping the top of the pew. Ryan, Claire, and Jared all stood near the entrance, dirty, blood-stained, and badly beaten. Before I registered that I was moving, my legs were carrying me down the aisle at full speed, and I crashed into Jared's chest. He wrapped his arms around me tight, and sighed with relief.
“Easy,” Jared smiled, returning my repeated kisses as best he could. He kept his weight on one leg, and his pants were torn.
“What happened?” I said, crouching down to get a better look.
“We won,” Claire said with a tired smile.
Ryan limped slowly down the aisle, his arm around Claire. Blood trickled from the outside of his eyebrow, and he was favoring his bad shoulder. They settled into a pew behind Bex, and Father Francis scurried away, waving back at them.
“I'll get the first aid kit!” he called to them as he disappeared down a dark hallway.
Jared smiled down at me. “We did it.”
I leaned up on the balls of my feet to touch his lips to mine. Jared's words were empty. Winning that small battle was only part of the war we had just started.
Jared led me down the aisle, sitting beside me in the pew behind Ryan and Claire.
Ryan leaned back, holding a folded piece of fabric against his eye. “Next time we get into it with Hell, I get dibs on Mr. Puff.”
Claire smiled, licking her split lip. “Your effort was impressive, even if that thing did hang you in the air by your ankle...and use you to open two doors...and make you scream like a girl.”
“I didn't scream like a girl,” Ryan protested.
“Maybe I was just hoping you would,” she grinned.
“Thanks,” he said, reaching out to touch her dirty face. His thumb gently grazed her cheek. “Again.”
Claire's eyes met his for a moment, and then she pulled away. “Just get used to it. You don't need to thank me every time I save your stupid ass.”
Ryan nodded, and then relaxed against the pew.
I watched Claire for a moment, as she desperately attempted to feign indifference. I could recall that expression well; Jared used it many times in the beginning. Unfortunately for Claire, Ryan was far more confident than I was stubborn, and he was certain she would come around.
My eyes settled on Jared's beautiful, dirty face. His eyes were tired, but bright blue, excited and amazed that we had the book and our lives. Seeing his expression only made it more real that he didn't expect any of us to make it to the church alive. A fact that, to me, was more unsettling than relief.
“Did you find anything?” Jared asked Bex.