Suzi braced herself, breath stuttering as she realized she’d somehow landed in Thin Limbo, the in-between space Darcy usually navigated. Shock mingled with embarrassment—it was one thing to slip away in a panic, but she hadn’t expected to do it alone. She glanced over her shoulder in time to see Bear’s aura slowly fracturing and multiplying in a spectrum of oranges and greens as he spoke to Dr. Everett, their movements stretched and blurred. The further they drew away from Suzi, the more ghostlike they became until they vanished from her sight entirely.
“How the fuck did I get here without Darcy?” she wondered, voice echoing in the bluish nothing.
Judas’s tone came through her mouth, low and thoughtful. “I would imagine the Ring of Eae.”
Suzi felt a surge of frustration twist in her gut, echoed by Judy’s abrupt hatred “You imagine? Don’t you fucking know?”
“As much as it pains me to say it, I do not. Bear and the doctor were right—we must see what the ring can do. We have to touch someone, then if we see how they die, we’ll know.”
“But I touched Dr. Everett last. Why would I still have Darcy’s if it collected his ability?”
Judas admitted defeat, “I do not know.”
Judy belted, “Yeah, big surprise. Another glorious unknown. We never had these fuckups until you showed up, Judas.”
She sensed a flicker of pain from the warrioress persona but couldn’t linger on it. As much as Suzi wanted to stand there and hurl insults at Judy, her mind drifted back to Aiden. Instinctively, her thoughts pulled her to his ICU room, the half-formed shapes of hospital monitors appearing around her in the hazy limbo version of that place. She could step through, slip her hand into Aiden’s—pull him into Guillermo for a moment. But the ring… If she touched him, she might see how he’d die. She couldn’t bear the risk of having a vision of his demise, no matter how soon or distant.
He’d been in a coma for almost two weeks, and his parents had already steeled themselves for his possible death. Suzi refused to accept that. Yet the new possibility—seeing his demise—made her stomach twist with dread. Another goddamn impasse. So she lingered, glaring at the intangible line between them, hating how powerless she felt.
She extremely disliked being in this impasse.
It made her hate her decisions.
It made her despise her situation.
She loathed the feeling of helplessness.
Logic and awareness kicked in—she was under attack. .
A prickle across her skin told her something was off. She felt focused hatred, malevolent and direct, pressing onto her psyche, adrenaline spiking. Her replica of the golden Dagger of Roanove blinked into her fist. With a slice, she tore open a pocket in limbo and stepped inside.
From there, she caught sight of her assailant’s aura in the Ether—a seething, dark green haze, almost black, exuding raw hatred. She felt an answering snarl coil in her chest, a swirl of anger stoked by frustration.
“Fine,” she thought. “If you want a target, you’ve got one.”
In a fluid lunge, she cut back the boundary again, willing herself behind the demon. She burst into the Ether behind it. As it spun, she locked her free hand around its throat, choking out a startled hiss from its twisted mouth. Another surge of memory bit at her mind’s edge—Darcy, driving the real Dagger of Roanove into this demon’s skull.
“That’s…aggressive,” she thought, an odd spark of admiration for Darcy’s viciousness flickering through.
“Dost vorkin orth kwa set fik?” the demon rasped.
Suzi’s grip tightened. “You don’t get a fucking choice,” she growled.
The demon’s will slammed against hers, an invisible wrestling match flaring in the Ether. Suzi felt her resolve start to slip—this demon was stronger than she’d anticipated. Sweat beaded along her neck. She needed an advantage. Reality. If she forced the demon onto the Prime Plane, it’d be weaker. With a scowl, she imagined her own apartment—a place where she held the upper hand—and sliced the Ether open, dragging the demon with her into the real world.
The second they slammed onto her living room floor, the demon recoiled, clearly in pain. Its energy diverted to sustaining physical form rather than attacking her mind. Suzi got a good look at the creature—short, hunched, twisted body, slicked with a gummy slime that made it hard to hold. Its face contorted in a grotesque grimace, eyes alive with fear behind the layers of hatred.
They struggled, limbs tangling in a slippery, desperate grapple on the floor. Ygritte barked wildly from the side, seemingly cheering Suzi on. She refused to let the demon wriggle free back into the Ether. At last, she pinned it beneath her, and it screeched in rage.
“Your name!” she demanded, voice rough. “Tell me your name!”
“Fid ex pu!” it spat.
Suzi snarled, “I know it hurts to be here without a fucking vessel. Give me your name, and I’ll get you one.”
It thrashed again, sputum flying into her face. Ygritte snapped at one of the demon’s flailing arms, sinking teeth in. The demon seemed unfazed, ignoring that pain as its clawed hand lashed out for Ygritte’s throat. The dog let out a startled yelp, pinned by the demon’s grasp.
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Suzi’s heart seized. “No! Let her go!”
A sick grin twisted the demon’s features. “Let me in, or the mutt dies.”
Her mind spun. She didn’t know how much longer it could maintain form here, but she also couldn’t gamble on it letting Ygritte live. She was cornered again, another fucking no-win.
“Let her go,” she hissed, “and I’ll let you go.”
“Kug dac lua,” it snorted.
Suzi’s fists shook. “I don’t trust you either, but you’re in pain. Can’t we—?”
“I’ll kill her before I leave,” it sneered, tensing its arm.
Blood trickled down Ygritte’s snow white fur.
“Fine!” Suzi shouted, voice cracking. She eased her hold on the demon, swiping the demon’s spit off her face. That vile grin widened.
“You humans,” it hissed. “Such love for these pathetic creatures. It will destroy you all.”
Before Suzi could blink, it squeezed Ygritte’s throat harder. The dog whimpered, and Suzi felt bile rise in her throat. “Stop! Take me. Leave her alone.”
It flung Ygritte aside, the dog bolting away, and turned its claw on Suzi’s neck instead. A wave of sickening hatred poured into her, like acid seeping through her veins. She choked, dizzy, feeling the demon push for possession. Judas raged inside her, refusing to let her break. Her bones felt molten, her mind about to crack—then a knock on the apartment door shattered the tension.
“Suzi? It’s Jo. Are you home?” Gracie Jo’s soft voice drifted in.
The demon glanced at the door. In that instant, Suzi felt the mental link fray. Judas lunged, taking advantage. Her hand slammed the demon’s away from her neck, locking onto its jaw. She crushed it with a brutal wave of will as the demon’s eyes went wide. She sensed its energy draining rapidly, pinned in a dimension it didn’t belong to.
“Obixeg lua, Ehqubigji kixug, agdof ohok lua,” Judas hissed, voice resonating with unnatural undertones. The demon’s body dissolved into a swirling black vapor, drawn into Suzi’s chest. The moment the last traces vanished, Judas ceded control.
Someone in her mind muttered, “An abhorrence demon, huh,” though Suzi couldn’t pinpoint who it was.
Knocking sounded again, more urgent this time. Jo’s worried voice: “Suzi? If you were talking to me, I didn’t understand a word you said.”
Suzi stumbled to her feet, legs trembling. She could sense the new occupant in Guillermo’s mental cage, thrashing. Ygritte lay in the corner, whining and licking her wounds. Relief washed over Suzi—her dog was alive. Summoning what composure she had left, she opened the door to find Gracie Jo’s wide, smiling face.
“Hi, Suzi!” Jo chirped, then her nose wrinkled in concern. “Oh, you look like... I’d rather not say. What’s all over you?”
Suzi glanced down at her shirt and arms, streaked with demon gore and filth. She felt a flicker of exasperation. “It’s…hard to explain,” she muttered, heartbeat still racing. “Weren’t you supposed to have lunch with Darcy?”
“We did have lunch,” Jo babbled, “and it just ended. I wanted to thank you for introducing us. Ah, the heck with it!”
Suzi barely had time to protest before Jo flung her arms around her, face aglow with gratitude. She squeezed Suzi in a tight embrace, voice pitching high with excitement. “Thank you. I’m so happy with her!”
A jolt of panic surged through Suzi as the ring’s power triggered a sudden, vicious pull inside her mind. She glimpsed a memory that wasn’t hers: Jo as an old woman, hunched in a nursing home bed, gray-haired and clutching a photograph. The vision crashed over her like a tsunami of emotion. She tried to pry Jo off, but her arms felt leaden.
Chaos erupted inside Guillermo—shouting voices, disoriented personas, confusion everywhere. A searing ache stabbed the base of Suzi’s skull. Something felt like it was leeching into her mind, slipping under the mental barricades she’d built with Judas. A low, new voice hissed inside her thoughts.
“I have you now!”
A strangled gasp ripped from Suzi’s throat. She shoved Jo away, feeling hot blood trickle from her nose. Tears blurred her vision. “Jo!” she roared, voice cracking with fear. “Get the fuck out of here!”
Jo froze, concern scrawled across her face. “Why are you yelling? What’s going on—do you need help?” She stepped closer, hand outstretched.
Suzi’s grip caught Jo by the shoulders, her nails biting into the girl’s shirt. She stared into Jo’s eyes, and a horrid tide of hatred slithered across her tongue. “I despise you,” she snarled, words spitting out like acid. “I hate your whining voice and your stupid conversations.”
Deep inside, Suzi fought to seize control—she could feel herself slip behind the lens, watching as the Abhorrence Demon commandeered her body. Its presence loomed large in the foyer of her mental space, bigger than anything she’d caged before. Many of her personas lay scattered, wounded or cowering.
In the swirling darkness, Judas stood battered and bloody but not broken. She caught Suzi’s gaze, a silent resolve passing between them. They saw beyond the demon to a second realm—Jo’s subconscious, her version of Guillermo, an entrance bridging the two minds. The plan crystallized in Suzi’s head in an instant.
She roused Ralph—the embodiment of friendship—who usually softened conflicts. Ralph understood with only a look and a quick mental push. J cowered beside her door, shaking her head, unwilling to get involved. Judy stepped up instead, taking J’s place.
Ralph sprinted into the foyer and smacked the demon’s back to draw its attention. As it spun, Ralph darted around, leaping across the gap toward Jo’s mind. But the demon moved faster than expected, snatching Judy by the throat before she could slip past. Suzi felt a surge of panic. J, who’d been trembling, found sudden courage. She lunged behind the demon and dropped low, tangling its legs.
We can do this. Suzi shared a desperate, silent glance with Judas. Then, from the corner of her mind, she saw Ralph racing back, bridging the gap between minds, cradling Jo’s consciousness in her arms. The demon glanced over its shoulder, half-turning in surprise.
That was their moment. Now.
Suzi and Judas lunged, tackling the demon’s psychic form like football players blindsiding a quarterback. They seized it, twisting its horrid aura across the makeshift bridge of will—straight into Jo’s mind. In the physical world, Suzi felt her body jerk, putting her at the helm once again, anchoring them. Reality lurched.
“Push her away!” J’s voice barked from Guillermo.
Suzi, half-lost in the frenzy, shoved Jo backward with all her might, too forceful in her panic.
“No!” Judas howled.
Jo’s hands scrabbled for purchase, sliding along the slime coating Suzi’s arms. She slammed into the wall with a dull thud. Suzi froze, horrified. Shit, I pushed her too hard—
A strange look seized Jo’s face, twisting it into a hateful smirk. She glanced at her left hand, eyes going wide with sinister delight. A voice not her own cackled through Jo’s mouth. “Thanks for the ring. See ya ’round, bitch.”
In a blink, Jo vanished—stepped away the same way Suzi or Darcy would. Suzi just stood there, staring dumbly at the space where Jo had been. Panic mushroomed in her chest. The demon’s mania still buzzed in her mind, and she realized with a sick jolt that the Ring of Eae was gone, too. It had been locked on her finger—now her hand was bare.
In Guillermo, pandemonium returned full force. Suzi felt it like thunder in her skull.
She closed the apartment door carefully, like she was in a dream. Then her legs gave, and she slumped with her back against the wood. Arms wrapping around her knees, she buried her face, shoulders shaking with sobs. Everything had gone so fucking wrong, and the ring was gone—taken by someone who’d just been possessed by a demon. By a friend who trusted her. And Suzi wasn’t sure she’d ever get either back.