Pain radiated through Suzi’s chest as she stood, rubbing her head and the aching spot on her left breast that had taken most of the impact. Her thoughts were sharp and immediate—if this test didn’t break her physically, it damn sure could break her spirit.

The walls of the maze loomed, cold and unforgiving. Suzi didn’t need to glance down to know the drop was merciless, the steel walls waiting to batter her body if she miscalculated. She climbed instinctively, her fingers curling around the narrow ledges that became more treacherous the higher she went. She steadied herself on the two-inch platform near the apex, her breath quick and shallow.

Ten feet separated her from the top. She remembered channeling James last time to make the jump, his natural height carrying her beyond her limits. But this time wasn’t about height.

Now, she must channel Judas.

Majestic, stoic, fearless.

Angelic.

With wings.

The wings were the vital part.

Her mind circled back to Bear’s words—brands on his soul. Was this the same? Were her fractured selves, her personalities, like Bear’s animal forms? Did each piece of her soul represent not just a person but a power?

Suzi crouched, her fingers gripping the steel, her nails scraping against it. She closed her eyes and focused on Judas—not as Suzi imagined her, but as Judas saw herself. Untouchable. Regal. A warrior born of pain and vengeance.

A spark ignited deep inside her, like a forgotten ember roaring to life. Strength coursed through her veins, not hers but Judas’, and with it came knowledge—things Suzi had never known but Judas had carried all along. She saw the hierarchy of demons and angels, gaps in the lore she didn’t recognize before, and the sharp realization that her ability to absorb wasn’t Judas’. It was hers.

Her muscles tensed, coiling like springs. Her skin prickled, alive with a thousand alerts. Then came the tearing sensation at her shoulder blades—agonizing, as if her body was splitting apart, but purposeful. Wings unfurled, golden and vast, jointed and powerful.

She wasn’t Suzi anymore. She was Judas.

With confidence, Judas leaped. Her wings batted against the air, propelling her upward. But something was wrong. The higher ledge seemed to stretch further away. Panic gripped her as gravity betrayed her confidence, pulling her backward.

The steel floor slammed into her. Pain blossomed, but Judas pushed through it, standing and assessing her wings. They moved at her will, despite the ache spreading through them.

She tried again. A jump. A flutter. A hover. Time blurred into irrelevance as she honed the coordination of flight. The maze existed in a space outside reality, where days could pass in the blink of an eye. Judas did not care as she knew the magic of the orb’s maze had no real impact on the passage of time in reality.

Finally, she reached the top. The last jump carried her halfway up the final wall, and her wings strained, every beat a battle. Her fingers latched onto the ledge, and she pulled with everything she had. The maze fell away as she surged into the open, the vast landscape of reality replacing the cold steel walls.

The wind ripped at her as she plummeted toward the earth. Judas extended her wings just before impact, cushioning her fall but not enough to prevent a jarring crash. She hit the snow hard, the freezing bite clashing with the warm trickle of blood from her wings. For the first time, Judas screamed in agony.

The taste of blood was nothing new. The watery eyes were familiar with this weak body.

Anger filled Judas as she lay face down in the freezing deep snow, heaving for breath, as the heat of blood rolling down her new wings and onto her back caused an irony of senses to compete for attention.

She was alive.

They were alive.

Pain was fleeting. Survival was paramount. Judas stood, her posture defiant, despite the sharp ache in her back and shoulders. She straightened and curled her wings, painfully but pleased they were operational, before finally folding them and intuitively making them part of her shoulder blades once again, vanishing them into her body.

Suzi began to protest, but Judas resigned control of their body to Suzi.

“Damn it, Judas,” Suzi gasped as the control returned to her. She collapsed into the snow, coughing blood that turned the pure white into streaks of crimson. “I can’t ignore pain the way you do.”

Judas’s voice was steady, even amused. “My regards. I’ll consider that next time.”

Suzi sat up, taking a moment to processing everything. The absence of Miraleth’s presence gnawed at her. He was gone, truly gone, and she couldn’t tell if his final act had succeeded. Did Kyle’s shot destroy the Miracle Globe? Where even was she? The sprawling expanse of Greater Chicago gave no clues.

But she knew one thing—Gracie Jo was safe, and that was enough.

Darcy’s voice broke through her thoughts. “What are we going to do with Sleeping Beauty?”

The Abhorrence Demon. Suzi had almost forgotten.

She stepped into her apartment, avoiding the broken vase in her bedroom floor. The familiar surroundings providing a small comfort. She willed herself into Guillermo, the one place she could sort the chaos inside her mind.

Judas was tending her wings in one room, grimacing with each adjustment. Judy sat in the corner of her room, staring at her bare feet like they held the answers to the universe. Darcy paced, her eyes locked on the caged demon, her thoughts sharp and calculating.

Suzi also noticed that her own self-image bore the black and golden-energized ring that matched Darcy’s but was befuddled that it did not exist outside Guillermo.

“If he wakes, I’m pretty sure I cannot hold him,” Suzi said to the collective.

“And I don’t feel any of my will, so I cannot lend you any,” Darcy added. “I lost that with my body.”

Suzi swallowed hard at the implications that that statement might mean.

“He fears us,” Judy said suddenly, her voice quiet but sure.“He wants your body and your untapped will, but he did not realize there were so many of us. As a collective, we beat him, and now he fears us, but he fears his master more, so he will still fight to complete his task.”

“Thank you, Judy. I think that was the first helpful thing you may have contributed,” Judith said.

“My hatefulness comes from our fear. It’s better to cut something out than to let it get close enough to hurt us.”

Darcy stopped and looked across the foyer to Judy. “That is why the Limbo-Skipping ability is yours. We’re kindred spirits. My hatred knows no bounds. Until Jo, I hardly ever let anyone get close to me.”

Judy looked up, “He though—" pointing to the sleeping demon, “his hatred is beyond a depth that I could conceive. He hates existence. He hates his master. He hates his creator. His existence is pain. Pain fuels his fears, which fuels his hatred. We add another layer of fear and compound that.”

“So, you are telling me, if he wakes up here and sees all of us, his fear will make his hatred—his ability—stronger?”

“Yes,” Judy said, looking down to reexamine her feet.

“We have to excise him. We cannot bind him and we cannot hold him,” Judas advised.

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“So, we just let him go?” Suzi’s voice rose, incredulous.

“No,” Darcy said firmly. “Excise him and let me take control. We know I destroy him.”

The demon stirred, its grotesque form shifting within the cage. Suzi didn’t hesitate. She dropped the energy barrier and summoned it into the physical world.

It thrashed in her grip, its slimy body writhing as Suzi slammed it to the ground. Glass shards embedded in its flesh as it howled—a sickening mix of pain and laughter.

Suzi stepped back, allowing Darcy to take over.

“Let’s end this,” Darcy growled, her voice steady and dangerous.

The demon’s laughter was grotesque, a guttural rumble that mixed with the wet sound of its slimy body shifting. Suzi consciously relinquished control, stepping aside for Darcy to take the reins.

Darcy slid into Suzi’s consciousness, and for a moment, it was chaos. The hands didn’t respond the way they should, and the tongue felt foreign in her mouth. She tried to summon the Dagger of Roanove, but her words slurred into a mangled mess: “Danger orv Roen Loaf.”

The demon wasted no time, launching itself at Suzi’s body. Darcy barely managed to brace herself before its fists connected, rolling her onto the broken glass scattered near the bathroom door. Each strike sent spatters of thick, viscous slime splattering across her skin, the stench suffocating.

Darcy flailed. Her punches missed, her movements jerky as she adjusted to Suzi’s form. But every misstep gave her more control, her mind syncing with the body she temporarily commanded.

“Doth craluk atunti flect dosha ty?” the demon growled, its alien words dripping with malice.

Darcy smirked through Suzi’s bloodied lips. “No,” she spat. “You don’t win this one.”

Slime oozed down her arms, coating her in a putrid layer of filth as she twisted over the demon’s back. Locking her legs around its waist, she raised Suzi’s hand high and forced her will into a clear, precise command. “Dagger of Roanove!”

The blade materialized mid-air, its golden light gleaming as Darcy drove it down into the demon’s skull. Each plunge of the dagger drew a scream from her throat, a raw sound of rage and grief as she vented everything she felt for Jo, for Suzi, for herself. Over and over, she stabbed, until the demon’s writhing body dissolved into nothing, leaving her face-down in a slimy, bloodied mess.

Her sobs echoed in the room, hatred and sorrow twisting into one anguished cry.

Suzi waited, letting Darcy release the storm inside her until the tears finally stopped. Only then did she gently take control back.

“Thank you,” Darcy whispered from within. “I needed that. I feel like I’ve avenged Jo.”

“Jo!” Suzi bolted upright, her voice panicked as the thought of her friend hit her like a thunderclap. She scrambled to her feet, slipping in the gore beneath her, clutching the bathroom doorframe to steady herself.

Grabbing a towel, she wiped at the thick slime clinging to her skin, wincing as she plucked shards of glass from her hands, her arms, her face. Each sting reminded her of how fragile her body felt compared to Judas’s unyielding strength. With the worst of it cleared, she yanked off her ruined shirt, replaced it, and summoned the golden dagger again.

It shimmered in her hand as she stepped into the pocket where Jo waited.

The small girl lay still, unconscious and untouched by the passage of time. Her delicate frame still bore the Ring of Eae, its eerie power emanating faintly. Suzi reached down, her touch stirring Jo awake.

“Suzi?” Jo blinked up at her, confusion and relief mixing on her face as Suzi slid the ring from her finger and onto her own.

“You’re safe,” Suzi assured her, forcing a smile. “You’re in your body now, and you’ll stay here. Forever.”

Tears spilled from Jo’s eyes as she threw her arms around Suzi. Her voice cracked, trembling with pain. “Doyle… he raped me. No, he raped you, but I was there. I remember it!” Her sobs wracked her small frame, and she clung to Suzi like a lifeline. “Oh god, it was horrible!”

Darcy’s rage burned hot in Suzi’s chest, a searing presence ready to explode.

“Hey,” Suzi said softly, gripping Jo’s shoulders. “I have an idea, okay? I think I know someone who can help us forget it.”

Jo’s red-rimmed eyes widened.

“Who?” Jo and Darcy asked simultaneously. Jo, out of curiosity, and Darcy, out of concern.

“Nemoris,” Suzi said aloud, her words aimed at Darcy within. “The Forgetfulness Demon we pocketed. Remember? With the lisp?”

“No fucking way,” Darcy snapped. “You can’t trust a demon.”

“Agreed,” Judas added darkly.

Suzi’s jaw tightened. “It’s our only option.”

Taking Jo’s hand, she Skipped to the Ether, landing in the space where Nemoris had been trapped.

“Jo,” Suzi said gently, “close your eyes until I tell you. He’s… unsettling.”

Jo nodded, squeezing her eyes shut.

The veil peeled back as Suzi stepped into Nemoris’s prison. The grotesque, yellow-brown demon sat hunched in the corner, mumbling incoherently. Its jaundiced eyes snapped toward her, and it snarled, baring tusks that glistened with saliva.

Suzi dissolved the dagger in her hand, reaching out to grab one of the demon’s tusks. The moment she touched it, a flood of future memories overwhelmed her—flashes of the demon’s eventual demise.

Her voice cut through the tension like a blade. “Listen, Nemoris. I don’t care who you work for, but you’re stuck here, just like they can’t reach you. I’ll let you go if you do something for me.”

Nemoris cocked its head, spittle flying as it sneered. “Whath?”

“Two days ago, this woman’s consciousness was in my head, and I was raped. I want us both to forget it.”

The demon’s beady eyes widened briefly before narrowing. “Ith doth noth workth likth thath. I can’th targeth a thpecific memory, jutht whath in the forefronth of your mind.”

“So, we have to remember the event, then you can wipe it?”

“Yeth,” the demon hissed, its jagged smile widening.

“He’s lying,” Darcy warned.

“If you’re lying, I will destroy you,” Suzi said, her voice low and venomous.

“You’d only thend me tho Hell.”

“No,” Suzi raised her hand, showing him the ring. “This showed me how I can end you.”

Nemoris froze, his confidence faltering. “Fine,” he growled. “I’ll do ith.”

Suzi turned to Jo, her voice soft but firm, a lifeline in the storm raging behind Jo’s closed eyelids. “Jo, when you open your eyes, I want you to ignore the creature standing in front of you. It’s hideous, and it will scare you, but I need you to focus. Remember every detail of the rape—everything you saw when you were in my head.”

Jo’s throat bobbed as she swallowed, her voice shaking as she whispered, “Okay, Suzi.”

Suzi’s grip tightened on the demon’s horn, its rough texture biting into her palm. Nemoris’ spindly hands settled on Jo’s trembling shoulders, his foul breath escaping in short, wet grunts. Suzi locked eyes with him, her command sharp and absolute.

“Okay, Jo. Now.”

Jo’s eyes snapped open, and the reaction was instant—a gasp, a reflexive jolt backward—but Nemoris held her fast.

“Focus, Jo,” Suzi urged, her voice cutting through the chaos. “Think of only what you want to forget.”

The air seemed to ripple around them, a faint hum growing in intensity before Nemoris released Jo. She blinked, her expression blank for a moment before her gaze settled on Suzi, calm and questioning.

“Jo, are you okay?” Suzi asked, searching her face for any trace of lingering trauma.

Jo tilted her head, confusion flickering across her features. “Yeah. I’m just waiting for you to tell me when it’s my turn to go.”

Suzi froze, a heavy stillness settling in her chest. “Jo… you just did.”

“I just did what?”

“You just went, Jo.” Suzi’s heart raced as she pressed further. “What do you remember about the last few days?”

Jo furrowed her brow, biting her lip as she sifted through her memories. “Um… I remember having lunch with Darcy, then going to your apartment. You were mad at me about something, I think. And then I woke up here with you.” She paused, her voice tinged with uncertainty. “I feel like I’ve forgotten something, but I can’t put my finger on it.”

Suzi exhaled, relief washing over her. “Perfect,” she said, forcing a smile as she cupped Jo’s face gently. “Close your eyes, sweetie. We’re almost done.”

Jo nodded and obediently squeezed her eyes shut.

Nemoris straightened, his grotesque form looming over Suzi. “You nexth?” he asked, his lisp grating in her ears. “Then you thet me free? Your word.”

“Are you really going to do this?” Darcy’s voice cut through Suzi’s mind, sharp and skeptical.

Suzi’s jaw tightened. “Yes. Doyle was manipulated by a demon. I can’t forgive him, not yet, but if I can forget what happened, that’s a step forward.”

She placed both hands on the horns protruding from Nemoris’ spine-covered head, meeting his jaundiced, bloodshot gaze. His will pushed back against hers, slippery and malevolent, but Suzi braced herself, knowing she could overpower him.

The memory of the rape burned at the forefront of her mind, raw and agonizing. She nodded, giving the signal. “Do it.”

The demon’s yellow energy seeped into her consciousness like tendrils of smoke, curling and coiling through her thoughts. But something was wrong. Suzi felt it immediately—felt the shift, the wrongness in its path. It wasn’t targeting the memory she’d prepared for him.

Her collective stirred in alarm.

Darcy was thinking of Jo.

Spike hummed Poison by Alice Cooper.

Judy clung to her self-loathing and memories of the Abhorrence demon.

James was lost in thoughts of Bear and Kyle.

And then it struck Annie and Suzanne, both fixated on Aiden.

Suzi’s stomach dropped. No. Not Aiden.

The demon’s laughter echoed in her mind, mocking and cruel. The harder she fought, the more she thought of Aiden. Her panic fed into the creature’s strength. The memories of Aiden, his warmth, his love—they were slipping away, piece by piece.

“Not on my watch!” J’s voice roared from the collective, barreling forward to take control. Electricity surged through Suzi’s hands, arcing in jagged blue bolts that crackled and hissed.

Sparks flew in Suzi’s vision, the energy lashing across Nemoris’ quills as they stiffened in response. His laughter turned to screams, high and shrill, as the yellow tendrils recoiled and withdrew. J didn’t stop. The current held her hands locked to the demon’s horns, searing them both in a violent symphony of power.

The demon’s body convulsed, his eyeballs releasing streams of acrid yellow smoke before they exploded in wet pops. His head burst into flames, the fire consuming him from the inside out, his wails piercing and desperate until there was nothing left but ash.

J stared at the charred remains in her hands, the silence heavy. “Well… that was new.”

Judith’s voice broke the quiet, calm and matter-of-fact. “Miraleth said we all had abilities. It makes sense.”

“Super Pussy!” Annie yelled, springing onto her bed and striking a mock superhero pose, her grin irreverent and wild.

James groaned. “No. I’ll have the soup.”

The laughter erupted from the collective, shaking the tension loose in waves of relief. All except Judas.

Judas’ voice was quiet, almost pained. “I don’t understand.”