Forty-five minutes was not a lot of time, but I could do a lot of damage with it given the proper motivation, and I was intensely motivated. I opened a portal and left Anjelica to recover with Kitsune and Kimberly while starting on a list of errands I needed to finish before my final battle with this prick who had kidnapped Phil and was trying to kill me.

First, I stashed the knife in a storage locker Kimberly kept in the city. That way, the demons couldn’t just kill us on sight. Then, I teleported back to my apartment to recover a secondary wand I kept stashed within a pocket dimension in my bedroom. I would need it if shit hit the fan.

I lived in Santa Monica, in the penthouse of a nice building overlooking the ocean. The thing I liked most about the neighborhood was people smiled all the time like they were actually happy—contented. These were people who had found some secret to life and lived the life of their dreams. When I came around, their smiles faded, their shoulders shrunk, and their faces scrunched as the air left the room. I tried to be nice, but I was a dark cloud over their bright outlook. I was only capable of being so nice.

They whispered about how I could afford such an apartment. Little did they know I paid double their rent, in cash, so the landlord wouldn’t ask any questions. Money wasn’t an issue for me—at least not until today.

There was a bellman waiting in the elevator, but I took the stairs up to my apartment. I noticed something was wrong the minute I exited the stairwell. My door was hanging wide open, and the lock was busted. The edges were frayed and snapped, and the middle of the door had a dent in it where it had been smashed with something heavy.

Everything inside had been turned over and torn apart. I had nice taste in furniture. Some might have even called it elegant if I’d ever let anyone ever see it. I was quite particular that everything had its place. Sometime in the last day, somebody had ransacked the place. The couch had been gutted with a knife, and so had the bed. More importantly, they had somehow found my pocket dimension and snapped my wand in half, leaving it on the ground as a message that I was powerless against them. I’ll show them powerless.

I looked down at my watch. Eighteen more minutes until the rendezvous. If I didn’t have a wand, maybe I could raise an army. I made a portal and arrived back in Seattle at Benny’s drug store. I didn’t have time to be polite, so before the pharmacist could even address me, I leaped behind the counter. She wasn’t quick enough to stop me before I pushed the button to unlock the secret door in the shelving and rushed down the hallway.

Benny hadn’t moved from behind his warped desk. Even though I had been there just a couple of hours earlier, I had forgotten the horrendous stench. It made my eyes water and knocked me off balance at the sheer heinousness of it.

“You’re back,” Benny said, his voice echoing in a half dozen octaves at once. “Should I take that to mean what we agreed on is done? If so, I must commend your efficiency.”

“Honestly, I don’t know if I killed them yet. There was an explosion, and I vaporized two demons, but I’m not sure if I got them or not. And actually, I’m not here for that.”

The rats skittered around inside Benny, forming two hands which Benny placed on his desk. “What are you here for, then?”

“I know where the snake that poached Moloch and Balaam is going to be in—” I looked at my watch, “seventeen minutes. You can have your revenge right now if you get your men to come with me.”

Benny tented his rat-made fingers. “Interesting. And this person who stole my associates from me will be there?”

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“I don’t—I mean—”

“He explicitly said that he would be there?”

“Well, no, but—”

Benny rocked back. “Then I’m afraid I have to decline. I will not send my men into a turf war without a very good reason.”

“The reason is revenge!” I screamed. “What better reason is there to do anything?”

Benny chuckled slowly. “A wonderful reason to be sure, especially in my younger days, but I run a business here. Starting a gang war is not something I’m interested in doing at this moment with my budget stretched thin. These things have to be taken care of delicately.”

I stomped toward the desk. “So you’re saying you’re a wuss, then.”

“How dare you!” Benny’s voice changed. Anger vibrated off every squeal. “I have killed people for less!”

I leaned over the desk to get in Benny’s many faces. “You are a coward. I am serving him up on a silver platter, and you refuse to do anything! What else could that possibly make you?”

“Smart!” Benny screamed. “It’s how I’ve risen to be king of the Pacific Northwest, by being smart and, frankly, letting others do my work for me.”

“You want us to attack him alone? What if we die?”

“Why would I care about you? I only just met you. If you succeed, it will be a great victory for us both. Come back, and we will toast together. If you don’t, then there will be many more chances.”

I slammed my hand on the desk, cracking it in the middle and sending both sides crashing onto the ground. “I’ll remember this.” I spun and walked toward the entrance.

Benny cackled behind me. “I wasn’t lying. If you do happen to survive, come back, and we will celebrate.”

Men. They were always the same. I looked down at my watch. Less than ten minutes left now. I needed to get back. I stepped through the portal back to Kitsune’s Apothecary. Kimberly, Kitsune, and Anjelica were gathered around the counter.

“You’re back,” Kimberly said. “Just in time. Did you do it?”

I reached into the pocket of my trench coat and pulled out a key. I tossed it to her, and she put it in her pocket. “Yup. Just like you said.”

“Good,” Kimberly said. “You didn’t take anything, did you?”

“Of course not,” I replied, smiling. “Don’t you trust me yet?”

“Not even a little bit. Did you find anything else helpful in your travels?”

“Nothing. You?”

“Well, I’ve been sitting here watching our new friends, and no, absolutely nothing. I assume nobody is interested in risking their lives for a teenage antichrist and a petulant alien, right?”

“Exactly. I don’t blame them, I guess,” I said. “Not a lot of tactical advantage there.”

“Hey!” Anjelica shouted. “I’m right here, you know. Quit talking about me like I’m somewhere else. It’s super weird.”

“You’re right. How are you feeling?”

“I mean, I would rather not die if that’s what you mean. I’m fine, aside from a little nausea.”

“That’s common,” Kitsune said. “It will pass if you live.”

“Are you sure you want to come with us?” I asked. “We can do this without you.”

“She’s right,” Kimberly added. “You don’t have to put your life in danger to protect him. He’s our friend.”

“And what will happen if you show up without me?” Anjelica asked. “I’m integral to the plan.”

“This plan, yes,” I said. “But we can come up with another plan.”

“In what time?” Anjelica said. “There is no more time. This is the best chance we have of getting Phil.”

“I’m not saying it wouldn’t be a lot easier if you came,” Kimberly said. “Only that you don’t have to. You’ve been through enough tonight.”

“No way.” Anjelica shook her head vehemently. “He helped me when he didn’t have to. Least I could do is return the favor.”

“The least you could do is nothing,” I corrected.

“I’m coming.”

I grabbed a length of rope that Kimberly had procured from the counter and walked around Anjelica’s back, wrapping her arms.

“Just don’t make them too tight.” I yanked the rope taut, and Anjelica yelped. “What did I tell you? Ow.”

“Sorry, but it has to look real.”

“It is real,” she replied. “You’re really giving me to them, right?”

“Just for a little bit.”

“We’ll find you before they kill you,” Kimberly said stoically. “I promise.”

“Don’t promise that,” Anjelica said. “I know the risks and how stupid it is.” She turned to me, her big, puppy dog eyes tinged with sadness. “Is this going to work?”

“I don’t know. It’s best not to ask those questions.” I opened the portal to Griffith Observatory. “Let’s go.”

We ended up in the parking lot with the observatory in the distance. Between us and the entrance, hundreds of demons and other monsters readied their weapons. In front of the horde stood a tall, slender, snake-like demon in a well-tailored suit, no weapons, holding out his arms reverently like he was a prophet.

“Crud,” I sighed.

“This just got a lot more complicated,” Kimberly replied.