The convoy drove through the streets of Pandemonium as their passengers waited inside.

Liam and Evelyn kept their daughter in their arms, but she merely blinked with curiosity at the creature on the other side. Leah watched back, her legs crossed.

“So that’s her, huh?” she said at last.

Liam smiled meekly. “That’s our daughter, alright.”

“She looks well.”

“Aye, she’s a fighter, just like the woman we named her after.”

“Where have you been?” Evelyn interjected.

Her eyes flicked over. “Good to see you too, Evelyn. I see you’re still as charming as always.”

“It’s been what? Seven, eight months since you’ve made a delivery?”

“In case you hadn’t noticed, I’ve been busy.” She sighed. “Besides, last I made the hike, it seemed like you two didn’t need me anymore.”

It was true. Leah had been separated from Liam after his final showdown with Hades, and she had disappeared in the chaos that followed. It was well over a year before he saw her again when she showed up out of the blue with a truck filled with canned food behind. The two had caught up soon after, where he’d introduced her to Evelyn and the current state of affairs. Ever since then, Leah vowed to help them when able and had made a habit of dropping off fresh supplies every other month like clockwork. But then she’d stopped right before their daughter’s birth, disappearing as quickly as she had come. The last thing she’d said was that she wasn’t sure how many trips she’d make. Liam always assumed that that number would be more than zero.

“You could’ve at least kept your goons at bay,” Evelyn said. “I nearly blew their heads off.”

“Blame Liam for that,” Leah said before turning back. “‘Old friend who traveled the country with you…’ Seriously? Could you have been any more vague? Why didn’t you just give Charon your name, asshole? No one knows who you are.”

“Told you we were better off coming in on foot,” Evelyn followed.

“I wasn’t sure who we could trust,” Liam squeaked, now feeling the weight of both these women on him. “It felt safer.”

Leah grunted. “Safe went out the window the second you got down here. For fuck’s sake, I’ve got the whole valley under lock and key.”

“Look, you can give me a hard time for the execution of how we got here all you want, but that won’t change the facts of the situation. We are still in danger.”

Leah nodded. “Right, a bunch of guys in black cloaks. I’m telling you that there’s no Hunter crew called ‘The Inquisitors’. You sure they were Styx security?”

Liam shook his head. “I got a good look before I detonated the tunnel. The trim of their clothes was completely different. Not anything like what Charon or the others wear. They reminded me more like monks than the embodiment of death.”

“So you’re telling me that you’ve got a bunch of warrior monks chasing you?”

“All that we know is that we were attacked,” Evelyn said, leaning in. “I overheard them myself. They knew that we were there, Leah. As far as we know, the only ones left alive from Cheyenne are the three of us. Unless something’s changed.”

Leah sat still, her face revealing nothing from behind her scarf. The moment dragged on before their van came to an abrupt stop.

She knocked on the window to the driver’s seat. “How we looking?”

He opened the visor. “Area’s clear, my Lady.”

“Good.” She turned back. “Don’t think I ever told you what’s been happening around here, have I?”

“What’s that got to do with it?” Liam asked.

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“You’ll see.” She opened the door and stepped outside, then nudged over her shoulder. “Come on, you’re good.”

Liam scooped his daughter into his arms and followed, with Evelyn behind.

They had reached the Lodge, with its immaculately trimmed hedges and sandstone walls. The crystalline windows were as polished as he remembered, and the water flowing through the fountains was just as clear. But what stole the breath from his lungs wasn’t the venue but those within. Or rather, the lack thereof. Though raw meat still lay on the plates in the outside dining area and soft music played from speakers, not a single soul remained in sight.

Leah marched onward, her steps echoing off the marble tiles. “After Cheyenne, I spent a while on the road. We’d had our wonderful adventure together, Liam, and I thought I’d live for myself, as you’d said. For a while, it worked too. I traveled the country, saw a lot, had my share of close calls. But I’d always had that itch. Like I’d left something unresolved back here.

“Turns out I was right. We like to pretend that Pandemonium is this well-oiled machine, but when push came to shove, Hades and Mother were the only ones keeping it together. After they were killed, the whole place fell apart. I’m not talking riots either. It was some next-level civil warfare shit, block by block as different bosses fought for control. Just like that, the one bastion for my race had been brought to the cusp of ruin while I was fucking around in the woods.

“I might not have been able to cure the Hollowing, but the least I could do was help those who still lived with it, like me. So I returned, cleared up the chaos, and made the city my own.”

Liam blinked through the stillness. The last time he’d been here, this building had overflowed with bodies. Hundreds of Hunters and workers were buzzing about, only ever concerned with their lives. And yet, Leah had cleared this entire place by simply snapping her fingers?

“Are you telling me that you lead Pandemonium now?” Liam asked. “I thought you told us that you were only the head of the Hunters.”

“‘The Head Huntress, Lady Leah,’” she said with a yawn. “Ruler? Commander? Monarch? Whatever word you want to use, it’s all one and the same around here. Just as it had been for Hades.”

“How the hell did you pull that off?”

She shrugged. “How does anyone do anything these days? Through bullets and blood, and lots of both.” She turned a corner, heading upstairs. “Anyway, the first thing I did after taking control was to track down survivors from our battle. There weren’t many. Only Xander’s crew had been there, and we took most of them out during the fight. I finished off the stragglers once I had the chance.”

“Are you sure you did?” Evelyn asked as she studied the empty halls around them. “Do you think they might’ve told someone? Maybe one of your enemies? Or Mother’s?”

Leah waved a hand. “Relax, Evelyn. This isn’t amateur hour. I bashed the appropriate skulls and took off the scalps I needed. If anyone else in Pandemonium knew about Cheyenne, I would’ve either discovered it a long time ago, or it would’ve hollowed out on its own.”

Evelyn stepped closer. “What about the names then? Do you remember any of them? Ezekiel? Amos? Hiram? Russell?”

She started to shake her head but then stopped halfway through. “What was that last one?”

“Russell?”

“I think there might’ve been… Shit.” She rubbed her head. “There was one small group under the last of Xander’s officers that made a break for it. I tracked them as far as Texas before losing the trail. Now that you mention it, one was named Russell or something. I forgot until now.”

Evelyn was aghast. “How could you forget?”

She stared dully. “Ever hear of this thing called the Hollowing? Tends to fuck with your memory over time.”

“So you’re telling me that some of them did get away then?”

“Still wouldn’t be enough to mount anywhere near an assault as big as you’re claiming. That’s more bodies than they’d be able to muster, even if they had an outpost backing them. And again, I would’ve known if they’d done that.”

“Could be that they’re with an Enclave then?” Liam considered. “You know, one of those smaller settlements that rezzers form outside of here?”

“Too big for any I’ve come across,” Leah said. “Either way, I don’t like it. Might be bandits. Might be traitors. Might be an Enclave for all I know. The good news is that now that you’re here, they won’t get anywhere near you. I’ll make sure of it.”

Liam grimaced. “Why do I have the nasty feeling that you’re about to say there’s some bad news with this?”

“Bad news is that driving right up to the gates will cost us both. Some of my men saw your daughter. They’re going to talk, and whoever they tell will talk too. Even if I manage to shut everyone up, there’s no telling how long I can keep the rumors down. Like it or not, either we take out these guys quickly, or we’ll have a bunch more breathing down your necks soon enough.”

“Great, so it isn’t enough that we have to fight another army of rezzers or reclaim Cheyenne and set up the defenses again. We must also do it before anyone learns we’re here?”

They reached the top floor and began to walk across a balcony.

“I told you that you’re a fucking idiot,” Leah said. “But at least this won’t be like the old days. It’s not just the two of us against the world, Liam. Now, I’ve got one at my beck and call.”

Liam watched as she leaned back against a railing, Pandemonium to her flank. Her Hunter’s badge shimmered in the midday sun, its canine skull shape cast in gold, where her older one had been mere silver. Buildings rose into the sky, with neon lights flooding the streets below. Though the Lodge remained empty, hordes of rezzers scurried about in the greater city. They all seemed so small and insignificant compared to the warrior standing in front. The woman who lorded over them all.

A new dawn rose in their world.