Ehtab himself lands in a cloud of dust and fury, throwing back the remains of his minions with a mighty sweep of his leathery wings. At first, I can't believe it is the demon lord because he's actually wearing clothes.

Well, a long, belted black tunic with gold borders, but it's something.

Across the demon lord's back is a scabbard and the hilt of a massive broadsword sticks over his shoulder. Oh, God—that thing could cleave us in two with one sweep, I think in horror. My mouth goes dry and the muzzle of the Winchester drops. Winston brays, throat shaking as he issues his challenge.

Ehtab glares at the battle-elk from beneath heavy bovine brows. His black mane blows in a wind of the demon's own creation, flying around his head and shoulders like a flame.

"Is this how you repay my hospitality, Hunter?" Ehtab thunders, reaching back and unsheathing the broadsword. It gleams like a piece of fallen star in the moonlight, its edges as sharp as diamonds.

"Look out!" Glaris shouts, grabbing me off of Winston and rolling to the ground as Ehtab sweeps the sword down on the ward.

A massive clang echoes throughout the empty streets of the City of Dust as my ward explodes in a shower of blood-red motes.

"You'll pay for your interference, Hunter," Ehtab growls, reaching through the motes towards me.

Winston bellows and charges, but Ehtab knocks the battle-elk aside with one careless hand. I scream and reach for the big bull as he falls to the ground, horns clattering on the cobblestone like dried firewood.

Glaris grabs my arm, but he's too late. Ehtab's giant hand grabs me by the front of my shirt and drags me through the remnants of the warded circle. The toes of my boots scrap along the street as I'm lifted up—and up—into the air until there's nothing beneath me.

Fear courses through my body and I struggle, kicking at the demon with my feet and clawing at his arm and wrist with both hands. My shirt collar cuts painfully into the back of my neck and I can only imagine what being decapitated by cotton feels like.

"You—!" Ehtab's next sentence is cut off, words falling into a stuttering mess as the demon's bovine face contorts in pain. His whole body contracts with what appears to be pain. "What are you doing?" Ehtab roars, shaking me back and forth.

My teeth clatter around in my head as I struggle to keep from snapping my neck. The scarf falls off my head and blue hair streams outwards like a banner.

Something glowing pops out of the front of my shirt and lands on the demon lord's hand. Purple flesh begins to burst and boil as Jae-Seong's blessed cross spreads a fiery burn across Ehtab's skin.

Ehtab screams and rears back, dropping me and his sword in the process. The demon lord clutches one hand with the other; his minions cower before their master, uncertain of how to proceed.

I land hard on the cobblestone. "Oof!" I groan, rolling over onto my belly. There's another bruise for the catalogue.

Glaris grabs me and I hear his muffled grunt as he pulls me to my feet. "Get up!" he shouts, words textured by pain.

My eyes dart over his body. Where is he wounded?

But the demon-hunter looks just fine, unlike me. Why does he look so fresh and I feel like I've been run over by a herd of crocatta?

I stagger to my feet, just in time to see Ehtab lean down to pick up the broadsword. "A piece of God," the demon lord growls. "Why didn't I notice it sooner?"

All the better for me, I suppose.

I back up, reaching for the crossbow on Winston's saddle.

Ehtab straightens and turns his wrist, loosening up his sword arm. "Never mind. I'll destroy it like I've destroyed everything else of that worthless god's." He lifts the sword and begins to swing.

I close my eyes and pray that I have enough strength to conjure another ward.

"NO!"

A massive burst of bright white power shoots past me, through me. I look over and there's the kid, hunched over with her hands over her head. Power, pure angelic power, rolls off the girl in giant waves, each one larger than the last.

Ehtab staggers backward, purple skin cracking and bleeding black ichor. His massive mane begins to sizzle and burn at a rapid pace. Around his feet, the lesser demons screech and fall over, turning into dust before they even hit the ground.

Winston bellows, the stallion screams, and the pony bucks and kicks out. The mare turns to bolt, but Egon reaches out at the last minute and grabs her reins in his sharp teeth. She spins and lands a kick in the enfield's haunches. Egon yips and slews sideways, but retains his hold on the reins.

"What is that?" Glaris yells at me, doubled over and clutching his belly.

"She's a half angel!" I shout back over the sound of a hundred thousand bells ringing in my ears.

The demon-hunter groans and nearly crumples to the ground.

Our reprieve is short-lived. Kayleigh cries out, once, then slumps over in the street. Her eyes roll up in her head and she passes out.

I stumble and stagger, one arm outstretched to reach the kid. And then Ehtab begins to laugh. I turn and stare at the demon lord as he pushes himself up onto one knee, using the sword as a crutch.

"What power!" he crows, tossing his blistered purple head back in mirth. "What she holds will surely increase the size of my territory tenfold!"

I turn so fast that my head whirls and I list sideways, crashing into Glaris. The demon-hunter grunts and coughs, going down on both knees.

"No," I whisper hoarsely.

"No, little blue-haired Hunter?" Ehtab retorts, mimicking me. He rises to his feet and takes up the broadsword in both hands. "I am your master, human—and you will learn to kneel or die!"

"Then let me die," I snarl, whipping chunks of shelving at the demon's face.

The shims strike Ehtab in the snout, peppering him like porcupine quills. The demon lord roars, wings beating up a whirlwind.

"Then die," he agrees, wiping a hand across his nose. Black blood smears across his bovine nostrils and the back of his hand. Raising the sword, he swings down with a mighty yell.

I raise my hands, calling up everything that I have left.

Just as the sword is about to split me in two, Winston shoves me aside.

"NO!!" I scream, tasting blood as the word rips from my throat.

The demon's broadsword cleaves into the battle-elk's skull. I throw up an arm, unwilling to watch as my friend is killed.

A sound like a brass bell echoes across the empty streets and a bright light shines above my head. Lowering my arm, I'm prepared to see the remnants of Winston strewn across the cobblestone—all bone and guts and blood.

But the demon's broadsword is held in place by Winston's glowing antlers.

"Get up!" Glaris hisses in my ear, pulling on my arm as I freeze in place. He hauls me upright as Winston shoves against Ehtab's sword.

Why is Winston glowing?

"What. Are. You!?" the demon lord howls, pulling back and letting the sword fall with a powerful swing.

The battle-elk's eyes burn a bright white and this time, the sword cuts straight through him. I gasp, biting my knuckles to the bone as the elk that was Winston simply falls away like torn cloth.

A being brighter than starlight emerges from the elk's body, growing to a size that rivals even Ehtab. I catch a glimpse of a shining white robe, silver armor, and a pair of ethereal, feathered wings before the angel manifests his own sword and clashes with that of Ehtab.

"Go!" the angel shouts, planting his bare feet and shoving back against the demon lord.

Ehtab's burning red eyes are wide in shock, but he quickly recovers. The muscles of his arms bulge out as he struggles against the heavenly being.

"GO!" the angel thunders, reaching around and punching Ehtab in his bovine jaw. Ehtab staggers backward, black blood oozing from a gash on his face.

What am I witnessing?

"Let's go!" Glaris shouts, making me jerk. But it's what I need to break out of whatever trance I'm in.

The demon-hunter has Kayleigh under one arm and is reaching for his stallion. Egon drags the black pony mare around and I jump into the saddle. Almost immediately, I'm put out of sorts—more used to riding a giant battle-elk than this small, inferior animal.

We wheel the horses around and make for the tunnel out of the city, the battle cries of biblical enemies ringing in our ears.