"Take me there!" I demand, shaking Damien by the front of his shirt. "Take me there right fucking now!"

"Alex, stop!" Damien grabs my shoulders and holds me still. "We can't just rush in. We need a plan."

"Fuck plans! We need to save Dante before that sick fuck does anything worse to them!"

"I know, and we will," he says, his grip on my arms tightening just enough to hurt. "We will, Alex. But we can't just walk in there and give Azael what he wants. Too much is at stake. Please...just give us a chance to come up with a strategy, at the very least. It won't take long."

"For Dante's sake, it better not," I say, glaring.

He flinches and releases me, and suddenly I don't think I can stand up any more. I move away and sit on the edge of the large fountain in the center of the open courtyard.

I don't hear much of what's said after that. Allannan pulls the cloth back over its grisly contents, but I can't take my eyes from it, or stop thinking about how Azael might be making more like it even now.

It feels like hours pass, but it actually doesn't take long to come up with a plan, though no one claims its a very good one.

Damien and I will go first, meeting Azael at the spot he specified. Then, Oran and the Vanguard, along with a host of Carnâki soldiers, will follow, entering the area a short distance away. They'll flank Azael's troops and then launch a surprise attack. In the chaos, Damien is supposed to get me and Dante the fuck out of there.

As eager as I am to get to Dante, I'd be lying if I said I'm not afraid. My stomach feels like it's home to a nest of squirming snakes by the time everyone is in agreement and ready to act.

Damien sees it in my eyes when he joins me by the fountain. He takes my hand and squeezes it lightly.

"Where are we going, anyway?" I ask. Allannan hadn't read that part aloud.

"Some remote forested area in Russia," he says. "The sort of place where meteors can crash and hardly anyone notices."

After a moment, I say what's been on my mind. "Damien, if the plan doesn't work...if Azael forces me to open the Door...will you stop me?"

He looks down at me with eyes like pools of night. "It'll work," is all he says.

~xxx~

Enough of the Vanguard are sufficiently powerful to travel between realms with three or four other people that a sizeable force of Carnâki soldiers is able to accompany us.

Both groups stand at the ready, Oran at their head. He grasps Damien by the arm and wishes us luck.

"I'll see you on the other side, old friend," Oran says, and I wonder if he knows how ominous that sounds. From the grim look he gives us, I think he might.

"Alex," he says to me. "I'm sorry. You're a brave lad, and a true friend. Key or not--demon, human, Celestial, or all three--you're a good man, and I hope if we all come out of this alive you can forgive me my misplaced prejudice. May Manāt smile on your fate."

I'm not sure what the proper response is, so I go with the ever smooth reply of, "Er, you too."

Then it's time. Damien pulls me against him and presses his lips to my hair. "I love you, Alex. I wish everything would just leave us alone and let me love you. I wish..."

"I know," I say. "I love you, too."

I close my eyes and kiss him, and the blue fire takes us away.

~xxx~

The shift isn't so bad this time, and I'm able to keep my feet for once, though only by leaning heavily on Damien.

When I open my eyes, I see we're in a wide clearing among tall pines. patchy snow covers the ground, and the sky overhead is the flat gray-white that promises more is on the way. The air carries a stinging cold, and I realize I'm badly underdressed in my thin Carnâki tunic and soft, suede leggings.

Turning, I see Azael at the other end of the clearing. He's standing before a high stone arch, and he's flanked by half a dozen other people, among whom I recognize Yakketh and Maliel, long fiery blades in hand.

And Dante is there too, and except for a bandage on their right arm, they look pretty much okay.

"Dante!" I take a stumbling step towards them, but Damien keeps a tight grip on my arm.

"Not so fast," he whispers. "We have to give Oran time."

I manage to get myself under control, and walk as steadily as I can at his side.

Azael and his party walk towards us as we approach, until we both stop with about ten feet between us.

"Dantalian," he says, smirking. "Here we are again. I'd have thought that watching me destroy your lover once would have been enough, but I suppose a masochist enjoys a Hell of their own making."

Now it's my turn to hold Damien back, or try. "Don't," I hiss. "He doesn't deserve the satisfaction."

Damien smoothes his features into a cold mask. "Azael. We've come for Dante. Let them go."

Azael shakes his head. "First, the Key."

I look at Damien and hope he can see in my eyes that I trust him, if only to do what he must. "It's okay," I say, and pull my hand from his grip.

Turning, I walk towards Azael. I go as slow as I can, partly because I'm terrified, partly because I'm still unsteady from crossing realms, and it would be really uncool to fall over right now.

When I'm within arm's reach, he grabs me and pulls me against him, turning me so I'm facing away. He wraps a massive arm over my chest and slides his hand down to my hip. I know he's doing it to goad Damien, and it looks like it's working.

Blue fire races over Damien's body, and I can see the faint shadows of great wings at his back. I try to convey something along the lines of 'don't go berserk yet,' with my eyes, but I'm probably too far away for it to really get across.

"You have what you want. Now let Dante go," I say.

He bends to speak in my ear, and I shiver with revulsion as his hot breath gusts against my skin. "As you wish."

He gives a sign, and Dante is pushed forward. They look at me with an expression of love and fear that breaks my heart. There are tears on their face. "You shouldn't have come, Alex," they say. "Why did you have to come?"

I shake my head. "Because I had no choice, Dante," I say. "You're my best friend."

They give me a watery smile as Damien pulls them to his side.

"How touching," Azael drawls. "And now what, Damien? What are you waiting for? Reinforcements, perhaps? You'll be waiting a while. This whole area is sealed. Yakketh and Maliel completed it just as you arrived." He nods to them. "Show him."

The two female Fallen step forward and raise their long, thin blades above their heads. They let the tips cross, and suddenly the sky turns crimson as a great dome of interwoven magic spreads downward from its zenith to join the ground. It must be miles across.

"Nothing in, nothing out," Azael says. "I can't risk the powers of the Abyss getting loose before I'm ready, after all."

Damien's wings grow more solid, and the blue sword of flame takes shape in his hand.

"Damien! No!" I shout. I know he's strong, and powerful, but the odds are seven to one, and I don't know if he could even beat Azael alone.

"Shh," Azael hushes me as I struggle. "Never fear. He's safe, even from himself. Look."

At Damien's feet, another, smaller seal appears, and I see that he and Dante are standing in the center of a circle of intricate symbols. He takes a step forward, but he can't cross beyond its edge.

"Damien..."

"Don't worry. I have no reason to harm him or your friend. I'll let them go once I have what I want."

"I don't believe you," I say.

"I know. But you'll believe this. If you don't give me what I want, you can watch them both die."

Yakketh and Maliel have moved to either side of the seal and their blades are raised and ready.

Damien and Dante are both shouting at me. I can't seem to hear them past the roaring sound in my ears, but I know what they're saying. They're telling me not to do it. Not to save them. Not to sacrifice a world for the sake of their lives.

I'm too selfish to listen.

"All right," I whisper. "You win. I'll do it."

I feel Azael's deep laugh. He turns us to face the great stone arch and speaks low and soft at my back.

"And now, Alex, my lovely broken Key--open me a Door."