I was expecting to feel a bullet go straight through my head. 

But it didn't. I was still alive. Somehow. 

I glanced towards the five cars that stood silently behind us, effectively mocking the wreckage of a vehicle we were currently cowering withing. I scowled. I wasn't powerless like I was in The Fields of Ahaz or in Carmen's past: I would not die shuddering in a corner. 

I opened the door and stepped out. After a pause and the sound of shuffling within the car, Darcy and Dev stood with me, facing our enemies with the book of their desires tightly grasped in Robbins' arms. 

We waited for a moment until men started to spill out of the black SUV's, some equipped with massive army guns, some empty handed. The ones without weapons were lower level demons, their red eyes glinting against the cloudy sky as the gloom overcame light and warmth. I recognised almost all of them. I'd worked with most at least once before. The humans, on the other hand, didn't look familiar to me. But I wasn't surprised. In the demonic world, they were as disposable as goldfish and new ones popped up all the time to do Hell's bidding. 

The last men to get out were in the centre car, and I raised my eyebrows in slight surprise as Rex and a few of his cronies came to greet us. I expected him to be punished for losing Carmen and I at her apartment, but clearly Satan hadn't cared or maybe he'd done something to redeem himself. Either way his arrogant face and that stupid smirk made my blood boil. 

"Good afternoon, Master," he said, approaching us with an exaggerated bow. 

I scowled at him. "What are you on about?" 

His smile broadened into a grin. "I wasn't talking to you." 

I was just about to make a snarky retort when Dev's shoulder brushed against mine. I turned to look at him and I watched in silent astonishment as he took one final glance at us, before walking over to the enemy. My insides began to burn with an ice cold pain as I started to realise what was really going on here. 

"Dev," I said after a moment, trying to keep the hurt from out of my voice. "What have you done?" 

Was this really what it appeared to be? Had my closest demonic friend stabbed me in the back after everything we'd been through together? 

He let out a booming laugh, throwing his head back as the thought of his betrayal pierced me deep inside. "Do you really think your arse-licking assistant was smart enough to pull all of this off?"

"Well my arse-licking assistant is the only person I see in front of me," I retorted, confused but mostly angry. I trusted this man. I'd saved his life. And this is how he repays me. 

He nodded. "Gents, do you think it's time to show my real appearance?" 

The crowd behind him chanted a chorused yes and he gave me a smirk, before extending his arm out and clicking his fingers twice. 

Robbins let out a shocked gasp. I just stared, uncomprehending, focusing on the sight before me so that I could try and believe what I was seeing. But my eyes didn't lie. Dev wasn't standing in front of me anymore. 

"Maximus?" He nodded at me with a satisfied grin. "But how...?"

It was definitely him. You couldn't mistake him from a mile away: that massive build, the distinctive shaved head, those beastly beetle eyes. He was here in the flesh. But Dev wasn't. 

What the hell? 

He looked around at his minions, particularly towards the Hunter Demons who were beaming at his entrance. The other lower level demons weren't bothered about his sudden appearance. They were much more focused on the book Robbins was clutching in her hands, fear and desire corrupting their scarlet eyes. It seemed that Maximus still wasn't as popular as he would've liked to have been. 

"Well," he shrugged, licking his lips. "We do have time for a little story, I suppose. After all, you don't come across victories like this that often, although I expect to be encountering a few more after this day." 

Good. I needed to keep him talking until I could figure a way out of this, although at the minute the situation looked hopeless. Robbins and I stood alone against a crowd of armed men who had no time for morals or mercy. 

"My opportunity came a few weeks ago. The almighty Satan was getting suspicious about what you were up to and he wanted to send some demons to snoop on you. But your reputation protected you for a while you see. A lot of the underworld was too intimidated to be sneaking around you, and Lucifer couldn't find any willing volunteers. So he came to someone reliable: me." 

He grinned but I didn't understand the pride in his voice. He sounded more like a last resort than a prize warrior from my point of view. 

"I came by your apartment one night when I was assured you were absent from there. And you were. But the place wasn't empty. Oh no, you'd left something valuable behind." His smile turned sinister and I felt like I knew where this was going. "Maybe you should've been a little bit more careful with that assistant of yours. When I found him he was unconscious on your bed, a load of bandages wrapped around his leg with no protector in sight. He was an easy steal, a sitting duck." 

I let out a curse. That explained why he had disappeared the next morning. If I had stayed with Dev that night maybe only for a few hours, Maximus would've run into me and he wouldn't have been able to take him. I could've foiled this whole plan right from the beginning. 

But I didn't. I let the bastard get him. I let him win. 

Fury crept into my voice. "What did you do to him?" 

He shrugged. "I tortured him of course. I had to find out what you guys were up to, and he was my way in. He was a strong lad though, I'll give him that. He caved after a few days of solid pain, which was impressive for someone of his power. He had a strong loyalty to you that was for sure. As soon as he told me what you were doing I got Rex to set up a trap at your apartment, and there we would capture you and bring you to Satan." 

"But the trap didn't work," I laughed bitterly. "You failed." 

He threw a glare at Rex and his minions. "They failed. As soon they told me what had happened I was furious. But it didn't matter. I had a backup plan, which was arguably much better. It brought us to this situation here." 

He gestured towards Robbins and the book, and she tightened her protective hold over it, scowling furiously at him.

"You see, Mr Axon, my little secret power which you have no knowledge about is very special, really. In fact it's arguably the most impressive warrior power of them all. Much better than your little invisibility trick I forced your assistant to tell me about." 

I tried not to react to his words, but the fear within increased dramatically. That was my one little wild card I had left in this dire situation, and now I couldn't even play it anymore. I was screwed. 

"I am gifted with the ability to shape-shift, which you were lucky enough to just witness. I don't let any common nobody see me in action, Mr Axon. You should feel honoured." He flashed his yellowing set of teeth with another large grin. "Unfortunately my powerful skill does have a bit of a setback. I need to drink the blood of the being I am masquerading as to sustain their appearance. So I took your assistant's blood and infiltrated the Robbins household, updating Satan on every move you made until you decided to come here. And then I set my final trap." 

I gritted my teeth as it all suddenly began to make sense to me. "That was why Dev...I mean you suddenly hated Spence out of nowhere. You're still pissed off about what he said to you all of those years ago!" 

"I will seek my revenge on him after all this done," he growled out, looking angry for a second before his smirk returned. "But that will be the spoils of my victory: I'll have time for all of that later." 

I needed to keep him talking. "Where is Dev now? What have you done with him?" 

He laughed, arrogantly shrugging his shoulders as I waited for his answer with bated breath. "I wasn't sure how long I'd need his blood for. You were taking a while to decipher Il Libro Dei Demoni. So...well, to be honest, I took a bit too much. He either died from that or all the torture he'd gotten over the past week." 

"You motherfucker!" I growled out, trying to restrain myself as the urge to rip out Maximus' throat became stronger than ever. Pain attacked my already burdened chest at the thought of Dev's lifeless body, lying down somewhere in the middle of a dingy dungeon whilst his soul burned in the lake of fire. The hug we shared would be the last moment I'd ever spend with him. He was dead now. Gone. I'd never see that cheeky smile again. 

Maximus was looking at his phone as I struggled with grief, but soon enough he had put it down and was smirking at me again. "Before you try to take on a group of armed men and demons single-handedly, there's someone else who wants to talk to you." 

My insides burned with fury. I didn't want to talk to another slimy fucker. I wanted blood. I wanted revenge. I wanted someone to pay for what had happened to my friend. I wanted justice. And I wanted it now. "I don't give a shit." 

"Oh he wasn't asking," he let out another cruel laugh. "And I think you will care." 

The ground around us suddenly began to tremble. The whole earth seemed to violently shake as the field beneath our feet started to appear unstable. Robbins and I jumped back as a mighty crack sounded from the space between us and our enemies. An opening appeared and widened, acting as a powerful rift splitting the two sides. The crack continued to get bigger until it came to a grinding stop, at a size that was just small enough to jump over but easy enough to fall into at the same time. 

And I had a feeling I knew exactly where it would go to. 

A harsh, cold voice boomed from the bottom of the opening like a call to death itself, chilling the cells of my body until they became numb with fear. "Roman Axon," it bellowed, making my insides churn. 

Maximus grinned again. "May I present to you undeserving human beings the most powerful entity in this world, Lord Lucifer."