“Do you need some help?” Astrid approached tentatively.
As the only human amongst us, she was the only one not personally reeling from the Great Chaos Snatch. And, without her complete soul, she was the only one who still had the ability to examine things logically, without the overwhelming emotions that were bogging the rest of us down. We still had some fight left in us, but this was still a mammoth hurdle to climb over.
Krieger looked up at her and sighed. “I suppose you have almost as much medical knowledge as I do right now, especially without my supplies from the infirmary. Most of my knowledge comes from working with Chaos. Without it, I doubt I’d get through a single day in a human hospital.”
“Is that a yes?” Astrid looked at her father, who wasn’t doing well at all. His breathing was shallow, his body limp, his face ashen. If I’d put him beside Isadora, I wouldn’t have been able to tell that Alton was the one who was still alive. Astrid seemed as close to sad as it was possible for her to get; her brow furrowed as she sank down beside her father and took little glass vials out of the first-aid kit.
Krieger nodded. “Please. I still have O’Halloran’s injuries to look over, so I might need your help there, too.”
O’Halloran raised his hands. “Hey, no need to worry about me, doc. A few scrapes. They look worse than they are, I swear. Weird to think I can’t just patch myself up with a bit of magic, but I’ll survive.”
“Tough as nails, huh?” I remarked.
“O’Halloran’s a beast!” Dylan chimed in.
O’Halloran smiled. “I’m more of a cockroach when it comes to fighting—impossible to wipe out. And when we’re all breathing a little easier and we’ve got a plan of action, I’ll be getting my ass back to that garden place and getting those other magicals out.”
“Although they’re still there with Katherine and Davin,” Tatyana said.
“I’ll be going back too, if there’s a way.” Wade stared at the wall intently, as if he were hoping a portal might suddenly appear. I didn’t need my Empathy to feel his anger; it was bristling off him. “My parents are still there. The preceptors are all still there. And those Children. But how are we supposed to get back to the Garden of Hesperides without a Portal Opener? I need to get back there!”
“Remington is there, too,” Dylan said, his body tensed up.
Finch sighed. “So what, you want to go in all angry and half-cocked? Half-cocked guns don’t kill anyone. That’s got ‘bad idea’ written all over it. Two djinn, a big, fiery sword, a couple of daggers, and a group of humans does not an army maketh. Katherine would just finish the job she wanted to start.”
“Well, I can’t just stand here and do nothing.” Wade looked to me, his eyes desperate. I walked up to him and held his face in my hands, holding his gaze.
“We’re not going to do nothing, Wade. We’re going to get them all back, and we’re going to make our final move against Katherine,” I promised. “I’ve got the Grimoire, and even though I might not be able to read out of it, we’ve got avenues to call upon Erebus. He might be able to reach the other Children of Chaos. If we can get them on our side, then we’ll have the firepower to take on Katherine. We need to remember that she can’t become what she wants to be without my body, and that means the game isn’t over. As long as I’m still me, and there are supernatural beings and weapons in the world, then we’re not done yet, and we haven’t lost.”
“Do you have another one of those Mason jars?” Astrid’s voice distracted me from Wade’s sadness and fury.
Something was happening to Alton. A thin, weak stream of black smoke was spilling out of him, his back arching up from the floor as he Purged.
Santana ran for the cupboard and took out another jar. Raffe had already reached for the entrapment stones that Wade had used on my Purge beast, which was still slamming itself into the side of the glass of its own jar, seemingly unaffected by the Chaos sweep. However, it didn’t look like Raffe was going to need them. The moment Santana unscrewed the lid, the withered wisps of black smoke poured into the jar with feeble obedience. No sooner had Santana screwed the lid back on than the black wisp dissipated completely, the smoke evaporating into thin air, leaving the jar empty.
“What just happened?” Levi peered over from the far side of the room where he’d been pacing silently. I could tell he was trying to come to terms with the fact that Zalaam wasn’t going anywhere, since we would need that djinn for the battle to come. After so long holding Zalaam in silent submission and no longer having the Chaos to keep him pushed down, there was going to be a steep learning curve ahead for Levi.
“I think it died,” Garrett replied, tapping the jar with the edge of his sword—the Avenging Angel. The blade didn’t light up with a fiery flame, suggesting there was no Chaos to react to.
Krieger gasped. “Impossible!”
“Look for yourself.” Garrett nodded at the empty jar. “There’s nothing there.”
“Has anyone ever seen a Purge beast die like that before?” Tatyana looked between the more senior members of the group.
“Since Krieger just screamed ‘Impossible,’ I’m guessing that’s going to be a no,” Finch replied.
“I didn’t scream,” Krieger muttered. “I’ve just never seen anything like that before. And if that Purge beast just died, then it means Alton is in a far worse state than I anticipated. He is practically drained dry.”
“What does that mean?” Astrid had pulled her dad into her lap and was cradling his head gently. I wanted to know the answer just as much as everyone else in the room.
“He’ll need some time to recover, or he’ll die,” Krieger replied. “He certainly won’t be able to do another resurrection without killing himself in the process, even if he were to get his full Chaos back.”
Finch shook his head. “A Necromancer who can’t Necromance. That’s pretty crappy. He’s not going to like that when he wakes up.”
“He might not, but at least he’ll live.” Astrid brushed back the sweat-soaked tufts of Alton’s hair.
“There’s more.” Krieger lowered his gaze. “The Purge beast that just died was the last sliver of Chaos Alton had. He’s going to need a Chaos infusion as soon as possible with his body ailing the way it is. Being human won’t help him in the healing process. If anyone desperately needs magic right now, it’s Alton.”
“Well, when you’re swimming in crap, just keep your head up.” I was determined not to let morale fall below a point where it’d be impossible to get back. I was grateful to have these people with me. This was how we’d started this fight against Katherine, and this was how we were going to finish it. Together, filled with that underdog flame of hope that refused to go out.
“What a way to put it, Sis.” Finch flashed me a smile. He tapped the jar that held my Purge beast, making it bash even harder into the glass.
I smiled back. “We’ve still got chips, and we’ve still got cards to play.”
“And you worked in a casino, so you know all about that.” Wade forced some enthusiasm into his voice as he put his arm around my waist. “Although, what do you make of our odds?”