The suction was unlike anything she’d ever experienced before. Her feet lifted from the ground, and he hung on to her with grim fingers, his grin turning into a rictus of effort.
But the blood that smeared both their hands made his purchase tricky at best, and she slipped an inch or so.
Shit. Shit.
Delia stared into his frightened eyes and saw he’d just realized the same thing she had.
He wasn’t going to be able to hang on much longer.
No way was he going to lose Delia. Not when he’d just found her.
Caleb tightened his grip. Deep down, though, he knew that brute force wasn’t going to be enough to save her. He’d have to reach within and use powers he generally did his best to ignore.
Flames rippled along his arms and hands — not to destroy, but to clear away the blood that smeared his fingers and threatened to send Delia into the abyss. It touched her, too, and past the terror, he saw wonder in her eyes as those same flames licked her hands clean as well.
Every muscle screaming with effort, he pulled her closer, moving his grip farther and farther up her forearms until he was able to pull her close and hang on with both arms. His groin wanted to acknowledge the exquisite sensation of having her pressed against him like this, with only a bunch of sequins and a little fabric between her body and his, but he knew now was not the time for that.
Maybe it would never be.
Air roared past his ears, and he somehow understood that if they didn’t get that goddamn portal closed soon, there wouldn’t be anything left to breathe.
Delia shouted, “We have to close the circuit!”
Right. Three of the symbols still flickered with dark flames, but unless they were able to activate the fourth one, they wouldn’t be able to trap the magic that kept the portal open.
White light flared behind them. Caleb risked a quick look over his shoulder and saw that Ty had pushed himself back to his feet and had flung himself at August, who now had fully reverted to his demon form, all glaring red eyes and black scaly skin. Tall, misshapen horns protruded from his forehead, a sign that he indeed was a higher form of demon.
Not that Ty seemed to care. Caleb wasn’t sure where the half angel had summoned the strength, because blood dripped down from a nasty gash in his forehead and his left eye already sported an impressive shiner, but the white glow surrounding him was brighter than it had ever been, as if the man understood he had to put everything he could into this final attack.
Which meant Caleb and Delia needed to do the same thing.
Their eyes met, and their wills combined. Flames rippled along the symbol on the west wall of the chamber, and in the next instant, all four of them blazed as brightly as if they’d just been doused with gasoline.
Under their feet, the ground shuddered.
The glowing hole in the world shivered, pieces of its energy breaking off like embers rising from a campfire. August let out a hideous shriek as he was pulled backward, away from Ty.
But too close to Caleb.
One bony hand shot out and grabbed him by the wrist. “You should never have come back,” the demon spat. “If I’m to be trapped in Hell for all eternity, so are you!”
And Caleb was torn from Delia’s arms as the portal continued to collapse, sucking them into the thing as if it were some kind of supernatural black hole.
She gasped — but then she hastened forward and grabbed hold of him again, bare heels digging into the dirt in a futile attempt to keep him from being pulled in.
Then Ty was there as well, the white glow of his angelic energy surrounding her and Caleb as well.
For just a second, that glow turned almost acid green. August Sellers’ demonic face distorted further, mouth widening as he bared his fangs in rage.
And then he was through the portal as it came crashing down, shivering into nothing, sparks flying everywhere.
The earth groaned again, and dirt began to fall from the ceiling again, faster this time, sending irritating flecks into his eyes.
Caleb wasn’t sure what had just happened — had all their power combined to create the massive surge of energy required to collapse the gate once and for all? — but he knew one thing.
They needed to get the hell out of there before they were crushed to death.
“Hotel room!” he shouted at Ty, and the half angel nodded.
