“What makes you think I would care about that?” Her jawssnapped, and Xander attempted to recoil but was trapped in her grip, a rivulet of blood seeping out from where one of her claws dug into his cheek. “Your incompetence left me to rot for far too long. Have you not grown to be more than worthless yet?”
“I-I still freed you,” he said, voice wavering and small.
“Yes, wonderful, congratulations—you fulfilled your use,barely. I suppose this counts for one accomplishment in your miserable half life.” When she released him, Xander brought his hands up, but whether it was in protection or desperation, it was hard to tell. He just as quickly balled fists and dropped them at his sides, face hardening as she turned away, a thin line of blood trickling down his face. “Now, foryou.”
Archibald was raised, and before he could scream, a claw tore through his chest. He let out a single, gurgling cry, blood raining across the burgundy carpet, the colors all melding into one under the reddened pall through the windows. A crystalline tinkling rang out in the room, and then Birzuma dropped the body of the slain king.
Damien was woken from his petrified stare by shifting in his pocket. Amma’s hand had buried itself there, and he pressed lips to her ear to remain as quiet as possible. “Sweetness, is now really an appropriate time—”
Amma burst out of Damien’s arms, too quick to be snatched back, and she was running. Damien shouted after her, and even Xander called out, telling her to stop as she flew toward the demoness, but she was faster than either could comprehend. A dose of luxerna will do that to a person who has just been dead, life renewed and fresh and requiring utilization, but none of them really knew that, they only knew that Amma was about to do something reckless and stupid.
She darted right for the demon, a flash of something white in her hand. Was shemad? She couldn’t kill her, even if she could land a strike, and Xander’s honor wasn’t even worth it.
Birzuma turned, sensing the woman just as she was upon her. Claws were raised, and then noxscura blotted out the entire chamber. There was a scream in the darkness and the gnashing of jaws. Shimmering eyes flashed through the haze, pair after pair, the sounds of beating wings and scuffing talons as if a brawl had broken out in the shadows below. And then the chamber cleared.
Damien was on his feet, Pippa at his side, trembling but ready. Below, a hoard of infernal beasts had descended upon Birzuma. A gator-bear had the demon’s arm in its jaws, a serpent wrapped around her body, a flock of tiny wyverns covering a leg, the black cat flopping itself over her neck. She was completely restrained, and at her side, so was Xander.
Amma stood unscathed, breathing hard, eyes wide as if shocked at herself. The infernals had protected her, just as Damien had commanded them to do.
He scrambled down the stairs, practically falling on his face when his legs wanted to give up under intense pain and weakness. E’nloc’s voice was loud, but he pushed it away, avoiding the mass of infernals restraining the demoness, and he took Amma by the arms gently, pulling her away. “Amma, what were you trying to do?”
She blinked away from the deadly place she had just been and up to him. “Do you trust me?”
“Yes, unequivocally, I just wish you’d tell me whatever the fuck it is you’re doing,” he said desperately.
“I can’t, It’ll probably try to stop me.”
Kill her.
Damien nodded. “Fair.”
Amma’s nimble fingers took his hand, and her palm was pressed to his. There was something solid in his grasp, the handkerchief in her own as she pulled her hand away. Left in his palm was Bloodthorne’s Talisman of Enthrallment, recoveredfrom Archibald’s body, bloody, touching his skin.
“Amma,” he breathed, staring at the stone. “This is my own creation. It isn’t going to work on me, I’m—” The talisman glowed and began to burrow.
“No longer that person?”
His eyes shot up to hers, shocked, heart racing.
She grinned, absolutely wicked. “Are you ready to have some fun?”
Damien convulsed, the pain extraordinary. The talisman dug itself up his arm, across his chest, and slammed into his heart with such strength he fell to his knees, vision blacking out. Nope, that wasn’t fun at all.
Amma’s arms were around him as he fell, her yelp of surprise in his ear, and then many syrupy apologies followed as she tried to shake him back to consciousness.
“Damien?” she called, but it sounded far away, the twisting and gnawing at his guts intense, noxscura flooding behind but with much less fervor than it had before when it attempted to heal the luxerna’s chewing.
This will kill Us, It said into his mind.
Good.
“Sanguinisui, wake up.”
A warm flood of arcana raced around Damien’s innards, and his vision sharpened, sitting up, totally alert.
Amma gasped, and then she looked on him with utter awe. “It worked.”
“Sanguinisui, stab her!”
