“Absolutely not,” Ty replied at once, his voice flat.“If you’re inside the network when it overloads, it could kill you…or worse.”
“And if we don’t try, a bunch of people in the city will die anyway,” Delia pointed out.“At least this way, we have a chance.”
Everyone went quiet.Delia could tell that both Ty and Pru were trying to come up with some other way of fighting the demons, but they were pretty much out of options at this point.
“One good thing,” she went on when it became clear that neither of her friends had any other arguments to offer.“I can probably access the framework from anywhere in the city.It’s not like I have to be right where the action is happening, so to speak.”
“Sort of like hacking a mainframe from a remote terminal,” Pru said.
“I thought you weren’t a hacker,” Delia replied, and her friend grinned.
“I’m not.But I watch a lot of movies.”
Delia could only shake her head.At least now they had the faintest glimmer of a plan.
Even if she had no clear idea of how to execute it…or what might happen when she did.
ChapterThirteen
Dawn slowly creptacross the Las Vegas valley, as if it wasn’t sure it wanted to be a witness to what the coming day might bring.Caleb watched the sunrise through the single narrow window in his holding room, noting how the light seemed to bend strangely around the chapel, as if the building somehow existed outside normal reality.
Which, he supposed, it probably did by now.
The demons guarding him had changed shifts twice during the night, but the routine remained the same — two red-eyed sentinels flanked the door while he sat in the uncomfortable chair, ostensibly resting before his starring role in Vinea’s grand finale.What they didn’t know was that he’d spent most of the night working on the subtle sabotage he’d been weaving into the ritual framework, tiny flaws and inconsistencies he hoped would cascade into something much larger when the time came, the way a tiny crack in a dam might turn into a flood when enough water tried to force its way through.
His phone had been taken away hours ago, but his psychic connection to Delia hung on despite everything.Every so often, he’d catch glimpses through their bond — flashes of her sitting down to a dinner with a large group of family members at a restaurant that thankfully was far from the center of the chaos, taking a late-night call from Olivia to walk her through some wedding details…working with Ty and Pru to piece together what Vinea was really planning.
She was safe for now.That was the one thing that really mattered.
The door to the holding room opened, and Vinea entered, once again wearing the human guise that made him look like a waxwork dummy in a bespoke suit.The demon lord carried a silver tray laden with what appeared to be an excellent breakfast — eggs Benedict, fresh fruit, toast, and a big mug of heavenly-smelling coffee.
“Good morning, Caleb,” Vinea said as he set the tray down on a small table that appeared out of nowhere.“I trust you slept well?”
Actually, he hadn’t slept at all, but he saw no reason to share that information.“Like a baby,” he replied blithely, then gestured toward the food.“Room service in Hell has really improved since my last visit.”
That comment earned him one of Vinea’s razor-sharp smiles.“Oh, we’re not in Hell, dear boy.We’re very much on your beloved mortal plane, although I’ll admit that the boundaries have become rather fluid in this particular location.”
As if to emphasize his point, the walls of the holding room flickered for a moment, revealing glimpses of something vast and shadowy beyond them.Caleb caught sight of what looked like a cathedral made of black stone, with architecture that pained his eyes, all Escher-esque planes and angles, with some flourishes that could have come right out of a concept drawing for one of theAlienmovies.
Then the illusion snapped back into place, returning them to the mundane, square room where he’d been held captive for almost a day.
“Eat,” Vinea commanded, settling into a chair that materialized from thin air.It was large and almost throne-like, carved mahogany with blood-red upholstery, far grander than the hard, plain chair where his prisoner had been forced to sit.“You’ll need your strength for tonight’s festivities.”
Tonight.The word sent a chill down Caleb’s spine.Time continued to march on, although he really wished it wouldn’t.
He picked up the fork and took a bite of the eggs Benedict, which were annoyingly delicious.If the food hadn’t been so good, he wouldn’t have wanted to eat all of it.As it was, he knew he’d probably clean the plate…which he guessed would please Vinea to no end.
“So…tonight,” he said, figuring he might as well prepare himself for the worst.“Walk me through what happens.”
“Eager to get started, are we?”The demon lord seemed pleased, as though he’d interpreted Caleb’s request as a visible sign of cooperation.“Very well.The ritual will begin at sunset, which is approximately eight o’clock at this time of year.We’ll need several hours to properly synchronize the portal network across the city.”
Caleb popped a grape in his mouth, then asked, “And I’ll be…?”
“Positioned at the primary nexus point, of course.Right here, in the heart of what was once Angel’s Dream Wedding Chapel.”Vinea gestured around them, and for the barest second, the walls became transparent again, revealing the vast supernatural architecture that existed beneath the mundane skin that most everyday observers would see.“Your blood will flow through channels carved into the foundation, connecting this location to every other node in the network.”
The mental image of his blood literally flowing through supernatural conduits made the eggs Benedict flip-flop in his stomach, but Caleb managed to keep his expression neutral.“And it’ll take three to four hours?”
“Yes.The process must be gradual to ensure stability.”Vinea’s tone was matter-of-fact, as if they were discussing getting together to build a bookcase from Ikea rather than performing a ritual that would reshape reality.“The celestial alignment reaches its peak at 11:47 p.m., and that’s when the final gateway will open.”
