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I keep replaying scenarios in my mind of how this is going to go. Falling flat on what I’m going to do in case something goes wrong.

Alok is the only one able to move through walls, so he’ll be the one to get Calli. Jack is going to be our getaway driver and keep an eye on surveillance. Kai and I are going to be the ones to take out the outer guards, then there’s getting to Rosa. I know she has a plan, and I’m just hoping Kai is enough to throw her off.

There are far too many unknowns for me to make any plan that involves defeating a being like that, and the idea of just trusting Alok and Kai can distract Gregor is ridiculous.

“Are you guys even able to die?” I ask aloud.

“Well, that’s fucking dark. But technically, yes,” Alok says, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

“There are very few things that can kill us,” Kai chimes in.

“Care to enlighten me in case our friend decides to show up to the party when we get there?”

“We don’t die in the sense that you would understand. We can be consumed or destroyed.” Kai leans forward before continuing. “It’s very rare that a celestial can kill another; typically orivores are our biggest threats; the only other being that can destroy us is a titan,” Kai says matter-of-factly.

“You just said a whole lot of things that I don’t understand,” Jack says, beginning to get frustrated.

“Orivores are horrifying creatures that embody the liminal state between life and death. When they open their mouth, their throat appears as an endless void that can devour a soul’s very essence,” Kai explains flatly.

Jack and I look at each other, horrified.

“Oh, don’t worry, I imagine you would be weak sustenance for a being like that,” Kai says; I can hear the shit-eating grin on his face.

I look in the rearview mirror and adjust it just enough to see his face. He smirks at me in the mirror.

“Can you please quit kicking my seat like a fucking toddler!” Jack says, annoyed.

“Move your seat up. It’s uncomfortable back here,” Alok says, continuing to kick his seat.

“Try being trapped in your own body. I’m not moving a damn thing,” Jack says, continuing to take the repeated kicks to the back of his seat.

“And a titan, what is that?” I ask earnestly.

I feel Kai stretch forward and grab the back of my seat.

“You better pray you never come into contact with any of those beings. They’re the eight primordial forces of existence. And each one of them is a bigger dick than the last.”

Goose bumps run up my arms at his words. Are there really beings so powerful in the world? And the things sitting in the back seat can only be killed by such horrifying monsters? There’s a good chance that I’m out of my depth, but the fuckers we’re about to go up against are only human. That I can deal with.

I look in the rearview mirror again, the view blocked by the horns on the top of Alok’s head.

“Are you able to go invisible, or change into whatever ghost form Kai took when he was stalking my sister for the flight?” I say, speaking to Alok.

“I have a great many capabilities, but, alas, existing in an ephemeral state is not my specialty; air magic is my go-to,” he responds with confidence.

“Air magic?” Jack asks curiously.

“Breath, pressure, momentum, sound. I can pull the air from your lungs and suffocate you, vibrate through solid objects, possess people, and I can jump really high.”

I notice Jack’s eyes shift to the side. “Sorry I asked.”

“Oh, and that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Now, matter, that would be more of Kai’s thing, though he can’t while in his little fake flesh prison.”

“What can you do?” I ask Kai.

It’s good to know what they are truly capable of, and if they are willing to share, all the better.

“Matter manipulation. Mostly.” I feel his knees press against my back. “Rock, metal, plants, wood. Physical shit, I can move, reshape things, including myself. I can destabilize myself, which makes me appear invisible. I can heal things a little, too.” He pauses. “But that is harder on other beings.”