Page 92 of Two Who Live On

Milo approached the devil, preparing his banishment. A lump grew in my throat. All these well-trained witches would overwhelm and defeat this devil, but could they properly banish him without killing the host body?

“It will take more than banishment to untether me from Jamie Novak,” the devil said, smug and still scanning for an escape. “Or have you resigned yourself to accept one more death as the cost of saving your city?”

“No one else dies because of you.” Milo’s magic swelled, interlocking with each of the channeling enchanters. They weren’t honing their magic; they were altering their frequency to link with and magnify Milo’s casting capability. Even with all their precisionand skill, it wouldn’t last long. They wouldn’t be able to provide Milo this boost in power for more than a few minutes, but he only required minutes at most to finish this devil.

This held a heavy price, though. One I realized Milo was all too aware of. Having a single witch match his frequency, funneling their energy into him, and merging together would expand his casting output. It also added to the physical exhaustion by two-fold. Sure, the witch offering magical assistance took some of the burden when syncing to Milo, but here, he was containing the power of a hundred witches to cast banishment on a staggering level. Those linked to his frequency took on the physical limitations for half while he felt the excruciating exhaustion fifty times over. The fatigue weighed heavily, silencing Milo’s thoughts, amping up his survival instinct and drive to save everybody—including Jamie Novak.

Milo aimed a powerful pulse, eradicating the devil within Jamie. Lightning surged within the boy. His ribcage glowed and sparked like a threatening thunderstorm. Each wave of banishment burned the demon bound inside the host body. Jamie’s eyes, nose, ears, and mouth pooled with tar. Slowly the chimera’s spirit spilled out, curdling, and fading back to the demonic plane of existence.

“What’s this? What’s this?”“Where am I?”

“There’s color everywhere.”“Is this freedom?”

“An illusion. A delusion.”“I can’t believe my eyes.”

“Light—Mother, there’s light.”

“Nothing can kill that devil.”“Peace.”

“I’d forgotten how calm the world was.”

“I must be dreaming.”

My eyes watered. One by one, wisps broke away from the tar, containing fragmented thoughts of witches consumed by the chimera over his extensively long existence. Their minds buzzed, rattled, and shattered loose from the demonic energy before vanishing in theether. Whether they found peace in some unknown afterlife or the simple silence of a true death, I was grateful for each and every soul freed of the chimera’s horrid imprisonment.

“Not happening. Not like this.” The chimera roared, unleashing black tentacles of tar from his mouth. “I will not cease to be.Not this close to perfection.”

Tar whipped, lapping at the lost wisps, snatching them back up before the witches found their freedom. The chimera refused to sacrifice their branches, lose his collection, but Milo didn’t relent. Focused on keeping the witches contained, the chimera’s position faltered, and Milo took full advantage by reeling back his other fist. He slammed the collective force of a hundred witches, channeling telekinesis and binding each tendril to the ground. The pavement beneath them cracked and crumbled under the intense weight of so much magic.

“My body. I can feel my body again,” Jamie’s voice echoed loudly. “It hurts. Please. I don’t want to die.”

I approached, hoping to link what telepathy I could without interfering. Jamie had suffered so much, still suffered, and I wanted him to understand it was almost over. Milo was seconds from saving him.

Countless witches escaped the chimera’s clutches. In mere moments the devil in Chicago would cease to exist.

“Milo? Dorian?” Finn called out. “I knew you’d both find me.”

I collapsed to the ground, awed by the sweet voice of Finn and his freedom. After so much time regretting every mistake I’d made, all that dwelling, finally moving on, and then learning he still suffered, I took a breath knowing this piece of him had finally been released from the chimera.

Finn floated in a flurry of fading wisps. Soon, he’d truly find himself free from the unfathomable horrors of twelve years bound within that devil.

I clenched my fists. Or…he could stay. I’d held a piece of his magic, his mind, inside me before unknowingly. My magic, Finn’s magic, Milo’s magic—together, we could keep Finn here, safe, and with us. I could save him for real. I could bring him back into our lives.

Milo, Finn, and me together forever.

That was the happiest ever Milo must’ve envisioned. It had to be. I wouldn’t accept any other truth that kept me from Milo and Finn, the three of us happy and perfect.

ChapterThirty-Three

Chapter Thirty-Three

I approached the cluster of wisps. Some glowed brightly, illuminating the night sky; others dimmed as the connection to demonic energy dissolved. Witches bound to those fragmented pieces of power disappeared. I wouldn’t allow the same to happen to Finn.

“Dorian, what’re you doing here?” Milo strained to maintain a steady flux of telekinesis to keep the devil pinned and banishment to remove all the stored demonic energy circulating within Jamie’s body. “You can’t be here.”

“Finn’s here, aware, calling out.” I pushed past Milo, reaching out for the wisp tethered to Finn’s consciousness, the part of it stored inside the chimera.

“Stop, Dorian. I know what you’re thinking, and I’m telling you no.”

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