The Devil's Backbone (A Niki Slobodian Novel: Book Five) (18 page)

My voice sounded weak when I spoke. “Why?”

“He won’t kill the humans because he likes to play with them,” Lucifer said, sounding bitter. “He is like a child pulling the legs off insects. He will impregnate the women with slimy beasts that are living nightmares. He will put an end to death so he can do it over and over again. He is the reason that the Watchers exist. The other gods were extras. It was Typhon, it was always Typhon. The Creator didn’t create the Watchers because of hubris, Niki. He created them to save humanity. To save the world. Your world. But if Typhon emerges, it won’t be just your world. It will be every world that ever was. Every species, every god, every living creature anywhere. Do you understand what you’re dealing with?”

“Why do they want me?” I said. “The Grace have done everything they can to try to get me to the Devil’s Backbone. Why? What do they want?” I realized I was gripping Lucifer’s arm tightly. I let go, and there were small moon shaped burns on his arm. Lucifer’s mouth twitched.
 

“Sorry,” I said.

“I don’t know why they want you, Niki. But they can’t have you. Release the Scourges and this ends now. It ends the suffering, and it ends the Grace.”

“And it ends Bobby Gage,” I said softly.

“Yes,” he said, his mouth tight. “There is that.”

“You know, Sam told me once that if one life, one single life is a good one, then everything is worth it. He was full of shit a lot, but that time he was right. The Creator couldn’t even kill Matthew. He could have stopped it all, but He didn’t. So how can I kill everyone?”

Lucifer nodded. “It’s a lot,” he said. “I know it’s hard, Niki. But you’re not killing them.”

“Really?” I said. “It sounds a lot like killing.”

“You have the Creator’s power,” he said. “You can make it all happen. I can help you.”

“Help me what?” I was getting angry. Mostly because I could see that Lucifer might be right. If ever there was a time for the Scourges, this was it. End it quickly. End the pain and fear and suffering. But I didn’t have the right to do that. Despite my power, I wasn’t God. I couldn’t make that decision.

“Begin again,” said Lucifer. “Wake them up. Rapture.”

“I don’t even know if I can do that,” I said. “What if I can’t?”

“Then they’ll sleep,” said Lucifer. “And you won’t have to suffer their screams.”

“No,” I said.

“Niki, if you just—“

“No!” I said.

Lucifer sighed. “All right. So we fight, is that it? We fight and we die.”

“Unless we don’t die,” I said. “What if we win? We always win in the end.”

“It’s different this time,” Lucifer said, and there was an empty hollowness to his voice. “If we lose, we lose everything. There’s not going to be anyone to give you a soul to bring you back. There’s no Creator to save us. You can’t fight your way out of this.” He took my hand. “You can’t save our child if you die.”

“I’m not going to die,” I said. I tried to smile but it faltered. “We can’t die, remember? You promised. We would just go on and on forever. The two of us.”

“I will give up everything for you, Niki,” he said. “But there are no promises here. I understand that you love Bobby Gage. He’s like a brother to you. But if we go to the Backbone, I don’t know that we’ll ever come back.”

“I can’t kill him,” I said, the prickle of tears behind my eyes. “How do you kill someone you love? Bobby’s the only human friend I have left. He has never looked at me like I’m a monster. To Bobby, it’s just me. He’s the only one holding me here, the only thing that keeps me human.”

“You’re
not
human,” Lucifer said. “You have to accept that.”

“I can’t,” I said. “If Bobby dies, I don’t know what I’ll be.”

“Are you saying that I’m not worth it?” he said. “You gave up everything to save me. Do you regret it?”

“No,” I said with finality. “Never. I would still give up everything for you.”

“Except for him.”

“He’s innocent,” I said. “How can I kill him? He trusts me. He loves me. We’re family.”

“But if you die, what does it serve? If I die, if the baby dies…”

“We’re not going to die,” I said. “We’re going to win.”

Lucifer nodded. “Okay, Niki. Let’s go win, then.” He turned away from me and I saw him wipe his cheek with the palm of his hand.

Sacrifice.

No,
I thought.
There will be no sacrifice.
I’d sacrificed enough. I couldn’t stand the thought of losing anyone ever again. It seemed silly, since I knew everyone in the World was dying as I sat here. Pineme, Ron Smithy, even Yuri. All those people I’d seen in Happy’s Pub. But not Bobby. I could save him. Cassandra’s ghostly face flashed in my mind, though, her expression cold and empty. Like someone who had the chance to have everything, and had lost it. I watched Lucifer close the door behind him and for what seemed like the tenth time in a week, I lowered my face into my hands and cried.
 

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

“Niki, check this out,” said Bobby Gage when I found them in Ash’s study. “We’re going to combine Casting. It’s like yin and yang. Strong stuff.”

“Bobby, I'm sorry I knocked you out. It was a shitty thing to do.”

“It's okay, I get it,” said Gage. “You get worried and weird.”

I glanced at Lucifer. He shook his head. He hadn’t told him yet.

“What’s up, Niki? You worried about the Grace?” Gage was looking at me expectantly. I needed to tell him. I wanted to tell him.

“Yeah,” I said. “Typhon’s pretty strong, from what Lucifer says.”
 

Gage glanced at Lucifer and caught him glaring at me. Gage raised an eyebrow.

“Something I should know about?” he said.

“Tell him,” Lucifer said. “It’s not right to keep him in the dark.”

“Said the devil,” I muttered.

“Tell me what?” said Gage. His face went serious. “What’s happened?”

“Where’s Matthew?” I said.

“Safe,” said Ash. “I have put him in the stronghold of the tower with twenty guards.”

“Twenty guards won’t help him if we lose,” I said. “The Grace have the Arches’ power.”

“There is a…spell in place,” said Ash. “They will not take him.”

“What kind of spell?” I said.

“If the guards die, the kid dies too,” said Gage. “Matthew knows. He agreed to it. I told him he’d be with his mom. You know, peaceful.”

“I guess that’s best,” I said.

“We all gotta make sacrifices,” said Gage.

“What did you say?”

Gage eyed me. “What’s with you, Niki? What’s going on?”

I looked at Lucifer who glowered at me.

“It wasn't monsters that Matthew let out into the World,” I said. “ It was gods.”

“Gods?” said Gage. “What does that mean? Like the Creator?”

“Oh,” breathed Ash. He looked from me to Gage. “Oh, I’m so sorry.”

“What?” said Gage. “What does it mean?”

“It means…the end,” I said.

“The end of what?”

“The end of humans,” said Lucifer. “I’m sorry. Truly.”

Gage narrowed his eyes at me. “You weren’t going to tell me?”

“I didn’t want to hurt you,” I said. “There’s been enough damage.”

“You didn’t think I’d find out at some point?”

“I wasn’t really thinking that far ahead,” I said. “I’m sorry.”

“You mean you wanted me at full power, don’t you? To fight the Grace. Isn’t that it, Niki? You using me like the angels used us?”

“No,” I said, suddenly angry.

“Then why wouldn’t you tell me that my species is dead?”

“Not dead,” I said. “Dying. And it’s my species too.”

“No, it’s not,” said Gage. “Maybe once. But not anymore. You’ve changed.”

“No, I haven’t,” I said. “I’m still the same.”

“No,” he said. “You used to at least have hope. Now you’re just around death so much that it’s become a part of you. You don’t know how to feel hope anymore.”

“There isn’t any hope, Bobby,” I said, my voice high and tight. “Not for humans. Not for the World.”

“You said they weren’t all dead,” he said. “That means there’s a chance. But you can’t see that, can you? You spend so much time in pain or with those cold dead bastards that you’ve forgotten how to feel. You just use and use and use. Just. Like. Them.”

“Enough,” said Lucifer, his voice quiet, but somehow filling the room. All eyes turned to him. “I forced her hand to tell you the truth,” he said, looking at Gage. “She’s not trying to use you, as much as you’d like someone to blame. She cares for you. Deeply. So deeply that she would risk her own life in order that you may continue yours. And mine as well, for what it’s worth, because I will always follow her. You are allowed to feel sadness. You are allowed to feel grief. But whatever you feel should not be anger at Niki. She is risking everything to save your life. One life. Yours.”

Gage stared at me for a moment before he spoke. “Why?” he said.

“Because you’re my friend,” I said. “Do we have to get mushy?”

“Nik,” said Gage, “I am not worth it.”

“Yes you are,” I said. “One good man is worth risking everything for.”

“So you haven’t lost hope, then,” he said.

I bit my lip so it wouldn’t tremble. I didn’t know how to answer. The screams hadn't dulled at all. If anything, they grew louder and more plaintive.

“If it comes down to it,” said Gage, “you gotta let me go. I’m done, sis. I’ve lived my life. Truth is, it’s been like one long rainy day since Sarah died. I think you of all people can understand that. If the best I can do is sleep next to her until the end of time, goddamn I’ll take it. And be thankful. She was the one thing that gave my life meaning. But knowing you, Nik. It’s been an honor. I’m sorry I yelled at you. You’re the strongest woman I’ve ever known. Hell, you’ve brought down gods before. What’s one more?” He smiled, then let it fade. “Niki, if there’s a chance, don’t worry about me. I’ve done all I can do. I’m not worth risking your life for. I’m just a tired old man now.”

“You’re not dying,” I said, gritting my teeth. “No one is dying. Understood?”

Gage smiled. “Sure, sis. Whatever you say.”

Lucifer pulled me aside.

“Are you sure we should do this?” he said.

“What do you mean? This was your idea. You said Typhon would eat all the worlds.”

“Yes, but maybe we could run,” said Lucifer. “We could take Matthew and run.”

“That’s no kind of life,” I said. “Even for us. I can’t run like that. I have to fight.”

“What about the child?” he said, raising his voice from a whisper. Gage looked over at us.

“I don’t even know if that’s true,” I said.

“Niki?” said Gage. “What child is he talking about?”

“Nothing,” I said.

“The hell with that,” said Gage. “Are you knocked up?”

I glared at him. “Piss off.”

“Nik, if you’re having a baby…good God. Don’t do this. Let me go. Ain’t nothing worth losing a child over. There’s never anything more painful. I should know.”

“I’m not going to lose it,” I said. “It’s not an ordinary child.”

“Niki…”

“No!” I said. “It’s time to go. Bobby’s not dying, I don’t even know if I’m really pregnant, and we’re going to go and bash the hell out of some evil damn witches. Understood? Now someone go get Aki from whatever place you’ve stashed him, and let’s get out of here. We can stop this. We’ll stop the Grace and Typhon, and then we’ll stop the others. Because that’s what we do. It’s why we exist. It’s time to save the world. Just like we always do.”

“You’re the boss,” said Gage. But he looked apprehensive.

I tried to ignore the voices in my head. The voices that I’d been hearing ever since I had gone to the World to find Aki. Some were screams and some were whispers.
 

They were prayers. Prayers for death. Growing louder by the second.

* * *
 

It was far easier than I thought it would be to Travel. I’d never done it with so many people, but with nothing more than a flash and blur we were there. Not everyone found it so easy, though. When we lurched to a stop, Ash ran to some scrubby bushes and retched. Luckily we had emerged a small way from the actual Backbone. But now that we were close, I could see what the fuss was about.

I could see why it was called the Devil’s Backbone. A range of oddly-shaped mountains filled the background, needle-sharp points jutting into the sky made up of the red stone that made up the cliffs near Erebos. They filled up the sky, hundreds, thousands of points as far as I could see, a landmark impossible to cross.
 

Set right up against the Backbone, a circle of stones were set into the ground where the witches stood as was their custom. I knew there would be markings on the stones. Gage would probably be able to read them, but I doubted it was necessary. From our perch on a jutting hill across from the Backbone, the witches appeared camped in a bowl, surrounded by hills and cliffs the color of dried blood, with a sky to match. There were shapes on the ground all around the women. Squinting, I saw that they were Lucifer's fallen soldiers; those who accompanied him on his disastrous first journey here. There was a muffled sound of running water, and the smell of sulfur mixed with smoke. I looked for the dark circle opening into another world, but I didn’t see one.

“Where is Typhon coming from?” I whispered.

“I don’t know,” Lucifer said. “But they’re doing something down there.”

It was true. The witches had gathered in a circle just as they had the day they tried to take me. The telltale golden circle began to glow and I could hear bits and pieces of their chant.

“What are they doing?” I asked Gage. He shrugged, shaking his head.

“It’s some kind of Summoning,” said Ash. He swallowed nervously. “They’re…they’re Summoning a god.”

“Is that possible?” I said. “I thought you could only do that with demons.”

“Archangels can,” said Lucifer. “That’s why they took their power. It wasn’t for them. It was for him. Typhon. To give him the strength to cross over.”

“Can we stop it?” I said.

“We can try,” he said, looking grim.

“I’m going to take us closer,” I said. I looked to Gage and Ash. “Are you two ready?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” said Gage, pulling a book out of his satchel.