I roared in pain and grabbed the bars out of instinct, which only sent bolts of lightning through me, and made it all the worse. For as long as I’d been numb to sensations of any kind, burning pain was starting to feel all too normal these days.

  “You feel that?” Chapelwaite asked calmly. “Feel the curse of silver. The curse of my master.”

  I seethed through my teeth. “He’s using you!”

  “As he should.” Chapelwaite moved to retrieve another spear. “I am his instrument.”

  “Not Judas, you damn fool. Ace Ryker. I know he’s in your head, getting you to do his dirty work. That’s what he does.”

  “It’s sad to watch such a promising pupil lose his mind.”

  “I’ve never been clearer—”

  I barely got the word out before another spear lanced through the other side of my ribs, turning my entire torso into a violent tornado of flaming torment.

  “Each one is crafted from the purest of silver, and within the heart of the blade, a small fragment from the very spear that pierced the side of Christ.”

  Always with the religious theatrics, these people. How or why Chapelwaite had such a relic was beyond me, but I was starting to believe he wasn’t lying about having measures to kill Black Badges.

  “Listen to me, you bastard! Judas let us go,” I said. “He helped us. This ain’t him.”

  “Trust me when I say I take no joy in this, Crowley.”

  Chapelwaite turned again to the pile of spears. Joyful or not, he seemed awful at peace with skewering a man alive, figuratively speaking. He knelt by them, raking his thumb across each. The cloth bundling them together was soon soaked in the man’s own blood.

  “Look into your dull fucking brain!” I shouted.

  He selected one. “Try to relax. The pain will purge you. It is better this way. Better than what Heaven or Hell would do with you. Judas is nothing if not merciful.”

  As he spoke, and I braced myself for another fiery splinter, I watched with silent glee as my makeshift plan came together. So focused on me, Chapelwaite didn’t noticed the woman peering down from the hole in the roof, aiming my rifle at him.

  Good girl. Rosa followed without bringing the city down.

  “Hey, Chapelwaite,” I said through the agony. “Judas ain’t the only one who knows the theater.”

  He stopped right in front of the cage, holding his newest spear. “Enough words, Crowley. This is inevitable.”

  “I know. Just try to relax.”

  “Huh?”

  Rosa fired. I’m not sure if she was trying to land a kill shot or not—we probably should’ve discussed that—but it caught Chapelwaite right in the lobe of his left ear. He fell against the cage, clutching at it.

  Funny thing about ear wounds. They bleed. A lot. Has the effect of making people think the damage is far worse than it really is.

  While he was distracted and panicking, I pulled myself forward, along with the spears already in me like a spit.

  Enduring yet more silver searing my hand, I grabbed the spear in Chapelwaite’s grasp and pinned it against his neck to choke him.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  At the same time, Snallygaster rose from its meal and unleashed a wet, gurgling screech. Rosa’s pretty eyes went big.

  Shit.

  This time, I was so intent on the show, I forgot the beast.

  “Rosa, run!”

  The chimera flapped its vast wings and scrambled to defend its nest. One clipped the cage on its way by, knocking it, me, and Chapelwaite over. I did everything in my power to not touch the silver of the now toppled-over cage with bare flesh, and dropped the spear. Wasting no time, I got my arm around his neck, while with the other, pushed the first two spears out through my back so I could escape.

  My vision went spotty from anguish. So much goddamn silver.

  As I struggled, the startled chimera zoomed at Rosa, tearing through curtains and wood. Out of the corners of my vision, I could see the choices dancing around on her features.

  “Rosa! You gotta move!” I shouted.

  Closing her eyes and gritting her teeth, she jumped down through the opening just before Snally reached her. Gargantuan tentacles shredded open more roof. Wood and shingles flew everywhere.

  Rosa landed with a loud thud on the seats in the mezzanine. The fall might’ve been softened by the upholstery, but that one would definitely hurt. It was a far drop.

  One spear fell with a clank. Chapelwaite thrashed and almost slipped free, but I held fast and continued to squeeze the consciousness out of him.

  God knows what the neighborhood thought the squealing chimera was as it breached the roof, then dove back in. It was on a beeline for Rosa. I went to shout another warning, though it proved unnecessary. Someday, I’d learn the girl didn’t need my saving all the time. She threw herself out of the way of its talons, which struck with such force, it caused a swathe of the mezzanine to crumble—including the spot of Honest Abe’s last breath. She tumbled to the ground floor with the platform, getting lost in dust and detritus.

  Snallygaster drew itself over the wreckage, tongue-tacles writhing. I could only see Rosa’s silhouette as she crawled free.

  Chapelwaite went limp. I gave it another second to be sure, then let him fall unconscious to the ground so I could use both hands to rid my body of the silver spear.

  Damn thing seemed to have been lodged pretty good through my ribs.

  “Rosa, get to me!” I yelled.

  She rose in the shadow of the monster and stood her ground as it unleashed another bloodcurdling roar.

  Raising both palms, she shouted, “Stop!” like Snallygaster was a frisky horse who didn’t wanna get broken.

  The beast went quiet. Its bulbous eye blinked at her as it tilted its head curiously.

  “That’s it,” Rosa said. “Good girl.”

  “Boy,” I corrected. The spear was nearly out.

  “Boy. That’s a good boy.”

  Snally lowered its wings, and its mouth-tentacles slithered toward Rosa, gently prodding her legs and arms. Testing or tasting her.

  “Yeah, that’s right. I’m not here to hurt you. You’re just scared.”

  She reached in to pat one of the tentacles, but it reeled back all the way into its mouth before slowly peeking out at her again.

  Clank. The final spear came loose, and it was like the world returned to color. Everything became clear and no longer did I feel like I was being split in half. In fact, I felt nothing at all, just as the Almighty intended.

  With the beast entranced by Rosa—whether due to her abilities or her natural snake-charming wiles—I picked up my glove, made my hand safe again, then lifted one of the silver spears—one that apparently had a fragment of the Holy Lance within its heart.

  “Get down, Rosa!” I hollered.

  “No!”

  She turned her head in time to see me hurl the spear like a javelin right into Snallygaster’s throat. Blood and pus separated—not unlike the blood and water from Christ’s side—and spilled free as it thrashed in pain, one of its tentacles sweeping Rosa off her feet. Its heart-wrenching cries filled the theater halls as it flapped wildly. More seats and pillars were devastated as survival instincts kicked in. Rosa was tossed aside like so much trash, and the creature took flight, smashing through one of the last vestiges of the rooftop on its way to fleeing out into the night sky.

  I hurried over to where Rosa fell and extended a hand to help her up. “You showed up just in time.”

  In return, she greeted me with a deathly scowl. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

  “What?”

  “I calmed it down!”

  “No. It was tenderizing you for supper.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  “Neither do you.”

  She gritted her teeth before finally accepting my help up. Her scowl, however, never waned.

  “Will you ever learn to give things a chance?” she asked.

  “What were you gonna do, get it a collar and a leash? This is my world, Rosa. Things like that don’t keep nice.”

  “Certainly not when you’re stabbing them.”

  “If you want a pet, I’ll find you a puppy. Now, can we focus?”

  She exhaled, pushing a lock of hair out of her face. “Fine. Maybe it’ll balance out the casual violence you wear like a cloak.”

  I went to argue when she smirked, however forced it came across, and gave me a punch on the arm. That was something at least.

  “I swear… I’ll never understand women.”