again to keep you safe.”
“No!” she shouted, her calm shattering at last. “You can’t do this to yourself. Not for me. I’ll stay. I’ll stay and we’ll be a family together here in Low Town. Just promise me that you’ll never summon the demon again.”
I wish I could say that her offer tempted me. It hung in the air between us like a golden apple on a low branch. I would have the only thing I had ever wanted in this world — the woman I had loved for years. All I had to do was say yes.
“Go home to your people, Trixie. I’ll come for you and our child when I’ve made this world safe for us. We’ll be a family then.”
Trixie nodded and turned away without another word. There were no more tears, but then we’d shed too many for ourselves lately. We’d run out at last. I watched her slowly walk between the smoldering remains of the unicorns, her thin body partially obscured by tendrils of smoke and floating ash, until she stepped outside and out of my life.
No matter how much I loved her and wanted her to stay, she had to leave. It would not be safe to be together until the Towers had been taken down. I would end this.
On a roar of pain ripped from soul, I summoned up a burst of energy and directed it at the symbol carved into the floor, pulverizing the concrete to tiny pebbles so that the portal was closed forever. Stepping outside, I reduced the warehouse to ash. It was a beginning.
EPILOGUE
Serah found me two weeks later, sitting on the wooden stairs behind Asylum, my elbows resting on my knees as I stared blindly out at the thickening darkness. Bronx had just shown up for his shift and I’d left our new tattoo artist in his capable hands. I’d hired the guy the week before as well as another artist who was coming in afternoons four days a week. My own schedule was empty, but then I was bowing out, preferring to rent out the space rather than ink. My heart wasn’t in it anymore. I had other things demanding my attention.
“Hey Houdini.” Serah greeted me with a tense smile that did nothing to erase the worry in her eyes. “How’s tricks?”
“Just a bunch of white rabbits and playing cards,” I murmured as a reluctant smile tugged at one corner of my mouth. Something in me flinched to see her again. When she stepped into the darkness, memories of the warehouse flashed through my brain. But then the horror never completely faded from my mind. The blood of the dead was never completely washed from my hands.
But as I pushed through the horror, I found that a small part of me was relieved to see her. While I had no love for TAPSS, the investigator had proven herself to be a dedicated force for good. I respected her brains and tenacity—I just hoped they didn’t get her killed.
“What are you doing back here?” she asked, taking a quick glance around the empty parking lot and the adjoining alley.
“Am I under investigation, Officer?” I mocked.
Serah glared at me, tucking her hands into the pockets of her puffy winter coat. The pale blue under the harsh glare of the security light was an almost cheery spot in the night.
“I’m not with TAPPS anymore.”
“Why?”
“Harvey canned me two weeks ago.”
“I’m sorry.”
Serah shrugged and gave me a little smile. “I knew it would happen. He warned me and I ignored him. It’s the price I had to pay.”
“Stubborn ass,” I murmured, managing a faint smile.
“Yeah, well, I’ve got something better. I’m starting a private investigation firm. I figure I’ll have more luck helping people that way rather than wasting another minute with the police or TAPSS.” She stared at me a moment before shaking her head. “It’s freaking cold and you seem to have forgotten your coat.”
I didn’t know if it was so much that I’d forgotten my coat as it was that I simply didn’t care. My thoughts were muddled tonight, but I had good reason. “I came out here to think.”
“Want to talk about it?”
The first genuine smile I’d had in two weeks lifted my mouth. “No, but thanks. I’ll be fine.”
“I heard that Trixie left. I’m sorry.”
A soft grunt escaped me and I nodded, my gaze dropped down to my hands without really seeing them. Trixie was gone, but I could still feel her. I blinked and my eyes