face, quick, hard explosions of pain. He held onto consciousness by a thread as his shaking hand reached for the scarab in his pocket.
Above him, Apep’s eyes burned with crimson fire. “You will beg for relief, Lane, beg to be my slave.” And then he stabbed into Win with claws that had grown long and shining black.
Win bellowed, his body bowing against the pain. The claws sank deeper into his flesh, down into his chest. Convulsions hit him, blood filling his mouth as he writhed. Blinding flecks of white burst before his eyes, but not enough to block out the sight of Apep’s sharp grin. “This is only the beginning.”
No, it was the end. With a shaking hand, Win pushed the scarab toward Apep’s bare chest. The scarab vibrated against Win’s palm as if it yearned to be free. So close. Win’s vision went dim, the pain wrenching through his bones. But the moment before the stone touched Apep’s skin, the demon snarled and knocked it away.
A sob of defeat broke from Win’s lips, and then the demon twisted his claws deep. White lightning ripped through Win as he bellowed, loud enough that he almost missed the sound of his wife’s scream.
Poppy raced along the embankment, the sight of Isley’s claws stabbing into Win’s thrashing body making her scream and sending a lash of sheer rage through her drug-weakened limbs.
She didn’t think, didn’t speak. She acted, throwing the full force of her power at Isley. From behind her, the water of the Thames launched up and around her in a wave of freezing water. It knocked into Isley and Win, sending the demon tumbling and Win flopping like a fish upon the ground.
Shit. She pulled the power back as she raced forward, and without pausing, kicked Isley in the head. He skidded farther away from Win, his red limbs flying akimbo. Again, Poppy struck Isley’s torso, then his head, taking advantage of the demon’s stunned state, moving him away from Win.
She’d got him ten feet away when Isley surged upward on a roar. A meaty fist hit Poppy square upon the cheek. Black pain exploded in her skull. Ducking another hit, she fled to Win as she threw out another punch of power. A wall of thick ice barely formed around her and Win before the blast of the demon’s fire struck. The burning heat of the attack melted the wall. Wrenching her hand around, she grabbed a chakram blade from her pocket and threw it. The demon deflected the round, spinning blade with a swipe of his claws, so she sent another wave at him, encasing his upper body in thick, blue ice.
His roar blew back her hair, but she did not flinch. More and more ice surrounded him. She was lowering the Thames in an effort to keep him contained, and he was melting it just as fast. He was almost free. She reached for another blade when Win’s voice croaked. “The scarab. His name.” Blood trickled from Win’s split lip. “He is Apep.”
Apep? Understanding lit through her. Apep’s name was on the scarab. It could destroy him. She scrambled, slipping on slush, banging her knees as she rose and stumbled toward the small, stone beetle that lay a few feet from the lamppost.
Apep screamed, the sound of crackling ice filling the air. Poppy’s hand closed around the scarab. She ran toward Apep and his snarling rage. She snarled too, running at full speed with her breath burning in her throat.
Apep’s arm broke free of its icy bonds. He swung his claws as she neared, knowing that one hit would take her head.
“Poppy!” Win’s voice, strong with desperation. “Drop!”
So she did, not knowing why, but only that she trusted him. She fell back, hearing the high-pitched whine of a blade flying over the space she had just occupied. Poppy glanced up to see the gold blur of her chakram as it sliced through the trapped demon’s arm like a greedy spoon through warm pudding. The severed arm fell to the ground with a thud. Apep screeched as he thrashed, trying to free his remaining arm. Cracks grew, and the ice crumbled from the force.
Heart in her mouth, Poppy called on her remaining strength and leapt up. Apep’s arm was nearly free. On a cry borne of desperation, Poppy slammed the scarab against Apep’s red chest.
With a flash of light, the scarab came to life, burrowing into his flesh as the demon writhed and shouted. Light filled Apep’s eyes