“No!” Lugh screamed with my voice, and inside my head, I screamed with him.
Raphael looked at us, any fear he might have been feeling deeply buried beneath his mask. He smiled at us, faintly. Then, with the hand that wasn’t grasping Dougal’s, he hit himself, hard, in the chest.
Lugh screamed again, and both his supporters and Dougal’s looked startled, confused. I could hear the sound of glass shattering.
Raphael pulled Dougal into what looked almost like a hug, his left arm trapped between their bodies. For a moment, nothing happened. Maybe it was just that time-delay sensation of everything happening too fast to take it in. Lugh was still running for all he was worth. But it was too late.
The fire seemed to come out of nowhere, great licks of flame suddenly shooting out from between Raphael and Dougal’s bodies. Lugh’s screams echoed those of his brothers as their clothes caught fire. Raphael used that first second or so of confusion, when no one but him understood what was happening, to propel both of them toward the pyre that was set up around the basketball goal. They were both screaming—agonized shrieks that would echo in my memories forever. Dougal started struggling to push Raphael away, but he was blinded by flames and too far off balance. The momentum of Raphael’s first push carried them all the way to the pyre, which went up the moment the first flame hit it. It wasn’t quite an explosion, but almost. Lugh was about fifty yards away, and we still felt the enormous blast of heat.
It was hard to see anything through the sudden pillar of fire, but for a moment I thought I caught sight of two shadows, both trying to escape the conflagration. No matter how willing Raphael had been to make this sacrifice, even the iron will of a demon wasn’t enough to counter the primal drive to survive.
Lugh fell to his knees on the concrete, his head bowed as he sobbed. I heard the hiss of fire extinguishers as the observers tried to put the fire out, but they had to know it was hopeless. The flames continued to soar into the air, the fuel making snapping and popping noises, sometimes sounding almost like gunfire.
Lugh retreated into the background of my mind, but I cried as hard as he had, sobbing hoarsely, breathing in deep gulps of scorching air tinged with smoke. I was vaguely conscious of Andy kneeling by my side, taking me into his arms and hugging me. I buried my face against his chest and let my misery and Lugh’s pain pour out.
thirty-two
CHAOS REIGNED SUPREME FOR I DON’T KNOW HOW long. Everyone was shouting, confused, scared. The only thing anyone seemed to know for sure was that Dougal was dead. The fire raged on; no one was even trying to put it out anymore. I tried to drag myself out of the grief, fearing that Dougal’s minions would retaliate, but when I raised my head, no one seemed to be fighting. Adam and Dom, no longer restrained, came over to Andy and me. I was still crying too hard to talk, so Andy explained what had happened.
By the time he’d finished explaining, Saul, still in his camouflage gear and with his rifle slung over his back, had made his way out of the woods to join us where we huddled together. He knelt on the asphalt in front of me and reached out to grab my shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze.
“Everything happened so fast, I couldn’t figure out what the hell was going on down here,” he said. “I don’t know if I figured it out fast enough. He had already fallen by the time I fired, but perhaps he wasn’t yet dead.”
My head jerked up, and I felt a swell of hope in my chest. “You mean he might have survived?” I asked in something that sounded like a hoarse squeak. I heard a groan of mingled hope and pain in my head.
Saul nodded slowly. “If it was my bullets that killed his host, and not the fire, then he will be back in the Demon Realm.”
Suddenly, out of nowhere, Andy started laughing. We all turned to stare at him like he was crazy.
“He knew,” Andy managed to gasp out. “He knew all along.”
We all looked at each other. So far, Andy was the only one in on the joke.
“What do you mean, Andy?” I asked.
Andy sucked in a deep breath. “Raphael knew there was a chance he’d survive. He was counting on Saul to shoot him.”
I felt a surge of something dark and ugly rising from my chest. If Andy was going to suggest that burning himself alive was all part of one of Raphael’s Machiavellian schemes, I was going to beat the shit out of him.
But he must have caught the sentiment, because he held up a hand. “Let me finish. The last time he possessed me, Raphael gave me his True Name.”
We all gasped at that. Raphael’s True Name was his most closely guarded secret, one he hadn’t revealed even to Lugh. But he had told Andy, with whom he did not exactly have a warm and fuzzy relationship.
“I couldn’t get him to tell me why he was suddenly giving me his True Name,” Andy continued. “It made no sense whatsoever.” He shook his head. “But now I get it. This was his plan all along, even before we met with Dougal the first time. He knew he was going to burn with Dougal, but he must have hoped he’d get a last-minute stay of execution, as it were.”
Saul shook his head. “He couldn’t have known we’d have a sniper at the ready. That wasn’t even his idea. It was Lugh’s.”
“Just because he didn’t mention it doesn’t mean he didn’t think of it,” Andy argued. “He wouldn’t be so dangerous if he weren’t smart.”
“You’re speaking of him in the present tense. Remember, I may have been too late.”
“When did you realize that it was your father?” I asked Saul, and I didn’t even try to hide the accusation in my voice.
Saul met my accusatory gaze head-on. “As soon as I figured out what was going on, I knew it was him. There was no one else it could have been. But that didn’t make me hesitate. I didn’t do it for Raphael’s sake.” His lip curled a bit like it always did when he mentioned his father’s name. “I did it because I knew it was what Lugh would want.”
Dougal’s supporters were still milling about, looking lost and aimless. I lowered my voice to a near whisper.
“Are those guys going to attack us anytime soon?” We weren’t exactly on the alert right this moment.
Adam shook his head. “They don’t have Dougal to protect them anymore. They’ve already established themselves as enemies of the state by coming here today and openly standing by Dougal, and they’re probably hoping they can find some way to climb out of the hole they’ve dug.” He lowered his voice even more. “Of course, they have no idea who’s who right now. If they knew that Lugh and Saul, who’s Lugh’s heir—if Raphael is really dead—were here, they might decide killing us is a step in the right direction.”
“Perhaps we should get out of here before they start speculating too much, then,” Saul said. Casually, he slung the rifle off his back until it was in his hands. He wasn’t pointing it at anyone yet, but it was good to know he had it. “They aren’t going to want to risk being shot and sent back to the Demon Realm when they don’t know where Lugh and Raphael and I are. Everyone head for the cars. I’ll keep an eye on them as we go.”
Adam drew his gun and came to stand beside Saul as they herded the rest of us toward the parking lot. Dougal’s minions looked briefly like they might want to stop us, but one look at the guns convinced them they were better off letting us go.
thirty-three
WE HAD ONLY GONE A MILE OR SO WHEN WE HEARD the wail of approaching sirens. I looked over my shoulder and saw the orange glow that lit the night sky. Someone else must have seen it and called 911. As far as I knew, Dougal’s demons were still hanging around the bonfire. I was sure they’d have tons of fun explaining themselves to the police.
I closed my eyes and rested my cheek against the window of the car. Now that the immediate crisis was over, I was aware of the characteristic headache and nausea that came with too-frequent control changes. I swallowed, and hoped I wouldn’t need Andy to pull over before we got home.