“Absolutely. But perhaps,” he pointed to a box on the table close to where they stood, “wear those to shield your eyes.”

The box contained dark-tinted goggles, and JD pulled a pair out of his pocket and set them over his eyes while the others followed suit. Immediately, the room was plunged into muted colours. Odd fields of energy were visible in different areas of the lab, and the obsidian line presented a dark shield in front of them. Nahum was well out of his depth. Nothing in this room made much sense, and only Jackson seemed to have some knowledge of what JD was talking about.

After a few moments of nervous anticipation, JD activated his beams that were directed at Belial’s ring and a corona of light exploded around it, contained within the grid.

“What the actual fuck is that?” Maggie yelled, staggering backward into Jackson. “It’s like a frigging bomb went off!”

No one answered, because no one knew, and JD was far too absorbed in his work.

The light swelled and receded, colours radiating with changing intensity as JD manipulated his instruments. For a brief moment, a writhing figure seemed caught in the glow, and then it blinked out as the light pulsed and then vanished completely.

JD whooped. “I did it!”

“Stay here,” Nahum told Olivia, before racing after his brothers. He felt deflated, as if more should have happened. “Was that it? Belial is gone?”

JD had entered the grid, and he picked up the warped metal ring with tongs. The gemstone had utterly vanished, and the metal was cracked and charred. “What do you mean, was that it? Have you any idea of the power I used to do this? Yes! He’s gone!”

Zee reached forward, plucking the ring from the tong. “Holy shit. He has gone. No Belial. JD, you’re a bloody genius.”

“I know.”

Nahum couldn’t quite believe it, and he took it from Zee. The ring was completely inert. “How?”

“The right combination of gemstones, set at the correct frequency, a combination of planetary energies, and the right conjunctions on the grid. A certain celestial combination. It’s complicated.”

Eli was flushed with excitement. “So, you can really do it? You can do the same to those?” He pointed at the box.

“I can indeed. But,” JD wagged a finger, “this ring had already been weakened by the immensity of my field around the house. Those have not been. And there are a lot of them.”

“So we do them one at a time,” Zee suggested.

“Oh, no.” JD shook his head, a spark of excitement kindling in his eyes. “We don’t want a trickle effect. I thought you wanted to knock Belial off his perch?”

“Yes, especially seeing as Gabe and the others are attacking Jiri’s stronghold tonight.” Nahum checked his watch, fearful for their safety. “Right now, in fact.”

JD rubbed his hands together. “Then let’s tackle them all together.”

“But will deactivating those affect all the others?”

“If we do it in one big strike, perhaps. Probably.” JD nodded with conviction, eyes on the box.

Nahum felt renewed hope surge through him. This could be the solution to everything…if they didn’t bring Belial’s fury down on all of them.

His brothers, however, did not look reassured, and Zee asked JD, “Is it safe?”

“God’s balls, no! I suggest we add a couple of extra protective fields, just in case.”

Thirty

Gabe rested his hand on his sword hilt, eyeing the door at the end of the first-floor corridor.

“Describe the room’s layout,” he said to Dorian, who had escorted them.

“It’s windowless. The desk is next to the wall on the left, and there’s a seating area in the right corner, and a pool table on the right, too. It’s a big room.”

“A pool table? In his War Room?”

Dorian grimaced. He was leaner than Gabe, but still muscular, his dark hair tied back at the nape of his neck. “It’s his private space for him and his lieutenants. He dangles it in front of us as some kind of private club. I want no part of it.”

Gabe knew the type only too well. He loathed Jiri already. “And there’s definitely only him and one other in there?”

“Yes. Karim, who was at your friend’s place last night. He is also furious—and scared. It shook him up, although he hides it well.”

“Perfect.” Shadow readied her bow, a bomb in her palm. “Then let’s rattle them some more with a bomb.”

“No,” Gabe stayed her arm. “I still want to talk to him.”

“Gabe! You’re insane. Let’s really unnerve him.”

“That bomb could kill him.”

“I think Shadow is right,” Dorian interjected. “Jiri won’t negotiate. He’s half-possessed by Belial after all these years.”

Gabe felt sorry for Dorian, and that was hard to do with Nephilim. They had a presence, and were usually full of confidence. Dorian projected it, but it was a façade. He was over all of it and wanted his time with Jiri to be finished. And he was scared, Gabe suddenly realised with a shock. Jiri ruled by fear.

Gabe, however, was determined, and although worried about the use of Belial’s tokens, he refused to be cowed by the possibility. “I don’t care. I’m going in. Shadow, I’ll open the door and head inside, but I’ll keep out of the door’s entrance and leave it wide open. If I come out running, send a bomb in. Dorian, you stay out of sight.”

“My pleasure,” Shadow said, adjusting her stance. She had become frighteningly efficient at loading her arrowheads with JD’s bombs. She had spent weeks perfecting how they were carried.

Gabe marched down the corridor, took a deep breath, and threw the door open. Two big men, brutish in their size, were standing next to the pool table, hands resting on their pool cues, deep in conversation. They were halfway through a game, balls strewn across the table, and the room was low lit. It was obvious who Jiri was. There was a dominance to how he stood, hard eyed, staring at the man who was his lieutenant. Karim. Both were olive-skinned and dark-haired, and Jiri’s hair was oiled into a long plait. His cleanshaven face was all sharp planes.

Gabe took it all in with one swift glance and stepped inside. “Jiri. It’s time we talked.”

Both men looked around in shock but recovered quickly, Jiri’s face settling into a scowl. “How the hell did you get in?” He looked beyond Gabe’s shoulder, but his angle was such that he couldn’t see down the corridor, and he gripped his pool cue like a weapon. “No matter. I will find out and kill them—after I kill you.”

“I want to talk,” Gabe said, hand on his hilt, and stepped to the right of the doorway. “You need to walk away from Belial. I can help you do it.”

Jiri walked slowly around the pool table, eyes not leaving Gabe’s, his prowl like that of a lion stalking its prey. “Why would I want to do that?”

“Because this is another world, Jiri. Belial has no place in it, and you are free to build the life you choose.” Gabe kept his eye on Karim, who circled the table in the other direction, watching Jiri as much as Gabe. Both wore gold rings, large emerald gemstones flashing in ornate settings. Gabe could feel their power from across the room.

“I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for him. None of us would. I am loyal to my father.”

“It’s time to grow up and see him for what he is. A bully. You follow his orders like an automaton. Think for yourself for once!”

Jiri never stopped moving as his lips twisted into a smile and his eyes glittered viciously. He oozed danger. “I am thinking for myself, you fool. We have power here, spreading Belial’s influence amongst the sheep in this society. I aim to continue our work of cleansing the weak for a long time.” His eyes travelled up and down Gabe dismissively. “And you won’t stop me.”

“We stopped you last night.” He switched his attention to Karim, and noted his fear that he tried to hide. “You saw it. Your brothers are dead. Even Mikhal, who drew on Belial’s power. His time is over, and so is yours.”