Cordo lassoed Apep in a ring of fire while Ceara threw balls of flame at him. Apep lobbed them all back with frightening ease, sending them screaming back at her. She was hit hard by the impact, but the fire itself could not burn her.

Noah saw how ineffective their attack was and he moved up to the forefront. The plan wasn’t that they were to defeat Apep in this way, merely distract him so that Felix could get behind him and touch him.

Only Felix was nowhere to be found.

At first.

Then Viève saw him. She saw him reach out and touch one of the Body Demons, the Demon crumpling to the ground.

“No!” she cried.

Felix heard her and turned to her.

“Yes, little fool,” he hissed at her. “Apep is our master. You had better get used to the idea. He’s going to rule this whole sorry world! Then finally the Wraiths won’t have to hide away in their little cells. We’ll be free to roam everywhere and anywhere we desire!”

That was when she saw the Wraiths. A small army of them, rushing forward into the fray from Apep’s side. Clearly they had been in the house with Apep. It suddenly dawned on Viève that Felix and the other Wraiths Kane had brought had probably warned the god about their surprise attack. But it had to have been a recent development, or wouldn’t Mena have noticed them and reported their presence? Felix turned to Apep and said, “Master! Do not be distracted! They mean to push you from this world!”

“Thank you for the warning, Wraith, but they are no match for me.” Apep built a discus of power in his hand and flung it at Noah. Noah ducked and the discus flew past him and struck Cordo full in the chest. The Phoenix screamed as his flesh was seared off his bones and his soul was ripped out of his body. Cordo’s lifeless body fell to the ground, smoldering. His female counterpart screamed.

“Focus, Ceara!” Jackson demanded of her, knowing by her body language that she wanted to go to her fallen comrade.

“There’s nothing we can do!” she cried. “He’s too strong!”

Jackson turned to find Kat, who was kneeling beside her fallen mate, tears tracking down her face. When he had been knocked unconscious Ahnvil had reverted to his flesh state and there was a huge burn on his chest from where Apep had struck him. It was deep and bloody and right over his heart, half cauterized by the searing heat of the strike that had taken him down, half bleeding heavily.

“Kat! We need you!”

Kat swallowed, rage building inside of her so fiercely she could taste the bile of it. She left her lover on the ground and grabbed the amulet in her hand. She tapped into the power she felt emanating from it. She had more powerful niks. One a bracelet she was wearing on her wrist even now, but she did not draw energy from that at all. The written passage had been clear. It was Adoma’s Amulet that would have the power to make a god fall to his knees. She only prayed that she was Djynn enough to do it.

That was when Felix came out of nowhere and lunged for Kat. She was so focused on what she was doing that she didn’t even see him. But just as Felix was about to lay hands on her, Noah sent a fireball full of fury screaming against him. It hit and Felix was thrown off his feet, back away from Kat. Set on fire, Felix was consumed by the flames until his screams could no longer be heard.

Viève realized that Felix’s betrayal had an even more deadly aspect to it than his attack on his fellow Nightwalkers. It meant a key part of Jackson’s plan to capture Apep now had a huge hole in it. A hole she would need to fill. But she hadn’t even gotten a chance to touch a single person! She didn’t even know if she was even capable of a deathtouch.

She had no choice but to find out the hard way. She would be phased until the moment she actually touched Apep, so she wasn’t afraid he could hurt her. At least, she didn’t think he could hurt her. But he was a god. Anything was possible. She prayed she could do her part. If not, all would be lost. She watched as Apep began picking off Nightwalkers one by one with horrible savagery, sometimes incinerating them into ash. She knew this plan had to work. She had to make herself do her part.

“Listen! All of you!” Jackson boomed out into the fighting forces. “Templars! Do not fight against us! You do not fight for the Templar cause but for the whims of a maniacal god! Odjit is lost to you. She has been ever since Kamen defected to the Politic!”

“They know who they fight for!” Apep announced with a crazed laugh. “I told them they are graced with the presence of a supreme being just last night. They now know how blessed they are.”

“Do you feel blessed?” Jackson called out. “Or do you feel cursed? Cursed by the god who threatens you, who kills you based on whether or not he’s in a bad mood? How has he made your life easier? How has he made it better since he stole Odjit from you? I know the Templars and the Politic have had their differences, but we can see an end to that once and for all!”

“Puny! Insignificant! Did you really think my Templars and my Wraiths would betray me?” Apep threw another discus of energy at Jackson, who dodged it. Barely. Then he sent an explosion of fire radiating out around him where it rained down on the attacking forces and his own forces alike.

“See how he has no regard for you?” Jackson shouted out. “If you join us, fight against your master, unify the two halves of the Bodywalker race. You do not have to die tonight! This is your moment of choice. If you choose to fight with us, you will have safe haven with the Politic. Let us put our differences aside once and for all!”

There were screams of pain elevating all around Jackson as Templars and Nightwalkers from both sides were burned by Apep’s fire. Jasmine was one of its victims, her blouse having caught fire, burning on her body. But Adam was there instantly, turning his mass into a wave of water and washing over her. She was drenched from head to toe by the time he was done, but she was no longer on fire. He reshaped himself and wrapped his arms around her.

“Off!” she said, shrugging him off angrily. “I’m going to kick this fucker’s ass!”

“Jas!” He jerked her around so she was paying attention. “You can’t hurt him! Stick to doing what you know you can be successful at!”

Jasmine seemed to come to her senses and gave him a curt nod. “You’re right. I’m sorry. But someone better do something about him soon. We can’t take much more of that!”

Adam nodded grimly then tapped into the water in the soil and under the ground. He used his ability to manipulate it to send it misting up above the soil. The thick mist settled over the entire area, dousing any burning things or people, but also obscuring their vision. This debilitated both sides, so as soon as fire was doused, he lowered the mist back into the ground.