Lord Loss reaches out with all eight arms, pauses, twists slightly and beckons. The girl whose name I didn’t ask for goes flying towards him, screaming. I try to pull her back, but before I can, she’s in the demon master’s embrace.

“Poor little Karin,” Lord Loss sighs. “You had such fine dreams. A movie career, marriage, children.” The girl screams, struggling to break free. I try to pry her out of Lord Loss’ grasp, but he deflects my magic easily, then kisses her. She goes quiet. Stiff. Her skin turns grey as he sucks the life out of her. I hear bones cracking. Her feet jerk a few times, then stop.

Bo’s crying. She sinks to her knees, defeated, staring at the demon master as he drains the girl of the last vestiges of life. I want to give up too. But I know I won’t be killed as smoothly as this if I do.

“Come on!” I roar, grabbing Bo’s arms, yanking her to her feet.

“I can’t,” she sobs.

“You can!” I shout, pushing her ahead of me. “Run! Now! Or I’ll kill you myself!”

Bo curses me but does as I command, lurching forward, running blindly, wiping tears from her eyes. I look back at Lord Loss. He casts the girl’s ruined body aside and smacks his lips. “Karin was a tasty little girl,” he says with relish.

“I hope you choke on her!” I scream in retort, then wave a hand at the building above him and cause the outer wall to explode. It showers Lord Loss with bricks and chunks of cement, taking him by surprise, driving him to the ground. I know I haven’t killed him, but I’ve delayed him and that’s all I wanted. Turning, I race after Bo, screaming at her to run faster, trying to judge how much further is left and what our chances are of making it to the barrier alive.

Lord Loss is soon on our trail again, scratched and bruised but otherwise unharmed. He congratulates me on the way I brought the wall down on him, but adds that if I’d thought of it a bit earlier I could have saved poor Karin. Making me feel guilty, as though I’m to blame for her death.

I ignore the demon master. Turn corners wildly. Race through the streets of Slawter. I stumble occasionally, fall hard twice and scrape my hands and knees. But I keep ahead of our hunter and force Bo on, making her stay ahead of me so I can see when she falters and roar at her for support.

Two more of Lord Loss’ familiars join him. One is the giant cockroach I saw earlier. The other is even more familiar. A young child’s body but with an unnaturally large head. Pale green skin. Balls of fire instead of eyes. Maggots for hair (it used to be cockroaches). Small mouths set in both its palms. The hell-child, Artery.

“No need to introduce you two,” Lord Loss says.

“Although, if you are interested, this fine specimen—” he nods at the cockroach—“is called Gregor.”

“Very amusing,” Bo snorts, but I don’t get the joke so I just keep on running, saving my breath for a scream of triumph. Or a death cry. Whichever proves more appropriate.

Finally, as I’m starting to think we’ve lost our way, I spot the old hat shop. Seconds later we dash past it and are out of town, racing across soft, grassy ground. Lord Loss and his familiars pursue us casually, taking their time, confident we can’t escape. “You should have tried to hide,” Lord Loss taunts me. “You stood a better chance that way. This was a poor call, Grubitsch. It will cost you your life. Bo’s too. I will make you watch while Artery eats her from the inside out. That will be the last thing you see in this world.”

Looking for Dervish and the others, but there’s no sign of them. My heart sinks like the Titanic. I’d be able to see them if they were here. No trees or bushes for them to hide behind. It’s open ground. Maybe I got the meeting place wrong, but I doubt it. I think they’ve fallen. They didn’t make it out of town. They ran into some bad-ass demons and are dead now. Just like Bo and I soon will be.

“Where… are… they?” Bo gasps. She looks more petrified than ever.

“Keep going,” I reply. “Find the barrier.”

“But—”

“Do it!” I roar, then whirl and yell a spell at Lord Loss and his familiars, prompted by my magical half. The ground in front of the demons bursts upwards. Blades of grass thicken, lengthen and entwine. They form a net which wraps around the startled demons, tightening, choking them, holding them in place.

I look for Bo. She’s still running. I jog after her, keeping one eye on the Demonata, hardly daring to hope. And I’m right not to. The grass around them turns brown… red… burns away. Seconds later, Lord Loss is free and his familiars are soon clawing their way out. There are blades of green jammed into many of the cuts on Lord Loss’ body, but unless they turn septic and he dies of disease much later—some hope!—he’s going to be fine.

I try the same spell again, but this time Lord Loss is ready and with a wave of two hands the blades of grass bend downwards and spread out, flattening, not getting in the way of the demons.

“Fool me once, shame on you,” Lord Loss says. “Fool me twice…” He pulls a smug expression. “But nobody has ever fooled me twice, Grubitsch. And you will not be the first.”

Bo yells with pain and surprise. My gaze snaps forward. She’s come to a halt and is struggling with an unseen force, arms and legs jerking slowly, as if caught in a web. Moments later she frees herself and falls backwards.

We’ve reached the barrier. Nowhere else to run. With an empty feeling in my gut, I stop and face the approaching demons.

Showdown.

BATTLE

Artery and Gregor spread out to the left and right of their master, falling a couple of metres behind. They’re here to make sure we don’t escape and perhaps they’ll get to kill Bo as a bonus. Neither will be allowed to harm me. Lord Loss is keeping me for himself.

“Grubbs,” Bo whimpers.

“I know,” I say softly.

“What are we going to do?”

“Be brave. Fight.”

“But I don’t know any magic.”

“Just do what you can.” Eyes on Artery and the cockroach. Trying to believe it’s not hopeless. If I can pin one of them to the barrier and kill it, Bo and I can escape. Gutted that we can’t take anyone with us, but I mustn’t think of that now. I have to focus on getting us out alive.

“Did you forget about the barrier, Grubitsch?” Lord Loss sniggers. “You are slow to learn. I would have thought, after running afoul of it once, you would have had more sense than…” He stops, frowning. “But you are not stupid. A cunning boy, as I learnt to my cost the last time we clashed. Might you have had another motive for coming here?”

He’s close to the truth. I have to act now, before he makes the connection. My eyes flick from Artery to Gregor. I settle on the baby—smaller, hopefully easier to manipulate. With a magical cry, I unleash my power. Artery shoots forward, into the air, wailing with alarm, propelled towards the barrier. I step closer to the spot where he’s going to hit, readying myself to kill the hell-child.

But then he stops mid-air. I feel a force working in opposition to mine. I scream a phrase of magic and tug harder. Artery jolts forward another metre, stops again, then falls to the ground. He scuttles back to his master, hiding behind him like a child seeking shelter behind a parent.

“That was a very nice attempt, Grubitsch,” Lord Loss murmurs. “You had me foxed until almost the very end. I should have known you had an ace up your sleeve. Dervish must have told you how to create a rip in the barrier. You planned to kill my sweet Artery and skip out of the party early.” He tuts mockingly. “That was rude. I shall have to…”

I hear noises in the background and spot people running towards us from the town. Lord Loss looks around, casting his eyes over the various faces, searching—as I am—for Dervish. But my uncle isn’t part of the crowd. He’s not racing to my rescue. These are just ordinary, terrified movie folk. They won’t be any help.