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“Well, look what we have here,” one of the boys chuckled.
“Seems like she seeks an audience with our mistress.”
“The one that made her so disheveled? Perhaps, we should repay her.”
“I don’t like to see my mistress distressed. Shall we rip her apart?”
“And give mistress the parts.”
The three men began to converge on me and I started backing up, pressing against the door to the cathedral. Well, I didn’t make it very far. The three boys laughed, cruel smiles on their faces. Then a purple fire ball shot between us. One of the boys had to jump back, the fire licking at his clothing.
“What the hell?”
“I’m sorry,” a person said, emerging from the darkness.
It was Rune! Fire licked up his right arm as he held it menacingly. The three boys looked at each other in concern. It wasn’t long until their smiles returned though.
“Three on one? We still like those odds.”
“No, it won’t be three on one.” Another familiar voice came from my side.
Andrew walked out in front of me, moving in a protective stance.
“You guys are all here?” I asked.
Rune chuckled as he moved next to Andrew, “Well, everyone except Mr. Xavier. He dumped his body again. We came as soon as we knew you were missing and Allan spilled the beans.”
“Jane, if I understand Victor’s message, Ryan is in a lot of trouble right now. We’ll take care of these guys, you keep going.” Andrew said, waving his hand causing the flaming holy sword to pop into existence.
“We still outnumber you,” the boys chuckled, circling around the pair.
“Are you sure you don’t want to invite a few of your friends to make things a little more even?” Rune retorted, wiping the smile off their faces.
“Go, Jane!” Andrew barked, “I got your back, Rune. Let’s give these guys a lesson.”
“You’re okay backing up a demon?”
Andrew smirked, “Today, I’ll make an exception.”
The two boys let out a shout and moved as one, causing the triplets to flinch. I didn’t continue to watch, instead running past them. They had their job to do, I had mine to do. I was only halfway to the pulpit when I heard another voice shouting.
“Help me, big sister!” shouted Daltom as he ran directly at me.
He ran into me, hugging me with tears in his eyes. I looked up to see he was being followed by a man taking slow and deliberate steps. I recognized the man, he was the same one who had put a stake into Victor’s heart. I had seen how fast he could go, he was merely mocking us now. There wasn’t any chance I could run past him.
The man took casual steps towards us, a look of amusement on his face, “Looks like the end of the line for you and your little brother, sweetie.”
A large form jumped in front of me, and I realized I was staring at Daniel’s bare back; he began turning into his werewolf form before glancing back to me, “Go! I’ll protect Daltom.”
The fast man laughed, “You’re a werewolf? I’ve heard werewolves can be quite fast. Of course, I’m faster.
“We’ll see!” Daniel barked, surging forward with a claw swinging.
The two seemed to blur as they attacked each other, a pew being tossed to the side in the blurred swinging motions and sound of battle. I glanced down at Daltom, who looked up at me and wiped his tears away.
“I’m sorry, big sister, he just scared me. I still need to get bigger and stronger like my uncles. You go on ahead.”
I gave him a nod and moved on. My run slowed to a stop as I stared at the altar. There was some kind of mechanism they had used to open it before. What was it? There was a click, and the altar began to push back and rumble. I looked around in confusion, noticing one of Lilith’s men standing there next to a console.
“Keep on going, Jane,” he gave me a mischievous grin.
“Who are you?”
“You know.” The man looked down at his hands, “Most of these guys are really stupid. It’s like a possession smorgasbord. What do you think of this body? Better or worse?”
“Mr… Xavier?”
The man grinned, “Go get Ryan, he’s part of the H club. Plus I’m pretty sure even my permission slips won’t save me if one of my students goes missing.”
I gave him a thank you and ran forward down the stairway. When I hit the bottom, I came face to face with the massive satyr from earlier. Before I could even respond, there was a sharp whistle that turned both of us to the side. A long luxurious leg shot out from the side of a nearby pillar. Then the head snuck around and I fought the urge to involuntarily grown.
Alex stepped out, wearing nothing but the swimsuit she had from the beach. She leaned forward, pressing her arms together and showing way more cleavage than was possibly appropriate.
“Hey, big boy, why don’t you forget that girl over there and give me a little attention instead.”
The satyr looked her up and down with greedy eyes, then turned his head away, “Sorry, not interested, I only serve my mistress.”
Alex’s face darkened visibly and I almost took a step back, “So… you’re saying I’m not cute enough for you? Is that what you’re saying? You’re a satyr, aren’t you?”
The satyr seemed taken aback as well, taking a step away from her as she approached. “Look, you’re just not my type.”
“Not your type? I’m everyone’s type. I’m cute damn it!”
“Just give up.”
“So I’m not cute enough for you? How about we try something else cute, how about a bunny?”
Alex pulled something white and fluffy from behind her and tossed it at the satyr. By the time I realized it was Reginal, he was already exploding into his demonic form and racing at the surprised satyr.
“Reginal! You’re back!”
Reginal’s hands met the satyrs, and the two slammed against each other, massive animal muscles rippling against massive demon muscles.
“What the heck do you have anything to do with this?” the satyr demanded in surprise, his voice exerted with struggle.
“Jane stuck something long and hard into me, and I plan to keep her safe until I can return the fa-“
“Reginal, if you finish that sentence I will crucify you!” I shouted.
A blush appeared on Reginal’s face, “Sorry, my lady, go on, we’ll keep your nice behind safe.”
“Go,” Alex nodded, “Give Ryan a big smooch just for me.”
“How did you know I needed to kiss Ryan?”
“You need to kiss Ryan?”
I moved up and gave her a hug as I passed, “Never mind. You are the cutest one here, don’t forget it.”
Alex blushed and waved me on. I crossed the bridge and then slowed at the scene I was looking at. Stephan was missing one of his arms. Well, missing it wasn’t the right word. He was holding it with the other arm that was still attached and swinging it like a club. Two skeletons approached him as he swung and deflected their blows.
“What are you doing, Stephan?”
“I don’t know!” Stephan dodged back, “When we descended on the sorceress she managed to summon up a couple of skeletons. She ran off into her throne room; Allan followed, go get them and be careful, she can still use some of her magic.”
I ran past, patting him on the back as I moved. I opened the final door, and then raced into the throne room. I was halfway to the staircase when I noticed the group standing around. The mistress was there holding on to Ryan’s arm with force. There were also two other boys, the Hugh Jackman look alike and Claude.
Claude and Allan seemed to be having a staring contest, their glasses gleaming in the torchlight.
“You don’t seem to understand,” Claude spoke up, “I’m one of the smartest men on Earth. They call me the human calculator. I can calculate every permutation of every move you could make a thousand moves in advance.”
“Well isn’t that convenient,” Allan adjusted his glasses, “I can calculate every move you’d make up to a thousand fifteen.”
“A thousand fifteen? Don’t be stupid. No human can calculate more than a thousand.”
“Well fortunately, I am not a human. I am a hyper-intelligent alien, and the smartest being on this planet. I have already calculated your moves, and know I will win any fight within two minutes, give or take fifteen seconds for statistical error.”
Claude glared at Allan for a few moments, then his eyes went wide with shock. He fell to his knees, the ferocity and determination flooding out of him like steam.
“What are you doing?” Lilith bellowed, “Go get him.”
Claude shook his head, a look of disbelief in his eyes, “No, he’s right. He is able to out predict me. In any fight, I would lose. The logic is infallible. I have lost at math.”
Lilith rolled her eyes in anger, “Useless boys! Marcus, get him.”
Lilith turned, dragging Ryan behind her. She slipped out another path hidden behind the throne. Who the heck built this freaking labyrinth? I wasn’t going to run into any dancing puppets and David Howie in a codpiece, was I? Then again, David Howie in a codpiece would seem to be her style.
Marcus surged forward then stopped as Allan pulled something out, “I also have a ray gun. Jane, go get Ryan. The way is clear.”
“I’m on it.” I nodded, running between Claude, Allan, and Marcus to the back path.
It was a long dark tunnel, just big enough to walk in single file. I raced down the corridor at full speed. I didn’t know how much more time I had. It felt like it had been minutes since I entered the cathedral, but I supposed it could have been as long as an hour with all of these delays.