"Luc?" Frannie says, urging me with her eyes.
"I can't," I say, dropping my fist. "He's right. If he doesn't shield them it would kill them."
"Good boy," Belias smirks.
"What do you want?" I say.
He coughs out a rasping chuckle. "You have to ask? I thought you were smarter than that, being a First Level and all."
Unholy Hell.
I look back at Riley and Taylor. Can I sacrifice them for Frannie? My head says yes, but my annoying new conscience tells me it's wrong. Plus, if we survive this, Frannie would never forgive me.
"So how is this supposed to work?" I ask past the lump in my throat.
"Frannie gets out of the car," Belias says, gesturing to the side of the car, where Avaira is now standing, a scowl gracing her flawless face, "and she and I have a little party in the woods," he finishes with a heinous grin.
I look at Frannie as she reaches for the door handle, the tangy citrus scent of her terror replaced with the spicy-sweet of clove and currant-her soul, ready for the taking. My hand shoots out involuntarily and grabs her wrist. She tries to pull away, but I shake my head, pleading with my eyes.
"There's no choice, Luc," she says, her expression calm, resigned.
She tugs her arm away and I let her, my mind racing. Pushing open the door, she looks back at me one last time before climbing out and standing next to Avaira. With a burst of brimstone, Belias is standing next to her, slamming Frannie's door.
I pull slowly forward and watch in the rearview mirror as Belias takes Frannie's wrist and starts to drag her across the road, toward the woods. As he moves, I can see he's weak. The crucifix did more damage than he let on. He shouldn't need Avaira, but she's following behind for backup, her glowing fist targeting the back of the Shelby.
And then I drop the Shelby into reverse and floor it, sending Riley and Taylor to the floor in the backseat. I duck as Avaira's blast takes out the back window. Belias drops Frannie's wrist and lifts his fist just as I slam into him at full speed. He goes careening over the car and onto the dirt road in front of me, but I don't wait to see if he stays down. I throw it into first and push open the passenger door, slowing as I reach Frannie. She throws herself into the seat, and I floor it, door still open, running over Belias on our way to the main road.
She pulls herself the rest of the way into the car, slams the door, and looks out the shattered back window at the lump in the dirt-Belias. Avaira is nowhere in sight. "Is he… dead?"
"Unfortunately, it'd take a lot more than a 1968 Shelby Cobra to kill him, but he'll feel it for a while." I can hear the shake in my voice. "Truth is, your crucifix to his eye probably did more long-term damage. That's going to set him back a bit." I grab her hand. "Are you okay?"
"I think so," she says, checking herself over as we pull out onto the main road.
I feel her shake as I wrap my arm around her shoulders and pull her close. This is as far from me as she's ever going to get.