A blast of bright light, bright energy, smacked into Avery's chest, blinding him. He blinked through it, trying and failing to adjust to the influx of hot air swarming the basement, coming from the now opened demon door.

He couldn't move, still pinned against the wall, but at least he didn't lose the function of his vocal cords. "No!" He squirmed, desperate to break free of his position, to run up and shove Jessamine-the-demon inside. But it was as if he were legitimately nailed to the wall, his arms and legs stuck to its hardened surface. "No, Jamie didn't die for nothing!"

Jessamine didn't respond. She tipped her head back and spread out her arms, welcoming an onrush of red energy jamming into her. Demons, whooshing through the door, slipping into her body, joining the rest of the horde. The family, as she'd seemed to imply they were.

Though it exhausted him more to keep fighting, Avery fidgeted, tugging on his arms, desperate to remove them from the wall. He had to break free, somehow, before Jessamine was done eating up all the demons, before she moved on to the next portal. If she finished here, he'd never be able to track her again.

She'd kill him if he was still there when she closed that door.

His senses were dimmed, diluted by the energy escaping the demonic realm. He'd been tossed around so much in the past few hours that he had no clue how his legs hadn't stopped working, how he even had any strength at all. Something about Jessamine's presence this time had further weakened him. And now, with the door open and the demons pouring out, a negative atmosphere grew in the basement, and it didn't help his predicament in the slightest. Heavy, charged with a sense of apocalypse.

They whispered—not to him, this time, but to Jessamine, or to the spirits lurking nearby, perhaps. Avery wasn't sure why he heard them, and couldn't quite understand them, but their tone, the undertone of their words was clear. It was a threat to all who'd stand in their way, to any who'd refuse them the right to restore the world to the way they thought it should be. A reminder that anyone who interfered with what they considered destiny would find their own destiny shortened.

There she stood, arms wide open, welcoming the demons inside her with a warm hug, absorbing them like rays of sunlight. Each glob of red plunged into her, and she filled with light, as if devouring the sun itself. They jumped, dove into her chest, and despite the force of their entrance, Jessamine's body didn't move. She didn't lose her balance, didn't shudder at their entry, didn't rebuke them. If the original Jessamine was in there, if her soul still dwelled somewhere inside, she wasn't able to stop this like she had once before. She wasn't able to take control and prematurely close the door.

Avery gritted his teeth, continuing to wriggle about, watching as the woman he was supposed to kill grew stronger and stronger by the second. Even if by some miracle he broke free from her spell, how would he push her in? How would he overpower her and end her? She was loaded with thousands of demons; he was a human with little to no strength who'd lost his best friend and was about to lose his life, too.

The irony of it all wasn't lost on him, though. He'd made it this far, he'd gotten to witness her opening the door, and could have killed her or pushed her in. But she'd anticipated him and used her sick magic to keep him in place. To make him watch her win, helpless to interfere. And helpless to save anyone, let alone himself.

He quit fidgeting, resigned to his fate, dropping his chin to avoid watching the end—when she'd be done absorbing all the creatures and close the door and turn to him with a sinister smile.

Something whooshed in front of him. Something cold, offsetting the scorching heat in the basement. It was something with a blue-ish glow—

He whipped his head up to find the womanly shape of Ada hovering before him.

"What the fuck?" His eyes widened. He wished he could rub them to be sure he was seeing her correctly; wished he could pinch himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming. "Ada, what are you doing down here?"

It was a bold move, for a Guide to sneak down to the source of all their problems and think to be safe. Jessamine was distracted, but the instant she sensed a menace to her mission, she'd whirl around and destroy Ada in a heartbeat, no doubt about it. And as much as Avery disliked Ada, they were allies. Jessamine, containing the demons, was the enemy.

His loyalty was to Ada.

Ada's face was twisted in so many emotions, Avery wasn't certain which to analyze first. The fear in her eyes, the concern in her thinned lips, the obvious tension of her cheeks, running down to her taut neck.

Is she insane?

"Let me in," she said, her voice barely a buzz, muffled by the sound of the demons rushing into Jessamine's body.

"What?" Avery's eyebrows scrunched. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

"Let me in," she repeated, bringing her face closer to his. She was serious—the deadpan look she gave him stilled his heartbeats. "Let me possess you again, and together we can kill her."

"Huh?" Avery peered through her blurry figure, at Jessamine, who stood there sucking up all the evil in the world—well, in Nevada, at least. "But you said... what if I die with you inside me?"

Avery knew it wasn't a matter of if, but more a matter of when; but he wouldn't say that to Ada, not yet. Not if she'd come down here to save him, save the world.

Ada waved at him frantically. "It's a risk I have to take. There's no time to sit around debating, let me in."

Avery continued to look through her, but not at Jessamine; his gaze fixed on Jamie's inanimate body, bleeding all over the floor. Surprisingly, he still had blood in him considering how much Jessamine had drank from him.

Ada turned around, following his gaze. "Ah," she returned to Avery, frowning, "I'm... I'm so sorry, Avery. That wasn't fair. He..."

"He only wanted to help," said Avery, sensing tears clogging his eyes. He didn't want to cry—he'd managed not to so far, thanks to the adrenaline—but facing the truth broke all the blockades he'd set up around his heart. It was inevitable—the sadness from his best friend's death would get to him, and impede his senses more, and then Jessamine would murder him.

"He was too kind, too warm for his own good," said Ada, dipping her chin, shaking her head. "But he made the choice to come down here. He was a smart man, Avery—I think he knew what he was doing. Did he expect to die like that? No," she brought her chin back up, her eyes meeting Avery's, "but he did expect to help you. Even if that meant sacrificing himself. So don't let his death be in vain. Let me possess you, and I'll lend you my magic, and we can stop her." She gestured behind her, at Jessamine, who remained in her spot, unfazed, unaffected.

Does she not sense Ada's presence? Or does she not care, because she knows she's going to win?

Avery jutted his chin at Jamie. "Even if I do, we can't... we won't..." He sucked his lips in and looked away. "He has a gun stashed in his back pocket, but I won't be able to grab it. Not without drawing attention... she'll kill me, kill us, immediately."

Ada spun to Jessamine, and Avery couldn't see her face. "She's too focused. She's," Ada turned back, gulping, "almost done, I think. I feel the heat from her, she's filling up. Almost to capacity, for this location, at least."

"Which means we have to hurry, and we won't have time to sneak up to him, turn him over, dig into his jeans, unlock the gun, aim it—" Avery huffed. "If you want to help, fine, but we're not going to be able to kill her, unless you have some hidden power that I can use to do so. You can kill humans, can't you? If you can lend me that, then I'll let you in. I'll let you kill her."

Ada winced. "If I possess you, that power doesn't transfer to you. As far as I'm aware. That's a risk... no," she shrugged her fingers through her hair, "no, fine, we'll have to push her in, like you wanted. It's too complicated to terminate her, at this point. Pushing will work—but you'll need my energy for that."

Another blue being appeared, coming from the stairwell, in a rush. "And mine." It sounded like Faz, but Avery couldn't quite tell with all the lights and energies pounding into him. Faz—if it was him—was puffed up and acting brave as he stuck out his chest.

"And ours," said a few more blue creatures that whirred over while Avery was busy staring between Ada and Faz. "We'll all possess you and infuse you with the strength to stop her."

Avery's jaw dropped. To see them assembled here, to help him; someone who'd made it evident he hated their kind. Someone who'd started all this nonsense by following his heart. They'd rally to him, they'd assist him?

"You... all of you... you'd do this? You'd help me?" The tears he'd been keeping in with every breath unleashed at last. Water trickled down his cheek, itching him, but he couldn't scratch since he was still glued to the wall by Jessamine's enchantment. "I don't deserve your help. I'm the one who did this, who fucked you all over. It got to this point because of me, because I couldn't kill her," he looked at Jessamine and cringed, "when I was supposed to. Jamie," he choked, "Jamie was going to do it, he told me to do it, and now he's dead. And I'm about to die, too. If you all get in me..."

"Then we all find out together what happens if a person dies with a Guide inside them." Ada's timbre was soft; Avery heard sympathy in it, with a tinge of sadness. His tears had affected her, had affected all of them, but he feared this display of sadness only made him look weaker. "You did what you did because it was destiny. It wasn't part of my prophecy, but I knew you couldn't kill her. Just like you can't kill her now. So let us in, Avery. We can't fight her directly, but if we take her off guard and shove her in..."

Avery flinched. "Okay, but seriously, how does she not know you're all here right now? How does she not feel you? She's got me stuck to this wall," he grimaced, trying again to move, but was blocked, "so why hasn't she sensed you guys here, coming to my rescue?"

Ada shrugged. "I don't think she can feel or hear us. She's too busy drinking those things in, and though I'm not sure how she's keeping you under her spell at the same time... I'm assuming she can only do so much at once. But once we're in you, it'll be a shock to your system. We can break her hold, all of us, together."

"They're swarming in," said Faz, his lower lip trembling. "That piece of me inside her... it's drowning. It's dying. She is dying. Let us help, Avery. Let us try. If we die, we all die together."

Avery needed to stop delaying, stop asking questions. To accept that these Guides had come to assist him with doing the impossible, and that no matter how much he hated being possessed, this was the only way.

I came here knowing I'd likely die, so why would I pull back now?

"Fine. Do it." He squeezed his eyes shut. "I consent to you all being inside me, so let's get it over with."

He might have died right then and there, with how freezing the sensation of dozens of Guides entering him all at once was. With how invasive every misty blue thing was as it fused with his body, latched under his skin, took over his limbs. And yet there was a positive power that flowed through him, filling every cavity, and re-energizing him. A surge of energy that pressed into his muscles, wrapped around them. A sensation of hope, of victory; they all believed they'd win.

Dozens of Guides inside a weak human, going up against the thousands of demons inside an overpowered demonic vessel; could he, could they do this? Were they powerful enough to thwart Jessamine's plots before they came to fruition?

His arm tugged, pulled itself off from the wall, as if ripping free from chains—but he hadn't done that. He hadn't moved; it was the Guides, their abilities swirling in his veins giving him the force the break from Jessamine. His other arm yanked off, and soon his legs were free, too. He jiggled them, and waved his arms, regaining motion and sensation.

He opened his mouth to speak, but it snapped shut almost immediately.

"Don't," said Ada, talking into his head. "We don't know exactly what she can or can't hear, so the less noise we make now, the better. If she's anticipating this, we must be ready to fire back. If she's not... well, here goes nothing."

Next he knew, he launched forward, towards Jessamine's arched back. He braced for a brick wall of a woman, anticipated he'd fracture a few cheek bones once his face collided with her spine. He expected she'd be so heavy, rooted to the ground, and she wouldn't budge no matter how hard he shoved into her. He'd fall backwards, she'd twist around, and with one gesture she'd slit his throat as she had to Jamie.

And yet, to his utter shock, when he threw himself into her, she moved. He jammed his elbow deep into her back, and received an ear-piercing shriek in reply. She was knocked off balance, teetering at the threshold. Avery nudged her once more with his other elbow, tripping her into the realm, past the door, past the red creatures swarming out to fill her up.

Jessamine turned around, arms outstretched to grab Avery, but it was too late; she'd been hurled past the door-frame, and was being sucked in. Her eyes—a mix of deep red and light green—widened as she fell, fell, fell backwards, slurped up by the demonic realm. She released another shriek, this one bone-rattling and sounding like thousands of different screeches in one, distorted and creepy. Like all the demons within her were all screaming at the same time.

Avery stepped back, watching as it all seemed to happen in slow motion. Jessamine disappeared, swallowed up by the sepia-toned light contained within the demonic world. Those demons that had managed to escape stopped, their big blobs of black eyes zoned in on Avery before shimmying back through the door. They knew they'd be useless in this dimension without their vessel. They knew they'd lost.

"Close it, now!" Ada's voice rang in Avery's mind, detaching him from the reverie he'd been in, still envisioning Jessamine's plaintive eyes as he watched her fall in.

In a motion that wasn't fully his own—the Guides lent him more of their forces for this—he grabbed the edge of the door and slammed it towards the door-frame. It didn't quite close, so he snatched the door-knob—hissing at the surface that was burning his skin—and ensured the door latched into place, closing forever. Sealing Jessamine in.

Sealing fate.

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