The portal flashed behind Ian. Peach was already cursing.
“They did it. Oh, god, they let that thing free.”
“Yes they did,” Smith said. “They let the host walk right back to our world.”
“What do we do? Caelus—you know the stories. The legends.”
“Oh, I know them.”
“You don’t seem very bothered by this,” Peach said. “We just let a monster loose from his prison.”
“I know,” Smith said. “It’s why I came to this hellhole in the first place.”
The words sunk in just as Smith turned. His fist whisked through the air. Peach watched it close, faster than she could react.
Peach tried to move, tried to dodge the sudden assault by a man she thought was an ally. But it was no use. He was too fast. He caught her along the side of the head. She staggered back against the wall of the room.
She was momentarily dazed as he loomed over her.
“For someone clearly as old as you, you’re a damn fool, girl. You didn’t even question me. You didn’t even question why I was so willing to help you all. It was simple. I was told to help you. I would have let you die out there if I didn’t need someone to unlock the gate. But it’s open now. So you’re useless to me.”
“You’re not just some thug,” she said. “You’re an immortal.”
“Clever girl.” Smith laughed. “You figured out something any fool could. I see how you let the beast take control of you. You may be older than most humans, but you’re no wiser. There’s a reason we ruled over you for thousands of years.”
“You’re an Olympian!” She felt the fire grow in her belly. She had little power left, but if she failed it wouldn’t matter. She needed to stop him before he could get back to Earth. She couldn’t let him do whatever it was he planned.”
Smith drove a foot hard into her chest. Peach went down to the floor. Her breath left her. Her ribs were broken.
“You’re just a little fool. Do you really think I can’t tell you’re summoning your power?”
“I was hoping you might be too busy talking.”
He drove a boot into her side.
“You’re lucky I’m in a hurry. I like my women mouthy and dumb. I could have a lot of fun with you.”
“I’d rather die.”
Smith looked out into empty expanse. “It looks like you’re have plenty of time for that.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small canister. To an untrained eye, it might look like some kind of half-size soda can. She recognized it for what it was: a pulse grenade. It wasn’t an Earth weapon, but they both knew he would have access to such a weapon.
She tried to get up, tried to stop him, but a boot to the side of her head sent her sprawling back to the ground. Her head rung as he depressed the trigger on the pulse grenade.
There wasn’t a choice now. She had only one option. The worst option.
She didn’t have to concentrate or even think about it. She only had to let go. A moment later, her body wasn’t hers. The beast rose up inside her frame, subsumed her into just a passive viewer.
The beast brought her body up, seemingly unaware of the pain. The beast wanted to kill. The beast would take revenge for her simply because the beast loved to cause death.
She lunged at Smith, a fury of insanity. He was already running towards the open portal. He turned as the beast unleashed a roar. He turned and pulled another device from his pocket. The beast ignored it, but Peach knew what it was.
Stop! No, stop!
The beast paid her no heed. It ran headlong towards Smith. He held out the tiny device, aimed the small aperture in the tube outward. With a roar of sound and fury, the force blast struck her body square in the chest. Beast or not, Peach’s frame could not stand up to the brunt of the blast.
She felt her ribcage cave. It was agony as her body fell backwards. She landed hard on her posterior and back, but neither she nor the beast could make her body get up.
She could only watch as Smith simply walked through the portal. She could only watch as the pulse grenade flashed on the floor just a few feet away. She took a deep breath and waited for the end.
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