Jenny tumbled away in the ice and snow, her face scraping, her broken exoskeleton crumbling away. The light had healed her body up, all her bruises and broken bones, but it left her exoskeleton as it was. It hadn't healed her tentacle either, as though the light was making a statement, that this wasn't a part of her.

  And now she only had three tentacles left, the torn one blown in some other direction by the explosive fighting between Azra'il and Yeshua, two others crushed beyond use.

  Iblis, in the Brood Mother's body, stirred, fpping, fire blooming from the torn-up wings, fire leaking out of the holes in the harpy's cheek. Blue fmes curled out of the eyes as he stood shakily to his talons and stretched his wings.

  Jenny wiped her eyes and stood as well. With a fsh, she summoned her hatchet back. Maybe the three of them together could stand a chance. In the distance, she saw the ghouls, their eyes burning with fire and light - the demons. And she saw the gathering of Deaths, so many more of them than when she'd left the world to find Susan.

  They had formed miniature armies. They were prepared for war, though she didn't think the Deaths would be much use in battle. But the demons, the ghoul bodies. She felt bolstered by their presence

  "Come on," she said to Iblis. She was trying not to think about pushing Susan through the light, sending her to the material world and the way Azra'il had responded. Would Susan be alright in the Material World? Would she just be a ghost or something? —no, it wasn't helpful to think of that. Susan was out of Azra'il's reach. That was the important thing. Jenny was betting that the angel couldn't just go into the material world and take Susan. That had to be why he was so angry.

  Red bolts of lightning burst out of the commotion ahead, crackling along the ice and bursting into clouds of steam and vapor. Azra'il was like a mountain hidden by fog, moving in and out of visibility with the wind from the blows exchanged with Yeshua, who darted around the enormous angel, a blur of purple and red light.

  Several Yeshua burst out of him in various directions, striking heavy blows that knocked Azra'il every which way. The angel bellowed in rage, a shout that seemed to shake the entire world, and smmed his fist against the ground.

  This time the world did shake, and it was very much like the earthquake Jenny had felt way back when this all began in the high school. A huge ugly fissure cracked through the ice, and Iblis took to the air, fpping with burning wings falling away.

  Jenny raced below him, using Ignite to set herself on fire before leaping forward with Instant Acceleration. Azra'il turned to swipe at Iblis, his enormous figures missing the burning harpy by inches. Yeshua drove a fist into Azra'il's belly, two other Yeshua grabbed the angel's legs and slowed him down as Jenny rocketed toward the angel's face like a meteor.

  She smmed into him with her hatchet, trying to bury the obsidian edge in the angel's face. It caught him on the nose, but instead of slicing, the hatchet bounced off, jerking Jenny backward so that she was horizontal, the momentum robbed.

  In a split second, the angel re-maneuvered. His elbow came crashing down on Jenny's armor and exoskeleton-covered belly, smming her into the ground. With a cry, she crashed onto one of the Yeshua, and she colpsed in the ice.

  Azra'il would've smmed his foot down on top of her, his loincloth fpping against his muscur thighs, but Iblis swooped between his legs, grasped Jenny in his talons, and flew her out of reach as another Yeshua smmed into Azra'il's raised leg from the side.

  This knocked the angel off bance, and a Yeshua grabbed Azra'il's head and tried to bring him down. The wind knocked out of her, Jenny adjusted her ribs with some Valescent Light before she wriggled out of Iblis's talons, the hatchet fshing back to her hand. She couldn't hurt his body, but what about his wings?

  With the angel wrestling with two Yeshua, Jenny dropped down, just as she'd done to defeat the first harpy, except this time, she added Instant Acceleration. Her hatchet cut through the veiny webby part of one of Azra'il's wings, slicing through a part of it like she was cutting through fabric.

  The other three beat furiously, drumming up a furious wind, spping her away, but something was spraying out. At first, she thought it was blood, but it didn't sptter her face or the snow. It sparkled like the demons did, glittery red and floating, before evaporating—the angel bled with light.

  "Well done!" shouted the Yeshua in unison as Azra'il howled, grasping his torn wing. She'd cut nearly all the way through, and it hung off like a torn page from a book. Azra'il snarled and lunged for her, using that insane burst of speed to catch her just as she nded.

  The Yeshua shouted again. Iblis struck Azra'il in his snake hair with a bst of fire, but his enormous fingers closed around Jenny and raised her so quickly to his face she couldn't help but cry out. Enormous teeth fshed. His burning red eyes filled with such anger, such malice, and she couldn't help but see her own mother again on his face. A memory from when she was young, and she'd done something that kids do. She’d messed up, she’d broken something, and her mother always took it personally. How could Jenny do that to her? Who did Jenny think she was? And she'd scream, try to scream Jenny's head off, and she knew the angel would bite her head off.

  She opened her mouth to shout, to hit the angel in the throat with a burst of Ignite, but something blue and feathery streaked past her and into Azra'il's open mouth.

  "ARRRRGH!" shouted the angel, dropping Jenny and spping at his mouth.

  A huge surge of blue fme burst inside, spilling from his nose and ears and even his eyes. Jenny nded hard, everything aching from how hard Azra'il had squeezed her. Smoldering feathers floated down, burning out, and she cried out, "Iblis!"

  Azra'il lumbered backward. She saw Yeshua leaping to strike Azra'il in the back with red lightning snapping around his arms. She'd strike too; she'd do something—she threw her hatchet at one of the wings, then burst forward with Instant Acceleration, aiming for the fp of human skin that he wore, aiming right between his legs.

  Again, he screamed as bolts of red lightning pierced his torso, as her hatchet ripped through another wing, as fire roared in his mouth as Jenny struck something soft and squishy between his legs.

  Sparks of blue light rushed out of Azra'il's mouth. The angel spun rapidly, throwing off the Yeshua. He struck out with a foot and kicked Jenny hard in the chest, sending her skidding across the ice as though she'd been shot out of a cannon. When she came to a stop, blinking ice and snow out of her eyeshes, all the breath forced out of her, her entire body aching from the blow, she saw Azra'il ripping something to shreds.

  Tearing it apart—the Brood Mother's burning body. Screaming, ugly screaming, raging like a toddler as he tore it to bits. Arm fshed through Jenny, and she was about to call out again until the voice flickered through her head. Please allow me to possess you again.

  "Yes!" she cried out in relief and resolve. The demon mind pushed against her own, and blue fire fred to life in her eyes. Warmth spread through her, and new strength flooded into her own. All her stats were boosted again, and she felt the surge in raw power.

  The Yeshua were recovering as well. They swept hair out of their faces and gnced at Jenny with a nod.

  Azra'il dropped what was left of the Brood Mother's body, a furious scowl on his face. "You pointless mortals," he hissed loudly through his teeth. "You will never change."

  He looked like he was about to charge them down, but then he stopped and took a breath. His snakes hissed and snapped, and he grabbed his two torn wings and ripped them off completely, flinging them away like the sails of a crashed boat. He grabbed the remaining wings and tore them off too. Red light burst out of his back and flickered away.

  He took a loud breath, and in a fsh, he'd turned and grabbed two of the Yeshua. And before anyone could react, they burst like water balloons in his grip, spttering the snow with blood and chunks of flesh. Blood dripped down from Azra’il’s hands. The corpses of falling to the ground like burst grapes.

  Then Azra’il leaped for the remaining Yeshua.