Abigail found herself in a vast empty space, no longer surrounding herself with memories to make it seem more real. She couldn’t afford to expend the effort to create scenery for them. Instead, she would need all her focus for the demon if she stood any chance of coming out of this alive.

Dominick stood in the doorway of the old antique shop, trying to hold the army of demons at bay. They pressed closer. It wouldn’t take long before they breached the shop, with or without Surgat’s orders.

Once Haatim reached the other side of the portal, something shifted in the realm he’d come to. On his side of the portal, it had seemed as though he floated in the air in a black void, freely able to move around but a touch disoriented. On this side, however, it felt considerably more horrible.

Somewhere in there, Arthur lived. It took Haatim a second to pinpoint him, but he could feel his spirit a ways inside. He felt empty, vacuous, but not dead. Or, at least, not eliminated and destroyed.

Haatim stood over Abigail in the small room where he’d found her. It looked like an underground cavern lit by candlelight, though he could see no candles anywhere. The room remained empty except for himself, and Abigail lying on a large wooden table.

Dominick kept moving down alleys and side streets, weaving through buildings but making sure not to get too far from his friends. Slowly, he worked his way back toward Frieda and Haatim.

“The demon will find you in here,” the echo of Arthur said. He still stood in the doorway, but his expression had gradually shifted to worry, and he looked around. “Already, you can feel it clawing through your mind. It will find us.”

“You ready?” Dominick asked. Haatim couldn’t think of anything in his life that he felt less ready for than what they were about to do.

Abigail had no idea of her location. She found herself sitting on the edge of a bed in a dark bedroom but couldn’t remember ever coming into the room or sitting down. It seemed like she’d just appeared there all of a sudden.