“Like I explained to Em,” I said. “Rockslide caused the damage to my apartment. I wasn’t attacked.”

We stood in the entryway to my apartment. Rawlins was more stoic, if a little slack-jawed, than Em when I appeared to leave the very apartment he was just in, but not before calling for immediate backup. A dozen or so cops milled around outside, wondering why they’d been rushed over here for nothing. I was sure they knew whose apartment this was. Which probably meant the rumor mill was about to hit full swing.

“So,” Rawlins said, “are you going to invite me in?”

“That’s not a good idea,” I said. “I don’t think my Abued is going to be very hospitable soon.”

Rawlins showed every sign of protesting, and Em put a hand on his shoulder. “David’s not trying to dupe you. Haliniel is due to show up sometime today to get his answer. We don’t think he’s going to be happy when David refuses him.”

“So,” Rawlins said, “you’re spoiling for a fight? If that’s the case, I need to be there. I have a city to protect.”

Jesus, the man was fucking dense. Em had already explained the basic plan to him. I would have, but Em shoved me out of the way when I couldn’t stop laughing at his stupid face after I magically appeared in the entryway.

“Dude,” I said. “I know you’ve got this whole hero complex, but your city’s not in danger. Once Haliniel is in my Abued, I have the home-field advantage. He can’t leave unless I give him permission.”

“And if he beats you?” Rawlins said. “What then?”

“Then, my Abued will go away. Haliniel will be free to go wherever he wants, but he won’t be able to hurt anyone.”

“Because of the Muqadas Nasi?” Rawlins retorted. “Jinn was bound by that, and she managed to do plenty of damage.”

“True,” Em said. “But, Malak and Shaytan are different than genies. Their powers are almost exclusively physical. It’s a lot harder for them to skirt the Muqadas Nasi and do widespread damage. One of the reasons genies are so dangerous, and why the Zaeim Aljiniy seems to have amended the Muqadas Nasi so much, is because they can cause destruction over larger areas if they’re not careful.”

“It’s simple,” I said. “Halinel’s not going to do anything if he beats me because he won’t have a reason to.”

“I don’t like this,” Rawlins said.

“Like it or not,” I said. “it’s what’s going to happen. I don’t have a choice. The choice between the Shaytan and Malak isn’t part of the Muqadas Nasi, so it must be something the Zaeim Aljiniy put into place. It’s gone on long enough that Rockslide and Haliniel see it as their due.”

“Then,” Rawlins said, “why doesn’t Rockslide want you dead?”

“Look, I’d love to explain the nuances of non-mortal politics, but there’s going to be a pissed-off angel here pretty soon, so—pass.”

“In other words,” Rawlins said, “you don’t know.”

“Go fuck yourself,” I snapped.

Rawlins flipped me the bird.

“You coming, Em,” I said as I turned toward the door to my Abued. She threw up her hands and gave Rawlins a weak smile before following me in.

I entered my pocket dimension and surveyed the threads of chance. There weren’t as many as in the real world, and they seemed washed-out. It had been bugging me ever since I noticed it, but I couldn’t find any reason for it, either in my borrowed memories, or the books Em bought. So far, my powers felt the same when I used them, so maybe it wasn’t a big deal.

“It is rude for a host to keep his guest waiting,” Haliniel said.

“Almost as rude as it is to drop in unannounced,” I shot back, trying to hide my surprise. I moved to my lazy-chair and sat down.

Haliniel again sat on the extreme edge of my couch, his back rigid. He was no longer naked. Gleaming white plated armor covered his body, and the hilt of a huge sword poked up from his back. A small oblong shield protected his left forearm.

“Expecting trouble?” I said, gesturing at his garb.

“After our last chat,” he sneered, “I thought it best to be prepared. In case you decided not to choose. Judging by the décor, it appears you have a made a choice after all. Good luck with that. Those who choose the Shaytan seldom enjoy it.” He stood and spread his wings. “With your permission, I will depart.”

I blinked. Haliniel seemed to have completely misread the situation, and I would get out of this without a fight. I opened my mouth to speak, but Rockslide beat me to it.

He pointed at the coffee table and a few other nick-nacks. “These are gifts. David has declined mine offer. I am not a conniving Malak, and wouldst never try to buy loyalty.”

I dropped my head. “Just couldn’t keep your mouth shut, could ya?”

To be fair, the demon sounded genuinely offended at the thought, and I’d said dumber shit recently. So, on the whole, I couldn’t blame the guy. The effect his words had on Haliniel was immediate. He drew his sword.

“If you have declined the Shaytan, then you must choose me! Say the words. NOW!”

The power of his command snatched at my soul. It felt like the same power in Rockslide’s words when he thought I tried to claim his soul, and I couldn’t do anything to stop it. I wanted to agree, didn’t I? Now that I took a moment to think, yeah, this was a pretty damn good idea. A powerful compulsion forced my lips apart, and the air moved from my lungs into my larynx.

“David!” Em called.

Her voice broke the spell, and I breathed out hard. My throat hurt, and my head ached. I couldn’t focus my eyes, and my limbs felt like spaghetti. All in all, I felt like shit, but I was still my own genie. My lazy chair seemed to pull me into it as my useless muscles stopped supporting my posture.

“Worthless human,” Haliniel spat. “You will not deprive me of my prize. LEAVE THIS PLACE!”

Em looked at Haliniel, her face placid.

“Home field,” I croaked. “You don’t have the fucking power to make her leave.”

“She may be beyond my reach,” Haliniel said, his words calm. “but you—”

He moved so fast I didn’t see him cross the few feet to me. His sword stabbed into my thigh, and I screamed. The blade pinned me to my chair, and Haliniel stooped over me. His face came within an inch of mine.

“Now,” he whispered. “say the words.”

“Fuck you,” I said. My words came haltingly, but I put as much venom in them as I could.

Haliniel pulled the blade free and stabbed into my other thigh. “You do not have the same protections others of your kind do, young Alqanun. When you die, it will be forever. Now, tell me what I want to hear.”

I heard Em to my side, crying. I could tell she wanted to come to my rescue, but if she took part in this, she would lose the protection the Muqadas Nasi gave all mortals. All she could do was watch and hope. If Haliniel harmed her, it would have to be his doing, and his alone. I honestly couldn’t fathom the courage it took for her to stay here.

“I did some digging, asshole,” I said. “You know what I found out?”

I pulled on the threads of reality. They were slow to react, but I managed to gather enough to cause the air to stir. The pressure built and I held Haliniel’s gaze while the air seemed to rush out of the room. The wind wrapped around a large stone.

“You’re just as much a meat bag as I am.”

I pulled on the threads. A sonic boom pierced the brief silence, and the stone slammed into Haliniel’s back. The force of the blow knocked him into me. My chair fell over backward, and his sword ripped from my flesh. Haliniel preceded the stone into the far wall of my apartment. It sounded like a car crash.

I lay on my back. I couldn’t hear any movement, but I’d seen enough movies to know the bad guy never died after the first attack. I just wasn’t going to be stupid enough to go check. I tried to check on my legs, but I couldn’t sit up. I rolled to my side and looked to where Haliniel lay. The pile of flesh and metal started to stir. I pulled more threads, and a volley of stones flew at him.

From nowhere, his shielded arm lashed out. In a blur of movement, he deflected every stone. I created an inferno where he was, but he appeared on the other side of the room almost immediately.

“That was well done, little plaything,” Haliniel said. “But the game is up. You cannot hope to defeat me.” He appeared on top of me and slammed the shield into my chest. “Now, say the words.”

My breath left me in a gasp, and I couldn’t speak if I wanted. I smiled instead. White ichor leaked from between the plated joints of Haliniel’s armor. My attack had done something. Now all I had to do was survive. I turned my head toward Rockslide. He stood near a wall and fidgeted.

“A little help, buddy?” I pleaded.

“Wouldst thou accept mine offer?” Rockslide said.

“Can’t do it,” I said. Blood sloshed from my mouth. I was definitely bleeding internally. I hoped my super-duper genie healing was going to kick in soon.

“I cannot act on thy behalf,” he said. He sounded regretful.

Haliniel leaned in closer. “The Shaytan is correct. But it does not matter now. Even if you choose him, you will still die. Your only hope of life is to choose me.”

I tried to ignore Haliniel. “But, I named you!” I cried. “You aren’t just a Shaytan anymore. You’re Rockslide, goddamnit! You can do whatever you want.”

Rockslide took a faltering step forward, then stopped. Haliniel’s head snapped up, and the two godlings stared at each other. I pulled more threads to me and tried to speed up my healing. I managed to fix the wounds in my legs before Haliniel focused on me once more. I tried to scrabble away, but he dropped his weight onto me. With glee written on every line of his face, he slipped the point of his sword into my gut.

“Time to die, young Alqanun,” he cooed.

“I wish we had more help!” Em called.

Haliniel smiled and looked at her. In a flash, his weight left me, and I heard Em scream. “No,” I whispered. I tried to look in her direction, but my head wouldn’t obey. I closed my eyes. I didn’t want to see what Haliniel had done to her. The pressure of her wish pressed against me, but I ignored it.

“David,” Em whimpered. “Help me.”

I opened my eyes and saw Haliniel holding Em in the air by her throat. She made a feeble noise as Haliniel tightened his grip.

“Let her go!” I yelled.

“It’s easy to give away your own life,” Haliniel said. “It’s not so easy to sacrifice another. All you have to do to save her life is to say the words.”

I vacillated for a moment. What could I do? Holding off Em’s wish started to hurt more than my wounds. I remembered our experiments. The more implausible the request had been, the less I was inclined to grant it. Shouldn’t that mean this wish wasn’t far-fetched? Hell, there was someone just waiting to jump into the fight, wasn’t there?

I reached out with my power. When I reached the boundary of my Abued, I felt resistance. I don’t think I would have been able to break through the barrier if I wasn’t actively granting a wish.

Rawlins popped into existence, and with the discipline born from extensive combat training, he surveyed the situation. With no hesitation, he pulled his pistol and popped several rounds into Haliniel. Most of the bullets plinked harmlessly off the armor, but one of them found its mark, and more white ichor exploded from Haliniel’s neck.

“Did you miss m—” he said.

Haliniel appeared in front of Rawlins and ran the sword through his breast. The gun fell from Rawlins’s limp hand, and he slumped. Haliniel lowered the blade, and Rawlins’s lifeless body slid onto the floor.

“Enough!” Haliniel bellowed.

He flung Em across the room. I heard a sickening crunch as she, too, fell to the floor. My broken body was healing, but nowhere near fast enough. Rawlins and Em were dead, and I knew I would join them soon enough.

A loud roar filled my apartment. I turned to see Rockslide, his mouth open wide. All traces of his childish innocence were gone. The ever-present orange fluid flowed from him in torrents. His ruby-like body receded, and his molten bones poked through, creating a skeletal carapace. The blazing cores of his smoky eyes became suns burning in his skull.

Blazing, white-hot magma covered his entire body. For the first time, he truly looked demonic. Fear overcame me, and I dragged myself toward Em’s body. I had to get away from that…thing.

“I am Rockslide!” Rockslide bellowed.

He charged Haliniel, his fists raised to the heavens. Haliniel dodged to his left, but Rockslide possessed the same inhuman speed and caught him full in the chest. Two massive fists clanged against armor, and the air filled with the smell of burnt ozone.

Haliniel staggered back, his armor melted in two places. He swung his sword at Rockslide, who raised a forearm to deflect the blow. Metal hissed against molten bone as the sword rebounded. Rockslide punched out with his other hand.

Haliniel caught the blow on his shield, forcing Rockslide to the side. The two powerful beings paused, sizing each other up. They circled each other like caged dogs, finally free from their prisons and determined to become the alpha. Haliniel moved first.

He swung his sword down at Rockslide’s head. Rockslide raised his hand and caught the blade. Chunks of stone fell to the ground as the steel bit deep into his palm. Rockslide wrapped his fiery fingers around the weapon and punched at the flat of it. A sharp twang filled the room as the blade snapped.

Haliniel stared at his broken sword in disbelief. I was still trying to get to Em, but the warring creatures blocked my path. I saw the hatred on their faces, and the moment Rockslide decided to end it.

Rockslide’s free hand morphed into a jagged spear and stabbed it into Haliniel’s face. The angel’s skin melted at the touch of the spear. Bone splintered, and ichor gushed down Haliniel’s body. Rockslide pushed harder, forcing the spear deep into Haliniel’s skull. Slowly, the radiant light surrounding the angel died away. With a viciousness I would not have credited him with, Rockslide slammed the deformed skull between his fists, ending the fight.