I crawled across the floor and passed Rockslide. He still held Haliniel’s body, but his form had reverted back to normal. He looked confused. I didn’t pay him any more attention. My apartment wasn’t large, and Em only lay a few feet from me. She didn’t move, but the golden link between us still existed. It was faint and growing fainter, but I held on to the hope she might still be alive.

When I reached her, I saw the extent of her injuries. Her limbs bent at unnatural angles, blood ran from her eyes and nose, and her chest looked caved in. I looked around. There wasn’t enough probability left to manipulate. I thought of Rockslide’s home. He didn’t have any at all, and I realized the problem.

Our individual dimensions were reflections of reality. The only real things in them were what we brought. Rockslide’s home was barren of probability because his existence was completely ordered. My Abued only had the randomness of one other person, Em. And she was dying.

“Rockslide,” I said. “Drag us to the door.”

Rockslide dropped Haliniel and shambled to me. I used what little power I had to bind Em in her current position. I didn’t want to cause more damage than I had to. The golden link was nearly gone now. Rockslide’s hands closed around my arm; his grip was surprisingly gentle. By the time we reached the door, I was able to stand, if barely.

“Can you go outside?” I asked. At his nod, I opened the door to the real world. “Take her out, then open the door again and take her back inside.”

He looked confused but nodded again. I followed him out, only to hear screams and shouts in the entryway.

“What the fuck is that?”

“Freeze!”

“Holy Shit, Fire!”

Three uniformed police officers stood with their weapons trained on Rockslide. They pulled their triggers, pelting the demon with useless lead. The orange fluid flowed from him again, and I saw him start to transform. I had to stop this. If he became that thing again, who knew how much damage he could do. Those poor cops were no longer protected.

“Rockslide!” I shouted. “Get back inside, they can’t hurt you.”

“They can hurt you,” he growled. His bones poked out and started to wrap around his body. “Rockslide has chosen.”

Shit that didn’t sound ominous as fuck, did it? I started to slowly alter the threads of reality. I pushed them into Em. She was so fucked up, if I tried to heal her all at once, I wouldn’t be able to control the backlash. My only goal was to keep her alive for now. The golden link strengthened a little as I worked, but it was still barely visible.

“You’re going to get Em killed!” I screamed. “Get inside.”

Rockslide stopped moving. He was somewhere between a glimmering toddler and a demonic hell beast. Very slowly, he turned. His gaze fell on me, and I backed away. For a moment, I thought he was going to attack. I reached behind me and fumbled with the latch. The door opened, and I fell inside.

Rockslide followed me in, and I slammed the door closed with my foot. Immediately, the cops started shouting for us to come out with our hands up. I had to admit they were made of steel. It’s not every day a literal demon appears in front of you.

“Ok,” I said, “this is a problem. I can’t keep Em alive if I’m in my Abued, and they aren’t going just sit on their asses out there.”

“Thy path is apparent,” Rockslide said. “We must fight.”

“NO!” I shouted. I poured a little more power into Em. If I could get her conscious, she could wish for us to leave this place.

“This is the police!” an officer called. “Come out with your hands up, or we’re going to come in after you!”

I kept up my work. All Em had to do was wake up long enough to wish us out of here. The link between us shuddered. I was moving too quickly, and her body couldn’t handle the changes I was making.

The door slammed open, and something metallic hit the floor. Half a second later, a loud boom and bright flashes of light ripped my senses to shreds. My ears rang, and my eyes couldn’t focus on anything. I floundered, not even able to stay on my feet. I heard Rockslide grumbling somewhere near me.

“It tickles,” he said.

Then I felt it. The gold link snapped, and the backlash slammed into me. My heart stopped beating. Em was dead, like really fucking dead. My aura tightened, and I felt all the power Em’s bond kept from me flow into me. The threads of reality swept around me, begging to be used. I didn’t disappoint.

Rockslide was in demon mode and playing slap the floor with one of the cops. His arms and legs flailed, his head flopped, and his torso spilled its contents onto the carpet. I grinned. Assault rifles barked loudly, but they had as much effect as the pistols did—none at all.

I took advantage of the distraction Rockslide provided and lifted a female cop off the floor on a cushion of probability. I tied the threads to different parts of her body and let them go to do what they would. They dispersed into the ether, ripping the woman apart. Her body armor hit the floor, her torso still inside.

“If you want to live,” I shouted, “leave! Because I don’t fucking care how many of you fucks I kill.”

Rockslide moved on from his human toy and slammed two more cops into one another. I heard bones snap, but they were both still moving when they fell. Nuh-uh, I thought. I called two pillars of flame into existence and burned the fuckers to ash. The fire spread and the cops beat a disorganized retreat. I followed them out. These assholes were going to pay for Em’s death.

“Let’s go,” I told Rockslide. “If anyone attacks you, tear them apart.”

The cop’s boots slammed onto the steps as they fled. I jumped over the railing and floated to the bottom floor. When the first officer came within sight, I slammed him with a wall of air. His body flattened against the force, and three other officers ran into him. Rockslide came barreling down the steps, trampling another two cops on his way down.

Great gouts of blood exploded against the wall of air as Rockslide finished his descent. Bits and pieces of Austin P.D. sprayed the stairwell. I smelled burnt flesh, hair, and clothing when the gore landed on Rockslide. He didn’t even seem to notice. I dropped the barrier, and piles of meat rolled onto my legs and feet.

Smoke filled the stairwell, and residents started fleeing their homes. Soon, the whole building was filled with coughing, retching, and cries of fear and despair.

“Let them go,” I said. “They aren’t part of this.”

Rockslide nodded his head. “What dost thou intend to do now?”

I led my pet demon out of the building. Smoke poured out of several windows, and flames licked at the outside of the structure. People rushed through the doors, then milled around once they were safe. I tried to care about them. I really did. But I wasn’t one of them. I recalled Jinn’s words, “You. Are. Not. Human.” No, I wasn’t. Now that Em was gone, I never would be again.

I watched the building burn. The all too familiar sound of emergency vehicles sounded in the distance.

I turned to Rockslide. “Kill them all,” I snarled.

I started pulling reality around me, and something in my head snapped. My knees buckled, and I fell. I was surprised to land in Rockslide’s arms. I looked into his blazing eyes and saw pity. Then, I saw nothing at all.