Skaren dropped on the roof across the street from the last node. Once he had opened the way for the demons, he could get back to the summoning and help keep it running long enough to finish the rest of his plan.

The demons would never know what happened to them when he was done. He supposed he should keep some of them around as loyal servants, but he could get servants from anywhere when he was a god.

He wondered what the king of demons would try to do when a large fraction of his servants had been converted to juice for him to ascend from the ground to the halls of heaven.

Skaren smiled. It would be a pleasure to deal with the King when he was untouchable upon his seat of power.

He looked at the unassuming house across the street. The demons had punched some holes in it and wrecked the windows. None showed themselves to the occupants now.

What had been happening to keep the demons out of sight? Were they afraid to approach the house? How many had they lost trying to take this one node?

It would be all right because he was there now.

He dropped down to the street and went in search of the demons who should be carrying out his orders. He found them watching the house with burning eyes. They were using cover to keep from alerting whatever was inside the house.

“How's it going, fellas?,” he asked. He put his thumbs in his belt to look harmless. “Do you want to talk about what's going on?”

“There's a cleric in the house,” said one of the demons. “She can banish huge amounts of us when we try to take the house. We were trying to think of a strategy to stop her from banishing us at will.”

“How many of you can she banish at one time?,” asked Skaren.

“All of us here,” said the demon. He turned his birdish head to look up and down the line.

“Excuse me,” said Skaren.

“She can banish everyone we have gathered here,” said the demon. His fellow creatures murmured their agreement with the statement.

“That's a lot of you,” said Skaren. “Let me see if I can fix this for you. Then I have to get back to the circle to keep more demons coming into the city.”

“How will you fix it?,” asked the demon.

“First, I'm going to punch a hole in the building. Then I am going to walk in and take her.” Skaren smiled. “Don't worry. I've done this a lot of times.”

“We bow to your expertise,” said the demon. “Let us watch the magician work.”

Skaren walked to the street. He walked across, lining himself up with the door. He swept his arm in front of him. The door exploded out of his way. He walked into the house.

He found a knight protecting a sleeping woman. She must have used up too much of her body channeling her god. Too bad for the both of them.

“I'm inclined to be a bit merciful,” said Skaren. “Put down your sword, and you will get to live a little longer.”

“I would rather fight to the death,” said the knight.

“Don't make me kill the woman,” said Skaren. “You can't protect her, and it's child's play to do. Hand over your sword, or I will take it from you and crush you, and then kill the woman after I let the demons have her.”

“Why should I believe you?,” said the knight.

“Demons like to love humans a lot,” said Skaren. “Don't make this any harder on yourself than it has to be. No one is going to be around to find some fault with your behavior.”

The knight looked at the woman. He handed over his sword. The look on his face said he wanted to fight it out, and he probably would have if he was alone.

“Good choice,” said Skaren. “I'm taking these two with me. Secure the node. We don't need any surprises this close to being done.”

Skaren wrapped his new hostages in manacles made of debris. The woman seemed unresponsive to the brick chains. The knight struggled, but couldn't break them. The magician nodded at the expected failure.

Hostages might slow Roland down long enough for the trap to close. His fellow demigod was sentimental at his heart. He never liked to make the hard choices.

On the other hand, Roland had not been known for holding back when he did decide to do things. Many a villain and monster had thought Roland would stop because they held hostages. They had learned to their dismay what he would do when he was pushed.

And Skaren had seen the heads exploding in person. He didn't want that to happen to his own skull.

The magician summoned his power and wind lifted the three of them up. They sailed over the city to the fountain of energy that marked the summoning circle. The Titan stood out of the way, chucking buildings at something in the distance.

Skaren hung his captives from a rod he casually twisted into existence as he looked around. The circle still flooded the city with demons. If this continued, he wouldn't need to sacrifice Roland at all. The demons would make up for his spark on their own.

On the other hand, watching them realize what was happening to them and their real purpose would be a joy he could treasure for the rest of his immortal days.

He had to take the next step if he wanted that to happen. That meant triggering the nodes and sending everyone to oblivion before something happened to stop him.

It was too bad that Roland wouldn't see the doom that was going to overtake him. It would have been nice to see his expression before he was wiped out of existence.

Skaren was too wary of letting his former friend get within shouting distance of his scheme. That would just be inviting trouble to punch him in the face. He had learned better to let that happen if he could help it.

He would just have to watch the event from his throne among the other gods after he had ascended.

“Are we ready to commence the rest of the spellwork?,” asked Skaren.

“I think so,” said Paul's replacement. “We need some more spirit power to keep the circle open for the demons.”

“Let's see what happens when we say the spell,” said Skaren. He stepped into his place in the human circle created by his minions. “Then we can get ready for any blowback.”

A house struck the titan. It rocked under the blow. Skaren noted it. Roland was still coming for him.

Roland was too late. That was all that mattered. No one could stop him from saying the spell words and working his will on the city and the gods.

Skaren looked around the circle. His minions willed the circle to remain open. They didn't have to chant to do it. They just had to want it now that the gate was working.

He began to say the words to convert the psychic and magic lines in the city into a killing force. He stopped when nothing happened. He reached out with his magic. Nothing answered him.

He tried again. Cold blankness answered him. He looked at his prisoners. The woman was still out. The knight looked at the sky. He strained on the chains holding him off the ground, but otherwise remained in place.

Skaren had a feeling he knew what was going on. The way he refused to look at the circle while trying to escape said he knew something, and all of this was to buy time.

The magician had planned a long time to carry out this attempt. If it failed, he would never be able to bargain with the demons again. He was promising a portion of the surface world upon completion of his goal. They didn't know what his real goal was, but if both failed, the king would laugh at any attempt on his part for another try.

Skaren raised his hand. A model of the city sprang into existence in the palm of his hand. He looked for the nodes. That was the most important part of things.

The house and the shack were both neutral again. Someone had taken them from the demons he had left in charge. He walked over to where the hostages hung. The knight tried to kick him. He ignored the attempt and looked at the woman. He frowned when he realized he was looking at a magician like himself, and not a cleric.

“Where is the cleric?,” Skaren asked the knight. “You can drop the act. I know you switched the cleric for this woman. Where is she?”

“I can't tell you,” said the knight. “I know she had a word of power that allowed her to channel enough force to wipe out whole regiments of demons. She taught my comrade that much at least.”

“I'm not going to let you misfits stop me,” said Skaren. “I don't care if I have to personally rip that house apart to find your friend and turn her into giblets.”

“I think you won't get the chance,” said the knight. “Your friend is here to put a stop to you.”

“I think you're wrong about that,” said Skaren. He turned and swept his arm out in a cutting gesture. A wave sliced through the titan as it flew toward him. A cloud of ash reached the circle of light.

“This is what you wanted, isn't it, Skaren?,” said Pitt as he came out of the darkness. “It took me a while to get here.”

“He's trying to sacrifice you,” said the knight. “Get out of here.”

“Is that you, Beaver?,” said Pitt. “I can't go anywhere without running into you guys. Where's the rest of you?”

“Get out of here before he kills you,” said the knight.

“All right,” said Pitt. He leaped into the circle and punched his way into the underworld.