Satan hurls a fist.

  Elina’s head snaps back,

  just inches from the blow. She doesn’t stop moving.

  Her fingers squeeze the trigger,

  and her rifle barks a rhythmic tune.

  The bullets chew into the floor,

  trailing Satan’s heels.

  Satan raises her gun like a steel shield, the metal sparking as lead meets lead.

  Satan blurs, her speed doubling.

  Elina glides backward,

  her boots skimming the stone.

  She fans her fire, creating a wall of lead that keeps Satan at bay.

  Nearby,

  Antar’s blade clears its scabbard.

  It’s a streak of silver aimed straight for Migo’s throat.

  A bullet whistles,

  cutting the air toward Antar’s temple.

  Her body flickers—a mere shadow—as she twists mid-air to let the metal pass.

  Jude leaps into the fray.

  Migo’s bloody face splits into a grin.

  "Thanks, bro. Let's kick these demons back to the pit."

  Satan lunges,

  fingers outstretched like claws,

  but Elina owns the air between them.

  Every time Satan tries to close the gap, a fresh burst of gunfire forces her back.

  Elina retreats with purpose, her eyes locked on Satan’s chest,

  making the ground between them a death trap.

  Uddin’s eyes flutter open on the cold floor.

  Satan freezes.

  Her eyes slide shut.

  A heartbeat later, she is gone.

  She shimmers into existence directly behind Elina.

  A cruel smile pulls at her lips. "Got ya..." Her machine gun swings like a heavy club.

  Elina drops to her knees,

  the heavy weapon whistling over her hair.

  She spins on her heel, firing upward even as she leaps away.

  Satan slips through the bullets like a ghost through a fence.

  Elina stands,

  her gun barrel smoking.

  She lowers the weapon slightly.

  "Tell me, Tanya... Why aren't you shooting? Afraid of the noise?"

  Satan chuckles, a low, dry sound. "You're not Ellen. You lack the standing to face my lead."

  "Oh, I love that," Elina mocks, a sharp laugh escaping her.

  "Not Ellen. Not worthy."

  Her face turns cold. "You’re a fool, Tanya.

  No wonder Saturn wants nothing to do with you."

  She leans in, her voice a poisonous whisper. "You're a born mistake. A good-for-nothing."

  Satan’s smile vanishes. The air around her grows heavy. "How dare you... How dare you use Mama Mia’s words." Her voice trembles with rage. "That belongs to her."

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  "Ah-hahahahaha!" Elina’s laughter rings against the high ceiling.

  "Yes. And those were the words she used for you, dummy."

  Satan springs.

  The floorboards crack under her boots. The dance turns violent.

  Antar finds no opening.

  Migo and Jude work like a single machine, their gunfire forcing her to dance.

  She glances toward Daisy, her heart hammering. I can’t get close. One stray bullet and Daisy is dead.

  They fire.

  Antar’s shadow folds.

  She vanishes and reappears on Migo’s back,

  hanging upside down in the air like a bat,

  her sword sweeping down.

  Jude’s bullets scream toward her,

  forcing her to teleport again.

  She flickers back to the center of the room, her eyes darting between her enemies and the girl they're guarding.

  "Who is she?" Uddin whispers, watching Elina and Satan's dual. "She’s holding her own against that monster..." Uddin forces herself up, her muscles screaming. "We need a hole. A way out."

  The fallen Birds groan, dragging themselves upright.

  Antar ducks behind a stone pillar. The odds are shifting.

  "Scarface! Take Daisy. Leave. Now." Jude bellows.

  Antar charges."not happening."

  She is a streak of black cloth.

  Scarface dives, his weight slamming into her midsection.

  They hit the floor in a tangle of limbs.

  Uddin seizes the moment.

  She scoops Daisy into her arms and hurls herself through the window.

  The glass shatters like diamonds,

  raining down on the grass below.

  Antar’s hand finds Scarface’s neck.

  A sharp snap echoes,

  and he goes limp.

  She doesn't wait.

  She flows through the broken window like a breeze.

  Outside the Gates

  Five mercenaries lie in the dirt, their blood soaking into the soil.

  Lewa stays sharp from the distance, clicking a fresh magazine into her sniper.

  "Tough bastards," she pants, a wild look in her eyes. "Only the big fish left."

  Uddin hits the ground running, her legs shaking.

  She stays low,

  weaving through the shadows.

  Behind her,

  Antar’s presence looms like a rising tide.

  Lewa peers through her scope. "Wait... Uddin? Daisy?" She spots the Agent lunging from behind a pillar toward the fleeing pair.

  Baa.

  Lewa’s bullet finds the agent’s hand.

  A scream rips through the air.

  Baa.

  The next one finds the skull.

  The agent drops, silent and still.

  "Big fish down,"

  Lewa mutters,

  her finger resting on the trigger.

  Antar skids to a stop,

  staring at the dead woman.

  But she doesn't quit.

  She sprints again,

  ignoring the red streaks of tracer rounds passing her ears.

  Lewa fires rapidly, the bullets kicking up dirt at Antar’s feet, slowing her stride just enough.

  "My bullet's running low," Lewa hisses, her eye glued to the glass. "Gotta make the next one count."

  Antar reaches out.

  Her fingers are inches from Uddin’s sleeve.

  Uddin twists her body,

  the fabric slipping through Antar's grasp.

  Baa!

  The heavy round grazes Antar’s shoulder,

  spinning her around.

  She grunts,

  hitting the dirt.

  Baa!

  Another shot tears the ground where her head was a second ago.

  Antar flickers,

  her form becoming misty.

  Lewa swings the rifle,

  searching, but the target is gone.

  Uddin doesn't look back.

  She vanishes into the treeline,

  Daisy heavy in her arms. "She's gone? Good. Keep running."

  Back inside,

  Satan is a whirlwind,

  but the combined fire of Migo, Jude, and Elina is too much.

  She flashes from the left to the right,

  but Elina’s bullets are always there to meet her.

  Satan’s teeth grind.

  Time is up.

  She vanishes and explodes into view behind the trio.

  Her machine gun roars,

  spitting a horizontal line of fire.

  They dive. Jude winces as a bullet nicks his neck.

  Migo hits the floor, clutching a bleeding calf.

  "She's dangerous when she uses her machine gun!" Elina shouts, her eyes wide.

  Justice slams a canister into the floor.

  A thick, grey cloud erupts, swallowing the room.

  Elina finds Justice in the fog and pats his head. "Good boy. Tanya hates smoke"

  From the center of the cloud,

  Satan begins to cough, the sound wet and ragged.

  The group moves fast.

  They hoist their wounded—and dash for the exit.

  "Wait!" Moon Black stops,

  looking back into the swirling grey. "I’m going back for the Chuppah. The woman is choking!"

  Justice grabs her arm, his eyes frantic. "Are you an idiot? She’ll kill you the moment the air clears!"

  "Moon Black!" Migo’s voice echoes from the stairs. "Move! That’s a fake! It's not the real Chuppah!"

  Moon Black freezes,

  then snarls. "Fine!"

  They burst out of the castle and don't stop until they reach the rusted doors of an old warehouse.

  They collapse inside,

  dropping the unconscious bodies onto the dusty concrete.

  "What about Uddin?" Justice asks

  his breath coming in ragged gasps.

  "We can't go back," Migo says, tying a cloth around his neck. "We're spent."

  Moon Black punches the corrugated metal wall.

  The boom echoes like a gunshot.

  "That little brat... Daisy!" Her eyes are bloodshot. "She lied to us. She's the Enemy's daughter."

  "Quiet, Moon," Migo warns.

  "I won't be quiet!" she shrieks. "The next time I see that girl, I'll snap her neck myself!"

  Justice walks up and slaps her. The sound is sharp in the hollow warehouse. Silence follows.