Sal awaited the tragedy that was undoubtedly waiting for him. He couldn't believe he'd been so stupid, and now they were all going to die because of it.
Then he felt a tingle go up his spine, and somehow regained the ability to move, he dove to the right and turned just in time to see a metallic arrow pierce itself in Mammon's left eye, and saw the Advocate scream in pain as his hands flew into the air.
Sal turned and saw Katarina, her bow was held steady and the string on it still vibrated from her shot. She looked fierce, and she had anger and fire burning in her eyes, the same anger and fire she had the day before when she nearly killed Antony.
Their eyes met, and as if her heat met his cold the fire simmered down to a gentle warmth.
"Get the locket" she said, her tone commanding.
Sal didn't waste anytime. He grabbed the necklace from the floor hastily and tossed away what remained of Kyrona.
"Run!" he yelled, even as he took off like a streak of purple lightning.
His friends had been prepared and they all moved like a unit, sprinting with their feet hitting hard on the floor.
"Phantom!" Mammon cried.
Suddenly all the transparent cases burst apart in showers of broken glass as precious things flew all around them. Like sharp darts gold and jewels shot at them with projectile speed. They dodged and jumped, some of the projectiles grazing the skins on their exposed arms and faces as they ran.
"Come back here now!" Mammon cried from behind. Sal risked turning and saw that the Advocate was riding on a large wave of valuables, the arrow was still embedded in his right eye and it was bleeding pitch black blood that splotched all over his furry body, his fangs were bared in a snarl of fury and his one good slitted eye shone like a violent rainbow.
Sal looked forward just in time to grab a jeweled dagger before it struck him in the chest. He stopped, turned and lunged the dagger in the air with a force that sent waves rippling in the space between him and Mammon. The dagger shot straight and true and plunged deeply into Mammon's other eye.
This only made Mammon angrier and he gave out another bellow of pain. More treasure flew at them from all corners and as Sal continued running he realized they couldn't dodge anymore, they could only shield their faces with their arms and hope that no larger chunks of treasure came flying at them.
"I can't see shit!" Katarina yelled in anger.
She was right, the shards were like a sharp covering of mist, it felt like they were running through a blizzard of gold.
"There's no running from him!" Antony yelled over the onslaught, "it's his home, his dimension, only he knows the way out"
"Then we will make a new one" Marcus said, he seemed thrilled, excited even.
He leapt in the air and landed beside Sal, from what Sal could see Marcus's body was engulfed in blue fire. Sal couldn't feel any heat but the shards seemed to melt as they came in contact with Marcus. His golden eyes were burning with light as he looked up at Sal.
"Do you think you can conjure a portal?" Marcus asked.
"I can't see anything!, how am I supposed to draw!" Sal yelled as he smacked a rather large block of gold away and felt his knuckles throb with pain.
"I will burn a path through the haze", Marcus said, "you might have 20 seconds at least, make the portal, then we all will jump"
"That sounds like a terrible plan" Melchior shouted from behind, he'd drawn his sword at some point and was smacking projectiles away, though that didn't prove as useful as Melchior may have hoped.
"We don't have any other plan!", Antony shouted, there was a trail of golden blood on his cheek were one of the projectiles had gotten him.
"I told you", Marcus said, he had a grin on his face and his eyes turned maniacal, "I fight in the face of danger, and I never lose"
Sal hesitated, he didn't even know if it would work, his magic was powerful, yes, but this was a Devil's Advocate, an entity that had existed for more than a millennia.
And you are the one favoured by Lucifer, the Father of the first Advocate, said a voice in his head, you are strong enough.
Sal turned to Marcus and nodded.
"Okay" he said, grabbing his wand from his boot as he ran, "let it burn"
The smile on Marcus's face was brighter than the gold that flew around them. He picked up his speed and went on all fours, the fire surrounding him growing brighter with each step they took. From behind them Sal could hear Mammon's shout of anger growing louder as he got closer.
And then, like a sudden blast of wind, blue fire filled Sal's vision. It spread all around them like liquid, with a roiling heat that could be felt but didn't burn them. The gold however melted instantaneously, like it was exposed to the fanned flames of a furnace's inferno. The scene was almost beautiful.
Now Salome.
The voice had spoken into his mind and pulled Sal back to reality. He knew it was Marcus because it sounded like him, he turned to see a pair of slitted eyes looking back at him, and a golden furred fox running by his side, seven fluffy tails swishing behind it.
"Marcus?"
Sal, I said now, Marcus said again.
Sal stopped running, pulled his wand from his boot and slashed through the now clear space in front of him.
He felt the familiar burn of his mark and the ecstatic feeling of magic filling his veins, and he drew the Portal glyph, channeling all his magic and emotions in each swirling line.
The portal erupted open with bright blue light and Sal let out a sigh of unbelief and smiled, he'd done it.
He turned back to celebrate just in time to see Marcus collapse to the floor with exhaustion, his kitsune form fading as he changed back to Marcus as they knew him. Bloom was there to catch him, holding his now naked body like she was holding a large pane of glass.
The vow he'd made came back to Sal's mind. Marcus couldn't be hurt, he was fine, but he wasn't moving, he wasn't….
"He's fine Salome!" Bloom said, as she held Marcus up carefully and wrapped him up in Melchior's armour jacket. "We need to go"
Sal nodded, the wall of fire was gradually dissipating, the molten gold and jewels made a creeping pool of precious liquid on the iron floor around them. In the distance the roar of more valuables came towards them in a massive wave.
"You go first, we need him safe first" Sal said.
Bloom didn't hesitate, she hoisted Marcus up and ran to the portal, disappearing as they jumped into the light. Next was Melchior, never too far from his soul sister, then Antony, looking back only once at Sal, before running into the light.
"Go, I'm right behind you" Sal said to Katarina who stood looking back and forth between him and the incoming wave.
Her dark eyes were filled with worry as she looked at him, he could feel that she didn't want to leave him behind, the last person she left was now lost forever.
Sal walked forward and took her hand, staring deep into the darkness of her eyes as the wall of fire finally fell and the onslaught of treasure continued, showering them with a rain of gold and jewels.
"I promise you Katarina Velasquez, leave or stay, you will find me on the other side, you will not lose me" Sal said.
She stared up at him, and despite the carnage around them he didn't want to move.
In that moment, he was rooted, and she was the one that kept him there.
Then she kissed him, capturing his lips in hers and making his mind swirl. Her lips were as soft as he'd imagined they'd be, and he found himself taking in all of her, wrapping his arms around her waist and returning the kiss with as much of himself as he'd wanted to from the moment he laid his eyes on her.
Then she parted, her dark eyes seemed even darker now, as deep as a sweet dream, and with a nod she pulled away from him and dashed into the portal, dark blue hair bouncing as she ran.
Sal was stunned but was pulled out of it as a diamond shard sliced across his cheek. He needed to leave, and keep his promise.
Clutching the necklace tightly in his hands he jumped into the portal.
And the last thing he heard before he burst out the other side was Mammon's voice yelling in rage.
"You will have no one Phantom!, you think you are loved?, there is no greater sin than the sin of love"
But as he jumped through the portal and burst out on the other side, as he saw his friends all waiting for him, worried eyes relaxing as he emerged, he knew then and there that Mammon was wrong.
He was loved.
And it was a blessing.
***
The strand of hair kept falling over Marcus's eyes no matter how hard she tried to put it back in place, so Bloom had decided to leave it alone.
Instead she watched him as he lay asleep, his chest rising and falling softly, his nose twitching and his eyes still behind closed eyelids. He looked peaceful, a peace that Bloom couldn't understand. He remembered his smile as they'd run through the haze of flying shrapnel, the certainty on his face that one way or another they would all survive.
I fight in the face of danger, and I never lose.
Bloom smiled, and then raised the covers higher until they covered up his bare, pale chest.
Then as quietly as she could she stood from the side of the bed and moved to the door.
They were all waiting for her as she walked out of Marcus's room, the corridor was wide enough that they all could fit without obstruction.
Sal was sitting on the floor, he'd changed out of his tunic and was now wearing a black sleeveless vest and dark jeans, his head was bent, and his elbows were propped on his knees, his wand was held tightly in his hands and his hair fell over his face as though he was in despair, his sneakers tapped aimlessly against the floor.
Bloom didnt know how to approach Sal in the state he was so she turned to Katarina, but she seemed to be in a similar state.
She was leaning against the wall, her dark eyes hooded and deep in thought, she too had changed clothes and sported a large black cropped sweater and tight jeans shorts, her dark blue hair tied up in a ponytail, her flawless feet bare.
Melchior was the only one still wearing his armour, though without his jacket, and he was the only one who'd acknowledged Bloom's presence. His golden hair fell carelessly over his face and his ocean eyes asked a billion questions as he approached her.
"How is he faring?" he asked.
"He will live, as of now he needs to rest" she answered.
Melchior who knew her more than anyone in all the realms pulled her into a hug.
"I know you are hurting, Bloom" Melchior whispered softly, "don't forget what your father Gaddiel taught us"
Bloom smiled as the memory came back to her, and she recited her father's words like a song from her heart.
"To be strong always is to forget the times when you were weak, the times when you were vulnerable, it is to forget that someone is by your side, ready to hold you up when you are let down" she said as she held him closer.
"I'm here holding you Bloom, always and forever" Melchior said.
Bloom smiled as they separated and then noticed Antony who stood farthest away from all of them. He had his arms folded across his chest and looked away as soon as Bloom's eyes met his.
"You are not at fault Antony" Bloom said.
Antony looked up at her, crystal eyes diffracting candle light, and shook his head.
"The Advocates was my idea, if I hadn't been so adamant…"
"We wouldn't be as close as we are now" Sal said suddenly. Bloom turned to him, his head was still bent, but his elbows had moved from his knees and they could all see the lily necklace in the palm of his hands, his wand lay on the floor beside him, taking on the colour of candle light. "We have a way to find Percival now, we can finally end this"
"Of course that's all you care about" Katarina said coldly.
Sal raised his head immediately, eyes instantly moving to Katarina who seemed to still be deeply lost in her own mind.
"What the fuck's that supposed to mean?" Sal questioned.
Katarina's cold eyes met Sal's and Bloom could swear she felt something crackle between them. It was something that everyone could see and feel, it was something that couldn't be ignored no matter how hard anyone tried to ignore it.
"It means your obsession with Percival and this hunt is what's getting all of us hurt, you're reckless, and that's the problem", she moved away from the wall and turned to the stairs, "you're just exceptional at fucking things up"
She stormed towards the stairs, and Sal watched her go, a tick in his jaw, then he stood from the floor and followed after her.
"Shouldn't we…" started Antony.
"We should leave them be", Bloom said, "there are things unspoken between them, the best we can do is let them open up to each other"
"I think we should be there for them" Antony protested.
"Your presence would profit nothing, all we can do now is hope that everything will work out" Bloom said. "Besides, they have each other, what more would they need?"
***
I can't handle it, thought Katarina as she barelled down the stairs.
The emotions were too much, things she shouldn't be feeling crowding her heart and mind, it prevented her from seeing clearly, from thinking clearly.
She needed to get away from him, maybe a few minutes away would help her forget.
"Kat!", she heard him call her, and she nearly stopped just for him.
"Katarina please!" he called again, he sounded so desperate, so needy, but why?
You know why. Because he is as desperate for you as you are desperate for him, said a small voice in her head.
"Katarina I said stop!"
Suddenly Katarina felt hands grab her by the waist and push her against the wall of the stairs. He was there, right in front of her, so near, so close, so much so that she could smell his scent, like oranges and soap and the static smell of magic.
"Let me go!" Katarina protested, shoving his firm chest in vain.
"Stop this!, stop trying to push me away" Sal said.
"I said let me go" she repeated, struggling against his hold, he was so strong, how were his muscles so tough.
"No", he said, silver strands of his damp hair fell over his eyes as he spoke, "can't you see?, letting you go is the one thing I cannot and will not do"
His words almost halted her but she struggled still, she needed to resist, she needed to stop falling.
He grabbed her wrists and pinned them to the wall, she let out a startled breath and glared up at his soft blue eyes, panting with heavy breaths as they stared at each other.
"Katarina please stop", he whispered, his eyes darted across her face, going from her eyes to her lips and back again. "Please just stop and talk to me"
She heard the sincerity in his voice, the assurance that he would listen, so she stopped. His hold on her wrists slackened but he didn't let go. And if she was being truthful to herself she didn't want him to. If she was being truthful she enjoyed being as close to him as she was now, with his hands on her wrists and their bodies barely inches apart.
"Kat, I need you to…"
"All you had to do was give up the fucking sword Sal" she said finally, "that's all you had to do"
"I couldn't just let it go, it was his…" Sal said.
"I keep reminding you it was mine!"
"Maybe, but he was the one that gave it to me"
Sal sighed, his breath was so warm, his voice so tight with sadness, it was like he was finally feeling everything, the full force of Casmir's death pounding against his chest with every beat of his heart.
"I couldn't let go the only part of him I had left" he said, a single tear drop fell from his shining eyes, and Katarina wished she could wipe it away.
"Look, I'm sorry I lost the sword, I'm sorry I've been reckless, I'm sorry for everything", he said, "but I know deep down in my heart that that is not the reason you're doing this, you're hiding something from me, and I could take it from you right now, but I'd rather you give it to me"
It wasn't a threat, it was a request, a sign of his desperation, he would do anything to make things right.
Katarina searched his eyes for a moment, and then she gave up with a sigh under the intensity of his gaze.
"I think I love you Salome Nightshade" she said.
Sal was visibly stunned, clearly that wasn't the reply he'd expected.
"What?"
Katarina chuckled weakly, a part of her felt free, elated, the part of her that had detested the feeling of love for so long embraced the words she'd spoken with everything.
"I love you" she repeated, "I know without a doubt in my mind that I do, and it is with that same knowledge I know that you love me too"
His eyes lit up literally, his mark burned, and he smiled, he smiled so brightly that the sun, the moon and the stars suffered for it's beauty.
And then he bent towards her for a kiss, she felt his hands leave her wrist and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, closing her eyes, melting against his lips and relishing in the way the kiss made her feel. He held her close to him, his tender fingers riding up her shirt, his index finger brushing the skin over the waistband of her jean shorts, the warmth of both their bodies causing a million sensations to run through her like electricity. Their mouths moved with a fire that couldn't be quenched, a flame that couldn't be drowned, and they embraced it with every piece of themselves that they could.
Then like a strike of lightning, before every part of her was given to him, Katarina saw a symbol shine behind her closed eyes, a crescent moon and an arrow, and with a jolt she parted from Sal.
He looked hurt, confused, his eyes were thin blue circlets and his hair was bright in the dark stairway.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
Katarina gasped, she'd made a mistake, a terrible, horrible mistake.
"I have to stop" she replied.
He looked more confused than ever.
"Kat…"
"You don't understand, I have to stop loving you" she said, "I have to"
"But why?", in that moment he looked so fragile, his voice like a pane of glass on the verge of breaking.
"Because loving you is my sin Salome" she said.
His eyes widened, and she knew in that moment that she had unravelled whatever was holding him together, and now she had left him in pieces.
"There is no greater sin than the sin of love" he whispered.
Katarina didn't know what that meant, and she never found out, because he ran down the stairs with the swiftness of air itself. She heard the sound of a portal opening, and then closing, and then she knew he was gone.
And it was all her fault.