FINAL GATE (#3 GHOST PORTAL series)

TWENTY-FOUR

To Jessamine's dismay, the demons were too appealed by the reaper's offer, fantasy-like and fake as it appeared to Jessamine. Their hunger for revenge on the human world, their thirst for blood and chaos was too strong. No matter what Jessamine said, no matter how she sought to stand between the two parties and convince them to return things to normal, it didn't work.

She was an empty, powerless vessel whose sacrifice had been for nothing.

Landon's dejection was palpable, too. With the demons accepting the reaper's permanent stay in the realm, it put Landon at risk. He'd either be killed to further balance out the realm, or he'd have to live on this way; ninety-five percent dead, but never really alive. Never part of the dimension, but unable to leave it unless he died. Murdered.

The demons voiced their opinion as a group. Many had been unfrozen from the reaper's spell, and wandered over from their battle sites to say their piece, to have a sort of mini vote.

When the verdict was pronounced, Landon whispered to Jessamine, I'm fucked. He looked ready to burst into tears; the strong-willed, stubborn man she'd once been enamored with was reduced to a shell, a fearful thing who had no choice in the rest of his existence. And she could do nothing more than nod in agreement.

She was fucked, too.

"We have one condition," said the demon who'd more or less taken over the conversation, steering it in the direction it wanted. The reaper broke its spell, so the others had resumed their fights, or loomed nearby to eavesdrop. Many were evidently afraid of the reaper; Jessamine had sensed their fear as it fluttered through the air, prickling her skin. "You must hold your end of the bargain and seal up the remaining portals. Effective now."

The reaper, if it had a face, would have been showing a sinister smile, Jessamine had no doubt. "I'll do you one better," it said, lifting its arm, its sleeve slipping down to reveal its skinny, skeletal hands. "I'll end all your battles, and ensure all the invaders are shoved in, and then close things up. One moment."

It pressed its middle finger and thumb together, snapped, then lowered its arm as it stretched its neck. The vacant space under its hood—its invisible face—moved from left to right, up and down. Then its body shrank as it sniffed at the air before returning to its original, slightly floating position.

"It's done."

Jessamine spun on her heel, watching as, slowly, the atmosphere shifted back to the normal demonic realm. Lightning faded into the clouds, which moved higher into the sky and switched to their chunky, off-white shade. The sky itself turned a regular beige-ish color, and the heavy air once charged with death and malice lightened somewhat, no longer as defiant and terrifying.

It was like a large weight had slid off Jessamine's shoulders. She could breathe normally again, and her nostrils ceased burning with the stench of the oncoming attackers.

Only the usual bloody stink of death that will always loom in this place.

The attackers—the winged creatures, the zombified humans, and whatever else had crawled out—were gone. Vanished. The world was still, silent; any trace of a battle evaporated.

The gloom went from overpowering to acceptable; the sepia filter regained its power.

The demons in the vicinity released a collective sigh of relief, and Jessamine joined them, despite her aversion to the reason why the reaper had helped.

"Wow," she tucked a few hairs behind her ear, "that was fast. Almost too fast to be true."

Landon's limbs gave out and he fell to the ground, closing his eyes. "Jeez, that's so much better."