Kat pulled her necklace off and handed it to Sin. "What do we need to do?"
After handing Zakar the sfora, Sin stationed her to the middle of the tomb while he moved to the far right and Zakar to the far left.
As soon as they were in position, Sin began chanting in Sumerian. "I am the one, the guide of the demons of this earth.
"We summon the forces that created us and gave us birth.
"To all that is here now and before.
"We protect and guard with our core.
"To the lives of others we are giving.
"Forevermore we will protect those who are living." Sin spoke the words twice before Zakar joined him.
Kat held her breath, trying to focus on and learn the Sumerian words as she watched the Dimme's hand slide further from its hole. The pounding of Kessar and his army echoed even louder as she joined their singing.
Any minute now, one, if not both, groups of demons was about to break into the room with them.
The sfora turned bright red.
"Zakar!" Kessar's voice rang out in the room. "Free the Dimme!"
Zarak faltered in his chanting.
"Stay with me, Brother," Sin said, his voice eerily calm.
Still Kessar shouted at Zakar to help them.
Zakar lowered the hand holding the sfora. His voice grew weaker as the Dimme laughed.
Kat looked to Sin.
"Don't move," he warned her. "We have to stay where we are for it to work."
Zakar was breathing more heavily now as Kessar continued to order him to free the Dimme.
"I won't let you control me anymore," he said from between clenched teeth. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he struggled for his freedom. "I am not yours. I won't betray my brother. Not again."
C'mon, Zakar, she whispered silently. Don't fail us.
Most of all, she prayed he didn't fail himself.
But as she watched, she saw the demon swelling up to take possession of him and it terrified her.
Quicker than she could blink, Ash moved to stand behind Zakar and whisper something in his ear.
All of a sudden, Zakar's eyes turned completely white. He raised his hand with the sfora and began chanting again with renewed fervor. Kat was desperate to know what was going on, but didn't dare break her own chant to ask.
A loud wind whipped through the room. It was so strong the Dolophoni were sliding into each other. Xirena tucked her wings in. Kat's hair whipped around her face.
It felt as if she were rooted to the floor and while it could pull at her hair and clothes, it couldn't budge her. The Dimme were pounding for freedom, their screams mingling with the chanting.
More light suffused the room as the gallu broke through the door.
"Attack!" Deimos shouted, running to engage them. Total chaos broke out as the gallu assaulted their group while Kat, Zakar, and Sin continued to drive the Dimme back.
The sfora turned brighter an instant before one Dimme escaped.
Kat had to duck as it flew at her head, but she held her ground.
"Let it go," Sin said. "Just keep chanting. Seal the tomb on the others and then we'll deal with her."
Kat stayed focused even while the others were fighting virtually on top of her. She watched as the tomb finally began to knit itself closed. Time seemed to slow down before the Dimme cries were finally silenced.
Covered in sweat, Zakar pressed the sfora to the lock and sealed it before he collapsed on the ground.
Kat was about to go to him until she saw Kessar from the corner of her eye. Before she could even blink, he turned aside one of the Dolophoni and lunged at Sin, stabbing him in the back, straight through his heart.
She couldn't breathe as she watched in horror. "No!" she cried.
Kessar laughed evilly.
Sin's eyes widened an instant before he sank to his knees. It was then she realized Kessar had taken Sin's sword that had been forged by Sin's people. It was the one thing that could kill the gallu and it was also able to kill Sin...
Her vision clouded by fury, she blasted Kessar with a god-bolt from her hands. And then she hit him with another and another until she had him pinned to the floor. She was so intent on him that she missed the other demon who ran at her back and knocked her to the ground. Kat sprang to her feet and turned on her newest attacker. She manifested a dagger in her hand and lunged for the demon. It dodged, then tried to bite her. Kat swept its feet out from under it, then plunged her dagger between its eyes.
She rose, looking for Kessar to kill him too... Unfortunately, she didn't see him. But she did see Sin writhing in a pool of his own blood.
Terrified, she ran to him. "Sin?"
He was shaking as she pulled him into her arms. "I've got you, baby," she whispered, placing her hand to his wound. Kat whispered as she tried to heal his wound. But it wouldn't close. How could that be? "I don't understand..."
"It's a Sumerian weapon," Ash said as he knelt beside them. "One designed to kill their gods."
She looked up at him and did something she'd never done before. She begged. "Heal him, please. I'll do anything."
"I can't, Katra. Not from this."
"He can't die. Don't you understand? Please... please, Daddy, help him."
Ash's heart broke as he heard the desperate love in her tone. Kat was willing to do anything to protect Sin. He remembered a time in his life when he'd felt that way about Artemis. And that love had turned on him and ruined his life. It had left him shattered and vacant. Lost and damned.
He could give Kat the knowledge to save Sin, but would Sin be like Artemis and cause her pain? Would she look back on this moment in time and curse it the way he did his own past? Would she hate herself later for this one desperate moment where her entire world was the one she loved and nothing else mattered except keeping Sin close to her?
Don't interfere with free will. She wanted Sin. Who was he to stop her from choosing to make a sacrifice for him?
Ash controlled fate. But the human heart was its own master, right or wrong. Good or bad.
Dread, agony, and love warred inside him as he clenched his teeth. What should he do? Protect his daughter from a future that might or might not happen or give her the one thing she wanted most?
But in the end, he knew he had no choice. The decision was hers to make, not his. Life was a series of choices made and the consequences that followed.
Please don't let this hurt her. Don't let her regret her love the way I regret mine. Please...
Taking a deep breath, he spoke. "Give him your powers, Kat."
She scowled at him. "What? I don't have the power to heal myself."
"I know. But your powers are from the Atlantean and Greek pantheons. They're not Sumerian. Those powers will negate the sword blade. It will save him. Trust me. But you'll have to give away your powers permanently."
Kat couldn't breathe as she heard those words. She'd never been without her powers... it would leave her defenseless. Vulnerable.
"Don't, Kat," Sin said, his teeth chattering from the pain of his wound. "Don't weaken yourself for me."
Those words cemented her conviction. Her heart pounding, she leaned over and kissed him. And as she did so, she summoned her powers from deep inside and let them leave her to fill his body.
Sin's head swam from the sensation of her gentle lips and from the power that suddenly filled him. He lay there unable to breathe as every sight and sound were amplified. He'd known Kat was powerful, but the magnitude of her powers hit him hard.
What she'd given up...