Page 81 of Devil in the Details

Time to end this.

The dealer spread the flop, and the energy surged again, making the air itself seem to vibrate. Sweat broke out on Caleb’s forehead as he reached for his chips, even while he realized that every decision he made now carried a weight that went far beyond mere cash.

The tournament might be in its final phase, but the real game was just beginning.

Delia watched from behind the rope line as Caleb studied his hole cards. The energy in the room had grown so strong that it made her teeth ache, as if she’d just bitten into an over-large ice cube. Next to her, Ty Carter stood absolutely still, his otherworldly presence acting as some sort of buffer against the supernatural forces swirling through the casino.

“Can you stop it?” she whispered.

“Only Caleb can do that now.” Ty’s voice was grim. “But be ready. The demon controlling Ted Miller won’t go down without a fight.”

Ted Miller, the man Caleb was playing against. He didn’t look dangerous, seemed to be just a pudgy guy in his forties wearing an obnoxious Hawaiian shirt with a bright coral background and a series of hula dancers printed on the fabric.

As if to emphasize Ty’s point, the chandeliers overhead swayed, their crystals tinkling against each other like wind chimes in a storm. A few more people in the crowd looked up nervously, but most remained mesmerized by the final hand playing out before them.

Ted Miller pushed a stack of chips into the middle of the table. “All in.”

The words seemed to reverberate through the room, carried on waves of dark energy. Delia’s breath caught as she watched Caleb consider his options. He had to know this wasn’t just about winning anymore — this was about stopping whatever horrific plan Hank Bowers and his demonic allies had set in motion.

The man stood a few feet away from the dealer, his eyes gleaming with triumph. No doubt he probably thought he had them all exactly where he wanted them.

“Call,” Caleb said.

That single word, delivered in cool tones that belied the tense set of his jaw, cut through the charged atmosphere like a knife. Ted Miller’s expression flickered, something inhuman…scaly and dark and hideous…showing through his carefully maintained mask.

The dealer flipped over the turn card, and the supernatural energy swirling in the casino spiked so violently that several spectators staggered. Delia grabbed the velvet rope to steady herself, her knuckles white against the blood-red material. The dealer’s hands shook slightly as he prepared to reveal the river card, and Delia guessed the man must have sensed something terribly wrong about the atmosphere in the room as well, even if he had no idea exactly what it was.

Then Hank stepped forward, his blunt fingers moving in a complex pattern too intricate for any human mind to comprehend. The air grew thick, heavy with malevolent power. Out of the corner of her eye, Delia saw Aaron pushing through the crowd again, his black, sharklike gaze moving from side to side, searching for his prey.

Searching for her.

“The circuit’s almost complete,” Ty murmured. “Whatever you’re going to do, Caleb, you need to do it now.”

Caleb’s hand shot out, catching the dealer’s wrist before he could turn over the final card. “Wait.”

A simple word, but one charged with power. The supernatural energy seemed to pause, suspended like a held breath.

“This ends now.” Caleb’s voice sounded different, deeper, carrying echoes of something dark, something powerful.

His demon blood responding to the forces around them? In that moment, Delia realized this was a side of him she’d never seen before. Sure, she’d witnessed him exhibit enough powers to understand he wasn’t fully human, but most of the time, he seemed like not much more than a laid-back guy who was surprisingly fun to hang out with.

All the same, it clearly wasn’t a good idea to underestimate him.

Ted’s plump face contorted, his features shifting between those of a nondescript human being and something reptilian, alien…hideous in a way her brain didn’t quite want to comprehend. “You can’t stop what’s already begun,” he growled.

“Watch me.”

Caleb’s other hand slammed down on the table. The impact sent a shockwave through the room, disrupting the carefully constructed patterns of energy. Chips scattered across the felt as the light fixtures overhead exploded in a shower of sparks.

Ted lunged across the table, his form rippling and changing, becoming the stuff of nightmares, even worse than the demon Calach, whom she and Caleb had banished just a few short months earlier. As Delia watched, horrified, Aaron broke through the last line of spectators, claws extending from his fingertips, blotches of black scales appearing on his neck. Next to her, Ty moved fast as lightning, one leg snaking out to catch the possessed man right behind the knee, sending him to the floor like a stack of bricks, where he lay unmoving.

Hank Bowers shouted something in a language that made Delia’s ears ring, the words harsh and guttural, like something she might have heard an orc say in one of the Lord of the Rings movies.

But Caleb was already moving. Hands raised, he met Ted’s attack with a blast of flames that burst forth from his palms and sent the possessed poker player flying backward. The demon that had possessed him screamed in rage as it was forcibly ejected from Ted’s body, its true form visible for a brief, horrifying moment before it dissolved into smoke.

The disruption created some kind of cascade effect, like a row of dominoes pushed over by a careless finger. Whatever ritual Hank had been orchestrating collapsed in on itself, the carefully aligned energies from the ley lines scattering in all directions. The air crackled with discharged power as people finally broke free of their supernatural stupor and began running for the exits.

Delia held her ground, though. No way would she leave Caleb behind, not after everything they’d been through together.

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