“Not here,” Micah said, pressing the button on the car keys as we walked through the second floor of the parking garage.

He was paying attention to the cars. I was looking at the concrete walls, at the large spaces they had every few feet, just like a window, but without any glass. Demons flew too close to those in my opinion, and the fire falling from the sky was even closer. It would be too easy to spot us or set us on fire.

We turned a corner and kept climbing the ramp toward the third floor.

Please let the car be here. Please let the car be here.

The car couldn’t be on the fourth floor because the fourth floor was open to the sky, and then there was no escaping the demons.

Micah pressed the button, and the car beeped.

We all stopped and looked around while Micah pressed the button nonstop.

“Here,” Keisha said.

We ran to her and found an old black Nissan GT-R.

“Now, that’s what I’m talking about,” Micah said with a big grin. He leaned into me. “Come on, darling, let’s cruise.”

I elbowed him in the ribs. “Please, spare me.”

He opened the passenger door for me. “But you love it.”

“Do you guys have something going on?” Keisha asked from the other side of the car. “Like ex-boyfriend and girlfriend, or just ex-lovers, or whatever?”

My cheeks heated. “What?”

Micah laughed.

“He used to follow her around a couple of months ago,” Raisa told her, her voice still shaky.

I elbowed her too. She just shrugged and slid to the back from the passenger side, while Keisha did the same from the driver’s side. I sat in the passenger seat, and Micah closed my door.

“Fuck,” Micah muttered, before running to the other side.

“What is it?” I asked when he entered the car and slammed the door.

He put the key in the ignition and turned on the engine. “Don’t look to your right.”

“Why?” I asked, looking to the right. “Oh my God.” My stomach dropped.

Winged demons flew into the garage, followed by huge balls of fire that rolled down the ramp from the fourth floor.

“We’re dead,” Raisa whimpered, recoiling in the backseat.

“Go, go, go!” Keisha said.

Micah backed the car from the spot then floored it, slamming us back in our seats.

He drove down to the main level. The garage exit was right before us, and I braced myself for what would come once we exited.

Micah turned west onto Spring Street, even though the street was a one-way going east.

The demons had broken into stores, offices, and restaurants. Glass and metal bar doors cluttered the sidewalks. I just stared. Were they that strong? My attention shifted up, where orange waves licked the tops of the buildings, lighting up the dark sky.

“Hold on!” Micah said, through gritted teeth. He yanked the car to the left as a balcony fell from the top of a building, missing the car by a few inches.

My heart stopped. I clutched the sides of my seat.

Keisha leaned forward. “They see us.”

I looked ahead. Demons rushed at us, their claws drawn and teeth bared.

“Oh my God,” I whispered, sinking into the seat.

“Let’s just hope Omi doesn’t see us,” Micah said, shifting gears and stepping on the gas.

The car lurched forward. Just two blocks to the tunnel and yet, it seemed too far away.

“Who is Omi?” Keisha asked.

Micah and I exchanged a glance. Before we could think of anything to say, the demons swarmed at the car. One punched at my window, and I flinched to the middle of the car. Repeatedly the demon hit the window, fracturing the glass before being thrown from the vehicle because of Micah’s driving.

“Darling,” Micah said. “As much as I like you close to me, I’m trying not to kill us here.” He nudged my leg, trying to reach the gearshift.

I scooted back a little. “Sorry.”

He flashed me one of his smug grins before running over three demons.

The car bumped and I thought we were going to roll over.

Glass shattered, and I whipped my head back. Two demons had broken the back window, but Keisha slashed at them with her sword until they let go and fell.

More demons came at us. They scratched the sides of the car, broke windows, and tried to hold on and flip us over. I wished I still had that vial with the fountain water from the Clarity Castle so I could wish on it and take us out of here like I had done before when escaping that school with Morgan and Micah, but with Keisha’s weapons and Micah’s heavy foot, we were able to finally outrun the demons.

We reached the tunnel, and I took a long, calming breath.

“Micah,” Keisha said, her voice holding a warning tone. “You might want to speed up.”

Micah glanced at the rearview mirror, and I turned back.

A wave of fire entered the tunnel on our tail. Raisa was low in the seat, eyes closed, her ears clamped, and she sang one of the songs Olivia had composed to try and calm herself. Perhaps I should sing too. It had always helped my wacky nerves.

“Fuck,” he muttered, speeding even more and bringing my attention back to the fire.

“More.” Keisha’s voice rose. “Faster.”

“I’m trying.” Micah shifted gears, and the car lurched.

Oh my God. I wouldn’t die being devoured by a demon. No, instead I would die in a car crash in a dark tunnel.

The flames illuminated more than the car’s headlights did, and I could feel the heat closing in on us.

We wouldn’t make it.

We exited the tunnel and demons formed a wall in our way.

“Hold on!” Micah yelled.

He didn’t stop; he didn’t reduce speed.

We collided with the demons as they charged us. One dove at the window, right in front of me. He smashed through the glass on the passenger side, sending shards flying everywhere. I screamed, throwing my arms up to protect myself, but big claws pushed my arms out of the way, closing around my neck.

“Nadine!” Micah yelled, punching the demon’s arm with one hand, while trying to maneuver the car free from the rest of the demons with the other. He had slowed down a bit, but I was sure he didn’t mean to.

Keisha cursed behind me, followed by grunts and the clanks of a sword.

I wanted to glance back and make sure the girls were okay, but the demon pulled me forward, its hand tightening its grip on me.

I choked. I fingered the seat for a weapon, any weapon, but couldn’t find anything. I couldn’t do anything other than stare at its ugly, terrifying face, with its yellow, hungry eyes, sharp teeth, and nasty drool.

“Oh, Lord,” Raisa muttered, her voice teary.

“Hang on!” Keisha shouted. I could hear slashing and growls, which meant she was still fighting in the back.

I held on to the seat, but the demon was stronger than I was, and it dragged me forward a little more. It was worming itself out, and then it would pull me out too.

“Oh, no, no, no.” Micah’s hand clasped my upper arm.

My vision dimmed.

“Take this!” Keisha said to Micah.

Two seconds later, Micah lowered a short sword over the demon’s wrist, cutting its hand off in front of my face. The demon screamed and I gaped. Micah took advantage of that moment and swerved the car, sending the demon flying off the car.

I unlatched the demon’s claws from around my neck and yelped as I threw it out the window.

Keisha pushed the last demons from the top of the car with her sword. “Demons and fire gone.”

Micah kept driving on I-78 south.

“Are you okay?” he asked, stealing glances at me.

“Yeah. Yeah.” I leaned back in the seat, feeling as if I had been through a war. Well, this was somewhat like it. I touched my neck where the demon’s claws had sunk in. I brought my hand back and stared at it. Blood. Not much, but there was blood. I hid my hand before Micah could see it. “Just pay attention to the road.”

The slashes didn’t hurt much yet. I knew the shock would soon wear off, and then they would probably hurt. Until then, I could pretend I was fine.

I glanced back at Manhattan. The island had transformed into a giant mountain of fire. It reached the sky and lit the world with orange lights.

My eyes watered.

My classmates, my teachers, my residence, my colleagues, my job, my scholarship, everything I owned burned with the island.

At least Raisa was with me—shrunken and trembling in the backseat, but alive.

Keisha rested her elbows on the back of my seat and looked at me. “Are you okay?”

Wiping my tears, I nodded and faced forward.

Without looking at me, Micah reached over and took my hand in his, entwining his fingers with mine. Under normal circumstances, I would have yelled at him for being such a Casanova, but right now … right now, I welcomed the comfort. I rested our hands over my thigh and squeezed.

I let my eyes wander. The chaos was a normal level here. Destroyed roads and buildings, a couple of bats here and there, but no fire, no Omi.

“So, what do we do now?” Keisha asked. “Just drive south and that’s it?”

“At the moment, the only thing that matters is to get as far from New York as we can.” Micah let go of my hand and shifted gears. He didn’t return his hand to me and disappointment burned in my chest.

“Did you have friends or family in New York?” I asked in a gentle tone. This wasn’t an easy subject.

“No,” she said. “I’m from the Chicago area. I came with the exhibition.”

“Exhibition?” Micah asked.

“Yeah, the ancient weapons exhibition at the university gallery.”

“Speaking of which, where did you learn how to use those weapons?” I asked.

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I never had any training.”

One of Micah’s eyebrows rose. “You just knew what to do with them then?”

“I know it sounds crazy, believe me, I think it is, but it’s the truth. I just took them and used them.”

Regaining a bit of herself, Raisa took a deep breath and wiped her eyes. “She was kind of badass back there.”

“Hmm.” Micah returned to his attention to the road.

“I have a question. That guy, on the dark cloud …” Keisha paused and shook her head. “I still think I hallucinated him. Anyway, he was talking about a woman. A girl.” She turned to me. “Was he talking about you, Nadine?”

Micah looked at me, and I was sure his hard expression meant: don’t tell her anything.

“I don’t know,” I said, not too happy about lying.

A pop song started playing, saving me from having to say more.

“It’s my phone,” I said, looking around. “Where’s my tote?”

“Here,” Raisa said. She handed it to me.

I grabbed the phone from inside my bag and glanced at the screen. My eyes watered again. “Hi, Mom,” I answered.

“Oh, good Lord, please tell me you’re okay. Please, tell me you were able to leave the city.”

“I did. I’m out of the city.” She whispered a thank you, and I heard her sobs. “Mom, I’m okay. Are you okay?”

“Yes,” she mumbled through sobs. “This is just a relieved cry.”

Micah’s cell phone rang, and I tried to ignore it.

“Is there anything like that happening there?” I guessed I knew the answer, but I had to confirm it.

“No, dear. Only New York City.” She cleared her throat, probably trying to rein in the tears. “You’re coming home, right?”

I hadn’t thought much about that yet. If I went home, I could attract demons there. However, I did want to see my family. “Yes,” I said, not sure if I was telling the truth or not, but it was the answer she wanted to hear.

“Good, good.”

We talked nonsense for about two more minutes, then my sister called her and she had to go. By then, Micah was off the phone too.

We all remained in silence for about ten minutes, until I couldn’t take it anymore.

“Who was it?”

He glanced at me with a raised eyebrow. “Jealous, darling?”

I stilled. “You wish.”

Keisha laughed. “See what I mean? You two act like a couple. In the middle of a break-up or a fight, but still a couple.”

Micah winked at me, and I rolled my eyes.

“Hey, wait. Was there anything between you two?” Raisa asked, sounding more composed, more like herself. “I always thought your thing was with Victor.”

“Who is Victor?” Keisha asked.

Micah lost the amused expression. “A nobody.”

Raisa told Keisha all about Victor, Micah, and me. Everything she knew about, which wasn’t much. Not wanting to hear even a simpler version of that mess again, I tuned them out.

“You’re not gonna tell me where we’re going?” I asked Micah, crossing my arms.

His knuckles turned white around the wheel. “You’ll see.”