Chapter 86

"The flesh of mortals runs to yielding flab.

So good beginnings aren't enough to last to acorn time from when the oak is born.

-Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy

"Max, what the hell? What's wrong with him?" Zach asked, putting his gun away. I stood there, my hands suddenly shaking, as questions mounted inside my head. Was it me? Did I kill him?

No, it was impossible. His energy went dark and it began hurting him. Dread filled my lungs.

"He's dead," I rasped, feeling suddenly numb. I heard him correctly-he said that my father could save him and then he dropped dead. Did he mean Lucifer or someone that stood beneath him? There were so many possibilities.