Chapter 104

"Silent, alone with no one now beside us, we went our way-the one behind, the other leading on-walking as meek Franciscans do."

-Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy

"Wake up, Maxine. I think we have a slight problem," the voice was saying to me. I shook my head, refusing to open my eyes. I wasn't ready to face yet another horrible surprise. I wanted to see my daughter and see her beautiful smile.

Was that too much to ask?

"I recognise her from one of the meetings. She's Bianca's ally, so maybe she knows what happened to her," said another voice.

Emma and Zach were gone, and when I finally did open my eyes, I was surrounded by demons that stood staring down at me. They were all armed, with knives, swords and sticks, and their faces were covered with smudged black lines. Cyril was kneeling next to me with a concerned look on his face. I needed to stop getting knocked out. This kept happening way too many times.