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"̷̯̉.̸͔́.̴̪͘.̷̳̿ ̸̥͠Ḭ̶͝s̴̖͠ ̴̟̉t̴̖̔ẖ̷̾i̴̛͈s̴̤̾ ̵̙͑y̶̯͆o̸͔͠u̸̼̾r̴͖͛ ̵̘͋ŕ̴͙e̸͉̒a̵̤͝ḽ̶͝ ̵̩̽p̴̻̆o̸͚͐w̴̲͗ė̵̻r̸̢̂,̴̧̔ ̶̙͌B̶̩̂ü̴͍r̵̯̕n̸̨̅s̵̼̏?̵͉̀"̶̧͂ The Outsider asked as she put her hand against Lyss's trap. "̵̭͐I̷͉̍ ̵͇̀s̵̞̋ȁ̵̹w̶͚͂ ̵̛̰y̴̘̿o̷͚͋ú̶͓r̷̖̍ ̴̬́a̷̛̺ṋ̷̕c̵̜̈ë̸̘́s̸̫̚t̴̖̃ô̸̝r̶͙̈ ̶̭́s̷̗͐u̴̗͠m̸̼͝m̷̯͗ô̴̧n̵̟̔ ̷̟͊a̴̛̟ ̷̮̐m̴̟͂o̴̮̿ü̷̺ǹ̸͜t̵̳̽a̶̢͒ǐ̵͜n̴̡͝ ̴͈̃ǒ̶̦f̷̭́ ̸͓̃f̶̡͝l̶͍͋ĕ̷͖ș̸̆ȟ̶͔ ̵̮́ã̷̜n̴̙̑d̴̛̳ ̵̝̂b̶̬͒o̶̲̐n̵͎̂ē̴̢ ̴̢̅t̸̳́o̷̬̔ ̸̡͌b̷̪͊a̶̜͆t̸̼́t̴̰̅ḽ̵̽ẽ̴͕ ̶̞̒ḿ̶̻e̶̻͗.̶̧͑.̴͋ͅ.̸̡͠"̷͍̈

Lyss pressed her lips together and shifted her feet to get a better stance. The comment jostled her, but she wasn't going to let the Outsider know. So what if she didn't dabble in necromancy? It's not like it's a practical abstraction anymore. One video of a zombie crawling out of the ground and she would be burnt at the stake by sundown. She didn't need the undead to keep this apparition at bay. She just needed her trap, focus, help to weaken her, and the right sigil.

The long blade of flesh and bone was flung her way. For a moment, Lyss considered cutting the barrier and running. If she made it far away, she could gather the rest of the Burns clan to stop the Outsider once again. She stared the scythe down instead, and mentally told the blue bitch to [i]bring it on.[/i] Yet, instead of the scythe colliding with the edge of her barrier, Vashti the Leviathan jumped in the way. Lyss gasped as the scythe slashed through her chest. She almost lost her focus at the sight. [i]Almost.[/i] The Leviathan was okay. Just a bad cut that Izzy could heal, if Izzy kept herself safe.

Lyss looked over at Herik, whose Lion abstraction saved Vashti's life. She gave him a grateful nod, before her head turned to survey the other girls. Emily was on the ground and barely conscious. Her side was bloody. So was Madison's. One of the blood demons must have clawed its way through the Jaw's protection. Claudette, Izzy, Quinn, the new chick, and Taylor were gone. Had the cut and run? Was it just Lyss and Herik left to fight?

The odds weren't looking good.

[b]"How long can you hold that?"[/b]

Lyss turned her head around to see Maya standing next to her. The relief of seeing another friend ready to help felt amazing, but Lyss also felt a deep worry for her. Maya was number one on Blake Schmidt's shit list. She would be the only person besides herself that the Outsider [i]really[/i] wanted dead.

She didn't get a chance to tell her to run. Lyss saw Madison swoop in for one more hit before the Outsider's ominous voice announced Maya's doom. Lyss paled as the Outsider raised her hand and watched the windstorm come her way. She shut her eyes tightly and curled her right hand into a tight ball. She was going to hold onto this trap no matter what. She could-

She was thrown back by the wind. Lyss felt her body flying through the air. The trap was still intact, dragging the apparition along with her until Lyss felt her body crash through the restaurant's large window. The trap was gone within the next second.

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Lyss groaned. Everything hurt. It felt ten times worse than a hangover, or being thrown off of a wayward motorcycle. She remembered her first tussle in the Black Market, but even that couldn't compare.

[i]Maya... Where's Maya?[/i] Lyss's head was blurry as she used her elbows and hands to push herself up. Her hand pressed against something sharp and Lyss hissed. Broken glass. It was all around her. She could feel where bits had sliced through her jeans and the back of her head on her way through the window. [i]Fuck.[/i]

Her eyes looked up at the building. It looked like it exploded. Herik and the others weren't in her sight. She wasn't even sure how much time had passed. A few minutes? A few seconds? [color=D3D3D3]"Maya!?"[/color] She shouted. [i]What if I'm too late?[/i]

No... The Outsider would have come for herself next. Maya must still be alive somewhere in the rubble. The Outsider was still distracted with that order to worry about Lyss... for now.

Lyss slowly rose to her feet, wincing as she did so. [i]I'm not even getting paid for this.[/i] Her head turned to look around her. She needed an object. Something that could easily be overlooked and left to rot for centuries. Something she could easily transport to the middle of the ocean and drop into the abyss.

Her necklace? It could work. It was made of strong metal. Not easily broken. Next all she needed to do was make the sigil. She'd need the Outsider to be near it, if she was going to trap the spirit and seal her all at once. [i]Hold on tight, Maya. I'll be there soon. Please stay safe[/i] She thought as she began to crawl over what was left of the restaurant's walls and into the rubble. She just needed a flat surface to draw the sigil, and there it was.

Almost in the center of the rubble laid what remained of a white door. It was stained from years of sitting there, but it was the perfect place to do her job. Lyss knelt down in front of it and, without a thought to her own safety about the cleanliness of the door, began to smear her bloody cut against it.

First she drew a large circle, and then began to fill in the inside of it with a sigil she'd only used once before in her lifetime. She'd trapped another spirit that was at least a third below the Outsider's power with this sigil. She'd just need to do it at the right time.

Lyss's bloody hands fumbled with the clasp to her necklace before she'd successfully removed it. The necklace was set into the middle of the sigil. Now it was time to wait. The time to hope to Satan that Maya was still okay.