balcony walls for a better look at what was happening below. Someone jostled her and she stumbled

forward, dropping the radio. It fell to the street below and shattered.

balcony walls for a better look at what was happening below. Someone jostled her and she stumbled

forward, dropping the radio. It fell to the street below and shattered.

There was no way she could contact any of the others. And having arrived as undercover agents, their

rental cars were not equipped with radios. They had only their small portable Bureau units and Megan

had lost hers. She was now completely hemmed in by onlookers rushing to the wall to see what was

happening below. Shouting and pummeling at them, she tried to fight her way clear, but couldn't, so she

drew her pistol and fired three shots into the air.

With cries of alarm, the crowd surged back from her and she teleported to Canyon Road.

Modred and Billy spread out and came at the demon from both sides. Modred had torn off his hat and

the emerald set in his forehead flared with a brilliant flash as a bright green bolt of thaumaturgic force

lanced out from it and struck the demon. The creature bellowed in pain and charged him, smoke curling

from its shoulder, which was almost completely burned away. Modred couldn't believe it. Such a blast

should have surely shaken the Dark One and destroyed his concentration. Yetstill the demon came!

It was almost upon him when the creature was suddenly grabbed from behind by a huge knight in a full

suit of armor, with a sword at his side and a shield on his arm. He tossed the demon away from him with

no apparent effort, using only one arm, and the creature flew about ten feet and landed with a jarring

impact on its back. Immediately it got back up. The air was filled with the sounds of people screaming

and the creature howling like a banshee. Modred let fly with another bolt that struck the demon squarely

in the chest. It flew backward from the force of the blast, yet as Modred watched with disbelief, it

struggled to its feet again. Its mad eyes flared and twin, bright red bolts of thaumaturgic force lanced out

at Modred. He leapt to the side and rolled as he hit the ground, feeling the heat of the energy bolts pass

by him.

The knight had drawn his broadsword and its steel blade gleamed with brilliant white light as it

descended in a sweeping arc upon the creature, cleaving its skull, crunching through bone and continuing

through to the base of its neck, splitting its entire head right down the middle. The beast fell to the ground

and remained there, motionless. In the next instant the knight vanished and Billy once more stood in his

place. He rushed over to Modred.

"Are you all right?"

"Yes," said Modred, picking himself up off the ground. He stared at the inert form of the demon. "I don't

understand. How—how could he possibly have maintained the concentration of his spell under an attack

like that?"

"I know," Billy said. "He should have lost it. The demon should have dissipated. And yet look at it, it's

still lying there!"

"It's dead," said Modred. "How in the hell can it bedead? The spell should have simply dissipated and it