Ed was half my size, so it wasn’t like he could help me as I hopped along nearly as effectively as Lacoco had, but he was also really fast, and I was just holding him back. He ran over to the door and opened it for me. Ed began fiddling with the door mechanism with a knife. I had no idea what he was doing. “Mosh is down a few floors.”

“Great war chief,” Ed agreed. “Go save.”

“Save everybody,” I agreed. Edward pressed something into my hand. It was a small leather bag. “What’s this?”

“Give Tanya for Ed,” he answered cryptically.

The dragon was coming down the ramp. Even with its wings tucked in tight and scraping along the walls, it was a tight squeeze down the path that could hold two buses side by side. Its head came around the corner first, undulating on its long neck. The beast was craggy, armored in plates, and covered in spikes the size of rhino horns. It was lightless black, but at the edges where the plates met was just the hint of red light, as if a great internal furnace was leaking heat through the cracks.

It was so imposing that for a moment I was frozen with fear. I was no stranger to terrifying beasts. This was something different, something that gnawed at the very edges of your psyche. I shook my head and broke the spell. In those few seconds it had drawn itself fully into the garage. Cars were crushed beneath its feet, or struck by a horn or tooth, lifted effortlessly, and rolled out of the way.

There was no way we could escape that thing. It was just too big, too powerful, and there was nothing standing in its way it couldn’t just plow through. But I still had to try.

I entered the casino. Edward shut the door behind me…

With him still on the other side.

“Ed?” I turned back. There was a small glass window in the center. He was watching me through it with sad yellow eyes. Time to go. “What’re you doing?” I grabbed the door, but the handle wouldn’t engage. He’d disabled it with his knife. “Ed!” I pounded on the door. “Come on! Ed!”

The orc tilted his head to the side, studying me. The dragon was growing behind him, plowing its way through the fog and the parked cars. He took off his ski mask, revealing his real face. Ed gave me a little bow.

This was his fight. His greatest challenge. His sacrifice.

“Ed, you obstinate asshole!” I kicked the door. I kicked it again. It was too solid. I pulled Abomination around to blast the lock open.

Edward just shook his head disapprovingly. I was wasting time.

His time. He was buying me time.

I lowered Abomination. Edward nodded. Thank you.