The city simmered under the rising blood-moon, choked with people fleeing the epicenter of the expected battle as televisions, radio or even word of mouth told of the impending struggle.

Police, firefighters, and civic services had fallen out to control the stampede, but it seemed as hopeless as holding back a rushing stream with only their hands. People either ignored them or were too afraid of stopping lest they got trampled by the people behind. Thousands of accidents happened, were ignored, and happened again every few minutes. For those whose cars were too badly damaged to run again, the only choice was to get out and run on foot.

The sight of Jake flying overhead towards the park sent the people into a terrified huddle, further boxing things up. Jake wished he could get them moving again, at least out of the way of the army which jammed the roads leading in, but it would be useless to try.

They are like sheep faced with a bear. They run in every direction instead of moving in a coordinated effort of escape. Jake just hoped they wouldn't get eaten.

The park crouched just ahead, dark and malignant in the heart of the city. No lights shone anywhere that he could see and a foul black mist crawled along the ground, swallowing street and car, home or office in its path.

Jake flew past the boundary; his friends would have to deal with it in their own way. His focus was on the heart of the problem. Strangely, it seemed to focus on the exact spot he and his friends had been transformed so many months ago.

Almost a complete year now...no, I think it has been longer than a year. He thought disbelievingly to himself. It seemed impossible so much time had passed.

A flash of something caught his eye, and Jake swooped closer for a look.

Below him seven hooded figures stood or knelt on the ground, arms upraised in supplication. The head priest stood in the circle, holding aloft a torch whose lighting had caught his interest.

Jake bore down on them like a gale from the mountains. Bodies exploded from his teeth and claws like overripe fruit hit with a baseball bat. Heads flew into the air; arms and legs scattered across the ground in the dark; and here and there the savaged trunks of the corpses would fall without complaint.

Yet for each priest that Jake killed, the only response from the others was to chant harder and faster. To his hears, it sounded like they were coming to the climax of their ritual.

The head priest held aloft a small heart which Jake had no doubt was human despite its small size. In fury and desperation, Jake knocked aside the last handful of priests and lunged at the head man.

He was a small man, barely five-five, if Jake could judge. The hood had fallen back to reveal sallow features twisted by a bloody grin and shining eyes as he calmly observed Jake's approach.

Changing his blow from a killing one, Jake flicked him out of the center against a tree, dislodging the heart from his hand and letting it fall onto the ground.

"NO!" The man shouted, struggling towards the heart, this time with a strange crooked dagger clutched in his hand.

Jake stood watching him, too astonished at the bizarre sight to move. The priest drew closer to his goal, the knife stained with dirt now.

Realizing that something this priest wanted so badly would be a very bad thing, Jake stepped forward and stomped down hard.

From under his feet blood trickled out, mixed with brain matter and bile. Lifting his foot, Jake winced at the sight of the crushed corpse; it looked little different from the road kill on highways except this corpse had been driven a little into the ground in a shallow footprint.

Jake shook his head at the folly of it all, before trying to find the last priests to make sure he'd gotten them all. He didn't notice the high priest's blood had made contact with the small heart on the ground, which had turned black and started to grow.

Boom-boom. Boom-boom.

The sound cut through the still night air. Jake spun around, his hunt for the priests forgotten.

Where the heart had lain, a black fog roiled. It grew upward and expanded rapidly, growing taller than Jake in seconds. It grew upwards until it scraped the clouds above, a height of three thousand feet or more. Inside the cloud, a shape could be made out dimly.

Jake got back into the air, circling the pillar as it began to shrink, contacting in on itself and bringing the creature inside to ever clearer focus.

At last it stood revealed in the light of the Blood Moon, a demon Chief from the darkest pits of Hell.

The creature stood balanced on cloven hooves like a goat, with thick hairy legs to match; brutish arms like a gorillas, with human hands on the ends, the right hand clutching a two-headed axe of flame and the left a round shield of shadow. From his back sprouted two great wings, each larger than a jumbo jet, bat-like, and tipped with clawed fingers. On his neck rode a head with misshapen human features but great oxen horns and ears. A single gold ring jutting from his nose provided his sole adornment.

Jake's heart quailed within him, how could they possibly defeat that?! It seemed an impossible task.

We were created for a purpose. Serena's voice echoed in the back of his mind.

She's right. We were created for some purpose, but were we created to stop this thing, or ensure humanity survives by locking them in a vault until the demons flee? Jake wondered.

No. If we don't stop this thing, then nothing will live. We have to stop this thing, we are created to stop this thing, so people like mom and dad, our sisters and brothers, our families can go on with their lives.

Jake felt a strange calm settle over him. He'd read descriptions of it, imagined what it must have been like out of mental curiosity, but never before had he experienced it. How right those authors were; everything fell away except the objective.

Behind his consciousness he could feel the instincts of the Dragon, asleep for a while, spring to full alertness. With the eys of the dragon, Jake/dragon stared at their foe as he swung his axe and toppled three houses with a single stroke. He thrust his axe into the sky with a bellow of savage delight;

The demon chief had arrived.



Jake turned into his opponent as he lined up for another swing on a quiet neighborhood. On the ground a few people bolted out in terror and pelted down the street like rats fleeing a sinking ship.

Jake's claws scored the back of the creature as he pounced like a cat on a Doberman.

The demon shrieked! It hadn't expected the attack on its personage. It flailed about, trying to get the irritant, but Jake dug in like a tick. His jaws chewed on a wing root while he scratched like a chicken into the tough skin of the back.

Underneath the skin flowed blood like molten rock, hot and bright. It burned his feet and mouth painfully. Jake whimpered but kept on.

The Demon gave a terrific shake, dislodging his grip but his teeth remained fastened to the wing. The entire piece came free of the demons back and together Jake and the wing cartwheeled in the air.

Releasing the foul-tasting thing, Jake whined at the feel of the icy wind on his burned flesh. His legs had suffered the worst damage, but even his mouth had some; dragon fire is very hot, but demons come from that very element, and are masters of black magic. They are well-renowned for having hellishly hot fire.

Jake's soared high overhead of the now grounded demon, trying to come up with a new strategy as it turned to follow his every move. A house ended up flattened from an accidental step, but the demon took no notice and kept staring at him. The malevolence of the creature could literally be felt as a physical force.

Unexpectedly it gave a terrific leap, the great axe swinging in an effort to cleave him in twain. Jake only just missed the effort, sliding a hairsbreadth over the licking flame as the Demon fell back to Earth.

That had been too close for comfort! He wondered why the others were taking so long.

Almost before the thought was complete, the darkness surrounding them lit up like thousands of fireflies on the ground. Even from his height, Jake could hear the harsh rattle of automatic gunfire, the boom of the tank cannons, and the crash of artillery starting to fall.

An arrow whistled up from amidst the chaos, burning with pale light, and smote the demon in his knee; a heroic shot at the extreme edge of bow range. It could only have come from Brian or Rachel, with the magic from Shyla.

It froze the knee in ice, wrenching the beast's attention away. Jake tensed, this could be his opportunity.

Rather than retaliate, as he expected, the demon reached down to the ground, palm flat, and made a lifting motion.

Right away, the ground fell away revealing a long black hole out of which smaller demons leapt. These were of a variety of shapes and features, some appearing to be perfectly human but hurling fireballs from their hands, and others were so monstrous that the mind rebelled at the possible existence of such creatures.

The fire slackened immediately as soldiers switched targets. The numbers were proving too great however, and the first ranks fell. The second rank took cover in buildings or behind cars, pouring the fire on desperately. Larger shapes raced to and fro; Jake's friends fighting with whatever weapon they could. Brian rallied a group of marines and led a charge into the enemy host. For several minutes a brutal fight developed, with marines using bayonets, bowie knives and handguns against teeth and claws. Brian used his great dwarvish swords, wielding them like a dervish on the battlefield.

A turn took them away from Jake's sight.

On another street, Rachel manned a defensive structure of five or six cars arraigned in two lines. Army soldiers used heavy machine guns, grenades and a small mortar to hold of perhaps six or seven dozen creatures. Rachel's pinpoint accuracy with her bow proved to be as formidable a weapon as the guns, judging from the number of bodies with shafts sticking out of them.

A bright dot jumped up from behind the cars and intercepted a leaping demon in the shape of a Grecian Minotaur. Vines sprouted and wrapped it in a net, constricting so tightly that the demon collapsed. It had to have been Stacey.

As if to prove it, Jake spotted a blue light on the next street where Volgelson had apparently made her headquarters. Water from fountains, drains or puddles on the ground smashed into demons, turned to ice and speared them, or formed globes of water around their heads to drown them.

A near miss from the axe reminded Jake that he had his own battle to fight.

Returning his attention to the demon, he saw that it remained fixated on him, not noticing when its foot hit a parked car and nearly sent it tumbling.

Hmm, not too careful about where it stomps, is it? He looked to the small lake in the center of the park. If he could get it over there, perhaps it would trip the creature up, giving him a free shot at its throat. It would definitely be worth a try.

Jake went on the offensive, utilizing quick, slashing attacks to keep his opponent on the defensive. The demon shouted and cursed him in its horrible language; like that of hissing snakes at the decibel level of a volcano. It tried to catch him with its axe or bash him from the air with the shield. Jake found himself spending more time avoiding the blows than actually herding.

His muscles ached from the high-speed maneuvers he'd been performing, and the shallow cuts he'd received burned painfully.

Just as he thought he couldn't fly any further, a series of smoke trails flashed past his faster than his eye could follow. Massive explosions hurled the creature backwards and threatened to knock him from the sky. Jake wobbled, recovered, and looked behind him.

Like huge birds of prey, fighter jets swooped below the clouds, another flight of missiles streaking from under the wings like arrows loosed from the string. Jake dove to get below the passing bolts as they smote into the demon again.

Shaking off the explosions, the demon thrust his axe at the sky. Fire began to fall from the clouds like rain, burning holes in wings and setting the fighters alight. From the ground friend and foe alike sought shelter from the onslaught.

Jake felt the fire burn his wings and scorch his back, but he struggled to maintain altitude. Incredibly, a single pilot, his engines on fire and several holes in his wings yet still in control of his aircraft, angled the plane towards the demon. It barely had time to raise its shield before impact, the fireball three times bigger than the others that had hit it.

The demon crashed to earth, shouting its rage. Jake took the opportunity to land right on the demon, savaging it and breaking the axe in half before being hurled into a building.

Brick, dust and mortar choked and blinded him and he stumbled out into the demon's grasp. Jake felt his body being picked up and squeezed. He snapped and bit at the arms that were holding him, he kicked at the belly, and he stabbed with his tail at the legs.

He just ignored the attacks and squeezed harder. Jake felt his ribs begin to crack. He screamed in pain as his struggles grew feebler.

Jake barely felt the demon being hurled back, dropping him to the muddy ground in the process. For quite a long while Jake couldn't move, panting weakly as he tried to recover.

When he at last raised his head and blinked his vision clear, he saw Serena standing on the rooftop of a building shining like a spotlight as she faced the demon at his own level. He swung his shield clumsily, damaging the supports of the building, but she'd already vanished and reappeared on the roof of the building behind him. A bolt like lightning shot from her horn and struck him on the back, knocking him into the rubble he'd just made.

She needs my help. Jake thought woozily. He struggled mightily to his feet. Trying to get airborne again simply brought him to the ground. He elected to walk instead.

Each step proved to be a struggle, but one that grew a little easier with each attempt. He started to make a good pace towards the action that had drifted further amongst the towers and offices of downtown.

Unexpectedly, he rounded a corner and discovered Volgelson and Tom and a hundred soldiers or more. Volgelson was shouting into her intercom.

"No! There's still civilians in the city. We need more time to evacuate. If you launch that weapon then we'll all be dead and there won't be anyone left to stop that thing. No! I don't think even that will stop it. I won't provide coordinates for it until you get your head out of your ass and start using your fucking brains!"

Tom had a look of disbelieving horror on his face. He spotted Jake and raced over.

"Volgelson's trying to talk the generals out of a nuclear strike." He explained urgently.

Jake looked at him, wondering if he'd heard right, then decided he had. "That might work." Jake admitted. "But I really, really don't like that option. There's so many people here, and the demons. I don't know if nuclear fire would work on them."

"No one does, but it would certainly wipe out the defenders out. If the bomb only does that, then these things could overrun the whole world." Tom said worriedly.

"Okay. Well then, we need to kill this thing before they launch." Jake said determinedly.

"I don't know if..."

"NO! DAMMIT!" Volgelson's shriek of rage cut them off.

"What is it?" Tom asked.

"They've launched the nuke! A bunch of them." She said grimly. "Jake, you've got to stop them. If even one hits here we'll be finished."

"Right. Which direction will they be coming from?"

"The nearest nuclear launch site is in Montana, that's where the first ones are likely to be coming from. After that it's an aircraft base in California and ICBM sites in Nebraska."

"Well, their likely to start with the aircraft first, before using ICBM's. I hope." Jake struggled to spread his wings again. At last he managed to achieve some sort of lift.

"Help Serena!" he shouted over his shoulder. "And get someone to organize a evacuation!" he added.

Once in the air, he turned away from the fight downtown and went South, looking for more fighter planes. He'd circled south for what seemed an eternity while the demon and unicorn fought their terrible battle. It at last seemed to be coming to a climax; the demon bled fire from hundreds of wounds and his attacks were weakening. Serena had taken her own hurts, but her resolve seemed to be stiffening the longer she fought.

Pinpricks in the distance froze Jake's heart. They'd launched ICBM's first! He was in the wrong quadrant of the city!

Fueled by raw terror and desperation, he rapidly crossed the city and went over the top of the demon. His claws caught a small chunk of its ear, jerking its attention away for a split second at the unexpected assault, and Serena used the distraction to drive a powerful blow of magic into the very heart of the demon.

It gave an awful howl of pain, looking to the sky in dawning wonder as the light in its eyes dimmed. Sinking to its knees, the body slowly collapsed downward and struck the street with a mighty crash.

Jake didn't take much notice; he'd reached the first missile. He knocked it out of the sky with a strike of his sharp claws, cutting up the computer and preventing the firing mechanism from being sent the signal to detonate the warhead. It tumbled to the earth while Jake went for the second one. This one he melted with a blast of fire just hot enough to melt the brain casing without setting off the warhead.

The same happened for the third missile and the fourth, but he'd taken too much time. A fifth and sixth missile got past him. He struggled to catch up; just snagging the fins of the straggling sixth missile and roasting the nosecone. Dropping the now useless missile, he tried to catch the fifth, but it dipped earthward and struck the monster's corpse.

A searing white light filled the world while a god's warhammer struck him out of the sky.