~~Young~~

Chapter Twenty Two

   “Death is still w’it her. She…she will protect her.” His expression twisted into something Gage couldn’t understand.

   No, no he did get it, that was worry. Jerry was worried about Sera and Death. He feared Death wouldn’t be strong enough to save them both.

   “Jerry,” Gage said sternly, playing on the demon’s doubt, “I can’t let him hurt her. I…I love her.”  

   He closed his eyes for a moment and turned away from Gage, looking back only a moment later with pure determination, “Den we need to get d’u out of ‘ere.”

   He rushed forward and tried tugging Gage from his restraints to no effect. He couldn’t stay in one place long enough to do any good. If he did the ice would claim him as well leaving the both of them trapped in this space.

   “Break them,” Gage nodded to his sword, “you’ve got to break them.”

   The flame tried to bite at Jerry as he reached for the blade on the floor and he recoiled. But quickly he realized it hadn’t yet pulled itself back together, it had no real power and he grabbed it out from under its form.

   “As hard as you can” Gage urged his brother in arms, “don’t hold back.”

   Jerry’s battle cry echoed through the chamber and again he swung for Gage, shattering the ice holding Gage’s right arm to the floor, then the left. He shook the rest of the ice from his hands and took the blade from Jerry to free his legs. There was no free swinging there, not without chopping off Gage’s leg at the knee. Instead he slipped it in against his leg and twisted. Just as Lucifer’s display box had cracked open, a fissure broke along the blade’s length and Gage was able to pull his leg free. His shoe stayed, but his foot was free. He repeated the movement with his other leg and freed himself not a moment too soon. A breath longer and the demon’s blood would have seeped through the ice to Gage’s foot.

   Jerry dragged the demon’s body out of the pathway and into the flame’s section to make it not so obvious what had happened. The ice overtook him immediately and Gage moved to leave, but the flame wasn’t letting him go that easy. It was back to full strength and it wrapped around his neck, pulling him back towards the center of the space.

   Once a flame had a body to torture it was theirs forever unless replaced. Gage knew this, and thought the dead demon would be enough. But that was the problem wasn’t it, he was dead. And dead demons didn’t react when the flame worked them over.

   “Suh, you’ve got oth’ah place tu be,” Jerry pulled at him.

   “No shit,” he choked out as he fought the flame and the ice. Every time he paused too long to find his footing or leverage of any kind the ice grabbed at him. Time and again he shook out of it before it could grow too far up his legs, but every time he lifted his foot the flame dragged him back farther.

   “It’s useless, go Jerry. Just go and protect Sera from Bane!” he shouted at him.

   But he didn’t move, he just shook his head at Gage, “no. I…I is not strong e’nough.”

   “Then take this,” Gage tossed his blade to Jerry, “now go!”

   He caught the blade by its hilt but still made no other movement.

  “Jerry go!” another step back into his prison, one more and Gage would be on top of the grey demon. If he didn’t trip over him, which would end this real quick now wouldn’t it.

   Again he shook his head, this time with more determination, “no,” he said calmly and stepped back inside. He walked up to him, never for a moment taking his eyes away from Gage’s, and took his hand. He opened his palm and forced Gage to take his blade back.