Chapter 23: The Cold Equation
The Sin Eater pulled his hand free, tearing the flesh, hissing in pain. He retreated to the center of the dance floor, nursing the wound. He looked at Max with a mixture of hatred and confusion. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. The boy was supposed to be cowering, his mind shattered by the presence of the supernatural.
Instead, Max was dissecting him.
"You analyze," the Sin Eater spat. "You think you can calculate your way out of damnation?"
"I can calculate the stress points of your existence," Max said, walking around the bar. "You feed on broken contracts. You sever the bond between man and patron. But to do that, you need to touch the core of the host."
Max unbuttoned his suit jacket and tossed it aside. He rolled up his sleeves.
"Come on then," Max said, spreading his arms. "Touch the core. See what happens."
The Sin Eater narrowed his eyes. It felt like a trap. But the hunger... the power radiating off Max was intoxicating. It was a feast.
The creature roared and dissolved into smoke, rushing into Max's chest.
Max didn't dodge. He let it in.
Max gasped as the cold invaded his body. He felt icy fingers wrapping around his heart, scratching at the black ink of the Devil's contract etched into his soul.
Warning: Soul Integrity Critical.
Invader Detected.
Counter-Measure: Trap Protocol Initiated.
Max had gambled on his Intellect. He had theorized that the Sin Eater was, essentially, a virus. And a virus could be quarantined.
Max concentrated. He visualized his mind not as a room, but as a labyrinth. He used his enhanced cognitive speed to construct mental walls, turning his own psyche into a prison.
"You think you can hold me?" the Sin Eater's voice echoed inside Max's head.
"I don't need to hold you forever," Max thought back. "Just long enough."
Max accessed the connection to his own Patron—the Devil.
"Hey," Max projected his thought into the void. "I brought you takeout."
Deep in the abyss of the contract, the Devil woke up.
The Entity inside Max laughed. It was a sound like tectonic plates grinding together. The Devil didn't like poachers.
"YOU DARE TOUCH MY PROPERTY?" the Entity roared within Max's soul.
The Sin Eater screamed. It wasn't Max fighting him anymore. It was the Devil himself, insulted that a lesser spirit tried to steal his investment.
Max fell to his knees, his body a battleground between two demons. His nose bled. His veins turned black.
"GET OUT!"
A blast of pure kinetic energy exploded from Max's body. The Sin Eater was ejected, thrown across the room. He slammed into the far wall, his form smoking, burning, diminished. He looked like a burnt match.
Max stood up. He wiped the blood from his nose.
Status: Threat Neutralized.
Bonus: Spiritual Resistance Increased.
Entity Favor: High.
The Devil whispered in Max's ear, sounding pleased. "That was... clever, Max. Using me as a guard dog. Risky. But clever."
Max walked over to the shriveled form of the Sin Eater. The creature looked up, eyes filled with true fear.
"Please," the Sin Eater wheezed. "I can serve you."
"I don't need a priest," Max said, raising his foot. "I have a God."
Max stomped.
The Sin Eater dissolved into ash, leaving only a faint smell of sulfur.
Max adjusted his cuffs. He picked up his phone.
"Graves," he said calmly. "Send a cleaning crew to the dance floor. And get the car ready. We're going to the Police Station."
"The Station? Why?"
"Because," Max said, checking his watch. "I just killed Kaelen's boogeyman. Now I need to take away his shield."