It didn’t land Zachari a blur of motion his skin burning white hot collided with the dark mass, his momentum physically moving it away from her. Zachari continued to grapple with the dark liquid as it began to close round him, blocking his struggles from Sarah's sight.

Feeling the world slipping away around from him, Clarence tried to pull himself up. The pain in his chest was almost white hot now and he had a good idea he was in the throes of a serious heart attack. With the clarity that is brought on by imminent mortality Clarence lifted himself up onto quivering elbows. “Paul, the girl she is an innocent, get her away from here.”

“I must protect the Tether,” Paul said flatly.

With pain in his chest going from red hot to ice cold Clarence gasped, “She is an innocent… You must get her out...”

“You’re judgment Tether… It must be completed...” said Paul, “I cannot leave the Tether.”

Paul reached down and touched Clarence’s head. In an instant Clarence felt a warm glow flow through him momentarily pushing the pain out of his chest. His senses clear he looked over in the direction of the struggle between the dark mass and Zachari. The blonde giant struggles were getting slower as if the creature was draining him. Then Clarence recognized a musty smell in the room, his mind raced trying to identify the smell; it was earthier than the obnoxious brimstone rotting eggs that had perforated through the room before. It was gas! Clarence could smell natural gas. Looking up he saw a hissing pipe that had broken through the floor and then it hit him, “The candles!”

A surge of adrenaline fueled his next action; Clarence grabbed Sarah's right hand.

“Please you need to hold this for me,” Clarence said and then muttered under his breath. “Relegi Relectum Tangere Tetigi...”

As the words left his lips, the rosary unwound itself from his wrist and snaked onto Sarah’s right arm. Clarence felt a small explosion in his chest, coldness started to spread across him and he looked up into Sarah’s confused eyes, smiling his warm smile.