text: Rochelle's mind ached as future after possible future tumbled through her. It was up to her to keep everyone alive. The ground shook. She ignored the outside world and the massive giant made from the corpses of dead Lemures.
  
  A Nephilim.
  
  She had read about the abomination in Handbuch der Dämonen und der Engel, but she couldn't bother to remember what had been written about them. Danger swirled around all the people she had grown to love so deeply the last few days. Master and Sophia fought with Daevia, who had found a resurgence of spirit with the coming of dawn. Cynthia, Hikaru, and their guards were trying to fight the giant, but they were like ants attacking a human — not doing much. And locked in their own fierce battle, Bev and Mindy strove to save Mariam and not get killed by her chain.
  
  Rochelle continued futuring.
  
  Master goes in for the attack while Daevia's back is turned. It's a feint. Daevia whips her chain, surprising Master, and slams it into him. He falls to the ground, his heart rupturing from the sheer lust the Demon infects him with.
  
  She grabbed Juanita's wrist, sharing the vision with her. The future changed. Bill heeded Juanita's empathic massage and stopped short as Daevia whipped around, her chain missing him. Another catastrophe averted.
  
  Mindy dodges right, trips over a comatose college student. Mariam's chain connects with her as she struggles to rise. Mindy collapses dead, her heart bursting at the surge of lust.
  
  Rochelle grabbed her wife's wrist. Juanita sent the message. Mindy dodged left.
  
  Her brain felt like mush as she cycled through so many different possibilities. Rochelle wasn't going to let anyone get hurt or die. She would keep them all alive. But the love filling her was running out. She burned through it so fast.
  
  Cassie attacks the Nephilim's right leg. He shifts, kicking her as she charges in, crushing her body.
  
  It was instinctive. Her hand shot out. She shared her vision with Juanita, who shared it through the ties of love that bound them all together. Cassie stopped her charge.
  
  Hikaru picks up one of the Lemures corpses not absorbed by the Nephilim and hurtles it at the giant. She doesn't see the Lemure creeping up behind her. Rochelle examined the endless options of the future. If Hikaru is warned, she turns too slow and doesn't have time to gather her will. The Lemure still kills her. I need something faster. Cynthia. The Sophia-Illusion is nearby. The Illusion can cross the distance in time.
  
  Her hand lashed out. Juanita sent the message to Cynthia. The Sophia-Illusion dashed to the rescue. Hikaru would be saved.
  
  Rochelle peered into the future and —
  
  Oh, no! She hadn't looked deep enough. She didn't see the consequences of using the Sophia-Illusion to save Hikaru. She searched for possibilities and despair gripped her heart. I failed. I couldn't protect them all.