The explosion distracted Rygen's attention away from his attack on Cassie. Peering up at the ceiling, something was going on outside, and he would ask Samedi about it after he took care of his prey. He shook his head and returned his focus to Cassie. She had only a moment of reprieve from the sudden distraction, but that reprieve ended here and now.

Cassie thanked Shrapnel in her thoughts for the timing of the explosion and the momentary distraction it afforded her. When Rygen came down, Cassie had the time to roll away, with staff in hand, and get to her feet. Unfortunately, Rygen had been catching on to her tactics and twisted, putting all his strength into a shoulder tackle. The impact sent Cassie crashing against the opposite wall hard enough that she felt her collarbone shatter, and she screamed as the pain blinded her. When she cleared her vision, she saw Rygen's massive hellhound face inches from hers, both red eyes glowing clear. "It's been fun, but it's time to die!"

Something sparked inside Cassie as a result of her pain and fear. The years of exploring magic, using powder, crystals, and tuning into the mystic frequencies had been building within her, and it suddenly blossomed in a way she had never felt before. Cassie's eyes began to glow a vibrant green, and a spell she didn't know she knew came from slightly parted lips. "Canem esse caecum daemonium!"

Rygen paused, as if frozen, and Cassie watched in fascination as his eyeballs began to swell and grow. Rygen panicked, backing up, and reached a claw up to touch the sudden flare of pain. The swelling grew, and in a sudden explosion, both eyes burst into black blood and sinewy strands. Rygen fell as his screams echoed down the hallway.

Cassie, still shocked at her new power, twisted herself to get to her feet. She cried out as she put pressure on her bloody mass of a left leg and struggled to hold her shoulder in place. With determination and a bit of luck, she pushed through the pain as she limped towards the room where her trap lay waiting. Cassie turned to watch Rygen twist and writhe in agonizing pain, and she felt that maybe she had a chance.

Ignoring the pain as much as she could, Cassie reached the door of the room and turned again to see Rygen slowly climbing to his feet, the pained whines of an injured dog seeping from his throat. For the slightest of moments, Cassie felt the pangs of sympathy at the sounds of his whimpers, but it didn't last as Rygen turned his bloody face her way. His nostrils flared as he sniffled the air and zeroed in on her.

Shit! Cassie thought. The spell wore off.

Rygen took three slow steps; his growls grew more intense, and it seemed he was no longer in the mood to speak. Cassie backed into the room and tapped her staff on the floor, adding to the lure. As she moved deeper into the room, she watched Rygen come into view of the door and stop. He sniffled again and turned his head towards Cassie, as if he could see her. His lips lifted in a demonic growl, and he took two steps into the room and stopped just short of the circle. Cassie watched him lower his nose and sniff at the ground. He looked up in her direction, his lips raised in a gruesome grin.

"Nice try. I may not be able to see, bitch, but I smell the blood."

Rygen turned and stepped slowly, menacingly around the circle Cassie had hastily drawn on the sandy floor, and she gasped aloud as it sank in that her plan had failed and now she was trapped at the back of the room with no escape. With a grunt, Cassie took six steps backwards until her back hit the wall. She took loud, deep breaths as she tried to get her panic under control.

"No prey has ever hurt me the way you have," Rygen's cold voice said. "I'm going to take extra pleasure in ripping you to shreds."

"You're a pathetic, worthless imp, Rygen," Cassie hissed and squared her shoulders. "I won't scream one time. Pup!"

"No. You won't!" Rygen agreed. "Because the first thing I'm going to do is tear out your fucking throat!" Rygen again stood, reared upwards, and spread his claws wide, clicking them in anticipation.

Cassie tapped into her newfound powers and felt something surge up from her soul into her fingers. She watched as green energy surged up her staff to the tip and formed into a solid silver spear tip around the base. At the end, vine-like metal strands streamed downwards about two feet, and she felt the end in her hands pulse and change to provide a hilt for her hands to press against. When Rygen came down, Cassie thrust the spear upward and plunged it into Rygen's throat. The tip ripped through the fleshy mass of his gullet and burst out the back of his neck, and Rygen's roar turned into a gargling, bubbling wetness. With a step forward to imbalance Rygen on his hind legs, Cassie twisted her body and pulled the spear around, which carried the struggling Rygen with it and dropped him into the trapping circle. As his body hit the floor, the circle erupted in a fiery mass of crackling energy, and he screamed in horror and pain. He flailed with fear, but he could not break the circle. "No!" Rygen's mangled throat made the words nearly unintelligible: "NO! You can't."

Cassie limped to the circle, gathered a glob of bloody phlegm from the back of her throat, and spit harshly on the flailing demon, "Oh, I fucking can!"

With a scream of rage, Rygen jammed his claw out of the circle, intent on slicing Cassie in half, but the flames flared along his claw, rending flesh from bone. Before he could pull it back, Cassie slammed her spear down and trapped his boney claw into the concrete floor. She let his screams soothe her pain and leaned forward so he could feel her presence mere inches from him. Without knowing why or how, Cassie felt she could do what needed to be done, imbued with a power unlike any she had felt before, and she whispered, "Return to hell, Canis Infernus Rygen, I release you!"

"Noooo!" Rygen's mangled, panicked roars cried out as the fiery energy turned black and engulfed him, and his mind screamed. You can't do that! I am not bound to you! HOW?!

Cassie watched his body burn harshly before his form seeped down into the concrete, liquified and dispersing, before finally nothing was left but the bone claw still held to the concrete by her spear. Cassie ripped the spear up, looked at the claw for a moment, then kicked it harshly against the wall. With a pained limp, Cassie reached the door and looked back one time, her green eyes glowing in the darkness of the room.

"This time," Cassie commanded, "stay gone!"