“A fair point is—”
The sudden eruption of tingles along the nape of my neck and between my shoulder blades stole my breath. Squeezing the blades until the handles imprinted on my flesh, I whispered, “They’re coming.”
Misha lowered his hands and faced the driveway. “Get back.”
This time I listened, taking a few steps away to give him space. Misha was about to shift into his true form, and I couldn’t take my eyes away from him when he did. I’d never been able to, and I wished I’d seen the actual moment Zayne had shifted.
Misha’s pale, pinkish skin was the first thing to change. It deepened in hue as his skin hardened, becoming a deep slate gray. His hands bent into claws sharp enough to cut through stone. Bold horns sprouted between the mess of reddish-brown curls. The bones of his shoulders shifted under the skin and the blades protruded out. Wings formed, spreading out behind him on either side.
I’d be right. Misha was huge, but Zayne was even bigger.
He looked over his shoulder at me, and I saw that his face had changed. Nostrils had flattened into thin slits. His mouth had widened, giving room to fangs that could tear through flesh and metal. Only those eyes remained the same: Warden blue.
“You going to listen to me for once and go into the house?” he asked, his voice thicker, richer, now.
I snorted. “And let you have all the fun of killing demons alone? Ha. No.”
“There’s something wrong with you, something terribly wrong.” He turned back to the driveway, and I grinned despite all of this. “What if there are more humans?”
My skin chilled as my grin faded. “I can do it.”
“Just try to keep it under control, Trin.”
I knew what he was referencing. “Sure thing, boss.”
The sound of pounding feet echoed up the driveway and Misha jumped, landing in a crouch several feet from the steps. My breath caught as something bulky raced under the floodlight, and I saw it.
Dear God, it was a Nightcrawler.
I was stunned as I recognized the moonstone-colored skin. I’d never seen one in person. Only in the texts we read in school, alongside normal things like English and calculus. Like Ravers, Nightcrawlers weren’t supposed to be topside, on Earth, because they couldn’t remotely blend in with humans. Their venom was toxic, paralyzing its victims within minutes, sometimes even less. This one was too far away for me to see the details of its face, even with the bright lights, but I was thinking that was a blessing.
They were notoriously ugly.
Misha lifted off the ground, but I could be faster. Cocking back my arm, I focused and the world around me fell away. I let the blade fly.
It struck true, driving deep into the Nightcrawler’s chest before Misha could even take flight.
The Nightcrawler’s steps faltered as it let out a roar of pain and fury, a sound so horrific it rattled my insides. Flames erupted from its chest, encompassing its body within seconds.
Iron was deadly to a demon and striking one in a vital place, like the chest, rendered them pretty damn useless immediately.
My iron blade clattered onto the driveway, settling in a pile of demon dust.
Landing a foot from where the Nightcrawler had been, Misha looked back at me. “You can’t see me if I step one foot to the left, but you nailed that bastard in the blink of an eye.”
Another Nightcrawler appeared at the edge of the floodlight.
“This one is mine.” Misha took off, his wings cutting wide through the air. A second later, he crashed into the Nightcrawler, knocking it several feet back, into the darkness and the void I couldn’t see through.
I hurried to my blade and snatched it up, ignoring how warm the metal was. I became very still, scanning the darkness as I heard the grunts echoing from where Misha was fighting the Nightcrawler. How many more might there be that made it past the Wardens on the walls? A trickle of fear invaded my blood, but I ignored it, pushing it down so I didn’t give in. Fear could be useful. It could hone the senses, but it could also overwhelm. It was a dangerous, fine line to walk, and I wasn’t willing to walk it at the moment.
Something shifted to my right, moving too fast in my peripheral vision for me to focus. I spun just in time as a tall, lithe form rushed me. It looked human. Beautiful like an angel, a gorgeous woman whose beauty surely had lured many a man and woman to some terrible fate.
An Upper Level demon.
I caught sight of her yellowish eyes as her mouth gaped open, jaw unhinging in the most unnatural way as she let out a low growl that reminded me of a very large, very angry cat. Fine hair rose all over my body.
I darted to the left, but she was fast—faster than anything I’d ever faced. A whoosh of air whirled around me as she grabbed a handful of my dress and tossed me aside. I slammed into the side of the porch. Bright bursts of lights dotted my vision as I scrambled to my feet, still holding the blades.
The demon was on me in a nanosecond, grabbing my shoulder and pulling me toward her. I had no idea what she planned to do, and I didn’t wait to find out.
I let instinct take over. I twisted around, catching the surprise flickering across her face a second before I kicked. My foot connected with the side of her pretty face, snapping her head back with a sickening crack. She wheeled around, spinning back toward me, her head hanging at a very unnatural angle, and her neck...
“Dude,” I whispered, eyes going wide. “Your neck is superbroken.”
She let out a huffing laugh. “That wasn’t very nice of you.”
It was a sight I wouldn’t be able to carve out of my memories for many years to come.
The female demon shifted, her skin turning a shade of deep orange. Her wings unfurled, and for a brief moment, I allowed myself to be struck by how much Upper Level demons looked like Wardens. Then I shot forward—
A clawed hand thrust through her chest, sending inky, dark blood spitting into the air. The hand jerk back and the demon staggered sideways. Surprise turned to horror as she looked down at herself.
“I think that was your heart,” I said.
The female demon lifted her chin and then burst into flames, incinerated on the spot.
I lifted my gaze to where Misha stood, wiping his hand on the black ceremonial pants. “That was gross.”
“You didn’t just have your hand inside her.”
“Well, I’m smart enough to let the blades do their job.”
“More like you need blades because you don’t have these bad mamajamas.” Misha wiggled his bloodstained fingers at me. “And didn’t I tell you—”
The ground trembled as something large and heavy landed behind Misha. I caught the glimpse of black wings and then Misha had ahold of my arm, pulling me along behind him as we raced back up the steps and into the house.
If something was making Misha run, then it was bad, really bad. I looked over my shoulder as we crossed the porch, and all I saw was a black form slowly coming up the steps, strolling as one would in a park—
Misha shoved me into the foyer, letting go of my arm as he spun, slamming the door shut behind him.
I faced him. “What was th—?”
The steel door blew off its hinges, flying backward and slamming into Misha. I shouted, starting toward him as he crashed into the wall. The door shattered on impact. Misha collapsed onto the floor. Reaching his side, I shifted the blades into one hand and grabbed him by the arm as I looked up and froze.
Inky, oily darkness filed the ruined doorway, licking over the walls with thick tendrils. A wave of heat followed as I let go of Misha’s arm and straightened.
I’d never seen anything like it. I’d never even heard of anything like it.
The smoky blackness whipped out, striking me in the midsection. Lifted off my feet, I flew backward and hit the floor in the hallway. Rolling into a wall, I lost my grip on one of the blades. Stunned and disorientated, I struggled to my feet as the mass filled the foyer.
Letting instinct take over, I took aim and the dagger flew, going for the center of the mass.
The darkness blinked out of existence and my blade impaled the wall behind where it had been. A startled heartbeat later, the mass appeared directly in front of me.
“Holy shit,” I whispered.
The thing took form rapidly. One second it was nothing but a collection of pulsing, thrumming shadows and then it was a man staring down at me, eyes golden and lips curved into a cruel little smile.
“Hello there,” he said. “I’ve been looking for you.”
I swung, but he caught my arm with one hand and slammed his fist into the center of my chest, knocking the air out of me and my feet out from under me. I skidded backward, past the offices and into the kitchen, crashing into the bar stools.
The power of my grace wiggled alive, but I fought it back as I wheezed for air. Spinning around, I grabbed a bar stool as I felt the heat hit my veins. I couldn’t let the demon know what I was. I couldn’t—
Misha was coming down the hallway with one hand on the wall, still in his Warden form.
The Upper Level demon turned to Misha, and I swung the stool as hard as I could.
It never connected.
One hand shot out, and the demon caught the leg of the stool. He looked over his shoulder at me and smiled. The scent of burning wood filled the kitchen. A second later the stool went up in flames, becoming dust in a heartbeat.
“Jesus,” I whispered, jerking my arm back. This demon could control fire.
“Not quite, darling.”
Screw not tapping into the grace. I spread my arms, letting the warmth in the pit of my stomach grow.
“Do it!” Misha shouted as something heavy hit the kitchen door and landed in the kitchen, the impact like an earthquake. Without looking, I knew in my bones it was Zayne, and he was about to get the show of his life—
Everything happened so fast, too quickly for me to react.
Something akin to recognition flickered over the Upper Level’s demon’s face when it locked eyes with Zayne. Then it spun and shot toward Misha. It crashed into him and then they were both in the air, flying back toward the front entrance.
I shot forward, chasing after them as panic snuffed out the fire building inside me. My feet slipped over the shattered hardwoods and I tripped over the broken door as I rushed toward the front door.