Stepping back, I lifted my left hand and took my dagger, dragging it down the center of my palm. I hissed through my teeth as my skin split open. Blood welled. I squeezed my hand closed as my heart pounded fiercely.
I knew the moment they scented my blood in the air.
The imps stilled. The Hellions skidded to a halt and slowly turned. The Nightcrawlers tossed their heads back and sniffed at the air. My blood did what I needed it to. The demons were now focused on me, and not Roth and Layla.
I smiled. “Dinnertime.”
Aym whipped around, shifting back into his human form, his mouth gaping open and elongating, stretching wide and distorted as he let out a wail that raised all the tiny hairs over my body.
“No!” he shouted. Or maybe it was Zayne. I wasn’t sure, but it was definitely the demon that yelled, “She must be taken alive!”
Lowering my bloody hand, I knew the lower level demons were beyond hearing Aym’s order. The imps let go of Roth’s wings and flew at me. I was prepared, clenching the dagger as I ran toward the first, leaping up and spinning, slamming the dagger deep into the chest of the imp. It screamed, and we both went down in a tangle of arms, and demon wings.
I rolled, tossing the demon off me, and then sprang to my feet. “Get Layla out of here, Roth!” I yelled at him as I dipped and narrowly avoided an imp’s clawed feet. “Get her out of here now!”
Roth didn’t hesitate.
Scooping Layla up, he crouched and then took off like a missile, disappearing into the sky as I whirled to face what sounded like a herd.
All the demons were coming for me now.
Sheathing my dagger, I gave in to the adrenaline pumping through my veins as the grace stretched me to the seams, demanding I let it out...and I let it take over.
Light filled me, buzzing through my veins as the corners of my vision burned white. Muscles tensed as pure golden-white light erupted down my arm, forming the sword. The moment the handle formed against my palm, I screamed and swept the sword high, catching the nearest Hellion in the waist, cleaving it in two. I spun, shoving the sword through the chest of another demon. Yanking the sword back, I pivoted and caught a Nightcrawler along the thighs, cutting it in two.
A cyclone of violence and blood surrounded me as the world constricted to each blow I delivered, each blow I took as the demons tried to get to me. Bodies piled around me, dying on top of one another before they could burst into nothing but ash and fire. I felt nothing but righteous rage as I cut down demon after demon, blood mixing with sweat—
Pain exploded along my side and I stumbled forward, the sword flickering and fading as I lost my hold on the grace. I spun toward the demon responsible for the burning pain along my side.
The demon was dressed in head-to-toe red pleather. Her long blond hair was pulled into a high ponytail. When our eyes locked, the demon’s mouth dropped open and stretched grotesquely. The eerie whine sent a shiver down my spine. But more than anything, the sight of a female demon threw me through a loop. She was an Upper Level demon, obviously drawn by my blood.
She struck out, her hand catching me in the stomach with a shocking quickness, knocking the wind out of my lungs.
All right, then. If she wanted a bitch fight, she was going to get one. “You really don’t want to do this, honey.”
She cocked her head to the side as she circled me. “I’ll eat you alive, bitch.”
“As charming as that sounds, you’re not my type.” I shot forward, dipping under the demon’s outstretched arm, and coldcocked her in the jaw.
Stumbling back a few feet, the demon spit out a mouthful of dark blood. “That wasn’t very nice.”
The demon moved fast, hitting me in the chest and knocking me to the ground. My back throbbed, but it was a speck of pain in the big scheme of things. Pushing up, I spun around and planted my foot in the demon’s stomach. We exchanged and dodged blows. The female was fierce, scrappy and so not above hair pulling.
She got a good grip on my hair and tossed me to the ground. Really ticked off now, I sprang to my feet and returned the favor as blood trickled out of my nose. Grabbing ahold of the blond ponytail, I yanked her head forward as I brought my knee up. The resulting sickening crunch of the demon’s nose breaking filled me with unmeasurable glee.
“Like I told you,” I said, slamming the chick’s face into my knee again. “You don’t want any of this.”
“Screw you,” she spat.
Done playing around, I released her and whipped out my dagger, delivering the final blow with a deep thrust to the chest. I pulled the dagger out, breathing heavily as she caved in on herself.
“Trinity!” Zayne shouted, and a moment later he was beside me, circling an arm around my waist and hauling me back as a wall of flames went up no more than a few feet in front of me.
Gasping, I clutched his arm with one hand as he spun me around, taking me to the ground as flames roared over our heads. His wings slammed down on either side of me, stabbing the ground.
“It’s Aym,” he growled. “He’s killing the other demons.”
While that was surprisingly helpful, it wasn’t out of benevolence. Aym needed me alive, and he was willing to kill his own kind to ensure it.
As soon as the flames retracted, Zayne rose, lifting me onto my feet. The scent of burned earth and ozone assaulted my senses as my vision focused on the blond demon.
“You two have no idea what is about to go down,” Aym taunted, flames rippling from his fingers as he stalked forward. Sparks hit the trees. They went up like nothing more than dry twigs. “But you’re going to find out.”
Zayne reacted, and since he was standing to my side, I didn’t see him until it was too late. His arm swung back, catching me around the waist and shoving me as the demon charged us.
I skidded backward over the yard and caught myself on the wall of the house while Zayne took flight, crashing into the demon as flames burst from him.
“Dammit,” I shouted, pushing off the wall. I grabbed my dagger, but as the two twisted and turned, there was no way I could get a clear shot at Aym without wounding Zayne.
They were like two Titans battling it out, going toe to toe, punch for punch. The demon had also shifted, his skin now a deep maroon, and with each punch he landed, flames erupted, and the scent of charred flesh hit the air.
The fire... The fire was burning Zayne.
“No,” I whispered, heart dropping. I shot forward but braked as a wall of flames shot up in front of me, burning intensely and forcing me back before burning out, leaving the ground charred.
They were a blur of twisting, angry bodies, and then suddenly Zayne was flying backward and slamming into the house. I spun then, launching the dagger at the demon. It caught him in the shoulder and he staggered back as Zayne lifted himself up. I spared him a quick glance. One of his wings was completely blackened, and half of his body—
Oh God, no. No.
I had to get him out of here. I had to—
Aym launched into the air, coming straight for me. The grace stirred alive inside me once more as I stood there, more than ready to end this stupid, mother—
Zayne caught the demon and they fell behind me, sliding across the ground and into the wall. I whirled around, and it was then when I saw the shocked look etched across the demon’s face and Zayne yanking his head back, his horns and claws dripping with gore.
“Damn,” gasped Aym, and a second later Zayne tore into his neck. The head went in one direction, the body in the other. Both erupted into flames before hitting the ground.
And that was... That was impressive.
Gross.
But impressive.
Zayne was on one knee, and I realized he was trying to stand. His wings folded into his back, disappearing into the slits above the shoulder blades and closing over skin that was suddenly pink in some areas and...and reddish black in others.
Oh God.
Lurching forward, I didn’t reach Zayne in time. He fell to the side, against the wall, completely in his human form.
“Zayne!” I shouted, dropping to his side. Horror seized me as I stared down at him. I picked up his hand. “Zayne!”
“I think... I think I’m a little sunburned.”
I choked on a wet-sounding laugh. “A little. Oh God, what were you thinking? I could’ve—”
“His fire...would’ve scarred you...would’ve killed you.”
It would’ve. His Warden skin protected him, but only to a certain degree, because the splotches of white among the charred skin told me he had third-degree burns. Horror exploded into my gut. “Zayne...”
“It’s...okay.” He shuddered, eyes screwed tight. “It’ll be...okay.”
There was no way this would be okay. No way. None. It was horrific and panic clawed at me as exhaustion flooded my every pore. He was badly injured. “I’m going to get you out of here. I’ll call Nicolai or Dez, and I’ll get—”
“Misha,” Zayne moaned.
I shook my head, heart pounding. “We’ll find him later, but you’re the priority now. You—”
“No,” he said, eyes closing and opening, his gaze focusing beyond me. “Misha.”
“It smells like a barbecue in here—a Warden barbecue.”
I stopped.
My heart stopped.
Everything stopped.
Almost like I was moving in a dream, I turned toward the sound of the familiar voice, a voice that didn’t make sense. I scanned the yard and who I saw couldn’t be there. There was no way.