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“Silly girl, you think a bullet can stop me?” His breath felt like fire and his voice had deepened several octaves. He lifted a hand casually and a ray of black light shot from his fingertips. Frank started to scream. I watched in shock as his skin melted from his bones and his body went up in flames.
Clovis grabbed me before I could recover from the sight of Frank’s agony. I struggled against him, trying to free my hands. He lifted me easily, as if I were a child. My feet dangled in midair as I gasped and sputtered. With his free hand, Clovis picked up Adam, who’d been sneaking up behind him. As motes danced in my vision, I saw Adam fly backwards into a stack of crates.
“Finally, all alone,” Clovis said. He shook me and my body flopped in the air like a rag doll. “Let’s dance.”
Before I knew what was coming, he lifted his hand again. A white-hot bolt of energy slammed into me. My back hit something hard and I crumpled into the concrete floor with a thud. Every bone in my body felt cracked as I gasped for breath. Before I could gather myself to move, he came at me again. His long, scaly fingers clawed my hair. My scalp burned as his face came into view again. His eyes blazed with the fires of Irkalla.
“Not so mouthy now, are you?” He backhanded me. My head fell back as pain radiated across my face. He dropped me and I hit the floor like a stone.
My eyes cracked open. Clovis’s cloven hoof stood next to my face. Just beyond it, I saw a flash of movement.
From the shadows, my grandmother walked into the open area. I should have been surprised to see her, but if I knew my grandmother, she couldn’t resist the opportunity to rub my nose in the mess I’d created.
Clovis laughed, lifted me by my hair off the floor. I dangled in his grip, my will to fight gone. Even if I managed to defeat Clovis by some miracle, I doubted I could best my grandmother.
“Lavinia Kane,” Clovis said with a sneer. “Stop where you are or I’ll finish her.”
Lavinia didn’t so much as flinch. “Don’t let me stop you. She deserves to die for her treachery.” She speared me with a venomous look. “Surely you didn’t think you could outsmart me, girl. I knew you’d go in early. I came along with my forces to make sure the job got done properly. As usual, it appears I must do the job of killing the Dominae’s enemies myself.”
Clearly, she included me in that group. That was fine with me; she’d become my enemy when I found out she’d been lying to me my whole life. As for the killing part, she’d have to wait until Clovis had his turn.
Disappointed he couldn’t use me as leverage, Clovis tossed me to the ground. I barely felt the impact of the cold concrete. I knew it was only a matter of time before one of them delivered a deathblow. Every part of my body ached, along with my spirit. I was tired of fighting. Tired of pain. Tired of struggling to make sense of the quagmire my life had become. Perhaps death would finally bring me some peace.
I was about to close my eyes when Adam’s head appeared above the pile of boxes where he’d landed earlier. The sight of him—his face battered but determined—warmed me. He mouthed something. I blinked through the tears I hadn’t noticed, trying to decipher his meaning. He repeated it and this time I recognized the word his mouth formed: “Fight.”
Behind me, Clovis and my grandmother were squaring off. Shouts and grunts accompanied the occasional blast of heat and sound of fist meeting flesh. I realized then it didn’t matter who won their battle. If Adam and I were going to make it out of this alive, they’d both have to be dealt with. The numb acceptance of impending death was replaced by grim resolve.
Adam was still watching me, but now he moved, ducking low as he came clear of the boxes.
He couldn’t take both of them on his own, and I knew I had to do something. Without a fully formed plan, I started clawing at the floor to drag myself along. I figured if nothing else the blood oozing from the gash on my neck would create a pretty strong circle to bind one of them, if not both. Behind me, Clovis and my grandmother were so caught up trying to kill each other, they didn’t notice me. Grandmother’s age lent her strength and speed as she attacked with fangs and fists, but Clovis held his own with zaps of demon magic combined with his own punches and kicks.
Once I’d completed my trek, I rolled onto my back, panting. Adam nodded, showing his approval of my effort. I wasn’t sure what to do next, but the mage gave me the answer. He ran at Clovis and Lavinia, waving his cuffed wrists and shouting like a berserker. The distraction surprised the pair, who stopped to gape.
I jumped into a crouch, ignoring the pain. He expected me to take advantage of the distraction he offered, but I had no idea what he wanted me to do. Adam blasted the pair with a few brass-weakened zaps of magic, but I could tell this was more distraction. Clovis and Lavinia circled Adam now, looking for an opening. I had to move soon or I’d blow the opportunity.
As I watched Clovis near the crimson circle, I knew what I had to do. My palms began to sweat even though my skin felt chilled. Left with no other choice, I scrambled to remember the spell Adam had written in the grimoire.
Clovis’s foot crossed the line. Adam shouted something in Hekatian that I didn’t understand, which was fine because I was trying to remember my part. Clovis’s eyes widened as a flash of red light extended upward from the circle. Lavinia fell back, thrown when she made contact with the bubble created by protective barrier.
“Now!” Adam yelled, causing my stomach to leap.
“Idimmu Alka!” I shouted almost from instinct. With my right hand, I etched a simple glyph in the air.
A puff of poison-green smoke announced Giguhl’s arrival. He wore a smoking jacket and held a goblet filled with neon purple liquid in his claw. He was mid-swig when he stopped and looked around, blinking rapidly. When he saw me, he stood up straighter. I sent a prayer of thanks to Lilith that he’d returned to his demon form.
“Sabina? What the—”
I pointed a bloody hand at Clovis, who stood immobile from shock a mere three feet away. Giguhl dragged his eyes from me and narrowed them at the gaping mixed-blood demon.
“Sic ’im!” I yelled.
An evil smile appeared on his lips and he tossed aside the goblet. Then he clapped his claws together and rubbed them in anticipation. “Playtime!”
He flew at Clovis and wrapped his claws around the half demon’s neck before Clovis could even scream. A sickening gurgle escaped his throat as Giguhl shook him like a mongrel dog.
