“Elle—here!” My demon blade slide across the floor and landed next to my shoes. Zoe gave me an encouraging smile and dove for cover.
I scooped up the blade and searched for Jake.
The truth was, even with my dagger I couldn’t beat him in a brute-force attack. I had to be smart and use what I could around me. It was how I’d beaten Caden, and it was my secret weapon.
My gaze quickly scanned the kitchen, running up the walls and tracking across the ceiling. An idea formed. It was risky though and might be trickier than I liked.
I sheathed my blade around my wrist. For what I had in mind, I’d need both hands.
As Jake drew closer, I shot a current of magic into the frying pan. It shocked him enough that he let out a yelp and let go of the handle.
He shook out his hand. “That stings.”
I took another shot, this time intentionally past his shoulder. The bolt of electricity ignited a pile of dishrags.
“I’m afraid you missed on that try. Not very consistent, are you?”
Smoke clogged the air as the fire spread from the rags to a rack of kitchen items. It was fully engulfed before the sprinkler system kicked in, raining water down on our heads.
The fire extinguished, but the gushing water continued, pooling on the floor and drenching our clothes. Jake laughed, the maniacal sound sending a shiver down my spine. He charged toward me. The full weight of his body slammed me into the wall, and my head cracked against the tile.
This was the tricky part: getting to part two of my plan.
Dizziness swept through my system. Jake laughed again in my ear, and I sucked in a breath before he wrapped his fingers around my throat and cut off my air. Seconds ticked by, and my lungs burned. I tried to buck him off me, but it was no use.
Caden and I hadn’t gone over choke holds yet, but I had another training card up my sleeve.Women’s self-defense class 101: don’t panic, and move with speed in one fluid motion.I lifted my arm and rotated my body to the right, slamming my elbow down into the joint of his arm. It broke the choke hold, and I back-fisted him in the mouth.
Who needs a freaking whistle?
Blood dripped from his lips, and he spat out a tooth. His black eyes narrowed into slits, and he wiped his sleeve across his chin, leaving behind a bloody smear.
I backed away as he charged again, sidestepping toward the coffee station.What fond memories . . .The location where Caden and I had the continuation of our meet-cute. Except now, it was where I planned to make my final stand.
Reaching for a bag of coffee, I tore off the top and tossed the grounds into Jake’s eyes. His fingers clawed his face as he blinked the granules into his corneas. He growled low in his throat, cursing me with every foul word he knew.
Using an elbow strike, I hit the lever on the instant hot water receptacle, letting it fill the waiting carafe. Steam rose from the rim while I used a draft of magic to freeze the puddle from the sprinklers. The floor turned to ice, and Jake slid, his next punch off-center. His fist slammed into the tile wall instead of my chin.
Blood misted in the air as I reached back, grabbed the carafe of boiling water, and tossed it into his face. His skin turned red, and his scream of pain echoed in my ears. I grabbed his shoulders and swept his leg in the same move I’d made on Caden in our training arena.
Jake landed on his back, and this time, when I reversed the spell on my demon blade, I didn’t hesitate. I slammed the dagger into his chest, feeling the vibration as the spellcaster rune flashed bright purple and sucked his soul. His mouth opened on a cry, eyes wide with the knowledge I’d won. I wriggled my fingers—jazz hands—as he disintegrated into the floor.
I fell back onto my elbows and dragged in a huge lungful of air. The floor was covered in grounds and hot water. It coated my hands and made the area smell like freshly brewed coffee.
Zoe slid across the ice and fell to her knees by my side. “Holy crap, Elle. You’re like a ninja.”
I winced and tried to sit up straight. “Witch, actually. Though, technically, I’m also a demon-hunter. Surprise,” I said, lifting my hands palms-up.
Zoe’s mouth opened and closed in shock, and then she threw back her head and pulled me into a hug. “I don’t care what you are. Honestly, you’ve always been a little odd, but you kicked Jake’s ass! You also killed him. Jeez, Elle, you killed him. I’m not even going to ask what that blade did to his body.” She paused, glancing back and forth between me and the empty spot on the floor. “But you’ll tell me later, right? ’Cause I might want to know later.”
“Yes, I’ll explain everything later. But first . . .” I grabbed her wrist to bring her attention back to me. “Where’s the book, Zoe?”
Zoe scrunched her features. “All this for that stupid book? I hid it in the storage room behind the loose grate. You almost caught me when you came down to get that box of wine.”
“You’re kidding?”
“No. I thought you knew something was up and you’d make me give it back. I saw it a month ago on a field trip. They were talking about how rare it was and how it could be a significant find, and then I saw it again at Professor Roberts’ party. Except Jake had it, and he took it outside to his van.”
“Wait—so, Jake stole it first from Professor Roberts?”
