to save Cosmina in front of everyone. And the clock is ticking. Why didn’t my dream fast-forward past the relatively easy vampire-only threat and give me a sneak preview of this much, much worse scenario? Whoever created this system was an idiot!
Oh. Right. My ancestors created it. Thanks a lot, jerks.
“No need to leave, my scalier mates,” the announcer calls as a few more demons book it out of the room. “I take it you’ve encountered our lovely Cosmina before. She’s been drugged. It’ll wear off quickly—we want a good show!—but she can’t get out of that pit. Don’t fret, though, little Slayer. You’ll have company soon enough!”
The room settles some, and the board flashes with new betting options.
“Before we give odds, a vote on tonight’s format: three at a time, or melee?”
There are a few bloodthirsty screams for melee. But the majority wants a longer show. Three at a time wins.
“Zompires and hellhounds and werewolves, oh my. What a night! Odds are on the board! Betting is open for the next two minutes, and then we begin!” The announcer sets down the microphone and wanders over to talk to the woman in leather. The vampire from upstairs has yet to reappear. Maybe I should have staked her after all. Or stayed up there. I could have saved Cosmina before she ever dropped into the pit. My instincts were wrong.
No, my instincts told me to kill the vampire. I could have killed her and found Cosmina. We’d already be out of here. But I hesitated. Made the wrong choice.
Now I have two minutes. I could attack the announcer, hold him hostage against Cosmina’s freedom. But is he in charge? I don’t know whether everyone—or even anyone—in here cares about his safety.
If I jump the barrier to get to Cosmina, a hundred sets of eyes will immediately be on me. And this is a crowd that has no problem killing Slayers.
I’m not so prideful I’ll risk Cosmina’s life to prove I can handle being a Slayer. I need Artemis. I’ll run out and—
A bell dings and a buzzer sounds. Three doors open, raining a werewolf, a hellhound, and whatever the hell the other creature is down on Cosmina.
The werewolf and the hellhound immediately go after each other, jaws snapping and claws grappling. They’re down in a frenzy of limbs. But the third thing—the announcer said “zompire,” a term I’ve never heard—zeroes in on Cosmina, running at her with fangs bared. Cosmina ducks and rolls past it, jumping to her feet and kicking it in the back. It flies into the barbed wire with a shower of sparks. The crowd roars.
The zompire falls, twitching.
And then it crawls toward Cosmina.
Some sense alerts me. I spin, snatching an object out of the air before it hits me. A stake. On the edge of the crowd I see Leo, who looks . . . proud. I didn’t duck this time. I caught the weapon so I could control it.
Leo and Artemis are here. I have help. But Cosmina needs it more than I do.
I whistle. The werewolf and the hellhound pause their fight, panting, and Cosmina looks up at me. I throw the stake to her.
The zompire lunges. Cosmina sinks the stake into its chest.
It poofs into dust like a vampire would. Which means it is a vampire. Sort of. But I don’t have time to think about it, because the hellhound and the werewolf have stopped fighting each other and noticed Cosmina instead.
Another buzz. Three more creatures drop down.
“Whoops!” the announcer says. “My hand slipped. Only fair, since someone changed the odds.”
Cosmina crouches, the stake gripped in her hand, as she waits for the next attack. But she isn’t the only human down there. The werewolves are people too. I don’t want to do this. I want to do anything but this.
But for the first time, I’m certain that this is what I need to do.
I leap the barrier, then jump out into the pit so I won’t hit the barbed wire. I land hard, right next to Cosmina. This time I nail the badass crouch. It’s short-lived as I duck the stake that comes swinging at me.
“I’m here to help!” I shout.
“Who the hell are you?” she demands. A hellhound lunges and I grab it, spinning and throwing it away from us.
“I’m a Watch—a Slayer!”
“Stay out of my way.” She shifts to engage the newest zompire. I duck a huge paw swiping at me, then twist and kick a werewolf hard in the