clutched my leg, swallowing down bile.
What the hell had he hit me with?
Some kind of crazy electric magic. Cold sweat dripped down my back as I looked toward the demon. He was completely ignoring me, creeping toward the open window.
Bastard thought I was down for the count.
If he’d gotten a more direct hit, I would be.
Whatever he was working with was so powerful—and he was so fast—that my bow and arrow wouldn’t do the trick. None of my magic would.
I had to fight fire with fire.
Quickly, I sliced my finger with my sharp thumbnail, smiling slightly at the bite of pain as I called upon my Blood Sorcery. I’d grown to like this pain—it was an indicator that I was in control.
As blood welled, I focused on the demon’s signature. It still reeked, but I forced myself to inhale it. It helped me mimic the magic that he’d thrown at me. I’d neutralize him with a bit of his own power. It was one of my favorite tricks. He’d never expect me to throw his own gift at him.
Slowly, it grew inside me, crackling within my chest like electricity. But there was another unfamiliar buzz there. Faint. The magic hesitated, not forming as fast as it normally would.
My Blood Sorcery had been a little uncooperative since I’d gotten my Unseelie wings, but this was worse. The magic inside me was unsettled, no doubt because of my recent transition, but I could still use it. I just had to be careful.
As the demon’s electric power surged inside me, I stood. I drew a dagger from the ether, then raised my other hand, aiming for him. I called upon the magic inside me, letting it rise to the surface and flow down my arm.
It shot from me as a bright blue current flecked with green sparkles, lighting up the night. At the last moment, the demon turned.
He fired his own blast of magic at me, and the two streams met in the middle. I winced, forced backward by the force, but kept my magic flowing. The two streams of electric energy crackled and burned, binding us in a weird dance.
I struggled to keep the magic flowing as I raised my dagger and hurled it at him.
Distracted by our joined magic, the demon wasn’t able to dodge the blade as quickly this time. It plunged into his side, and he let out a high-pitched scream, making the hairs on my arms rise.
Our joined magic crackled and danced. The demon’s grew brighter, stronger. My breath grew short as I fought it, but something strange happened.
The power that fizzed inside my chest changed. It twisted and writhed.
Oh no. The Unseelie part of me was rising again, sending my own magic out of control. It’d never been this bad, though. This was crazy. True terror fizzed through me, icing my skin and making my stomach turn.
The power burst out of me in a blast. Somehow, it joined with the demon’s stronger magic, mutilating itself. Our power fed off each other’s, growing brighter and stronger until it exploded in a blast so bright it blinded me.
I flew backward, slamming into the alley wall and sinking to the ground. Pain surged through me as I blinked, my heart thundering in my ears.
All I could see was bright white, then darkness. Magic fizzed in the air. Something was terribly wrong—I could feel it. I scrambled to my feet, my chest feeling hollow and my breath heaving.
I blinked as fast as I could, desperate to see.
Where was the demon?
Was he dead?
My vision returned in blurry bits and snatches. The outlines of buildings appeared first, then the moon. When my sight cleared entirely, I stumbled back, horror chilling me straight through.
In front of me, the ground was gone. The whole street.
In its place, there was an enormous chasm that stretched deep into the earth. I was only alive because I’d been thrown back into the alley when our magic had gone out of control.
The demon on the other side of the street was gone—because the whole earth had disappeared from beneath him. All the way up to the edge of the apartment building.
Fear spiked within me as I inspected the buildings all around. Had I killed anyone?
Please no.
This is what I’d been afraid of. My lack of control over this new magic was causing incredible damage. Maybe death.
None of the buildings had fallen into the great chasm, but it was close. The brick walls had cracked, and glass had shattered as