stumbling, one half of his body moving much slower than the other.
The third vampire leaped over the counter. Zylas met him with open claws and tried to ram his fingers between the man’s ribs. The vampire twisted away, then struck Zylas in the chest. The demon slammed into the fridge, crushing the female vampire all over again.
With a furious shriek, she flung the door open, throwing Zylas forward. Unhampered by her broken bones, she lunged for his back. The other vampire sprang at his front.
The terrifying memory of pointed fangs sinking into his skin flashed through me.
“Ori eruptum impello!” I yelled.
My new artifact flashed brightly and a dome of pale light burst from it. It expanded outward—and everything it touched was flung away from it: a toaster, a knife block, a drain tray full of dishes—
—and the two vampires and demon in front of me.
The vampires slammed into the counters on either side while Zylas was blasted across the length of the kitchen. He landed hard on his back, ten feet away. The fridge door slammed yet again and all the glass inside shattered.
My mouth hung open.
The vampires jumped back up, and Zylas rolled to his feet, shooting me his meanest glare. I winced guiltily.
Note to self: don’t use spell against my demon.
Exchanging a look, the vampires split—one facing me and one facing Zylas. My face went cold. My artifact needed time to recharge before I could use it again. I was defenseless, and I couldn’t even use the sidestep evasion technique Zylas had taught me because there was nowhere to go.
The two vampires charged.
Daimon, hesychaze!
Zylas dissolved into red light. The blaze of power streaked across the kitchen, passing right through the vampires, and hit the infernus. He reformed in front of me, claws flashing. He caught the vampire’s reaching arm, planted his foot on the man’s side, and wrenched.
I almost passed out on the spot when the vampire’s arm tore off his body.
A shriek jerked my attention away from the bloodletting. I expected to see Zora on the floor, but it was the vampire scuttling backward, spitting with rage and bleeding from multiple wounds he seemed unaware of. The spell that had slowed him down had faded, but one of his legs was dragging awkwardly, half severed.
He shuffled backward and Zora, several spells glowing over her wrists, drove him into the bedroom. They disappeared inside. A heartbeat of silence—then a burst of golden magic. The wave of force caught the bedroom door and swung it shut with a bang.
I whirled back to Zylas and the remaining two vampires. Now! Quickly!
Crimson magic blazed up his arms. Six-inch talons extended from his fingers, and he buried them in the nearer vampire’s chest. As the creature fell, the female vampire backpedaled in fright. Zylas stretched out his hand and two glowing triangles snapped around his wrist.
Power blazed and a spear of red light shot across the kitchen and struck the female vampire in the chest. She keeled over backward, a hole through her heart.
The bedroom door remained safely closed, and I let out a relieved sigh as Zylas banished the telltale glow of crimson from his hands. Stepping over the mess, I headed toward the bedroom to check if Zora was okay.
I got two steps and froze.
Zora was okay. I could see she was okay because she was standing in the bathroom doorway. The bathroom. Not the bedroom, even though I’d seen her go into the bedroom. The two rooms … they must be connected.
She was standing in the doorway, sword in hand and her face deathly white. If I’d had any hope she hadn’t seen Zylas’s magic, her horrified expression immediately dispelled it.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Zora’s gaze darted between me and my demon, and her hands tightened on the hilt of her sword.
Zylas shifted his weight onto the balls of his feet, his fingers curling and claws glinting.
Daimon, hesychaze!
His head snapped toward me, disbelief and fury briefly touching his face before his body melted into glowing power. Crimson light leaped into the infernus and I closed my hand around the pendant.
Just stay there, I told him urgently. Let me handle this.
The silver buzzed under my hand, then went quiet. I exhaled shakily.
Zora slowly raised her sword. “So … does this mean you don’t plan to kill me now that I know you’re an illegal contractor?”
“Of course I won’t k-kill you.” I wished my voice wasn’t shaking. “Let me explain.”
“Illegal contracts are illegal,” she snapped. “Most of them come with a death sentence for