I backed up until I was against the well. Above me, the glittering bridge between the sun and the moon collapsed in one great flash of light, and a white veil swept over the night, smearing light across the sky. It didn’t last long. Darkness returned, and the blood of stars began to fall, a firework of silver dust that trickled down like raindrops. The stones in the well hummed and trembled, the dim light shining from its depths growing brighter and brighter.
“There is nowhere for you to go,” the demon growled. “Return it and I won’t kill you.”
I brandished the meteorite blade with one hand and held the amulet over the well with the other. “One step closer and I throw it in.”
The demon assumed Sendo’s voice again, knowing it would torment me. “The ghosts will see you dead before they allow you to leave with the blood of stars. Return the amulet to me, and I will give you safe passage off this island.”
“Safe passage?” I snapped. “You tried to kill me.”
“Give me my amulet, and I will let you go.” A deliberate pause. “Or I can give you something your heart yearns for.”
I was breathing hard. “What do you know of my heart?”
“Edan,” the demon whispered. “You love him, and yet he pledged an oath that cannot be broken. Hand over the amulet, and I will break the oath.”
I hesitated. “How?”
“Let me show you,” he hissed, inching closer with the lethal grace of a wolf. “Just give the amulet back.”
I was torn. Are you crazy, Maia? You can’t trust a demon.
But what if he was telling the truth? What if he could free Edan? We could be together.
Listen to yourself! the logical part of my brain screamed at me. The demon is manipulating you. If you don’t take the blood of stars now, then there will be no hope of peace for A’landi. Thousands more will die. Their blood will be on your hands.
But Edan…
We’ll find another way.
“I don’t bargain with demons,” I said shakily.
“That’s too bad,” the demon said. “I was looking forward to freeing Edan. Death would be a gift for him, after serving so many hundreds of years.”
A chill rippled down my neck. The demon would have killed Edan. He had tried to trick me again!
Hatred thickened my blood. No more of this. Heart racing and fingers fumbling, I cracked open my walnut and leaned over the well, reaching deep for the shimmering silver liquid within. Just an inch more!
The demon’s shadow loomed over me. I jumped, feeling his icy-cold breath on my neck, and the walnut slipped out of my hand into the well.
“No!” I shouted.
My gut twisted with despair, and the demon cackled. “Such a useless girl,” he murmured, shaking his head.
A small vial materialized in his palm. He held it out, sharp nails glittering. “Give me back the amulet, and you may have it.”
I tightened my grip on his amulet, studying its rough black surface. Its round face was scratched and dented, likely hundreds of years old. Maybe more. It resembled the one Emperor Khanujin wore, only with a wolf in place of a hawk.
I glared at him. I desperately needed the vial. “Fine.”
With all my strength, I hurled the amulet at him. His claws rose to catch it, and in a moment of madness, I lunged forward and slammed my dagger into his shoulder. He cried out, an anguished scream that made my blood curdle.
I swooped for the vial before it shattered on the ground. The well was nearly full now. As quickly as I could, I filled the vial. I should have run immediately, but the glass shone with an intensity that transfixed me.
The blood of stars.
I held it close, staring into its sparkling depths. It would be easy to stare at it forever, mesmerized by its ever-changing colors. How many men had died trying to obtain this priceless substance, I couldn’t begin to guess. But I hadn’t escaped yet, so I capped the vial and whirled around to run—
Straight into the arms of the demon.
He was back. Black, velvety blood seeped out of the wound in his shoulder, but it was already healing in a whirl of smoke and shadow. I tried to flee, but he blocked me and wrapped his claws around my neck. The shock of his touch was like lightning. It tore through me, boiling inside my veins, silencing my thoughts, my nerves. My dagger clattered, the clang of its