My heart thundered. I was way outnumbered.
When the red demon hurled a massive fireball at the dumpster, my stomach dropped. It collided with the huge metal canister just as I lunged out from my hiding space. The dumpster flew backward against the wall, crashing into the bricks.
The trash ignited as I sprinted along the side of the courtyard, drawing a dagger from the ether.
I threw it, aiming for the fire demon’s neck. He dodged, and my blade sank into his chest. He stumbled, going to his knees.
Damn it!
Not a kill shot. It was always so hard to tell with demons where their heart would be.
I drew another dagger as I sprinted for cover. My magical shield worked both ways—nothing could come in, but nothing could go out, either. Meaning no weapons.
If my options were cowering behind my magic or running and fighting, I’d take the latter any day.
I pulled a dagger from the ether, aiming it at the smoke demon. Before I had a chance to throw, a blast of gray smoke shot from his hands, hurtling toward me. I dived out of the way, but not before a third demon threw a huge icicle.
The frozen spear shot through the air and sliced across my thigh like a blade. Pain flared as I crashed to the ground. The ball of smoke hit a tree behind me, blasting away the leaves and many of the branches.
I scrambled upright and drew a dagger from the ether, calling on the muscle memory of thousands of hours of practice. I hurled it, taking out the smoke demon with a precise blow to the neck. It was really the only way to go—chests were too iffy and skulls were too hard.
He gurgled, blood spurting, as he fell to his knees.
The remaining three demons roared. The little lightning demon’s hands crackled with light around the claws—he was charged up and ready to hurl another bolt. A creepy white demon unhinged his jaw, opening it wide to reveal six-inch fangs.
Please, don’t be super fast.
I didn’t want him sinking those chompers into me.
The ice demon’s skin glowed blue and pale, looking cold even from this distance, and the wounded fire demon was staggering to his feet. Flames blazed around his hands, and vengeance burned in his eyes.
Oh boy. I was in big freaking trouble and way outnumbered.
I sprinted for cover behind another dumpster as I hurled my dagger at him, aiming for the neck. It sank into his flesh, sending him flying backward.
Points for me!
Except then the white demon with the long fangs split himself in two and became two separate demons. Then three.
Oh crap.
“Hurry up, Ana!” Bree said. “Lavender is getting close to the finish line. Angus isn’t far behind.”
Shit. I was losing and I was about to be killed by demons. The lightning demon raised his hands and shot a bolt at me. I called on my magic, throwing out my shield just in time. The lightning plowed into the shield, making the barrier flare white as it took the damage. My arms shook with the force of it, and sweat popped out on my brow. I squinted, trying to see through my whitened shield.
What the hell?
It looked like tiny figures were flying through the air.
I dropped my shield, darting right as I pulled a dagger from the ether. My vision narrowed in on a small creature leaping from the top of a tree onto the lightning demon. It landed on the demon’s chest and tore out its throat.
The little monster was hairless with a long tail and big ears.
A hairless cat?
I hurled my dagger at the blue ice demon. It hit the mark and blood sprayed, but not before he fired one last icicle at me. I dived out of the way, my wounded leg singing with pain.
As I crashed to the ground, I caught sight of a fluffy white ball of fur leaping out of a tall tree. It landed on one of the white demons, sending him crashing back into the fountain. Blood sprayed as the white fluff-ball tore out the demon’s throat.
Holy crap, that was a cat!
There were now only two of the white fangy demons left. One of them raced for me, unnaturally fast. I drew a dagger and nailed him in the throat just as a third cat streaked across the cobblestone courtyard and leapt onto the last demon.
The tiny orange cat mauled the monster, fangs and claws flying. A creature that small shouldn’t be able to cause so much damage!
The white Persian was streaked with blood, and the black hairless cat looked like it was having a grand time surveying the carnage all around.
Eight demon bodies were disappearing back to their underworlds, where they’d wake up eventually and try to get back to earth.
“Ana! You gotta get going!” Bree’s voice rang through the comms charm.
I gave the cats one last look. “Thanks, guys.”
They stared at me silently, and I sprinted away, determined to make up for lost time. I didn’t know who my feline helpers were, but I didn’t have time to find out.
No way I wanted to be last in a challenge again.
Eventually the Protectorate might just kick me out.
I didn’t stop to retrieve my weapons. The expensive spell that stored them in the ether would do that for me. It wouldn’t clean them, unfortunately, so I’d have to take care of the demon blood myself, but I’d deal with that later.
“I’m going through the graveyard,” I said.
“No!” Bree shouted. “Too dangerous.”
She was right. And sure, it wasn’t part of my original route since the shortcut went through one of the most deadly parts of Edinburgh, but I wasn’t willing to come in last. Normally I was a Plan B and C kinda girl—and this was Plan B.
Risky, but worth it.
I raced toward the wrought iron fence that surrounded the ancient burial site. The gate was locked so I went to the left and scrambled up and over the iron fence.
As soon as I hit the ground on the other side, a chill of fear raced over me. Mist hovered just above the ground, twining around the headstones that glowed pale gray in the moonlight. It was unnaturally cold here, even for Scotland in the fall.
I sucked in a ragged breath and ran, cutting through the headstones and praying that no ghosts waited for me.
When the temperature dropped to an unnatural chill, my heart thundered wildly.
Oh no.
The silvery blue glow rising up from the ground filled me with fear, acidic and sharp.
Phantoms.
The silvery blue light coalesced to form figures—all of them dressed in old-style clothes, the styles of which spanned thousands of years. Fancy ladies with tall hair and knights in armor. Cave men wearing furs and monks draped in cowls. Their eyes were black pits that zeroed in on me as they raised their hands and drifted nearer.
Phantoms were far worse than ghosts.
I called upon my shield, praying it would work for this. The magic flared within me, shooting out to form a protective dome over me as I ran.
But the crowd of Phantoms was too big. Their hunger too great. They collided with my shield, unable to pass through. Their magic leached through the barrier, however, reaching inside my mind and going for my worst memories.
“Protect your mind!” Bree cried through the comms charm. “Don’t let them in!”
Tears filled my eyes as I fought their magic and failed. The icy tendrils of their magic slipped inside my head, weaseling into my brain. I stumbled, stomach lurching.
“Failure,” one hissed.
“Magical nothing,” whispered another.
“Dead weight,” said a third.
They were finding my worst fears. They pushed harder inside my head, sending an icepick of pain through my mind. Phantoms didn’t speak like people—they reflected your fears back at you, using your mind.
And fates, it sucked.
“Think happy thoughts!” Bree cried.
Ha ha. Right.
All I could see was myself, failing and being thrown out of the Protectorate, having to leave Bree and Rowan, my sisters. Being forced into the outside world where my kind was hunted because we were capable of too much magic. A life on the streets, alone.
I was a Dragon God whose magic hadn’t developed yet. Supposedly, I would inherit the magic of dragons and gods—but I hadn’t. Not like my sister had, at least. Which left me vulnerable.