Kieran and I stiffened.
“And make sure the generals and commanders are aware of this,” he instructed. “We have no idea if there are more like this out there who just haven’t been found.”
My stomach sank. I hadn’t even thought of that. Thank gods Casteel had. It made sense to send Malik back since he was still bleeding like a stuck barrat, but Casteel could’ve sent Naill or any of the other guards with him.
That’s what he would’ve usually done.
“Here.” Kieran tossed me one of his bloodstone swords, his expression locked down. “You won’t have to get too close since they are…bitey.”
“Thank you.” The lightweight sword and the feel of the smooth metal against my palm felt good. I glanced at Malik. “You could try fixing,” I said to Kieran, pointing the sword at Malik’s arm, “that.”
Interest sparked. “True.”
“Let’s get this done.” Casteel stalked past Kieran, then stopped. “Be quick and careful.”
Kieran nodded, then motioned at Malik. “Come on.”
My gaze swung to Casteel as what Malik had said to me returned like a quiet but undeniable whisper. Knowing this wasn’t the time to question Casteel, I firmed my grip on the sword. We quickly made our way to the entrance and…
Walked into chaos.
“Oh, my,” I murmured.
The air was filled with the sickening sounds of ragged growls, thin hisses, and the savage clack of snapping teeth as achildraced past us, leaping to land on a guard’s back. A man with a gaping wound across his throat sprinted out of the house down the street while several ran toward a group of stunned guards. Others darted in every direction, their bare feet slapping off cobblestones.
“Destroy the brain!” Naill shouted from our left, his sword dripping dark blood as a woman fell forward. Others darted in different directions as Emil stumbled out of the house next to us, blood dripping from his hand.
“Emil,” Casteel barked. “You good?”
The Elemental turned to us, his face as pale as a white shroud. “I just…” He swallowed. “It was a child,” he said, his voice hoarse. A pang of sorrow pierced my heart. “He bit me, and I…I had to.”
“You did nothing wrong,” Casteel was quick to say.
A woman rushed out of the shadows, the front of her cotton sleeping gown stained with dried blood. I moved forward as Casteel grasped Emil by the shoulder. The snarling woman didn’t even seem to see me until I was right in front of her, but I sawher. She was young, possibly only in her second decade of life. A curtain of tight braids slapped against her cheeks as she jerked back, her head cocking. Something seemed to move inside her milky-white eyes right before I drove the sword through her chin.
“Sorry,” I whispered just as Naill had done, wincing as I lowered her to the ground.
A blur of white whipped my head to the right as Delano leapt from the shadows, his large paws slamming onto the back of a man rushing toward me. His powerful jaws clamped down on the man’s throat. Delano snapped thegrul’sneck with one quick twist of his head. I inhaled deeply and quickly looked away.
“Poppy.” Casteel caught my arm as I moved forward. “Remember. They are no longer mortal. These are just their bodies. The sooner we put them down, the sooner their souls can be released.”
I took a shallow breath and nodded.
His eyes searched mine for a moment before he said, “I bet I can take out more than you.”
The guard with the child on his back finally grabbed him and twisted, throwing the boy off. “You want to make a game out of this?”
One side of Casteel’s lips curved up, and his dimple appeared.
“You’re so disturbed,” I muttered, looking away. “And you will not get as many as me.”
Casteel chuckled. “We’ll see.”
He snapped to the side, catching a woman—no, agrul—from behind, driving his sword through the base of her skull. “That’s one,” he said as he laid her down. “Or two if you count the one in the house.”
“I already had one,” I retorted, my gaze flickering around. Three shambled up the darkened sidewalk several feet apart.
Walking toward them, I shut my thoughts down and let instinct take over as the closest one noticed me. The low-pitched hiss sent a wave of tiny bumps rising on my skin as I closed the distance between us. I didn’t allow myself to look at thegrul’sface. It was easier that way. I thrust the sword up, cutting offthe sound with a wet give of tendon and tissue. Pulling the blade free, I looked over my shoulder. My robe spun around my ankles as I whirled, bringing the sword up. The secondgrulreached for me, and my blade pierced the base of its skull. Leaning to the side, I kicked out, knocking anothergrulback before laying the one I’d just killed down, doing my best not to notice the paper-thin skin. As I shot forward, I shoved the sword under the third one’s chin.
