Kira shook her head firmly. “No. It happened before that. There’s been demon sightings for hundreds of years. So unless you’re a lot older than you look, it can’t be you.”
Joshua stared at his notes. Her words didn’t dent his own convictions, but he didn’t argue. Like he said, he didn’t have any proof. “At the graveyard, when I talked about risk, I didn’t mean the risk that you weren’t going to have what you wanted. I meant… I meant that I might be putting you at risk just by being near you, due to my heritage.”
There was a muffled scraping noise as Kira pushed back her chair. She started to move around the desk, slowly.
“I knew there was a risk you’d hate me when you found out. But I thought that risk was worth it because we know that demons target the people they see as threats. I thought… I thought if the demons saw the witch with the son of a witch hunter, whose curse had already killed his parents, they’d assume that we would try to have children as soon as possible, but they’d know that it would kill you if we did,” he said in a rush, glaring at his notes now. “I hoped that they’d turn theirattentions elsewhere while we were married. That it would make you less of a target.”
Kira’s fingers brushed against his chin. He let her guide him, tilting his face up to hers. Her blue eyes glimmered with tears as she leaned in. Her lips brushed against his. Joshua held himself still, wanting to hold her but also knowing she needed to set the pace.
She pulled away, her hand lingering on his face. “You’ve given me a lot to think about.”
“Think about,” he repeated.
“I’m still hurt, Joshua. I still wish you’d told me everything. But… but call me after you go patrol,” she murmured. “I worry about you.”
***
I worry about you.The words still lingered in his mind when he and the special ops were out in the forest later that day, tracking down a missing woman. He was distracted, wanting to get back to town and call Kira. It felt like they might be at a turning point. Maybe he had turned, maybe they had a chance now.
The scent of blood hit his nose.
He slowed, flicking his tail to tell the special ops to spread out. His focus returned to the scene, razor-sharp as he crept forward, searching for the source of the blood.
He saw a pale hand lying beneath a bunch of ferns. Then a terrible scream filled the forest, and dozens of shadowy snakes dropped from the trees onto the wolves’ backs.
Chapter 19 - Kira
Kira was just finishing sorting out all the potions ingredients Gwen and Chelsey insisted on bringing from Joshua’s house when the other two women burst into the kitchen. Lianne, in her wolf form, jumped in after them, growling. They were wild-eyed and panting heavily. Gwen’s cheeks flushed pink as she strode forward, seizing Kira’s hand.
“We need to make a protection circle that we can transport to the special ops team,” she said between puffs of breath. “They’ve been attacked. One of them made it back, but the others are cut off.”
Kira’s heart jumped to her throat. Joshua! Something stirred inside of her, a deep ache in her chest, like something inside was trying to tear itself free. She closed her eyes, shoving aside her emotions. They were here in town. How could they cast a spell to protect the team far away like that?
“Lianne, you’re going to help me make potions,” Chelsey said. “When the team comes back, we’re going to need to heal them, so we’re going to make as many batches as possible. Okay?’
Kira opened her eyes again. Lianne had shifted to human form once more, wearing a shift dress. Her face was pale, but she nodded. As Kira started forward to help, Gwen grabbed her arm and jerked her toward the living room.
“We’re going outside to cast a protection circle,” Gwen told her. “I’ve been reading, and I think I’ve got it figured out. But I won’t be able to do it on my own.”
“How can I—” Kira started, but a fierce look from Gwen made her fall silent. They went outside, and Gwen started to shove ingredients into Kira’s arms, hurriedly explaining howthey’d do this. It was an elaborate spell; first, they had to create a salt circle on the grass, then place items belonging to the special ops in the circle, and cast their spell.
All Gwen had were extra shoes that the team had left at town hall before starting their patrol.
As they started to put the candles out, spaced evenly, one candle per member of the team they wished to protect, Kira asked, “Why did you bring Lianne? She’s too young to be involved in this.”
“She overheard. She was ready to run out in her wolf form to try to attack the demons herself, and Rafael had to tackle her to stop her. This was the only way we could stop her.” Gwen’s face was pale as she worked. “We don’t have time to argue.”
Kira nodded once. Her heartbeat climbed with every passing minute, and her hands shook. When they lit the candles, she straightened. What if they were too late? What if the demon had targeted Joshua? What if—
No time to panic.
“What now?” she asked, looking up at Gwen.
Gwen swallowed. “We speak the spell. We’ll need to speak in unison. Here are the words.” She passed a paper to Kira.
They started speaking together. A hum filled the air. The flames of the candles flared, sending smoke curling into the air. Sparks ignited in the salt, and each shoe they’d tossed into the circle burst into flame. Was this supposed to happen? Kira didn’t stop, not even when the smoke turned a noxious black. It wafted into her face, and soon she was choking.
Don’t stop,she told herself, forcing herself to keep speaking through gasps. Adrenaline raced through her.Don’t stop!
