“Shae, get the hell back,” hesnarled.
“No, I canhelp!”
A demon flashed in front of her and grabbed her upper arm, grinning like a jackass. “Gotyou.”
Teeth gritted at the painful grip, she plunged the blade hard into his ribs. A raucous screech erupted from him, and he punched her in theface.
Her head snapped back, agony exploding in her skull. Goddamn bastard! Something inside her shifted and crashed, letting loose a storm. Heat exploded like a volcano. A red haze stealing her mind, she dove for thedemon.
In the distance, a terrifying roar filled the alley, like some violent animal set free. “You dare hurther?”
Shae barely heard any of it. Feeling as if she’d stepped away from the fight—like she was viewing a fast-moving movie clip—she watched the girl in the darkened backstreet fight. Her features too pale, her red hair streaming out like flames, she whirled and struck, her furious cry erupting in the alley like a death knell. The girl shimmered and disappeared…then reappeared behind another demon, her blade flashing before she fadedagain…
Shae. A familiar voice slipped into her mind, tugging at her.Follow my voice. You have to come back—c’mon, you can dothis.
She latched on to the compelling tone and slammed back into cognizance. And swayed. Strong arms grabbedher.
“Are youokay?”
Inhaling harsh gasps of air, she became aware of her surroundings, of how dark and silent the place was. Not even a stray cat skulked. She twisted in Dagan’s arms, her gaze darting around and settling on the pile of disintegrating bodies, then lowered to the dripping, bloodied dagger she stillclutched.
Oh, dear God! What had she done? Trembling like a blade of grass, she flung the weapon away. Her terrified gaze rushed to him. “I killed them—Ikilledthemall.”
“If you hadn’t, I would have. They were scourges from Hell, death’s always in the cards for them. C’mon, let’s get out of here.” He hurried her to thetruck.
Something warm dripped down her mouth and chin. She dashed it away with a trembling hand and stared blankly at the blood coating herfingers.
When she couldn’t seem to move, Dagan picked her up and put her on the seat. She bit back a whimper, her entire face aching. Hell, the scar stung viciously like glass slicing her openagain.
Gingerly, she touched the bridge of her throbbing nose. “Oww.”
He gently removed her hand and held his open palm an inch from her face. A glowing, blue light seeped out. She grasped his thick wrist. “What—”
“I’m healingyou.”
Oh, right. Warmth tingled through her skin. His eyes glowed brightly, a hint of red seeping into them. She blinked. His gaze lowered, dark lashes shielding hisirises.
Moments later, the ache in her nose and jaw receded. He pulled off his t-shirt and carefully wiped her mouth and chin. Ugh, she must have imagined the redeyes.
“Keep your head back and hold this under yournose.”
Inhaling deeply, she did as he instructed. He buckled her in then smoothed a stray strand of hair away from her cheek, startling her. “It’ll beokay.”
He shut the door and rounded the hood to the driver’sside.
How could it beokay? Even though Harvey had been teaching her to fight demons, she hadn’t killed any, not until today. And now she’d taken out several of them. Bile rushed up her throat. She swallowed hard, unable to stop the shivers spreading through herbody.
An hour later, as they headed toward Manhasset Bay, though it was close to early morning, the night seemed to grow even darker. Shae stared through the windshield, the headlights illuminating the shadowyroad.
“What exactly are your abilities?” Dagan asked, pulling her out of her troubled thoughts, his gaze on theroad.
“I don’t know. I could always sense demons and Others, but a few months ago, somethingchanged.”
He cut her a sharp look. “Explain.”
Shae lowered the shirt from her nose. “I was working on my laptop…I’m a photographic journalist. This buzzing heat started inside me and grew. Then, I don’t know what happened, but the laptop exploded and the vase and wall mirror in the room shattered. The blast flung everything across the room.”My mother included.“Soon after, I realized that when I’m scared or angry, an energy rises inside me. But never likethis.”
He didn’t say anything for a moment. She glanced at him. The light from the dashboard highlighted his stern features and bare, ripped chest. The sight distracted her. No matter how upset she felt, she was woman enough to appreciate his masculine perfection. Hell, she wanted to explore each muscle with her fingers,her—
