It wasn’t a neighbor. I could tell by the way dread practically seeped through the cracks of the doorframe. Darkness hummed in the hallway beyond. Mouth dry, I minced across the floor.
Steeling myself, I put my eye to the peephole. Andrea stood on the other side of the door, her eyes gleaming like twin onyx stones. I sucked in a sharp breath and stumbled back. My heart beat wildly in my chest, desperate to break through my ribs and run away as fast as it could.
I’d only laid my eyes on her for a second, but I’d seen enough to know the ritual had worked. She looked different in an eerie otherworldly way that made my skin crawl. Her body seemed to pulse with power. The faint wrinkles had been swiped away from her face. She looked alive, and powerful, and fucking strong.
Strong enough to break that door down if she really wanted to.
Another knock sounded, this one louder and more insistent than the one before. “Open up, Eva. I know you’re in there. I can hear you.”
Of course she could. I took another two steps away from the door. Andrea and the others had enhanced hearing now. And vision. And strength. I didn’t want to think about what else she might be able to do.
Sarah hurtled up from the sofa and joined me in my slow creep down our long, skinny railroad apartment. “What are we going to do?”
“Get out of here,” I whispered back. “I don’t know what she wants, but we’re not sticking around to find out. She’s a demon, Sarah. And not one like Caim.”
“What does she want with you?” she hissed as we finally stepped through the door that led into Anya’s bedroom. I toed the door shut just in case. The more barriers the better. Not that a wooden door would stand a chance against an angry demon.
“My blood, I’m guessing.” My lips flattened. “That way, she can make some more demons.”
“Can’t she just use her own fucking blood for that?”
“She could, but she’d still need an orb. One she doesn’t have.”
My blood was the key. Caim believed they’d gotten what they wanted from me, and now they’d focus on the Legion. But he’d clearly been wrong. A dozen demons wasn’t enough. They wanted more.
Wood shattered in the room beyond. Sarah clutched my hand and hurled me down the length of the apartment, through my room, and right to the window looking out on the alley down below. Gritting my teeth, I hauled the window open and threw one leg over the side.
Andrea busted into the room, her eyes wild. Her gaze landed on where I’d half-climbed out the window. Glittering danger rippled across her face. In the blink of an eye, she’d latched her hands around Sarah’s throat. The sharp tips of her nails dug into her skin.
I froze, my heart in my throat. “Stop. Let her go.”
“I will.” Andrea shot me a cruel smile. “If you come with me.”
“Don’t do it.” Sarah’s eyes practically bugged out of her head as she swallowed hard. Her throat bobbed against Andrea’s grip. “You can’t let them make more demons. Go, Eva. Get out of here. Find Caim. He’ll protect you from them.”
I shook my head, horror twisting my gut. “Sarah, no. Don’t do this.”
“Go,” she whispered, her eyes pleading with me. “You’re the one who is the key to all of this. You’re the one who can stop it.”
Hovering in the window, my stomach curdled at the darkness pulsing off Andrea’s skin. Her glassy eyes swept across me, and the buzz of her demonic energy filled the room. There was something so wrong about her now. It almost hurt to look into her face, like the very sight of her was powerful enough to send me to my knees.
I couldn’t let her create any more demons. Not if they’d all turn out like this. The world would be doomed.
But this wasSarah. My heart twisted in on itself at the defiance in her eyes, despite the clear terror in her shaking hands.
I threw my leg back over the ledge and slowly stood with both feet firmly planted inside my bedroom. “Let her go.”
“For fuck’s sake, Eva. No!” My roommate shouted the word just as Andrea released the grip on Sarah’s throat and shoved her away.
The newborn demon stalked toward me. “Good choice. Your little friend would have been dead in your next heartbeat.”
“Yeah, just like you’re going to be.” I fisted my hands and braced myself. Andrea might be an all-powerful demon now, but I wouldn’t yield without a fight. I was done being pushed around by these cult assholes.
Andrea snatched at my arm. I sidestepped, grabbed a book off the top of my dresser, and swung it at her head. She laughed and darted to the side.
“You really thought that was going to work?” She shot me a smile full of teeth. “You can’t win against me, Eva. You’re not strong enough.”
“Oh yeah?” I arched a brow. “Then, why don’t you have your hands on me yet? Seems like I might be more of a threat than you want to admit. Funny, isn’t it? You went to all this trouble to turn yourself into a demon, and you’re still getting bested by a pesky human. How embarrassing.”
