As the last of the zombies disappeared, the witches turned and began walking toward it.

“Fuck! We have to do something now, or it’s going to destroy them, too!” I raced forward. “We can’t let it absorb all those people.”

And then a cold thought struck me. What if Gulakah was intending to use the entire magical community as food for this thing? And what if there were more of them?

All these thoughts ran though my mind as I raced through the mist. On the astral, I could run faster than just about anybody in our group except for Roz. Smoky, in dragon form, could barely keep up with me. So I was through the mist and at the side of the egg—if that was what it was—before anybody could react.

I stared up at it as the ghostly auras of the witches moved toward it. I had to do something, break the spell somehow. And then I knew. I pulled out the Black Unicorn horn.

Crystal, with threads of gold and silver running through it, the spiraled horn was a powerhouse. It contained Eriskel, a jindasel, both an avatar of the Black Unicorn and yet a being in his own right. Not a djinn but similar in nature, the jindasels were a mysterious symbiosis.

I didn’t have time to stand on formality, nor did I know just how the horn would work over here on the astral. I held it up and called on the four Elementals who also were locked within the horn.

“I don’t know how to fight this—I don’t even know what it is, but help me.” As I focused the energy, a dazzling blast shot out, and the next thing I knew, I was standing inside the horn, with Eriskel by my side, looking horrified.

“I don’t have time to talk—we’re fighting…something. It’s going to kill a lot of innocent people unless you let me get out of here.” I stared at the jindasel, both pissed and frightened.

Today, he was standing a good seven feet tall, though that was relative considering we were in yet another interdimensional space that existed only within the Black Unicorn horn. His dark hair was tucked back in a neat ponytail, and golden rings hung from his ears. He was wearing green—a brilliant, almost blinding green.

He waved away my concerns. “Time has no meaning here. You know that.”

“I also know that I’ve lost plenty of time before on the outside, when I’ve been talking to you.” I didn’t have the energy to argue. All I could think about was getting out there and destroying whatever the creature was.

“I promise you, that won’t happen. Just calm yourself, Mistress Camille, and tell me what you’re doing.” He didn’t look happy. In fact, if I had to pin an emotion on him, he looked perturbed.

I sighed. It did no good to argue with creatures like Eriskel—they did as they pleased. A glance around told me that all four of the Elementals were watching. Huge screens splashed across each wall of the chamber, and from one, the Lady of the Land watched from a verdant forest. From the second, the Master of Winds stood beside a giant eagle, gazing down from a mountaintop. The third was occupied by the Mistress of Flames, who was sitting on a chunk of glowing lava. And the fourth contained an ocean and, with his shoulders rising above the surface, the Lord of the Depths. They all waved at me.

A table and two chairs were in the center of the chamber, as usual, and with a huff, I sat down. “Seriously, Eriskel, if you make me too late to help those people out there, so help me, I’ll make you so miserable you’ll wish you’d never met me.”

I was dead serious. We’d had enough collateral damage, and even though I didn’t know most of the witches in danger, I wasn’t about to let them become lunch for some bloated embryo of unknown origin.

Eriskel took the other chair. He straddled it, resting his arms on the back. “Do not fret, Mistress Camille. I promise you, no time will pass. I can slow it down when I wish, within this chamber.”

“I just need your help in destroying that…that…thing. I don’t even know what it is, but it’s about to hurt a lot of innocent people who are either under a spell or brainwashed. It just ate—absorbed? Whatever it’s doing, it devoured a bunch of zombies, and now it’s luring in the people who were sent to protect it.”

Eriskel cocked his head. “You don’t know what this creature is?”

“No. We haven’t been able to figure it out yet. We think it’s an egg, and we’re pretty sure that it’s connected to Gulakah, the Lord of Ghosts. He was a god in the Netherworlds until—”

He held up one hand. “I know who Gulakah is. The Black Unicorn knows all about the god.”

“Well, he was demoted and sent to the Sub-Realms. Now Shadow Wing’s using him. Did you know that, too?” I was antsy. All this talk was getting me nowhere. I wanted to get back out there and fight. But the jindasel stopped me cold with his next words.

“I did know that,” Eriskel said softly. “And I know what’s in that incubator you’re fighting.”

“Seriously?” I stared at him.

He nodded. “Yes, which is why I pulled you in here once I realized what you were attacking. Camille, it isn’t just one creature. It’s housing a nest of demons—but they aren’t from the Sub-Realms. Gulakah would have a hard time gating them over if they were, and he’d also have a hard time controlling them. No, these spawn from the Netherworld.”

I paled. Gulakah specialized in a certain type of demon, all right. “Bhouts? Is this how bhouts reproduce?”

“No, not bhouts. Those must come through a Demon Gate. No, these are worse. Spirit demons. A whole nest of them.”

Spirit demons. I shuddered.

Vanzir had described them some time back when we thought we were up against one, although it had turned out to be a false alarm. That was when I’d gotten my scar from hellhound blood. But the hellhound had been child’s play compared to the spirit demon Vanzir thought it was.

“Do you know what a spirit demon is?” Eriskel gazed at me, then softly said, “I think you do.”

I nodded, my mood plummeting. “Magic won’t do anything but feed them. That’s why you stopped me.”

“That’s why I stopped you.”

“Can we attack them on the astral, though?”

“No, you’re going to have to get back over to the other side. The egg is about to hatch. This is the way they’re fed until they break open the shell. Then the demons run rampant, feeding like ravenous dogs. Go now, tell your friends, and do what you can.”

The next thing I knew, I was standing beside the egg again, the horn in my hand. Disoriented, I shook my head to clear my thoughts as I slid the horn into my skirt’s hidden pocket and firmly zipped it up. The weapon would be of no use to us, nor would my magic. No, we needed silver to fight these creatures.

As the others caught up to me, I motioned frantically. “We need to get back over to the physical. This fucking egg is housing a nest of spirit demons.”

“Crap.” Vanzir paled. “We can’t fight them on the astral. “Meet you on the other side.” He immediately disappeared.

Roz said nothing, grabbing me around the waist. “Shade, you wait till I return for Delilah.” And—with a lurch and me clutching at his duster—we launched back into the Ionyc Seas.

The shift was even more disconcerting because of my panic over the spirit demons, but at least the fear and worry kept me from drifting. The moment we set down, Roz let me go next to Vanzir and then disappeared again.

I turned around, waiting for the blasts of magic from the line of witches, but they were processing toward the egg, now oblivious to Vanzir’s and my presences. I just hoped that would last.

Vanzir pulled out a blade, but it wasn’t silver and he grumbled and shoved it back into the sheath. “I need a silver blade.”

Spirit demons fed on magical and psychic energy, much like bhouts, but they were far more dangerous and far harder to disrupt. Magic wouldn’t work on them unless you knew a snare spell—and that would only entrap them. Neither Morio nor I was powerful enough to create one. No, we needed silver weapons.

“Wait for a moment. Roz may have more. Damn—they’re getting close!” I shouted at the line of FBH pagans and Fae, but they ignored me. “We have to stop them!”

Vanzir pursed his lips, then shoved me back a few steps. “You wait here.” He raced across the lawn, intercepting the one closest to the egg, tackling her and knocking her to the ground. I cringed, waiting for her to return fire, but she merely stood up again and began marching toward the egg again as Vanzir went on to the next.

Realizing they were fully enrapt in their purpose, I joined him, darting across the lawn to bowl over the nearest person, who happened to be an older lady. I cringed as we went rolling to the ground, hoping to hell that I hadn’t broken anything. But she didn’t look hurt, and she was struggling to get up, so I jumped up, going on to the next.

About that point, we heard shouts and turned. Morio, Delilah, Shade, and Rozurial stood there. Vanzir and I hurried back to their sides.

“They’re in a trance so deep I doubt if they realize we’re here. They seem to be totally focused, so we have to make quick work of it. The minute they touch that egg sac, it will suck them in and drain them dead.” I pulled out my dagger, which was silver if not the most lethal-looking blade. “We have to have silver to hurt them, and magic will only make them stronger.”

Delilah held up Lysanthra, her dagger. “I’m armed.”

Roz opened his duster and quickly sorted through the pile of weapons. “I have two silver blades and—oh, I have a silver spike, too. It ought to be good for something. Who all needs one?”

Morio shook his head, dropping his pack. He stood up, shurikens in hand. “These are silver. I also have a silver blade.”

But Shade and Vanzir raised their hands. Roz tossed Shade the spike, and Vanzir one of the daggers, arming himself with the other. “I guess this is as good as we get.”

As we turned to the egg, Delilah shivered. “Remind me again what these things can do. I remember their name but not so much about them. There are so many kinds of demons.”

Vanzir’s voice was raw. He actually looked scared. “Spirit demons are one of the worst. They’re from the Netherworld, because they are more of a spirit than just a corporeal demon. They have a hole where their heart was, with a vortex in it. Their tendrils emerge from there, and they feed on any magical or psychic energy around. They’ll kill you if they drain you.”

“Magic doesn’t work on them,” I added. “It’s like throwing gasoline on fire. We can only attack them on a physical level using silver. Whatever you do, don’t let them attach to you.”

As I spoke, one of the witches managed to get past us and reached the egg. I lunged forward, but Shade streaked past me. He leaped for her, catching her by the knees. She tripped and sprawled against the egg, her torso vanishing through it. Shade hollered as he tried to pull her back. Yanking, he tumbled back, and she came with him, but the moment we saw what had happened to her, I wished he’d let her go. I stared at her in horror.

She was lying there, her torso, head, and arms looking rubbery—almost like she’d been melted. But she was still alive. Holes riddled her body, as if she’d been pumped full of huge bullets, but no blood flowed, and no body fluids. Only a pale current of energy. My stomach knotted as she writhed on the ground, mouthing screams that would never be heard.

“She’s bleeding out on a psychic level.” I raised my dagger, unsure. There was no way to save her. No way to fix her.

“Do something!” Delilah screamed.

Shade started to move, but I was quicker. Wincing, an ache threatening to swallow my heart, I plunged the dagger into her chest, driving it swiftly and cleanly through her heart. She convulsed once…twice…and then was still. I looked up at the others, horrified.

“Destroy that motherfucker. And somebody—I don’t care who it is—keep the rest of these people from getting near it.” I growled at the egg. “I’m calling in reinforcements.”

I pulled out my cell phone and speed-dialed Smoky, hoping to hell he and Trillian were home from Otherworld already. While I was anxiously waiting, Roz moved to intercept the next witch. She—like the others—seemed totally oblivious to what had just gone on. It was as if they didn’t even register what was happening.

This couldn’t be brainwashing, not if they were totally ignoring their self-preservation instincts. And if they were exhibiting hive mentality, they would have swarmed to protect the egg once they noticed we’d returned. No, my guess was that they had been magically programmed, like living zombies. When we’d vanished the first time onto the astral, our threat had vanished and they could feed the spirit demons.

To my relief, Smoky answered the phone. “What’s happening? We just got back.”

“I’m so damned glad to hear your voice. We need all hands on deck. Do not bring Iris. Tell her to take Maggie and Hanna and lock themselves in Menolly’s lair—they’ll be safe there. We’re facing an egg full of spirit demons that’s about to hatch, and we’ve got a bunch of magically brainwashed FBH pagans and magical Fae throwing themselves at it like cattle feed.”

Smoky let out a slow whistle. “Trillian and I will be there in a few moments. Shamas is out in the yard. He’ll come, too. Where are you?”

I gave him the address. “Can you come through the Ionyc Seas? We need you here fast.”

“I’ve never been there, but I know a park nearby. I can carry both Shamas and Trillian. Five minutes…ten at the most.”

“Make it five. And bring silver weapons. That’s the only thing that will touch these creatures.” I hung up and turned back to the egg.