“Bite me.” I flashed fangs. I felt the shield wavering. It wasn’t going to last much longer.

Creede’s grin flashed bright for just an instant, fading as he started counting backward. “In three, two, one—”

The shield fell and the door and a fair part of the wall were blasted into pieces—not by the demon I’d been expecting but by good old-fashioned explosives.

The ground shook and I dropped to one knee. The blast deafened me and the combination of billowing brick dust and smoke was thick enough to make me choke. Chaos reigned. I could barely see through my streaming eyes. Adrenaline kicked in and with it vampire powers. My vision shifted into hyperfocus and time seemed to slow so that it felt as though I had an eternity to take it all in.

Carson was on one knee beside me. He raised a fist in a signal to hold positions. We froze, guns ready.

Through the smoke I saw Queen Stefania, with more than a dozen of her personal guard surrounding her. They had taken out the half dozen of Queen Lopaka’s Elite Guard who’d been hiding behind magic in the hall. But more than a few black-clad bodies were down as well. Stefania had to know she was almost out of time, that reinforcements were coming. But she refused to give up. Eyes blazing, she turned and pointed directly at me.

Me? Why me? What the hell?

I used every bit of vampire speed I had to hit my belly and crawl as fast as I could, moving toward the limited shelter offered by the nearest pile of debris as guns fired, aimed at where I’d been an instant before. Whether I’d moved too quickly or just benefited from the smoke and confusion, her men lost track of me for a second. I used that second to fire directly at Stefania. The shots should have taken out most of her chest, but they didn’t even hit. She had some sort of shield, a force field protecting her. My bullets just bounced off as she laughed.

Well, wasn’t that just dandy?

I ducked down again and scurried to another pile of debris as her people turned their sights on my position.

Our troops had moved forward, cutting off Stefania’s soldiers, forming a wall of resistance between them and me. I was grateful for the cover and for the time. I needed to think. We needed to take down Stefania.

But a force field? That was freaking impossible. No way in hell should she be able to do that. And then it occurred to me—it was exactly that: the power of hell, the magic of a demon, protecting her.

The nine clicked empty. I slid it back into its holster. I drew a different pair of weapons and began moving carefully, keeping under cover as best I could, using the chaos to my advantage. I couldn’t get too close. But with the right angle, I didn’t have to be close. I adjusted my weapons, gauged the angles, and emptied both One Shots of holy water against her shield.

The invisible barrier flared like magnesium, then fell. When it did, I pounced.

The thing is, when you rely on a demon’s magic for too long, you get overconfident. She’d lost her ability to fight. Taken by surprise, she went down hard. It was amazingly satisfying to punch her right in the face with every bit of my strength. Her cheek collapsed under the weight of the blow and blood rushed to the surface of her skin, instantly forming a blackish-purple bruise.

But she got her wits about her quicker than I’d anticipated. She got her legs under me and kicked me off, hard enough to send me flying at least ten feet. She stood and started to stalk forward.

Bullets began to rain on her from a dozen different directions. Blood and flesh exploded from each impact as her body did a gruesome, jerking dance before toppling face-first onto the ground.

A male voice filled my head. I recognized it as the voice of the greater demon, no longer syrupy sweet but so angry his very voice was a bludgeon. This isn’t over, Celia. I will have you.

I retched from the force of the intrusion. If Creede hadn’t caught me, I’d have fallen. He helped me to sit, shoved my head between my knees, and surrounded us both with a shield that pushed the demon away.

Those few of Stefania’s troops who were still alive laid down their arms as Queen Lopaka arrived with the reinforcements. They kept her guarded behind a wall of troops until every last enemy was bound. Only then did she step out from behind her guards to walk over to where Stefania lay.

I rose, a little unsteadily, and went to join her, as did Adriana and Hiwahiwa.

“She’s not dead.” I was shocked. There was no way Stefania could possibly have survived her wounds; from the look of things, most of the blood had drained from her body. Yet that same body still drew ragged breaths. I felt my stomach heave again. You’d think the vampire in me would be attracted to all the blood, but it wasn’t. She was just raw, bloody meat and I wanted none of it. I asked, of anyone who could answer, “Why isn’t she dead?”

Queen Lopaka spoke softly. “We are immortal, for the most part. Jealousy can kill us. That, and certain special magical weapons.” She knelt on the bloody ground, her trousers instantly becoming soaked with gore. Reaching beneath her jacket sleeve, she drew a knife—the knife I had given her. Thrusting her left hand into Stefania’s hair, she pulled the wounded woman’s head up sharply, exposing a length of pale neck. Their eyes met and Lopaka’s went frighteningly cold.

“You are relieved of your throne, sister.” She slashed the knife across that pale expanse of skin, but there wasn’t enough blood left in Stefania’s body for it to spray.

The vanquished siren gave one long, violent shudder and was still.

22

I was in shock. Again. The doctor said so. They wrapped me in blankets, fed me chicken broth mixed with something. It was insanely good and I wasn’t really sure I wanted to ask about the secret ingredient.

Someone herded me into the infirmary. I didn’t see who. Didn’t see much of anything, really. I kept slipping in and out of focus. Some kind soul had brought me a tall mug of hot coffee. Warmth, food, and caffeine were slowly beginning to work their wonders.

“This is insane!” Creede snarled. “The whole plan should be scrapped. There’s no way we still have the element of surprise, and without it this is a suicide mission. You can see for yourself, she’s in no shape to do anything.”

Queen Lopaka sat in a chair next to the bed I was sitting on. She was listening calmly and politely as everyone around her shouted and argued.

“I have seen—” Adriana’s voice was cold, hard.

“Seers have been wrong before,” he interrupted her. “No offense meant.” The apology was perfunctory and I wasn’t positive he meant it. Apparently he and Adriana weren’t hitting it off.

“I’ve seen it. The rest of the clairvoyants have seen it. It is necessary.” She gave me an odd look. “And Celia is tougher than you think: tougher than I would’ve suspected.”

“I don’t like it,” Creede growled. “It smells like a trap.”

“You don’t have to like it,” Adriana snapped back. “What do you think, Mother?”

Everybody turned to the queen, including me, though I felt like retching when I did. Concussion, thy name is Celia. “King Dahlmar has to do this if he is to have any hope of regaining his throne. He intends to go forward with the plan, with or without Celia’s participation.”

“Without,” Creede snapped. Adriana opened her mouth to begin the argument anew but stopped at a small gesture of the queen’s hand.

“That’s up to Celia.”

“I’m going.” I stood up and threw off the blanket. I didn’t even wobble . . . much. “How much time have I lost?”

Creede answered me, his tone making it clear that he didn’t think I’d be ready. His growl was almost protective enough to be sweet. “We leave in a half hour.”

But I don’t need protection, though I appreciated the gesture. “Good. There’s time. I’m going to need some more of that broth and I need somebody to get me a phone.”

Adriana passed me her BlackBerry. “Use mine.”

“I’ll get your food.” Hiwahiwa rose. She’d been so quiet, back in the corner, that I hadn’t even noticed she was there. I nodded my thanks as she hustled out the door. Sliding open the phone, I dialed a number I knew from memory.

“DeLuca residence.” I didn’t recognize the voice. Not really surprising. It sounded like a kid, and several of Bruno’s siblings had been breeding like bunnies. I’m not sure how he can even keep track of them all.

I didn’t bother with greetings. If I started in on the niceties and checking on all the family I could be talking for a week. “I need Matty’s direct number. It’s an emergency.”

“Hang on. He’s right here.” By the muffled sound of what followed, the kid had put his hand over the speaker. It didn’t make a difference to vampire hearing. “Uncle Matty, it’s for you. She says it’s an emergency.”

He took the phone. “Hello?”

“Matty? It’s me.”

“Celia . . . look, I’m really sorry, but—”

I interrupted him before he could say more. I didn’t want to talk about Bruno. I couldn’t even afford to think about him right now. There was no time and I couldn’t afford the distraction. “Matty, this isn’t about Bruno. It’s about the demon, the one you helped banish in the stadium parking lot. He’s back and he’s actively trying to get into this dimension.”

Matty didn’t swear, but I could tell he wanted to. He gave a sharp intake of breath and there was the sound of a door being firmly closed. “Tell me.”

I did. Even talking as quickly as I could, it took a few minutes to cover it all. But he was a good listener and smart. He let me get it all out before he started asking questions.

“So one of the summoners is dead, but there’s at least one more out there.”

That pretty well summed it up. Someone was still pulling the strings and my money was on Ren. A family that summons together and all that. “Yes.”

“And he’s targeted you specifically? Spoke directly into your mind?”