“Run!” I yelled at Sierra and the others.

Anna let out an inhuman shriek and flung me aside. I crashed into the wall, momentarily stunned.

Sierra stood her ground, hands outstretched. A shimmering veil of white energy appeared around her fingers as she drew on her Reaper magic.

“Get away from her!” Torin shouted, grabbing a chair and swinging it at Anna. The chair shattered against her back, but she barely flinched.

Heath and Riley flanked Anna, trying to restrain her. She tossed them aside like rag dolls, fixating on Sierra with predatory focus.

I scrambled to my feet. “Don’t do it!” I warned Sierra, who was holding the shadowy sword she’d conjured in one hand and her cleaver in the other. If she wasn’t careful, she could kill Anna trying to exorcise the demon. I didn’t think my heart could hold up under another moment like what had happened with Tor’s mom – especially if this time, the victim didn’t survive. Moreso if that victim was my little sister.

Sierra faltered, the magic around her hands flickering uncertainly. In that moment of hesitation, Anna pounced.

But Sierra’s reflexes were stunning. Anna’s body went limp as the shadow blade went through her and I shouted, not knowing what happened. I ran forward and caught her before she hit the ground, sweeping her up in my arms. Her head lolled lifelessly against my chest.

“Is she dead?” I demanded, and Sierra shook her head.

“No, but we need to act quickly.”

“What do I do?”

She directed our moves, and with military precision, we sprang into action. Riley grabbed the enchanted chains Sierra conjured while Heath drew a binding symbol on the floor. As I laid Anna’s body in the center of the symbol, Torin secured the chains around her.

Sierra hastily packed supplies into bags, her hands shaking. I could see the turmoil raging in her eyes as she worked. The burden of being the Reaper weighed heavily on her shoulders. But she didn’t falter. She understood the hard choices required of her, for the sake of those she cared about. There would be time to process later; right now, we needed to contain the threat.

“We’ve got you, Sierra,” I said gently, regretting my earlier outburst. “We’re in this together.”

The others murmured their agreement. We would walk through hell itself to keep each other safe. She gave us a grateful smile.

With Anna secured, we sat back and waited for her to wake up. We didn’t know how long that might take, so we took turns keeping vigil. We needed to make sure she remained contained before she awakened. If that demonic spirit broke free again, there was no telling what havoc it could wreak.

Sierra’s eyes brimmed with unshed tears. She already blamed herself for not knowing for certain whether she could have saved Tor’s mom. According to her, it was sheer luck that Victoria was still alive. And as for Anna’s demon, she still wasn’t certain of the extent of its power.

“Hey,” I said gently, taking her hand. “We’re going to figure this out. You’ve saved all of us so far. I have faith in you.”

She squeezed my hand. I knew she was scared, but she refused to give into despair. Her inner strength never ceased to amaze me.

We had almost dozed off when a bloodcurdling shriek pierced the silence. I whirled around to see Anna writhing and clawing against her restraints, her eyes glowing malevolently. We all staggered back, stunned by the abrupt transformation.

“Hurry, strengthen the wards!” I shouted.

But it was too late. With inhuman strength, Anna tore free of the chains and lunged straight for Sierra.

Sierra barely managed to dive out of the way as Anna barreled past her, narrowly missing her throat with razor-sharp claws.

“Stop her!” I yelled, sprinting after Anna’s blurring form. She moved impossibly fast, her limbs twisting in unnatural angles as she scuttled on all fours like a demented spider.

Riley put his athletic abilities to use and gave chase, grabbing at her heels. But Anna was too quick, scrambling up the side of a wall and perching on a ceiling beam, grinning wickedly.

“Give me the Reaper, and I’ll let the rest of you live,” she rasped in a guttural voice.

“Go to hell.” Torin hurled a bolt of energy at her. She dodged it easily, cackling maniacally.

I exchanged a grim look with Heath. We both knew we couldn’t reason with whatever inhabited Anna’s body now.

Sierra stepped forward, her face grim.

“Get out of my friend,” she commanded, her eyes flaring white. I grabbed her arm, shaking my head. It was too dangerous.

Anna’s face contorted in rage, and she released an unearthly screech. The rest of the windows of the cabin exploded outward, raining shards of glass upon us. In that split second, Anna disappeared into the darkness.

We stood there, bloody and stunned. Sierra’s shoulders slumped, and I pulled her close.

“We’ll find her,” I vowed. The demon had escaped for now, but the war was far from over.

“Wait,” Sierra whispered, her eyes wide and filled with dread. “Do you hear that?”

We all listened but heard nothing.

Sierra shivered. “I think we should leave here. Before someone, or something else comes.”

Fuck.

The guys and I stared at each other. We were running out of places to hide. The Murphy cabins had been breached as had the Warner safe houses. This place had belonged to the Quinns, and she’d only found it by using her Reaper abilities to search Heath’s mind while he was unconscious.

There were only a few places left to try, and I was hoping like hell that since they belonged to my parents, they would be the last places Carlo and his goons would look.

“I might have a place, but I’ll need to check it out first. Rye, would it be safe to get to one of your boats?”

“I’ll get us close enough to walk there, but not so close we can’t get out quickly.”

I nodded. “Good enough.”

CHAPTER 16

SIERRA

The two Salvatore safe houses we scoped were clearly occupied by Maroni’s men. We crept nearby but not close enough to trigger any wards, and had our magic muted, just in case they had extended the ward boundaries.

Muting our magic wasn’t hard for the guys—since I’d destroyed the Unconsecrated within them, they weren’t quite as powerful as they’d been before—something I knew was worrying them. It worried me as well, but I assured them I still felt the blessings of their other ancestors who hadn’t given up, and that they would return to full health in time.

Meanwhile, I was strong enough for all of us, but needed their knowledge to prop up areas where I was weak. I had learned and absorbed immeasurable amounts of knowledge and power from the Reapers and Mazarin, but their knowledge of the modern world was not as strong. And the guys had made up many of their own spells to suit their needs as young people living in this age.

What none of knew how to do, however, was to deal with the fallout of Warners’ deception. I still didn’t fully know who knew what, when, but it didn’t matter anymore. The end result was the same, regardless.

We scattered awkwardly across the room of a run-down motel on the outskirts of the city. I sat on the lone chair by a tiny desk, twisting the old-fashioned phone cord between my fingers. I desperately wanted to call and check on my mother and Ethan, but it was past midnight.

Across from me, the guys were two each on the double beds. It hurt my heart to look at them, knowing things would never be the same among the four of us again. I almost went back to wishing I’d never met them, which was how I’d felt at the beginning of the school year.