Val didn’t let her guard down as she moved into the dining room and guest bathroom. The two bedrooms were quiet and empty. That left only the living room and backyard.

She paced down the hall, hobnails barely clicking on the hardwood, and glanced into the living room. Two couches faced a TV with a coffee table. Tall cabinets lined one wall, and a large window offered a view of a fenced backyard. Val glanced around, then lowered her dagger. She strode across the room to check the back door.

Her amulet thrummed, and a pulse of heat ran through the metal.

Val whirled as the first man burst out of the cabinet. She saw the gleam of a gun’s barrel and threw herself to the floor. Shots deafened her, and the amulet throbbed as Val crawled to the cover of the nearest couch.

Pop, pop, pop. Bullets slammed into the couch, sending its stuffing flying. Val kept her hands over her head as if that would make a difference. She thought fast, then planted both feet against the couch and shoved with all her might. The heavy object skidded across the room and rammed into her attacker’s thighs, and he cursed as the gun clattered to the floor near Val.

She seized the weapon, but her amulet burned her, and her head snapped up as a second man launched from his hiding place behind the TV cabinet. He didn’t have a clear shot since his buddy sprawled over the couch behind Val, so she had seconds to make her move. Val lunged to her feet, flung the gun aside, and seized her attacker’s wrist. He screamed with agony as bones shattered in his arm, and his weapon dropped from limp fingers.

Tiny barbs pierced her skin, and a heartbeat later, electricity flooded her nerves. Her yell became a choked groan as her limbs jumped and twitched out of control. High-pitched buzzing filled her ears, and her vision turned to a dark blur.

Assholes. They’d hit her with a taser!

She hit the floor hard, limbs jerking.

“Where are they?” the guy with the broken arm screamed, cradling his wrist to his chest. “Where are those two brewers?”

“She can’t answer you, stupid,” the taser guy barked.

Broken Arm leaned out to look down the hall. “There’s a car outside.”

“They’re in there,” the taser guy yelled. “Get them!”

“No!” Val growled.

Scarlet fog bled into her vision, and the amulet’s pulses became hard, heavy thuds like a hammering heart. Val’s limbs strengthened and steadied.

“What the—” Taser squeaked.

Val rolled to her knees and got one foot underneath her, then the other.

“Hey! No!” Taser whimpered, frantically pulling the trigger. He had forgotten that tasers only fired once.

The scarlet fog was hot, fierce, and strong. She rose and looked Taser dead in the eye as she reached around and ripped the barbs from her back, then flung them aside.

Taser stared at her with round eyes. “Oh, crap.”

“Hold that thought,” Val ordered.

She whirled and ran down the hall with heavy steps that shook the walls, snorting like an angry bull. Broken Arm reached the front door, shoved it open, and stumbled into the yard, clutching his gun in his good hand. It wobbled.

“Hey!” Val thundered.

Genevieve’s engine snarled, and the passenger door opened. Val opened her mouth to yell at Tetra to stop, but Broken Arm spun and fired in her direction. Val flung herself behind the cover of a massive flowerpot by the door, and plaster dust sprayed into the air as the bullets pocked holes in the house’s façade.

Val gritted her teeth and counted the thudding bullets. Seven, eight, nine, and then a click. Broken Arm cursed.

Time to reload. Val lunged from behind the flowerpot, but Tetra reached him first.

The faerie tapped him on the shoulder. “Hey, asshole.”

Broken Arm spun, and Tetra bitch-slapped him with reverberating force. He stumbled back, the gun tumbling from numb fingers.

Val stopped at the bottom of the steps as a pulse from her amulet sent heat searing through her skin. “Tetra, get down!” she screamed. “Genevieve, get Blair and Yuka out of here!”

Smoke spun from the Mustang’s wheels as she accelerated down the street. Tetra flung herself to the ground, and Val dove back into cover as Taser ran to the doorway, firing his pistol. Bullets whined as they ricocheted off the streetlights. Screams and distant sirens filled the street, but Genevieve had disappeared.

Blair and Yuka were safe, but those assholes were bent on shooting up the neighborhood.

“Not on my watch,” Val snarled. She lunged out from behind the flowerpot. Taser whirled, aiming at her, and she launched a roundhouse kick that slammed his hand into the doorframe with a sickening crunch. The gun spun away, and Taser screamed.

The meaty thuds of kicks and punches came from behind Val as Tetra engaged Broken Arm, but she didn’t have time to look around. Taser wore a stocking cap that displayed his outraged grimace, and he swung a left hook at Val’s face. She blocked it but didn’t expect the vicious jab from his right elbow. It landed in her solar plexus, knocking the air from her lungs.

The scarlet fog surged, and the burning in her chest felt distant as she threw her arms around Taser’s bowed shoulders. The movement trapped his neck against her torso, and she clenched his neck between her powerful biceps and hung on.

Taser shoved her back with powerful thrusts of his legs, but he couldn’t twist free. Her back hit the vase, and she braced herself against it and squeezed harder. Five seconds passed. Six. Seven. Taser’s squirms grew weaker. Eight. Nine. His limbs went limp, and his knees smacked the ground.

Val released him and lowered his unconscious body to the walk. “I’m coming, Tetra!” Val yelled.

She ripped the spare magazine from Taser’s belt and kicked the gun aside, then spun to face Tetra.

The faerie stood over Broken Arm, who sprawled on the ground, groaning as blood gushed from his nose. Tetra shook out her hand.

“Asshole,” she grumbled. “I broke two nails on his face.”

Val raised her eyebrows. “Nice job.”

Tetra shrugged. “I’ve fought bigger things than that idiot.” She prodded him with a foot, and he whimpered.

A new sound thundered around them. Val tensed, fists raised, then realized it was applause. A crowd of humans stood on the street and in neighboring yards, and they clapped and whooped as police car lights painted the street blue and red.

Val plucked zip ties from her pocket. By the time the cops got out of their vehicles, she’d restrained both men with their hands behind their backs and sat them on the bottom step at Blair and Yuka’s front door. Taser was a little wobbly but starting to wake up.

A familiar figure with a well-trimmed mustache strode toward Val, his gun in his hands. “Police! Show me your hands.”

“Why should I?” Tetra barked, folding her arms beside Val.

“Tetra! Do it,” Val hissed.

The faerie’s hands jerked up, and she shot Val a furious look.

Officer Harris lowered his weapon. “Oh, hey, Miss Stonehold. It’s you. Are you armed?”

“No, sir. I was carrying my dagger. It’s on the living room floor,” Val explained.

“Okay. How about you?” Officer Harris turned to Tetra.