Adair rounds on me. At least she’s detached her cheek from his collarbone. “No one speaks to the Scala Heir in that manner!”

That did it. I raise my hand to shoulder height, ready to bring down a whole lotta igni pain on her blonde head.

Before I can get too far, the Tinea starts to resurface. Near our feet, the soil of the Arena floor trembles and rises. Rotor-like hands break through the ground. A lumpy head and wormy body follow. The leathery skin shimmers with mucus.

Adair screams her head off.

The quills on the Tinea vibrate, then fall still. The creature sniffs through its thin nose-holes. My mind snaps into battle mode. Anger at Adair, worry for Walker, and fear about the future…It all disappears as my mind starts calculating possible attack vectors and defense moves. The dance of battle begins.

The Tinea’s hole of a mouth stretches wide. Its lumpy head turns in my direction. “Scala Heir.”

My body goes into battle stance, tail arched over my shoulder. Lincoln and I are on the same side of the Tinea. Not the best way to attack this thing.

“No, no, no!” Adair leaps between me and the demon. “I’m the Scala Heir.”

Lincoln grabs her arm, trying to pull her out of the way. She won’t budge.

The Tinea’s wormy arms extend toward Adair, ready to stab through her belly, all in an attempt to get at me. My mind clicks through different moves and counter-moves.

Yeah, that’ll do it.

Crouching to the ground, I swing out my leg, slamming my shin behind Adair’s feet. The force of my kick takes her out at the ankles. Adair stumbles backwards, falling onto the dirt floor with a thump. The Tinea’s arms whiz harmlessly above our heads.

Yes, that saved her life.

And yes, I totally enjoyed kicking her.

Adair’s mismatched eyes look wide and glossy with fear. “That demon could have killed me.” For once, she sits quietly and keeps her yap shut.

Lincoln and I stand side by side, the Tinea paused before us. The creature angles its head-lump toward me. “Scala Heir.” It starts to burrow underground. Based on the angle, it’ll resurface right behind Lincoln. Not good.

I stare at the burrowing demon and scratch my chin. The thing’s pretty harmless in digging mode and there’s no way to cut its limbs underground. We’ve got a little breather. “Lincoln, remember when I said I owed you one?”

“Clearly.” Lincoln reignites his baculum. “I have big plans for how you’ll pay me back.” Before us, the Tinea has almost disappeared into the soil.

Shifting my hips, I spear it through the head with my tail. Spinning about, I slingshot the demon across the Arena floor. It slams into the opposite wall with a gooey thwack. “The Tinea was digging to resurface behind you. Now we’re even.”