Slowly, the attacker climbed to his feet. Fury ripped through his eyes. I swallowed hard and glanced at the exit. Why, oh why, couldn’t I have thrown him somewhere else? He blocked the only way out.

“You have really just made things incredibly worse for you.” As if in no rush at all, he brushed the dirt from his black jeans. “Your scream did nothing. No one is coming for you. And your little trick just then…whatever it was, it didn’t work. All you’ve done is make me very angry. I will relish in this kill.”

14

He strode across the alley. Heart in my throat, I fisted my hand again, trying to figure out what it was I did before. If I had even done it. I still didn’t understand what had happened, but it felt like it had come from me. Or that ring. Of that much, I was certain.

So, now I just needed to do it again. Simple, right?

Except I had no idea what I’d done. Heat had enveloped my entire body, and then…it had lurched out of me and slammed into the attacker’s chest. Only he hadn’t caught fire. He’d just been thrown back.

It didn’t make much sense, but if I could do it again, I had another chance to escape. And I really needed it. As much as I hated to admit he was right, he was. If anyone had heard my scream, they weren’t coming. They would have been here by now.

Suddenly, I sensed a pair of eyes on me. Darkness filled the alley like a storm, and a heavy sense of despair shuddered through my body. It was almost enough to knock me to my knees.

“Mia,” a low voice spoke from somewhere nearby, but I couldn’t see the man attached to it. “Don’t move.”

Listening to a disembodied voice didn’t seem like it was in my best interests, but I also didn’t want to be stabbed to death. Not exactly the best two choices, but it was all I had.

“Sure,” I said, lounging against the wall like this situation was totally normal. “I’ll just stay here while you do your thing.”

Asmodeus slithered out of the shadows. Obviously, I’d had a hunch the voice belonged to him, but seeing him still made my breath catch. Pure and unadulterated danger rippled through his eyes, and the sword he held in his hands was...

Wait a minute. Was that a fucking sword?

He levelled it at the attacker. “If you touch her, I will fucking kill you.”

“Um…” My jaw almost literally hit the floor.

“Stay back, Mia,” he said, his voice so full of commanding anger that it shut my mouth. “Abaddon is feeling hungry for blood, and he struggles to understand the difference between friend and foe. I need you to stay back while I take care of this.”