Ursula lifted her sword, the blade glowing. She pointed it at Abrax. Flames licked along the steel, and she pressed forward. “I don’t believe you’ve met Honjo,” she said. She slashed—a short, controlled swing, carving an eight-inch gash across Abrax’s chest. The smell of burning flesh filled the air.

The demon bared his teeth. “You honestly think you can defeat me?”

“No,” she snarled. “But I can hurt you before I die.”

Abrax backed away as she advanced, her blade sparking with heat. She knew it was futile; she’d seen his power. At any moment he’d transform and rip her limb from limb. Still—this time, at least, she’d make him work for it.

Flames twisted and writhed along her blade, and its heat warmed her face. She slashed at him again, but he dodged, and Honjo only cut through wisps of smoke where he’d been standing. He tended to dodge to the right; she could use that.

“Come and get me then,” he said, a lascivious grin on his lips. “A little pain just whets my appetite.”

She feinted and stabbed to the right, where she knew he’d dodge. Honjo sizzled, the sword’s burning tip plunging through his gut.

The smile disappeared from his lips. He started to speak, but she twisted the blade, wrenching it up towards his heart.

Abrax unleashed a chilling scream.

“Got you,” she said.

But before she could finish the job, he dissipated again, leaving Honjo stabbing only vapor.

She heard a voice behind her—speaking Angelic—and she whirled. Horror wrapped its cold fingers around her heart as she stared at Abrax in his true form. Black wings beat the air, and the temperature dropped ten degrees. His talons clattered on the floor; the wounds on his chest and stomach were gone, replaced by rippling muscle.

Abrax roared, and the sound sent a chill racing up her spine. He slashed at her with a talon, but she dove under the table. When she rolled to her feet, he was gone. Heart thrumming, she searched the starlit room. Where was he?

Agony seared her shoulder as a claw pierced clean through her. With a jerk she was lifted off her feet, skewered like a piece of meat at a slaughterhouse. One of Abrax’s arms slipped around her waist, and he breathed into her ear. “Now, I’ve got you.”

The pain stole her breath. She needed to call on her fire—to burn him off her, but she couldn’t think straight. My sword… where is my sword? She glanced down at Honjo on the floor. In the shock of the pain, she’d dropped him.

Abrax tore at her shoulder again, and she let out an agonized scream.

“I have someone you need to meet,” he said in his honeyed voice. The talon had punched out under her collar bone, and agony burned through her mind, her vision blurring.