If the Aper demon was only a small taste of what was to come, my city would spend many nights crying over stolen loved ones. I felt so helpless. So lost and alone. How could I stop such powerful beings? The whole situation seemed impossibly hopeless. I’d been deluding myself into thinking I stood a chance at solving the murders, and saving other lives. I wanted to help, but it wasn’t enough. I heaved and hiccupped until I had nothing left. I hated how altered this world had become.

It took a little more time, but I finally dried my tears. The demons stole my sister’s life, and would keep taking and taking until they were stopped. So what if I didn’t have all the answers? I would do everything I could to stop the gates of Hell from opening. I’d had enough.

I pushed myself up, clutched at my anger, and went to grab my pen and pot of ink. I wrote out a quick note to my family, telling them I loved them, and promised I’d be fine, but I couldn’t stay here anymore. I vowed to keep them safe, no matter what.

No one else I loved would be taken from me.

I’d use the darkest of magic to be certain of it.

“How are you doing?” I asked Claudia. Her face was splotchy and her eyes were swollen.

“Please, come in.” She opened the door to her home and I stepped inside. The curtains were all drawn tightly. Glittery black candles burned and flickered on almost every surface, giving off a peppery scent. An altar piled with animal bones and bunches of dried herbs adorned the top of a small chest in the sitting room. A mirror lay against the wall behind it, reflecting the macabre scene back at me. I’d almost forgotten poor Valentina had been murdered.

It felt like a year ago, not just a day.

“Are you all right?”

“I’m not sure. I feel a strange mixture of emotions.” Claudia’s voice was quiet. She motioned for us to sit on a threadbare sofa before the altar of mourning. “At first I felt like someone had ripped out my heart, too. Then I felt numb. And now . . .” she sniffled, shook her head. She wouldn’t meet my gaze.

“Now you want vengeance.”

She glanced up sharply, and swiped at her nose. “Is that wrong?”

“No. I used to think it was, but not anymore.” I swiveled on the cushion and clutched her hands. “Do you have a spell to make a ward that’s powerful enough to kill a demon if it tries crossing it?”

Claudia’s grip on me tightened and she set her jaw. “I believe so.”

“Even an invisible one?”

“Yes.”