“Leave him alone!” Frankie sent an energy ball at Carran, but the darkbringer didn’t even blink. One of the ghosts leaped in front of her and absorbed the blow. Frankie was about to try again when Zeran snuck up behind her and twisted her arm behind her back.

“I’ve got this one,” he called to Carran, then he pointed at me. “Take care of her and ghost boy.”

My heart could’ve flown straight out of my chest, but Zeran angled his face so Carran couldn’t see him and winked. Was Zeran really on our side, or was he pretending? I shook the cobwebs out of my head. It didn’t matter whether Zeran was a double or a triple agent right now. We had to stop Carran from controlling Eli’s ghosts before she did some real damage.

Carran squinted at Zeran. “And who are you? You’re not a part of my squadron.”

“Of course not,” Zeran said, jutting out his chin. “Your squadron couldn’t get the job done, so our lord sent me. I’m part of an undercover unit.”

Carran grimaced, her lips stretching over her teeth. “We don’t need your help.” She flipped her wrist. “Watch and learn.”

Half of the ghosts who were advancing toward Eli turned their attention on me. Their skin was ghastly gray, and their fangs grew even longer. I had never seen Eli’s ghosts like this before. Carran’s magic had transformed them to the stuff of nightmares.

“This is not right on another level.” Eli grimaced as we both backed away from the ghosts. “You can’t just change my ghosts into some cartoon haunted-house version of themselves without regard for their feelings.”

“‘Regard for their feelings’?” Carran mocked him. “I don’t care about the undead. They’re only tools to do my bidding.”

I shook my head. “The Lord of Shadows probably thinks the same thing about you.”

Carran frowned, her forehead wrinkling as if she was considering what I said, but then she moaned, “Nice try, but I’m not a fool.”

“Maybe we should agree on the definition of fool before you say that,” I shot back, which only made Carran push the ghosts harder.

Blood trickled from Eli’s nose, across his lip. The ghosts no longer begged him to stop Carran. She almost had complete control over them, but he was still trying to fight her.

Carran narrowed her eyes and tucked her chin against her chest. Her skin started to glow as the ghosts suddenly surged forward. With their teeth bared, they glided through the air at full speed. I ducked the first two that reached me, then I swept my staff up and through another ghost, who dispersed into gray smoke.

“How dare you dematerialize my ghosts!” Carran pouted.

“They’re not you’re ghosts,” I said, turning two more into smoke. “Thief!”