The darkbringer with the cold grabbed my throat, crushing my windpipe. The first darkbringer had turned his back to Zeran, still thinking that Zeran was on their side. His mistake. Zeran slipped one of the blue prods from under his sleeve and jammed it into his back. The darkbringer fell to the floor like a bag of rotten potatoes.

“Lights out,” I squeaked between gasping for air.

The darkbringer who had me in a choke hold frowned right before he thought to look over his shoulder. Zeran smiled at him, then knocked him out with a shock from the prod. They were going to wake up with serious headaches.

“Who are these adze?” Zeran asked as he tied up the two darkbringers.

I swallowed hard, remembering Papa’s stories about the adze. They were cunning, ruthless, and almost impossible to stop. They were creatures of the night. “They’re vampires,” I said quietly. “They feed off the blood of others to survive.”

Zeran paced back and forth. “I shouldn’t have left Billu behind. This is my fault.”

I opened another gateway. “Let’s go get your brother.”

I only hoped that it wasn’t too late.

Nineteen

OPERATION RESCUE BILLU

THE GATEWAY SPAT us out on a narrow gravel road in the middle of Bayou Teche, and we were immediately besieged by the sound of croaking frogs and chirping crickets. Towering trees covered in Spanish moss cast shadows across the surrounding swamp. The air had the unmistakable rusty scent of blood mixed with wet wood and rotten fish. “Let’s stay alert,” I said, readying my staff. “Be prepared for anything.”

Zeran slipped the prods from under his sleeves. “I’m always prepared.”

Pockets of sunlight broke through the tree branches in some places, but we couldn’t see more than a few feet in front of us. The symbols on my staff started to pulse frantically like it was warning us of the impending danger.

“Tell me more about these adze,” Zeran said as we spotted a cluster of lights up ahead. “What are we up against?”

We started down the road, and I gave him a crash course in adze lore. “First of all, they’re not your run-of-mill vampire. Crosses, garlic, holy water, sunlight, none of that stuff works against them. They’re a different breed.” I paused, and my voice dropped low. “According to legend, they prefer the blood of children. That’s how they stay young.” I bit my lip. “There’s something else I’m forgetting . . .”

“What does work against them?” Zeran asked impatiently.

“They can only be defeated in their natural form,” I said. “Otherwise, they’re nearly invincible.”

“What’s their natural form?”

“Trust me, you’ll know when you see it,” I said as we tracked closer to the lights.

“Are you being vague on purpose?” Zeran groaned.

“I’m not being vague,” I shot back. “I’m telling you what I know.”

“Which isn’t much,” he snapped.