He lunges, and this time I barely manage to duck and step away fast enough. He’s on me immediately, too strong and quick. It’s all I can do to stay away from him now.

This is nothing like sparring with Liam; this is real, and I’m no match for Kaden.

This was a mistake.

I leap away from the slash of his knife, and then Anna is there. At first I think she’s going to grab him, but then I see a flash of red as she slides her rowanberry bracelet over Kaden’s hand. He gasps as if she struck him. His form flickers once, twice, and then changes.

His skin turns bone white and withers like crumpled paper, and his face elongates, making room for rows of needle-thin teeth. His cheeks grow sunken, his eyes becoming bottomless black pits without a hint of white at the edges.

Anna backs away, her eyes blown wide with fear. “You’re a wraith,” she breathes.

“A what?” I ask.

“A spirit that’s possessed a human body,” she explains. “But then the berries—you should have been expelled from Kaden’s body!”

Kaden laughs, the sound deep and rasping. “This body is mine, little Ballinkay.”

He shoots forward and I push Anna back. Sharp claws clip my forearm; then Kaden grabs for my throat, but I’m too off balance to deflect it.

Something slams into me.

Anna and I hit the damp ground hard a second before a black shape flies over us. The bridge groans as Max completes his transformation, his massive, shadowy body filling the entire width of it. He lets out a rasping bellow somewhere between a dragon roaring and a lion hissing.

Kaden retreats. “This isn’t over, Raven. We’re coming for you on Samhain, and your pet Jabberwocky won’t be able to save you then.”

He bolts down the bridge, disappearing into the fog.

Chapter 9: Anna

When Max’s body shrinks, revealing the bridge, Kaden is gone.

I try to catch my breath as I clamber to my feet and help Colin to his. He cringes when I grab his forearm where Kaden’s claws cut him. I quickly let go, and he nearly tumbles back to the ground and pulls me with him.

“You okay?” I ask, wiping the blood I’ve gotten on my hands down the side of my pants.

“Yeah, it’s just a scratch,” he replies, before his whole face contracts in a frown. “Is Max?”

I spin around. Max is lying on his side, panting heavily. “Oh no!” I drop beside him, gathering him into my arms. “He was too far away from the house to shift. It drained his energy.”

Standing, I dump him against Colin’s chest. “I don’t want him!” he exclaims, looking unsure of how to hold him.