“He should do it now,” said Quinn. Her voice was thick with tears, but strong. “If you’re going to go out, Chris, you should do it with a bang.”

Chris shook his head, just a fraction, just enough.

“He knows,” Gareth said, “I’m supposed to witness evidence of destructive abilities before I kill him. Nicholas and Gabriel demonstrated that last night. You two, however . . .”

“Then let us go,” said Michael. “We’re not going to demonstrate anything.”

“I bet I can make you show a little something,” said Gareth. He cocked the hammer and pointed the gun lower.

“No!” she screamed.

She didn’t know what she expected. Maybe some kind of Elemental show. But Michael moved, shoving Chris hard, pushing him to the ground, shielding him with his body. The gun fired.

The bullet missed Chris, but Michael cried out. Blood bloomed on his shirt. A lot.

But at least it wasn’t his head.

The Guide aimed again.

Quinn didn’t think. She flew off the couch. Her hands slammed into Gareth.

For the first time, she was glad she wasn’t one of those stick-thin twigs who lived on lettuce and water. He wasn’t a big guy, and she had the element of surprise. She hit him with the full force of her rage, and he went down.

But damn he was strong. She tried to go for his gun, but he was faster.

Then Adam was there, adding his strength to hers, pinning Gareth’s arm, trying to pry the gun from his fingers.

They were going to get the gun. And she was going to shoot this fucker in the forehead and see how he felt about it.

But she’d forgotten Gareth wasn’t an ordinary human, limited to finite things like strength and leverage.

Suddenly, she couldn’t breathe. At first she kept fighting, trying to get the gun anyway. But black spots danced in her vision. Her muscles started to cramp. Her fingers couldn’t grasp at the steel.

Adam was suffering the same thing.

She had to let go of the gun. The Guide shoved her to the side. He freed himself from their weight and stood. He aimed at Michael.

Quinn needed to move.

She needed to stop this. She needed to stop this.

She couldn’t.

She was going to see two people get shot in the head on the same day.

Only she didn’t think Michael was going to be able to stop this one.

The gun was in Gareth’s hand.

He cocked the hammer.

The sound of the gunfire made her jump. Tears sprang to her eyes again.

But Michael was still staring, still bleeding, still covering his younger brother.

The Guide was on the ground.

Quinn stared. Her brain couldn’t make sense of it.

Gareth was quickly creating his own blossom of red on the beige carpeting of the Merrick living room. He’d been shot in the head.