“You aren’t dying,” he said distantly, evaluating my pain by the look in my eyes. “The roads are clogged.” He let go of my chin and straightened. “This is worse than last time.”

An unusually small woman with a Red Cross tackle box was trying to push her way through the taller people. I heard a grunt and the man blocking her way jumped. “Oh, I’m sorry!” She beamed up at him, worming her way closer and shoving people to make a space around me. “My God, you would think they were afraid to go outside,” she muttered, eyeing me for signs of shock. “Why are there so many Weres here?”

“They cleared the hotel out for me,” I said, and Edden started edging backward and beckoning someone closer. She was poking at my leg, so I looked away, trying not to pass out. If I passed out, I’d never make it to the next fight, and there was going to be another. The vampires’ souls were gone. I’d felt them being pulled back to the ever-after, trapped in a universe that would soon shrink to nothing and die. Cormel was going to be pissed.

I looked past Trent—now on the phone with a finger in his open ear—to the night-gloomed street. Traffic was stopped, and the flashes of red and blue lights on the buildings were ominous. “I can’t believe you hired Al,” I said to get my mind off my leg, and Edden’s entire demeanor shifted to a pleased wickedness. “Seriously? Where is he, anyway?”

“Chasing down Landon.” Edden almost swaggered, so pleased was he. “He’s the one who called us in. We got here before the I.S. Ah, if it’s any consolation, Cormel agrees that the elves were trying to kill the undead.”

“No, that doesn’t help,” I said sourly, then jerked, pain stabbing me. “Ow?”

The paramedic looked at Edden, not me. “It’s still in there.”

“I know it’s still in there!” I exclaimed, and Trent smiled as he put a hand over his phone.

“Edden, the surface demons are gone, correct?” he asked, and Edden nodded.

“You need to get that leg looked at,” Edden said.

“I am,” I said snarkily, gesturing at the woman wrapping a temporary bandage around my leg so it wasn’t so awful looking.

“I mean,” Edden said, leaning in close, “by someone who can do something about it.”

I smiled hopefully at the paramedic, and she shook her head.

“No. This goes to emergency. I don’t have the forms to file for taking out a bullet.”

Trent snapped his phone closed. He looked pleased with himself and I swear I felt a tingle as his hand touched my shoulder. “My med copter is coming. I’ll take care of Rachel. Where did they take Ivy?”

“I’ve no idea.”