The breath I held exploded out of me when the Anzu ripped that knife out of its skull with one of those humanlike hands, then bent down and rammed Ian against the circle’s barrier hard enough for me to hear his bones shatter. I didn’t hear anything except my own screams after that. The circle’s defensive ricochet from that tremendous impact ripped me apart on the inside.

When I could focus again, Dagon’s laugh was the first thing I heard. Then the blood left my vision and I saw Ian, far bloodier than before, flying out of the Anzus’ reach while trying to avoid the sides of the circle. He must have figured out touching them was the source of my debilitating damage.

“Did I forget to mention my favorite part about Anzus?” Dagon’s voice rose with vicious satisfaction. “No weapon forged can harm them.”

Chapter 41

I could stand to watch Dagon gloat, and I could stand to die. But I could not stand to see Ian die again.

“Use your magic to get out of there, Ian!”

My hoarse shout made Ereshki smile. I didn’t care. If Ian managed to survive the Anzus, he had enough magic in him to free himself from the circle. Then all he had to do was stay alive until the first rays of dawn shone through the blue diamond, and he could teleport out of the lodge. Dagon couldn’t attack Ian directly because the spell my father cast on him meant he couldn’t get close enough, and I didn’t think Ereshki had the energy. Not from the way she looked. Setting the groundwork for Dagon’s trap appeared to have taken everything she had left.

“No,” Ian snapped, getting a bloody swipe to his side from one of the Anzus for his reply. That’s how fast they were. One moment’s distraction was all they needed.

Dagon smirked. “See how long his loyalty lasts when the Anzus are feasting on his flesh.”

Ereshki’s smile widened. Despair and rage shook me.

She laughed at what she did to you, Ian had said earlier. Every second she lives after that is too long.

My jaw tightened until cartilage snapped. Ereshki had lived too long. So had Dagon. I should have killed her the moment I recognized her at Yonah’s, and I should have killed Dagon as soon as I saw him at that theme park in Paris. I hadn’t. Now, Dagon would continue his murdering, soul-damning ways, and Ereshki would continue helping him. Countless more people would suffer and die, starting with me. But Ian didn’t have to be next.

“If I die, I’ll find a way to come back to you,” I swore in a desperate attempt to sway him. “My father said the power to resurrect resided in me. Use your magic and free yourself from that circle! If I die, I will return to you!”

A lie I wished with all my heart were true. Maybe, if I wished hard enough, it would be true. I had no way to know. There was no margin of error for whether or not I could self-resurrect. If it didn’t work, that was it.

“Yes, free yourself by killing her!” Dagon urged, grinning so widely, his lips should have split. “I want the last thing she sees to be you sacrificing her to save yourself.”

Blood painted Ian’s face red, making the flash of white from his teeth a sharp contrast as he smiled. “No weapon forged can harm these creatures? Thanks for the tip.”

Then he tore off his outer tactical gear as he flew out of the Anzus’ reach. A thick belt filled with weapons bounced off one of the Anzus before it hit the floor, then the two automatic rifles strapped to Ian’s back, then the extra silver knives he’d strapped to his forearms. Dagon watched, cocking his head in curiosity.

“Giving up so soon? How boring.”

Ian tore his shirt off in response. The gleaming expanse of pale, muscled flesh actually made Dagon stare for a moment before he caught sight of the dark bands encircling Ian’s upper arm. Then the demon’s gaze narrowed.

“What is that?”

Ian gave him a brief, savage grin. “You’ll soon find out.”

Hope flared, bright yet fragile. Caught in the grip of every horrible way Dagon had thwarted us, I’d forgotten about the horn, which had been created by the gods. Not forged by man. Could the ancient relic be enough to take down the Anzus?

I sucked in a breath as Ian flew at the Anzu that was flapping its great wings to reach him at the top of the circle. Right before Ian slammed into it, his arm shot out. The horn did, too, stabbing the creature through its open, fanged mouth. The impact rocketed them both to the ground, Ian’s entire arm disappearing down the creature’s throat. They hit the ground hard enough to make it shudder. My heart seized. Nothing was happening. Just like before, the Anzu wasn’t hurt—

Ian ripped his arm forward. The dark tip of the horn sliced through the Anzu’s back like a butcher cleaving off a tender piece of meat. It didn’t stop even when it reached the Anzu’s head. Another brutal rip, and two bony halves fell to the side, while an eruption of a thick blue fluid burst from the center. The Anzu shuddered once and then it lay completely still.

Dagon turned paler than his normal ivory visage. Then he screamed and flung himself at Ian’s circle, beating on it. But the same spell that kept Ian and I trapped also locked the demon out. Ian’s circle had the same defensive reaction to being touched on the outside as it did on the inside, though. I fell over, more blood blinding and choking me while my organs felt like they were exploding, then burning.

“Die, die, die!” Dagon screamed.

I felt like I would. That must be Dagon’s goal. A person’s body could only take so much, vampire healing abilities or not.

Then Ian’s voice cut through the merciless pain. “Veritas!”

Dammit, one more costly distraction could be Ian’s last! I forced myself into a sitting position, my abrupt wave saying worry about yourself, not me! I wasn’t the one locked in a circle with an Anzu.

Dagon kept chanting “Die!” while beating on the circle. Every blow slammed into me. Once again, all I saw was red and all I tasted was blood. I didn’t know it was possible for my body to contain this much blood, or produce this much pain. It maddened me, making me grasp at anything that could help.

I yanked my other nature out of her cage, crying out in relief at the brief respite of her being in the forefront instead of me. It lessened the pain, allowing me to see through her far more detached eyes as she rose up from my blood and the thicker, heavier things I’d retched to look at Ian.

It reminded me of Ashael’s unique spying method. Everything was coated in red, making the struggle between Ian and the remaining Anzu look more like a blood-soaked nightmare than reality.

The Anzu tore into Ian’s shoulder, fangs ripping out hunks of flesh as it slammed Ian into the circle’s invisible wall. Agony exploded, so intense that it seared me even through my other half. When it lessened and I could see again, Ian’s right shoulder was gone, his arm was hanging by only a few stubborn ligaments, and the Anzu was closing in for another gouging bite.

I screamed, hearing the echo of it leave my other half’s lips. She no longer felt as separate from me, just as I could no longer use her as a shield. The pain had stitched us too tightly together. Or maybe we were both struck with horror at the sight of the Anzu savagely ripping into Ian. His huge mouth closed over Ian’s shoulder once again, tearing at the gaping wound. Ian’s right arm hit the floor, severed. Then his back bowed from the creature’s weight as the Anzu bore down on him, wings flapping for maximum assault velocity.