“Use your stake, Grace!” Talbot shouted. But he sounded so far away. “Use it, Grace. Kill her!”

You want to give me your stake, the woman said without speaking. Hand it to me. You know that’s what you want to do.

I gripped the stake in my hand. I’d all but forgotten it was even there. A thick fog swirled in my brain, and all I could think was that I didn’t want this terrible weapon. I couldn’t kill someone. I wasn’t a murderer. I wasn’t a monster. If the woman wanted the stake, she could have it.

I slowly lifted my arm and handed it to her.

She clutched it in her talonlike fingers and laughed. I don’t know what Daniel sees in you, she said inside my head. You’re so weak-minded.

What? I tried to ask, but my lips wouldn’t move. How did she know Daniel’s name? How did she know who I was?

But maybe tonight he’ll be more fun to party with—she lifted the stake above my heart—now that you’re dead. She thrust the stake at my chest.

But then she froze as if shocked by something. Her eyes rolled back in her head, breaking the trance she’d held me in. The fog in my mind cleared a bit, and I realized I did know her.

“Mishka?”

“Little bitch,” she said, and disintegrated right on top of me.

All that was left of her was a pile of dust. A broken chair leg fell from her back as she disappeared. It rolled off the couch and across the floor, stopping when it hit one of Talbot’s sneakers.

“You okay, kid?” he asked, and held out his hand to help me up.

I cowered from his touch and scrambled as far away from him as I could on the couch while frantically brushing Mishka dust off my pants. “I … I … knew her,” I stammered. “And you killed her.” I turned my head from side to side, searching the room for life. It was empty except for two other piles of dust and a pool of acidic ooze that ate away at the carpet. My stomach lurched. I clutched at it with my hand. “You … You killed them all.”

“Yeah, that’s kind of what I do.” Talbot brushed his hand through his hair. He’d lost his baseball cap at some point during the fight. “What did you think, we were going to take them all out for ice cream and buy them puppies?”

“No. I thought … we’d deliver them to the police. But you killed them.” It didn’t make sense. I’d seen Talbot handle April’s silver bracelet without it burning his hand. I’d assumed he was just like me—an Urbat who had powers but who hadn’t fallen to the curse. A Hound of Heaven. But if this was the first time he’d killed somebody, shouldn’t he have changed into a wolf? Except … the way he’d handled that sword, this certainly wasn’t his first kill. There had been no hesitation there. “I don’t understand. A predatory act … if you kill a person, then …”

“These weren’t people, Grace. These were straight-up demons. The werewolf curse only affects you if you kill a human. The Urbat were created to kill demons. It’s what we do.”

“But you didn’t kill that one with the gun the other day.”

“I didn’t kill him in front of you because I didn’t know if you were ready for that. Apparently, you still aren’t. You’re far more green than I expected.”

“No. It’s just that I still don’t understand. My brother fell to the curse when he tried to kill Daniel—who was a werewolf at the time.…”

“Ah.” Talbot sat next to me on the couch. I scooted away from him, not sure if I knew who he was anymore. “You see, werewolves are still human. They still have a human heart that coexists with their demon one. That’s why killing a werewolf—with malicious intent—counts as a predatory act against a human. But true demons are different. Gelals just take on a human-looking appearance. They don’t actually have real bodies at all. And Akhs—a species of vampire—take up residence in dead human bodies. Think of them as a demon infestation of a dead human. That’s why they smell like rotting meat—at least to someone with a sensitive sense of smell.” He tapped the side of his nose. “It’s also why they turn to dust when they’re killed. The infestation rapidly speeds up the decomposition of the body, so they fall apart when the demon inside them dies.”

“Oh.”

My mind reeled. Dad had given me books about werewolves, but most of those books just contained myths, no real substantial information at all, and the idea of battling a real demon had always been so far off—and seemed completely unreal—that I hadn’t bothered trying to learn much about the enemy. Talbot was right—I really was green.

And it had almost got me killed.

“Thank you for saving me. I would have just laid there and let her kill me.” I hugged my knees to my chest on the couch, feeling utterly useless. “I couldn’t help doing what she wanted.”

“Mind control,” Talbot said. “Just remember never to look an Akh in the eyes. That’s how they’re different from traditional vamps. Akhs are what you call psychic vampires. They feed on your life force, steal your free will. But Gelals and all vamps die the same way. Stake to the heart, or a good old-fashioned beheading.”

I shuddered, remembering the sight of the first woman’s head being severed from her body. “I was so shocked by everything, I completely forgot that there was one more of them in the house.”

“That’s my fault. I should have reminded you so you’d have been prepared. But let that be a lesson to the both of us, okay?” He smiled at me. “Rule number one: Never drop your guard.”

I half smiled, but then it turned to a frown. Daniel had said that same thing to me time and again. And I hated that I wouldn’t be able to tell him about what had happened today.

I’d have to lie to him.

The feeling of utter defeat settled on my shoulders as I surveyed the empty room again. “I just wish you hadn’t had to kill them all. I mean, we didn’t get to question any of them about Jude. If this is the gang he’s been hiding out with, then where the heck is he?”

“Jude was never here,” Talbot said. “These creatures were just amateurs. Copycats. They’re not the real Shadow Kings. The real gang would have never tripped the silent alarm at that pawnshop.”

I stood up and faced Talbot. My hands shook with anger. “Wait, you knew all along they weren’t the real gang?”