The guy laughed. Black fluid dribbled from the corner of his mouth. “If you want to find the pack, then why don’t you ask their Keeper?”

“What?”

He tried to laugh again, but it ended in a raspy coughing fit. Droplets of black acid landed on my hand, burning my skin, but I didn’t let go.

“He’s a real grifter, that one. Don’t you think?” the demon asked.

“Grifter? Who are you talking about—?”

I heard a cracking noise from behind me, and I turned my head slightly to see Talbot burst through the apartment door, brandishing his sword.

“Tal—?”

“Grace, watch out!”

But it was too late. I’d dropped my guard, and the yellow-teethed guy slashed at me before I could stop him. His claws raked my arm. I howled with pain and anger as blood flowed from the gash. I let go of him and staggered away. I grabbed my arm, trying to stop the bleeding. The guy’s eyes went feral with the smell of my blood. He reared his head back and then pounced at me like a lion—claws extended, jaws open for the kill.

Rage pulsed through my veins, gripping my heart. Kill him! I swung my injured arm up and impaled him in the chest with my stake. The wood sliced into him all the way to the jeweled hilt I held in my hand. I pulled the stake out, and black acid blood spurted from his wound. He fell back against the wall. Black ooze smeared down the green peeling wallpaper as the demon slumped to the ground, twitching and groaning, until he went limp. I regained my senses just in time to jump back as he exploded into a smoldering pool of acid and smoke.

I gripped the black-stained stake so hard the fake crystals cut into the palm of my hand. My heart raced like a hummingbird in my chest, and my breath came so fast I was in danger of hyperventilating.

My hands fell to my knees and I gasped for air, only to choke on the acid fumes wafting up from what was left of the demon. I stumbled backward, dizzy, and was about to collapse when warm hands grasped my shoulders.

Talbot turned me around so I was facing him. “You did it, kid! You did it! Come on, we need to celebrate!”

“Celebrate what? I didn’t get any information out of him.… He’s dead.… I failed.”

“I don’t care about information. We’ll find the other guy who was supposed to be here and get him to talk. What you should be celebrating is that you killed your first demon. You are a true Hound of Heaven now!”

“I am?”

“You are.” Talbot squeezed my shoulders. He beamed at me with his dimpled smile. “How does it feel? Wonderful, right?”

Beyond the pain in my bleeding arm, I still felt dizzy and warm and tingly all over—how I could only imagine getting high would feel. I couldn’t believe that I’d staked that demon before he could kill me—with my own two hands. “Yeah, it does.” I took in a deep breath, and as the shock of what I’d done washed out of me, I realized I was positively trembling from the sheer thrill of it all. I’d never felt so in control. So much exquisite power rushing through my veins.

“I knew you could do it, kid.” Talbot squeezed my shoulders again.

If he really thought I could do it all on my own, then why did he come bursting in here? Probably because he’d really thought I couldn’t handle it on my own. At least I’d proven him wrong. I was stronger than even he could imagine.

I raised the stake in my shaking hand. “Call me kid one more time, and I’m gonna shove this where it really counts.”

Talbot laughed and wrapped his strong arms around me. “You’re right. You’re hardly a kid.” He held me in a tight embrace and stared down at me with his bright, glinting eyes. “You’re truly amazing, Grace,” he said in a low voice.

The next thing I knew, his hand cradled my cheek, his callused fingers stroking my skin. He tilted my face toward his. His lips hovered only a fingertip’s distance away from mine. They vibrated with his breath, as if asking me to be the one to meet him the rest of the way.

I couldn’t move.

“Can I?” Talbot whispered.

I gave my head a tiny shake, my lips almost grazing his with the movement.

“Please?” The warmth of his breath made me shudder in his embrace.

“No,” I whispered, but I couldn’t bring myself to back away. “I already have someone.”

“Just once … Please. I have to know what it feels like.”

I half closed my eyes, imagining getting lost in the intoxicating idea of Talbot’s touch, but all that flashed in my mind was the look on Daniel’s face if he ever learned I’d kissed someone else. I turned my head as Talbot tried to press his mouth over mine. His lips lightly brushed my cheek instead. He dropped his hand from my face.

I stepped away from him and crossed to the open doorway. “I need to leave,” I said, my voice barely working.

“Why?” Talbot asked. “You want this. I can feel it. Stop denying yourself what you want.”

Heat flashed through my body. “I just can’t.”

Talbot’s nostrils flared, but then he dropped his gaze. “I’m sorry. I got caught up in the excitement. I’ll never do it again.” He took a step toward me.

I held my hand up to stop him and shook my head again. “It’s okay. We both got caught up. I need to get back to the bus now.”

Talbot reached into his pocket for the van keys. “Let’s go, then.”

I left the apartment and headed for the van in the parking lot. I could hear Talbot following after me, but I didn’t look back.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Need

BACK AT THE REC CENTER

We both knew I was pretending to be in a hurry to get back to the bus—it was a whole hour earlier than I needed to be there—but neither of us said anything about it. I stared out the window at the side-view mirror, concentrating on healing the burns on my hands and the claw marks on my shoulder. I replayed killing that horrible Gelal in my head, embracing the feeling of exhilarating power—the rush of it all—in order to heal my wounds.

We both stayed silent until we parked under the oak tree where he’d picked me up. I pulled on my jacket to cover up the bloody rip in my shirtsleeve and grabbed my backpack, which I’d left in the van during my little escapade. I slung it over my shoulder and was about to get out without saying good-bye when Talbot grabbed my newly healed hand.