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Zayne just looks thoughtful, but then he’s met witches before.

“A summoning spell,” I push on. “To lure their corporeal bodies from Hell.”

“So what are you?” Killian asks. “Some sort of witch?” He sounds as though the word might choke him.

I roll my eyes, then lean down and wipe Nightfall clean on the shaggy black coat of the dead beast. I slide her into the scabbard at my back. “Yeah, right. So werewolves exist. But witches are a fairy tale?” I say, not keeping the sarcasm from my tone.

“We are not werewolves,” he grinds out.

I almost smile. In that moment, he reminds me so much of Khaosti.

Killian’s eyes search my face, his expression unreadable. I hate being looked at, and I hunch my shoulders as if that can stop him seeing who I really am.

“So whenwekill the shadowguard, all we’re actually doing is sending them home,” he says.

“Yep. Sorry about that.”

“But,” he continues, “you can draw them out and then we could kill them properly.”

In theory. “I could,” I say slowly. “If I was here.”

“Can anyone do this spell?” he asks. “I mean if you taught it to us?”

I shake my head. Some spells can be used by non-witches. Simple spells. But the spell of summoning can only be used by a powerful witch. I’m not sure that I like where this is going.

“We have an important job,” Killian says. “We’re protecting Earth from these things.” He looks me in the eye. “We need all the help we can get.”

“I understand that,” I reply, and I sympathize with him. “But there are bigger things at stake. Things you know nothing about. Other worlds, in far worse shape than the Earth.”

“I don’t care about other worlds. I care about this one. You should join us. You’re human, this is where you belong.”

Hah. That’s what he thinks. Actually, it’s what I thought up until a month or so ago. But we couldn’t be more wrong.

The fact is, I have zero human blood in my body. None. Zilch. But I don’t want to get into that conversation right now. So I just say, “I can’t. I have things to do.”

“You saw how we struggled tonight. Laura nearly died.” His expression turns hard. “I could force you to stay.”

“And I could turn you into a toad,” I snap. Actually, at the moment, I can’t, though I’m sure, once I’m in possession of all the witchy knowledge, then it will be a distinct possibility. Right now, I have no clue, but he doesn’t know that.

“I have the boy,” he says.

Beside me, Zayne tenses. I glance at his face, and I can see the flash of his beast in his expression. Yellow serpent’s eyes peer out from my brother’s face. It’s scary as shit. I reach out and rest my hand on his arm.

“Don’t get your panties in a twist,” I say to him. “He doesn’t mean it—he wouldn’t hurt Josh. He’s one of the good guys.” Might as well remind him of that. “He’s just overreacting. When he thinks it through, he’ll see that he can’t keep us here by force.”

For a moment, I think Killian is going to tell me I’m wrong, but then the tension seems to drain out of him, and he almost sags. He runs a hand through his thick hair and then round the back of his neck. He turns away for a moment, getting himself under control. And when he turns back, his face is rueful.

“I apologize,” he says. “Up until recently, we were just barely holding our own. Managing to...kill or rather send back the shadowguard that came through. But with these beasts, we’re losing. We’re failing. They’re going to be released on the population. There’s nothing we can do if they come in force.”

“I know, and I’m sorry,” I say. I wonder how much to tell him, but I can’t leave him without hope. “There’s a plan”—actuallyplanmight be too strong a word—“to destroy these things at…the source. I can’t tell you more than that, but it’s not hopeless.”

He looks at me. “Just who are you?”

“I’m nobody.” Beside me Zayne snorts but has the good sense to stay quiet—or get an elbow in the belly. “I told you, I can’t say anything else.”

He gives a sharp nod, clearly not happy, but at least accepting.

“Let’s get back,” he says. “I need to check on Laura.”