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I switched to a crouch that was better suited for fleeing. “It should be blinded.”

“Seems like it.” Ruin jumped off the traffic light pole, landing in a crouch. “I’m rather impressed you didn’t hit me.”

“Maybe I tried,” I suggested.

“Nonsense, your timing is too precise for that.” He strolled up to me. I saw his red eyes flicker towards my gun so when he lunged for it, I jumped sideways out of range. “Ah—see? You’re agile enough to avoid me, so you purposely didn’t hit me.” His voice was thick with satisfaction. “That means you’re not a bad shot, you’re just honorable. Which is probably worse if we want to talk about bad character traits.”

I ignored his taunts and winced as the snake slammed its tail into a car, severely denting it and setting off the alarm. “We need to kill the snake—it’s getting too dangerous.” I started jogging down the street intending to pass the snake, then loop back and approach the snake’s head so it couldn’t smack me with its body.

Ruin kept pace with me. “See? What did I just say: bad character trait!”

The snake wildly thrashed back and forth, rapidly opening and closing its mouth. When we got close enough, I took another shot—hitting it in the bottom of the mouth.

It didn’t even react.

That’s not good.

“Let me try.” Ruin snagged a wooden plank—one of the timbers that had made up the frame of the planter the snake crushed earlier—then streaked back towards the snake.

When it flopped so its head was upright again, Ruin jumpedintoits open mouth. Using his bodyweight, he slammed the timber into a vertical position at the back of the snake’s mouth.

The snake tried to close its mouth on Ruin—nearly piercing him with one of its fangs.

Ruin started to slide out of its mouth, then the timber moved.

Ruin sighed, as if the snake was personally inconveniencing him, and shoved the timber back in place, this time staying in the snake’s mouth.

“Ruin, what are you doing?” I shouted.

“Killing it.” Ruin kicked at the roof of the snake’s head.

The monster slammed its skull on the ground, piercing its own head with the timber, so its mouth abruptly shut—with Ruin still inside!

“Ruin!” I sprinted up to the snake but had to jump backwards when it thrashed its head in the last of its death throes, its mouth briefly opening.

I saw the unmistakable flash of a furry black body and wings—a bat—streak past me.

Rooted to the road by the sight, my breathing slowed.

No. No—there’s no way.

There was a ringing in my ears, and fear—colder and sharper than anything the snake had inspired in me—swamped my body.

I’m tired—it’s making me see things. There’s no way Ruin turned into a bat.

“Ruin?” My tongue was dry, I had to be wrong.

The snake was down to small twitches making it safer to approach.

I hesitated, then took a step towards it.

“It’s dead now—hopefully done in a way you findpleasing, slayer-who-is-far-pickier-than-I-realized.” Ruin chuckled behind me, his voice low and husky.

My fears realized, I slowly turned around adjusting my hold on my gun.

Ruin stood about five feet behind me, his head cocked to the side, his stance casual and smug.

He thinks I didn’t see him. I need to keep it that way.