Page 6

“Don’t even think about it,” Damen said. He moved further over me, his chest touching mine, shielding me, and glaring at the other man.

Despite the frightening tone of Damen’s voice, Conner wasn’t subdued.

“Move out of the way,” he said, cracking his neck. When he stepped forward this time, his leg shook, and his knee almost gave out. “It’s your fault for bringing her—you can’t tease us like that. Let us have her.”

“That will not be happening under any circumstance,” Damen said. His tense fury had my palms growing hot. His shoulders tensed, and I knew he was preparing to fight.

I didn’t want Damen to get hurt trying to defend me.

An attack came, but not from where I’d expected.

One of the beasts broke away from Kasai’s corralling and lunged toward us. Despite its speed, Damen was on his feet before the creature reached us.

The onmyoji was light-footed and agile. Something flashed in his hands, and everything that followed was too quick to process. There was a movement—a slice through the air, perhaps—and one of the creatures had been thrown backward and landed in a skidding stop on the carpet.

Then, Conner smirked at me and fell to the ground. He shivered, and after a rapid succession of contortions that appeared rather painful, a beast stood in his place.

A strange mixture of intrigue and numbness washed over me. Some people might think it would be romantic to watch a shifter transformation—that it might be a beautiful sight.

Those people would be wrong.

I never wanted to witness such a disgusting display again.

A string of Damen’s swearing captured my attention, and a second later, he slammed against the opposite wall. My befuddled mind snapped back to reality at the trail of blood that was left behind as he slid to the ground.

Conner, now a beast, stalked toward the injured man.

The numbness melted away, and my heart beat loudly in my ears.

No one, not even a magical shifter of unknown breed, was allowed to hurt my friend. Poor Damen was outnumbered, which wasn’t fair at all. I had to do something.

Sure, I would probably die. It would be worth it, especially considering they appeared to have a thing for frumpy, short girls and the smell of my perfume. I would perish in my quest to protect a friend. That had to count for something.

I staggered to my feet and grabbed the nearest loose item. I had to rescue Damen.

“Hey!” I tossed the leather-bound copy of War and Peace at Conner’s head. “Don’t forget about me, you ugly thing. You don’t want to eat Damen. He’d taste fried anyway.” Being possessed by a demon would do that to a person’s insides, I was sure. In any case, I probably easier to digest.

Not that I particularly wanted them to find out from personal experience.

Conner looked back at me, wild eyes meeting my own. A nagging sense of knowing began to pull at my mind. I knew that I’d seen this type of creature before. Doglike, spotted, and slightly smaller than most predators…

Plus, that extremely unnerving laugh.

What was it?

I gasped as it suddenly clicked. Of course, I’d seen them in textbooks and in person the one time Finn took me to the zoo. But it was still strange because with every native-to-the-area breed of animal around, I hadn’t expected a hyena in this part of the country.

Conner stalked toward me while Damen, unaware, faced the other three hyenas on the opposite side of the room. To my left was a plush chair and the physical version of the cane that Mr. Weaver had been using.

A cane wasn’t great as far as weapons went, but it was certainly better than nothing. I grabbed it, holding it out in front of me as I faced the looming threat.

It was then that Kasai swooped through the air, knocking Conner to the side. The interference created a tiny opening between Jamie—who was holding his head with both hands now—and the couch and the front door.

“Bianca!” Damen’s call echoed through the room. His tone sent a shiver up my spine.

Damen’s skin was pale, his high hair had lost some luster, and his movements had slowed. He held the blood-covered sliver blade tightly in two hands. His eyes met my own in worry.

“Run!” he said. “Get out of here.”

My palms sweated. I squeezed my hands around the cane. Why was he wasting his breath on me even as the three hyenas closed on him? He should be more worried about himself.

“No…” My chest swelled as the refusal spilled from my lips. A part of me wanted to listen—my every atom longed to sprint to freedom.

But I couldn’t leave him behind. We were members of the same quintet.

It wouldn’t be honorable.

So even though it might upset him—as it’d been obvious that he thought of himself as in charge—I couldn’t obey.

“I can’t leave you,” I told him. Even though I really, really wanted to. But I’d finally found friends—a place to belong. While they were brave, and I was not, I still couldn’t run away and abandon one of them.

The onmyoji’s eyes widened, and surprise and fear touched his features. He moved in the same instant that the victorious barks echoed through the room, and two of the three hyenas that’d been encircling him—and Conner—lunged at me.

Visions of snapping, gnashing teeth, and snarls overtook my senses, and even though I should have done something—even if it were only to whack one of the beasts over the head with my pathetic weapon—my body froze.

Conner’s rancid breath touched me first, as he’d been the nearest. The barest wisp of hot air brushed my cheek as I stumbled back and fell to the floor.

The phantom anguish of teeth tearing into flesh was a prelude to the quaking terror that filled me.

The little resolve that I’d gathered to fight vanished .

I squeezed my eyes closed and, dropping the cane, covered my head as the furry creature was on me.

A ghastly roar drowned out the snarls and barks and caused my insides to shake. The hyena froze, and a large, hard form crashed into me.

The pain of teeth ripping into my flesh never came.

Whatever had tackled me held me princess-style. A sudden sense of safety and security enveloped me, even though the emotion made no sense considering the terrible sound emanating from the chest pressed against my ear.