Page 153 of My Monster’s Keeper

“Don’t know. Doesn’t matter. She needs us to do this. So we will,” Frost says and flicks a blue flame.

“It does matter. He needs to feed,” I snarl. “He needs to kill and absorb the life to get strong.”

Wilder and Frost do a double take, and then the former grabs the nearest idiot to charge us and hurls him into the gully below.

Frost throws his head back and laughs.

I whip around, grinning at Frost.

“Drive through?” Wilder says with a chuckle.

I spit out an unexpected bark of a laugh. Together, we send another five down there.

Still not sure if it’s working or not, but my mate hasn’t called for aid, so it’s either working or it’s not.

I trust her to take care of herself, I realise. We hurl another five down there until I hear a dark laugh that rises in volume as it climbs the walls of the canyon.

My scales lift in response, and Wilder hisses and turns to look over the edge.

The wind picks up his long green hair and blows it around, but he doesn’t take his eyes from the wall. I snap the neck of the idiot that charged me, then dart to Wilder’s side, scanning the walls. There he is.

I throw myself down the cliff walls, grappling my way at breakneck speed until I arrive beside them. Stix’s black eyes peer at me, and, when he smiles, his fury is a delicious sight to be seen.

This is why he is their king.

Stix swings her into my arms. I sling her onto my back.

“Hold on.”

She tightens her grip. Stix looks at me, and we both fly upwards, climbing the side of the cliff walls easily. Blue light, unlike nothing my world has ever seen, clears a massive stage for us.

As we climb up and take our places, Frost and Wilder join us. Becky climbs off my back and, when I shift, takes my hand in hers.

There are more of them than I’ve ever seen.

“Can you take them?”

Stix looks around and shrugs. “No idea, but it will be fun to find out.”

He gathers the shadows and rips, reaches out with his hands, wrenching them free of their hosts. Bodies drop by the thousands.

His insane laughter is a glorious accompaniment to the screaming panic.

“This is too easy,” Stix hisses.

“Perhaps we can come back tomorrow,” Becky says in a whisper and picks up Pitch. “Who wants pizza and to kick Grant’s ass? And Diablos, we need to find the Demon.”

I consider it, but her plan does sound tastier. “I will agree.”

“Yeah, I’m out. This is a pointless waste of killing. I almost feel guilty,” Wilder agrees.

The portal opens, and Frost slips through. Wilder follows. Stix hesitates, but I shove him and Becky through and follow just in time for it to snap shut.

“We’re back.” I say and frown.

I inhale and smell something strange, grief and sadness and something familiar in a place I’ve never been. I turn and continue sniffing. Confused.

“What’s wrong?” Becky asks me.