“Dammit!” I stumbled, losing my balance. Throwing out my hand, I planted my palm against the Hunter’s chest to steady myself. His skin felt cold and bloodless, like modeling clay. I shuddered. My touch seemed to affect the creature. His eyes flared wide, and a muffled moan reverberated from him. The others made that same sound as I slammed the dagger deep into the Hunter’s chest. It jerked, making no sound this time. Yanking the dagger free, I turned to the others as the first began to shrivel, collapsing into a fine layer of dust that smelled of stale lilacs.

Four more Hunters. The odds didn’t look great, but I didn’t let panic take hold as I thrust the dagger into the next Hunter’s chest. I whipped around, muscles tensing. None of the creatures reached for their swords now, but they did come at me, and a wild feeling swept through me as adrenaline surged, welcoming the fight. The expenditure of energy. Maybe even the killing. I didn’t know.

But I smiled. “Come on.”

Two advanced, and I shot between them. Twisting, I kicked out, catching one in the chest. The Hunter stumbled as I turned, shoving the dagger into its chest. A cold hand clamped down on my arm. Cringing at the feel of it, I spun sharply, stepping into the Hunter. Its surprisingly sharp fingernails cut into the skin of my arm, drawing blood. I hissed through the sting and slammed my elbow into its chin, knocking its head back. The creature let go, and I stabbed it through the chest extra hard.

As it exploded, I spared my arm a quick glance. Small welts rose from where it had scratched me, beading tiny drops of blood.

“Bastard,” I spat.

A muffled shout spun me around in time to see something grab the Hunter by the legs, dragging it into the ground.

I staggered back, staring at where the Hunter had disappeared into the disturbed gray soil. What had just happened? What in the—?

Chunks of gray exploded from the ground, showering the air. Several streaming geysers all at once, spewing dirt and grass. I threw up a hand as tiny rocks pelted my cheeks. Just as I lowered my arm, another section of the ground erupted, directly in front of me.

And what launched out of that hole would fuel nightmares to last a lifetime.

Jumping back, I stared at what definitely wasn’t a Hunter. It looked like it had been mortal once as it crouched on the edge of the jagged fissure, staring up at me. Had been being the keywords. Its skin was washed-out, a chalky gray color except for the dark, almost-black smudges under its eyes. The cheeks were sunken, its lips bleached of all color. The once-white robes it wore were dusty and ragged, torn and hanging off bony shoulders and hips, revealing patches of bloodless skin underneath.

Was this a Shade?

If so, Davina and Ash had failed to mention that they were in the godsdamn ground.

Carefully backing up, I tightened my grip on the dagger as more of these things appeared, climbing out of the ground so unbelievably fast. Too fast for something that looked really, really dead. I saw four of them, and they all were crouched, staring up at me as their nostrils flared. They…sniffed the air. A low, guttural moan came from one of them. My gaze shifted as I continued putting more space between us. It was a woman. Patches of dark, stringy hair hung from her skull. She rose.

“Don’t come any closer,” I warned, and the woman stopped. My heart thumped heavily. If these were Shades, I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to kill them. No one had mentioned what wrangling them up actually entailed.

She stared at me—all of them stared at me, no longer smelling the air. The grating, raspy sound came again from another, increasing into a high-pitched whine. Tiny bumps rose all over my skin. It sounded…hungry.

Her mouth dropped open, lips peeling back over fangs. No one had mentioned fangs either when they’d said that the Shades could be bitey. Why in the hell did they have fangs? Why had Andreia developed them in death? Did that happen to godlings?

And why in the whole wide world of fucks was I even thinking about any of that right now?

The moaning sound ended in a hiss, and that was right about the time I decided that this was not a fight I wanted to be involved in. I started to turn, only realizing then how far from the palace I’d traveled.

Ash would be angry.

But that wasn’t my most immediate problem or concern. The creature charged forward, hands curled like claws, mouth stretched wide.

There was no time to run.

Stepping into her attack, I thrust the dagger into her chest. The recessed area gave way to the blade, and a dark, shimmery red substance that smelled of rot and decay splashed my hand. Blood. It was shimmering blood. Her legs crumpled. I gasped under the sudden dead weight of her body. Unprepared, I almost went down with her, barely managing to yank the blade free and keep my footing. She remained where she’d fallen, legs twisted under her body, mouth hanging open and eyes fixed upon nothing. I waited, but she didn’t break apart into dust like the Hunters.

My head jerked up as another hissed, and my blood turned to ice. Four more of these things had appeared among the trees, coming from openings in the ground I hadn’t even realized were there.

Ash would be very, very angry.

One ran forward, fangs bared as it swiped at me. I ducked under its arm and kicked out, catching it in the leg. A bone cracked, turning my stomach. I hadn’t kicked that hard, but the lower part of the leg was broken, and it still came at me, dragging the misshapen leg behind it. I shot forward, shoving the dagger deep into its chest. The creature started to fall—

Weight crashed into me, taking me to the ground. I twisted onto my back. A ghastly face appeared inches above mine, fangs snapping. I slammed a hand into its chest, holding it off. I yanked on the dagger, a scream of frustration building in my throat when it didn’t give.

Oh, gods, it was stuck in the creature that had fallen.

 I pulled as hard as I could, my arm trembling under the pressure of the thing as it continued biting at the air. I knew if those fangs got anywhere near my skin, they’d tear my flesh open. Panic began seeping in as I wiggled, managing to get a leg under the creature. I shoved my knee into its midsection, lessening some of its weight on my arm. The dagger slid an inch. I tugged harder—

Cold, skinless fingers dug into my ankle and jerked hard. The dagger slipped free, but so did my hand on the creature’s chest. Terror was a bitter taste in the back of my mouth as I swung the dagger, driving the blade into the side of its head. Dark, foul-smelling blood sprayed my face. I gagged, jerking the dagger free as the other creature hauled me across the ground, its fleshless fingers pressing into my calf, my thigh. I shifted, reaching for the creature as I saw the others bearing down on us. There wasn’t enough time. Even if I killed one or two more, it wouldn’t be enough. I knew this even as I brought the dagger down—

A rush of cold air and icy fury roared through the trees, sending the red leaves above into a frenzy. The creature who had my leg was suddenly yanked backward and up.

Ash.

I caught a glimpse of the hard lines of his face as he flung the creature aside, impaling it on a low branch.

Exhaling raggedly, I looked up.

“Don’t,” Ash cut me off as he spun around. “Not a single word.”

I scrambled to my feet. “Excuse me?”

“In case you have trouble counting, that is two words.” He caught another by the throat, but he didn’t throw this one aside. He lifted it into the air, and that silvery-white aura flared to life, flowing down his arm. “I want you to be quiet.”

I opened my mouth as the crackling, spitting energy spread from his hand to ripple over the creature. A network of veins lit under the thing’s skin, burning white. It howled as it erupted in silver flames. I snapped my mouth shut, stumbling back a step against stiff hands. I jumped to the side as the burning creature and flames evaporated. “I want—”