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  And that included Xavier's sister, Elsina and even Trish.

  Once the footsteps of the Dark Mage and the other man had vanished, Thoreau took a step into the room while Allunna and Russell Fox stood against either side of the doorway, making a wall. We were trapped unless we wanted to take a trip to the Infernal Dimension.

  "Alyssa. Xavier. I'm so glad that you made it," Thoreau said. "Allunna made sure that the two of you would venture up here. It's why we made it so easy for you to arrive."

  "You arranged the rigged fight," Xavier told Allunna.

  "I might have convinced Leon to," she said. "For the last several years I have been working to bring you and Alyssa here. We all have. I told Leon how he could redeem his honor in front of the other War Mages and that was by banishing you. He fell for it. It was why I let slip to you so many months ago that there was a portal to the Infernal Dimension up here and that the way to restore lost honor would be to slay a demon. I made sure the idea was planted in your mind to come up here with Alyssa, trying to save your parents. I've been molding you forever, Xavier."

  His face flushed and more adrenaline filled his blood. I had no words. I even lowered the sword a little. Without a surge of Xavier's magic I was no good against these two demons, as much as I wanted to destroy them and Russell.

  "What else did you do?" Xavier asked. "You went on that first attack. You were the only one to come back."

  "I might have given some bad directions," Allunna said, picking at her fingernail. Her neck scales glittered in the light like a bunch of sharp blades.

  "Well, where are my parents?" Xavier roared. He trembled and his arm lit with energy again, but he was struggling now. "Are they alive? Dead? Shadow Wraiths or what?"

  Thoreau stepped in front of Allunna and spoke in the voice he reserved for TV, that look-good one. "They are alive and they are not Shadow Wraiths," he explained. "I am holding them safe in the Infernal Dimension. You'll see them again if you go through with the one simple task I have for the two of you today."

  "You're lying," Xavier said.

  "I am not," Thoreau said. "I am an expert liar, true--you have to be to work in politics--but this time that's not what I'm giving you. What bargaining chip would I have if I killed your parents or made them Shadow Wraiths? Marissa made sure to put them in a deep sleep, where they've been since they were captured."

  Thoreau snapped his fingers. Everything went dark as a shock passed through my body and a vision took up everything.

  There were cots upon cots lined in a row on top of reddish rock and hardened lava. I could feel the heat of the room, enough to make me uncomfortable. Fires flickered from holes in the wall. People filled every cot. Some were Normal. Others were hairy like Les. I caught a glimpse of a pale woman who might be a vampire and another dwarf man. I couldn't tell which ones were Xavier's parents--the woman in the purple robe, maybe, and the long-haired man lying in the cot next to her. They were bathed in a reddish light with the others and they were unconscious, breathing deeply as if sleeping.

  A single pale man was lying on the other side of the purple-robed woman, also in the same trance. His dark hair and tie were ruffled, his skin pale even in the dim light.

  My father.

  Thoreau had him, too.

  The vision snapped away as fast as it came and we stood there in the chamber again with Thoreau smiling at us. "What you saw was true," he said. "I have your loved ones. The way to free them from their unfortunate state is to follow some simple tasks I have for you. This is especially important for you, Allyssa."

  He turned to me and I gulped.

  "What are you going to do to my father?" I asked.

  Next to me, Xavier remained silent. I could tell by the way he faced he he'd seen the same vision. I couldn't be sure Thoreau was telling the truth about that, either, but we had to keep some hope up.

  "I've waited centuries for you," Thoreau went on, ignoring my question. "Longer, even. Marissa is the best Dark Mage in the world and it took her a long, long time to find you. You are a rare genetic type with extreme potential and not just because you have the gene that allowed you to turn when my friend Russell here bit you. It's not very common for a family to come from two different sides of the world like yours or to bring several very rare genes together. You are the first person in all of history to have what I'm looking for."

  A sense of dread rose inside of me. There were Shadow Wraiths nearby. "If I'm so valuable, why did you try to torch me back there?" He could do it again, any time. I faced Russell Fox. "Did you find me on purpose just to bite me?"

  He nodded. "You're a bit smarter than you look with those pigtails."

  I remembered his words.

  This is the one?

  Thoreau had ruined my whole life because of what his Dark Mage told him. He'd sent Russell and his friends to bite my family and destroy us. Rage built inside. I trembled and raised the sword.

  "Alyssa," Xavier warned.

  I charged. I couldn't stop. Thoreau remained still but my sword refused to light. It bounced off Thoreau's stony chest and a force slammed into me, throwing me back against the wall while Xavier moved to stand in front of me.

  "There won't be any of that," Thoreau said. He paced around the room. "At least, not yet. You're not strong enough. Alyssa, you have the rare gene that allowed you to turn, but that's not the only reason Russell bit you. There are...other little pieces inside of you, just waiting to be activated. Five, in total. That's why Gulga, my banshee, referred to you as the Dark Pentagram. You already have two of the needed pieces active. Your current condition, and your access to war magic thanks to Xavier. But there are three more."

  "I set that up," Allunna reminded Thoreau. "I gave all our demons a piece of her blood so they could track her."

  The swords. Trish had taken them but Allunna could have easily gotten access to them afterwards.

  I stood and Xavier rushed over to stand next to me. "I chose Alyssa," Xavier said. "You didn't have anything to do with it." He kept his fist clenched but no magic flared around it.

  "That's because I got you to," Allunna said. "Who do you think sold out your last battle partner to the Shadow Wraiths? Why I didn't just kill her instead? Having you dead would have done us no good."

  I faced Xavier. "You had another battle partner?"

  He gulped. "Her name was Lisa. She was a pixie. Tougher than you'd think. She won her test battle and we were bound. The Shadow Wraiths turned her five months ago, okay? We were on patrol around...well, around...and three Shadow Wraiths got her. Elsina couldn't save her. Trish couldn't save her. We had to let her go. Our bond was broken when she turned."

  "And Leon kept lamenting what a failure you are," Allunna said. "I convinced him to give you the second chance. I told Les about the girl who could fence and sword fight. Les told you about her."

  The color all drained from Xavier's face and it wasn't all because of the wound still oozing blood from his shoulder. He was in shock. Our lives were both lies that converged. We were pawns in some game. I wondered if these people had pulled strings to get Dad that job that moved us here.

  "Can we got on to business?" Thoreau asked.

  "You're sick," I said. I wanted to shield Xavier from this humiliation. "Xavier's not a failure. Does Leon know what you've been doing?"

  My battle partner's gaze went to the floor. Pain overtook his features. He might have seen Lisa turn into some ugly billowing shadow thing, thinking that it was all his fault. Then he'd heard his grandfather reject him. It was no wonder he'd freaked out after my encounter with the Shadow Wraith. It was all making sense.

  Allunna smiled at me. "Of course not. His use to me is waning like the moon."

  They weren't going to let us out of here. That was obvious. I eyed the stairs but I had the feeling that was a trap.

  "We will be completing the Dark Pentagram tonight," Thoreau said, folding his fingers between each other. His voice deepened into a low growl. "Your bond with the War Mage is no
t as strong as it could be. I'd like to work on that first. I don't know if anyone told you, but once you are bound with a War Mage, your bond is weak. There is always an act you must do to make it stronger. It depends on the species. You will begin by biting Xavier here. Only then will you make your bond as strong as it can be."

  "I'm not doing that," I said. Every scream from Hannah rose in my mind again.

  "Oh, you won't kill him," Thoreau said. "And he is already bitten by another of your kind. If he does have the rare gene that will make him turn, you won't make a difference. It will complete your bond. You will be able to keep Xavier safe, the way he could not keep Lisa safe."

  "I know I won't kill him," I said. He was pushing me into my nightmare. "The point is, what benefit do you get out of this?"

  "The Dark Pentagram. Well, two out of five parts of it. We'll take care of the other three later."

  "And what are the other three?" I asked.

  Thoreau smiled. I hated that. "You will find out."

  "I'm not biting until you talk," I said. I needed to stall. Xavier and I could run up the stairs but Thoreau's gaze shifted to them and back to us. He didn't seem too worried about that.

  Xavier slipped his hand into mine. He was shaking. "Just do it, Alyssa."

  "What is this Dark Pentagram?" I asked.

  "Just the key to my dominion over this world," Thoreau said. "Well, you will be the key. The powerful being who will tear down the barrier between my world and this. Just imagine. We can rule over the Normals and finally get the respect we deserve. They will be the ones on the bottom of the ladder instead of us."

  "So what's going to be your campaign slogan when you run for President?" I asked. "Let's see. One step closer to hell? No. How about Working Together? You can have a demon hand and a Normal hand that are linked and the demon hand can be stabbing the Normal hand or something? Or how about--"

  "I like 'working together,'" Thoreau said. "Now, once again, on to--"

  An explosion of magenta light exploded around Xavier's hand and his energy surged through my body. He was still strong. My sword burst into magic flames.

  We charged together, releasing each other. I jabbed my sword into Thoreau's stomach and he staggered back. I withdrew the sword and Allunna took his place, growling and clawing at me with long fingernails. Pain flared across my face as she scratched me. The air stank with sewage. Demon blood. I slashed. Allunna recoiled and grabbed at her arm, then lifted it to scratch again.

  Xavier stepped in front of me, taking the blow, but instead of recoiling he punched with one flaming fist. Allunna gasped and reached for the nearest pillar, holding on as Xavier sent another blow and another. He was here for the kill. Revenge burned in his eyes. He was beating the succubus to a pulp and I would have helped, but Thoreau was advancing on me again.

  The mayor clutched his stomach. He reached up and removed his sunglasses.

  It was the most horrifying thing I'd seen.

  I expected blackness like the banshee's and Allunna's eyes. Instead, I saw twin pits of fire.

  They spiraled downwards into an abyss and I felt like I was going to fall into them. This was a demon baron, all right. The air around me heated and it had nothing to do with Xavier. This wasn't the fake war magic heat. This was something not of this world.

  I lunged and stabbed again, but Thoreau stepped to the side and smoke rose from the floor around my feet. It felt the same as it had before the wave of fire ripped through that apartment basement.

  "So I must not be that valuable," I said.

  "Oh, you are," he said. "You'll see why."

  Flames rose around me. Heat blasted against my face and Thoreau and I stood in the ring together while the flames tried to lap at my shoes, my jeans. I was on the inside of an oven. It was erupting outside of me...inside of me. I closed my eyes and it was there. A loud growl filled my head and got louder...louder...until it was worse than the banshee's scream. I dropped my sword and covered my ears, but it was all inside and impossible to escape. The heat grew until I was sure my skin would melt.

  And then with a whoosh, it was all gone.

  I opened my eyes. No fire. No smoke and no heat remained. I was alive. Unhurt.

  Thoreau stood feet away. He had put his sunglasses back on and was staring at me while Xavier stood over the still form of Allunna. She was lying in a pool of black liquid and I could tell by the lack of stench that she was dead.

  Xavier had killed his first demon.

  Thoreau frowned at the sight. "A bit sad," he said. "I sort of liked her. She was my longtime lover once, you know. Turned away from me and joined Leon when I moved on to another woman." Then he faced Xavier. "Are you proud? You get your first stripe. Too bad your grandfather won't see it."

  I couldn't describe the expression on Xavier's face. I shook my head and let out a breath. What had happened? I didn't understand why I was still alive or what exactly Thoreau had done. The fire should have roasted me.

  It had to be bad.

  Xavier struggled to speak but nothing came out.

  He had just killed his own grandfather, who didn't know what Allunna was really up to.

  It was something he could never leave behind.

  "Leave him alone," I said, fishing my sword off the floor. The only two left in the room were Thoreau and Russell Fox. Russell smiled.

  "It really is an impressive feat," Thoreau continued. "It won't work against me, I'm afraid. Now let's get to completing this."

  The despair and the dread filled the room before I saw them. The Shadow Wraiths bled from the walls of the chamber like ink and formed into large, billowing figures. Even Russell Fox recoiled from them, pulling closer to Thoreau. They formed a ring around us and threatened to pull me down to the floor with sadness. There must be three dozen of them.

  And among them could be Xavier's last battle partner, reduced to nothing more than a dead soul. The torment on his face was obvious. This was hell for him. All his worst moments were waiting for him here.

  Xavier sank to his knees.

  Thoreau smiled and faced me, unfazed by the Shadow Wraiths. Of course. They didn't bother demons. "Would you prefer to bite Xavier first, or be the guest of my friends first? It's your pick."

  I clutched my sword harder.

  There was nowhere to run. Thoreau had us trapped. We might be able to get up the stairs if we could cut through the Wraiths but Russell was already moving to stand in front of those. He shifted with discomfort as he stood right in front of two Wraiths. We'd have to go through him.

  Fine.

  "I thought Shadow Wraiths just turned you into one of them," I managed. I wanted to sink to the floor with Xavier and feel horrible right along with him. I was a monster too. I'd bit Hannah and chased my mother away.

  "In most cases, yes," Thoreau said. "They bring out the darkest parts of you as well."

  Why wouldn't he just tell me what was supposed to happen to me? What was lurking inside me that would merge the Infernal with Earth?

  I didn't want to find out. I grabbed Xavier's arm and shouted, "Fight!"

  The Shadow Wraiths wouldn't turn him. Thoreau wanted me to have his war magic. I raised the sword, screamed, and charged at Russell Fox.

  The one who had done this to me.

  The one who had ruined my life.

  He had no time to move. His eyes opened with shock as I plowed the blade into his heart.

  Russell backed into two Shadow Wraiths, who billowed and moved out of the way for him. I could tell by the despair in his eyes that the damage was already done. They had touched him. He was doomed.

  We stared at each other and I drew the sword out.

  Russell sank to his knees and looked up at me. "I'm sorry," he said, clutching his chest. His other hand splayed out on the floor and I caught something new on his forearm. A black mark, shaped like a drop of ink.

  "Thoreau," he begged as smoke rose from his chest. Embers spread across Russell and he screamed from the pain. He was burning from
the inside. I had impaled him in the heart. Even without the Wraiths he was a goner.

  This must be how vampires died.

  "Come on!" Xavier grabbed my arm and dragged me through the opening while Russell Fox continued to burn. We bolted up the stairs while black shadows and cloth swished towards us and Thoreau shouted a command for them to follow. The stairs were narrow and we passed torch after torch lit on the marble walls. We were headed to the final floor.

  The portal floor.

  Thoreau thundered up after us. I yanked Xavier up the stairs and into another, much larger marble chamber surrounded by large glass windows. Some were partly open on a catwalk and all were tinted, dimming Cumberland beyond.

  And in the middle of the room was a round, clear pool. It was surrounded in red glyphs with a golden star in the middle, shining in the torch light. The place was empty. Marissa and the man had gone.

  "That's the portal," Xavier shouted. "It's not active. There's no time to start it. I have to get you out of here."

  "Where's the exit?" The room was completely closed. If there was a door it was hidden. The only way out was the open windows.

  We didn't have to say anything. It was time to flee. Xavier and I squeezed out of the first window together just when the first Shadow Wraiths billowed their way up the stairs and spread out towards us. Thoreau roared behind them. Russell Fox screamed. There was no fighting this.

  The stiff night wind blasted against us. Cars moved on the streets far below. The two of us stood on a narrow catwalk and there was nowhere else to go. This was meant for someone to wash windows, not to escape. My vision sharpened. No ladders. I wasn't sure if I could survive a fall like this and Xavier definitely couldn't.

  The first of the Shadow Wraiths reached the window. I stabbed and my sword impaled a body that might not be there. The Wraith drew back, only to allow two more to squeeze through in its place, hoods first. They could get through anything. I wasn't going to hold them back.

  I backed away and seized Xavier's hand.

  He leaned close. "Ready for an experiment? I won't let them touch you."

  I nodded, holding my sword as the first Wraith straightened up on the catwalk and then the second. They were pouring through a window behind us as well. Thoreau roared again. "Now what?"