with my humanity.
I shook my head. “No, I won’t hurt you. What are you doing here?”
“Searching.” She lifted a plastic bag fil ed with thumb drives.
I snickered. “For thumb drives?”
“No, sil y. For the List.”
A
memory
teased
my
mind
then
disappeared. “What List?”
“The one everyone wants. If I find it, Solange wil let me go back to live with my Mommy on the island.”
I
frowned.
Could
she
be
talking
about…“Coronis Island?”
“Yes. How did you know?” She squinted at me, the dagger, and then back at me. Her eyes widened. “It’s you. Solange won’t be happy you’re here. No, no, no, she won’t. She pretends to work for Lord Valafar, but she doesn’t.” Her eyes darted around, and her voice grew squeaky. “Go before she knows you’re here. Run.”
I didn’t run from demons. “How do you know who I am?”
“Your hair…the dagger. Leave. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” The girl’s features grew hazy then dissolved into a grey smoke. The rest of her body fol owed. One second she was a thick mass hovering above the floor, the next she shot through the hole in the wal . Everyone knows who you are, Lilith, she telepathed me. You’re a Special, one of us.
Before I could respond, a shadow fel inside the room. My heart leapt upwards. Hand firm on the dagger, I turned and faced it.
4. The Lazari
A heavy-set man in tan pants and a navy-blue shirt stood in the doorway. Dark wraparound sunglasses protected his eyes, but I stil knew he was possessed. My amulet and dagger reacted to the demon inside him and glowed bright.
“The dagger. You have the dagger,” he growled in a distorted voice, like two people talking at once, his pudgy fingers extended toward me. “It’s mine. Give it to me, dearest child.”
In his dreams. I tightened my grip on the hilt of the dagger, heart hammering inside my chest. I had no idea what the demon’s powers were or whether it was hindered by the body he possessed, but I wasn’t handing him my dagger. I must find a way to kil him without harming the host, which meant no weapons.
“Give it to me and I’l protect you, little Princess.”
“Protect me from what?” I squeaked, trying to buy time.
“The others—my brothers and sisters who’d use you. The traitorous Guardians.” He took a step toward me then another, his stomach shaking with each step.
I stepped away from him until my back hit the wal . Dang, there was nowhere to go but forward, which meant taking him down. Fat chance of that happening. Although he looked like he hadn’t seen inside of a gym in decades, he was built like a Sumo warrior. Maybe mentioning Valafar might scare him off.
“Do you know who I am? My father wil hunt you down if you touch me.”
“No, Lord Valafar wil thank me if I took you and the dagger to him. You belong with us, Lilith.” Anger replaced the panic. “I don’t belong with you! I’m a Guardian.”
“Sil y child,” he said, sneering. “You’l come around soon enough. It’s only a matter of time.” He lunged at me.
I jumped out of the way. He missed grabbing my arm by inches and lost his balance. Instead of going down, he bounced against the wal as though it was made of rubber, grabbed the tail of my hunting coat and yanked. I lost my footing and fel backward.
Arms flailing, heart pounding, I teleported to the other side of the room and slammed my back against the doorframe. Pain shot up my spine. An attempt to break my fal failed because I stil held the dagger. I slipped and landed on my butt. Tears stung my eyes as broken glass dug into the palm of my hand.
Heavy breathing alerted me that he was closing in on me. I scooted backward into the hal way, waved a hand, and ripped off the wraparound glasses covering his eyes. Bottomless black eyes caught the light and glistened at me.
Revulsion and fear curled my stomach. It was now or never…now or never….
I aimed the Kris Dagger at him and blasted him with light. He
I shook my head. “No, I won’t hurt you. What are you doing here?”
“Searching.” She lifted a plastic bag fil ed with thumb drives.
I snickered. “For thumb drives?”
“No, sil y. For the List.”
A
memory
teased
my
mind
then
disappeared. “What List?”
“The one everyone wants. If I find it, Solange wil let me go back to live with my Mommy on the island.”
I
frowned.
Could
she
be
talking
about…“Coronis Island?”
“Yes. How did you know?” She squinted at me, the dagger, and then back at me. Her eyes widened. “It’s you. Solange won’t be happy you’re here. No, no, no, she won’t. She pretends to work for Lord Valafar, but she doesn’t.” Her eyes darted around, and her voice grew squeaky. “Go before she knows you’re here. Run.”
I didn’t run from demons. “How do you know who I am?”
“Your hair…the dagger. Leave. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” The girl’s features grew hazy then dissolved into a grey smoke. The rest of her body fol owed. One second she was a thick mass hovering above the floor, the next she shot through the hole in the wal . Everyone knows who you are, Lilith, she telepathed me. You’re a Special, one of us.
Before I could respond, a shadow fel inside the room. My heart leapt upwards. Hand firm on the dagger, I turned and faced it.
4. The Lazari
A heavy-set man in tan pants and a navy-blue shirt stood in the doorway. Dark wraparound sunglasses protected his eyes, but I stil knew he was possessed. My amulet and dagger reacted to the demon inside him and glowed bright.
“The dagger. You have the dagger,” he growled in a distorted voice, like two people talking at once, his pudgy fingers extended toward me. “It’s mine. Give it to me, dearest child.”
In his dreams. I tightened my grip on the hilt of the dagger, heart hammering inside my chest. I had no idea what the demon’s powers were or whether it was hindered by the body he possessed, but I wasn’t handing him my dagger. I must find a way to kil him without harming the host, which meant no weapons.
“Give it to me and I’l protect you, little Princess.”
“Protect me from what?” I squeaked, trying to buy time.
“The others—my brothers and sisters who’d use you. The traitorous Guardians.” He took a step toward me then another, his stomach shaking with each step.
I stepped away from him until my back hit the wal . Dang, there was nowhere to go but forward, which meant taking him down. Fat chance of that happening. Although he looked like he hadn’t seen inside of a gym in decades, he was built like a Sumo warrior. Maybe mentioning Valafar might scare him off.
“Do you know who I am? My father wil hunt you down if you touch me.”
“No, Lord Valafar wil thank me if I took you and the dagger to him. You belong with us, Lilith.” Anger replaced the panic. “I don’t belong with you! I’m a Guardian.”
“Sil y child,” he said, sneering. “You’l come around soon enough. It’s only a matter of time.” He lunged at me.
I jumped out of the way. He missed grabbing my arm by inches and lost his balance. Instead of going down, he bounced against the wal as though it was made of rubber, grabbed the tail of my hunting coat and yanked. I lost my footing and fel backward.
Arms flailing, heart pounding, I teleported to the other side of the room and slammed my back against the doorframe. Pain shot up my spine. An attempt to break my fal failed because I stil held the dagger. I slipped and landed on my butt. Tears stung my eyes as broken glass dug into the palm of my hand.
Heavy breathing alerted me that he was closing in on me. I scooted backward into the hal way, waved a hand, and ripped off the wraparound glasses covering his eyes. Bottomless black eyes caught the light and glistened at me.
Revulsion and fear curled my stomach. It was now or never…now or never….
I aimed the Kris Dagger at him and blasted him with light. He
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