Manuel hurried to her side. “Are you—?”
“I’m fine,” Elena said through clenched teeth. “How did you find us?”
“I heard your call for help.” Manuel tapped his forehead. “Where are the others?”
Before Elena could answer, Manuel cried out, his back stiffening as blood blossomed across his chest.
A shocked gasp ripped through my throat. I lifted an arm to stop whatever was happening.
The shapeshifter appeared next to Manuel. The bloody gash still gleamed at the demon’s side. It clutched my athame in its webbed hands, raised the weapon, and stabbed Manuel in the chest. Once. Twice. Three times. The blade buried into Manuel’s body again and again.
“No!” I screamed, staggering to my feet. I lifted my arms, but nothing happened. I was too weak.
Elena was sobbing, muttering something incoherent that sounded like a spell, but with her injuries, she couldn’t do anything to stop it.
Manuel was dying. And we were, too.
Tears streamed down my face. I cried,
“Vile d-demon of unholy crimes,
I b-banish you . . . ‘til the end of time.”
My voice was weak and broken by sobs. My feeble arms rose, but nothing happened. Not even a flicker of blue appeared. I couldn’t feel my magic swelling in my body anymore. I was powerless.
The shapeshifter grinned. Manuel slumped to the side, his body limp. He didn’t move again.
Dark shadows appeared on the street. More demons.
Werewolves loomed forward, teeth bared and eyes hungry. A pair of vampires approached with smiles that exposed their fangs.
The demon cavalry had arrived to finish us off.
Elena’s feet wriggled as she tried to rise. Blood and tears stained her face.
The shapeshifter stepped on her leg, and she screamed. The crowd of demons drew nearer to her.
They were going to kill her.
“No,” I groaned weakly, but my body wouldn’t move. I was frozen in place as my eyes strayed to the next figure who appeared at the end of the street.
Kismet.
Her waist-length, blond hair was so much longer than I remembered. Her eyes and skin were vibrant and youthful. Flawless.
She was young. So much younger than the Kismet I knew.
Her cold, blue eyes surveyed the carnage with apathy. The unfeeling blankness in her expression was so foreign to me compared to the affection I was accustomed to.
My mouth fell open. The tears on my face seemed to harden to ice as my blood chilled.
It was too much for me.
A petrified gasp rippled through my body. My legs buckled until I collapsed again. My head collided with the ground, and darkness obscured my vision.
Voices shouted.
Someone cried, “Elena!”
Bursts of light burned through my eyelids.
Warm arms encircled me.
“I’ve got you.”
My head lolled backward into nothingness.
Chapter 24
“WHERE’S DAD?” I ASKED, my voice trembling.
Mom glanced at me as she threw on her boots and coat. Her thick curls whipped across her face in her haste to leave.
“He’s in trouble, Desi. But don’t worry. I’m going to bring him home.”
She crouched down to where I sat holding a pack of ice to my forehead. I still didn’t remember what happened, but I’d woken up outside, my head throbbing.
“You be brave for me, okay? Stay here with Kismet. I’ll be back soon.” She kissed my forehead. “I love you.”
I watched her rush out the door, which slammed behind her before I could respond. I looked up at Kismet, who stared at the front door, her eyebrows lowered and a concerned frown on her face. She blinked and met my gaze, her eyes softening. She sat next to me and wrapped her arm around me.
“It’ll be okay, Desi,” she said quietly.
Kismet . . .
My eyes snapped open. The familiar healing scents of Alba’s remedies tickled my nose, but this time I didn’t loiter. I slid the thick blanket off my legs and rose from my cot. White spots floated in front of my eyes, but I impatiently blinked them away and strode to the kitchen.
I had to find Kismet. I had to find out why she was here.
A few members of the coven stood in a small circle, whispering fervently. I glanced around the kitchen, realizing it was strangely empty.
“Where are the refugees?” I asked.
The whispering stopped, and the group parted. Elena, Alba, and Ramón looked at me. Elena’s face was a mess of tears and dirt.
Venom flashed in her eyes. Pure hatred. Worse than before.
Guess our small moment of friendship is gone.
“There’s an armistice to evacuate the civilians,” Alba said without glancing at me. Her eyes were on Elena.
My gaze fell to Elena’s bloodstained dress. Her arm was heavily bandaged and glistening red from her wound.
I swallowed as the memories from the attack came rushing back to me.
The Wendigo that wouldn’t die. Manuel rescuing us. The shapeshifter stabbing him again and again . . .
With a shaky gasp, I drew in a cold breath of realization. My eyes wide, I whispered, “Manuel?”
Elena’s jaw clenched. “Dead,” she growled, her voice shaking. “Because of you.”
“Elena,” Alba warned, extending an arm toward her.
With her uninjured hand, Elena smacked Alba’s arm away and took a threatening step toward me. “No, she needs to know. It’s your fault he’s gone, Desi. Why did you face the Wendigo? Why didn’t you just keep running? We would have made it! And Manuel never would’ve had to come and save us.”
My heart stopped. Grief and shock mingled in my throat, choking me and cutting off my words. No . . .
“Why are you still here?” Elena shrieked at me. “Go back to your own time. Leave us before someone else gets hurt trying to protect you!”
Her words assaulted me like punches in the face. But I just stood there, enduring the blows. They crushed my bones and tore my flesh. My injuries over the past few days were nothing compared to this.
Manuel is dead because of me.
“Take her away,” Alba whispered to Ramón.
Ramón nodded and touched Elena’s shoulders. Elena wriggled and squirmed, but Ramón’s grip was firm.
“Stop protecting her!” she
